Red Buttons
Red Buttons was originally known as Aaron Chwatt. The idea for his new name came from his hair colour and the 48 buttons on his bellboy's uniform.

Bette Davis
Bette Davis started out as Ruth Davis but changed to Bette after Balzac's cousin Bette.

Michael Crawford
The Phantom of the Opera star was once called Michael Dumble-Smith. The unsurprising desire for a name change was concluded after he saw a passing Crawford's buscuit lorry.

Rock Hudson
The former Roy Scherer became Rock Hudson after his agent searched the globe for an alternative, coming up with an amalgamation of the Hudson River and the Rock of Gibraltar.

Sigourney Weaver
Orginally Susan Weaver, Sigourney picked out her unusual new name from a character in the novel, The Great Gatsby.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah is actually a typo. Her parents wanted to use the biblical name Orpah, but the midwife couldn't spell so it became Oprah.

Luke Perry
Friends star Luke Perry was originally Coy Luther Perry but changed to Luke after the character in his favourite movie, Cool Hand Luke.

Doris Day
Originally Doris Von Kappellof, Doris followed the wise advice of band leader Barney Rapp and changed her name. She used to sing the song 'Day after Day' for him.

Gary Cooper
Born Frank Cooper, his agent persuaded him to change to Gary after the agent's home town - Gary, Indiana.