A lot of Hollywood folks change their names once they get into show business. For business reasons. I think about their kids for a bit. Like...why didn't they ever go back to their Father's real name. Archibald Leach a.k.a. Cary Grant had a daughter who took "Grant" as a last name. Instead of "Leach" which...I guess that makes sense. "Leach" as a name for a woman may seem too honest for this business.
Nicholas Cage is a Coppola. As in, the nephew of Francis Ford. He went with "Cage" to see if he could make it on his own. Funny thing, he still only acted (and eventually starred) in his uncle's and he wasn't THAT interested in hiding the Coppola connection. I wouldn't. Nice diversion from the young people of that time which nepotism was considered pussified.
Then I think about the kids of megastars like Tom Cruise. They all took the Cruise name. And I thought...why didn't they just go with his real name (Mapother). Why use "Cruise"?
The cynical part obviously thinks they are being used as props for magazines. They were splashed all over with their child's name and so forth. And then you see them begging for privacy. Yeah, privacy means you don't use the child's name. Or announce it, like Gwen Paltrow did. Like, why announce your child's name? Who cares.
I think this adds to some really uncomfortable questions in the future. My sister's son has a different last name then her daughter. Like...traditional yet...not functional on family outings. For me...having a Taiwanese name and an American one is functional. Especially an American name...um...in America.
I'm reading Cheryl Crane's tome now about her mother Lana Turner. She mentions a few times how she was determined to keep her father's name, though he was pretty much absent many years into her life.
It fascinates me when I see movies stars who really change their names. It's like wearing a new suit, I suppose.
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