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Look-alike




Perhaps the most famous look-alike is Jeannette Charles , who since the early 1970s has worked as a look-alike to Britain 's Queen Elizabeth II .

Another well-known look-alike is Steve Sires , who resembles Bill Gates of Microsoft . Sires came to attention when he attempted to trademark "Microsortof," and subsequently acted in some Microsoft company commercials. He has, however, become notorious for taking part in '' Nothing So Strange '', in which Sires' character makes a speech, looks up and is assassinated.

Politicians and actors are also well represented by look-alikes. A leading actor is impersonated by the UK 's Nick Richmond, who bears a resemblance to Sir Sean Connery .


CONTEMPORARY HISTORY AND MEDIA


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  • Mikheil Gelovani , a Georgia n actor and Joseph Stalin look-alike, played the Soviet leader in propaganda films of the 1930s and 1940s .

  • In 1944 , shortly before D-Day , M.E. Clifton James , who bore a close resemblance to Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery , was sent to Gibraltar and North Africa , in order to deceive the Germans about the location of the upcoming invasion. This story was the subject of a book and film, '' I Was Monty's Double ''.

  • The prodominance of less convincing amateur "lookalikes" prompted the formation of a the Lookalikes-Unite organisation in 2003. This non profit, non-booking agency, exclusive membership organisation has maintained the highest standards and has rejected all but the most convincing and well established celebrity doubles from its membership. Rapidly seen as representing the benchmark of quality, the organisation has become the first resource for those seeking truly convincing and entertaining professional celebrity doubles and has subsequently been responsible for raising significant funds for many televised and non-broadcast charity events. (Ref: www.lookalikes-unite.com )

  • Jennifer Loeb , a New Jersey native, bears a striking physical resemblance to renowned actress, comedienne, and activist Kathy Najimy . Loeb frequently performs in New Brunswick , New Jersey, billed as Najimy in her own one-woman show, "Buh-Bi." Loeb's critically acclaimed act includes a cover of Enrique Iglesias ' " Bailamos " as well as her own rendition of the comedy sketch Najimy provides in '' Hocus Pocus ''.

  • North Indian resident Dhaval Dave is claimed by many to be the lookalike of actor Daniel Radcliffe but many critics dismiss this claim as a cheap publicity stunt.

  • In 1966, fans believed that Paul McCartney Was Dead and replaced with a Canadian policeman with the name of William Shears Campbell.

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  • Saddam Hussein allegedly employed several Look-alikes For Political Purposes during his Iraq reign, though this has been disputed by some analysts. {Link without Title}

  • The BBC comedy programme '' Doubletake '' made extensive use of look-alikes playing their doubles in apparently embarrassing situations, seen through CCTV cameras and amateur video, using distance shots and shaky camera-work to disguise the true identity of those being filmed. Due to the nature of this programme and conditions of filming, many of the worlds most authentic lookalikes boycotted the project leaving the producer to rely on the careful use of soft focus, lighting and carefully positioned camera angles to make the mainly amateur lookalikes resemble the characters they portrayed.

  • Armando Ianucci 's Friday Night Armistice featured "the bus of Dianas", a bus full of Princess Diana lookalikes which was dispatched to "care" at the sites of various minor tragedies.

  • The 2006 hit ITV 6 part comedy series "The Lookey Likey show" utilised the talents of only the few professional "real dead ringer" lookalike / soundalikes and unlike previous TV projects in which soft focus and odd camera angles have been used to enhance "look-a-bit-alikes", the authenticity of star doubles like "Svenalike" totally fooled all members of the public in a wide variety of totally bizarre situations.

  • UK Big Brother contestant Chantelle Houghton once worked for a look-alike agency as a Paris Hilton look-alike, earning her the nickname "Paris Travelodge ". After Houghton won series 4 of Celebrity Big Brother, the same agency signed up another model as a Chantelle Houghton look-alike.

  • Since the year 2001, the UK's most successful lookalike has been Derek Williams ("Svenalike") a Sven-Göran Eriksson lookalike/soundalike double who was selected by the FA as a stand in for Official Hospitality and has achieved widespread acclaim and the most extensive TV, film and video exposure of any celebrity double in recent history.



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