The Mark Of Kane

[poliphilo]

Citizen Kane
Mahatma Kane Jeeves (a pseudonym of W.C. Fields)
Marshall Will Kane (The Gary Cooper character in High Noon)
The Caine Mutiny
Michael Caine (the screen name of the artist formerly known as Maurice Micklewhite)
Kwai-Chiang Cain (Keith Carradine's character in Kung Fu)

These are some instances. There are others.

Why does this name (in various spellings) keep cropping up in the popular culture of the mid-twentieth century?

When it occurs in "real life" Kane is usually an Americanization of "Cohen". But none of my Kanes appears to be Jewish.

My guess is that we're dealing with the romance of the Biblical Cain- the man branded and outcast by God. The name serves as a badge of mid-twentieth century alienation.

Any other suggestions?

Comments

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Sorry- I always get them Carradine brothers mixed up. Keith is the one who plays Wild Bill Hickok in Deadwood, right?

I skimmed Keith Carradine's filmography on IMDB and didn't see it, so I dunno.

And even though we are all picking your nits, I think, at least in the case of Kung Fu, that the reference to the Biblical Cain is spot on.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My friend Judy suggests that the hard "k" sound denotes heroism . And she directs me to Star Trek:

Kirk
Spock
Picard
Ryker

She adds that Hollywood takes this sort of thing very seriously.

She may have a point.

I guess this makes you doubly heroic!

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

I guess this makes you doubly heroic!

Probably too heroic for a woman in Hollywood--note the popularity of Susan Sarandon (is that spelled right) who has all those soft sibilants and nasals. There is an American sitcom actress with my name, but she was pretty bad. (Ohmigod! There was a UK sitcom with my name!!!! Cool!)

When I first learned about vanity surfing, I discovered a British stripper-turned-online-pornstar and a romance writer who have my name. Now there are a lot more--a poet, a designer, a radio host, a stand-up comic. I don't even show up till page 5, and then only once.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Hmm. I don't share my name with anyone terribly interesting. Just the odd company director.

Oh, and the man who runs the Debbie Harry archive in Shoreham-by-Sea.

[karenkay.livejournal.com]

Well, the company director mixup is interesting. But the Debbie Harry *archive*? That's vaguely creepy.