Juliet was right. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but what about the names of actors. Sometimes I wonder if I had a more intriguing first name, a handle befitting a nobleman or movie star in front of Madden, I’d have sounded less a commoner, more an up and comer.
Forgive me my fellow Toms, Jefferson, Hanks and Cruise, but I can’t help thinking how a first name like Archibald would not only have given me those bright early morning initials AM, but might have catapulted my acting career to stardom?
Instead, my TM looks more like the trademark on the PlanetaryLifeguard™ I just created to blow the whistle on climate change. I think I would have fared even better in life if I had those early-riser, get-up-and-go initials “AM.”
But TM was what my parents strapped on me I had to carry to auditions.
Then this past weekend another name rose to Olympian heights as I watched polo champion Tareq Salahi majestically rule over the Morven Park polo field in Loudoun County, VA, proving once again he’s a superstar in the Sport of Kings.
Once again, Tareq triumphed as he once defeated Prince Charles himself in a polo match before the prince became King. This time, Tareq led his noble “Hotels At Sea” team to victory in a blistering, fast-paced regal match against a valiant competitor in the 7th exciting equestrian season of Polo in the Park there.
Rita and I were guests of this polo conqueror with that stunning first name whom our PR firm TransMedia Group, now proudly represents. Miami Dolphins may have wide receiver Tyreek, but we have the more charming, sharpshooting Tareq.
With everyone calling me plain ole Tom at the Sport of Kings, my first name seemed noticeably lacking in luster, knighthood, and the savoir faire of a Tareq.
What’s in a name? Maybe everything! I can’t help thinking how a more sophisticated first name such as Archibald could have been an asset during the early stages of my alas, short-lived acting career off Broadway . . . far off!
My theatrical aspirations never took off like the rocket I envisioned. Yes, I studied acting at the famous Herbert Berghof Studio in Greenwich Village. Yes, I appeared in off-Broadway productions. Yet the only one whoever asked me for my autograph was a tax preparer . . . on my tax return.
Whenever I watch TCM I particularly enjoy films in which Archibald has a starring role, yet most only know him as Cary Grant. That was Archibald’s name before he switched, yet Archibald has a more upscale, memorable ring, don’t you think?
It’s a strange path Archibald took to arrive at Cary. Just as his career was about to take off, he adopted that shorter name from a place he visited and a person he admired.
He must have had a good time in Cary, North Carolina, and was a fan of Civil War hero General Ulysses S. Grant. He took the moniker Cary Grant.
It’s a name I now must carry around in my head because it seems whenever I put it down, I forget in which memory bank. For who has a first name arcane as Cary?
Thanks Cary, for making me carry you. I don’t mind as some of the films you starred in are among my favorites, such as “North by Northwest” and “Notorious.” Not so much “Bringing Up Baby,” but you were hilarious in “Arsenic and Old Lace.”
So, with a memory that sometimes has a mind of its own, I’m stuck being Cary’s name porter. I must start each time remembering it begins with a “C.” So, when’s the next train of thought, Cary? I hope I’ll see you aboard speaking suavely to beautiful Eva Marie Saint, whom I once had the pleasure of meeting on a TCM cruise.
One day, perhaps Tareq will introduce me to his friend (with whom he’s pictured below) Prince Charles, once his foe on the polo field, now King Charles.
THE END
