All right!  It has been accurately pointed out that my column about often-used names of film actors and actresses in crosswords could have been a much longer list.  So here we go again.  If I miss any of the more obvious names, I now know that you will probably let me know about it.

Have you ever noticed how many of these most frequently used names start with the letter L?  Well, let me just remind you.

LADD...Most often ALAN LADD turns up as "'Shane' star" or sometimes as "Alan of '40s films."  I've also seen him clued as "Veronica's costar," a reference to actress Veronica Lake who also starred in several of his early films.  Recently his shared billing in crosswords is "Alan or Diane," the latter name referring to DIANE LADD, who has also received single billing in puzzles as "Laura Dern's mother, Diane" and "Bruce Dern's ex, Diane."

LANA..."Actress Turner" for LANA TURNER is all any clue writer needs to say to get a proper response.  Her popularity in puzzles never seems to lessen over the years.  She starred in enough MGM movies to provide her own film festivals for the Ted Turner TV channels.
 
 

LARA...Here's a puzzle perennial if there ever was one.  I don't remember JULIE CHRISTIE the actress ever showing up as a crossword item, but the part she played in "Dr. Zhivago" has been with us as everything from "Zhivago's love" to "'Dr. Zhivago' heroine" since 1965.
 

       While we are on the subject of character names how about...
LEIA...As a crossword subject CARRIE FISHER would be no more familiar than Julie Christie, but who among us hasn't had to fill in the name of the "'Star Wars' princess" in many a puzzle.  And with the recent rerelease of the "Star Wars" trilogy of movies, the Force and LEIA are with us once again.
 
 

LENA..."Actress Olin" is a fairly new addition in crosswords, but with such a usable first name which is rather singularly her own in films, it is understandable why LENA OLIN is a name to remember.  And if the clue is "Ken and Lena," the answer will be OLIN, a name she shares with actor KEN OLIN.
 
 

LOLA...Not too many years ago I saw her clued as "what she wants, she gets"..a reference to the hit song "Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets" from the hit musical "Damn Yankees."  She's also been clued as the "'Damn Yankees' vamp," a part played both on Broadway and in the movie by GWEN VERDON.

 LON CHANEY...The clue might be "Lon of the silents" or it might be "Chaney of silent films."  Both first and last names of the "man of 1,000 faces"  seem to turn up in puzzles with equal frequency.  This master of movie make-up was probably the most popular star in the world during the 1920s, and since 99% of his films were silents, there was never a language problem.  As "film's original Phantom of the Opera" as well as "Notre Dame hunchback of the silents,"  his crossword puzzle fame goes on and on and on.
   LONI...Talk about a career in crosswords, LONI ANDERSON has been a favorite of  cluemeisters for nearly two decades.  As "actress Anderson," "WKRP receptionist," or more recently as "Burt's ex," Loni has managed to land a place in nearly everyone's puzzle at one time or another.
 
 
 
 

LORRE...He's the little man who mastered the art of being nervous.  From 1931 to 1964  PETER LORRE showed us how it was done in over 80 movies, first in Germany and then in Hollywood.  In crosswords he's "Peter of old films" and more recently the New York Times puzzle told us he was the "actor born Laszlo Loewenstein."  With PBS now joining AMC, Encore and Ted Turner in showing us his movies, we may even begin to see a resurgence of clues from an earlier time such as "Greenstreet's costar."

LOY...MYRNA LOY is one of the few stars who made the transition rather easily from silent to sound films.  In the 1930s and 1940s she starred most often with William Powell, and they were especially popular as Nick and Nora Charles in The Thin Man series of films.  She is therefore clued as "Powell's costar" as often as she shows up as "actress Myrna."  Now how about referring to her as "Asta's costar" considering that the Charles' dog remains much more popular in crosswords than either Loy or Powell?

Sooo, what did I tell you?  In addition to the above, there were also LIAM and LILI from last month's column.  Considering the time and space involved with "L lettered stars," I'm going to be more selective for the rest of this column, or I'll never get it published.

ADELE...I'm not entirely certain that ADELE ASTAIRE should be listed with Film Actresses, but since I don't know of another category for her, and since she often turns up in current puzzles  as "Fred's first partner" or "Fred's dancing sister" just as she did twenty or forty years ago, I think she deserves a listing.  And here they are..Fred and Adele.  A little hard to make out in this miniature copy of their photo, but if you give it a click of your mouse you should get a magnified image which is clearer.

ALEC...Whether as "actor Baldwin," "a Baldwin," or "one of the Baldwins" ALEC BALDWIN  has really come into his own as a crossword regular. The last two clues given above are a reference to the fact that he has three brothers who are also film actors.  If you watched the last Academy Awards show, you are probably also aware that he is the husband of KIM BASINGERwho won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar this year.  I wouldn't be surprised to see her turn up in puzzles during the next year or so.  Less than five years ago the clue for ALEC would have read "actor Guinness" or "'Star Wars' Ben Obi-Wan" for ALEC GUINNESS.    And a decade before that it would have read "'River Kwai' Oscar winner."
 
 
 

DALE...DALE EVANS is also a puzzle favorite, either as "Roy's singing partner" or "cowboy Roy's better half."  Roy is, of course, ROY ROGERS, often referred to as "Dale's hubby" or "cowboy Roy."  Both of them started their careers as singers, and then came together in the 1940s to become a world famous team, first in the movies and then on television.
 
 

DEMI...In just the last few months DEMI MOORE has turned up in puzzles as "one of the Moores," "actress Moore," "Mrs. Bruce Willis," and "'Ghost' wife."  Only a few short years ago the clues were "____-god" and "____-tasse."
 
 

EMILIO...Suddenly "actor Estevez" seems to be showing up in puzzles everywhere.  With a four vowel first name it brings out the old cluemeister maxim "if the name fits, use it."  EMILIO ESTEVEZ is one of a family of actors which includes father Martin Sheen, brothers Charlie Sheen and Ramon Estevez and sister Renee Estevez.  Considering the number of Fan Pages for Emilio on the Web, his popularity isn't just with crossword composers.
 

 ERROL...ERROL FLYNN has been a real standby in puzzles for something like sixty years. Clues are now usually pretty obvious.  "film's Flynn," "_____ Flynn," "actor Flynn," and "Flynn of films" are just about the extent of it.  What's needed is a little imagination.  How about  "movies pre-Costner Robin Hood"?   OK.  Back to "Flynn of films."
 
 

MIA...The clue writers don't limit themselves just to "actress Farrow" when it comes to MIAFARROW.  They obviously keep up with what the supermarket publications have to say, as I've seen everything from "one of Frank's exes" (Mia, too, was once married to Frank Sinatra) to "star of many Woody films" (a reference to her many starring roles in Woody Allen movies).  I've also seen "POW possibly" as the clue for a missing-in-action abbreviation (MIA).

 OMAR..."Actor Sharif" is no longer just the "Dr. Zhivago portrayer." OMARSHARIF now has a seemingly endless number of Websites announcing that he is a bridge (the card game) expert of worldwide renown with everything from books to audiotapes to videos to prove it.  Is it possible that "bridge expert Sharif" might result in the same answer as "actor Sharif"?  We can always fall back on "Gen. Bradley" and "Rubaiyat poet" as our clues in order to avoid any confusion.

TERI GARR...You'll notice that we use both names in this instance.  If the clue is "actress Garr" the answer is TERI.  If the clue is "actress Teri" the answer is GARR.  She's had a crossword career exceeding even that of Loni Anderson, and only in recent years has there been a puzzle challenge from another Teri..TERI HATCHER.  But "actress Hatcher" seems to be disappearing from the crossword lexicon now that her TV series is no longer on a national TV network.  Result?  "Actress Garr" is returning haler and heartier than ever.

Now we have a pair of relative newcomers who seem to be popping up all over the place.

RENE...RENE RUSSO has been fortunate enough to appear in a number of hit films opposite top male stars such as Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood and John Travolta.  The result is that we have been seeing clues such as "actress Russo" and "Russo of 'Ransom'" (with Mel Gibson).  This doesn't mean that RENE doen't also apply to clues such as "painter Magritte," "M. Descartes," "LaCoste of tennis," and even recently "Devil's Island escapee ____ Belbenoit."

UMA...With a unique first name like Uma, UMA THURMAN can look forward to a long and happy life as a heroine of crosswords.  Already "actress Thurman" is a familiar clue in many a puzzle.  She's only been around in films for a decade, but flashy roles such as Maid Marian in "Robin Hood" and Poison Ivy in "Batman and Robin" have obviously payed off.  This summer she's Emma Peel in the big screen version of TV's "The Avengers."   Remember how long actress Una Merkel was around in crosswords?  And she didn't have the likes of Maid Marian, Poison Ivy and Emma Peel to help keep her there.

If you are into online crosswords, and have a Java-powered browser, you might like to try Timothy Parker's Universal Crossword.  Just click on the logo below.

Copyright 1998 C. Schnebel
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