Some celebrities changed their names before entering show business because they were worried they might sound too ethnic or be too hard to pronounce. Below, you can find our list of 26 vintage film stars and their real names.

Film star Boris Karloff's real name was William Henry Pratt.
Would Boris Karloff had
been as frightening to
audiences as Bill Pratt?

1. Frederic Austerlitz: Fred Astaire
2. Benjamin Kubelsky: Jack Benny
3. Edward Israel Iskowitz: Eddie Cantor
4. Lucille Fay LeSueur: Joan Crawford
5. Harry Lillis Crosby: Bing Crosby
6. Frank James Cooper: Gary Cooper
7. Ruth Elizabeth Davis: Bette Davis
8. Milton Berlinger: Milton Berle
9. Nathan Birnbaum: George Burns
10. Doris Kappelhoff: Doris Day
11. Frances Smith: Dale Evans
12. Leonard Slye: Roy Rogers
13. Norma Jean Baker: Marilyn Monroe
14. Frances Gumm: Judy Garland
15. Archibald Leach: Cary Grant
16. Margarita Cansino: Rita Hayworth
17. Joseph Levitch: Jerry Lewis
18. Dino Crocetti: Dean Martin
19. Ruby Stevens: Barbara Stanwyck
20. Julia Jean Turner: Lana Turner
21. Marion Morrison: John Wayne
22. Bernard Schwartz: Tony Curtis
23. William Beedle: William Holden
24. William Henry Pratt: Boris Karloff
25. Béla Blaskó: Bela Lugosi
26. Asa Yoelson: Al Jolson

Top 5 Most Intriguing Lists
While you can browse through hundreds of fascinating lists at Extraordinary Lists, here are 5 lists that we feel are certain to amaze and entertain:

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS:

Helen Davies, Marjorie Dorfman, Mary Fons, Deborah Hawkins, Martin Hintz, Linnea Lundgren, David Priess, Julia Clark Robinson, Paul Seaburn, Heidi Stevens, and Steve Theunissen