True Identity

Nobody is going to get the shakes about being in a gunfight with a guy named Marion. Call the same cowboy John Wayne, however, and the town clears out.

Similarly, Bernie Schwartz doesn’t exactly ooze virility. Call the actor Tony Curtis, though, and women swoon. Men may not pine for Betty Persky, but Lauren Bacall makes them melt. Bobby Zimmerman sounds like a pimple-faced, garage-band wannabe—but Bob Dylan is a legend.

In entertainment, it’s a well-known axiom that the first step to success is a moniker with moxie.