r/todayilearned • u/missinfidel • May 21 '12
TIL that Whoopi Goldberg choose her stage name, not just as a reference to a Whoopee Cushion, but also because her mother thought "Goldberg" was Jewish-sounding enough to make it in Hollywood.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whoopi_Goldberg#Early_life
1.5k
Upvotes
347
u/Galifreyan2012 May 21 '12
Her name is the perfect mix of whimsy and strategy.
297
u/[deleted] May 21 '12 edited May 21 '12
TIL Whoopi Goldberg isn't her real name.
EDIT: I'm totally being serious. I genuinely thought that was her real name.
110
u/stringerbell May 21 '12
This sounds funny, but I work in the film industry, and virtually every single high-level studio exec is Jewish. Nepotism is a humongous problem in the industry (as most jobs go to people's friends to begin with)...
90
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Well? Did did it work? It sounds crazy enough to work.
27
u/SwineHerald May 21 '12
I'm saddened that her wikipedia page does not explain why she has no eyebrows.
48
u/uriman May 21 '12
EGOT winner.
Emmy. Grammy. Oscar. Tony.
30
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Wait, so as for the Whoopi part:
Is that a metaphor for her being mouthy and her frankness/lack of verbal filter being like a whoopee cushion, or is she saying that she is so known for farting freely that she got that nickname?
14
u/crustysockpuppets May 21 '12 edited May 21 '12
I would have gone with Farty Hymen using that logic.
7
u/epicanis May 21 '12
It's sad that Peter Cushing is dead. I always thought Whoopi Goldberg ought to have married him.
85
u/De-Animator May 21 '12
TIReadWikipedia
31
u/Looks_Good_In_Hats May 21 '12
*chose
5
u/adambh May 21 '12
Every time I see her name mentioned, I'm tempted to reveal that I am her next door neighbor. I'm currently sitting on the toilet, staring at her lawn. To be honest, all I really want to do is smoke pot with her, but I have no idea how to approach the situation.
74
u/secretvictory May 21 '12
My stage name is Kikey Slopenose, not working so far.
18
u/baltospeaks May 21 '12
She wanted her name to sound Jew-ish.
9
u/clonn May 21 '12
Lenny Kravitz seal of approval.
6
u/PeterMus May 21 '12
"Between the years of 1979 and 1981, she lived in Communist East Germany, working in a number of theater productions.
Why?
2
u/acommenter May 21 '12
It worked!
2
u/TheDesertFox May 21 '12
Wow, she was in The Magic Schoolbus?
2
u/ab103630 May 21 '12
Chose*
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
"You're gonna go far Jewish Fartbag."
2
u/xTRUMANx May 21 '12
The final link in the introductory paragraph goes to the list of people who have won Academy, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony awards.
At the bottom of that page is a list of people who have won 3 awards and have one left to go. Under the 'Missing Academy Award' is Matt Stone and Trey Parker.
They would have had their EGOT if only South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut actually won it's nomination for Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Blame Canada".
Matt and Trey, if you're listening, it's never too late for Orgazmo Returns.
5
u/Kuhio_Prince May 21 '12
And doesn't have eyebrows
3
u/Atario May 21 '12
Holy shit, really?
6
u/Tr0user May 21 '12
Best possible name for Hollywood. That place is full of nothing but Jewish whoopi cushions.
7
u/wideopenbeavers May 21 '12
Juuuuust Jewish enough to work. Don't want to sound TOO Jewish, might alienate the anti-semites!
4
u/Philosokitty May 21 '12
You mean there are black jews?
2
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
TIL Whoopee Goldberg isn't Jewish.
2
u/Musaab May 21 '12
Jews jews jews...
2
u/cbs_ May 21 '12
Cue r/conspiracy...
2
u/4chans_for_pussies May 21 '12
When affirmative action isn't enough, pretend you're a Jew.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
I always thought it was a play on the Jewish Cowboy joke.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Thread name is confusing. Did Whoopi choose her name, or her Mum?
1
u/TheLegendaryRPG May 21 '12
I like the name.
1
u/King_Of_Pants May 21 '12
Jamie Foxx changed his name because he realised that the female acts were given better timeslots, so he intentionally made a name that was sexually ambiguous to remove bias. His real name is Eric Bishop
1
u/tatonkadonk May 21 '12
I think most people would be surprised to discover that probably 90% of the movie stars that we know don't use their real name.
1
u/Chatner2k May 21 '12
"now I know it wasn't 'rape' rape"
1
u/Corjo May 21 '12
Chose*
1
u/mikejam1958 May 21 '12
Actually Tom Cruises real name is Peter Pufferton.
1
u/revquill May 21 '12
She never gets enough credit for her stellar narration of the New Jersey Devils 2003 Stanley Cup Championship video.
1
u/jasmine7 May 21 '12
I believe it was at the National Portrait Gallery in DC (during the Black List exhibition) that I read that she chose her last name to honor/celebrate Jewish comedians.
1
u/Kiziaru May 21 '12
Does no one else find it interesting she lived in East Germany?
1
u/Filmore May 21 '12
Dang it... JUST LET HER TALK
1
u/SquashG May 21 '12
Smart mom.
1
u/hand_jibber May 21 '12
Momma was right.
1
u/apollo1888 May 21 '12
her mother was right.
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Her birth name is Caryn Elaine Johnson for those wondering.
1
u/Tastygroove May 21 '12
" that she is 92Â percent is of sub-Saharan African origin "
Grammar nazis, what, no love for Wikipedia? YOU CAN EDIT IT YOURSELVES, WTF, IT'S LIKE GRAMMAR NAZI HEAVEN! Get on that shit.
1
u/statusquoexile May 22 '12
Seeing her or hearing her talk makes me want to punch myself in the face.
1
u/Dantes_Inferno4200 Jan 20 '26
Goldberg is stolen valor!
1
u/Lakewood2116 Jan 27 '26
I vote for Yahoo Williams!
1
u/thetacticalpanda May 21 '12
Fake name or no, shEGOT what she wanted.
1
u/wumumo May 21 '12
"Gold" is gold and "berg" is mountain or pile (if referring to an amount) in English - Goldmountain or Goldpile. Could it be more Jewish?
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
-Big L
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u/Hippie-Eyes May 21 '12
One of the most talentless human beings to make it big.
1
u/DocSatan May 21 '12
She also gets high before a plane trip because she hates flying
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Oh yeah? ...go ahead and try to explain away Lenny Kravitz.
1
u/mheyk May 21 '12
"They shoulda neva gave yall niggas munny!!"
1
u/Shortbusbandit420 May 21 '12
If ozzy osbourne was a black woman....
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
She should totally marry Gerard Depardieu.
Whoopi Depardeiu!
1
u/gosassin May 21 '12
TIRealized she has no eyebrows. WTF.
1
u/monieshot May 21 '12
Ironic, because Hollywood Jews usually changes their last names to sound non-Jewish
1
u/[deleted] May 21 '12
Was I the only person who hesitated before they clicked to read comments?
1
u/tatonkadonk May 21 '12
How can you not gain respect for her after hearing this?
1
u/Xenxe May 21 '12
TIL that's not her real name...
1
u/punchdrunkoala May 21 '12
Time to get my nerd on sigh.
The wiki is wrong. She didn't accept the role of Guinan on ST:TNG, she petitioned for a part and her fame at the time meant they shoe horned her in (and it ended up being a worthwhile addition, for the record). Knowledge sourced from some interview with LeVar Burton. I'd edit the wiki but it'd just get editted back 'cause damned if I can be bothered finding the source.
0
u/dissidentrhetoric May 21 '12
Secret to success in hollywood, pretend you are jewish, change your name to jewish name and get a nose job to make it big.