Fake names used by many actors and musicians alike (though not all of them) to at least offer them some sort of
privacy. There are other reasons that one might change their name (such as their real name being embarrassing, too
mundane, too long, or nearly impossible to pronounce) but this is the usual reason.
There are many actors with stage names. To name a few:
-Harry
Belafonte (Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.)
-Richard E. Grant (Richard Grant Esterhuysen)
-Marty Balin (Martyn Jerel
Buchwald)
-Lou Gehrig (Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig)
-Anne Rice (Howard Allen Frances O'Brien)
-Alan Alda (Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo)
-Tim Allen (Timothy Alan Dick)
-Buddy Holly (Charles Hardin Holley)
-Boris
Karloff (William Henry Pratt)
-Trey Parker (Randolph Severn Parker III)