22 February 2007

Discredited

When Roger and I watch a movie, we always watch the credits at the end. All those names! We enjoy reading and wondering about the names as they scroll by. Not just the stars, but all those behind-the-scenes name that most folks don't see because they are filing out of the theater.

Sometimes we wonder where a name came from. Like, what kind of a name is Garant? It appears in the credits of Night at the Museum. (Pierre Garand, Rouen to Quebec 1665) What about the name Winick in Charlotte's Web? (Abraham Winnik, Russia to New York 1906)

Now and then we recognize a nicely corrupted Swiss name like Niswanger or Lookabill. Or we spot a probable cousin named Robidou or Dutcher.

Some of the names just have to be read aloud. Go ahead, nobody's listening:

Samrod Shenassa
Hazel Catmull
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan
B. Tennyson Sebastian III
Mark 'Guns' Navarette

Speaking of movies, you might want to rent Akeelah and the Bee. If you pay attention, you will see Roger and me sitting right behind Angela Bassett in the auditorium at USC. Besides being able to see us on the big screen, you will probably enjoy the movie.

Our names, however, do not appear in the credits.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Intrigued by your comment on "Lookabill" as a corrupted Swiss name. Just learned of its origins recently ... I'd always thought it was Dutch, since the first Lookabills arrived in Philadelphia in 1730 on a ship called the Thistle, sailing out of Rotterdam.

Your comment confirms my discovery.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, that's what I thought when I saw my name up there. Samrod Shenassa? How did my parents come up with that?

This is HILARIOUS! I'd love to know on which movie you saw my name.