List of fictitious people

Fictitious people are nonexistent people, who, unlike fictional people, 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. Sometimes the line between the two categories is blurred, e.g., as in the case of Abdul Alhazred. 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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.

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 Category:Collective pseudonyms (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, nonexistent Russian writer.
  • 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 & 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.
  • 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, a character played by Australian comedian Barry Humphries.
  • 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
  • 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
  • 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

Politics

Covert Operations
  • Major William Martin, R.M., a dead courier found floating off the coast of Spain possessing documents outlining future Allied strategy. The documents were misinformation planted by the Security Service on the body of Glyndwr Michael, an alcoholic tramp who had died after ingesting rat poison and who was dressed in the appropriate uniform.[2]

Sports

Unclassified
Please help in putting them into appropriate sections.

References
  1. Leeds, Marc (2016). The Vonnegut Encyclopedia (Revised and updated ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-385-34423-4. OCLC 960816202.
  2. Ben Macintyre, "Operation Mincemeat", Bloomsbury, 2010, passim.
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