Playing the name game, with someone else's name

Life is full of irony. It was news at Princeton when Natalie Portman opted for Harvard, but did anyone care that Robin Williams was coming here? And does it matter that Chelsea Clinton chose Stanford over the University's ivy-covered walls? After all, Dave Matthews enrolled instead. And what if Princeton's only shameful claim to this year's electoral fame is Ralph Nader '55? We have the Kennedys.

In the stellar tradition of Jimmy Stewart '32, Brooke Shields '87 and David Duchovny '82, the Class of 2004 has its very own famous name. Arthur Robinson Williams '04: or Robin Williams as he is known.

"People think I was named after him, but I wasn't," he said. "I was fourth in the family, and the others all had the same name, Arthur. My parents called me 'Robin.' "

And, while he may lack the figure, personality, age, money or other incidental characteristics that differentiate him from the Oscar-winning actor, Robin still gets the same question asked again and again.

"They ask me if I'm related to Robin," he said.

He's not.

Then there's Harris Ford '02. Is he related to that other guy? "Nope." Does his name have anything to do with Indiana Jones? "Nope." And while he may bear a not-so-striking resemblance to the Blade Runner, Ford said he receives "lots of jokes from fat old office ladies."

But, as Ford knows, stardom is all about using a name to advance in life — even if the name isn't his own.

"Once I tried to tell a girl I was Harrison Ford so she would sleep with me, but she didn't," he lamented. Even Han Solo struck out once in a while.

Surprisingly enough, Dave Matthews '04 is not related to the famous singer either, though from time to time, he does get mistaken for him. While the mixups may be irritating, "It's worthless to try to conceal my name by saying either 'David' or 'William,' my middle name," he explained. "The first would make me sound like I'm in denial, the second would bring some kind of identity crisis."

But, if the other Dave Matthews thinks he has stardom problems, he should talk to Princeton's Dave about being a freshman. "Having a famous name puts some more pressure on me to remember people's names since they'll undoubtedly remember mine," he said.

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And he does have to endure some situations repeatedly. "Whenever I'm being introduced in front of large groups," he said, "there's always random whistlings of 'So Much to Say.' "

Faith Hillis '02 knows all about random whistling. One would think that intelligent Ivy Leaguers would know how to spell — then again George W. did go to Yale — but according to Hillis, whose name is similar to singer Faith Hill, "I do get a bit tired of people asking me whether I'm related to Faith Hill, being that we have different last names and she was around 15 when I was born."

Hillis takes her celebrity status in stride. "People would always sing that George Michael song 'Faith' to me. I've dealt with this since third grade, so I'm pretty used to people making jokes or puns about my name," she said. "It's better to have a name similar to a famous person when that person is popular or respected."

Princeton is also proud to be home to the same president, not once, but twice. And while we all know that the first John Kennedy didn't make it all the way through the main gate, this Jon Kennedy '03 seems well on his way there. A sophomore in Forbes College, JMK is not just famous on the Kennedy side, but claims to be related to William Wallace of "Braveheart" fame.

Then, there's Steve Young '02, who gets the usual quaterback questions such as, "How's your arm doing?"

He remembered one instance when he greatly disappointed a ticket agent at the airport: "I was coming in to check in my baggage, and the lady said when I showed her my ID, that they thought they were getting the real Steve Young."

The list goes on: Mike Piazza '01, Rob Kennedy '01 and so many others. But as Matthews put it, "It may be good to have a famous name, but there's only so much you can say before you sour a good joke — and believe me, the joke's been soured."