I know I've seen this guy before.

May 18, 2008 8:04 PM

Who is the guy in this poster?

I have been trying to find out who the man in this picture is. He looks so familiar to me, but I just can't seem to place him. My gut feeling is that he's a writer, but he could be an actor or scientist or something.

Through some internet sleuthing, my friends and I have traced the image itself down to a website for the Spiritwatch Ministries (whatever that is), and I emailed the wife of the guy who wrote the article (who happens to run the page) to ask where they got the image and what they know about it. (Haven't heard back yet, and it doesn't appear that I ever will.) We traced the slogan-as-poster to an ad campaign for the Episcopal Church, but I don't know if it's the same one, since it's just briefly mentioned on the bottom of the page.

If anyone knows who he is, or has any clues about the origin of the picture, please let me know! It's been driving me crazy for over a week now.

People I'm nearly 100% certain he's not, but I'd like a second opinon (because the suggesters of these people keep insisting that they're correct):
Richard Dawkins
Christopher Lloyd
Barry Lynn


p.s. I finally joined metafilter after being a long-time reader specifically to ask this question, so I really hope you guys can pull through!

posted by phunniemee to grab bag (41 comments total)

I immediately thought Christopher Lloyd too, but not having any luck trying to connect him to the poster, the slogan, religion in general or any of the websites you mentioned.
posted by nax at 8:11 PM on May 18, 2008

I could swear he is an actor, but not Christopher Lloyd. That doesn't help. Your welcome.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 8:13 PM on May 18, 2008

Ira Flatow? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but it's the first thing that popped into my head
posted by puckish at 8:14 PM on May 18, 2008

A younger Vincent Schiavelli?
posted by limon at 8:23 PM on May 18, 2008

puckish: I think you may be right! The second I googled his picture I thought "YES!", but since I couldn't find any direct connection to cults/religion I started to second guess myself. So...I found Mr. Flatow's email address and went ahead and asked him. *Best answer pending*

(Keep suggestions coming, though, just in case.)

And THANKS!
posted by phunniemee at 8:34 PM on May 18, 2008

Have you contacted that church through its website? They describe it national advertisement - what's reproduced at that website is obviously a scan of an old print ad, probably from a magazine though maybe from a newspaper - seems like a bit of a stretch to be a coincidence.

It's a longshot but someone might be able to connect you with someone who was involved with its production or (if the model was either someone in the Episcopal church or some semi-famous actor of the time) even know as a bit of church trivia who it was. It's actually not that unlikely - I worked for a short while for a public radio distributor and eventually I knew who all the "big name" voices they'd gotten to do little promo cuts ("you're listening to..."), it was just part of the local lore.

The worst case is if it's just some model or really off-brand actor who happens to have a familiar face. Given the dude's haircut, glasses and the cut of his suitcoat lapels, it's pretty old. You "know" you've seen this guy before, but remember, your dumb friends "know" it's Richard Dawkins, which is, like, ridiculous because if it was Dawkins the slogan would be "the problem with any religion is that all religions suck" or something. It's a poor repro, his mouth is obscured, perception is deceptive.
posted by nanojath at 8:54 PM on May 18, 2008

It's Christopher Lloyd.
posted by wsg at 8:56 PM on May 18, 2008

Oh, googling, this article confirms that this image is a poster put out by the Episcopal church (search "don't allow questions" on the page, it includes a description of the image. Here's another mention with a little picture confirming the origin. This sort of attributes the quote to John Shelby Spong, this one to Minnesotan Episcopal priest named George Martin... but either of them might have just been quoting the ad, it's a pretty catchy slogan.
posted by nanojath at 9:08 PM on May 18, 2008

I don't know who it is, but I can tell you that it's definitely not Barry Lynn. I know Barry Lynn ... this is not him.
posted by mccxxiii at 9:08 PM on May 18, 2008

(Incidentally Ira Flatow seems really unlikely. Age doesn't seem right (though I guess I'm guessing at the picture's age, but it looks like 70s to me which would have Flatow in his 30s, and that guy looks older than his 30s to me). There's no connection I can see between Flatow and the Episcopal church - the notion that this is some sort of skeptics poster having been debunked, while calling for open-mindedness, it's still a religious poster, so I can't see it would feature science types unless they happened to also be Episcopalians. Okay I'm done now.
posted by nanojath at 9:19 PM on May 18, 2008

Except that in my second comment I forgot to link the first article I mentioned. It's here.
posted by nanojath at 9:20 PM on May 18, 2008

Doesn't help with his identity, but it looks like a scan of this poster (without the smaller text.) They say they produce the ads, posters, etc so while it may not be the original source, they might be able to tell you where they got it from.
posted by sysinfo at 9:21 PM on May 18, 2008

I suspect it's just a stock photo.

The guy does tremendously remind one of Christopher Lloyd, but the actor has a straighter eyebrow line and even when younger had distinctly different features (second photo has bonus Vincent Schiavelli, for that comparison -- his face is just too damn long).
posted by dhartung at 9:24 PM on May 18, 2008

Oh, and you may just want to confirm that you're not thinking of Glenn Reynolds, aka Instapundit.
posted by dhartung at 9:28 PM on May 18, 2008

(Extensive photo comparison had already determined (for me) that the guy is not Christopher Lloyd. Mr. Lloyd's got ears from here to Sunday. Posterman doesn't. And any ad wizard who would suggest Vincent Schiavelli for anything would be fired on the spot. haha)

I have contacted several of the sites suggested by nanojath and sysinfo to see if I can get any further information. Thanks for the suggestions!
posted by phunniemee at 9:31 PM on May 18, 2008

The ad is almost certainly part of the series of print spots done for the Episcopal Church in 1988 by the agency Fallon McElligott.

Which doesn't really help you with your question. (The guy was probably just a model they hired. Maybe he was in Minneapolis, where the agency is located; maybe they did the shot somewhere else.) But if you're emailing people, you'd probably do best with the current version of the company.
posted by neroli at 10:00 PM on May 18, 2008

Looks like Joe Flaherty to me.
posted by Dreamcast at 10:53 PM on May 18, 2008

It's neither Christopher Lloyd, nor Vincent Schiavelli, but he's definitely a fairly well-known character actor. I can't for the life of me figure out what he's been in though.
posted by electroboy at 11:22 PM on May 18, 2008

He looks just enough like Michael Caine to trigger that déjà vu thing for me.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:43 PM on May 18, 2008

Kinda looks like a young David Paymer to me. At least it did in the original pic linked, but the version sysinfo linked to looks like it's probably not him. Just a guess then.
posted by dogwalker at 11:45 PM on May 18, 2008

Here, for example.
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 11:47 PM on May 18, 2008

dogwalker has it. David Paymer without a doubt.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 5:11 AM on May 19, 2008

It's not David Paymer. (The noses!) It's not Michael Caine.


I've received one email back (from the church ad company) and they didn't know who it was. I'm still waiting for other replies. *sigh*
posted by phunniemee at 8:53 AM on May 19, 2008

Really, get in touch with Fallon, the ad agency I mentioned above. There's a good chance they have a corporate archivist. If anyone has the information about this, they would.

Good luck!

(He looks really familiar to me too, by the way.)
posted by neroli at 9:01 AM on May 19, 2008

I emailed Fallon last night and am eagerly awaiting their reply. =)
posted by phunniemee at 9:05 AM on May 19, 2008

That looks a lot like Christopher Lloyd to me too, though I can also believe it's not. Can't wait to hear what you found out!
posted by Theresa at 10:08 AM on May 19, 2008

It reminded me of Donald Sutherland.
posted by theora55 at 10:36 AM on May 19, 2008

Looks like a mid-80's P. J. O'Rourke to me.
posted by gjc at 6:45 PM on May 19, 2008

I will bet anybody 20 bucks it's Christpher Lloyd.
posted by wsg at 10:45 PM on May 21, 2008

I will bet anybody 20 bucks it's Christpher Lloyd.

I'll take that action.
posted by electroboy at 8:35 AM on May 22, 2008

Yeah, wsg, I'll take you up on that, too.
posted by phunniemee at 9:08 AM on May 22, 2008

(By the way, I still haven't heard from Fallon.)
posted by phunniemee at 9:08 AM on May 22, 2008

I'll take those bets. Now how do we find out who it is?
posted by wsg at 9:01 PM on May 22, 2008

I sent the question to Christopher Lloyd's management agency. If I hear back (which I doubt will happen) I'll let you know.
posted by wsg at 9:22 PM on May 22, 2008

OK, wsg, this one is for you. =)
posted by phunniemee at 9:54 PM on May 22, 2008

It's in the mail, phunniemee. That's quite an analysis you have provided. It is persuasive, but still not definitive.
posted by wsg at 6:51 AM on May 23, 2008

I'm not getting my money unless I have a signed affadavit from Christopher Lloyd, am I?
posted by electroboy at 7:58 AM on May 23, 2008

Have you heard from Fallon?
posted by dersins at 11:35 PM on June 2, 2008

No, unfortunately. Contacted multiple times.
I have resigned myself to never finding out. The dude above at least got the closest, by finding the ad agency, date, and location. *sigh*
posted by phunniemee at 11:58 PM on June 2, 2008

I e-mailed Dean Hanson, who was apparently one of the main designers of the project for Fallon McElligott (and still works for Fallon Worldwide). He was very quick to respond:

The person in the ad is Tom McElligott, the originator (and primary
writer) of the ad campaign back in the 80"s.
Regards, Dean

So there you have it.
posted by alyxstarr at 7:47 AM on September 12, 2008

Holy cow, alyxstarr. You win all the cookies. Thanks! I can't believe you got a quick response! (...I emailed the company 4 times and never heard back.)

Now, I think that wsg owes some people some money.
posted by phunniemee at 8:01 AM on September 12, 2008