Hi Barbara. Or shall I say Penny? When I saw her photo, I thought it was you. If you're going to have a twin, she's a good one.
Remember Kurt Vonnegut's term "grandfalloon"? An artificial grouping. Classmates, people who share the same name, even family members. All of those groupings are superficial, aren't they? You are unique. Like me. Like Mark. We may be 23rd cousins, but no group captures us.
So what's this Buddhist thing about non-duality, how all things are one? Artificial distinctions, individuality a myth. I'll take uniqueness. Humor me in my illusions.
Grandfalloon! That's new to me and a great term to use sometimes--though I don't think it applies to family groupings, which are hardly artificial. But . . . happy to humor you, Dan!
Every time somebody tells me I look like somebody else (or that somebody else looks like me), I look at myself in the mirror. I'm not sure why, maybe to reassure myself that I'm not living in a parallel universe, and then I just move ahead and forget all about it. When I was more active as an actor, the idea that somebody could come along and take my identity away from me was a bit unsettling since it's already so hard to be remembered for anything in show business with the hope of being cast again. Moreover, it's very hard to be hired if you look like somebody who's famous, except if they need a caricature or a specific look-alike. So, I never enjoyed being compared to somebody else, and I've always done my best to ignore the comment when I heard it, even if the other guy was popular ... Maybe this goes to show that I'm just insecure.
I played General George C. Marshall in a 30 episode series in Mainland China (95 scenes in 15 locations) for the 50th anniversary of their revolution back in 1999. That was actually an excellent experience for me as I had a lot of respect for the only military man to ever be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
I’ve had a few in various stages of my life. As a kid, I was occasionally compared to the actor Ron Howard, “Hey, it’s Richie Cunningham!” He was a character in the 70s sitcom “Happy Days.” When I became a young adult, I was compared to Ted Danson, during his “Cheers” days. More often though, people compared to Bill Walton, a star basketball player for UCLA, and later on, for the Portland Trail Blazers. I see the resemblance, but if you put us together in a lineup, I would be a midget compared to him; he was 8 inches taller than me!
A couple of times in my life I’ve been compared to Robert Redford, which thrilled me. He was my Hollywood idol growing up. To see a red head guy as a leading man gave this kid much hope for a happy adulthood.
Brief as it was, this was such a great read! I haven't had a consistent double, but people always compared my mom to Jane Fonda when I was growing up. She'd either be mistaken for her or just told how uncanny the resemblance was. As her daughter, somehow who saw my mom's face day in and day out, I never saw the resemblance. Funny thing, her name was Barbara, ha. But she changed it to Barbi sometime in her mid 30s. She also had a local name-doppelganger with the same first and last name. . a few years after my mom had her tubes tied, she received a call from her ob-gyn letting her know she was pregnant. And she laughed as she realized that she and her local name-doppelganger shared a Dr ha!
Thank you! The Overlords of Substack suggest 500 words and this is about 530, though most of my posts are longer. Anyway, I had a good laugh at that call your mom got from her ob-gyn! Btw, your first name intrigues me. Is it common in another country?
Ah my name. . . I was born in '75 and by the way my mom was carrying me (guess they didn't do ultrasounds, or not at St. Luke's. . .) the doctors said I'd be a boy. So I was to be named Leroy Lawrence Wade III. And then i was born and suddenly my parents were scrambling for a name. So my mom gave me the maiden surnames of both my great-grandmothers who were both tall and powerful women. So my first name is Trilety (it's Czech) after my paternal great-grandmother Helen Trilety (later Helen Wade), and my middle name is Grau, after my maternal great-grandmother Bess Grau (later Bess Johnson). I've yet to meet another person with the first name Trilety, but there are def people with it as a last name. I hated it as a kid and changed my name to Rachel for a year when I was wee, then went by Tril, and finally in my late teens/early 20s, asked people to call me by name. Thanks for asking! Apologies for my long telling ha!
I look like everybody’s neighbor- a couple of years ago someone came up to me while shopping and started talking then looked horrified- “Oh Im sorry you look just like my neighbor” Last week I was walking on my street and a man came running up to me “Oh hi, hi hi…Oh YOU’RE not my neighbor” 😄
A very pleasurable piece. Thank you. Inspired, I googled my name and found:
- a delightful looking principal of a primary school in Geelong, Victoria, Australia;
- an author "Nigel is obsessed with Metal, so much so that he often finds himself missing music, even when he's listening to it."
- an actor, known for his roles in Fen (2006), 501 Days (2018), Muse (2010), and he played a vicar in Leaving Limbo (2014)
- a part-time computer consultant, actor, musician, singer, sound engineer and video editor, ex-maths lecturer and ex-radio presenter, Nigel lives in Cardiff.
My first name is dying out, so eventually there will be even fewer of us. Nigel Holloway, of course, will always be very special.
I have had many people come up to me and say l looked exactly like someone they knew. Only once was l shocked to see my face on a model in a magazine. She was taller and thinner but her face was mine and it really somehow disturbed me. I never followed through though to try and find out who she was. It was just too creepy.
"Several years ago, she wrote an essay in NextTribe, an online venture for women who want to “age boldly.” Her piece was about marrying a man sixteen years her junior. She was Jewish, he was not. She was a writer, he was a musician." Whoa!
I was told I looked like: Elvis, Brendan Fraser, Tom Hanks. Go figure.
Hi Barbara. Or shall I say Penny? When I saw her photo, I thought it was you. If you're going to have a twin, she's a good one.
Remember Kurt Vonnegut's term "grandfalloon"? An artificial grouping. Classmates, people who share the same name, even family members. All of those groupings are superficial, aren't they? You are unique. Like me. Like Mark. We may be 23rd cousins, but no group captures us.
So what's this Buddhist thing about non-duality, how all things are one? Artificial distinctions, individuality a myth. I'll take uniqueness. Humor me in my illusions.
Thanks for writing this.
Grandfalloon! That's new to me and a great term to use sometimes--though I don't think it applies to family groupings, which are hardly artificial. But . . . happy to humor you, Dan!
Doppelgängers are a real thing! Keep being you, Catherine. The one and only you.
That should be easy, NtE! And I wish the same to you!
Every time somebody tells me I look like somebody else (or that somebody else looks like me), I look at myself in the mirror. I'm not sure why, maybe to reassure myself that I'm not living in a parallel universe, and then I just move ahead and forget all about it. When I was more active as an actor, the idea that somebody could come along and take my identity away from me was a bit unsettling since it's already so hard to be remembered for anything in show business with the hope of being cast again. Moreover, it's very hard to be hired if you look like somebody who's famous, except if they need a caricature or a specific look-alike. So, I never enjoyed being compared to somebody else, and I've always done my best to ignore the comment when I heard it, even if the other guy was popular ... Maybe this goes to show that I'm just insecure.
I'm curious. As an actor, have you ever been asked to impersonate another? If so, who?
I played General George C. Marshall in a 30 episode series in Mainland China (95 scenes in 15 locations) for the 50th anniversary of their revolution back in 1999. That was actually an excellent experience for me as I had a lot of respect for the only military man to ever be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
I’ve had a few in various stages of my life. As a kid, I was occasionally compared to the actor Ron Howard, “Hey, it’s Richie Cunningham!” He was a character in the 70s sitcom “Happy Days.” When I became a young adult, I was compared to Ted Danson, during his “Cheers” days. More often though, people compared to Bill Walton, a star basketball player for UCLA, and later on, for the Portland Trail Blazers. I see the resemblance, but if you put us together in a lineup, I would be a midget compared to him; he was 8 inches taller than me!
A couple of times in my life I’ve been compared to Robert Redford, which thrilled me. He was my Hollywood idol growing up. To see a red head guy as a leading man gave this kid much hope for a happy adulthood.
Most like Bill Walton, I think (and at 6'3, you're no midget). I had a big crush on Robert Redford, so maybe when I met you . . . !
Brief as it was, this was such a great read! I haven't had a consistent double, but people always compared my mom to Jane Fonda when I was growing up. She'd either be mistaken for her or just told how uncanny the resemblance was. As her daughter, somehow who saw my mom's face day in and day out, I never saw the resemblance. Funny thing, her name was Barbara, ha. But she changed it to Barbi sometime in her mid 30s. She also had a local name-doppelganger with the same first and last name. . a few years after my mom had her tubes tied, she received a call from her ob-gyn letting her know she was pregnant. And she laughed as she realized that she and her local name-doppelganger shared a Dr ha!
Thank you! The Overlords of Substack suggest 500 words and this is about 530, though most of my posts are longer. Anyway, I had a good laugh at that call your mom got from her ob-gyn! Btw, your first name intrigues me. Is it common in another country?
Ah my name. . . I was born in '75 and by the way my mom was carrying me (guess they didn't do ultrasounds, or not at St. Luke's. . .) the doctors said I'd be a boy. So I was to be named Leroy Lawrence Wade III. And then i was born and suddenly my parents were scrambling for a name. So my mom gave me the maiden surnames of both my great-grandmothers who were both tall and powerful women. So my first name is Trilety (it's Czech) after my paternal great-grandmother Helen Trilety (later Helen Wade), and my middle name is Grau, after my maternal great-grandmother Bess Grau (later Bess Johnson). I've yet to meet another person with the first name Trilety, but there are def people with it as a last name. I hated it as a kid and changed my name to Rachel for a year when I was wee, then went by Tril, and finally in my late teens/early 20s, asked people to call me by name. Thanks for asking! Apologies for my long telling ha!
That was fascinating! Thanks!
I look like everybody’s neighbor- a couple of years ago someone came up to me while shopping and started talking then looked horrified- “Oh Im sorry you look just like my neighbor” Last week I was walking on my street and a man came running up to me “Oh hi, hi hi…Oh YOU’RE not my neighbor” 😄
That's a nice compliment, neighbor!
A very pleasurable piece. Thank you. Inspired, I googled my name and found:
- a delightful looking principal of a primary school in Geelong, Victoria, Australia;
- an author "Nigel is obsessed with Metal, so much so that he often finds himself missing music, even when he's listening to it."
- an actor, known for his roles in Fen (2006), 501 Days (2018), Muse (2010), and he played a vicar in Leaving Limbo (2014)
- a part-time computer consultant, actor, musician, singer, sound engineer and video editor, ex-maths lecturer and ex-radio presenter, Nigel lives in Cardiff.
My first name is dying out, so eventually there will be even fewer of us. Nigel Holloway, of course, will always be very special.
I'm glad I inspired you to look up your namesakes! Now you should visit them and see how little you really have in common!
Evening greetings dearest Cathy and hola Mark... another fun read Cathy, with many thanks...
love and hugs,
t et al
Cathy, a quick PS...
I've thought much about the ego and thought you may find my article Identity Trap, of some interest.
hugs,
t
IDENTITY TRAP
Article and Miniature Painting by Thomas Easley
Locked In — Oil on Ivory — 1 and 1/2 inch diameter
https://medium.com/@easleyart/identity-trap-4bf03084bee4
Yes, Mindstorm, see my comment there!
I have had many people come up to me and say l looked exactly like someone they knew. Only once was l shocked to see my face on a model in a magazine. She was taller and thinner but her face was mine and it really somehow disturbed me. I never followed through though to try and find out who she was. It was just too creepy.
I wish you'd kept the magazine!
"Several years ago, she wrote an essay in NextTribe, an online venture for women who want to “age boldly.” Her piece was about marrying a man sixteen years her junior. She was Jewish, he was not. She was a writer, he was a musician." Whoa!
I was told I looked like: Elvis, Brendan Fraser, Tom Hanks. Go figure.
Of the 3, Tom Hanks—but handsomer!