# What "famous people" are you surprised other people haven't heard of? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 26, 2024, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817 "2024-07-26T14:54:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/282 "2024-12-24T21:31:01Z")
That would be **Soul Music** , which is so full of references to music acts that I would say I have only ever got 2/3 of them. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/283 "2024-12-24T21:42:56Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I was at a weed dispensary and they had a strain for sale called _Thelonious Funk_. > > “Heh,” I said, “Like the musician.” > > Blank stares from the bud tender. > > “Thelonious Monk?” > > Nothin’. There’s [a beer named after hi](https://northcoastbrewing.com/beers/year-round-beers/brother-thelonious-belgian-style-abbey-ale/)m too. It’s quite good. Maybe it will introduce him to more people. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2024, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/284 "2024-12-24T21:45:33Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > There was a joke in a Terry Pratchett novel about something stolen by a felonious monk. Also in Peter Schickele’s _The Definitive Biography of P.D.Q. Bach_. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/285 "2024-12-25T12:55:58Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > G&S. Seems like almost every movie/TX show portraying a theater event chooses the Mikado. We are currently rewatching The Good Wife. Last night a character said he looked good in a uniform. The other character said he should get one with braid on the shoulders, “Like HMS Pinafore.” Of course, when I watch a lot of more modern shows, I see a lot of current references to modern celebs and tech that go right over my head… ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/286 "2024-12-25T14:29:35Z")
This thread reminds me of something I always found…unweasonable…,that all the main male characters from the Big Bang Theory were completely oblivious to classic Warner Bros cartoon characters. (been watching Life of Brian clips) ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/287 "2024-12-25T14:34:06Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/-_N505Qaba0/maxresdefault.jpg "Elmer Season") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_N505Qaba0) ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2024, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/288 "2024-12-25T22:30:29Z")
Puns can be great, can’t they? Back in my active practice days, we saw an order for a new drug called Antaris, and another pharmacist said, “I wonder if it’s a giant red tablet.” I giggled, and he was honestly surprised that there was another astronomy geek who got it. > **[Antares](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antares)** > > Antares is the brightest star in the constellation of Scorpius. It has the Bayer designation α Scorpii, which is Latinised to Alpha Scorpii. Often referred to as "the heart of the scorpion", Antares is flanked by σ Scorpii and τ Scorpii near the center of the constellation. Distinctly reddish when viewed with the naked eye, Antares is a slow irregular variable star that ranges in brightness from an apparent visual magnitude of +0.6 down to +1.6. It is on average the fifteenth-brightest star in th... ---
**Author:** ![WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wookinpanubv.2/32/3260_2.png) [@WOOKINPANUBv.2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WOOKINPANUBv.2)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/289 "2024-12-26T02:29:45Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > Back in my active practice days, we saw an order for a new drug called Antaris, and another pharmacist said, “I wonder if it’s a giant red tablet.” I giggled, and he was honestly surprised that there was another astronomy geek who got it. Dog bless my public school education, I totally got this. I _generally_ try not to hijack / bog down a thread here with puns, but IRL it’s kind of a good way to find out who shares one’s sense of humor / body of knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![ric62](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@ric62](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ric62)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2024, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/290 "2024-12-26T05:31:09Z")
Where I work, a young CNA was going around asking “What’s a Yoko Ono?”, I was laughing too much to find out where she had heard the name or to tell her it was someones name. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2024, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/291 "2024-12-27T11:16:42Z")
It’s fun to get surprised the other way. I teach religious school at the synagogue, and have 4th graders (9 & 10-yr-olds, for those outside the US). When we were doing Chanukah trivia (and some not so trivia), one question was “What was the first year that Chanukah was celebrated at the White House [meaning, when did the president begin lighting a chanukiah along with the Christmas tree]?” The answer is 2001. One of my 4th graders says “Oh! it was George Bush.” He pauses a beat, then adds “the second one.” That is the equivalent of FDR for me, a much more prominent president, one who was on the dime since before I was born, and I don’t think I knew that much about him when I was 9. I did know he was the second Roosevelt (albeit, different first name), but only by dint of my grandfather having been born in 1905, and named for the first Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![Peanuthead](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peanuthead/32/360_2.png) [@Peanuthead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peanuthead)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/292 "2025-01-01T00:51:53Z")
I mentioned Frank Zappa and got a “Frank who?” from a 33 year old woman today. I thought at least some of his stuff would carry over a generation or two. ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/293 "2025-01-01T02:45:40Z")
I’m a quarter century older and the only thing I know about Frank Zappa is that his daughter is called Moon Unit and his son Dweezil. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/294 "2025-01-01T03:21:10Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > C’mon now - he’s 96. Granted he got sampled for a rap song about a decade ago, but realistically he hasn’t had much public exposure to wide audiences in quite awhile. I can’t imagine most people under at least 25 or 30 will know who he is. If it wasn’t for Dr. Demento, I wouldn’t have known who Tom Lehr was. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/295 "2025-01-01T03:23:56Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > I mentioned Frank Zappa and got a “Frank who?” from a 33 year old woman today. I thought at least some of his stuff would carry over a generation or two. Another person whom I know primarily through Dr. Demento. I remember “Dancing Shoes” and “Valley Girl.” I did have a coworker about 15 years ago who was a huge Frank Zappa fan and seemed to regard him as some sort of musical messiah. He had to be pushing 50 at the time. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/296 "2025-01-01T06:06:04Z")
> [@Mighty\_Mouse](#): > > I’m a quarter century older and the only thing I know about Frank Zappa is that his daughter is called Moon Unit and his son Dweezil. I’m 50, pretty well versed in 60’s and 70’s music, and I couldn’t name even one of his songs. I think he’s one of those guys who’s more famous for his personality than for his music. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/297 "2025-01-01T06:34:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’m 50, pretty well versed in 60’s and 70’s music, and I couldn’t name even one of his songs. I think he’s one of those guys who’s more famous for his personality than for his music. The only single he had which made the top 40 in the U.S. was “Valley Girl” (which he recorded with his then-teenaged daughter Moon Unit on vocals). He recorded an absolute ton of music (62 albums released during his lifetime, and a similar number released posthumously), and worked in a large number of different styles, but much of his music was experimental, often with satirical lyrics, and mostly never reached a large audience. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/298 "2025-01-01T06:44:24Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > I’m 50, pretty well versed in 60’s and 70’s music, and I couldn’t name even one of his songs. I think he’s one of those guys who’s more famous for his personality than for his music. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The only single he had which made the top 40 in the U.S. was “Valley Girl” (which he recorded with his then-teenaged daughter Moon Unit on vocals). I definitely knew who Frank Zappa was (I am 57) but I, too, could not name a song of his. I remember him most for giving testimony in the US senate in 1985 regarding rock lyrics which, IIRC, was part of the Satanic Panic. ---
**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:** [January 1, 2025, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/299 "2025-01-01T10:29:14Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > He recorded an absolute ton of music (62 albums released during his lifetime, and a similar number released posthumously) At one time I owned about 33 (just counted) of these on vinyl, but that’s because I was gifted them in my twenties from a family friend who was moving overseas. He had gotten me into Zappa (also jazz and blues) when I was a teenager. These days I think I might have 8-10 on CD somewhere. I was a big fan of his guitar solos and his tendency towards long, convoluted instrumentals. Less so the puerile stuff. Quite a singular talent, but definitely not very commercial. I know a fuck-ton about Zappa, but still less than some dedicated cultists. I suspect said cult following was very of a time and is steadily dying out without winning many new fans. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/300 "2025-01-01T13:22:15Z")
I own a couple of his albums, one of which is entitled _Apostrophe (')_, which was the most commercially successful of his albums, peaking at #10 on the Billboard 200 chart. The first track on that album is _Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow_, which was released as a single and reached #86 on the Billboard Top 100. I loved that album and listened to it many times. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2025, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/301 "2025-01-01T14:30:53Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > The only single he had which made the top 40 in the U.S. was “Valley Girl” (which he recorded with his then-teenaged daughter Moon Unit on vocals). I’m familiar enough with “Valley Girl” that I can hear it in my head without having heard it for realz in, probably, decades. I can easily picture what he looks (looked) like. I can name several of his albums (many of which had quirky, memorable titles). And I’m familiar with Weird Al’s “[Genius in France](https://youtu.be/ZwFf9vGRqcs),” which is inspired by his work (and which features Dweezil on guitar). But aside from that, I’m not familiar with his music. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817.md?page=16)