# Hello Kevin Bacon! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 23, 2011, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213 "2011-12-23T21:13:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/242 "2012-04-05T17:42:14Z")
Turns out Kevin & Kyra are distant cousins: [http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20584292,00.html?icid=maing-grid7|main5|dl2|sec1\_lnk1%26pLid%3D149468](http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20584292,00.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl2%7Csec1_lnk1%26pLid%3D149468) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/243 "2012-04-05T17:52:57Z")
Hi, Kevin. I know you’re reading this. I don’t know if anyone else has mentioned this, but I loved your scene in _Planes, Trains, and Automobiles_ when you stole the cab from Steve Martin. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/244 "2012-04-05T18:04:42Z")
Wow, what a complete non-event. “Distant cousins” is a meaningless term. “Cousin” covers everything from first cousin - the most common use - to anyone with whom you have any blood relation throughout your entire family tree. ## Hey look, I’m a distant cousin\* with Kevin Bacon! \*For sufficiently broad definition of “distant”. Proof: we’re both human. QED. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/245 "2012-04-05T18:12:04Z")
My IMDB listing puts my Bacon Number at a 3, but it’s 2 if you include behind-the-scenes work I wasn’t credited for. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2012, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/246 "2012-04-05T18:15:12Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Wow, what a complete non-event. “Distant cousins” is a meaningless term. “Cousin” covers everything from first cousin - the most common use - to anyone with whom you have any blood relation throughout your entire family tree. > > ## Hey look, I’m a distant cousin\* with Kevin Bacon! > > \*For sufficiently broad definition of “distant”. Proof: we’re both human. QED. Six Degrees of Being Cousins with Kevin Bacon? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/247 "2012-04-09T02:31:53Z")
Just saw _X-Men: First Class_. Kevin makes a damn good Nazi villain. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 9:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/248 "2012-04-09T09:13:11Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Just saw _X-Men: First Class_. Kevin makes a damn good Nazi villain. Weird. I [thread=647768]just started a thread [/thread]on that film, which I watched last night. Which appears to be sinking unseen. Maybe I should mention that it stars Kevin Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![mlees](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@mlees](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlees)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/249 "2012-04-09T15:02:09Z")
I was an extra in _Star Trek IV_, directed (and co-starred) by Leonard Nimoy. Leonard Nimoy has a Bacon number of 2. Leonard Nimoy was in _Transformers: Dark of the Moon_ (2011) (credited as “Sentinel Prime, voice”) with Yasen Peyankov, who was in _Novocaine_ (2001) with Kevin Bacon. Does that give me a “three”? ---
**Author:** ![Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Ashley\_Pomeroy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashley_Pomeroy)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2012, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/250 "2012-04-09T16:31:48Z")
I wonder how Bacon will announce Himself, if He decides to join the board. “_I am Bacon, number tau zero. Speak._” It must be tiring, being connected with all humanity; with a few phone calls and favours he could make this world a paradise, but then what of free will? This kind of thing must prey on his mind. Is there proof of him ever posting on the IMDB? He must surely be aware of the IMDB. Presumably someone with Bacon’s job and lifestyle doesn’t have time to waste on trivia, but I can imagine him occasionally checking out Dennis Quaid’s filmography, just to keep tabs on the opposition. Quaid got the _GI Joe_ gig, but Bacon got _X-Men: First Class_. They emerged at similar times, they tend to do similar roles, and they occupy similar seats in the Hollywood pantheon. E.g. they were very briefly _almost_ a-list stars, now they’re sort of super-supporting actors and appear to be comfortable with it. I was thinking about how Harrison Ford and Kevin Costner often end up going for the same roles, because they have a similar mixture of qualities. According to the IMDB, Costner and Ford were both up for _Air Force One_ (1997) (written for Costner, but passed on to Ford), _Dragonfly_ (2002), _The Hunt for Red October_ (1990), _JFK_ (1991), _The Untouchables_ (1987) and probably lots more. I have a germ of a film idea in my head - FORD/COSTNER, in which the two are deadly rivals who eventually team up to fight the evil Mel Gibson. Guest starring Kurt Russell and Jeff Bridges as a pair of hitmen who keep being assigned to the same hits. It’s never going to happen but, dammit. I have the poster in my head - from top, HARRISON FORD - KEVIN COSTNER, and then portraits of Kevin Costner and Harrison Ford in that order, and at the bottom the title, FORD / COSTNER. That’ll confuse 'em. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/251 "2012-04-10T02:23:37Z")
I have a Bacon number of 2. I went to school with Don McKellar. Don McKellar was in _Where the Truth Lies_ with Kevin Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![MonkeyMensch](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@MonkeyMensch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MonkeyMensch)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/252 "2012-04-10T02:59:16Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > That is totally _awesome_, **EH**!!! > > See, you guys? I always ask if we have any celebrities among our number, and here’s a 2nd degree **Bacon** belt!!! > > This thread rocks my world! > > Q I, too, have a **Kevin Bacon** number of 2. Neener-neener-neener! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 3:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/253 "2012-04-10T03:35:28Z")
I have a Bacon number of 3. I worked a couple of times with a guy named David Ossman on radio productions, who has a bacon number of two. Actually, I have the 3 through multiple routes. At different times I’ve been in the same room with Sigourney Weaver, Barbara Streisand, and Cybill Shepherd, each of whom has a Bacon number of 2. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/254 "2012-04-10T04:29:19Z")
> [@mlees](#): > > I was an extra in _Star Trek IV_, directed (and co-starred) by Leonard Nimoy. Were you the whale? ---
**Author:** ![tumbleddown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tumbleddown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tumbleddown)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/255 "2012-04-10T13:43:41Z")
I also have a Bacon number of 2, as he and I have both been on Jeopardy, though he was, obviously, on the celebrity version. I’m surprised that there has not been any Doper love for Kevin’s geekiest role, a little film that he did with Kyra Sedgwick, I think just before they were married, called _Pyrates_, in which they were a couple that caused accidental fires every time they had (or tried to have) sex. Kevin had a scene in which he serenaded Kyra from the street by setting off car alarms in order to create the tune of “Tainted Love.” It was masterful. I need to see that movie again, now that I think of it. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/256 "2012-04-10T14:27:31Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > Wow, what a complete non-event. “Distant cousins” is a meaningless term. “Cousin” covers everything from first cousin - the most common use - to anyone with whom you have any blood relation throughout your entire family tree. > > ## Hey look, I’m a distant cousin\* with Kevin Bacon! > > \*For sufficiently broad definition of “distant”. Proof: we’re both human. QED. Watched this last night on PBS. I can’t remember the exact degree, but it was either 9th or 13th cousins. I was actually surprised it wasn’t closer than that, considering both have deep roots in American history. Reminds of a time I was introduced to my, alleged, 4th cousin. My first thought: Wow, you could be any random person on the street as far as I’m concerned. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2012, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/257 "2012-04-10T17:11:11Z")
I went to college with my fifth cousin, and only knew about our family ties because our fathers grew up with one another. She was very cute and I remember being relieved to learn that, if we ever married, there’d be no legal issue and very likely no genetic one, either. > [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](#): > > Weird. I [thread=647768]just started a thread [/thread]on that film, which I watched last night. Which appears to be sinking unseen. > > Maybe I should mention that it stars Kevin Bacon. Thanks, I’ll check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/258 "2014-03-10T00:50:53Z")
KB says he didn’t like the game at first, but now he seems to embrace it: [http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/08/tech/web/kevin-bacon-six-degrees-sxsw/index.html?hpt=hp\_c3](http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/08/tech/web/kevin-bacon-six-degrees-sxsw/index.html?hpt=hp_c3) ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/259 "2014-03-10T01:08:24Z")
Great story – I love that he looks up actors he’s about to work with to remind himself whether he’s worked with them before. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/260 "2014-03-10T01:17:48Z")
nm ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2014, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213/261 "2014-03-10T03:49:26Z")
Back in the mid 90’s I worked as a manager at a movie theater in Manhattan called Lincoln Square. We had many premiers there and I don’t remember what the movie was (I think a Travolta movie) but Kevin Bacon and Kyra were there. They are about the last people to leave the theater and they were the ONLY people to take their trash, empty popcorn bag and drink cups, out and they put them in the trash bins. I was there with the ushers about to go in and clean the theater. They were also the ONLY people who thanked us lowly theater workers. I will never forget that. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hello-kevin-bacon/607213.md?page=14)