The Artist Formerly Known As...

You know how Prince changed his name to some rediculous symbol? And how, since it is unpronouncable, we all have to call him “Theartistformerlyknownasprince?”

How does he sign his checks?

This is part of a larger question (the good ones always are). When I was in High School, I had a teacher whose signature was illegible. But, he assured me, it was equally illegible on the signature card he signed at the bank when he opened his account, so the check was kosher.

He also told me a story (UL?) about a friend of his that signs his checks with a little smiley-face and the back accepts those, too.

Does this work?

The other part of the question returns us to The Artist…'s early days:

His name was Prince. Did he have a last name? I remember some indoor soccer players with only one name (one was Kia, the other Cacho). Also, some entertainers, like Tiffany and Seal, have only one name.

Is one allowed, legally, to have a mono-moniker? Can you sign a contract with a uni-nomen? Are legal documents sound if signed with only a one-word-cognomen? (Sorry, I got carried away)

Last question: Do illiterate people really sign contracts with the letter X? (I hope there are illiterate people reading this post that can answer.)

I’m not sure how the little shit does it either, but it pisses me off every time I hear “the artist formerly known as” in the news or on TV.

It just doesn’t seem right. :rolleyes:

  1. Checks- You can use any signature you want, as long as it is the same every time. I print my name on my checks due to a failure to learn writing.

  2. The artist- It’s probably just a stage name. Many performers have different names in real life than they have on stage.

I’ve always heard he legally changed his name to the symbol. And not just checks, I’ve wondered about his forms of ID, too. I mean, did the DMV hafta create a special font just to produce his driver’s license for him?


…ebius sig. This is a moebius sig. This is a mo…
(sig line courtesy of WallyM7)

Cecil mentions whats-his-name in a column:
http://www.straightdope.com/columns/980828.html

IIRC, his name was orginally Prince Rogers Nelson.

Hey, just checked Cecil’s column, and I was right. Well, might as well leave the post here for those to lazy to click…

But really, what IS the deal with having a name with no pronunciation?

Putz.
(Sorry Wally, but that’s infectious.)

::Test post. Please ignore this post. If there are multiposts above, please ignore them too.::

His name at birth was Prince Rogers Nelson.

Then his name was legally changed to the unpronounceable symbol.

But I think even TAFKAP found that unwieldy, and so now sometimes refers to himself as The Artist.

I have also seen him bristle when being referred to as “TAFKAP” (taffcap), so I recommend we all begin using that designation immediately.

Your brain-in-a-jar,
Myron


Imbibo, ergo sum.

How else would they sign them? They’re illiterate! (Although I think it had to be witnessed by someone who knew the signee.)

You can sign your checks and credit card slips however you want as long as it matches what the bank/card company has on file. For instance, my credit card is made out in my given and maiden name…but I sign with my nick and married name. I had a friend who signed with a complex series of symbols instead of her name, but since it matched the strip on the back of the card no one ever gave her any flack about it.


“That’s impossible! Cartman doesn’t know a rainforest from a Pop-Tart!”
“Yes I do! Pop-Tarts are frosted!”

“taffcap” is good but I prefer “hermaphrodite rooty-toot horn thingie” or informally “Zapf Dingbat.”

>>I have also seen him bristle when being referred to as “TAFKAP” (taffcap), so I recommend we all begin using that designation immediately.

Printers call such symbols “Dingbats.” Somehow, that term seems most appropriate in this case.

Being “The Poster Formerly Known As King”, I try to sympathize with whatzizname’s problems. I believe there was a legal aspect to his name change, in that his record company was entitled to a percentage of all earnings from any future songs recorded by Prince. So he in effect said “Okay then, there won’t be any more recordings by Prince. My name is now %.”

I would like to see if Prince’s name was really changed to that symbol. I ask as I know you can’t have numbers as names. If you want to name your kid 5 you have to spell it FIVE. If you can exclude numbers why not weird symbols.

Also I heard that TAFKAP as far back as 94 from Rosie O’Donnell