# Renaissance people in the arts **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 24, 2017, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794 "2017-06-24T22:47:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [June 26, 2017, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/21 "2017-06-26T01:45:23Z")
Mel Brooks. Writer, movie producer, director, actor, writer of hit Broadway musicals (including writing the songs) John Lennon – songwriter and performer, actor (Including the non-Beatles \* How I won the War\*, and author of two critically acclaimed books (_In His Own Write_ and _A Spaniard in the Works_). Eric Idle - writer, actor, songwriter (for _Spamalot_). ---
**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:** [June 26, 2017, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/22 "2017-06-26T10:21:18Z")
Here’s the link that I meant to give in post #19: > **[Developing Multiple Talents - the book • The Creative Mind](https://thecreativemind.net/book-developing-multiple-talents/)** > > Developing Multiple Talents - a book by Douglas Eby. Creativity researcher Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi notes “If there is one word that makes creative people different from others, it is the word complexity." ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/23 "2017-06-26T12:48:35Z")
Some great suggestions, and so many people I’d never heard of before to discover. Looking over them there are a few actor-director-producer-writer combinations. Without discounting anyone’s achievements is this more of a phase-shift that happens in a successful long career compared to, say, Arnold Schwarzeneggar [body building - acting - politics] or my pin-up woman Geena Davis [acting - archery - social issues] that represent quite distinct domains? ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/24 "2017-06-26T13:02:15Z")
William Blake: poet, painter, printmaker. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2017, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/25 "2017-06-26T13:25:08Z")
Frank Sinatra – singer, Oscar-winning actor, and painter/artist. [Canada Lee](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada_Lee) – Not well known today, but he had careers as a jockey, welterweight boxer, bandleader, actor (Broadway and movies), radio DJ (one of the first), and civil rights activist. [His biography](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B006GR22ZC/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1) is fascinating reading. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/26 "2017-06-26T14:06:17Z")
John Lithgow is an actor, musician, singer, comedian, voice actor, and author. Pretty impressive. ---
**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:** [June 26, 2017, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/27 "2017-06-26T14:33:27Z")
Moby is, Wiki says, “a DJ, record producer, singer, songwriter, musician, photographer and animal rights activist.” Brian Eno is a “musician, composer, record producer, singer, writer, and visual artist.” Mikhail Baryshnikov is a “dancer, choreographer and actor.” Glenn Close is a “actress, singer and film producer.” > [@carlb](#): > > …and [Steve Martin is a] serious [art collector](https://news.artnet.com/art-world/steve-martin-art-collection-487922). He is indeed. We saw the Lawren Harris exhibit of which he was guest curator (mentioned in that article) at the Art Gallery of Ontario last year. Quite interesting, and they had his opening remarks on a video loop at the entrance. > [@HyacinthBucket](#): > > **Viggo Mortensen** > > Not just a fine actor, but a publisher (Perceval Press), writer of poetry, books about the arts, nonfiction, some in Spanish and Danish, a photographer and a painter as well. > > Not bad for a scruffy Ranger! Yep. He’s also a singer-songwriter, and at Howard Shore’s request wrote the melody that Aragorn sings at his coronation in _The Return of the King_ (at 3:45 here; the words are Tolkien’s): [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jJnyyta07k](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jJnyyta07k) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/28 "2017-06-26T15:13:50Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Kris Kristofferson was a Rhodes scholar, but he doesn’t have a Ph.D. One guy who does: Peter Weller, who’s been teaching Art History for years. He’s also been directing for years – mostly television work, but also the project that got him an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film. But the first line of his obituary will mention that he was the star of ROBOCOP. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/29 "2017-06-26T15:26:49Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > Some great suggestions, and so many people I’d never heard of before to discover. > > Looking over them there are a few actor-director-producer-writer combinations. Without discounting anyone’s achievements is this more of a phase-shift that happens in a successful long career compared to, say, Arnold Schwarzeneggar [body building - acting - politics] or my pin-up woman Geena Davis [acting - archery - social issues] that represent quite distinct domains? Even if the actor-director-producer-writer combo deserves short shrift – and I’m not saying that it _does_ – mention should still be made of actor-director-producer-writer Barbra Streisand, for doing award-winning movie work in multiple fields in her spare time from racking up an over-the-top level of success as, y’know, a singer. ---
**Author:** ![MacLir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@MacLir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacLir)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/30 "2017-06-26T15:35:36Z")
Not completely distinct, but Jimmy Buffett, beyond his renown as a singer songwriter has written some novels, produced movie theme music, and acted in supporting roles in some movies. He has also used the cachet of his song style to launch a chain of establishments, a line of food and beverages, and recently a retirement community for all those aging parrottheads. 😉 Although I suspect the advice of his uncle Warren was involved somewhere. :smack: ---
**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:** [June 26, 2017, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/31 "2017-06-26T15:54:19Z")
Gypsy Rose Lee – actress, novelist, playwright, talk show host. And, of course, a striptease artist. ---
**Author:** ![Corner\_Case](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/corner_case/32/234_2.png) [@Corner\_Case](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corner_Case)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/32 "2017-06-26T18:03:20Z")
Dolph Lundgren - World-Class competitor in Japanese Karate, 3rd Degree Black Belt; Masters in Chemical Engineering and awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to M.I.T; and actor/(drummer)/director/producer. [sub]In _Expendables 2_ (I believe) the team leader remarks how [the character] has a Masters in Chemical Engineering and went to M.I.T.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![santiago42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@santiago42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/santiago42)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/33 "2017-06-26T23:06:18Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > Kris Kristoflferson, composer, actor, and Rhodes scholar with PhD in English Lit. Also served as helicopter pilot in the US army. ---
**Author:** ![Peanut\_Gallery](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/838e76/32.png) [@Peanut\_Gallery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanut_Gallery)\ **Post date:** [June 26, 2017, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/34 "2017-06-26T23:29:11Z")
[Donald Glover](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Glover). Standup Comic, Rapper, Singer, TV Show Writer/Producer/Director/Actor. [Redbone](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp7eSUU9oy8) ---
**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:** [June 27, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/35 "2017-06-27T00:36:05Z")
Besides Peter Weller, among the celebrities in artistic fields who have Ph.D.s (and not honorary ones) are Brian May (astrophysics), Dexter Holland (molecular biology), and Mayim Bialik (neuroscience, just like her character in _The Big Bang Theory_): > **[14 Famous People Who Have PhDs](https://www.ranker.com/list/famous-people-with-phds/celebrity-lists)** > > Several famous actors, politicians, athletes, and musicians have furthered their education by earning doctorates and Ph.D.s. Some of these celebrities earned Ph.D.s in the arts, while others pursued scientific degrees. One famous comedic actress has... ---
**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:** [June 27, 2017, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/36 "2017-06-27T02:06:30Z")
Natalie Portman is an actress, dancer, and contributed to two published scholarly journal articles. Fourth paragraph under “Education” here: [Natalie Portman - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Portman#Education) ---
**Author:** ![JoseB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/joseb/32/1530_2.png) [@JoseB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JoseB)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/37 "2017-06-27T09:33:15Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Natalie Portman is an actress, dancer, and contributed to two published scholarly journal articles. Fourth paragraph under “Education” here: [Natalie Portman - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natalie_Portman#Education) Not only that, but she is one of the few people to actually have an Erdős–Bacon number! Her Erdős number is 5, and her Bacon number is 2, for a combined Erdős–Bacon number of 7. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/38 "2017-06-27T16:21:47Z")
Omer Sharif who is best known for his role in Lawrence of Arabia, for which he was nominated for an Oscar, spoke seven languages fluently and was a world class contract bridge player. > **[Lawrence of Arabia (film)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_of_Arabia_(film))** > > Lawrence of Arabia is a 1962 British epic historical drama film based on the life of T. E. Lawrence and his 1926 book Seven Pillars of Wisdom. It was directed by David Lean and produced by Sam Spiegel, through his British company Horizon Pictures and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film stars Peter O'Toole as Lawrence with Alec Guinness playing Prince Faisal. The film also stars Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains and Arthur Kennedy. The screenplay was ... ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/39 "2017-06-27T16:45:15Z")
Author Jo Nesbø is also lead singer and guitarist for the band _Di Derre_, which has 4 top ten albums in his native Norway (the band’s first hit album predates the Harry Hole series.) ---
**Author:** ![Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@Maggie\_the\_Ocelot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maggie_the_Ocelot)\ **Post date:** [June 27, 2017, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794/40 "2017-06-27T17:12:52Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > One guy who does: Peter Weller, who’s been teaching Art History for years. He’s also been directing for years – mostly television work, but also the project that got him an Oscar nomination for Best Short Film. > > But the first line of his obituary will mention that he was the star of ROBOCOP. Bryan May, guitarist for Queen and currently holding the record for the longest time keeping the same hairstyle, has a PhD in astrophysics. Not the arts, but awesome in itself. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/renaissance-people-in-the-arts/789794.md?page=3)