words

I like word games, do you? Here’s one I invented years ago that we can all play called Famous Name Chain which is very simple and a lot of fun. You simply chain together names of famous people so that you can separate any two names at any point and they still are a famous name. The names can be factual or fictional and the people must be known by two names, not three (a la Sally Jesse Raphael or Martin Luther King) Confused? Here’s a very simple one:

Jerry Lewis Black

That’s a three-name chain which can be separated into the names of comedians Jerry Lewis and Lewis Black.

Here are a few more in increasing complexity:

4-Name Chain: Spencer Tracy Morgan Fairchild

(Spencer Tracy – Actor, Tracy Morgan – Actor/Comedian, Morgan Fairchild – Actor)

5-Name Chain: Ayn Rand Paul Simon Cowell

(Ayn Rand – Writer, Rand Paul – Politician, Paul Simon – Singer/Songwriter, Simon Cowell – Professional Asshole)

6-Name Chain: Raggedy Ann Frank James Joyce Brothers

(Raggedy Ann – Doll, Ann Frank – Holocaust Victim/Diarist, Frank James – Outlaw, James Joyce – Writer, Joyce Brothers – Columnist/Psychiatrist)

7-Name Chain: Jessica Walter Scott Walker Percy Shelley Long

(Jessica Walter – Actress, Walter Scott – Poet, Scott Walker – Governor, Walker Percy – Writer, Percy Shelley – Poet, Shelley Long – Actress)

9-Name Chain: Lionel Richie Rich Little Richard Benjamin Franklin Pierce Brosnan

(Lionel Richie – Singer, Richie Rich – Cartoon Character, Little Richard – Singer, Richard Benjamin – Actor, Benjamin Franklin – Founding Father, Franklin Pierce – President, Pierce Brosnan – Actor)

How long can you make a chain?