CBS recently launched a new television series, Same Name, which pairs up celebrities with average citizens who happen to share their same names. For instance, the actor David Hasselhoff and another fellow named David Hasselhoff switch lives and see how their namesake lives.

Although I don’t foresee ever watching a single episode, the program reminded me of some amusing guests who have come to visit at my Chamber Magic^® shows in New York.

One week I had a man sitting in the front row whose name was Sherlock Holmes. The very next week, there was a man in the audience named James Bond. Of course I asked both of them to show me their drivers licenses, and sure enough those were their actual names!

Another month or so passed, and a fellow in the audience was named Bruce Wayne. (Batman’s alter-ego)

Is there a trend of fictional crime-fighters that I should know about? Is there a convention in town? I truly found this amazing.

On a similar yet different note, I’ve had many “Steve Cohen’s” come to my show. At the end, they always come to the front and challenge me with a sneer: “I’ll bet you can’t guess MY name!” And of course I reply, “Hmmm. Is it… STEVE COHEN??” And they are actually surprised. What they don’t apparently realize is that only someone named “Steve Cohen” would ever think to introduce themselves with such a challenge!