# Legendary, apocryphal or just plain untrue stories of celebrities **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 21, 2016, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270 "2016-10-21T19:47:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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:** [October 22, 2016, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/41 "2016-10-22T19:28:36Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Not true. (it was a three musketeers) Adding to our (Murkins) confusion, the UK Mars Bar was never been the same critter as the USA Mars Bar. And now the US Mars Bar has been renamed “Snickers with Almonds.” I think. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2016, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/42 "2016-10-22T19:30:16Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > There were rumors when I was a teen in the 80s that Jody Foster was a lesbian. A hot woman, who happens to be completely uninterested in having sex with me, which places her in the vast majority of women. > [@](#): > > Cary Grant and Randolph Scott are rumored to have been long-time lovers. It’s nigh impossible to separate the truth from the chaff at this point, but I’ve always hoped it was true. I am primarily straight, but good God, one must have his standards. > [@kunilou](#): > > A 19-year old Elizabeth Taylor fixed up men with co-star Montgomery Clift while they were making _A Place in the Sun._ FTR, it’s Liz. I may admit to some SOME open-mindedness, but Liz at 19? Are you, or is anybody, that queer? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/43 "2016-10-23T00:27:51Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Eddie Haskell became porn star Johnny Wadd. The fake story is that Eddie Haskell grew up to become a member of the LAPD and was shot and wounded. Oh yeah that was true. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/44 "2016-10-23T00:51:35Z")
> [@dropzone](#): > > FTR, it’s Liz. I may admit to some SOME open-mindedness, but Liz at 19? Are you, or is anybody, that queer? :eek: The subject of the thread is “Legendary, apocryphal or just plain untrue stories of celebrities.” I am not attesting to the story’s veracity. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/45 "2016-10-23T01:12:50Z")
Howard Hawks and John Wayne made _Rio Bravo_ in 1959, _El Dorado_ in 1966, and _Rio Lobo_ in 1970. All three movies had essentially the same plot: a lawman and the town drunk defending the sheriff’s office from a siege by a group of outlaws. When the similarities were pointed out, John Wayne supposedly replied, “Next time, I’ll play the drunk.” Victor Mature applied to join a country club. The club did not admit actors. He said, “I am not an actor, and I have 64 movies to prove it!” ---
**Author:** ![Grumbacher\_Red](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/85e7bf/32.png) [@Grumbacher\_Red](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grumbacher_Red)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/46 "2016-10-23T02:24:47Z")
David Geffen fell in love with a very young Keanu Reeves sometime around the making of My Own Private Idaho and the two got married. Oh, and Barbara Streisand made a porno. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/47 "2016-10-23T02:31:59Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > Man, does this ever take me back! I forgot about this one. It does raise the question if semen is toxic in Coke can amounts . . . That’s why we at Coca-Cola have just released our new product, “Diet Coke with Semen.” ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/48 "2016-10-23T02:44:27Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > There’s the very sad story about Fatty Arbuckle and the “Coke bottle rape” that essentially ruined his career. Much of what I’ve read exonerates Arbuckle. I thought it was a Champaign bottle. > [@cochrane](#): > > There’s a rumor that Keith Richards has had all of his blood replaced in order to kick a heroin addiction. I think this is true. Read it in a _Playboy_ article. Really. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/49 "2016-10-23T04:48:15Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There was also a story that she couldn’t hit the high notes until she was hit in the head by a falling object when the group was bumming around on St. Thomas, USVI. I’ve seen band members repeat that one with a straight face during interviews, though they thought it was inexplicable why it would have worked. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/50 "2016-10-23T11:22:57Z")
Then we have some more modern legends. Several of my students have told me that Beyonce and Jay Z are high-level members of the Illuminati (along with the Obamas, naturally), and the triangle hand symbol is their recruiting tool. Of course, Katie Perry is ALSO Illuminati, as well as being a surviving and brainwashed Jon Benet Ramsey, or clone, or something. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2016, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/51 "2016-10-23T12:38:29Z")
Frank Zappa once won a “gross-out contest” by eating shit on stage. ([False](http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/grossout.asp), of course.) ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/52 "2016-10-23T13:23:33Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > Not true. (it was a three musketeers) Unlikely in the UK in the 1960s. ---
**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:** [October 23, 2016, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/53 "2016-10-23T23:08:58Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > Frank Zappa once won a “gross-out contest” by eating shit on stage. ([False](http://www.snopes.com/music/artists/grossout.asp), of course.) I think I heard that one as early as 1969. (No, I didn’t take it seriously.) Two other Oldie But Falsies about _Leave It To Beaver_ were: - Tony Dow was the one who did porno films - Jerry Mathers was killed in action in Vietnam. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 23, 2016, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/54 "2016-10-23T23:40:18Z")
The Alice Cooper rumor I heard when I was a kid was that he gave an empty cup to the someone in the first row at one of his concerts, they passed it around and all spit in it, gave it back to him and he drank it. ---
**Author:** ![Tzigone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Tzigone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tzigone)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/55 "2016-10-24T01:40:30Z")
Michael Jordan & Eddie Murphy and the “hit the floor” elevator story? Also Tommy Hilfiger and the story he went on Oprah’s show that he said he didn’t want black and Asian people wearing his clothes? Or are those not old enough? I think I heard both in high school. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/56 "2016-10-24T02:33:14Z")
Fred Rogers was a sniper in Vietnam w/ numerous confirmed kills. I actually heard this one in the .mil, and it never made any sense to me. The whole “don’t let the glasses (sweater) fool ya” thing goin’ on though, it was amusing I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/57 "2016-10-24T04:31:18Z")
> [@Tzigone](#): > > Michael Jordan & Eddie Murphy and the “hit the floor” elevator story? Also Tommy Hilfiger and the story he went on Oprah’s show that he said he didn’t want black and Asian people wearing his clothes? Or are those not old enough? I think I heard both in high school. That’s about as true as the long-standing rumor that Gloria Vanderbilt is a satanist. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 8:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/58 "2016-10-24T08:05:16Z")
A couple I heard more than once, back in the day: Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee of Rush “discovered” Neil Peart working in a car wash, where he happened to mention to them he was a drummer. AC/DC hired Brian Johnson after one of the Young brothers overheard him singing along with an AC/DC song on the radio while performing his day job as a roofer. In reality, both guys auditioned for the bands like anybody else would do. Peart showed up as one of a string of drummers trying out for the band; Brian Johnson was invited to audition because the guys in AC/DC had heard him singing with his own band and thought he’d be a good fit. I suspect that both rumors started out as simple wish-fulfillment. “It could happen to me!” ---
**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:** [October 24, 2016, 9:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/59 "2016-10-24T09:18:01Z")
That the piano part on _Taking’ Care of Business_ by Bachman-Turner Overdrive was played by a pizza deliveryman who just happened to come into the studio and asked the band if he could play. In reality, the part was played by Norman Durkee, a professional musician who was recording commercials in the next studio. Durkee was asked to play by BTO’s sound engineer. With only a couple of minutes between commercials, Durkee scribbled some chords down on a pizza box and recorded the piano part in one take, never having heard the song beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2016, 10:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270/60 "2016-10-24T10:08:57Z")
> [@Jennshark](#): > > There were rumors when I was a teen in the 80s that Jody Foster was a lesbian. > > Oh, wait 🙂 > > **There’s the very sad story about Fatty Arbuckle and the “Coke bottle rape” that essentially ruined his career. Much of what I’ve read exonerates Arbuckle.** > > Cary Grant and Randolph Scott are rumored to have been long-time lovers. It’s nigh impossible to separate the truth from the chaff at this point, but I’ve always hoped it was true. There has been an agenda of sorts to exonerate Arbuckle. I don’t believe we will ever know the truth of the matter, and there was probably never enough evidence to convict him. But I take everything I read on the Arbuckle case with a pinch of salt - both the original muckraking newspaper accounts and the more recent attempts to exonerate him. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/legendary-apocryphal-or-just-plain-untrue-stories-of-celebrities/769270.md?page=4)