# Why Kevin Bacon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 22, 2005, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730 "2005-07-22T23:41:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/21 "2005-07-23T07:09:28Z")
What’s the movie through which the most links are made? ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/22 "2005-07-23T13:02:46Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > Not to hijack, but the horrid Crosby version had nothing to do with the Lynda Carter version. In fact the producers of the Lynda Carter version sought to distance themselves as much as possible, which is why the actual Lynda Carter pilot was titled “The New, Original Wonder Woman.” Nevertheless, the existence of the movie might’ve helped the development of the series, even if the latter officially disavowed the former. Horrid, though. Bang-on. B2: Get to Jack Warden in two. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/23 "2005-07-23T13:37:21Z")
> [@Sage Rat](#): > > What’s the movie through which the most links are made? I’m not sure but I think it’s _A Few Good Men_. He’s in there with Cruise, Nicholson, Demi Moore, Keifer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Pollak, J.T. Walsh, and Christopher Guest. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/24 "2005-07-23T13:44:06Z")
Heh - I have a Bacon number of 3: Scruloose once worked in a 50’s restaurant in Evanston Il with Nicole Sullivan Nicole Sullivan was in Third Wheel, The (2002/I) with Luke Wilson Luke Wilson was in My Dog Skip (2000) with Kevin Bacon Nutty. ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/25 "2005-07-23T14:26:33Z")
My mom and I used to play this game, but we’d pick two actors (say, Ernest Borgnine and Bill Murray) EB was in The Wild Bunch with Warren Oates who was in Stripes with Bill Murray and we’d try to get either the shortest or longest paths. Rules: no use of anyone in Apollo 13 (Hanks, Paxton, Bacon, Sinise, Howard, Harris) and no using Sally Field. No internet use. Longest is really fun. My Bacon Number is 2. I was an extra in the movie Truman with Gary Sinise. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/26 "2005-07-23T14:39:12Z")
Min Bacon Number is 4 **Bearflag70** graduated in the same high school class as **Hilary Van Dyke** (1988) **Hilary Van Dyke** was in _Deadly Addiction_ (1988) with **Gregory Scott Cummins** **Gregory Scott Cummins** was in _Italian Job, The_ (2003) with **Mos Def** **Mos Def** was in _Woodsman, The_ (2004) with **Kevin Bacon** ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/27 "2005-07-23T14:52:24Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > My mom and I used to play this game, but we’d pick two actors (say, Ernest Borgnine and Bill Murray) and we’d try to get either the shortest or longest paths. We recently played this variation on a road trip, and we really sucked at it. Even with popular actors we couldn’t make a connection forever. Now I realize what a good idea it is to have a fixed person on one end. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/28 "2005-07-23T15:02:44Z")
A fraternity brother of mine (I gave him his bid) was in a film with Sheryl Lee, who was in _Jersey Girl_(1992 version) with Jami Gertz, who was in Quicksilver with Kevin Bacon. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/29 "2005-07-23T15:44:20Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > Rules: no use of anyone in Apollo 13 (Hanks, Paxton, Bacon, **Sinise** , Howard, Harris) and no using Sally Field. No internet use. > > My Bacon Number is 2. I was an extra in the movie Truman with Gary **Sinise**. Cheater. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/30 "2005-07-23T16:14:28Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > I’m not sure but I think it’s _A Few Good Men_. He’s in there with Cruise, Nicholson, Demi Moore, Keifer Sutherland, Cuba Gooding Jr., Kevin Pollak, J.T. Walsh, and Christopher Guest. Mmm, I meant the Rod Steiger of films: That is, the movie through which the most links are made period, rather than the most to Bacon. But, just a random question. No biggie. ---
**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 23, 2005, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/31 "2005-07-23T16:30:43Z")
There’s a similar idea among mathematicians called the Erdos number. This was actually invented well before the Kevin Bacon number. Paul Erdos was a very prolific writer of mathematical papers who co-authored many of them with other mathematicians. If you co-authored a paper with Erdos, you have an Erdos number of 1. If you didn’t, but you co-authored a paper with someone who co-authored one with Erdos, your Erdos number is 2, and so on. Paul Erdos has a Bacon number, since a documentary was made about him. One mathematician interviewed in that film has worked as an extra in some films, so it’s possible to connect Erdos and Bacon. Erdos has a Bacon number of 4. Now consider the idea of a Bacon-Erdos number. You try to connect yourself to Kevin Bacon by a chain of either co-authored papers or movies. My Erdos number is 4, so my Bacon-Erdos number is 8. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/32 "2005-07-23T16:37:38Z")
> [@FilmGeek](#): > > My Bacon Number is 2. I was an extra in the movie Truman with Gary Sinise. That was an HBO original, though? If we use _television_ are we not savages? ---
**Author:** ![FilmGeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b19c9b/32.png) [@FilmGeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FilmGeek)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/33 "2005-07-23T18:20:22Z")
> [@watsonwil](#): > > That was an HBO original, though? > > If we use _television_ are we not savages? Hey, people are using frat brothers and stuff. I at least was _on_ TV! (okay, my HAT was on TV). Besides, it’s out on DVD now. > [@Otto](#): > > Cheater. AH, not cheating if playing Kevin Bacon. Only cheating if playing the “connect two random actors” game. Warren Oates is actually the biggest cheat if trying to connect older actors to newer ones. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/34 "2005-07-23T19:59:05Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > Advanced mathematics has proved that it ought to be “Six Degrees of Rod Steiger.” Since he’s alive and still going, I wonder if Christopher Lee (a close second) could catch him. Actually, [Steiger](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001768/) died 3 years ago. This has curtailed his ability to stay ahead of Bacon a bit. (There _are_ a surprising number of actors who continue to generate new listings at IMDB long after their death.) ---
**Author:** ![ZeroGyro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e47774/32.png) [@ZeroGyro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZeroGyro)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/35 "2005-07-23T21:18:28Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Actually, [Steiger](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001768/) died 3 years ago. This has curtailed his ability to stay ahead of Bacon a bit. (There _are_ a surprising number of actors who continue to generate new listings at IMDB long after their death.) I believe **Marley23** is referring to Christopher Lee being alive and working. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/36 "2005-07-23T22:16:02Z")
> [@Indyellen](#): > > Ha! Thanks to the greatness that is IMDb, I have discovered I am THREE degrees from Kevin Bacon. > > A friend I went to school with (and used to act with in school plays) was in _Sex and the City_ (a guest shot) with Sarah Jessica Parker, who was in _Footloose_ with Kevin Bacon. I have a similar route to a Bacon number of 3. When I was in college, I was in a play directed by Marty McGaw, who (although the IMDb doesn’t acknowledge it) was in a TV movie called _The Death of Ocean View Park_ with Caroline McWilliams, who was in _White Water Summer_ with the ubiquitous Mr. Bacon. One of the best Erdos-Bacon links is [Danica McKellar](http://www.nytimes.com/2005/07/19/science/19math.html), who is the middle honoree in the name of the Chayes-McKellar-Winn theorem. Danica’s acting credits include the roles of Winnie Cooper on _The Wonder Years_ and Elsie Snuffin on _The West Wing_. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/37 "2005-07-23T22:48:51Z")
I have a Bacon number of three. I went to high school with Victoria Lynn Johnson, whom I ws a casual acquaintance of. Victoria Lynn Johnson was in Starship Invasions with Sean McCann. Sean McCann was in The Air Up There with Kevin Bacon. Also, I wrote an article for an old site of mine about the fact that Michelle Bauer, a scream queen who also did a lot of bondage porn modelling early on, was connected in a “Six Degrees of Separation” way to many actors because she was in a LOT of movies (she did a lot of bit parts) and through her I was able to connect some fairly obscure bondage models to President Reagan and other unlikely figures on the basis of common appearances in videos with Michelle Bauer, or an actress who’d been in videos with Michelle Bauer. Michelle Bauer has a Bacon number of 2. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/38 "2005-07-23T23:00:06Z")
I played around with [url=http://oracleofbacon.org/cgi-bin/oracle/movielinks?firstname=Bacon%2c+Kevin&game=1&secondname=Wallace%2dStone%2c+Dee&using=1]this application a while back and found that an astonishing number of actors (espeically older and deceased actors) connected with Bacon via Eli Wallach (Tuco or “The Ugly” in _The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly_). Wallach has been in a surprising number of films over the years and his connected to just about everybody. So, Bacon owes a lot of his connectedness, and presumably some royalty payments, to Wallach. I have a personal Bacon number of 3. **Stranger** was babysat by Dee Wallace prior to her success in the entertainment industry (_ET: The Extra-Terrestrial_, _Cujo_, some stupid Lassie revival show) Dee Wallace-Stone was in Dead End Road (2004) with Dean (II) West Dean (II) West was in Novocaine (2001) with Kevin Bacon Woop-dee-doo. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![pesch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pesch/32/4925_2.png) [@pesch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pesch)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/39 "2005-07-23T23:11:18Z")
I have a Bacon number of 3. I was an extra on The Patriot, and darn nearly every cast member has a BN of 2, with several through what must be the new Bacon Portal, [Cavedweller (2004)](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367587/) Mel Gibson to Dan Lett (Mrs. Soffel) to CD Chris Cooper to Billy Otis (Interstate 60) to CD Jason Isaacs to Aidan Quinn (Nine Lives) to CD Donal Logue to Panou (Steal This Movie) to CD Several others got to Bacon through “The Woodsman” Not to brag (but I will anyway), but I have a Hitler number of 2, through interviewing Albert Speer one sunny afternoon in '78. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2005, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730/40 "2005-07-24T02:15:05Z")
> [@Stranger On A Train](#): > > I played around with [url=http://oracleofbacon.org/cgi-bin/oracle/movielinks?firstname=Bacon%2c+Kevin&game=1&secondname=Wallace%2dStone%2c+Dee&using=1]this application a while back and found that an astonishing number of actors (espeically older and deceased actors) connected with Bacon via Eli Wallach (Tuco or “The Ugly” in _The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly_). Wallach has been in a surprising number of films over the years and his connected to just about everybody. So, Bacon owes a lot of his connectedness, and presumably some royalty payments, to Wallach. 🙂 My own Bacon number goes through the great Mr. Wallach. My professor/mentor at Rutgers, Richard Heffner, is a neighbor and friend of Eli Wallach. I’ve actually met Eli Wallach, but I doubt that counts towards my Bacon number, as I can’t say I “know” him or anything. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-kevin-bacon/313730.md?page=3)