A few days ago I set a TV western challenge to name the actors from their birth names:
Here are the answers:
Marion Mitchell Morrison – the one and only John Wayne
James Scott Bumgarner – James Garner (Bret Maverick)
Jack Carlton Moore – Clayton Moore (The Lone Ranger)
His companion Tonto was played by actor Jay Silverheels who was a genuine First Nations Mohawk but whose real name was a disappointing Harold J. Smith!
Buddy Lee – Robert Fuller (Wagon Train)
Norman Eugene Walker – Clint Walker (Cheyenne Body)
Leonard Franklin Slye – Roy Rodgers
Roy’s horse was called Trigger but its real name was Golden Cloud.
Lyon Himan Green – Lorne Green (Ben Cartwright, Bonanza)
Eugene Maurice Orowitz – Michael Landon (Little Jo, Bonanza)
Orison Whipple Hungerford – Ty Hardin (Bronco Lane)
Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg – Jane Seymour (Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman)
How did you do?
7-10 Blazing Saddles
4-7 How the West was Won
0-3 Custer’s Last Stand
Have Bag, Will Travel 
Never can remember actor names, much less know their real ones. Except Wayne’s stuck in my mind because his real first name just didn’t seem to fit the big macho image. I suppose that puts me in Custer territory.
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If that is the only one that you got then yes, I am afraid so!
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😦
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No wonder they changed their names in those day. I did recognized John Wayne’s name when I read it. That’s about all. I’m glad most actors keep their real names now. Don’t they?
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I’m not sure, I’ll have to go on a Google mission!
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😀
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Good decision by James Garner.
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Excellent – I’m sure that you would have done the same if you were Richard Bumtulloch!
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well, i am clearly in the last stand category. i would not have stood a chance )
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Don’t worry, westerns were probably a bit of a ‘boy thing’. You are probably not old enough to remember them anyway!
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Oh not all , I’m certainly of that age, and watched most everyone on Saturday afternoons on the couch with my dad )
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Great post Andrew! You hit all my childhood heroes (although I didn’t know too many of their birth names). And I might add one more – Lucille Wood Smith = Dale Evans (Roy Rogers wife) and her horse Buttermilk. You won’t be surprised that I had the Roy & Dale action figures on their horses. My most prized possession then. Thanks for the memories. 🙂 ~Terri
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Roy and Dale action figures? Were they like Woody and Jessie?
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Actually they were about 10-12 inches tall for horse and rider. Here’s a set for sale on ebay. I wish I still had mine. 🙂 ~T
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hartland-Roy-Rogers-And-Dale-Evans-Riding-Trigger-And-Buttermilk-1950-Toy-/171224081656?pt=Vintage_Antique_Toys_US&hash=item27ddc024f8
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They’re great aren’t they? and valuable too!
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I used to live for the nights these shows were on when I was a kid!
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Me too. My dad was a big fan so they were always guaranteed to be on!
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