MOVIES
How the stairs
gett tbew Duamnies
it'.
Rock, Tab, Kirk, and Kim are products of
high-level Hollywood thinking aimed at
creating a marquee moniker the movie
goer can't forget
Shirley Schrift
Shelley Winters
Art Gelien
Tab Hunter
by Peer J. Oppenheimer
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rvEir heard of1 Norma Jean Baker? Bernard
C Schwartz? Art Gelien? Frederick Bickel? Ella
Geisman? Issur Danielovitch? Daniel Kaminsky?
Probably not. But you'd have no trouble recog
nizing them by their stage names Marilyn Mon
roe, Tony Curtis, Tab Hunter, Fredric March,
June Allyson, Kirk Douglas, and Danny Kaye.
Notwithstanding bhakespeares Whats in a
name? That which we call a rose, By any other
name would smell as sweet," Hollywood producers,
agents and publicists are convinced that it can
spell the difference between success and oblivion.
As a result, nearly 70 percent of today's stars don't
use their own names professionally. This includes
Hollywood's No. 1 box-office actor and actress cur
rently co-starred in Universal-International's "Pil
low Talk" Rock Hudson and Doris Day. Their
real names are Roy Fitzgerald and Doris Kappel-
hoff ! Rock also stars in his studio's most expensive
production of the year. "This Earth Is Mine."
Changing names is nothing new. Gladys Smith
was one of the first to recognize marquee value
when she adopted the name Mary Pickford. Lucille
Le Sueur was renamed in a fan-magazine contest.
As Joan Crawford, she has been one of Holly
wood's most durable- stars. Even in Germany, a
young woman named Maria Magdalene von Losch
sensed the importance of a catchy name; she be
came Marlene Dietrich.
There is no sure-fire method for choosing a
1 name that will click; but a top expert on the sub
ject, agent Henry Willson, who discovered and
named Rock Hudson. Tab Hunter. Rory Calhoun,
and Rhonda Fleming, insists certain basic premises
must be kept in mind.
"As with any commodity and a star is a com
modity" says Mr. Willson, "the name must fit the
- product. It must be exDressive. easv to remember,
and, if possible, unusual. Particularly the first
name. Mr. Wilson points at Rock as his prime ex
ample. "When vou hear his name for the first time,
you visualize someone tall and strong as the Rock
of Gibraltar. It's easy to pronounce, easy to re
member." Mr. Wilson is convinced many talented,
good-looking actors hurt their careers because
their names larkml
Producer Jerry Wald agrees only in part with
this reasoning "Whn urn..i.i kf. thniieht a guy
-o "tlV w uii u v- " o k
could overcome a name like Humphrey Bogart and
a lisp to boot! If the talent and personality are
strong enough, a person can overcome anytnmg.
But there are few norfnrmoro in thp Rocart class.
He stresses a name should be distinctive, melodi
ous, short enough to fit on a marquee, and express
a player's personality.
"It was only a small change from Cecilia Parker
to ouzy Farker, but the latter not only naa -
Cecilia Parker
Suzy Parfcer
prettier sound, the V in Suzv made it more ais-
(Continued)
if.
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Family Weekly, July M, list