Google builds Bacon Number functionality
September 13, 2012 9:26 AM   Subscribe

According to the Guardian, Google has added Bacon Number functionality to its search engine. Simply type in 'Bacon number [other actor name]', and the Bacon Number, with all the steps linking the two actors, is given. Previously and previously.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty (133 comments total) 18 users marked this as a favorite
 
But no Erdos numbers? For shame, Google.
posted by Tsuga at 9:32 AM on September 13, 2012 [8 favorites]


Klaus Kinski's Bacon Number is 2.

That, to me, is amazing.
posted by gcbv at 9:33 AM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


I haven't been able to get much work done since I discovered this.
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 9:34 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Largest I've gotten so far is Bela Lugosi with a Bacon Number of 3.

Kevin Bacon's Bacon number is 0
Touche, Google.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:34 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Sigh.

It would be nice if Google's automatic geolocation redirect didn't totally fuck this up.

I had to manually replace ".ca" with ".com" in the results URL to find out that Bryan Cranston has a Bacon number of 2.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:41 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


My aunt is an obscure actress with a Bacon number of 2, via a movie she did with Tom Hanks (1), but google doesn't recognize her. I'm wondering what the database is; imdb has her bio and she and Hanks are both listed on the imdb and wiki entry for the movie.

What gives google??!?!
posted by skewed at 9:42 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Diane Wiest seems to be some sort of cosmic link between Bacon and about 50% of the acting universe.
posted by TheAlarminglySwollenFinger at 9:43 AM on September 13, 2012


Gore Vidal's Bacon number is 2. Huh.
posted by boo_radley at 9:43 AM on September 13, 2012


Diane Wiest seems to be some sort of cosmic link between Bacon and about 50% of the acting universe.

She's played everyone's mom at some point.
posted by Sys Rq at 9:44 AM on September 13, 2012


William Rufus Shafter has a Bacon Number of 7.
posted by Kabanos at 9:46 AM on September 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


Michael Dukakis's Bacon number is 3

I feel like this is important information that I should know.
posted by backseatpilot at 9:47 AM on September 13, 2012


Michael Dukakis's Bacon number is 3

Yeah, but it won't give you Patrick Leahy's Bacon Number.

THIS IS BROKEN, PLEASE FIX ASAP.
posted by Bulgaroktonos at 9:49 AM on September 13, 2012


This is the first result if you google "Bacon number me."
posted by googly at 9:50 AM on September 13, 2012


Bacon number John Cage
No results.
I win.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:51 AM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


My bacon number is two.

It is me right, and not the actor who uses my name?
posted by COD at 9:51 AM on September 13, 2012


Obama's Bacon number is 2. Mitt Romney fails to get a Bacon number.
posted by yoink at 9:51 AM on September 13, 2012


I had to manually replace ".ca" with ".com" in the results URL to find out that Bryan Cranston has a Bacon number of 2.

Wait, why doesn't it work on the Canadian site? I can see why they wouldn't bother translating this into the European language servers, but American pop culture is not exactly obscure north of the border.

Maybe you have to put in "back bacon number."
posted by Joey Buttafoucault at 9:51 AM on September 13, 2012 [15 favorites]


It works fine on google.at
posted by MighstAllCruckingFighty at 9:54 AM on September 13, 2012




Not to be all Pepsi Blue but: Google TV Kevin Bacon commercial
posted by XMLicious at 9:54 AM on September 13, 2012


William Rufus Shafter has a Bacon Number of 7.

I read this as "William Rufus Shatner" and said no way.

William Alan Shatner's Bacon number is 2
William Shatner and Denise Richards appeared in Loaded Weapon 1.
Denise Richards and Kevin Bacon appeared in Wild Things.


Phew. Universe back in balance.
posted by chavenet at 9:58 AM on September 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


Oh whoa, Laurence Olivier and John Wayne both have Bacon Numbers of 2.

Mind. Totally. Blown.
posted by Kpele at 9:59 AM on September 13, 2012


It cheats a bit. As I understand the game, all the links have to be films; but Google awarded Todd Rundgren a Bacon Number of 2 on the strength of having recorded with Levon Helm1 in Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band2.

1 Who played "Leo Pickett" opposite Bacon and Wilford Brimley in 1987's railway dramedy End of the Line.

2 Itself something of a cheat, as the band was clearly not all Starrs.

posted by Iridic at 9:59 AM on September 13, 2012


Bacon to Hamm = 2
posted by I'm Doing the Dishes at 10:00 AM on September 13, 2012 [7 favorites]


Oh whoa, Laurence Olivier and John Wayne both have Bacon Numbers of 2.

So do Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:00 AM on September 13, 2012


John Coltrane and Charlie Parker both have Bacon Numbers of 4. Huh.
posted by Jode at 10:00 AM on September 13, 2012


I figured Elsa Lanchester and Hermione Gingold might have big numbers.

Both 2's.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 10:01 AM on September 13, 2012


Leni Riefenstahl's Bacon number is 4
Leni Riefenstahl and Gibson Gowland appeared in SOS ICEBERG - SOS EISBERG.
Gibson Gowland and Jason London appeared in Greed.
Jason London and Chris Penn appeared in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar.
Chris Penn and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:02 AM on September 13, 2012


The generational ones are fun...

Charlie Chaplin's Bacon number is 2
Charlie Chaplin and Tippi Hedren appeared in A Countess from Hong Kong.
Tippi Hedren and Kevin Bacon appeared in Jayne Mansfield's Car.

Orson Welles's Bacon number is 2
Orson Welles and Jack Nicholson appeared in A Safe Place.
Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon appeared in A Few Good Men.

Marilyn Monroe's Bacon number is 2
Marilyn Monroe and Jack Lemmon appeared in Some Like It Hot.
Jack Lemmon and Kevin Bacon appeared in JFK.
posted by mcstayinskool at 10:06 AM on September 13, 2012


I suck at this... it took about 20 tries before I could find anyone with a number of less than two (Robsen Green).
posted by selfnoise at 10:06 AM on September 13, 2012


Vaginal Davis's Bacon number is 4
posted by Sys Rq at 10:07 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I can't get higher than a 3 using bona fide "actors."
posted by ShutterBun at 10:08 AM on September 13, 2012


I'm trying to hit 4. I've got an old movie book open and I'm going thru the filmography. Olivier? John Wayne? pfft. Thelma Todd gets a 3 and she died in 1935.
posted by TWinbrook8 at 10:09 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Linda Lovelace, Marilyn Chambers, Ginger Lynn (Allen) and Sasha Grey all have B# = 2.
posted by ubiquity at 10:11 AM on September 13, 2012


Damn Jack Lemmon.
posted by halfbuckaroo at 10:11 AM on September 13, 2012


Google obviously needs to create a function "List all actors with Bacon Number of X"
posted by chavenet at 10:14 AM on September 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


Banksy, 3. .....That we know of....
posted by sendai sleep master at 10:15 AM on September 13, 2012


GUYS! What if Banksy is Kevin Bacon!?
posted by sendai sleep master at 10:15 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Andy Warhol's Bacon number is 3
posted by Sys Rq at 10:17 AM on September 13, 2012


Queen Elizabeth II is a 2.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:20 AM on September 13, 2012


Jack Benny and Groucho Marx are both 2's. Zeppo Marx is a 3.
posted by rtimmel at 10:21 AM on September 13, 2012


I hit 4. Charles Ray, who was quite famous in the silent days, has no Bacon Number according to google's system. Unfortunately, that would mean he never even worked once with someone who had a Bacon Number, and he did — Joan Crawford for one, whose B# is 3, so Charles Ray's must have been at least 4.
posted by ubiquity at 10:22 AM on September 13, 2012


Torgo (John Reynolds) has no Bacon Number. Must be The Master's influence.

Are they measuring Bacon numbers by Hamming distance?
posted by benzenedream at 10:24 AM on September 13, 2012


William H. Macy has a Bacon Number of 1. Wow. I wonder how many boomerangs Kevin Bacon owns?
posted by Xoebe at 10:26 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


John Cale = 3; Nico = 3; Lou Reed =2
posted by mean square error at 10:28 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Seven of the eight still living actors who have played the Doctor have a Bacon number of 2. Those who have passed on (and Colin Baker*) have a Bacon number of 3.

After doing all the research "work" myself and typing the above, I was going to link all of these in a cutesy hyperlink-on-every-word way but then I jokingly typed in "Bacon number Doctor Who" and this item came up from an hour ago. If that blogger is getting paid, I'm obviously in the wrong line of work.


* Even then, Mr. C Baker's link is a bit of a cheat, as it's a direct-to-video BBV (not a typo) production through Sylvester McCoy; however, even though his extensive filmography is mostly television, the Sixth Doctor still gets a 3 through another non-Doctor Who related route.
posted by MCMikeNamara at 10:28 AM on September 13, 2012


Jon Hamm's Bacon number is 2
William Hootkins'* Bacon number is 2
*played X-Wing pilot "Porkins" in Star Wars Episode IV
posted by mean square error at 10:34 AM on September 13, 2012


Holy cow, Miles O'Keeffe's Bacon number is 2!
Miles O'Keeffe and Miko Hughes appeared in Escape to Grizzly Mountain.
Miko Hughes and Kevin Bacon appeared in Apollo 13.

Ben Murphy: 3
Ben Murphy and Ben Johnson appeared in Runaway!.
Ben Johnson and Frances Lee McCain appeared in Tex.
Frances Lee McCain and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.

And Coleman Francis: also 3!
Coleman Francis and Alex Rocco appeared in Motorpsycho.
Alex Rocco and Sarah Jessica Parker appeared in Dudley Do-Right.
Sarah Jessica Parker and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.
posted by AugieAugustus at 10:38 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Wow, Brian Donlevy has a 2? Rudolph Valentino is a 3? W.C. Fields is a 3? Simone Signoret, a 2???

I am in AWE. Did anyone get a BN > 4?
posted by kinnakeet at 10:42 AM on September 13, 2012


Burt Mustin's Bacon number is 3.
posted by usonian at 10:43 AM on September 13, 2012


Another 4 that google couldn't find: Georges Méliès (Georges was in Le Locataire diabolique (1909) with André Méliès, who was in was in Casque d'or (1952) with Simone Signoret, who was in Games (1967) with James Caan, who was in New York, I Love You (2008) with Bacon.
posted by ubiquity at 10:44 AM on September 13, 2012


Both Buster Keaton and Moe Howard have Bacon numbers of two! (Laurel and Hardy are at 3, tho.)
posted by Slap*Happy at 10:49 AM on September 13, 2012


I lived in a houseful of (mostly stage) actors in Toronto where everyone, I now see, has a Bacon Number of 3. I myself am not an actor, but a high school classmate of mine directed a feature starring someone with a Bacon Number of 1, so I suppose I qualify in an honorary sense.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:49 AM on September 13, 2012


After some plugging away, I finally found a 4: Lenny Bruce.
posted by vathek at 10:49 AM on September 13, 2012


I found a 4 - she's Swedish.
Johanna Sällström's Bacon number is 4
Johanna Sällström and Shanti Roney appeared in Hans och hennes.
Shanti Roney and Vincent Gallo appeared in Metropia.
Vincent Gallo and Chris Penn appeared in The Funeral.
Chris Penn and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.
posted by desjardins at 10:50 AM on September 13, 2012


I am in AWE. Did anyone get a BN > 4

Fred Ott. But to be fair, though he is very important to the history of film, he never performed in a feature.
posted by ubiquity at 10:50 AM on September 13, 2012


Mary Pickford's Bacon number is 3.
posted by Lisitasan at 10:51 AM on September 13, 2012


I assumed that this feature pulls data from IMDb, but apparently it doesn't:

"The 'Bacon Number' feature is based on Google's Knowledge Graph, which is our 'map' of real-world people, entities, and the connections between them," Soleimani tells us in an e-mail. "For most celebrities and some public figures, the feature will return their Bacon Number based on the connections in the Knowledge Graph. Our team is constantly working to make search smarter, and features like the Bacon Number equip our users with ways to explore and discover more." (Source.)
posted by yasaman at 10:52 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I am in AWE. Did anyone get a BN > 4

On my first try: Florence Laurence, the first movie star (296 acting credits from 1906 to 1936).

Florence Lawrence's Bacon number is 4
Florence Lawrence and Matthew Moore appeared in Unto the Third Generation.
Matthew Moore and Vincent Price appeared in Wilson.
Vincent Price and Dianne Wiest appeared in Edward Scissorhands.
Dianne Wiest and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:53 AM on September 13, 2012


Sorry, that is =4, not >.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 10:54 AM on September 13, 2012


4 is not greater than 4.
posted by desjardins at 10:55 AM on September 13, 2012


nvm :)
posted by desjardins at 10:55 AM on September 13, 2012


hmmm, adam scott is coming back with nothing, but nick offerman is 2. Clearly something needs to be done here.
posted by jonbro at 11:15 AM on September 13, 2012


Babe Ruth's Bacon number is 3.
posted by zzazazz at 11:19 AM on September 13, 2012


Elizabeth Tait, who starred in The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) [Wikipedia|IMDB], generally considered to be the first feature film, seems to have B#=5, via Frank Mills, Corinne Griffith, Montagu Love, and June Lockhart.
posted by ubiquity at 11:20 AM on September 13, 2012


This is far more addictive than it should be, especially since I'm so terrible at it!
posted by Fig at 11:26 AM on September 13, 2012


President William McKinley (in office 1897-1901) has a Bacon Number of 4.
posted by General Malaise at 11:29 AM on September 13, 2012


Woah. Loop and Lil (Townes Van Zandt's pet parakeets who he called his "road 'keets") have a Bacon Number of 4.

This heretical google program does not recognize such awesomeness.
posted by dios at 11:36 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


It won't tell me the Bacon numbers for the composers "Stewed Tomatoes" and "Lettuce Prey".

Disappointing.
posted by One Hand Slowclapping at 11:36 AM on September 13, 2012


Sarah Bernhardt has a 4.

Sergei Eisenstein is a 5.

Now to find someone one more degree away from Sergei Eisenstein...
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:39 AM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Johanna Sällström and Charles Ray are both 3's
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 11:40 AM on September 13, 2012


Francis Bacon's Bacon number is 4.
posted by Capt. Renault at 11:45 AM on September 13, 2012


Ed Herlihy's Bacon number is 2
Ed Herlihy and Robert De Niro appeared in The King of Comedy.
Robert De Niro and Kevin Bacon appeared in Sleepers.

And, Ed Herlihy was the narrator for Universal Newsreels in the 1940s, some of which included appearances by... Adolf Hitler.

So Hitler's Bacon number is 3. Godwinbacon.
posted by dios at 11:47 AM on September 13, 2012


I found a 5.

Virginia Davis, who played Alice in Disney's early "Alice Comedies."
posted by ShutterBun at 12:08 PM on September 13, 2012


I found a 5... Virginia Davis, who played Alice in Disney's early "Alice Comedies."

Sorry. She was in The Harvey Girls with Angela Lansbury and Judy garland, both of whom have bacon numbers of 2. So Virginia is at least a 3.
posted by ubiquity at 12:34 PM on September 13, 2012


Finnish actor Tauno Palo has a Bacon number of 5. I get the feeling there could be Finnish actors with 6 (from the earliest Finnish films), but some of the ones I tried weren't even in the database, judging from how Google didn't give any numbers for them at all.
posted by tykky at 12:37 PM on September 13, 2012


John Wilkes Booth's Bacon number is not found, but there's this:
1. Booth appeared in an 1863 production of MacBeth with Louisa Lane Drew.
2. Drew appeared in an 1896 production of The Rivals with Lionel Barrymore.
3. Barrymore appeared in It’s A Wonderful Life with Jimmy Stuart in 1948.
4. Stuart appeared in Airport ’77 with Jack Lemmon in 1977.
5. Lemmon appeared in JFK with Kevin Bacon in 1991.

William Shakepeare's Bacon number is not found but there's this:
1. William Shakespeare's real name was Francis Bacon.
2. Bacon!

Coincidence? I think not!
 
posted by Herodios at 12:43 PM on September 13, 2012 [5 favorites]


Brigitte Helm's Bacon number is 4:

Brigitte Helm and Marie Glory appeared in Money.
Marie Glory and Abbe Lane appeared in Lo scapolo.
Abbe Lane and John Lithgow appeared in Twilight Zone: The Movie.
John Lithgow and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.
posted by jim in austin at 12:50 PM on September 13, 2012


mean square error: "William Hootkins'* Bacon number is 2
*played X-Wing pilot "Porkins" in Star Wars Episode IV
"

I can't believe you felt the need to explain who that was here.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:06 PM on September 13, 2012


Martin Freeman's Bacon number is 2

Martin Freeman and Elijah Wood appeared in The Hobbit: Part 1.


That's not out yet!
posted by goethean at 1:18 PM on September 13, 2012


Courtney Love has a Bacon Number of 1. Did NOT see that one coming.
posted by Jaymzifer at 1:22 PM on September 13, 2012


Porky Pig has Bacon Number of 2.
(Looney Tunes: Back in Action with Brendan Fraser, who was in The Air I Breathe with Kevin Bacon)
posted by Kabanos at 1:37 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Courtney Love has a Bacon Number of 1. Did NOT see that one coming.

Until the godawful Trapped, she'd been a 2 since before she married Kurt. She was in Sid and Nancy with Chloe Webb, who was in Queens Logic with Bacon in 1991.
posted by Sys Rq at 1:37 PM on September 13, 2012


Ahem.

John Leavitt (I)
was in
"SexTV" (1998) {Submerged Beauty/Molly Crabapple/Adult Baby Nursery (#9.16)}
with
Molly Crabapple
was in
Warren Ellis: Captured Ghosts (2011)
with
Helen Mirren
was in
The 19th Annual CableACE Awards (1997) (TV)
with
Kevin Bacon

BOOYAH

posted by The Whelk at 1:49 PM on September 13, 2012


Heh my Bacon number is 2. Which means all y'alls Bacon number is now reduced by one.
posted by PapaLobo at 1:54 PM on September 13, 2012


Someone get him an account, then we have have a new contact field "Bacon Number"
posted by The Whelk at 1:56 PM on September 13, 2012


mean square error: "William Hootkins'* Bacon number is 2
*played X-Wing pilot "Porkins" in Star Wars Episode IV"

I can't believe you felt the need to explain who that was here.


I've never heard of either of them.
 
posted by Herodios at 1:57 PM on September 13, 2012


Helen Mirren
was in
The 19th Annual CableACE Awards (1997) (TV)
with
Kevin Bacon


Televised awards banquets totally do not count; if they did, there would be one helluva lot more ones. Helen Mirren and James McAvoy appeared in The Last Station. James McAvoy and Kevin Bacon appeared in X-Men: First Class. Helen Mirren's Bacon number is 2.
posted by Sys Rq at 2:00 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


This blew me away - I was trying to stump the machine and tried this:
Bacon number Boris Karloff

Needless to say I was shocked by the response:

Boris Karloff's Bacon number is 2

Boris Karloff and Jack Nicholson appeared in The Raven.
Jack Nicholson and Kevin Bacon appeared in A Few Good Men.
posted by arkham_inmate_0801 at 2:02 PM on September 13, 2012


Whatever my Helen Mirren number is 2.
posted by The Whelk at 2:02 PM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]


The Whelk -> Molly Crabapple
Molly Crabapple -> Nicole Abisinio in Dandelion Man
Nicole Abisinio -> Brett Rice in Prime of Your Life
Brett Rice -> Andie McDowelll in Footloose (2011)
Andie McDowell -> Kevin Bacon in Beauty Shop
posted by rakish_yet_centered at 2:18 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


*Megaweapon and Donald Pleasence appeared in Warrior of the Lost World
Donald Pleasence and Frank Langella appeared in Dracula.
Frank Langella and Kevin Bacon appeared in Frost/Nixon.

*Trumpy and Ian Sera appeared in Pod People.
Ian Sera and Paul L. Smith appeared in Pieces.
Paul L. Smith and Eli Wallach appeared in The Salamander.
Eli Wallach and Kevin Bacon appeared in Mystic River.

*Mr B. Natural (Betty Luster) appeared in Mr. B Natural (short) with Bruce Podewell
*Bruce Podewell appeared on Mr. Wizard with Don Herbert.
Don Herbert and Claudette Colbert appeared in The Dark, Dark Hours.
Claudette Colbert and Robert Wagner appeared in Let's Make It Legal.
Robert Wagner and Kevin Bacon appeared in Wild Things.
posted by fleacircus at 2:21 PM on September 13, 2012 [4 favorites]


Isabel Sarli's Bacon number is 6

Isabel Sarli and Armando Bo appeared in Fiebre.
Armando Bo and Libertad Lamarque appeared in La Cabalgata del Circo.
Libertad Lamarque and Alfonso Bedoya appeared in Gran Casino.
Alfonso Bedoya and John Russell appeared in Man in the Saddle.
John Russell and Chris Penn appeared in Pale Rider.
Chris Penn and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.

Be careful with googling her pictures, though ;-)
posted by palbo at 2:24 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I seem to have stumped it with Ganjirô Nakamura and Yvonne Rainer. Film school FTW!
posted by The Card Cheat at 2:49 PM on September 13, 2012


what's Google's "cooperated with the Chinese firewall" number
posted by This, of course, alludes to you at 2:53 PM on September 13, 2012


Whoa.

Clark Gable's Bacon number is 2
Clark Gable and Eli Wallach appeared in The Misfits.
Eli Wallach and Kevin Bacon appeared in Mystic River.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 3:13 PM on September 13, 2012


Donald duck has no bacon number. Neither, apparently, does Hedda Gabler.
posted by newdaddy at 3:16 PM on September 13, 2012


Hmm, annoyingly Google doesn't recognize "Divine" as an actor. But after going to Wikipedia to get his name and plugging in "bacon number Harris Glenn Milstead" I get:

Divine's Bacon number is 2

Grrrrr. Be consistent!
posted by fader at 5:15 PM on September 13, 2012


Donald duck has no bacon number. Neither, apparently, does Hedda Gabler.

Joke? It works with actors, not fictional characters.

There are too many Hedda Gablers to pick just one, but there's at least a "real" Donald Duck, and his Bacon number is 3:

Clarence Nash and Sterling Holloway appeared in The Three Caballeros. Sterling Holloway and Clint Howard appeared in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Clint Howard and Kevin Bacon appeared in Apollo 13.

Of course, there's also Donald "Duck" Dunn, late bassist of Booker T. & the M.G.'s:

Donald "Duck" Dunn and John Belushi appeared in The Blues Brothers. John Belushi and Kevin Bacon appeared in National Lampoon's Animal House.

(That's a 2.)
posted by Sys Rq at 5:16 PM on September 13, 2012


My mother-in-law has a Bacon number of 3, but it won't show up.

She was Veronica Lake's double in Distant Drums.

Gary Cooper was in Sergeant York in 1941.

June Lockhart was in The Big Picture in 1989.

I saw Kiefer Sutherland at the Kilt Store in Edinburgh in 2004, and yeah, I didn't appear in a movie with anyone, but in my head I have a Bacon number of 2.
posted by Marie Mon Dieu at 5:28 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I really thought Salim Khan Ding-Dong would have a higher number than 3. Bollywood is not the silver bullet that I expected.
posted by painquale at 5:29 PM on September 13, 2012


Bryan Cranston has a Bacon number of 2, Aaron Paul has a Bacon number of 2, but Badger has no Bacon number. He's the loneliest badger of all.
posted by maudlin at 5:46 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I tried to stump it with my uncle, but it turns out my Bacon number is 3.

Ed L. Grady's Bacon number is 2
Ed L. Grady and Ryan Gosling appeared in The Notebook.
Ryan Gosling and Kevin Bacon appeared in Crazy, Stupid, Love..

posted by notashroom at 6:59 PM on September 13, 2012


Keisha Castle-Hughes, Shah Rukh Khan, Björk. 3, 3, 3. I don't know many obscurities...

Oh! Gabriel García Márquez's Bacon number is 4. (Sure, I was searching for García Bernal, but whatever.) (And Salman Rushdie is a 2. The FUCK.)
posted by psoas at 7:00 PM on September 13, 2012


bacon number kim novak is wrong.
posted by RockyChrysler at 7:42 PM on September 13, 2012


This has to be np hard, no?
posted by TheShadowKnows at 8:16 PM on September 13, 2012


Ha! Yes. Yes it is.

Kim Novak and Josh Brolin appeared in Picnic.
Josh Brolin and Kevin Bacon appeared in Hollow Man.


They were indeed both in Picnic, but the version featuring Kim Novak came out some thirteen years before Josh Brolin was born. Brolin was in a made-for-TV remake in 2000; Novak wasn't.

Is it possible they were in a stage version together? Would that even count? Or is Google just being its usual stupid self?
posted by Sys Rq at 8:19 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Badger co-starred with Joel McHale in Community
Joel McHale and Dianne Wiest in The Big Year
Dianne Wiest and Kevin Bacon in Footloose

Badger's number is the not-so-lonely number 3.
posted by PapaLobo at 8:29 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Or is Google just being its usual stupid self?

But it's an artificial stupidity, that's the point.
 
posted by Herodios at 8:49 PM on September 13, 2012


Badger's number is the not-so-lonely number 3.

Yay! Well done! (But it would also be 3 by virtue of being in BB, right? Google didn't catch that.)

You know who else has a Bacon number of 3? Yes, her.
posted by maudlin at 8:52 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


Grr. Corrected link for "You know who else ..".
posted by maudlin at 8:58 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


The entire Huxtable family is a 2 or lower -- and all for completely different reasons! -- except for Sondra, who, as usual, gets completely lost in the shuffle.

Cliff...
Bill Cosby and Donald Sutherland appeared in For Love of Liberty: The Story of America's Black Patriots.
Donald Sutherland and Kevin Bacon appeared in National Lampoon's Animal House.

...and Clair...
Phylicia Rashad and Rebecca Romijn appeared in Good Deeds.
Rebecca Romijn and Kevin Bacon appeared in X-Men: First Class.

...and Denise...
Lisa Bonet and Robert De Niro appeared in Angel Heart.
Robert De Niro and Kevin Bacon appeared in Sleepers.

...and Theo...
Malcolm-Jamal Warner and John Lithgow appeared in The Tuskegee Airmen.
John Lithgow and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.

...and Vanessa...
Tempestt Bledsoe and John Goodman appeared in ParaNorman.
John Goodman and Kevin Bacon appeared in Death Sentence.

...and Rudy FTW!
Keshia Knight Pulliam and Kevin Bacon appeared in Beauty Shop.


Even cousin Pam...
Erika Alexander and Benjamin Bratt appeared in La Mission.
Benjamin Bratt and Kevin Bacon appeared in The Woodsman.


...and Olivia...
Raven-Symoné and Oliver Platt appeared in Dr. Dolittle.
Oliver Platt and Kevin Bacon appeared in X-Men: First Class.


...and Elvin...
Geoffrey Owens and Clint Howard appeared in Play the Game.
Clint Howard and Kevin Bacon appeared in Apollo 13.


...and Buuuuuuuud...
Deon Richmond and Neve Campbell appeared in Scream 3.
Neve Campbell and Kevin Bacon appeared in Wild Things.


...and Cockroach...
Carl Anthony Payne II and Marc Macaulay appeared in Feast 2: Sloppy Seconds.
Marc Macaulay and Kevin Bacon appeared in Wild Things.


...and Grandpa Huxtable...
Earle Hyman and Della Reese appeared in The Moving of Sophia Myles.
Della Reese and Kevin Bacon appeared in Beauty Shop.


...and Grandma Huxtable...
Clarice Taylor and Forest Whitaker appeared in Smoke.
Forest Whitaker and Kevin Bacon appeared in The Air I Breathe.


...and Charmaine...
Karen Malina White and Lynne Thigpen appeared in Lean on Me.
Lynne Thigpen and Kevin Bacon appeared in Novocaine.


...and Howard...
Reno Wilson and Greg Grunberg appeared in Kill Speed.
Greg Grunberg and Kevin Bacon appeared in Hollow Man.


...and on, and on, and on...
posted by Sys Rq at 9:03 PM on September 13, 2012 [3 favorites]


But it would also be 3 by virtue of being in BB, right? Google didn't catch that.
True but then you can't tie Badger to Bacon AND Footloose, for which you should have your number reduced by .5 in my opinion.
posted by PapaLobo at 9:12 PM on September 13, 2012 [1 favorite]


I tried Stan Laurel, thinking it would route through the Fighting Kentuckian (Oliver Hardy to John Wayne, you see). Amazingly, I was wrong.

I once defeated the Bacon search with Chow Yun Fat, but no longer (Dragonball? Dragonball?!).
posted by SPrintF at 9:27 PM on September 13, 2012


Harry Houdini is a 4.
posted by TDavis at 9:32 PM on September 13, 2012


...and, oddly enough, the only 3's I've found in the Cosby Show credits are both of Clair's parents...

Ethel Ayler and Carl Lumbly appeared in To Sleep With Anger.
Carl Lumbly and John Lithgow appeared in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension.
John Lithgow and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.

Joe Williams and Jerry Lewis appeared in Cinderfella.
Jerry Lewis and Dianne Wiest appeared in Cookie.
Dianne Wiest and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.


...and another old-timer...
Lee Weaver and David Boreanaz appeared in Mr. Fix It.
David Boreanaz and Chris Penn appeared in Best of the Best 2.
Chris Penn and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.


...and "Guy #2", whose name you may recognize.
Eagle-Eye Cherry and Dudley Moore appeared in Arthur 2: On the Rocks.
Dudley Moore and John Lithgow appeared in Santa Claus: The Movie.
John Lithgow and Kevin Bacon appeared in Footloose.


Aside from Rudy, B#1's include Jeffrey Engels (AKA "that guy played by Wallace Shawn")...
Wallace Shawn and Kevin Bacon appeared in Starting Over.

...and Mrs. Hudson, who was the head of the community centre where Theo taught at-risk youth in a couple of episodes, and was also the Chief on Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego...
Lynne Thigpen and Kevin Bacon appeared in Novocaine.

...and Eugene, who was one of Theo's students, in the very same two episodes!
Eugene Byrd and Kevin Bacon appeared in Rails & Ties.

The rest -- every last one of them -- are all either twos or nothing. (Of course, I may have missed some. You'll want to go over the list a few more times just to make sure.) (Yes you will!)
posted by Sys Rq at 10:05 PM on September 13, 2012


Herodios: "William Shakepeare's Bacon number is not found but there's this:
1. William Shakespeare's real name was Francis Bacon.
2. Bacon!
"

That's a (fringe) theory, not fact.
posted by IndigoRain at 12:23 AM on September 14, 2012


Once you've had sex with Kevin Bacon you've had sex with everyone, huh?


...oh I seem to have misunderstood what "Bacon number" meant.
posted by littlesq at 1:51 AM on September 14, 2012


MeTa
posted by marsha56 at 2:43 AM on September 14, 2012


I'm pretty staggered to see that Reg Varney has a Bacon Number of 3
posted by DanCall at 2:45 AM on September 14, 2012 [1 favorite]


So does Charles Hawtree. Weirdly, Sid Owen and June Whitfield have bacon number of 2.
posted by urbanwhaleshark at 3:45 AM on September 14, 2012


That's a (fringe) theory, not fact.

Which: 1 or 2?
 
posted by Herodios at 4:12 AM on September 14, 2012


Dani Behr has one of 3. As does William Roache. Ken Barlow!

Sadly, his former TV wife Deidre (Anne Kirkbride) does not have one.

Even Thora Hird is a 3. God, the man hasd been EVERYWHERE.
posted by mippy at 4:20 AM on September 14, 2012


So has anyone managed to find an actor or actress with a Bacon number of 7? The only example of a 7 I've seen is William Rufus Shafter (mentioned by Kabanos above), but he was a general. The Oracle of Bacon hall of fame lists a lot of people who have found 7s and 8s, but it doesn't seem to mention any of the people who actually have Bacon numbers of 7 or 8.
posted by klausness at 4:40 AM on September 14, 2012


The Egg Lady, aka Edith Massey, has a Bacon Number of 3
posted by mikepop at 7:29 AM on September 14, 2012


A 5 for Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese silent film superstar. The terminal link is Clint Howard.

A 4 for Maria Falconetti, star of Dreyer's Passion of Joan of Arc.
posted by Iridic at 8:20 AM on September 14, 2012


Angus Scrimm is also a 2, through Johnny Fever!

Angus Scrimm and Howard Hesseman appeared in Munchie Strikes Back.
Howard Hesseman and Kevin Bacon appeared in Mister Roberts.
posted by PapaLobo at 9:32 AM on September 14, 2012


#4s represent! (I haven't been in a movie, but I'm sort of related to someone who is a 3.)
posted by deborah at 12:08 PM on September 14, 2012


Donald duck has no bacon number...

Joke? It works with actors, not fictional characters.

...there's at least a "real" Donald Duck, and his Bacon number is 3:

Clarence Nash and Sterling Holloway appeared in The Three Caballeros.
Sterling Holloway and Clint Howard appeared in The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh.
Clint Howard and Kevin Bacon appeared in Apollo 13.

I would also suggest a 3 by this route:

Donald Duck and Daffy Duck appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Daffy Duck and Brendan Fraser appeared in Looney Toons: Back in Action
Brendan Fraser and Kevin Bacon appeared in The Air I Breathe
posted by LEGO Damashii at 12:31 PM on September 14, 2012


Six degrees of Kevin Bacon: scientists expose the seedy underbelly "In light of Google's new degree calculator, we consulted a computer scientist to find the incendiary truth behind the claim that every actor connects back to Bacon in six steps or less"

(That's a bit of weird headline but an interesting article - spoilers for the some of the highest Bacon numbers)
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:13 AM on September 15, 2012


Isabel Sarli's Bacon number is 6

Not according to the Oracle of Bacon:

Isabel Sarli was in La diosa virgen (1973) with Ken Gampu
Ken Gampu was in The Air Up There (1994) with Kevin Bacon

Looks like google still has some work to do with their Bacon Number functionality...
posted by klausness at 4:41 AM on September 15, 2012


Six degrees of Kevin Bacon: scientists expose the seedy underbelly

They kind of seem to be missing the fact that "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon" kind of sounds like "Six Degrees of Separation." It's catchy! "Six Degrees of Sean Connery" is not.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:11 AM on September 15, 2012


Gr. For posterity, I'd better correct myself.
It was pointed out to me that Donald Duck has a Bacon number of 2.

Donald Duck and Bob Hoskins appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Bob Hoskins and Kevin Bacon appeared in Balto

Also:
Donald Duck and Christopher Lloyd appeared in Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Christopher Lloyd and Kevin Bacon appeared in Tremors V: The Thunder from Down Under
posted by LEGO Damashii at 9:34 AM on September 24, 2012


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