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Is Three Really The Magic Number or What's with the 3-tiered Name Game Anyway?
a rambling pseudo expose by Spence D.
Back in the early pre-special effects laden days of Hollywood a single double stacked name was enough to draw moviegoers into the theatres. Rock Hudson, Carey Grant, Lauren Bacall, Katherine Hepburn, Rock Hudson, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert DeNiro, Meryl Streep, Marilyn Monroe...the list goes on. They all had normal, easy to pronounce, single first, single last names.
But then something happened.
Right around the mid-'80s a new trend began to slowly emerge: Actors with not one, not two, but three names. Unlike the classic silver screen thespians of yesteryear, whom you could refer to either by first, last, or a combo, this new breed of actor insisted on being addressed with all three names. While the spread of this phenomenon was slow to appear at first, but by the mid-'90s it was a full-blown, virtually uncontrollable epidemic. Movie screens, television shows, celebrity inclined magazines were all filled with actors brandishing triple bypass names. It was ridiculous, unnerving, and above all else, pretty damn confusing.
And the side effects were disastrous. Older folks lathered and frothed at the mouth in confusion, not knowing what to make of this wave of brash young talent heralded by three names. Younger folks rejoiced and began changing their names, adding two, three, hell, even four names to their boring double fisted, regular names that were given to them at birth. And young parents concerned with being on the gravy train of popularity began combing New Age, Post-Modern tombs for that special, original, totally unique triple enhanced name that would mark their forthcoming child a star.
Yeah, whatever.
Be sure and read the interviews with me this Friday at IGN For Men (Babes and IGN For Men Interview)
One actress who has a triple threat name is none other than Lisa Robin Kelly. You may know her better as Laurie Forman from That '70s Show. Yet in the case of Lisa Robin Kelly, not only does she have three names, but she has the fortune (or misfortune, depending on your outlook on life) to have three first names. Damn!
But Kelly (Lisa Robin, that is) takes it all in stride. "Yeah, it's my real name," she says with spunky assertion. "The reason I use it is because there was another Lisa Kelly when I joined the Screen Actor's Guild union. And there was a Lisa R. Kelly, so I just decided to go with Lisa Robin Kelly."
* (ed. note: there may not be more than one actor with the same name within the SAG)
"It's really funny," she continues [laughing slightly] 'cuz I get so much $%&* for that because everyone thinks I'm being pretentious by having three first names, but it's just my name."
There ya go!
So what does all of this verbal spewing have to do with anything?
Plenty, fools!
Y'see, this Friday (that's in two days, November 12, to be exact, for all of the date emasculated nitpickers out there ) IGN will be featuring not one, but two bristling interviews with the lovely Ms. Kelly.
First up you can check out Adam (The Babe of the Day guru) and his inquiring Q&A (LRK will also be Friday's Babe of the Day!). Boo Yaa!
But wait!, there's more.
For the doubleheader, yours truly, Spence D. (they call me the interview king around IGN HQ) will have a very different story to tell about my encounter with Lisa. You can peep that, as well, on Friday in the IGN For Men Interview.
So, this Friday be sure and click into IGN Babes and the IGN For Men Interview for a full mega-dosage of Lisa Robin Kelly.
Below I've compiled an easy-to-use mini-guide to actors who utilize the three-tier nom de cinema ethic.
Old School Threesomes
Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex in the City)
Daniel Day Lewis (Last of the Mohicans)
Philip Michael Thomas (Miami Vice)
Helena Bonham Carter (pick your favorite Merchant Ivory flick or Fight Club)
Lou Diamond Phillips (La Bamba)
Soliel Moon Frye (Punky Brewster)
Anthony Michael Hall (Breakfast Club)
Philip Baker Hall (Boogie Nights)
Andrew Dice Clay (Ford Fairlane)
New School Threesomes
Jennifer Love Hewitt (Party of Five)
Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy)
Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder)
Philip Seymour Hoffman (Happiness, Twister)
Rachel Leigh Cook (House of Yes, She's All That)
Jonathan Taylor Thomas (Home Improvement)
Tiffani-Amber Thiessen (Saved By The Bell)
Holly Marie Combs (Charmed)
Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Saved By The Bell)
Next School Threesomes
Michael Conner Humphreys (Forrest Gump)
Haley Joel Osment (Sixth Sense)
If you have additional names to add to the list, please enlighten my inflated sense of trivialia by jousting me an email.
Spence D. has three names, but isn't anal about using 'em.
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