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Here are some classic films stars and their real birth names:
Rita Hayworth = Margarita Carmen Cansino

Cary Grant = Archibald Leach

Barbara Stanwyck = Ruby Katherine Stevens

John Wayne = Marion Robert Morrison

Lauren Bacall = Betty Joan Perske

John Garfield = Jacob Julius Garfinkle

Veronica Lake = Constance Frances Marie Ockelman

Tony Curtis = Bernard Schwartz

Mary Pickford = Gladys Louise Smith

Kirk Douglas = Issur Danielovitch
Weren't these fun!? I can see now why many did change their names but many like Lauren Bacall still went by their birth names when it came to close family and friends. Today she still prefers to be called Betty.
The changing of the names is a reminder of how much control the film studios had on their actors and also how powerful a name can be in changing ones images or public persona.