# Famous people we don't know the identities of **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 8, 2013, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386 "2013-03-08T15:18:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/61 "2013-03-09T01:00:45Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > B. Traven. There’s evidence that he was a German named Ret Marut. I could counter with Trevanian, but he was finally outed - by Poundstone, some time before he officially unmasked, IIRC. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > The guy that \*really \*wrote the Shakespeare plays. On the grassy knoll behind the Globe? ---
**Author:** ![pullin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c57346/32.png) [@pullin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pullin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/62 "2013-03-09T01:42:21Z")
The [Nine Nanas](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/20/it-aint-over-the-business-secret_n_1607385.html) [HuffPo] of Tennessee. It’s my understanding that they’ve managed to deliver over a million dollars worth of help and aid to people in need. So far, no one knows their identity. The linked article claims slightly less than a million, but I read an article recently that said they’d topped the 7 figure mark. You can send them a donation, or at least buy one of their cakes [here](http://happiness-happens.com/). These are the types of people we should be holding parades for. Not sports figures. (imo) ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/63 "2013-03-09T03:36:48Z")
The Shotgun Man: [Shotgun Man - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shotgun_Man) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/64 "2013-03-09T03:51:33Z")
The unknown Boy Scout in London in 1910. The sour-faced woman in the background when Mary Tyler Moore throws her hat in the air. ---
**Author:** ![Cheshire\_Human](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Cheshire\_Human](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheshire_Human)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/65 "2013-03-09T04:06:12Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > Chicken. Pull a neighborhood shen that brings down a full multi-station tac squad response, and see how long it takes you to own up… oh, look, it’s Halley’s Comet! OOPSIE! Nope. Wasn’t me! It must have been _other_ kids! ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/66 "2013-03-09T04:52:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > . . . > The sour-faced woman in the background when Mary Tyler Moore throws her hat in the air. [Nuh-uh](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5356710) She was a local celebrity from the first night MTM aired. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/67 "2013-03-09T06:06:34Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > I could counter with Trevanian, but he was finally outed - by Poundstone, some time before he officially unmasked, IIRC. Or A.J. Quinnell, but he was also identified after his death. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/68 "2013-03-09T06:20:02Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > Isn’t there some question about the ‘real’ identity of musician Leon Redbone? [Leon Redbone - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Redbone) (but it’s wikipedia) > [@terentii](#): > > The unknown Boy Scout in London in 1910. Good one. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 6:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/69 "2013-03-09T06:51:48Z")
In 1943, British Intelligence concocted and executed a plan to mislead the German military about where the Allies were planning to invade southern Europe. This was Operation Mincemeat. The idea was for a dead body to wash up on the coast of Spain, the apparent victim of a plane crash, with a well-documented false identity and papers saying that invasions were to take place in Greece and Sardinia. The body of Captain (acting Major) William “Bill” Martin was found, the documents were examined by the Germans, and they committed extra resources to defend those two locations. The real target was Sicily. I didn’t think the real identity of the body was known, but (according the Wikipedia, at least) it was discovered many years later. In 1996 he was identified as [Glyndwr Michael](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyndwr_Michael). ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/70 "2013-03-09T07:25:45Z")
There’s a mysterious person in the Chicago area who drops gold coins in Salvation Army kettles at Christmas time. BTW - There’s a marked difference between famous and **in** famous. Just sayin’. ---
**Author:** ![Atomic\_Alex](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atomic_alex/32/175_2.png) [@Atomic\_Alex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atomic_Alex)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/71 "2013-03-09T10:56:36Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > The unknown Boy Scout in London in 1910. That reminded me of the Kasper Hauser case: > **[Kaspar Hauser](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspar_Hauser)** > > Kaspar Hauser (30 April 1812 – 17 December 1833) was a German youth who claimed to have grown up in the total isolation of a darkened cell. His claims, and his subsequent death from a stab wound, sparked much debate and controversy both in Nuremberg and abroad. Theories propounded at the time identified Hauser as a member of the grand ducal House of Baden, hidden away because of dynastic intrigue. However, there were also allegations that Hauser was an impostor. In 2024, a scientific study rul Thanks for the answers everyone, I hadn’t heard of some of these before. Act 1, Day 1 after I invent a time-machine is to go back and solve these mysteries! _(well after I assassinate Hitler of course but that kind of goes without saying)_ ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/72 "2013-03-09T14:06:46Z")
We’re getting a bit obscure here, but the [Boy in the Box](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_in_the_Box_%28Philadelphia%29). ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/73 "2013-03-09T14:41:52Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > Thanks for the answers everyone, I hadn’t heard of some of these before. Not exactly \*famous \*people, then. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/74 "2013-03-09T15:46:48Z")
[Subcomandante Marcos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subcomandante_Marcos), the masked leader / spokesperson of the Zapatistas. He has never revealed his true identity, although _some say…_ [SPOILER]…that he’s the Stig. (No, actually, the Mexican government claims to know that he’s a dude named Rafael Sebastián Guillén Vicente.)[/SPOILER] ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/75 "2013-03-09T15:54:32Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Nuh-uh](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5356710) She was a local celebrity from the first night MTM aired. Huh! I was born and raised in Minneapolis (and in junior high when MTM debuted) and never heard of Hazel Frederick! Ignorance fought! ---
**Author:** ![Don\_t\_Panic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/don_t_panic/32/398_2.png) [@Don\_t\_Panic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_t_Panic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/76 "2013-03-09T16:08:12Z")
> [@Disposable Hero](#): > > No, not Batman How about [this](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_rapist) Batman? ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/77 "2013-03-09T16:10:01Z")
> [@NitroPress](#): > > We’re getting a bit obscure here, but the [Boy in the Box](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boy_in_the_Box_%28Philadelphia%29). Reminds me also of Little Miss 1565, a girl whose body was found after the [Hartford circus fire](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hartford_circus_fire) of 1944, but never positively identified. Reading that Wikipedia entry just now, it says that Charles Nelson Reilly was a survivor of the event at age 13. I hadn’t heard that before. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/78 "2013-03-09T16:15:29Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > [Nuh-uh](http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=5356710) She was a local celebrity from the first night MTM aired. Okay, then: how about the kid with the glasses who circles Felix Unger while he’s sitting with his suitcases on the sidewalk? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![drachillix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/48db29/32.png) [@drachillix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drachillix)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/79 "2013-03-09T16:56:14Z")
> [@Cheshire\_Human](#): > > [bold added] > > Not necessarily. I have a tale I’ll never tell (involving technological manipulation of the phone company’s equipment) because I found out later that I’d pissed off the US Secret Service. They _never_ forget or forgive. Target identified… relay firing solution to predator drone… ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386/80 "2013-03-09T18:00:28Z")
> [@cjepson](#): > > how about the [Residents](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Residents) and their mysterious mentor [N. Senada](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N._Senada)? Nah, we know who they are. The band originally consisted of Homer Flynn, Hardy Fox, Jay Clem, and John Kennedy. Clem and Kennedy quit after the Mole tour. Since then, it has been just Flynn and Fox. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-people-we-dont-know-the-identities-of/652386.md?page=5)