Same name minus fame

By CAITLIN FITCH

TheNewsOutlet.org

People always ask Barbara Walters if she is going to interview them, but she’d rather work in her garden.

Pamela Anderson won’t pose for Playboy magazine, but she will make envelopes for churches.

When Steve Martin isn’t doing housework, he can be found on the golf course.

And Taylor Swift would rather work in a science lab than sing country-music songs.

These people have three things in common: They have the same name as celebrities, have a different lifestyle than their celebrity counterparts and all live in the Mahoning Valley.

They are not alone in the sharing of celebrity names.

A new reality show called “Same Name” debuted this year on CBS, and celebrities such as Reggie Bush, David Hasselhoff and Mike Tyson swapped places with strangers who share their same name.

And specifically to Martin, Walters, Swift and Anderson, according to howmanyofme.com, America has 958 Steve Martins, 1,837 Pamela Andersons and 592 Barbara Walters.

Taylor has just five other Taylor Swifts.

In the Mahoning Valley, there, too, are folks who can claim their own celebrity clones.

Pamela Anderson, the celebrity, is known for her role on “Baywatch,” her relationships with rockers Tommy Lee and Kid Rock, and her, um, curves.

The Valley’s Pamela Anderson lives in Hanoverton with her husband and two children.

“There is a big difference between me and the famous Pam Anderson: She has money. I don’t. She’s from Canada. I’m from America. She posed for Playboy. I definitely didn’t.

“The only thing that is similar between us is that we both have blond hair and two kids.”

Anderson is a lifetime resident of Hanoverton. She hasn’t done much traveling, but if she were to meet Anderson someday, she’d be ecstatic.

“I’d love to meet her. I just want to ask her how she got started, know about her life, her kids. I’d ask her what she does in her spare time and find out if we have any other similarities,” she said.

Sharing a name with a celebrity can come with disadvantages, besides general teasing.

“One time I was visiting someone in jail and wrote my name down on the visitors log,” Anderson said. “And they wouldn’t let me in. They thought I was joking and faking my name. It took a while to get them to believe me so I could go in.”

Swift, who attends Canfield High School, doesn’t even like country music. But he accepts the coincidence.

“Every time I meet someone new and tell them my name, they are always like, ‘Oh, my god! Just like the singer.’ It’s kind of funny,” he said.

Seventeen-year-old Swift spends his time on schoolwork, the public-forum debate team and focusing on his future. “My plans are to go to college for biomedical engineering, and possibly law to become a patent lawyer.”

In Brookfield, Barbara Walters, a divorcee with two sons and a green thumb, has been a gardener for 25 years. She gets teased about her name all the time.

“I get a lot of comments about my name; a lot of the time when someone sees my name, they joke about it and ask me if I’m going to interview them,” she said.

The jokes kept coming even at work.

“A few years ago, when I was working at the Radisson Hotel, the managers wanted to put a sign out in front of the hotel that said, ‘Come, stay at the Radisson, we’ve got Barbara Walters!’”

Walters, who occasionally watches “The View,” a daytime talk show featuring the celebrity Walters, would be honored to meet the famous Barbara.

“I would be very gracious, and consider it a privilege to meet her and could probably relate to her.”

There are virtually no similarities to be found with Steve Martin of Ellsworth — a retired Ohio Edison lineman, who claims to be a “house husband” and an avid golfer.

Celeb Martin could be considered a master of laughter. His career includes gigs as a stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is famous for being in such movies as “Father of the Bride,” “The Pink Panther” and “Bowfinger.”

“I liked Steve Martin – the writer. As a comedian, I don’t think he’s that funny, but I do like his movies.”

The two Martins differ in other ways.

“My wife still works, so I make sure the house is clean and do most of the cooking. I don’t think the famous Steve Martin does that,” said Martin. “I think Steve Martin is in his 60s [Note: He is 66]. I’m 56, and still have my youth.”

TheNewsOutlet.org is a collaboration among the Youngstown State University journalism program, Kent State University, The University of Akron and professional media outlets including The Vindicator, WYSU-FM Radio, The Beacon Journal and Rubber City Radio (Akron).