Kevin Bacon Is The Center Of The Universe

We were trying to figure out Harrison Ford’s Bacon Number over lunch, and I linked him in two steps through the cunning use of director Ron Howard. Which some people thought was cheating, as we should be limited to actor’s only. I went looking for a rules interpretation on the internet, and stumbled upon what can only be described as the Greatest Website Ever.

The Oracle of Bacon spits out the Bacon Number (and the correct chain) of any actor listed in the imdb. Creepily enough, just about everyone has a Bacon Number of two. Here’s a very incomplete list:

Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton
Joan Crawford
John Lee Hooker
Charlie Chaplin
Flea
Flavor Flav
Eddie Izzard
Emmanuel Lewis (linked through Erik Estrada!)
Tupac Shakur
Tina Yothers
Dee Dee Ramone
James Dean
Scott Baio
Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny)
Britney Spears
Lance Armstrong
Jim Henson


You get the point. When you can get to Bacon in two from ex-presidents, athletes, rappers, and long since dead actresses… well, seemingly everyone with a modicrum of fame has a number of two. But Shakira has a Bacon Number of four. It’s the highest I’ve found* of anyone I’ve heard of.

*Ed Note – Actually, Matt found it. The highest I found was Bill Hicks and Muddy Watters at three (which led to a spree of entering dead comedians and blues musicians without luck of cracking three - or having a number of infinity because they never appeared in a movie - damn you, Little Walter). And I’d like to point out my very own Bacon Number is a two as well. My ex-mother-in-law worked on the movie Diner, which starred Kevin Bacon. Which means, if you’re reading this, congratulations! You have a Bacon Number of three!