It’s Bacon Day, apparently. First the horrific news that bacon prices are going up due to a pig virus that appears to be transmitted from poop to nose, running pork into short supply and shutting down family farm operations, thanks to factory farms.
And now we hear about actor Kevin Bacon swinging into action to pinch hit for Matthew Perry at the University of Southern Florida.
According to the Tampa Tribune, TV star Matthew Perry was slated to speak in the University of South Florida’s University Lecture Series. But Perry ended up canceling due to a conflict with the filming of a pilot.
What is not clear at press time is why anyone is filming a pilot with Matthew Perry. The guy’s shows are funny, especially the short-lived “Mr. Sunshine” (“Yay.”), but keep getting cancelled.
So, since Perry had to ditch, someone called Kevin Bacon. The presumption is that it took less than five phone calls in a chain to reach the guy.
Bacon likes to highlight his charity efforts, specifically sixdegrees.org, a social networking site that connects causes in local areas with celebrities who can drop in to help them. As the site says:
Are you a grassroots organizer, a church leader, a volunteer… somebody who wants to make a difference in your neighborhood or town? Pretty soon we’ll be connecting you with celebrities to build media buzz around your cause.
Celebrities, we need your help. You know a little star power can make a big difference in this world. Use it for good by giving a local business a social media shout out or take some time out of your day and drop-in on a cause.
The name of the site is a take-off on the popular party game, Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, which is a twist on the notion of “six degrees of separation”, the idea that all people are much more closely connected than they realize, often by six people or less.
There is a site that helps connect actors to Kevin Bacon, a la the game, providing answers to those movie connections. You can also do a simple Google search with the actors name followed by the term “bacon number”. For example, Matthew Perry, who could not make it to USF, has only one person between himself and Kevin Bacon.
Matthew Perry was in “Getting In” with Joanne Pankow, who was in “Digging to China” with Kevin Bacon.
I am personally only 3 degrees removed from Kevin Bacon. It’s rarefied air, but it smells great. Though, apparently, the price is going up.
Image via Wikimedia Commons
