9 Famous and Outrageous Characters Who Were Actually Based on Real People
There are a surprising number of fictional characters that have their roots in real life. Here are just a few of them.
Kenny Kramer was a former comedian who lived across the hall from Larry David when he and Jerry Seinfeld were writing the sitcom. He shared plenty of traits with Cosmo Kramer. He had no job, was an ordained minister, ran for mayor of New York City, and he loved golf, cigars and hot tubs.
More than likely, Zorro was based on a Mexican banded known as Joaquin. There aren't a lot of details about Joaquin's life, but he apparently formed a band of people who went on to raise hell, making him a legend.
Ettore Boiardi was once the head chef at New York City's Plaza hotel, and then opened a restaurant in Cleveland in 1924. He eventually began selling pasta sauce as a side business and in 1928 founded Chef Boyardee. He changed the spelling of his name to make it easier for people to spell.
Draper Daniels was the inspiration for everyone's favorite ad man. Daniels was the creative director at Leo Burnett in Chicago and helped create the Marlboro Man. There are plenty of difference as well though, as Daniels is famous for being a one woman man.
William Moulton Marston was a psychologist who invted the lie detector test and also debuted Wonder Woman. Wonder Woman was partially inspired by Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger, who also happened to be a member of his family.
Vikki Dougan was a pin-up model who wore very low cut and backless dresses, and while she never made it all that big in Hollywood, her style was used to give Jessica Rabbit her famous look.
Songwriters Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes saw 17-year-old Helosia Pinheiro when they were sitting in a seaside bar in 1962. They then wrote the bossa nova song. Jobim later met her in person and proposed but Pinheiro declined.
Snape was, in part, based on J.K. Rowling's high school chemistry teacher. When asked about it by a reporter he said, "I knew I was a strict teacher, but I didn't think I was that bad."
Uncle Ben was in fact a Houston rice farmer who was known for high quality rice. On the box though is a Chicago maître d’hôtel who is named Frank Brown.