Movie Character Names: They had monikers then

I’ve always been intrigued with the names of the characters played by movie stars, especially the iconic figures of the Golden Age—the interplay between actor and character name, and the roles those names played in establishing and perpetuating their screen personas.

It certainly comes as no surprise that John Wayne played numerous heroes named John and Jim or that Cary Grant portrayed three Nicks or how many good girl Pollys and Pennys there were, played by the likes of the young Shirley Temple and Judy Garland.  But there were a lot of interesting aberrations– for example, though to most of us Clark Gable will always be Rhett Butler, he was also Ace, Blackie (twice), Candy, Duke and Patch; Humphrey Bogart may live on eternally in video heaven as Rick, but he also answered to Baby Face, Bugs, Turkey, Duke, Gloves, Chips and Rocks, Joan Crawford was Bingo as well as Mildred Pierce, and Bette Davis was Fluff Phillips as well as Margo Channing.

Looking over some vintage cast credits, one thing that jumps out is the number of current trends that were anticipated in the movies of the 1930s, forties and fifties.  For example:

NICKNAME NAMES

In addition to those mentioned above, there were:

ACE – Cary Grant

AGGIE –  Linda Darnell

ALLIE – Joan Crawford

ARCHIE – Clark Gable

BUCK – Jack Benny

BUNNY—Bette Davis,  Katharine Hepburn and Lana Turner

BUSTER – Loretta Young

CHIP—Frank Sinatra

DUSKY – Marilyn Monroe

DUSTY—John Wayne, Gary Cooper

DUTCH –Spencer Tracy, James Stewart

EMMY –  Olivia de Havilland, Alice Faye

FRANKIE—Ann Sheridan

FREDDIE –  Betty Grable

GEORGIE –  Grace Kelly

HUCK –  Fred Astaire

JERRY –  Alice Faye

JOSIE –  Marlene Dietrich

KATIE –  Alice Faye

KIT – Lana Turner

KITTY – Ava Gardner, Paulette Goddard, Ginger Rogers

FLIP – Ginger Rogers

JIGGS – Kirk Douglas

LETTIE –  Loretta Young

LANK – Henry Fonda

LINK – Gary Cooper

LUCKY – Fred Astaire, Dorothy Lamour

LUTIE – Katharine Hepburn

MIDGE—Kirk Douglas

RANDY –  Ann Sheridan

RIP – James Stewart

ROXIE — Ginger Rogers

RUSTY –  Rita Hayworth

SAIRY—Judy Garland

SCOTTIE –  James Stewart

SMOKEY – Olivia de Havilland

VIN – Steve McQueen

VIRGIE –  Shirley Temple

WINNIE –  Betty Hutton

BOYS NAMES FOR GIRLS

Just in case you thought this was a new thing, it was also a rampant trend in Hollywood’s heyday, with such examples (in addition to those above) as:

BILL – Jean Arthur

CAL – Anne Baxter

CARY –  Jane Wyman

CECIL – Linda Darnell

CHRISTOPHER – Katharine Hepburn

DENNY – Jane Wyman

HANK – Ann Sheridan

JOHNNY – Ginger Rogers

LLOYD – Shirley Temple

MIKE – Jane Russell, Margaret O’Brien

PETER – Ida Lupino

RANDOLPH – Ida Lupino

REGGIE – Audrey Hepburn

REMY – Ava Gardner

ROY – Olivia de Havilland

STANLEY – Bette Davis

TEDDY – Veronica Lake

THEO – Lana Turner

VANCE – Barbara Stanwyck

WALLY – Janet Leigh

PLACE NAMES

In just about every World War II movie, it seemed that every ship and every squadron had at least one guy called Brooklyn, and a couple of Dakotas and Detroits.  Of course these were nicknames based on place of origin, but still—Golden Age films were filled with place-name characters, including:

ALABAM  –  Carole Lombard

ALABAMA –  Bette Davis, Jane Wyman

ALBANY –  Dorothy Lamour

ALGERIA  –   Linda Darnell

CHINA –  Jennifer Jones

DAKOTA –  Rory Calhoun

DALLAS –  Bette Davis

KANSAS  –  Dan Dailey

NEVADA –  Gary Cooper, Alan Ladd, Steve McQueen

PHILADELPHIA –  Shirley Temple

PITTSBURGH  –  John Wayne

RENO –  Robert Ryan

RIO –  Jane Russell

SIERRA NEVADA –  Barbara Stanwyck

TEXAS –  Gary Cooper

TULSA –  Elvis Presley

VIENNA – Joan Crawford

One thing that has changed is the perception of some specific names.  In the olde days, when W. C. Fields and Groucho Marx were looking for character names sure to produce a guffaw, they would come up with choices like Otis, Rufus, Quincy, Quentin, Augustus and Ambrose—names that now sound like handsome and perfectly acceptable names for babies.

Tomorrow look for some unusual monikers from vintage films that could make interesting choices today.

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