What’s it like to see your name in lights, or in the headlines, especially when it’s not you at all?
Several La Plata County residents know all about it. By coincidence or out of tribute, these locals often get a second glance and seldom ever escape the trappings of being almost famous.
Durango resident Steve Martin said he can put up with the jokes about the arrow in his head – a reference to a fake arrow the comedian often wore on his head during his comic skits. And he knows the routine when he’s asked if he can really “get small” – yet another allusion to the famous comedian and his popular stand-up album.
“I think he’s one of the great talents of our time, and having his name is a good thing,” the unfamous Durango Steve Martin said. “I ran for political office once, and had it been a year later when he was famous, I would have won, I think.”
Martin actually does hold office. While the other Steve Martin is a rambling man, our Steve Martin is president of the Edgemont Ranch’s board of directors metropolitan district.
“I’ll tell you what it’s really good for is getting dinner reservations,” he said.
Other names are sure to draw attention. You may think there is only one Jennifer Lopez, but in Durango, there have been at least two Jennies from the block.
British goth-new wave rocker Robert Smith of The Cure bears little resemblance to Robert Smith of Yellowjacket. And in Southwest Colorado, Jimi Hendricks is a woman, as is Robin Williams, who works in real estate.
“First of all, if people don’t know me, they assume that I’m a Mr. Robin Williams,” she said. “It’s spelled the exact same way.”
Although she inherited the name through marriage, Williams said she is happy with her moniker.
“It’s a tribute to somebody that I just thought was an incredible actor,” she said. “It’s a credit to all the people he touched in his life.”
More than any other Robin Williams’ role, she said the first reference she hears is always to Mork from the “Mork and Mindy” TV show, which ran from 1978 until 1982.
“How long ago was that?” she said. “It’s amazing that it made such an impact.”
The No. 2 Williams’ role she hears about from strangers: Mrs. Doubtfire.
There is one big drawback to sharing the name with a celebrity, she said: “Everybody remembers my name, but you can never have the primary spot on any Internet page. It’s already taken.”
Mrs. Williams isn’t from Ork, and Durango’s Brian Wilson isn’t No. 52 on Rolling Stone’s top 100 greatest singers of all time. That spot belongs to Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys.
We have Joan Crawford, not to be confused with the 1945 Academy Award winner, although she said she does carry a coat hanger in her trunk.
“I always get comments, and I’ve always been called ‘mommy, dearest,’” she said. “People ask me if I beat my kids with coat hangers, but no, I didn’t.”
Kind of makes you wonder if she knows Elizabeth Taylor, or Andy Griffith, or Scott Peterson for that matter. They all live here, too, and sometimes, truth really is stranger than fiction.
Our Scott Peterson isn’t on death row, and our Jenny Craig isn’t the founder of the diet, nutrition and weight-loss program. On the same note, our Richard Simmons isn’t dealing and mealing.
Two John Ritters live in La Plata County; any more would be three’s company.
Durango’s Chris Farley was never on “Saturday Night Live.” And while it’s not precisely an identically matched name, John Glennon must be “watching the wheels go ’round and ’round” in people’s heads about how similar his name is to the leader of the Fab Four.
We can claim a Robert Kennedy and a Robert Wagner.
The list goes on, and history comes alive in our corner of the world.
During the 18th century, Thomas Payne ran one of the most influential bookshops in England, while political activist Thomas Paine wrote pamphlets inspiring rebels at the start of the American Revolution. Thomas Wolf lives in Durango. Tom Wolfe is an American novelist. John Powell should ring a bell to anyone who floats the Colorado River that feeds the lake bearing his name.
There’s even an Abbot and a Costello, and if you loved Lucy, Lucille Ball lives on the west side of town.
They’re all here, almost famous.
bmathis@durangoherald.com
