Line #2 Main/AlmostFamousName


1	->''"Kevin Cozner? Is he the star of [[Film/DancesWithWolves Danzzes with Wolvezz]]?"''
2	-->-- '''Jake Peralta''', ''Series/BrooklynNineNine''
3
4	Almost Famous Name is when a person states he's met not a celebrity, but someone with a similar-sounding name who may be less famous or not famous at all.
5
6	Compare NamedLikeMyName.
7
8	[[noreallife]]
9	----
10	!!Examples
11
12	[[foldercontrol]]
13
14	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
15	* A fictional and [[ExploitedTrope exploited]] example in ''Manga/DeathNote'': L takes the college entrance exams under the name "Hideki Ryuga," knowing that prime suspect for the Death Note case Light Yagami is taking those same exams. In-universe, Ryuga is a famous actor, and everybody in Japan knows what he looks like. After the exams, L then goes over to Light and directly tells him that he is the detective working the Death Note case, safe in knowing that if Light actually writes Ryuga's name in his (suspected) Death Note, and the actor dies as a result, it would prove that Light is the Death Note owner. The series itself never actually confirms if "Hideki Ryuga" actually is L's real name or not. [[spoiler:Supplemental materials state that it isn't.]]
16	[[/folder]]
17
18	[[folder:Comics]]
19	* Creator/MarvelComics' Doctor Druid, in his first appearance, was called Doctor D'''r'''oom. They changed his name when they revived the character so as not to be confused with Doom.
20	* ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk'': Xemnu the Titan is a kinda interesting example; he was referred to as "a Hulk" before the Hulk existed, but he called himself Xemnu.[[note]]"Hulk" being a generic word for a large thing, often a ship, at the time.[[/note]] After the Hulk was created, Xemnu has come back a few times mostly as a Hulk foe, feuding over the name.
21	* ComicBook/SheHulk once fought Doctor Doom. This particular Doctor Doom turned to be Doctor ''Bob'' Doom: a cousin of the more famous Victor Von Doom, and a DepravedDentist.
22	* Comicbook/USAvengers fought a Victor Vandoom (one word), who was no relation to the other Victor at all, and was very defensive about the fact he's been a MadScientist for ten years longer.
23	* ComicBook/LesNombrils has Albin Delon, whose birth name actually was Creator/AlainDelon before he legally changed it (for reasons unrelated to the movie star).
24	[[/folder]]
25
26	[[folder:Film]]
27	* ''Film/BoratSubsequentMoviefilm'': Borat has a son named [[Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews Hooeylewis]], and one of the aliases Tutar uses is "[[Creator/SarahJessicaParker Sandra Jessica Parker]] Drummond".
28	* One of the main characters in ''Film/OfficeSpace'' is named Michael Bolton. Which was a fine name until [[Music/MichaelBolton "that no-talent ass clown"]] became famous and started winning Grammys.
29	* At a party in ''Film/CrocodileDundee 2'', someone asks Mic if, because they're both Australian, he knows Creator/MelGibson. Mic, not having the slightest idea who Mel Gibson is, tells an amusing story about meeting ''Mal'' Gibson, a local drunkard.
30	* In ''Film/KeepingUpWithTheJoneses'', the [[BigBad Scorpion]]'s real name is... Bruce Springstine, which [[Music/BruceSpringsteen raises questions]]. One of his henchmen even asks if it's the reason he has to call him "The Boss", to which he answers it's just "Boss".
31	* ''Film/TwilightZoneTheMovie'': In "Kick the Can", Mrs. Dempsey's husband was named Jack Dempsey. When Mr. Bloom jokingly asks her if he was the fighter, she clarifies that he wasn't.
32	* In ''Film/Ted2'', Sam's full name is Samantha Leslie Jackson. When Ted and John point out her name is basically [[Creator/SamuelLJackson Sam L. Jackson]], she doesn't get the reference.
33	[[/folder]]
34
35	[[folder:Literature]]
36	* Cameoing in ''Literature/YouKepnes'' before becoming a major character (for a while) in ''Literature/HiddenBodies'', Joe's new girlfriend is called Creator/{{Amy Adam\|s}}. As a result she's totally impossible to Google.
37	* A running joke in ''Literature/JohnnyAndTheDead'' in regard to the local cemetery. For instance, Einstein is buried there -- not UsefulNotes/AlbertEinstein the physicist, but Solomon Einstein the taxidermist.
38	* ''Literature/VeraWongsUnsolicitedAdviceForMurderers'': Vera Wong is one letter away from designer Vera Wang, a fact that she exploits by naming her teashop after Vera Wang instead. Characters note that it doesn't work because Vera's teashop is so clearly dilapidated that no-one is fooled that it could belong to a famous person.
39	[[/folder]]
40
41	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
42	* Inverted in ''Series/DoctorWho'' as a HistoricalPersonPunchline. The Doctor and his companion Martha have teamed up with Creator/WilliamShakespeare and he starts opening up about the death of his son and how it almost drove him mad. At the end we have the punchline:
43	--->'''Shakespeare:''' I got new ideas. Perhaps it is time for me to write about fathers and sons. In memory of my boy, my precious Hamnet. \
44	'''Martha:''' Wait, [[Theatre/{{Hamlet}} Hamnet]]? \
45	'''Shakespeare:''' That's him. \
46	'''Martha:''' Ham''net''?! \
47	'''Shakespeare:''' ''(genuinely confused)'' What's wrong with that?
48	* On ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', George buys a used car because the salesman told him it was previously owned by Creator/JonVoight. It turns out to have been previously owned by Jo'''h'''n Voight, a periodontist who went to dental school with [[Creator/BryanCranston Tim Whatley]].
49	** One episode featured a guy who had a beef with Kramer called FDR, which stands for [[UsefulNotes/FranklinDelanoRoosevelt Franklin Delano]] Romanowsky.
50	** Yet another example with Kramer:
51	-->'''Kramer:''' I saw the sunrise at Liza's.\
52	'''George:''' What, [[Creator/LizaMinnelli Minnelli's]]?\
53	Kramer: (matter-of-factly) No.
54	* In the ''Series/VeronicaMars'' episode "Ruskie Business", Keith gets hired to track down an actor named [[Creator/TomCruise Tom Cruz]].
55	* In an episode of ''Series/StepByStep'', Cody told Dana that he was friends with Creator/BradPitt, and would introduce him to her. Turns out Cody was friends with a Brad ''Pit''.
56	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Cheers}}'', Sam discovers that when he was on an alcoholic bender, he bet the bar that he would be married to Creator/JacquelineBisset by a certain date. When the guy he made the bet with turns up to claim the bar, Sam realises that the bet didn't specify ''the'' Jacqueline Bisset, so he tracks down another woman of that name to marry.
57	* From ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', the "Trivializing the War" sketch from series 4 mentions "the other Music/ColePorter" who wrote "the other 'Anything Goes'."
58	-->Anything goes in\
59	Anything goes out\
60	Fish, bananas\
61	Old pajamas\
62	Mutton, beef and trout!
63	** And the bookshop sketch, where the customer is looking for books by Charles Dikkens (the well-known Dutch author), such as ''Rarnaby Budge''.
64	*** Similarly, in the same sketch, the man looks for the works of an author named Edmund Wells, who has written such classics as ''[[Literature/DavidCopperfield David Coperfield]]'', ''[[Literature/GreatExpectations Grate Expectations]]'', ''[[Literature/NicholasNickleby Knickerless Nickleby]]'', and ''[[Literature/AChristmasCarol A Khristmas Karol]]''.
65	* ''Series/TheBeverlyHillbillies''[=/=]''Series/PetticoatJunction'': Hooterville's richest and most powerful man is named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_Hughes Howard Hewes]]. This didn't confuse anybody in Hooterville or the Clampett clan, but Beverly Hills banker Mr. Drysdale just about had an orgasm when he heard that Jed and Mr. Hewes were considering doing business together.
66	* In an episode of ''Series/{{Community}}'', the Dean attempts to hire Music/GreenDay to play at a dance. He instead gets Greene Daeye, an Irish folk band.
67	* ''Series/{{JAG}}'': Harmon Rabb once offered to introduce a pair of sailors to Music/JenniferLopez in exchange for them helping him out. It wasn't till after they've helped that we find out ''this'' Jennifer is his dental hygienist.
68	* A variation occurred in the Australian series ''Series/TheLateShow1992'', where Tony Martin would announce a major celebrity to perform the musical finale for the show, but Mick Molloy confessed he slipped up and booked a minor celebrity with a similar name. A few standouts included [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HatDAE2cDu4 Pete Smith instead of]] Music/{{Aerosmith}}, Mike Whitney instead of Music/WhitneyHouston and Hayley Lewis instead of Music/HueyLewisAndTheNews. {{Exaggerated\|Trope}} when Mick was supposed to book Music/CrosbyStillsNashAndYoung and ended up with Al Grassby, [[Series/Bluey1976 Leo "Lucky" Grills]], Christopher "[[Series/HeyDad Nudge]]" Truswell and Gwen Plumb.
69	* Inverted in one episode of ''Series/TheMuppetShow'' where Kermit initially believes the guest star is an act called Lesley & Warren, and is pleasantly surprised to discover that it's actually the similarly named but more famous actress-singer-dancer Lesley Ann Warren.
70	* On an episode of ''Series/CornerGas'', Brent exclaims, "Look everybody, it's Al Gore!" When Lacey says that the man in question looks nothing like Al Gore, Brent clarifies that his name is spelled "Goar" and he owns a local fertilizer company.
71	* On ''Series/TheFreshPrinceOfBelAir,'' one of the main characters is in the hospital under the care of Dr. Kavarkian. He quickly reacts to their shock by repeating the pronunciation.
72	* An episode of ''Series/TheVicarOfDibley'' involved Geraldine booking a musician named Reginald Dwight who she thinks is the one known famously as Music/EltonJohn, but he's just an accordionist with the same name.
73	* One of the main characters on ''Series/{{Skins}}''; no, not ''that'' Creator/NaomiCampbell.
74	* ''Series/BrooklynNineNine''
75	** Holt's husband is named [[Creator/KevinCostner Kevin Cozner]], which is lampshaded by Jake.
76	** Gina claims she once developed a linguistics system for "Ellen Musk". Not Elon Musk, Amy, but ''Ellen'' Musk, the first season winner of a reality show.
77	* In ''Literature/AVeryEnglishScandal'', [[TruthInTelevision as in real life]], one of the conspirators in [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thorpe_affair Jeremy Thorpse's murder plot]] was named John Le Mesurier, which he shared with a [[Creator/JohnLeMesurier famous British character actor]]. At one point in the series, this gets a LampshadeHanging, as after introducing himself, he adds, "[[NeverHeardThatOneBefore not the actor, obviously]]."
78	* Parodied in ''Series/{{You}}''. As Amy Adam got the CompositeCharacter treatment with Candace, Candace started using the name Amy Adam in order to elude the Quinn money and fool Forty. He has a classic reaction. This is a MythologyGag because Amy Adam's name actually ''was'' Amy Adam.
79	-->'''Forty''': Amy Adam. WHAT, WAS BRITNEY '''SPEAR''' TAKEN?
80	* ''Series/{{NCIS}}'': In "S.W.A.K.", Tony and Kate get treated by Brad Pitt after being exposed to the plague. Not a character played by Creator/BradPitt, a character named "Dr. Brad Pitt."
81	* ''Series/WellingtonParanormal'': Minogue and O'Leary get mocked by fellow officers as "[[Music/KylieMinogue Kylie Minogue]] and his little sister Dannii", which Minogue corrects:
82	-->'''Minogue:''' My name is not Kylie. It's Kyle? And the E is silent.
83	* In an episode of ''Series/TheRedGreenShow'' Red is excited to learn Harold scraped up a deal to allow him to be a sponsor of Dodge, only to find out it's not the car marque but instead it's Doj, a Swedish adult diaper company.
84	* The 1976-77 sitcom ''The Tony Randall Show'' had a recurring character who, apparently, knew nothing about opera singers.
85	-->'''Judge Walter Franklin:''' Your name is Mario Lanza? Any relation?\
86	'''Mario Lanza:''' To who?\
87	'''Judge Walter Franklin:''' To [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MarioLanza Mario Lanza]].\
88	'''Mario Lanza:''' I ''am'' Mario Lanza.
89	[[/folder]]
90
91	[[folder:Web Original]]
92	* ''Webcomic/{{Concerned}}'' stars the exploits of Gordon ''Frohman''.
93	* In ''WebVideo/NirvanaTheBandTheShow'', Nirvana the Band encounters trademark issues because of part of their name, but [[Music/TheBand not from the half you'd expect]].
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Western Animation]]
97	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Futurama}}'': "You trained with ''THE'' Hank Aaron?" "I trained with ''A'' Hank Aaron."
98	[[/folder]]
99

Context Main / AlmostFamousName