Speaking of Brea Grant…
Many years ago, I wasn’t a huge fan of Kevin Bacon until I saw "The Big Picture", and then "Tremors", and so I finally decided he cracks me up and is cool.
Then someone told me about the Oracle of Bacon, where you enter an actor’s name and get their Bacon Number; their degree of separation from Kevin Bacon (if you don’t know what this is then I won’t explain because you are hopelessly unhip).
I put my name into The Oracle and it came up with nothing. Drat. But wait a sec…
I’m in this video with Brea Grant (see below), who was in "Halloween II" with Octavia Spencer, who was in "Beauty Shop" with… Kevin Bacon.
I have a Bacon Number of 3!
OK, not officially, since my video with Brea probably doesn’t count. So I looked again at The Oracle, and realized it was only searching movies. As it happens I’ve done a few documentaries which are listed on IMDB, so I hit the "allow all" button on the Oracle which includes documentaries…
Aha! It still works! It doesn’t include Brea, sadly, but I suspect Aretha is pretty cool, too.
Hey, cool! I still have a Bacon number of 3.
Still, since both methods are a little dodgy, I think it’s fair to fudge it a bit. Let’s just say I have a Bacon Number of a tad more than three… say, 3.1415.
Mmmmm. Bacon Pi.
Related posts:
- Brea Grant rocks Bad Astronomy!
- Grant me a geek
July 16th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
so then what’s your Erdős–Bacon number
July 16th, 2010 at 12:14 pm
We always knew you were a HAM!
July 16th, 2010 at 12:16 pm
Ok, so it doen’t involve actors, but my Bacon number is 4. My husband’s parents worked for Kevin Bacon’s father.
July 16th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
Just to be the comic book guy, you should point out that Brea Grant was in Rob Zombie’s Halloween II, not the original. So there.
July 16th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Does it have to be movies? Kevin Bacon and his brother have a band — the Bacon Bros:
http://baconbros.com/
My brother was in a band that one night had a gig at the same place as the Bacon’s Bros and got to hang out with them afterward. Apparently, in real life Michael Bacon is the cool one.
July 16th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
My Bacon Number is 2.
July 16th, 2010 at 12:58 pm
Uh oh, Mr. Plait, it seems that PZ Myers has a Bacon Number of 2. In order to win this one, your new goal must be to work your way on screen with Kevin Bacon himself. Godspeed, sir.
July 16th, 2010 at 1:00 pm
There is also plenty of cheese around here too, anyone for a sandwich?
July 16th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
Have you seen the tv documentary “Connected: The Power of Six Degrees”? If not, I recommend it highly. Fascinating. Took the basic idea and worked out the math, tried experiments and are applying the math elsewhere.
July 16th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
My Bacon number is 2…I shared a brief amount of screen time behind Brad Pitt and George Clooney is Ocean’s 11. Brad Pitt was in Sleepers with Kevin Bacon
July 16th, 2010 at 1:32 pm
That site seems to have some trouble, I can not connect to it.
Hmm I wonder… how many readers this blog has ?
July 16th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I have a Bacon number of 3 if I get to count being in the crew for a movie. Fiziker > Ryan Gosling > Theresa Russell > Keven Bacon.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Bah! Forget that stiff Bacon. I now am researching Phil Plait numbers, and I find some interesting things… Like David Tennant has a Phil Plait number of 3 as does Wil Wheaton, both with connections through Roger Tilling.
Squee.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
And wonder of wonders, Bart Sibrel has a Phil Plait number of 4 through Roger Tilling too. Who is this Tilling guy?
July 16th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I think the increased hits is because of mention Brea’s name so often lately, the bacon mention is probably not helping much either.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:18 pm
Hey, my Bacon number is 3. (Me –> Bill Prady –> James Keane –> Kevin Bacon.)
And, I suppose, everyone here has a number no more than 4, if you go to Phil Plait as your first step.
But Phil, “3.1415″? Really? If you’re going to truncate instead of round, at least do it where the next digit isn’t a 9.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:21 pm
But did you know that Brea has a Phil Plait number of 4?
July 16th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Well I for one am furious that IMDB doesn’t list my award-winning short film “NASA’s Spacecraft Chamber of Horrors”.
No really, it won two awards. Very local awards, sure, but hey, an award is an award, right? Right?
Hello? Is this thing on?
*sigh* My Bacon number is infinity.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:35 pm
I’m more interested in your Francis Bacon number. Philosopher-scientist or Expressionist painter, take your pick.
July 16th, 2010 at 2:45 pm
He, something similar I’m sure; I saw him flash by as a dancer (?) in a part of a movie on television in between something else, then “Tremors”: a completely forgettable film if not for Bacon. I think he pulled out that Sean Connery/Peter O’Toole charisma.
July 16th, 2010 at 3:11 pm
My name is Kevin and I like Bacon.
Hmm. That sounds like I’m standing up at Bacon Anonymous.
BA?
I’ll stop now.
July 16th, 2010 at 3:47 pm
I can claim a 3; I was an extra in “Hal” (1998) with Stevie Ray Dallimore, who was in “Down” (2001) with William Roberts, who was in “Balto” (2005) with Kevin Bacon. (“Hal” was a low-budget independent, and is not on IMDB.)
July 16th, 2010 at 4:21 pm
Well, Phil… since it’s possible to edit the Kevin Bacon field as well as the second, empty field, you may be excited to learn a few things I tried out:
Your Nicholson number is 3
Your Bullock number is 3
And, most importantly:
Your Walken number is 3.
Hey, I’m starting to think this isn’t a Bacon-exclusive game at all. What gives!?
PS: In response to BJN’s comment above: “Phil Plait has a FRANCIS BACON number of 4.”
July 16th, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Lassie (I) -> The Piece of String (1911) -> King Baggot (I) -> Holiday in Mexico (1946) -> Roddy McDowall -> The Big Picture (1989) -> Kevin Bacon. 3 degrees, just like Phil.
July 16th, 2010 at 4:24 pm
I’m going to second the request for your Erdős–Bacon number, BA. From Wiki, in case you’ve not heard of it before:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erd%C5%91s%E2%80%93Bacon_number
July 16th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
My sister was in the documentary Jandek on Corwood and it turns out she also has a bacon number of 3!
Amy Kelley –> Jandek on Corwood (2003) –> Barry Hansen (II) –> UHF (1989) –> Kevin McCarthy (I) –> Hero at Large (1980) –> Kevin Bacon
July 16th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I unofficially have a Bacon number of 3.
Now to achieve a Plait number of 1.
July 16th, 2010 at 5:26 pm
“Isn’t this an astronomy website?”
Somebody had to.
July 16th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
“but I suspect Aretha is pretty cool, too.”
You suspect? YOU SUSPECT?
July 16th, 2010 at 6:33 pm
Like a candle. Really.
July 16th, 2010 at 6:51 pm
She looks…*tapped nicer business (in another life)*…stars in *barf*…reads my blog…*whoot whoot whoot*. The simple mechanisms of the universe. Observable, reproducable, true…
I appreciate any comments, but what on earth makes you think I’ll remember there’s anything to reply to once I wake up tomorrow ?
July 16th, 2010 at 8:44 pm
I went to high school with Meryl Streep, which apparently gives me a Bacon number of 2. Not that I can put it in my faculty service report….
July 16th, 2010 at 10:35 pm
I tried it and got Phil Plait > Jeff Hester > Martin Sheen > Kevin Bacon.
It appears that there isn’t a unique solution. I’d be interested to see how their bacon optimisation algorithm works.
July 16th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
Yes let’s!
Bacon pi? Usually there’s egg involved somewhere there too.
As for me, well I’ve watched Kevin Bacon on TV and at cinemas and for the Plait no. regularly post comments on this blog – does that count?
July 16th, 2010 at 11:01 pm
Oh no! PZ is closer to both Colbert and Bacon than Phil is.
July 16th, 2010 at 11:16 pm
I stumped it Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson host Top Gear -> who had Helen Mirren on as the star in a reasonably priced car -> Helen Mirren kissed Kyra Sedgwick in Losing Chase -> Kyra sedgwick is married to Kevin Bacon
July 17th, 2010 at 2:32 am
Bacon pi?
I once saw a recipe for bacon jam.
July 17th, 2010 at 3:59 am
I’m donating a steadicam to you as soon as I can afford one.
July 17th, 2010 at 8:17 am
I think I have a bacon number of 2 actually. I did animation work on a documentary narrated by Jon Lithgow.
July 17th, 2010 at 8:47 am
2.
Worked with his sister on a project in Baltimore. And she had photos of him in her condo. So, really, like 1.8.
July 17th, 2010 at 10:04 am
I have a Bacon # of 2. I was an extra in a scene with Billy Crudup for Watchmen. Crudup was in Sleepers with Bacon. Woo-hoo!
July 17th, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Isn’t ‘Dorking out’ all over somebody an arrestable offence? Bad man Phil, bad man
July 17th, 2010 at 9:00 pm
All I get when I put names in that site is, “Unknown error number -1.” Is anyone else having that issue?
CJSF
July 18th, 2010 at 12:39 am
27. RCSI Says: “Now to achieve a Plait number of 1.”
1) Write a book.
2) Have Phil write the Foreword.
- Jack
July 18th, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Martin Sheen (B#1) went to high school with my Dad (B#2) who later on begat me (B#3).
And yes, I have a Plait # of 1, having both heard him lecture (2x) and actually have had the pleasure of dining with him (TAM 1).
What, to get a number you have to work with him? Fine. Ask him to recite that reprehensible pun I quoted him in Cincinnati…had to do with 2026 and some asteroid…
Beat that, y’all…
July 18th, 2010 at 8:25 pm
I have an Erdős number of 4, if physics papers are allowed, and a Bacon number of 4, via Fox News idiot Steve Doocy and Dick Clark, if TV appearances are allowed (which they usually aren’t). So I guess my Erdős-Bacon number is 8 with an asterisk. And my Kibo number is 1, so I arguably have an Kibo-Erdős-Bacon number of 9. I think that’s pretty low for the general population, though probably far from the record.
This is where I make the joke about my book, “Kibo, Erdős, Bacon: An Eternal Krunchy Breakfast.”
July 18th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
For actors in general film, its amazingly hard to find anyone with a bacon number above 3. I’ve been searching for a while now, thinking of minor roles from the more esoteric films in my collection, and even minor extras in German silent films from the twenties managed to find a Bacon number of 3. I tried minor characters in a couple of Japanese silent films as well… Bacon number of 3. He’s everywhere!
July 19th, 2010 at 1:55 am
I was going to say you are officially cool. Now after reading all of these comments, I think that might make your ego *pop*.
July 19th, 2010 at 1:55 am
Dang, there are too many certified certifiable geeks out there and they’ve already brought up the Erdos number.
July 19th, 2010 at 2:36 am
My good friend Rez Kempton has a Bacon number of 2! (He was in ‘Reuniting the Rubens’ with Rhona Mitra who was in ‘Hollow Man’ with Kevin Bacon in 2000). Cool!
July 19th, 2010 at 7:52 am
I think you have to stretch the rules of the game a bit when you are dealing with people who aren’t movie stars. It also helps point out the whole six degrees of separation concept – that we’re all more connected than we realize. So I will allow your Bacon number of three. I have you beat with a Bacon number of 2, which I suppose gives me a Plait number of 5? But better still, I have a Wheaton number of 3. Is your Wheaton number 1? That would give me a Plait number of only 4! I always think it would be interesting to use Facebook to figure out more people’s Bacon numbers, after all, my friends all have Bacon Numbers of 3 and don’t even know it. But since so many people would lie, we’d never get accurate estimates.
July 19th, 2010 at 9:18 am
my Bacon number is 5 since Phil and I have a colleague in common. however, when i pop Dave Pirner into the Oracle of Bacon, i get a bacon number of 3.
July 19th, 2010 at 1:15 pm
My bacon number is two, I guess, since I worked on a section of trail he likes hiking on, and ran into numerous people who passed him on the trail.
We had to warn hikers to hang their food up at night lest he come and eat it.
July 19th, 2010 at 2:09 pm
Bad news: the Big Squid has you beat.
July 19th, 2010 at 2:31 pm
Your close personal friend Adam Savage has a Bacon number of 2, btw.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:52 pm
I guess when Kevin Bacons parents conceived him they were,,,makin Bacon,,,
Gary 7
July 19th, 2010 at 10:56 pm
I guess my BN would be 4…. my dad was the Coast Guard rescue helicopter hoist operator that lifted out the castaways of Gilligan’s island. So it goes my dad- Bob Denver w/ David Bowe(not singer) in back to the beach. David Bowe(not singer) w/ Kevin Bacon in a few good men.
My dad rescued Gilligan
July 20th, 2010 at 8:53 am
I have a Bacon number of 4.
I have a Plait number of 1.
July 20th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
Does asking a question during FA’s interview earn me a Plait number of 1?
The only Bacon connection I have is my father-in-law helped in the design of the Saturn V rocket, (he’s a mechanical engineer) and Bacon starred in a movie about Apollo 13. A stretch to Bacon perhaps…but 17 years with the family has given me a whole new appreciation for space.
July 21st, 2010 at 10:46 am
I have a Bacon number of 3, Phil.
DGKnipfer
is married to
CDKnipfer
interviewed
Stevie Wonder
for Armed Forces Radio and Television
Stevie Wonder
was in
The 47th Annual Grammy Awards (2005) (TV)
with
Kevin Bacon
You have to do better.
August 2nd, 2011 at 12:23 am
Leander, what’s with the Brea-hating? And Dexter is a dimwit TV show now? Just…go away.
August 2nd, 2011 at 8:43 am
dmso (61): I deleted Leander’s comment, as it clearly violated my “Don’t be a jerk” policy.