# IMDB Superlatives Challenge **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 16, 2008, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582 "2008-04-16T13:18:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/1 "2008-04-16T13:18:10Z")
1. Whose IMDB entry constitutes the fewest number of credits for a NAME entertainer? (A true One-Hit Wonder) 2. Whose IMDB entry covers the greatest number of years? (Birth to latest venture) 3. Whose IMDB entry shows a celebrity wearing the greatest number of hats (director/writer/producer/actor/music/art/props/yada/yada)? 4. Which IMDB entries are for people you know personally (including your own) well enough that they would call you on your phone or invite you to their place for dinner? 5. Whose IMDB entry contains the largest number of non-speaking roles? (Add to the questions list, even if you can’t provide any answers) Try to beat the latest answer to any question already answered. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/2 "2008-04-16T13:22:39Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 3) Whose IMDB entry shows a celebrity wearing the greatest number of hats (director/writer/producer/actor/music/art/props/yada/yada)? [/QUOTE] While I don’t know if he has the most hats, [Robert Rodriguez](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001675/) is listed under 21 categories: Director Editor Producer Writer Cinematographer Composer Sound Department Soundtrack Camera and Electrical Department Actor Visual Effects Production Designer Special Effects Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Miscellaneous Crew Music Department Editorial Department Animation Department Thanks Self Archive Footage ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/3 "2008-04-16T13:29:23Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 1. Whose IMDB entry covers the greatest number of years? (Birth to latest venture) . [/QUOTE] George Bernard Shaw is listed from 1914 to 2006 which is a neat trick since I think he died in 1950 ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/4 "2008-04-16T13:33:35Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] George Bernard Shaw is listed from 1914 to 2006 which is a neat trick since I think he died in 1950 [/QUOTE] Good get! I wonder if Homer has a listing. Maybe I should have checked! 😃 ETA: He do! [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0392955/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0392955/) ---
**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/5 "2008-04-16T13:35:38Z")
Charles Lane has acting credits from 1931 to 2007 ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/6 "2008-04-16T14:00:09Z")
One hit wonders? How about [Newt from Aliens](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001343/)? ---
**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:** [April 16, 2008, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/7 "2008-04-16T14:08:13Z")
One hit wonder [Jocelyn LaGarde](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0481139/), who was such an imposing figure in “Hawaii” (1966). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/8 "2008-04-16T16:20:03Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 4) Which IMDB entries are for people you know personally (including your own) well enough that they would call you on your phone or invite you to their place for dinner? [/QUOTE] I’m not going to link to it, but I do have an IMDB entry (and not a “one-hit wonder”), though my StarMeter went down over 15% from last week. ☹ Why? I don’t know (since I’m not signed up in IMDBPro). > [@](#): > > George Bernard Shaw is listed from 1914 to 2006 which is a neat trick since I think he died in 1950 Heck, William Shakespeare has credits ranging from 1899 to 2008 (though I suspect that’s not what the OP had in mind). ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/9 "2008-04-16T16:21:11Z")
[QUOTE=blinkingblinking] Charles Lane has acting credits from 1931 to 2007 [/QUOTE] Mickey Rooney ranges from 1926 to 2009 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/10 "2008-04-16T17:28:29Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 1. Whose IMDB entry constitutes the fewest number of credits for a NAME entertainer? (A true One-Hit Wonder) [/QUOTE] [William Obanhein](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0643152/). Clearly, since he is mentioned prominently in a classic song on a top 25 album, he is a name outside the IMDB. ---
**Author:** ![vibrotronica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/a9a28c/32.png) [@vibrotronica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vibrotronica)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2008, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/11 "2008-04-16T17:59:01Z")
Last night I was watching the 1968 version of The Producers and I wondered who the guy was playing the insane Nazi playwright Franz Liebkind. Upon consulting IMDB, I found it was one [Kenneth Mars](http://imdb.com/name/nm0550318/) who, although he probably doesn’t actually win any of the OP’s categories, can at least be said to have one of the most impressive screen resumes I’ve ever seen. Sure, 9/10th of it is crap, but this guy WORKS. Here are some of the highlights: The Jetsons (this was his first credit) Car 54, Where Are You? Gunsmoke Get Smart The Producers Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid That Girl McMillan and Wife Ironsides Love, American Style The Parallax View Young Frankenstien Wonder Woman Barney Miller Baa Baa Black Sheep Columbo Project UFO Goin’ Coconuts Supertrain Heart to Heart The Facts of Life Cagney and Lacy Trapper John, MD Magnum P.I. Fletch Remington Steele Hardcastle and McCormick Simon and Simon Radio Days The Little Mermaid Perfect Strangers Shadows and Fog Animaniacs Star Trek: Deep Space Nine L.A. Law Batman: The Animated Series Citizen Ruth Fallout (computer game voiceover) Nash Bridges Just Shoot Me Malcom in the Middle Hannah Montana ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/12 "2008-04-17T01:57:58Z")
In answer to question 3, there’s Mike Jittlov, who’s listed under the following 21 categories: Actor Director Writer Editor Composer Animation Department Visual Effects Special Effects Producer Second Unit Director or Assistant Director Music Department Cinematographer Stunts Sound Department Production Manager Production Designer Costume Designer Art Director Art Department Self Archive Footage In answer to question 2, the largest is clearly Jeanne Calment, who was in a film when she was 120, if you insist that the latest venture be something done while the person is alive. ---
**Author:** ![Rachael\_Rage](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71c47a/32.png) [@Rachael\_Rage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachael_Rage)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/13 "2008-04-17T03:14:50Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 4) Which IMDB entries are for people you know personally (including your own) well enough that they would call you on your phone or invite you to their place for dinner? [/QUOTE] Well, there’s me, for two indie documentaries, the director and another featured person from those films would qualify. I just had dinner last night with a budding actress (one credit) who I knew long before she got her SAG card. We never call each other, but our small group just agreed to get together for monthly drinks, so I think that counts. So, four - including me. Honorable mentions: I have a standing invitation to dinner at [this guy’s](http://imdb.com/name/nm0611889/) place if we ever get out to L.A. though it seems unlikely I will ever take him up on it. I’ve hung out with [this guy](http://imdb.com/name/nm0330687/) a few times and have been to his apartment once but we wouldn’t call each other (though if I ran into him I’d totally suggest getting a coffee to catch up, which he would probably politely refuse in a genuinely apologetic way because he’d already have plans and/or be too busy. Movie stars! :rolleyes: :D) I was given (by him) [this guy’s](http://imdb.com/name/nm0170306/) email address and home and cell phone numbers for business purposes. But the business having been duly transacted, I would not use them again (and they’ve probably been changed anyway). Whenever possible I would visit anyone associated with [this show](http://imdb.com/title/tt0284783/fullcredits#cast), which could certainly result in massive food and drink being consumed. And I’m just too lazy to attempt the other OP questions! ---
**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:** [April 17, 2008, 5:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/14 "2008-04-17T05:19:14Z")
1. Who has performed under the greatest number of professional names? For example: Marvin Lee Aday Marvin Aday Meat Loaf Aday Meatloaf Aday Michael Lee Aday Michael Meat Loaf Aday Michael Aday Meatloaf He doesn’t appear to be credited as simply “Meat Loaf,” though. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2008, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/15 "2008-04-17T08:29:13Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 1. Whose IMDB entry constitutes the fewest number of credits for a NAME entertainer? (A true One-Hit Wonder) [/QUOTE] John Cazale and Dorothy Stratten weigh in with seven movies each (With Cazale, three of them were The Godfather). Cazale’s no household name, but he was in 4 or 5 of the best movies ever made, so he should count. Stratten, featured in seven films, was the subject of three. Pretty high ratio, I’d say. I thought Bruce Lee or James Dean might be contenders in this category, but the IMDB lists all their TV and minor movie work. [QUOTE=Peter Morris] He doesn’t appear to be credited as simply “Meat Loaf,” though. [/QUOTE] He was, in **Roadie**. In Rocky Horror, he was billed as **“Meatloaf.”** ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/16 "2008-04-24T21:40:34Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 1. Whose IMDB entry constitutes the fewest number of credits for a NAME entertainer? (A true One-Hit Wonder) [/QUOTE] Gummo Marx! His sole IMDB credit was for a talk show appearance with his brothers on Tonight: America After Dark in 1957. Zeppo, by comparison, has 20 IMDB listings, many of them posthumous. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2008, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/17 "2008-04-24T22:57:18Z")
1. Which IMDB entries are for people you know personally (including your own) well enough that they would call you on your phone or invite you to their place for dinner? At least one friend of mine has a listing, we have lunched together and chat on the phone fairly regularly. 1. Whose IMDB entry contains the largest number of non-speaking roles? Mary Pickford has 242 entries prior to the first film with any speaking role. (The Jazz Singer in 27) ---
**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:** [April 24, 2008, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/18 "2008-04-24T23:08:11Z")
[QUOTE=Zeldar] 1. Whose IMDB entry constitutes the fewest number of credits for a NAME entertainer? (A true One-Hit Wonder) [/QUOTE] [Sarah Holcomb](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0390106/) has only five entries (one of them for being “herself”). The name might not be familiar, but she had a memorable role in _Animal House_ and was the female lead in _Caddyshack_. ---
**Author:** ![from\_a\_to\_z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5fc32e/32.png) [@from\_a\_to\_z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/from_a_to_z)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/19 "2008-04-25T09:09:54Z")
[QUOTE=Antinor01] Mary Pickford has 242 entries prior to the first film with any speaking role. (The Jazz Singer in 27) [/QUOTE] Well, Mary speaks in many of her films, even if we can’t hear her. I have [The Country Doctor](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0000833/) (1909) handy, and she clearly speaks to Kate Bruce, even if there is no intertitle. Would someone be kind enough to count the non-speaking roles of [Bess Flowers](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0283170/)? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2008, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582/20 "2008-04-25T14:44:28Z")
[QUOTE=from\_a\_to\_z] Well, Mary speaks in many of her films, even if we can’t hear her. I have [The Country Doctor](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0000833/) (1909) handy, and she clearly speaks to Kate Bruce, even if there is no intertitle. Would someone be kind enough to count the non-speaking roles of [Bess Flowers](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0283170/)? [/QUOTE] I figured that wasn’t exactly what he was looking for, but silent film was the first thing I thought of. 😉 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/imdb-superlatives-challenge/445582.md?page=2)