Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Degrees of Separation

I'm wondering if I've moved up in the game. You know, the game called "6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon."

In the game you try to figure out the closest link you have to Kevin Bacon. For example if you are related to Mr. Bacon that would be 1 degree separation, if you are friends of a relative that would be 2 degrees, etc... The theory is that no one is more than 6 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon. Why they chose him for the game I have no clue, it's just part of the game.

The reason I'm wondering if I'm closer is because of what happened to me this past weekend.

I had the privilege of performing the marriage of a another young woman who was part of the youth group in my former church. She had a lovely intimate wedding in a small historic chapel in a tiny town on the Washington State peninsula. In youth group I remembered her mentioning once that she was related to a famous actress, but brushed that off as simply a youth trying to gain attention. After all I once claimed to be related to Martin Short, just for that kind of attention.

Well Stephanie Reed wasn't joking. Her aunt is the actress Pamela Reed who just so happened to attend her niece's wedding this weekend. Needless to say, I enjoyed my crow. The thought had crossed my mind to do the star-struck thing and ask for an autograph or get a picture with her, but felt it better for Ms. Reed to enjoy the wedding of her niece like a "normal" person.

But this brings me back to my original thought.

Does presiding at the wedding of Pamela Reed's niece move me up in degrees nearer to Kevin Bacon? The preliminary checking I've done indicates that Ms. Reed has not done any acting with Kevin Bacon, but does the mere fact that she's and actor and he's an actor mean that she is 1 degree of separation ergo I am now 2 because I performed the wedding for her niece? I haven't found rules to the game to tell if I'm on the right track.


But if this counts, then I've been 2 degrees of separation for a while because I once saw Donald Sutherland in a Barnes and Nobles in Topeka, Kansas.


Don't worry, I'm not letting this fame go to my head...


PJ

10/22 - update. According to the "Oracle of Bacon" both Pamela Reed and Donald Sutherland are 2 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon - so I guess that puts me at 3 degrees.

PJ

3 comments:

Don and Anna said...

Well, you beat me. I only met, went to church with and had dinner at the house of Linda Kelsey's brother, Don Kelsey and his wife, Carol. They live in St. Paul and we went to the same church while Anna and I were there last year. In case you don't remember who Linda Kelsey is, she played a reporter on the Lou Grant show, when Ed Asner was playing the chief editor of a newspaper, after the Mary Tyler Moore Show. She also did bit appearances on Perry Mason. I guess that gives me three degrees at best. (Smile) Don

Anonymous said...

The way I've understood the game is that it is limited to actors - one degree of separation would be actors in the same movie with Kevin Bacon, i.e. Tom Hanks in Apollo 13. The farther out degree would be someone like Shelley Long, who was in a movie with Tom Hanks - so she's at 2 degrees. Etc. - the theory is that somehow, every actor is within 6 degrees of connection to Kevin Bacon, via other actors they have been in movies with.

As for Ms. Pamela Reed, she was in The Right Stuff with Ed Harris, who played John Glenn. Ed Harris also played Gene Kranz in - you guessed it, Apollo 13 with Kevin Bacon! So Ms. Reed is in 2 degrees of separation from Kevin Bacon.

As for how it relates to you - I haven't a clue. But if you want to claim a 3 degree connection, I say go for it! LOL.

Don and Anna said...

Oh Sister! Don't get all "rulesy"! We're trying to have a little fun here, and let Jon think he's famous or something! (Hee hee!) Don