Searches are soaring for Michael Keaton amid the news that Oscar-winning actress Diane Keaton passed away, as well as searches wondering if the two actors were related.
Michael and Diane do not have familial ties; in fact, both of their names are actually stage names, as their real names were already being used by other actors. Diane was born Diane Hall and used her mother’s maiden name, Keaton, as her stage name. Michael chose the name Keaton out of a phone book at random, given that the name Michael Douglas was already taken.
Diane, known for her performances in films such as Annie Hall and The Godfather, passed away at the age of 79.
After the news of Diane Keaton’s death, searches spiked for the Batman star, whose real name is actually Michael John Douglas.
He settled on the surname Keaton early on in his career, as the Screen Actors Guild prohibits members from using the same stage name as another member, and future Oscar-winner Michael Douglas had been starring in films since the late 1960s.
Michael Keaton, who has dozens of film and television acting credits, is best known for his work in the Tim Burton films Beetlejuice and Batman.
When it comes to choosing his moniker, he told People, “I was looking through — I can’t remember if it was a phone book. I must’ve gone, ‘I don’t know, let me think of something here.’ And I went, ‘Oh, that sounds reasonable.'”
The 72-year-old actor has expressed a desire to use the name Michael Keaton Douglas on future professional projects. He intended to do so for a project he directed titled ‘Knox Goes Away,’ but it didn’t end up happening.
“I said, ‘Hey, just as a warning, my credit is going to be Michael Keaton Douglas.’ And it totally got away from me. And I forgot to give them enough time to put it in and create that. But that will happen,” he explained.
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Actors having stage names is not uncommon, especially if their names are already taken.
Michael B. Jordan uses his middle initial to avoid confusion with the legendary basketball player of the same name, who starred in the 1996 live-action Looney Tunes movie, ‘Space Jam.’ Emma Stone’s real name is Emily, but she had to change it because there was already an Emily Stone registered in the Screen Actors Guild.
Some actors changed their names to be more palatable or easier to remember, like Meg Ryan, whose real name is Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra, or Martin Sheen, who changed his name from Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez to avoid discrimination due to his Hispanic roots during casting.
One of the West Wing star’s sons, Carlos Irwin Estevez, adopted the stage name and changed his name to Charlie Sheen, while his other sons, Emilio, Ramón, and Renée, continue to use the last name Estevez.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
