From Schwartz to Curtis—Hollywood Actors and Their Name Changes

By Kathy Kovach

Back in the day, actors often changed their names. Some did it because the names given to them were hard to pronounce or would be confusing on a marquee. Others needed to shed their ethnicity per their studio’s suggestion, which was the case for Rita Hayworth, born Margarita Carmen Cansino. I mentioned this, as well as how the studio head also altered Hayworth physically, in my article “The Manufacturing of a Hollywood Star”. In all, they simply needed their monikers to stand out, be marketable, and most of all, memorable.

Tony Curtis

The ethnic name changes were never more prevalent than within the Jewish community. Discrimination ran rampant, particularly throughout the 1940s and into the 1950s. Bernard Schwartz became Tony Curtis, shedding his Hungarian-Jewish moniker to one sounding more leading man-like. Eventually, however, both he and his daughter, actress Jamie Lee Curtis, became philanthropic in helping to finance The Great Synagogue in Budapest, Hungary, known today as the largest in Europe. Curtis continued to embrace his heritage through further interests in Hungary.

Audrey Hepburn

A reversal of the ethnic name change was that of Audrey Kathleen Ruston, aka Audrey Hepburn. Not Jewish, the Belgium-born actress held British citizenship through her father. She and her family lived in Nazi-occupied Holland while she attended ballet classes. Her mother, a Dutch baroness, changed Audrey's name to Edda van Heemstra to protect her. The name Edda was the Dutch translation of the name Audrey, and van Heemstra was her mother’s maiden name. Once Hepburn began her film career, she took back her first name of Audrey and adopted the first half of her father’s surname of Hepburn-Ruston.

In some cases, the change came about due to pronunciation. Joan Crawford was born Lucille Fay LeSeuer. The studio bosses at MGM were quite interested in her, but not her name. They felt it sounded too European, and even worse, too closely resembled the word “sewer”. In a smart marketing move, they turned to a magazine and held a contest to determine her stage name. Joan Crawford was the result, but the actress hated it because it sounded too much like “crawfish”. Go figure.

Mary Jane, Dorothy Virginia, and Frances Gumm, aka the Garland Sisters

A billing mishap renamed the singing Gumm Sisters, resulting in the horrific typo, Glum Sisters. There are a couple of myths as to how they came to adopt their new title, the Garland Sisters, but my favorite comes from comedian George Jessel who said the trio “looked prettier than a garland of flowers”. One of the sisters sang under her given name Frances Gumm. When she stepped into the Hollywood lights, she decided to keep the beautiful Garland and changed her first to Judy.

Olivia de Havilland and Joan Fontaine

One reason for changing a name was because the actor shared it with a sibling. Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland unfortunately didn’t become noticed until her sister Olivia de Havilland had claimed her star in Hollywood. Her mother went as far as to forbid Joan from signing with Warner Brothers because that was “Olivia’s studio.” And to add further injury, her real name was taboo because “two de Havillands on the marquee would be too many.” Therefore, she simply took her stepfather’s last name, Fontaine.

Let’s play a fun game. Match the actor’s REAL NAME with their STAGE NAME. The ANSWER is below. No peeking!

REAL NAME    

1. Frederic Austerlitz (Dancing genius)

2. Benjamin Kubelsky (Violin-playing comic)

3. Harry Lillis Crosby (Crooner with big ears)

4. Frank James Cooper (Slow talking cowboy)

5. Milton Berlinger (Comic with a funny face)

6. Nathan Birnbaum (Comic married to Gracie Allen)

7. Doris Kappelhoff (Sang “Que Sera”)

8. Archibald Leach (Suave sophisticated ex-acrobat)

9. Joseph Levitch (Comic known for “Hey, lady!)

10. Dino Crocetti (Crooner with a glass in his hand)

11. Ruby Stevens (played matriarch Victoria Barkley)

12. Marion Morrison (Cowboy with a swagger)

13. William Henry Pratt (Frankenstein)

14. Béla Blaskó (Dracula)

15. Asa Yoelson (Sang “My Mammy”)

16. Issur Danielovitch (Intense actor with cleft in chin)

17. Joseph Yule Jr. (Versatile actor of short stature)

18. Betty Joan Perske (Smokey actress who loved Bogey)

19. Frances Smith (Married to Roy)

20. Leonard Slye (Married to Dale)

 

STAGE NAME

Dean Martin

John Wayne

Jack Benny

Boris Karloff

Doris Day

Bela Lugosi

Fred Astaire

Jerry Lewis

Cary Grant

Kirk Douglas

Gary Cooper

Lauren Bacall

Al Jolson

Bing Crosby

Dale Evans

Mickey Rooney

Barbara Stanwyck

George Burns

Roy Rogers

Milton Berle

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet” William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (1597) 2.2. Too bad Hollywood never consulted the bard before rebranding their stars.

What would your Hollywood name be?

*************

ANSWERS

1. Frederic Austerlitz / Fred Astaire

2. Benjamin Kubelsky / Jack Benny

3. Harry Lillis Crosby / Bing Crosby

4. Frank James Cooper / Gary Cooper

5. Milton Berlinger / Milton Berle

6. Nathan Birnbaum / George Burns

7. Doris Kappelhoff / Doris Day

8. Archibald Leach / Cary Grant

9. Joseph Levitch / Jerry Lewis

10. Dino Crocetti / Dean Martin

11. Ruby Stevens / Barbara Stanwyck

12. Marion Morrison / John Wayne

13. William Henry Pratt / Boris Karloff

14. Béla Blaskó / Bela Lugosi

15. Asa Yoelson / Al Jolson

16. Issur Danielovitch / Kirk Douglas

17. Joseph Yule Jr. / Mickey Rooney

18. Betty Joan Perske / Lauren Bacall

19. Frances Smith / Dale Evans

20. Leonard Slye / Roy Rogers

Titanic: Legacy of Betrayal

A TIME-SLIP NOVEL

A secret. A key. Much was buried on the Titanic, but now it's time for resurrection.

Follow two intertwining stories a century apart. 1912 - Matriarch Olive Stanford protects a secret after boarding the Titanic that must go to her grave. 2012 - Portland real estate agent Ember Keaton-Jones receives the key that will unlock the mystery of her past... and her distrusting heart.

To buy: Amazon

Kathleen E. Kovach is a Christian romance author published traditionally through Barbour Publishing, Inc. as well as indie. Kathleen and her husband, Jim, raised two sons while living the nomadic lifestyle for over twenty years in the Air Force. Now planted in northeast Colorado, she's a grandmother and a great-grandmother—though much too young for either. Kathleen has been a longstanding member of American Christian Fiction Writers. An award-winning author, she presents spiritual truths with a giggle, proving herself as one of God's peculiar people.

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