Was the only person in the company branded with the dubious distinction of resembling a Very Famous person Todd Alan Johnson? Or are there other actors in the programs fated to be tarred with the same brush? To answer this burning question, we need look no farther than Gregory Calvin Stone, who appeared in the same Les Misérables program as Todd Alan Johnson, prompting Katie to make the above statement. And so Stone was fated to be pegged as someone who, in costume, under the lights, may perhaps bear a passing resemblance to...Barry Gibb.
Who?
Of course not many people recognize the name Barry Gibb, but many will know of whom we speak when we say The Bee Gees, and that's what makes Barry Gibb famous: he's the lead singer of The Bee Gees, a record-setting band emanating from the sixties and seventies, a time when a group could start with songs such as "To Love Somebody," "First of May," and "I've Gotta Get a Message to You" and move on to "More Than a Woman," "How Deep is Your Love," and--the one song you will recognize, even if you've no clue about any of the others, and the song that is also the signature song of John Travolta's first smash hit movies--disco anthem "Stayin' Alive." And now, we give you The Bee Gees:
Three Australian brothers, Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb, compose The Bee Gees, but here we are interested in Barry Gibb alone, for it is his likeness that first Alexandra, then Katie, then Lindsay, then several others saw in Gregory Calvin Stone. Specifically, they saw it in the picture below, in which Stone is the star of the show, playing convict-turned-really-good-guy, Jean Valjean. Note that Gregory Calvin Stone is highlighted.
Naturally, more research was undertaken, and, fantastically, a consensus reached: it's the hair. Note the pristine, almost other-worldly condition of Gregory Calvin Stone's hair (wig) in the picture above. Note the same halo-like quality found in Barry Gibb's hair. And thus the suggestion of likeness is explained. For further proof, a thirty-second search of the internet revealed The Official Greg Stone Website, which demonstrates via the ever-useful headshot that Stone bears no intrinsic resemblance to Barry Gibb. It's all in the hair and the beard and the lighting...but mostly in the hair. But just for the heck of it, let's put up a few more pictures and examine all the evidence.
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Barry Gibb (left) is live and in concert. Meanwhile, early in the play, Gregory Calvin Stone's character (right) is a convict released on parole, hence the natty outfit. Observe what a difference the hair makes. |
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At a concert in the late 1990s, Barry Gibb (right) demonstrates that even thirty years later, his hair still hasn't lost its step. About ten years later, as time is measured in Les Misérables, Gregory Calvin Stone has made it as the prosperous mayor of a small town, and his hair has benefited accordingly. |
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Barry Gibb (left) is happily decked out and playing his guitar. On the other hand, Gregory Calvin Stone's Jean Valjean is praying for the safety of his adopted daughter's true love. Two very different situations, despite the similar styles of their bangs. |
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Are there any other connections concerning Gregory Calvin Stone?
Nothing more need be said than that in the spring of 2003, Gregory
Calvin Stone could be seen on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre as the
standby for Bud in the musical version of The Urban Cowboy.
With a nod to Dave Barry, we are not making this up.
Has any other actor been singled out as Bee Gees-esque while playing Jean Valjean?
Surprisingly, yes. The Roanoake Times published a review in which the critic, Beth Jones, notes a Bee Gee-like quality to Randal Keith's voice.
"Most of the time, Keith looks like he just stepped out of a video by an '80s hair band, and he sounds like one of the Bee Gees when he sings. Still, he's made for the role. Keith delivers the most passionate performance in the production. He's got oomph running out of his ears."
But as far as we know, no other reviewer has come out with such a bold assessment of the situation, although a visitor to a Les Misérables message board has observed "Doesn't every Jean Valjean look like a member of the Bee Gees?" All of which raises the question of whether a Bee Gees likeness is systemic among the actors who have played Jean Valjean, and not an isolated incident.
Meanwhile, none of this begins to address possible likenesses in other cast members, including those between Ivan Rutherford--note especially the inset headshot--and Harrison Ford...
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...(or possibly Steve Zahn), and between Tim Howar and Hugh Grant...
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...and between Matthew Shepard and Kevin Costner.
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And so we are left to ponder the strange connection between (among others) Todd Alan Johnson, John Travolta, Barry Gibb, and Gregory Calvin Stone, the serendipity of hair, and what truly makes a person look like themselves and not a pop star and disco legend from Australia. And does anyone out there really understand all the lyrics from "Stayin' Alive," anyway?