1843 Durwardplay

I was reading an article on Carol Burnett recently. It mentioned some of the people she worked with in her long and entertaining entertainment career. One name that caught my ear was Durward Kirby.
For those of us who think today's celebrity names, like Snoop Dogg and Shaquira, are odd, it's nice to remember names from way back that were even odder. I mean really, Durward? D-u-r-w-a-r-d-. How many people are named Durward these days? I'm guessing it would be a playground liability. And kids don't even watch Bewitched anymore. That was my first thought. Wasn't that one of the pet misnamers Samantha's mom called Darrin? Or was that Derwood?
This from a character named Elvira. Played by an actress named Agnes Moorehead. Who had a surprisingly high forehead.
And Durward Kirby? Sounds like an out of control vacuum cleaner. It didn't go forward or backward. It went durward.
Those were the great days of Hollywood. When big stars could be named Zippo or Harpo. When one of the most captivating young talents to grace a Hitchcock move could be named Tippi Hedron. Tippi? Was she unbalanced in some way?
There was also Totie Fields, female comedy's answer to Zero Mostel. And let's not forget Tuesday Wells, not just named after something in a lot of fields, but first to vault a day of the week to Hollywood starlet fame.
What do we have today? Sting and The Edge. We name rock stars after things that may send you to the emergency ward. Or how about Slash? Just as bad. Worse actually. His name is even used in website URLs.
Want to learn more about him?
Go to w-w-w- bestrockguitaristsofalltime dot com slash Slash.
I hope he never crosses swords with Katie Perry.
America, ya gotta love it.