In 1994, the concept that everyone in the world is separated by no more than six degrees took a famous pop-culture turn. In January of that year, Kevin Bacon commented in an interview that he’d worked with everyone in Hollywood – or someone who had worked with them. In April, a newsgroup thread titled “Kevin Bacon is the Center of the Universe” sprung up online. Around the same time, three college students sought entertainment during a heavy snowstorm by settling in to watch the movie Footloose, and turned the concept into the game known today as “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon”.
For those unfamiliar with the game, the idea is that any actor can be connected to Kevin Bacon in six steps. Let’s use Charlie Chaplin as an example. Chaplin was in The Gentleman Tramp with Walter Matthau, and Matthau appeared in JFK with Kevin Bacon. Charlie Chaplin is therefore separated from Kevin Bacon by two degrees, giving him a “Bacon Number” of 2. Because Matthau appeared in a film directly with Kevin Bacon, he has a Bacon Number of 1 (Kevin Bacon, of course, has a Bacon Number of 0).
We decided to investigate and find out the Bacon Number of a few of KD Conservatory’s alumni actors. So, how do KD Conservatory alumni fare when it comes to their degree of separation from the famous actor? Pretty well, as it turns out. Julio Cedillo and George Eads are among two of the KD Conservatory alums who boast a Bacon Number of 2. You can see how their connection was made – along with the Bacon Numbers and connecting trails of other KD Conservatory alumni – in the chart below.
Of the notable KD Conservatory alumni not listed, former Disney star and current judge on The X Factor Demi Lovato scored a Bacon Number of 2, as did Mark Salling of Glee. His Glee co-star, Kevin McHale, comes up with a Bacon Number of 3.
Not bad! Want to know the Bacon Number of your favorite actors? Google recently released a feature that gives you an actor’s number by searching their name followed by the words “bacon number”. Who knows: maybe one day your name will jump to the top of our alumni Bacon Number list!
Still Have More Questions?
KD Conservatory has acting, musical theatre, and film production programs to help prepare students for careers in the entertainment industry. Contact us with any of your questions, or check us out on Facebook for ongoing updates and information!