Natalie Portman (Hershlag), Jon Stewart (Liebowitz), Larry King (Zeiger), Mel Brooks (Kaminsky), Woody Allen (Konigsberg), Winona Ryder (Horowitz), Charles Bronson (Buchinsky), Bernadine Dohrn (Orhnstein), Cary Grant (Leach), Joan Rivers (Molinsky), Brad Garrett (Gerstenfeld), Gene Wilder (Silberman), George Burns (Birnbaum), Jason Alexander (Greenspan), Kirk Douglas (Issur Danielovitch), Michael Landon (Orowitz), Michael Savage (Weiner), Frank Oz (Oznowicz), and many others. Why did all of these people change their names? Do their new names just sound better and more marketable in the high-profile careers they are all involved in? If that's the reason, why did many of the Bolsheviks change their names to sound more Russian?
It is an interesting question, For many 19th- and 20th-century immigrants or their children, it was a rite of passage: Arriving in America, they adopted a new identity. Charles Steinweg, the German-born piano maker, changed his name to Steinway (in part because English instruments were deemed to be superior). Tom Lee, a Tong leader who would become the unofficial mayor of Chinatown in Manhattan, was originally Wong Ah Ling. Anne Bancroft, who was born in the Bronx, was Anna Maria Louisa Italiano. The rationale was straightforward: adopting names that sounded more American might help immigrants speed assimilation, avoid detection, deter discrimination or just be better for the businesses they hoped to start in their new homeland. Today, most experts agree, that traditional immigrant gambit has all but disappeared. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/nyregion/26names.html Perhaps the most famous name change was Saxe-Coburg to Windsor!
Cary Grant was not a Jew. now, why do many non-Jews in Hollywood change THEIR names? Marilyn Monroe= Normal Jean Mortenson Lauren Becall= Betty Joan Perske Whoopie Goldberg= Caryn Elaine Johnson Rock Hudson= Roy Harold Scherer, Jr Meg Ryan= Margaret Mary Emily Hyra Dorris Day= Doris Mary Ann Kappelhoff Michael Kaine= Maurice Joseph Micklewhite Dean Martin= Dino Paul Crocetti Natalie Wood= Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko Judy Garland= Frances Ethel Gumm Martin Sheen= Ramón Antonio Gerard Estevez Charlie Sheen= Carlos Irwin Estévez John Wayne= Marion Robert Morrison Diane Keaton= Diane Hall Ginger Rogers= Virginia Katherine McMath Fred Astaire= Fred Austerlitz Sophia Loren= Sofia Scicolone Jean Claud Van Damm= Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg Joan Crawford= Lucille Fay LeSueur Richard Burton= Richard Walter Jenkins Mickey Rooney= Joe Yule Jr. Sigourney Weaver= Susan Alexandra Weaver David Bowie= David Jones Nicholas Cage= Nicolas Kim Coppola Carmen Electra= Tara Leigh Patrick Audrey Hepburn= Audrey Kathleen Hepburn-Ruston River Phoenix= River Jude Bottom Julie Andrews= Julia Elizabeth Wells Vin Diesel= Mark Sinclair Greta Garbo= Greta Lovisa Gustafsson Ben Kingsley= Krishna Bhanji Tom Jones= Thomas Jones Woodward Elton Johns= Reginald Kenneth Dwight George Michael= Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou Shania Twain= Eilleen Regina Edwards Stevie Wonder= Stevland Hardaway Judkins
In regards to actors in Hollywood, the tradition of changing names began with the studio system. They changed the names of actors to match the persona they wanted to sell. Who would have taken Marion Morrison seriously as the rugged iconic frontiersman had he not been renamed John Wayne? Of course this kind of repackaging sometimes went beyond just changing the name, as in the case Margarita Cansino, better known as Rita Hayworth, whose hairline and color were altered to appear more caucasian. Today, it is primarily the actors who come up with their names and it is all part of an image to make an impression to go along with the 8x10 glossy they leave at a casting office. Sometimes, even if an actor has a given catchy name, they are forced to change it because that name is already in use by another actor listed on the SAG registry.
It isn't an issue. Don't know how it was labelled an Issue ? he was just asking why and it is because in Hollywood they want them to have a more attractive showy, showtime type of name. Prior to WWII it was done for other reason, to avoid the stereo type. Just like catholics did in the early 19th century here in the USA... You did not want to be a known catholic when people are hating on Catholics.. It is amazing how you want to avoid so much of WHAT IS... WHAT WAS, what will be, etc...
