List of fictitious people explained
Fictitious people are nonexistent people, who, unlike fictional characters, have been claimed to actually exist. Usually this is done as a practical joke or hoax, but sometimes fictitious people are 'created' as part of a fraud. A pseudonym may also be considered by some to be a "fictitious person", although this is not the correct definition.
Hoaxes
- William Ashbless, a 19th-century fictitious poet and adventurer.
- Bilitis, nonexistent Ancient Greek poet. Supposed author of The Songs of Bilitis, a collection of erotic poetry "discovered" by Pierre Louÿs.
- Achmet Borumborad, a late 18th-century doctor and businessman in Dublin, purportedly from Constantinople.
- George P. Burdell, eternal Georgia Tech student.
- Eddie Burrup, fake Australian aboriginal painter.
- Johnny "The Celestial Comet" Chung, supposed Chinese-American football player for the nonexistent Plainfield Teacher's College.
- Allegra Coleman, nonexistent supermodel.
- Tom Collins, fictitious gossip and namesake of the gin-and-lemon-based cocktail.
- Helen Demidenko, nonexistent Ukrainian author, created by Australian writer Helen Darville.
- Aimi Eguchi, fictional Japanese idol. Member of idol group AKB48 created as a composite of the other members.
- Frederick R. Ewing, nonexistent author of I, Libertine.
- Hugo N. Frye, a fictional figure, purportedly the founder of the Republican Party in New York State, made up by Cornell University students in 1930 as a prank designed to embarrass several state politicians.
- Anthony Godby Johnson, (probably) fictitious author of Rock and a Hard Place: One Boy's Triumphant Story.
- Kilroy, a nonexistent legendary World War II US Army major who inspired millions during the war and became part of American popular culture.
- Ern Malley, nonexistent Australian poet, created by Australian poets James McAuley and Harold Stewart.
- Lillian Virginia Mountweazel, a photographer who existed as a fictitious entry in the 4th edition of the New Columbia Encyclopedia. The publishers assumed that if they caught another encyclopedia containing their copyright trap, the presence of the non-existent Mountweazel would prove that their competitors hadn’t done any original research and copied them.
- Lucian Yahoo Dragoman, a nonexistent baby supposedly named after Yahoo!.
- Karyl Robin-Evans, nonexistent scientist whose expedition is chronicled in the book Sungods in Exile.
- H. Rochester Sneath, nonexistent English public school headmaster and prolific letter writer, created by Humphry Berkeley.
- Georg Paul Thomann, nonexistent Austrian conceptual artist, created by art group monochrom to represent Austria at the 2002 Sao Paulo Art Biennial. Georg Paul Thomann is featured in RE/Search's "Pranks 2" book.
- Piotr Zak, nonexistent Polish composer, created for a BBC programme by Susan Bradshaw and Hans Keller.
Pseudonyms
This list includes pseudonyms supplied with a biography suggesting the existence of a person distinct from the actual person with the pseudonym in question, often with the purpose of a hoax.
See also (many of them were not claimed as "real" people).
- Penelope Ashe, supposed "demure Long Island housewife" who authored Naked Came The Stranger. Actually a pseudonym of a collective of writers, and portrayed by one of their relatives during interviews.
- Richard Bachman, a pseudonym of Stephen King, given a fake biography and author photo.
- Silence Dogood, a false persona used by Benjamin Franklin to get his work published.
- Roderick Jaynes, editor of all the films of Joel and Ethan Coen. Actually a pseudonym for the Coens themselves. "Jaynes", supposedly a cantankerous Englishman in his 80s, has also penned a dismissive introduction to a book of the Coens' scripts, and an article in The Guardian discussing his work on The Man Who Wasn't There.
- Kozma Prutkov, arrogant Russian writer and government official, who published bombastic pieces that ended up being satirical commentary on Russian bureaucracy. A creation of 4 Russian writers, including Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (1817-1875) and Alexei Zhemchuzhnikov.
- Lemony Snicket, a pseudonym used by Daniel Handler for his A Series of Unfortunate Events. Snicket, who is also a character in the books, is the meta-fictional narrator of the series.
- Wrench Tuttle, an Atlanta-based "poet, traveler, activist and philosopher". Canadian musician/composer Bob Wiseman "collaborated" with lyricist Tuttle by mail, for the 1989 album In Her Dream: Bob Wiseman Sings Wrench Tuttle. Tuttle was, in reality, Wiseman.
- Kilgore Trout originally was a character created by Kurt Vonnegut, who later became a pseudonym used by Philip José Farmer to publish, as a homage to Vonnegut, an actual version of one of the fictional Trout's books, Venus on the Half-Shell (1975). Farmer's work is based on a moment in Vonnegut's God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater that describes a character reading a copy of Trout's novel, "Venus on the Half-Shell". Vonnegut was not happy about the publication of Farmer's book, but he declined to sue over the use of his intellectual property.[1]
- Gerald Wiley, authorial pseudonym used by sketch comedy performer Ronnie Barker on shows in which he was a performer. Initially, even other writers on the show were unaware that sketches submitted by "Wiley" were in fact written by Barker; Barker wanted his sketches to be judged on merit, not on the fact he was a cast member or star.
- Andrew MacDonald, a pseudonym for William Luther Pierce, white supremacist and author of The Turner Diaries.
Arts and entertainment
- Alan Smithee, name used by film directors who wish to disown a project.
- Andreas Karavis, nonexistent Greek poet.
- B. Traven, adventure novelist.
- Borat Sagdiyev, a fictitious Kazakhstani journalist created by Sacha Baron Cohen, see also Ali G and Brüno Gehard.
- Buck Hammer, a fictitious blues pianist created by comedian and musician Steve Allen.
- Conchita (previously Conchita Wurst), stage persona of Austrian recording artist Thomas Neuwirth.
- C.W. Blubberhouse, whose letters in UK national newspapers were exposed as a hoax by the Sunday Times.
- Dame Edna Everage and Sir Les Patterson, characters played by Australian comedian Barry Humphries.
- Darko Maver, a lauded fictional Yugoslav artist whose gruesome sculptures turned out to be photos of real murders found on rotten.com by Eva and Franco Mattes.
- David J. Broadfoot, the Member of Parliament from Kicking Horse Pass, representing the New Apathetic Party, a character played by Canadian comedian Dave Broadfoot.
- David Manning, a nonexistent film critic created by Sony Corporation.
- Donald Kaufman, fictional brother of Adaptation writer Charlie Kaufman, gained "writing credits" and was nominated for an Oscar.
- George Spelvin, traditional pseudonyms used in programs in American theater.
- Gerald Bostock, writer of the lyrics for the Jethro Tull album Thick as a Brick.
- Hajime Yadate, credited as the creator of most of the anime works of Japanese animation studio Sunrise.
- JT LeRoy, fictional American author and literary celebrity.
- Lily Savage, a character played by British comedian Paul O'Grady.
- Margaret B. Jones, fictitious half-white, half-Native American foster child and Bloods gang member in South Central Los Angeles
- Mary Anne Jackson, a fictitious jazz pianist created by comedian and musician Steve Allen.
- Mrs. Trellis of North Wales, a regular correspondent to BBC radio comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue
- Nat Tate, fake 1950s American artist
- Ossian, Irish bard created by James Macpherson in the 18th century
- P. D. Q. Bach, a fictional composer invented by musical satirist "Professor" Peter Schickele.
- Ponsonby Britt, executive producer of The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show. In the credits of George of the Jungle, a later offering from the same production company, Britt had been promoted to "Ponsonby Britt OBE" (recipient of the Order of the British Empire).
- Rrose Sélavy, a fictional artist created by Marcel Duchamp
- S. Morgenstern, fictional author from the equally fictional country of Florin
- Super Dave Osborne, a character played by American comedian and actor Bob Einstein.
- Sven, an occasional stand-in for Samantha on BBC radio comedy I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue.
- Tony Clifton, imaginary lounge singer created (and usually played) by comedian Andy Kaufman
- Van den Budenmayer, nonexistent Dutch composer believed to be real by some filmgoers even after they were told the truth.
- Walter Plinge, name used by British stage actors who wish to stay anonymous
- Wanda Koolmatrie, nonexistent Australian aboriginal author
Academia
- Arthur Besse, pseudonym used since 1978 by French differential geometers
- Blanche Descartes, fictitious mathematician with over 30 published papers
- Claude Émile Jean-Baptiste Litre, volumetric namesake.
- Dr. Irving Joshua Matrix, numerologist, invented by Martin Gardner
- G. W. Peck, pseudonym used by several mathematicians since 1979
- H. Rochester Sneath, nonexistent headmaster of the nonexistent Selhurst School
- Honorable J. Fortescue, fake US physician
- Jára Cimrman, fictional Czech genius and polymath
- John Rainwater, enrolled by mathematics graduate students at the University of Washington in 1952 as a prank; has since been used as a pseudonym by several other mathematicians for published work
- Josiah Carberry, professor of psychoceramics at Brown University
- Nicolas Bourbaki, a 20th-century French mathematician with credited publications
- Peter Orno, associated with Ohio State University and credited with several papers in mathematics during the 20th century
Politics
- Andre Kasongo Ilunga, a member of the UNAFEC party and Minister of National Economy and Trade of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 2007.
- Jakob Maria Mierscheid, a member of the German Bundestag. Despite not existing, Mierscheid has an official Parliamentary biography (complete with portrait) and has given his name to a bridge spanning the River Spree and to the Mierscheid Law, which has been used to predict voting patterns in the former West Germany.
Covert operations
Sports
Unclassified
Please help in putting them into appropriate sections.
- Araki Yasusada, fake Hiroshima survivor and author
- Betty Crocker, fake spokesperson for The Washburn Crosby Company of Minneapolis and its successor company, General Mills
- Carl Brandon, a fictional fan of color, for whom the Carl Brandon Society was named
- Clay Bertrand, an alleged alias associated with two people connected to various investigations regarding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
- Prawo Jazdy, alleged Polish traffic offender in Ireland, due to misreading of the header of Polish driving licences
- Edna Welthorpe, nonexistent morality campaigner
- Henry Root, fictitious correspondent, and Henry Raddick (possibly the same person)
- Kaycee Nicole, fictional leukemia sufferer and Internet personality
- Kodee Kennings, nonexistent 8-year-old girl whose letters were published in the Daily Egyptian, a student newspaper for Southern Illinois University Carbondale
- Mavis Beacon, fictitious typing tutor created for the Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing application software.
- Phantom of Heilbronn, an alleged German serial killer linked to many extremely varied crimes by flawed DNA analysis.
- R. M. Qualtrough, a key figure in the murder trial of William Herbert Wallace
- Titusz Dugovics, the hero of Belgrade
- Sahil Omar, a fictitious migrant linked to several mass shootings and disasters in the United States
- Celina Kawadikap, a fictitious bull-wrangling cowgirl of the early 18th century
Notes and References
- Book: Leeds, Marc. The Vonnegut Encyclopedia. 978-0-385-34423-4. Revised and updated. New York. 960816202. 2016.
- [Ben Macintyre]
- Web site: Cooney . Gavin . 15 November 2023 . 'I've learned the Italian style now and I really do enjoy it' . 28 December 2023 . . Matts Kunding, a player on whom [..] there are ongoing doubts as to whether he was simply invented. But certain dusty record books in Turin record him as among the very first Irish footballers to play outside of the UK.
