The Real Names of Old Hollywood's Stars

Ever wondered if the stars from yesterday were really born with names like Marilyn Monroe, Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, James Cagney, Carol Lombard, or Clark Gable? Well, some of them were and some of them weren't.

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.