Chinese Celebrity Look-Alikes It is said that if you're one-in-a-million, there are four of you in New York City. Well, Kunming's 3 million people (a mere "berg" by Chinese standards) provide an occasional surprise in the study of genetics. I've, thus far met a few people that bare a striking resemblance to celebrities found elsewhere in the world's great genetic pools. This page is devoted to Chinese celebrity look-alikes. Some of them really do undeniably look like celebrities while others are perhaps my own psyche's attempts to add order to an otherwise chaotic social experience.
Dr. Joyce Brothers: ironically, this is the staff psychologist at the Yunnan Province TCM hospital. That always kind of dumbfounded me.
Garrison Keillor: here's the doctor across the hall from the Bell's Palsy ward. He does a lot of arthritis and "bi" pain. Great spirit to him, really friendly. Speaks some English, too. I couldn't quite explain the whole concept behind the Prairie Home Companion, but I was able to explain public radio.
John Ritter: I met this guy just sitting in an office at the hospital. I think he is an administrator or something. He just reminded me of John Ritter. Can you see that, or is it just me?
Tracy Ulman: here's a lady who spent a day with us in the "countryside" to get a better look at rural life in China. She doesn't do characters, no accents that I could tell, and she couldn't sing very well, evidenced by the night of Karaoke that followed the taking of this picture. She certainly does look like fun, though. Doesn't she?
Dustin Hoffman: this is one of the student interns at the hospital where I'm interning. He always reminded me of a young Dustin Hoffman ala "The Graduate". Soon after this picture was taken, my "yao bao" or waist wallet was stolen in front of ten people waiting to see the doctor. None of them raised a finger when a "suspicious and nervous looking woman" grabbed it and ran off. None of them knocked on the door to tell us that something had happened. Total lack of personal initiative. I saw that a lot, really.
Elvis Presley: it's a proven fact. Elvis is alive and living in Kunming. Here he is, getting on his Chinese Harley.
This woman's appearance was quite stunning to me. In California, this kind of look is a common occurrence, among both sexes. But in China, where standing out from the crowd is a cultural phobia, I had to really respect this woman for pushing the envelope with this rockabilly chopper punk look.
