Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2019 April 19

= April 19 =

Geordi La Forge
The article Geordi La Forge states the character was created in honour of George La Forge, a quadriplegic Star Trek fan who had died in 1975. I understand that the surname "La Forge" comes from that, but where does the first name "Geordi" come from? The character Geordi La Forge is the only person I have heard of, whether real or fictional, to have that first name. Did Roddenberry or some other writer invent it from scratch? J I P &#124; Talk 15:30, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Geordie [sic] is a nickname for someone from the Tyneside area of north-east England, and also describes the local accent; the name is a diminutive of George (with various explanations of how it to be used as a nickname). However, I couldn't say whether this has any relevance to the question. We have a list of people called Geordie. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 15:58, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm aware of the name "Geordie" (though I only knew it as the nickname for a Tyneside person, not as a personal nickname) but the Star Trek character's name is spelled "Geordi" without the terminal "e". The names are pronounced identically but the fact is that La Forge's first name is Geordi and not Geordie. Was this because Roddenberry was American and not English or did he just want a different touch for the name, or what? J I P  &#124; Talk 20:50, 19 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Just for the fun of adding more confusion: Jonathan Frakes and even LeVar Burton himself appear to have named the quadriplegic fan "Jordan La Forge". Memory Alpha has: 'In the documentary Trekkies, however, Jonathan Frakes states that the fan's name was "Jordan".' On that article's talk page editor Vyruss000 writes 'LeVar Burton remembers the name as "Jordan LaForge",' ---Sluzzelin talk  00:31, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
 * Frakes and Burton are simply mistaken. The fan in question died in 1975, they never met him. --Khajidha (talk) 05:36, 21 April 2019 (UTC)


 * It's not unusual for names ending -ie to be shortened to -i, though I think it's more common for girls' names, e.g. Jennie (or Jenny) -> Jenni. Maybe they just thought "Geordi" looked more exotic or futuristic. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:25, 20 April 2019 (UTC)


 * For that matter, there are also the similar names Jordi and Jordie, and someone named Jordan could obviously get tagged with the diminutive form. Doing a Google search against geordi -forge provides a handful of real people with the name Geordi, including a scientist at Sunnybrook. Matt Deres (talk) 12:36, 20 April 2019 (UTC)


 * I once knew a Mexican named Jorge who was called Jordi (pronounced with French J because we were in Lausanne, though the first syllable was stressed). —Tamfang (talk) 03:31, 22 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Roddenberry was using a primitive, real early voice recognition word processor and was wondering aloud whether the character's name should start with a "G" or "D", and the stupid program spit out "Geordi". Yeah, that's it. Clarityfiend (talk) 19:08, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Uriel Porter
Uriel Porter (1906–1985)

No information on this singer and actor

played Wash in He Found a Star 1941. Why no information on this wonderful singer? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sparklegreen (talk • contribs) 19:29, 19 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Because you haven't written the article for him yet? "The Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit" isn't just a slogan - it's true. Matt Deres (talk) 23:46, 19 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Per google books he seems mostly forgotten. If you have access to reliable sources (WP:RS) about him and want to take a stab a writing an article, start by reading Your first article carefully. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:11, 20 April 2019 (UTC)


 * Here is some information Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:16, 20 April 2019 (UTC)