Poetry in motion

The other night, the Baltimore Ravens won a Monday Night football game in a most improbable way.  Just as it appeared that the Cleveland Browns were about to kick the tie-breaking, winning field goal as time ran out, that did not happen.  That kick was blocked by Ravens defensive end Brent Urban, and I cheered as safety Will Hill picked up the bouncing ball and ran it back for the winning touchdown.

I cheered for Will Hill for several reasons, first of which being that the Ravens won the game, in a season that has only seen that happen four times now.  And because he has had his setbacks, personal and professional, so it's good to see him in the spotlight.

And also because his name rhymes.

There are not many of us who go through life with names that rhyme, and while I haven't met all of the others, I am quite certain that they have all the experience of telling their name to restaurant hostesses, police officers, and the kid handing out study hall passes, only to hear the other person say, "Hey! Your name...it rhymes!"

Hey, no kidding!  No one ever told me that before!

It was a handy thing to have a memorable name when I was a radio DJ.  People often asked me if I were using a fake name, and in my more puckish moments, I would claim to have been born 

"Lee V. Mediately."

My little joke.

Anyway, just for the sake of Mr Will The Thrill Hill and the rest of us, here are some other rhymin'-Simons...

Movie actress from Fay Wray. The star of the original King Kong and not much else.

Jack Black, who was in the remade version of King Kong, the one that apes the original.  

Harry Carey, who played in cowboy movies for a long time.  And he is not the same as baseball announcer Harry Caray, although Harry was born Harry Carabina.

Cheri Oteri, for whom we all cheered when she played a cheerleader on Saturday Night Live.

Jacques Chirac, who was President of France from 1995-2007.

Shaquille O'Neal, who played basketball, and now does commercials for every product that requires endorsement from a very large man.

Wavy Gravy, who was the partially toothless hippie who announced breakfast in bed for 400,000 at Woodstock.  His real name is Hugh Romney, and even though I desperately wish that he were Mitt Romney's long-lost brother, that is not the case.  (Mitt Romney, therefore, serves as his own brother.)

Faye Dunaway, who was Bonnie to Warren Beatty's Clyde.