# 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:** 9
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/161 "2024-07-29T11:15:00Z")
> [@Snarky\_Kong](#): > > When I was working fast food in high school (~2000) I had a coworker that had never heard of the Beatles. Sure he wasn’t from the movie Yesterday? ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/162 "2024-07-29T15:45:13Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > the dog’s name was actually spelled “Lucee Loo” That is ultracute. > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “To Robert Heinlein the author.” I only know Heinlein from others mentioning him here at SDMB. The beginning and end of his biography, to me, is ‘influential science fiction writer.’ From the 1920s? 60s? No idea. At least I can put a face to Asimov. HP Lovecraft is another I only know by reputation here. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/163 "2024-07-29T15:51:15Z")
> [@dorvann](#): > > And even actual folk legends like Paul Bunyan, Johnny Appleseed, and Pecos Bill. > > I grew up as a child in the 80s and knew who all these people were… I was a kid in the 70’s and I knew about Bunyan and Appleseed because in school they showed us the Disney cartoons all the time. Not the Pecos Bill cartoon, though. Possibly because of the gunplay. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/164 "2024-07-29T17:31:29Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > I only know Heinlein from others mentioning him here at SDMB. The beginning and end of his biography, to me, is ‘influential science fiction writer.’ From the 1920s? 60s? No idea. At least I can put a face to Asimov. > > HP Lovecraft is another I only know by reputation here. Ditto to both, along with Terry Pratchett. (Re: Heinlein, a friend of mine used to go on and on about this supposedly amazing book called _The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_ - but he never once said the author’s name out loud!) ---
**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:** [July 29, 2024, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/165 "2024-07-29T17:34:12Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > HP Lovecraft is another I only know by reputation here. That’s quite all right, there are other Showers of the Way to bring down the wrath of The Old Ones upon your head. Live in fear. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/166 "2024-07-29T18:36:39Z")
When I taught guitar, one of my students was a kid named John Williams. I thought about making bar bets, but figured there’d be at least one egghead in the bar who’d ask, “the British guitarist, or the American composer?” ---
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/167 "2024-07-29T19:50:05Z")
I was surprised my niece did NOT know who Zamfir was. He has been The Master of the Pan Flute for over 50 years. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/168 "2024-07-29T19:55:48Z")
I wonder if UK Dopers would be surprised to know that most Americans have never heard of Eva Cassidy even though she was from the DC area. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2024, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/169 "2024-07-29T22:25:31Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I wonder if UK Dopers would be surprised to know that most Americans have never heard of Eva Cassidy even though she was from the DC area. Never heard of her. Most of my knowledge of only Brit famous stars comes from watching Graham Norton. I don’t watch so much anymore but I still catch clips. ---
**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:** [July 29, 2024, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/170 "2024-07-29T22:34:39Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I wonder if UK Dopers would be surprised to know that most Americans have never heard of Eva Cassidy even though she was from the DC area. I mentioned her back in post #126. The interesting thing is that it wasn’t until well after her death that an album of hers was finally released in the U.K. Then one of her songs got played on a U.K. radio show. Then a video of her singing got played on a U.K. television. Then the album became #1 on a U.K. chart, four and a half years after her death. She’s had three number one albums in the U.K. charts so far. She’s become fairly well known in many countries now. She’s sold a thousand times as many albums at this point as she did before her death. I first learned about Cassidy when I read a news story in _The Washington Post_ just after her first number one album in the U.K. I went to a concert a few years ago (here in the Washington D.C. area) where several singers sang her songs. Another place where she became known is Iceland. Her brother, also a musician, moved to Iceland at some point. She visited him there once and played her only concert outside the U.S. A few years ago I talked about Cassidy to someone who grew up in Iceland but who has lived in the U.S. for a while. She didn’t know about Cassidy when I first mentioned her. Later, she said that she mentioned Cassidy in a telephone call to her father back in Iceland. Her father said something like “Oh, I’ve talked about Eva Cassidy with you before, and I’m surprised you don’t remember it.” ---
**Author:** ![Hakushon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hakushon/32/5503_2.png) [@Hakushon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hakushon)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/171 "2024-07-29T23:56:52Z")
As has been mentioned, a lot of this lack of recognition can be generational. But what amazes me is how narrow the time gaps are, between “Oh yeah!” and “Huh…?” For example, my nephews-in-law are only ten years younger than me. I’m in my 60s, and grew up in the '60s. They, on the other hand, were children during the 1970s, when I was already a teen. During the course of conversation, I commented on something by imitating the character Dr. Smith from the TV series _Lost in Space_: “Oh, the pain! The pain!” They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. After I explained it, they said, “_Lost in Space_? What about _Land of the Lost_! Ooh, those Sleestaks were scary!” I had heard of _Land of the Lost_, and generally knew what it was about–but I had never watched that series, so I had never heard of Sleestaks. Then _they_ had to explain about _that_ to _me_. 🙂 Again: only a ten-year gap. ---
**Author:** ![XOldiesJock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/ec9cab/32.png) [@XOldiesJock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XOldiesJock)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/172 "2024-07-30T01:30:59Z")
> [@Hakushon](#): > > _I commented on something by imitating the character Dr. Smith from the TV series Lost in Space: “Oh, the pain! The pain!” They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about._ Perhaps not so surprising. Back in those days, popular half-hour series that had left the networks were put into syndication for local stations to run wherever they needed to fill time. Hour-long series, however, were rarely put into syndication because local stations often didn’t have 60-minute gaps to fill. Maybe if your city had an independent station they would have room for it, but otherwise shows like that fell into a black hole and were never seen again. (“Star Trek” was one notable exception. That actually gained in popularity due to syndication.) I worked for a pretty good indy station in the 1980s that ran every popular syndicated off-network show they could get their hands on, even some hour-long shows, and they were told LIS wasn’t available. So if you didn’t see it on CBS in 1964-65-66, you’d likely never see it. Lost in Space was kind of specialized too because of its subject matter. It was a sci-fi adventure comedy. In what time slot would you run it? MeTV is running it, at 1am late Saturday night! Not exactly a ringing endorsement of its popularity. So I’m not surprised your nephews-in-law had never heard of it. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/173 "2024-07-30T01:39:06Z")
> [@XOldiesJock](#): > > > [@Hakushon](#): > > > > _I commented on something by imitating the character Dr. Smith from the TV series Lost in Space: “Oh, the pain! The pain!” They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about._ > > Perhaps not so surprising. Back in those days, popular half-hour series that had left the networks were put into syndication for local stations to run wherever they needed to fill time. Hour-long series, however, were rarely put into syndication because local stations often didn’t have 60-minute gaps to fill. Maybe if your city had an independent station they would have room for it, but otherwise shows like that fell into a black hole and were never seen again. (“Star Trek” was one notable exception. That actually gained in popularity due to syndication.) > > I worked for a pretty good indy station in the 1980s that ran every popular syndicated off-network show they could get their hands on, even some hour-long shows, and they were told LIS wasn’t available. So if you didn’t see it on CBS in 1964-65-66, you’d likely never see it. Lost in Space was kind of specialized too because of its subject matter. It was a sci-fi adventure comedy. In what time slot would you run it? MeTV is running it, at 1am late Saturday night! Not exactly a ringing endorsement of its popularity. > > So I’m not surprised your nephews-in-law had never heard of it. I am not old enough to have seen _Lost in Space_ during it original run. It was on in syndication my entire childhood. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/174 "2024-07-30T01:44:36Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > I wonder if UK Dopers would be surprised to know that most Americans have never heard of Eva Cassidy even though she was from the DC area What does being from the DC area have to do with how well-known she is? ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/175 "2024-07-30T01:46:45Z")
In that she’s American, known well across the pond, but no so much here. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/176 "2024-07-30T01:46:47Z")
> [@Hakushon](#): > > During the course of conversation, I commented on something by imitating the character Dr. Smith from the TV series _Lost in Space_: “Oh, the pain! The pain!” They had absolutely no idea what I was talking about. I’m your age but I found that show too dumb to watch. While I knew plenty about the Dr. Smith character from the times I tried to watch it, I don’t recognize that phrase. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/177 "2024-07-30T01:47:54Z")
I watched the hell out of the show as a kid, but I don’t recall the phrase (or really much at all about the episodes.) ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/178 "2024-07-30T01:47:59Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > In that she’s American, known well across the pond, but no so much here Oh, got it. Thanks. I was thinking being from DC was specific to that city/district. ---
**Author:** ![doreen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@doreen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doreen)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2024, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/179 "2024-07-30T02:19:10Z")
Same here. ---
**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:** [July 30, 2024, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817/180 "2024-07-30T02:55:53Z")
You’re exaggerating if you think that Eva Cassidy is well known in the U.K. and unknown in the U.S. She’s better known in the U.K. than she is in the U.S., relative to the population of each country, but it’s certainly not true that she is unknown in the U.S. For instance, about a year ago, Kelly Clarkson sang the song “Bridge over Troubled Water” on her show. She explicitly referred to it as an Eva Cassidy song, not as a Simon and Garfunkel song. She knew of course that it was originally a Simon and Garfunkel song, but she was deliberately singing it to match the version done by Cassidy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-famous-people-are-you-surprised-other-people-havent-heard-of/1004817.md?page=10)