Name's the Same/Real Life: Difference between revisions

* Then again, there's [[Beck (musician)|Beck Hansen]] of "Loser" fame (who plays guitar), and guitar legend [[Jeff Beck]].

* '''[[Justin Bieber]]''' is a famous singer. Behold, '''[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YE4fBkCUy5g Justin] [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABVmyG6_Ph0 Bieber]''' the 35 year old tech support specialist from Jacksonville, Florida.

* '''Robert Blake''' was an actor who ([[Rule of Cautious Editing Judgement|allegedly]]) murdered his wife. [http://www.j-archive.com/showplayer.php?player_id=512 Bob Blake] was a 5-time ''[[Jeopardy!]]'' champion who was not only the first player to earn over $75,000 in regular competition (which was the then-winnings cap), but also won the 1990 Tournament of Champions. Neither seems to be related to Robert M. Blake, creator of the [[World of Fizz]].

* '''[[Steve Blum]]''' is a voice actor known for roles in (among others) [[Cowboy Bebop]] and [[Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann]]. '''Steven Blum''' is an associate director of ''[[Whose Line Is It Anyway?|Whose Line Is It Anyway]]''. Neither seems to be related to '''Steve Bloom''', a South African photographer and published author.

* In [[Carl Sagan]]'s ''The Demon-Haunted World'', he tells a story of being picked up at an airport by a driver named '''William Buckley'''. The driver thought Carl had the same problem as he did, since Carl had the same name as "that science guy." (His response: "I '''am''' that science guy.")

* '''Buffalo, Texas''' changed its name twice because of sports: first to '''Blue Star, Texas''' when the Dallas Cowboys played the Buffalo Bills in the Super Bowl (twice), and later to '''Green Star, Texas''' when the Dallas Stars played the Buffalo Sabres for the Stanley Cup.

* And when I say '''Robert Burton''', do I mean the author of ''The Anatomy of Melancholy'' or the British track star?

* '''Kate Bush''': [[Kate Bush|a beautiful and amazingly talented but notoriously reclusive British singer with her own unique style]] or [http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Kate_Bush a character from Gundam].

* '''Sylvie Davidson''': A black French singer, or a white American theare actress and folk/country singer (also from Seattle)? This name combination is surprisingly common.

* General '''Jefferson Davis''' (1828-1879) of the Union should not be confused with President Jefferson Davis (1808-1889) of the Confederacy. Both were active in [[The American Civil War]]. Jefferson Davis (1862-1913), Governor of Arkansas, was not related to either man. Though some of his voters reportedly mistook him for a son or nephew of the President. "A belief that Davis did nothing to discourage".

* '''Jim Davis''', the creator of ''[[Garfield (Comic Strip)|Garfield]]'', was not an animator on ''[[Fritz the Cat (animation)|Fritz the Cat]]'' and ''[[The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat]]''. The animator, who also went by '''James Davis''', had a long career in animation, originally working for [[Warner Bros]] and [[MGM]] animation. The book ''Forbidden Animation'' confused the two, as did [[IMDb]] for a time.

** It doesn't help that the play/film ''Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean'' is about James Dean.

* '''Reginald Denny''' was the name of an old Hollywood character actor, as well as that of a truck driver who was attacked and beaten during the Rodney King riots in 1992.

* An actor named '''"[[Ian Fleming]]"''' once had a minor role on an episode of ''[[The Prisoner]]''. He shared his name with the author of the [[James Bond (novel)|James Bond]] series.

* '''[[Harrison Ford]]''' shares a name with a [[Silent Movie|silent film]] actor, who famously had a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame long before him.

* '''Samantha Fox''', the [[Page Three Stunna|Page 3 model]] and pop singer, is not to be confused with adult film actress Samantha Fox.

* The guy who sings the German version of "[[Rhythm Heaven|Young Love Rock 'n Roll]]" is named '''[[Benjamin Franklin]]'''.

*** Similarly, the [[Doom Patrol]]'s Flash Forward is surprised to find the prosthetics expert helping Robotman is Georgian. "Naw, see, my mama, ''she'' from Atlanta, and if ''you'' a cracker..."

** In ''[[Community]]'' Troy is representing Georgia at a Model UN, and breaks out an outrageous Southern accent. It turns out he did research the right place, he just decided to do the accent anyway.

* '''Joe Gibbs''': Former Washington Redskins coach or legendary [[Reggae]] producer?

* '''Paul Gilbert''' was an actor in [[The Thirties]]. A different Paul Gilbert played guitar with pop-metal bands Racer X and Mr. Big.

* '''Sam Harris''': Atheist author, or ''[[Star Search]]'' winner and [[One-Hit Wonder]] ("Sugar Don't Bite").

* One '''[[George Harrison]]''' was the lead guitarist of [[The Beatles (band)|The Beatles]]. Another George Harrison was vice president of marketing at [[Nintendo]].

* '''Harry Harrison''' is the name of a [[Harry Harrison|well-known science fiction writer]], as well as a long-time radio DJ in New York.

* '''Corey Hart''' is either the Canadian rock singer best remembered for the song "[[Sunglasses at Night]]", or the outfielder for the Milwaukee Brewers.

* If you're inquiring about '''Gary Hart''', it's either the former Senator or the late pro wrestling manager.

* When you say '''[[Anne Hathaway]]''', are you talking about the actress from ''[[The Princess Diaries]]'' and ''[[The Devil Wears Prada]]'', or [[William Shakespeare]]'s wife?

* '''Tony Hawks''' is an English comedian and author who once went around Ireland with a fridge. '''Tony ''Hawk''''' is the pro skateboarder and [[Tony Hawks Pro Skater|video game star]]. A lot of people get them mixed up, and Hawks has reserved [https://web.archive.org/web/20131207153253/http://tony-hawks.com/skateboarding.php a section of his site] for the e-mails he gets from skating fans, and the "slightly mischievous" replies he gives.

{{quote|'''E-mail:''' hi can you send me tips

'''Answer:''' Yes. Here's two -- don't stand downwind of flatulent people, and try not to get involved in leapfrogging unicorns. }}

* '''Fran Healy''': A singer/guitarist and songwriter for the Scottish rock band Travis, and a former Major League Baseball catcher and current New York Mets announcer.

* During [[World War Two]], there was a US soldier with the same name as '''[[Adolf Hitler]]'''. When asked about whether he would change his name, the soldier replied "let the other guy change '''his''' name."

* Lampshaded in ''[[More Information Than You Require]]'', when author John Hodgman (aka [[Mascot|a PC]]) digs up an old ad for rainwear bearing his name, and, like him, advertising Mackintoshes.

* '''[[The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford|Jesse James]]''': A Wild West gangster, or a chopper bike builder?

** '''Jessie James''' is an american singer.

* '''[[Andrew Johnson]]''' was not only (1) the President who was impeached but also: (2) a politician for the Prohibition Party in the 1940's; (3) an Asian actor; (4) an architect; (5) a British footballer; (6) a cross-country skier; and (7) a Civil War soldier.

* One '''Ben ''Johnson''''' was a prolific actor. Another Ben Johnson was disqualifed from the 1988 Summer Olympics after testing positive for a banned steroid. Ben ''Jonson'' was an English playwright and poet, whose artistry exerted a lasting impact upon English poetry and stage comedy.

* '''Evel Knievel''', American daredevil and survivor of the [[Medal of Dishonor|"most bones broken in a lifetime"]] 433) according to the [[Guinness Book Of World Records]], should not be confused with '''Evil Knievil''', a British stock market commentator (real name Simon Cawkwell)

* The city of '''Kobe''', fifth-largest city of Japan, has no direct connection to player [[Kobe Bryant]]. Reportedly the player's parents named him after Kobe beef, a Japanese restaurant delicacy. Which happened to be named after the city.

 

== L ==

** A variant of [[Media Research Failure]] much?

* '''Randy Moss'''. Recently retired [http://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MossRa00.htm American football player] or [http://www.drf.com/blogs/randy-moss horse racing analyst] [[Mind Screw|(who also works for the NFL Network)?]]

* '''[[Muhammad Ali]]''': Ottoman military commander who became the [[History of Modern Egypt|viceroy of Egypt]], or legendary American boxer?

* Rapper [[Cage]] makes a point to specify that his abusive, drug-addicted father '''Bill Murray''' is ''not'' [[Bill Murray|the actor]]. Cage does play with this in his song "Stripes":

** There's also the British actor Bill''y'' Murray, no relation to either.

* '''Eddie Murray''': Long-time Baltimore Oriole first baseman, or long-time Detroit Lions kicker?

 

== N ==

* '''[[Yuuichi Nakamura]]''' is a voice actor known for playing [[Mobile Suit Gundam 00|Graham Aker]] and [[Macross Frontier|Alto Saotome]]. Yuichi Nakamura is a live-action actor known for playing [[Kamen Rider Den-O|Yuto Sakurai/Kamen Rider Zeronos]]. The two are apparently friends in real life.

* '''Keiji Nazakawa:''' Renowned chef known for going against Iron Chef Japanese Masahara Morimoto? Or [[Barefoot Gen|Hiroshima a-bomb survivor best known for his manga which tells his story?]]

** Mike Nelson was also the name of Lloyd Bridges's character on ''Sea Hunt''.

* The '''''New York Daily News''''' name is shared by two unrelated newspapers: one, founded in 1855 by Gideon Tucker, flourished under Benjamin Wood, became notable for its pro-Confederate and racist bias, and closed in 1906; the other, founded in 1919 by Joseph Medill Patterson (as the '''''Illustrated Daily News'''''), attracted readers with sensational coverage of crime, scandal, and violence, and at one point, it had the largest circulation of any daily newspaper in the United States.

* '''Jim O'Brien''' coached basketball in Boston (at Boston College) before leaving in 1987 to coach college basketball in Ohio (Ohio State). Then in 1994 Jim O'Brien, who had previously coached college basketball in Ohio (for Dayton), became head coach of the Boston Celtics.

* '''Paul O'Neill''', [[wikipedia:Paul O'Neill (Secretary of the Treasury)|former Secretary of the Treasury]], or '''Paul O'Neill''', [[wikipedia:Paul O'Neill (baseball)|former Reds/Yankees outfielder]].

** And neither of them is Terry Riley, composer of minimalist classic ''In C''.

* '''John Oates''' teamed with Daryl Hall to form a popular singing duo, while John''ny'' Oates was a Major League Baseball player and manager.

* There's novelty singer '''[[Ray Stevens]]'''. And then there's pro wrestling great Ray "The Crippler" Stevens.

* '''Sarah Stiles''': A New York actress who played Kate Monster and Lucy in ''[[Avenue Q]]'' and Joanne in ''Vanities: The Musical'', a Utah photographer, a Georgetown University professor, or a San Francisco composer?

* '''George Strait''': [[George Strait|Country music singer]] or former ABC News correspondent?

* Captain '''Dorothy Stratton''' (1899-2006) was the first director of the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve. '''Dorothy Stratten''' (1960-1980) was Playmate of the Year for 1980 and the victim of a murder.

* '''[[The House of Stuart|James Stuart]]''', the name of more than one Scottish/English king; and '''James Stewart''', the birth name of Stewart Granger, as well as long, tall [[Jimmy Stewart]] the actor.

 

== T ==

** John Williams was also a British character actor who had memorable supporting roles in a couple of [[Alfred Hitchcock|Hitchcock]] films.

** There were also two NBA players in the late [[The Eighties|1980s]]/early [[The Nineties|1990s]] named John Williams. One was known as "Hot Rod" Williams; the other was nicknamed "Hot Plate" due to his ample weight.

* '''Michelle Williams''': Either a blonde actress, or a former member of [[Destiny's Child|Destinys Child]].

* '''Mike Williams'''. He's an overrated NFL player who has largely eaten his way out of the league. Now, do you mean the Left Tackle from Texas or the Wide Receiver from USC?