# People appearing in public always in character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2014, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591 "2014-12-18T17:50:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/21 "2014-12-18T19:56:22Z")
Magicvians used to do this. In the film **The Prestige** someone tells a story about a magician who maintained his persona onstage and off, just so that he could keep concealed the “gimmick” that allowed his trick to work. (Later this has significance for the main plot). This was a real thing among magicians. William Ellsworth Robinson didn’t have much success until he re-invented himself as _Chung Ling Soo_. He kept to that faux Chiinese identity offstage, as well (The character in _The Prestige_ referred to above was based on Robinson): > **[Chung Ling Soo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chung_Ling_Soo)** > > William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (Chinese: 程連蘇; pinyin: Chéng Liánsū). He is mostly remembered today for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick. > Robinson was born in Westchester County, New York, the first of three children born to James Campbell Robinson and his wife Sarah Robinson (née Titus). Both of his parents were of Scottish descent. The family settled in Manhattan while James Ro... ---
**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:** [December 18, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/22 "2014-12-18T19:59:48Z")
Here’s a relatively rare [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HPG52IPE2Q) of Don Novello appearing as himself at a public event rather than as Father Guido Sarducci. ---
**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:** [December 18, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/23 "2014-12-18T20:04:00Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > RuPaul? RuPaul Charles broke character in _But I’m a Cheerleader_ playing the role of Mike. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/24 "2014-12-18T20:04:43Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Isn’t Adam West pretty much always playing himself? How do you define playing himself. My daughter acted with him, and he is a jerk in real life. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/25 "2014-12-18T20:05:26Z")
I saw Matthew Lesko walking down the street in Chicago and he was wearing one of [his trademark suits.](http://www.nndb.com/people/422/000031329/lesko.jpg) Someone mentioned Larry the Cable Guy. He’s another person I ran into on the streets in Chicago and he was in full character. Of course, he was just leaving a movie set after filming a scene to get to his trailer a few blocks away so it’s pretty understandable. That Re-Run guy from What’s Happening? always wore his hat and suspenders, but he’s dead now. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/26 "2014-12-18T20:16:29Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > How do you define playing himself. My daughter acted with him, and he is a jerk in real life. I’m the only person on the planet who can’t stand one. Freakin’. MINUTE. of the old Batman series. The few times I’ve seen him “out of character,” he seemed like a jerk. I was yelling (at the TV) _Don’t you ever break character_? ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/27 "2014-12-18T20:16:35Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Colbert has done many interviews out of character, talking about the separation between him and “Steven Colbert”. The character will pretty much have to end after tonight if he’s going to be a successful host on late night. I’ve wondered if, to make plain the separation, he might revert to his family’s pronunciation of the last name (‘Coal-bert’ instead of ‘Coal-bear’). But then he did use the “French” version on Jon Stewart’s show for years before becoming the right-winger character. I guess we’ll know when the announcer’s voice is first heard on Colbert’s \*Late Show \*premiere night… ---
**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:** [December 18, 2014, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/28 "2014-12-18T20:33:48Z")
Jazz mussician [Billy Tipton](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Billy_Tipton), in public _and_ in private. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/29 "2014-12-18T20:49:24Z")
[Clayton Moore](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clayton_Moore) He once said, “Kids don’t want to meet some old actor named Clayton Moore. They want to meet the Lone Ranger.” ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/30 "2014-12-18T21:19:51Z")
The main characters from the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys often appear in character in public, as the show is shot in “fake documentary” style. From Wikipedia: “Furthering the myth that Trailer Park Boys is nonfiction, many of the actors (particularly Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, Mike Smith and John Dunsworth) often make public appearances without breaking character.” I read an interview with one of the actors (not one of the ones mentioned above) and he asks the interviewer if he (the interviewer) would like to talk to the actor or the character. Same thing for a [TV interview with John Dunsworth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8rEY-JtdNk) who asks the interviewer who he’d prefer to speak with but as the interviewer gets snarky, Dunsworth just goes into character to bite back. ---
**Author:** ![Flywheel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Flywheel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flywheel)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2014, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/31 "2014-12-18T21:38:23Z")
Arguably, Karl Pilkington. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/32 "2014-12-19T03:09:34Z")
Emo Phillips? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/33 "2014-12-19T03:14:40Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > RuPaul? I’ve seen RuPaul as _himself_ plenty of times. I’m not on the lookout so he must not be her all the time. OTOH, she’s more or less [unrecognizable](http://cdn.blackenterprise.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/2012/05/RuPaul-music-620x480.jpg) when she’s not in drag (is that still the right term?) so if you don’t know what you’re looking for you wouldn’t even know it’s her. It’s not like seeing Gilbert or Bobcat speaking in a ‘normal’ voice and having it taking a second to figure out who it is…you just wouldn’t know it was her. ---
**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:** [December 19, 2014, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/34 "2014-12-19T03:43:51Z")
Minnie Pearl never performed as anyone other than [Minnie Pearl](http://www.foundagrave.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Minnie-3.jpg), keeping her real life as Nashville socialite [Sarah Colley Cannon](http://sarahcannon.com/util/images/tristar/Sarah-Cannon-headshot.jpg) very distinct from her character. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/35 "2014-12-19T04:25:46Z")
On a similar note, did Cliff Arquette ever not appear as Charlie Weaver? And who is/was Charlie Weaver? ---
**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:** [December 19, 2014, 4:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/36 "2014-12-19T04:38:18Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > I read an interview with one of the actors (not one of the ones mentioned above) and he asks the interviewer if he (the interviewer) would like to talk to the actor or the character. Same thing for a [TV interview with John Dunsworth](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8rEY-JtdNk) who asks the interviewer who he’d prefer to speak with but as the interviewer gets snarky, Dunsworth just goes into character to bite back. The actors in _This Is Spinal Tap_ did two commentary tracks for the home video release of the movie. One as themselves and one in character. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/37 "2014-12-19T04:41:59Z")
Leon Redbone. He’s _always_ in character. I met him when I was working at a club where he played, and he was in character when he walked in the door, did the sound check, got paid after the gig… I talked to a friend who was working in the microfilm room at the library, and he came in the same day to research old newspapers to find out when a particular singer had played the vaudeville houses in town, and my friend said he was in character then as well. I suppose if you play the same character for fifty years, every waking moment, eventually that is just who you are. I did some research for the Wikipedia article on him, and the very first appearance, John Hammond talks about Redbone as a “kid from Philadelphia” before he appeared in Toronto. But he’s never given a straight answer to any question about his origins. ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/38 "2014-12-19T04:47:02Z")
> [@Doug\_K](#): > > Bobcat hasn’t done his trademark character in some time, and I saw him say in an [interview](http://hamptonroads.com/2013/05/bobcat-goldthwait-back-stage-new-voice) that he can’t do that voice quite the same anymore. > [@jharvey963](#): > > Bob doesn’t use his “Bobcat” persona that often anymore. I’ve seen him in quite a few appearances (TV, movies, and Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me) where he is “Bob”, not “Bobcat” > > J. I’ll be damned. All these years I thought he really sounded like his Bobcat character. In my defense, I’ve lived under a rock for many years and didn’t realize he was still performing. I do like “Wait Wait” but I’ve never caught him on it. For the past 30 or so years, I honestly thought he had some vocal cord issue or neurological condition like Diane Rehm or something. Huh. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/39 "2014-12-19T13:38:57Z")
Randy Quaid always seems to play a half-wit (the Vacation movies, Independence day), but from the news stories I’ve read about him, it’s not an act. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591/40 "2014-12-19T15:34:56Z")
> [@ZipperJJ](#): > > The main characters from the Canadian show Trailer Park Boys often appear in character in public, as the show is shot in “fake documentary” style. > > From Wikipedia: > “Furthering the myth that Trailer Park Boys is nonfiction, many of the actors (particularly Robb Wells, John Paul Tremblay, Mike Smith and John Dunsworth) often make public appearances without breaking character.” This was my first thought upon seeing this thread. I remember seeing something where Ricky says to Julian at an event “Are we in character for this or not?” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-appearing-in-public-always-in-character/707591.md?page=3)