Bingo! I was even thinking of a thread concept that would be on the lines of “Which name from early in your awareness has been sullied by association with somebody who is the polar opposite of your first impression of the name?”
I was thinking about Lamont on Sanford and Son.
How many other Cranstons are there?
There’s a Lamont Cranston Trio. Some sort of musicians I stumbled across once while searching for info on The Shadow.
One member quit–so now they’re just “The Shadow Du-o”…
Bravo!
I didn’t do a comprehensive search for the trio as such, but the Lamont Cranston Blues Band has a number of search hits. Don’t know about any musical hits. 
Was it the sad news of the death of Elisabeth Sladen, who was a Doctor Who companion?
No, sorry. I remain unfamiliar with Ms. Sladen, beyond the references I have seen about her at SDMB. Even checking Elisabeth Sladen - Wikipedia doesn’t help me connect her to anything to do with my memories of The Shadow, Lamont, Cranston, Margo, Margot, Lane, or anything beyond your “companion” connection.
Very clever try, I must say. And I’d be happy to know if there’s a better connection for her. And I’d be curious about other “companions” worth discussing.
My response to TriPolar a few posts back explains why I thought of the OP question/challenge.
It’s encouraging to realize how well this thread has progressed!