Today is actor Kevin Bacon's 50th birthday.
Bacon is the subject of the trivia game "
." The premise: due to his prolific screen career, any Hollywood actor can be linked to another in six steps or less. A person's number of degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon is that person's "Bacon Number".
Leonard Bernstein's Bacon Number is 2: Bacon's co-star in "Footloose" was Lori Singer, a Juilliard-trained cellist who knew Bernstein.
Leopold Stokowski's Bacon Number is 3: Lori Singer's father was conductor Jacques Singer, who was a protege of Stokowski.
Arturo Toscanini's Bacon Number is also 3: Lori Singer studied with Leonard Rose, who was hired by Toscanini to play in the NBC Symphony Orchestra.
Gustav Mahler's Bacon Number is 4: Leonard Rose was a friend of conductor Bruno Walter, who was a friend of Mahler's.
Yo Yo Ma's Bacon Number is 2: He and Lori Singer both studied with Leonard Rose.
Joshua Bell's Bacon Number is 3: His friend John Corigliano (who composed "The Red Violin Concerto" for Bell) taught orchestration to Michael Bacon, who is Kevin's big brother (Michael and Kevin performed together as "The Bacon Brothers").
Any others we should add to the list? What's your Bacon Number?
You might want to consult
! (props to Fred Child for the tip!)
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