Shug, Dub, and Dabbs: What's In A Company Name?

If you recognize the words in the title as the first names of great character actors from the past, you're as much of a movie and TV geek as I am. But what part do their names play in designating the kind of roles they played?

George "Shug" Fisher was a country musician and western movie sidekick, who also appeared on such TV shows as "Petticoat Junction" and "The Beverly Hillbillies." His nickname came from his mother, who called him Sugar when he was a baby.

Better known is Dub Taylor, who played a sidekick type character named Cannonball in a number of westerns, along with many other parts in many other movies. Dub is short for "W" which is short for Walter.

The most widely known is Dabbs Greer, who played the elder version of Tom Hanks's character in "The Green Mile." He was also the fellow who was rescued by George Reeves's Superman in the very first episode of the series back in 1952. Robert Greer got his Dabbs moniker from his mother's maiden name.

None of those fine actors ever played a president or any other famous personage. Their names tell you why. Those were the days when the studios were reaping the benefits of the contract system, under which they pretty much took control of their actors' working lives (and sometimes their personal lives as well). That included choosing the actors' stage names. (Judy Garland was born Frances Gumm, so sometimes they were right.)

Whether the three actors chose to use the nicknames or the studio did, the choices dictated the kinds of roles they would play: sidekicks and character parts, not leads. The men themselves might have been able to play leading roles, but their names weren't.

I recall a George Carlin quotation: Attending college at a place called Bob Jones University is like putting your money in Nick & Tony's Bank. It's the same idea: the names need to match the desired image.

Pick a name for your company and a screen name for yourself that communicate the message you want. Of course I could mention a whole raft of aptly named companies that proved to be supremely successful, such as IBM, Alcoa, McDonald's, and Xerox. But that wouldn't be any fun.

There was once a company called Boring Business Systems, but the web site is no longer active, so maybe they wised up. If you're applying for a job as a kindergarten teacher, and your e-mail address is hellspawn666@whatever.com, no way you're getting that gig. I admit to being surprised when I first saw one of the big white trucks driving around my neighborhood with "G.O.D." in giant letters on the side. G.O.D. stands for Guaranteed Overnight Delivery.

From the What Were They Thinking? Department: I pass an auto repair garage on the way to a friend's house. It's called A- Automotive. Is A minus the grade they got at auto repair school? We'll assume that the name Triple F Pet Supplies (Ontario, Canada) has nothing to do with a grade. And for years, on Pittsburgh's South Side was a diner, standing tall and proud, called Terminal Lunch.

The Internet is rife with ill-named entities. Who Represents is a site where you can find the agency that represents your favorite celebrity. Their web site address could have done with a little more deliberation: www.whorepresents.com. Experts Exchange is a kind of clearing house where you can find links to sites relating to education, finance, business, electronics, and much more. Unfortunately, they didn't put a lot of thought into the name of their web site. www.expertsexchange.com.

An online search will turn up such improbable names as the Amigone Funeral Home, Bearable Dentistry, Bender Chiropractic, the May Pop Tire Shop, and the Fractured Prune Donut Shoppe. (Their web site is a lovely shade of purple.)

Sometimes odd names work, and even a non-word will get the job done. Can you define Activia, Advanta, Integra, or Aleve? Neither can I because they're not actual words, but they have proven to work just fine as names of companies and products.

So don't decide on your company name or screen name by yourself. For something this important, you need input from people who have less direct involvement. Run it by a few friends and let them in on the fun.

Then buy them a burger at Fuddruckers.