True Celebrity Names (Born in the 1880s) Quiz

Answer: William Claude Dukenfield

Born January 29th, 1880, in Darby, Pennsylvania, William Claude Dukenfield (AKA W.C. Fields) got his start in the entertainment field as a comedic juggler in the vaudeville circuit as a teenager. Due to his stutter, it was some time before he moved into speaking roles, but his desire to become a comedian motivated him. From vaudeville, Fields moved up to various roles on Broadway, including the "Ziegfield Follies" revue.

The silent film era followed, and after talkies were introduced, Fields continued into that medium, working consistently until the late 1930s when ill health scaled back his contributions to primarily bit parts or guest appearances until his death in 1946.

His stage name was simply a contraction of his actual name.

Answer: Maier Weill

Born July 26th, 1881, in Lompoc, California, Maier Weill (AKA Morgan Wallace) was a stage and film actor who acted in over 120 films during his career, in addition to making a number of Broadway appearances. His final film was "The Falcon's Alibi" (1946).

Weill was also one of the founding members of the Screen Actor's Guild, which was formed in 1930.

His name was chosen as an Anglicization of his Germanic name.

Answer: John Sidney Blyth

Born February 14th or 15th, 1882, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, John Sidney Blyth (AKA John Barrymore) was part of the Barrymore acting family, which included siblings Lionel and Ethel, son John Drew Barrymore, and granddaughter Drew Blythe Barrymore (to name a few). John started out on stage, appearing with family members while still in his teens, then going on to make his own name in the business.

After about 20 years of focusing on his stage career, John transitioned to the film industry for the bulk of his career. He became a dominant actor during this time, claiming many leading roles, and earning the nickname 'The Great Profile' (largely for his movie posters typically featuring him in profile, but also for his stature in the industry).

Although born with the Blyth name, John's father Maurice chose to change the family name to Barrymore after seeing it on a theater poster in London.

Answer: Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman

Born May 23rd, 1883, in Denver, Colorado, Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman (AKA Douglas Fairbanks) got his start as an actor at a young age, touring with an acting troupe at the age of 15 and landing his first role on Broadway at 18. Although he started out in largely comedic roles, Fairbanks became known for such roles as Zorro and Robin Hood in the early 1920s.

In addition to his acting career, Fairbanks also tried his hand at screenwriting and directing, and also started his own company, the Douglas Fairbanks Film Corporation. He was one of the founding members of the Academy in 1927 and was also the host of the inaugural Academy Awards in 1929.

Fairbanks created his last name as an effort to hide his Jewish background, even going so far as to reinvent his father's name as 'John Fairbanks', which even showed on his death certificate.

Answer: Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz

Born July 23rd, 1884 in Rorschach, Switzerland, Theodor Friedrich Emil Janenz (AKA Emil Jannings) began his career working in the theatre in Germany as a teenager (1901) and worked his way into the film industry before relocating to America in the mid 1920s. He was a popular actor and distinguished himself critically, earning the first ever Best Actor award for his work in two different movies, "The Way of All Flesh" (1927), and its sequel, "The Last Command" (1928).

Unfortunately for his Hollywood career, Jannings starred in several Nazi propaganda films during the time of the Third Reich, which made him essentially unemployable after the Second World War.

'Emil Jannings' was simply an Anglicization of his actual name.

Answer: Theodosia Burr Goodman

Born July 29th, 1885, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Theodosia Burr Goodman (AKA Theda Bara) was a silent film actress who was one of Hollywood's earliest 'sex symbols'. Despite being an American by birth (with Swiss and Polish parents), Bara was presented (by the industry) as a mysterious, Egyptian-born woman involved with the occult.

Bara never transitioned to talking films, retiring from the film industry in 1926, but did make a few 'appearances' in radio in the 1930s.

A couple of different stories about Theda Bara's stage name exist. One says that it was given to her by director Frank Powell, combining her childhood nickname and a diminutive of a relative's name 'Barranger'. Another theory (related to her 'Egyptian' persona) is that Theda Bara is an anagram for 'Arab Death'.

Answer: Gertrude Pridgett

Born April 26th, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia, Gertrude Pridgett (AKA Ma Rainey) was a blues singer whose influence on the genre earned her the moniker, 'The Mother of the Blues'.

She began her singing career as a teenager, and after marrying Will 'Pa' Rainey in 1904, she began using the name 'Ma Rainey' as her stage name. She was one of the earliest recording artists in the genre, and performed with the likes of Louis Armstrong and Joe 'King' Oliver, and Bessie Smith.

Answer: Marie Antonia Siegelinde Martha Seubert

Born September 30th, 1887, in Madiun, Java, Dutch East Indies, Marie Antonia Siegelinde Martha Seubert (AKA Lil Dagover) was an actress of stage and film who worked almost exclusively in German theatre and film productions during her career. She did do some 'foreign' films (Sweden and France), and one Hollywood film with Walter Huston, 1932's "The Woman from Monte Carlo".

As a popular actress in the Weimar Republic and during the rise of Hitler's Nazi regime, Dagover managed to remain apolitical in her film roles. Although she was reportedly one of Hitler's favourite actresses.

Dagover's stage name came from a diminutive of her name Siegelinde, along with an altered version of her first husband's last name (which was Daghofer).

Answer: Marion Benson Owens

Born November 18th, 1888, in San Francisco, Marion Benson Owens (AKA Frances Marion) was an screenwriter and director who got her start in the film industry through her friend Mary Pickford, beginning as a writing assistant.

Marion would write over 300 scripts during her career, earning the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay at the third Academy Awards for the 1930 film "The Big House", as well as the Oscar for Best Story two years later for the 1931 film "The Champ".

When she began in the film industry, the producer's first idea was to have her working as an actress, and she was assigned the stage name Frances Marion. This became her film credit name, so she kept using it.

Answer: Marie Adrienne Koenig

Born May 10, 1889, in New York City, New York, Marie Adrienne Koenig (AKA Mae Murray) was a dancer and actress who began her career on Broadway in the mid noughties as chorus line girl. She quickly moved up to headliner status, which helped her transition to film a decade later, with her first movie credit in 1916.

From then until the mid-1920's, Murray was a popular and highly-sought after actress, earning the nicknames 'The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips and The Gardenia of the Screen. But in the late 1920s her star began to decline, and she made her last film in 1931.

Murray adopted her stage name when she moved to New York, looking for a career as a dancer.