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Kevin Bacon's on everyone's lips
October 25, 1996
Web posted at: 7:50 a.m. EDTFrom Correspondent Paul Vercammen
LOS ANGELES (CNN) -- Kevin Bacon's name is being thrown around a lot these days in places you wouldn't expect.
"Let's link Paul Newman to Kevin Bacon," begins a conversation you may hear at a cocktail party or on a college campus. "Paul Newman was in the 'Color of Money' with Tom Cruise. Tom Cruise was in 'A Few Good Men' with Kevin Bacon."
That's how you play "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon," a cultural phenomenon that's taking the nation by storm.
The game rests on the actor's impressive resume of 31 films. The trick is to link other actors to him in six steps or less.
Invented in Pennsylvania by three snowed-in buddies, it's spread to the University of Southern California film school, where's it's being tried out with a vengeance.
"We were watching 'Footloose' and came up with the theory that any actor can be traced to Kevin Bacon in six movies or less," explains Brian Turtle of the game's incarnation.
Two and a half years later, Turtle, along with co-developers Craig Fass and Mike Gianelli, have gone from an appearance on MTV's "Jon Stewart Show" to writing a book and creating a Web site on the game.
The game works with almost any actor, from the obscure (i.e. Shirley Temple, Orson Welles, Errol Flynn) to now infamous icons of pop culture. Take O.J. Simpson, for example.
"O.J. Simpson was in 'Naked Gun' with Priscilla Presley, who was in 'Ford Fairlaine' with Gilbert Gottfreid, who was in 'Beverly Hills Cop II' with Paul Reiser, who was in 'Diner' with Kevin Bacon," Fass demonstrates.
Inspiration strikes
Bacon's extensive connection to the acting world came to the creators during a drunken evening watching the movie "Six Degrees of Separation," starring Will Smith and Anthony Michael-Hall. They tried other actors, but no one worked quite like Bacon, who was also in many of the creators' favorite films: "Animal House," "Footloose" and "Tremors."
But the question is: Can Bacon play at his own game.
"I don't think I would be that hard to stump, because I don't even remember some of the movies I've been in," the actor said. "I mean, my memory is completely shot."
"Let's try Shaquille O'Neill. He was in 'Blue Chips' with Nolte. Nick Nolte was in 'Mullholand Falls' with Chris Penn, who was in 'Footloose' with moi," Bacon says, playing along.
What's made links to Bacon easier is Bacon's own knack of picking supporting roles in films with big ensemble casts, like "A Few Good Men," "JFK" and now "Sleepers."
"That's what I did, and it worked," Bacon said, laughing. "I got a game out of it."
"Kevin Bacon to Mickey Mouse," says a groups of guys playing at USC. "Mickey Mouse was in 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit' with Bob Hoskins. Bob Hoskins was in 'Hook' with Dustin Hoffman, and Dustin Hoffman was in 'Sleepers' with Kevin Bacon."
The game's creators say it is perfect for beating boredom.
"It's great for long car rides," Fass said, "or if you're stuck in an elevator for three hours."
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