Let's Talk with Diane A.S. Stuckart
Double Takes…
April 20, 2023
Twins. Doppelgangers. Clones.
These characters have been staples of fiction for centuries, from Shakespeare’s The Comedy of Errors to Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities to Edgar Allen Poe’s William Wilson to Tana French’s The Likeness. And don’t forget movies like The Shining and Dave and The Prestige, the latter of which (spoiler alert!) features both twins and clones. Even a couple of our Booklovers Bench authors have series featuring twins. So, it’s hardly surprising that, given our fascination with folks who are mirror images, someone finally declared a National Look Alike Day, which just happens to be today.
According to our friends at the National Day Calendar, the holiday came into existence in the 1980s. Feature television reporter Jack Etzel was in search of a subject for a fluff piece when he ran across a man who resembled Humphrey Bogart. He turned that chance meeting into a fun feature story and decided it was worth repeating annually…thus, the creation of a new holiday.
But Mr. Etzel’s encounter was hardly unique. We’ve all had the experience of rushing up to someone we think is a friend or relative, only to discover to our embarrassment that the person is actually a stranger. And social media constantly features stories of lookalikes encountering each other in public places to general amusement. That, or twins separated at birth finding each other in adulthood when mutual friends bring them together because of their resemblance. And then we have the celebrity lookalikes who’ll perform at your holiday party or sing you a birthday telegram. Back when I was young and cute, guys used to tell me I looked like the actress Susan St. James. I’m not sure how close the resemblance was but, if you’re curious, I’ll let you do a Google search for a photo of her back in the day. Here’s one of me.
Of course, given the number of people on the planet and the limitations of the gene pool, it’s not surprising that replicants of each of us exist. I even read a statistic that claimed every person has six doppelgangers out there in the world somewhere. So on this National Look Alike Day, why don’t you take a stroll and see if you can find one of your twins.
Have you ever run across your doppelganger…or had someone tell you that you look just like someone they know? Or have you been mistaken for a celebrity before? Let us know your “twin” story in the comments.
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If you’d like to know more about author Diane A.S. Stuckart, who also writes as Anna Gerard, VISIT her website.
Posted in Let's Talk, with Diane A.S. Stuckart • Tags: Awards Ceremonies, Dianse A.S. Stuckart, Double Takes, Humphrey Bogart, Let's Talk, National Look Alike Day, twins | 21 Comments
I’ve never run into my doppelganger but I have had people come up to me and act like they know me while I stare at them like they are crazy. I was at a concert on time and I saw this guy who looked just like one of my old boyfriends. I even went up to him and asked him. He was funny about it.
You know how they say that some people just have one of those familiar faces. I guess that is you. 🙂
I get this all the time… “You look familiar. Do I know you?” This happens at least once at every conference. I haven’t met my doppelganger, but I must have a few of them.
Do your doppelgangers wear hats, ha ha?? Maybe it’s the hats and not you who are familiar. 🙂
Oh my goodness! You could be right. LOL
I don’t know of anybody I look like. But maybe there’s someone out there because more than once I’ve had someone swear that they thought I have a brother, but I don’t.
Well, if it’s happened that many times maybe you’ll bump into yourself someday! 😀
I’ve never seen someone who looks like me but I did see my youngest daughter’s doppelganger at an amusement park.
Wow, I be that was a bit shocking, particularly if she was with you at the time! 🙂
I’ve had people stop me on my walks to ask me how I’m doing and why I’ve left my dog home. When I tell them I don’t have a dog, they get confused. One of them kept asking enough questions that we finally realized my lookalike lives within a mile from me. (Or is it the other way around?)
Terry, if your double lives that close, you need to go look for him. Even funnier if you can borrow a dog that looks like his! 😀
When I worked in a hospital everybody thought they knew me in regards to religion, culture and nationality. I guess I looked like a lot of people.
You probably have classic features, which isn’t a bad thing. 🙂
I’m always running into people who tell me they know me (I look like someone they know)…dark hair, round face, round body………
You had me with the picture of you. I glanced down and wondered what Susan St. James was doing in your blog….until I read it and was stunned.
LOL, Debra. I thought there was some small resemblance but mostly figured it was a “line”. Now I probably should look up a picture of her at the age I am now and see how we compare. 🙂
I haven’t run into any lookalikes, but I am all the time walking up to people in the grocery store who look just like someone I know and embarrassing myself! Nowadays I just smile and nod and wait for the other person to say something. Luckily, it’s summer again and most of the people who know me also know my sun protection hats!
Maggie, the old smile-and-nod is always a good default. Though sometimes I’m bold enough to walk up to someone like that and say, “we know each other, don’t we?” and then blame my confusion on getting on in years. 😉
If there are at least six of each of us walking around it makes sense that you may bump into yourself at some point of your life.
Well, I haven’t met “me” yet but I have bumped into my “sister” and one of my “brothers”, as well as my “boss” over the years so I do believe the stats. 🙂
I’ve not ever met a doppleganger for myself. It would feel weird.
Nancy, it would be weird for sure, but I think it also might be fun. 🙂