Doppelgangers from the original cast!

For all non-episode specific topics about the show, including MPI-related "tie-ins"

Moderator: Styles Bitchley

Post Reply
Message
Author
User avatar
metalmoose
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2018 7:30 am

Doppelgangers from the original cast!

#1 Post by metalmoose »

I'm sure you've heard of the concept of doppelgangers, the idea that there is a "clone" or replica of everyone somewhere on the Earth. Usually they are portrayed as a bad character such as in the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image". I have had several weird instances of these encounters, the latest of which has led me to create this post. Before I explain that encounter, here are my originals... My girlfriend at the time and now wife, were travelling back north from Florida where we picked up my Grandma's car. She had recently died and we made the trip down there from NYS to take possession of it. Driving north together in her car, in the rear-view mirror for several miles in the car behind us, we saw a little old lady wearing a colorful head scarf and bright shirt. She looked remarkably like my Gramma The mismatched paisley and plaid combo of the outfit she wore was stunningly similar to the usual weird 60's and 70's era stuff my Grandma wore. We pulled over to a rest stop and the car followed. Oddly, although my girlfriend and I kept mentioning the woman in conversation to each other, we somehow lost track of her and her car. We didn't get to see her up close at the rest stop. My next encounters were much stranger... Years later, I was shopping alone at a big box store 20 minutes from my home when an unrecognizable woman came up to me in the isle and said "Hi Kenny, How's your sister doing"? My name is Kenny so I said, "Do you mean my step sister"? She said "No, your sister!, I haven't heard from her in a week or two". Since I do not have a sister I was really confused with her question. Who was this person? After a few seconds of awkwardness I decided to say "You must have the wrong person". She replied aren't you Kenny who works at the gas station on the corner of so and so street? I said "No". "I don't work at a gas station and I don't have a sister". She looked totally befuddled, like I was pulling a bad prank on her. After a bit she said "That's amazing, you even have the same shirt and hat on". I was nearly speechless. Who was this other guy who looks exactly like me and happens to have the same not-so-common name? I mean come on, I could be a Ken or Kenneth, my proper name, but my friends call me Kenny. So bizarre! And the same clothes? A year later the almost identical thing happened at different store, 5 minutes away from the previous encounter. A random woman said "Hi Kenny" to me again. She also though I worked at a gas station nearby. I told her I was not that person and that she was mistaken. It made me feel like a jerk because these people obviously were sincere in there thinking. This leads me to my encounter this past evening, and the connection to Magnum PI. I saw a man looking confused through the glass door and wall, in the main hallway where I work. It was a common occurrence, for most of the building was closed by this time of day, except for one open business at the end of the hall. I opened the door and asked him "Are you looking for the x-ray place"? He said "Yes". I directed him down the hallway to the right. He said "Thanks you" and went on his way. I closed the door and while walking through my office I though to myself "That guy looks familiar". After only a brief moment I realized who he reminded me of. He looked and sounded exactly like John Ireland aka Wyndom Jackson from the Black Orchid episode! It wasn't just his looks and voice, even his mannerisms were totally similar. This led me down the rabbit hole in my mind to my past doppelganger experiences and gave me the idea for this post. It brought to mind the other Magnum connection I always joke about... The drummer from the band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, (Nick Ceroli), looks exactly like the Jim Bonnick character "Mac", played by Jeff MacKay, (in every photo I have of him on the albums). It's so easy to pick him out of the band photos with his "Mac like" grin and moustache. Anyhow, do any of you have any doppelganger encounters with people who look like cast members of the show?

User avatar
ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan)
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 2086
Joined: Fri Jul 29, 2011 9:11 pm

Re: Doppelgangers from the original cast!

#2 Post by ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) »

metalmoose wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:28 am I'm sure you've heard of the concept of doppelgangers, the idea that there is a "clone" or replica of everyone somewhere on the Earth. Usually they are portrayed as a bad character such as in the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image". I have had several weird instances of these encounters, the latest of which has led me to create this post. Before I explain that encounter, here are my originals... My girlfriend at the time and now wife, were travelling back north from Florida where we picked up my Grandma's car. She had recently died and we made the trip down there from NYS to take possession of it. Driving north together in her car, in the rear-view mirror for several miles in the car behind us, we saw a little old lady wearing a colorful head scarf and bright shirt. She looked remarkably like my Gramma The mismatched paisley and plaid combo of the outfit she wore was stunningly similar to the usual weird 60's and 70's era stuff my Grandma wore. We pulled over to a rest stop and the car followed. Oddly, although my girlfriend and I kept mentioning the woman in conversation to each other, we somehow lost track of her and her car. We didn't get to see her up close at the rest stop. My next encounters were much stranger... Years later, I was shopping alone at a big box store 20 minutes from my home when an unrecognizable woman came up to me in the isle and said "Hi Kenny, How's your sister doing"? My name is Kenny so I said, "Do you mean my step sister"? She said "No, your sister!, I haven't heard from her in a week or two". Since I do not have a sister I was really confused with her question. Who was this person? After a few seconds of awkwardness I decided to say "You must have the wrong person". She replied aren't you Kenny who works at the gas station on the corner of so and so street? I said "No". "I don't work at a gas station and I don't have a sister". She looked totally befuddled, like I was pulling a bad prank on her. After a bit she said "That's amazing, you even have the same shirt and hat on". I was nearly speechless. Who was this other guy who looks exactly like me and happens to have the same not-so-common name? I mean come on, I could be a Ken or Kenneth, my proper name, but my friends call me Kenny. So bizarre! And the same clothes? A year later the almost identical thing happened at different store, 5 minutes away from the previous encounter. A random woman said "Hi Kenny" to me again. She also though I worked at a gas station nearby. I told her I was not that person and that she was mistaken. It made me feel like a jerk because these people obviously were sincere in there thinking. This leads me to my encounter this past evening, and the connection to Magnum PI. I saw a man looking confused through the glass door and wall, in the main hallway where I work. It was a common occurrence, for most of the building was closed by this time of day, except for one open business at the end of the hall. I opened the door and asked him "Are you looking for the x-ray place"? He said "Yes". I directed him down the hallway to the right. He said "Thanks you" and went on his way. I closed the door and while walking through my office I though to myself "That guy looks familiar". After only a brief moment I realized who he reminded me of. He looked and sounded exactly like John Ireland aka Wyndom Jackson from the Black Orchid episode! It wasn't just his looks and voice, even his mannerisms were totally similar. This led me down the rabbit hole in my mind to my past doppelganger experiences and gave me the idea for this post. It brought to mind the other Magnum connection I always joke about... The drummer from the band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, (Nick Ceroli), looks exactly like the Jim Bonnick character "Mac", played by Jeff MacKay, (in every photo I have of him on the albums). It's so easy to pick him out of the band photos with his "Mac like" grin and moustache. Anyhow, do any of you have any doppelganger encounters with people who look like cast members of the show?
Dude! You're definitely living some kind of Twilight Zone life. :shock: :D Especially with that Kenny story. Just curious - did you ever decide to check out the local gas stations in the area to see if you could spot this Kenny? :)

User avatar
metalmoose
Lieutenant Commander
Posts: 34
Joined: Sat Dec 01, 2018 7:30 am

Re: Doppelgangers from the original cast!

#3 Post by metalmoose »

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2024 3:57 pm
metalmoose wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:28 am I'm sure you've heard of the concept of doppelgangers, the idea that there is a "clone" or replica of everyone somewhere on the Earth. Usually they are portrayed as a bad character such as in the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image". I have had several weird instances of these encounters, the latest of which has led me to create this post. Before I explain that encounter, here are my originals... My girlfriend at the time and now wife, were travelling back north from Florida where we picked up my Grandma's car. She had recently died and we made the trip down there from NYS to take possession of it. Driving north together in her car, in the rear-view mirror for several miles in the car behind us, we saw a little old lady wearing a colorful head scarf and bright shirt. She looked remarkably like my Gramma The mismatched paisley and plaid combo of the outfit she wore was stunningly similar to the usual weird 60's and 70's era stuff my Grandma wore. We pulled over to a rest stop and the car followed. Oddly, although my girlfriend and I kept mentioning the woman in conversation to each other, we somehow lost track of her and her car. We didn't get to see her up close at the rest stop. My next encounters were much stranger... Years later, I was shopping alone at a big box store 20 minutes from my home when an unrecognizable woman came up to me in the isle and said "Hi Kenny, How's your sister doing"? My name is Kenny so I said, "Do you mean my step sister"? She said "No, your sister!, I haven't heard from her in a week or two". Since I do not have a sister I was really confused with her question. Who was this person? After a few seconds of awkwardness I decided to say "You must have the wrong person". She replied aren't you Kenny who works at the gas station on the corner of so and so street? I said "No". "I don't work at a gas station and I don't have a sister". She looked totally befuddled, like I was pulling a bad prank on her. After a bit she said "That's amazing, you even have the same shirt and hat on". I was nearly speechless. Who was this other guy who looks exactly like me and happens to have the same not-so-common name? I mean come on, I could be a Ken or Kenneth, my proper name, but my friends call me Kenny. So bizarre! And the same clothes? A year later the almost identical thing happened at different store, 5 minutes away from the previous encounter. A random woman said "Hi Kenny" to me again. She also though I worked at a gas station nearby. I told her I was not that person and that she was mistaken. It made me feel like a jerk because these people obviously were sincere in there thinking. This leads me to my encounter this past evening, and the connection to Magnum PI. I saw a man looking confused through the glass door and wall, in the main hallway where I work. It was a common occurrence, for most of the building was closed by this time of day, except for one open business at the end of the hall. I opened the door and asked him "Are you looking for the x-ray place"? He said "Yes". I directed him down the hallway to the right. He said "Thanks you" and went on his way. I closed the door and while walking through my office I though to myself "That guy looks familiar". After only a brief moment I realized who he reminded me of. He looked and sounded exactly like John Ireland aka Wyndom Jackson from the Black Orchid episode! It wasn't just his looks and voice, even his mannerisms were totally similar. This led me down the rabbit hole in my mind to my past doppelganger experiences and gave me the idea for this post. It brought to mind the other Magnum connection I always joke about... The drummer from the band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, (Nick Ceroli), looks exactly like the Jim Bonnick character "Mac", played by Jeff MacKay, (in every photo I have of him on the albums). It's so easy to pick him out of the band photos with his "Mac like" grin and moustache. Anyhow, do any of you have any doppelganger encounters with people who look like cast members of the show?
Dude! You're definitely living some kind of Twilight Zone life. :shock: :D Especially with that Kenny story. Just curious - did you ever decide to check out the local gas stations in the area to see if you could spot this Kenny? :)
There are several dozens of possible gas stations in that part of Western New York and the problem is that there's at least three shifts during a day, so you might hit the correct station, but the guy's not there at the time.

User avatar
Pahonu
Robin's Nest Expert Extraordinaire
Posts: 2696
Joined: Mon Aug 31, 2009 2:19 am
Location: Long Beach CA

Re: Doppelgangers from the original cast!

#4 Post by Pahonu »

The only things that I can add to this thread are:

1. About 20+ years ago, a student of mine was reading a preview of the upcoming college football season in the magazines that used to do that about various sports. He came up to my desk and showed me a photo of an assistant coach for a team that I don’t recall, and he looked remarkably like myself! It was quite an odd feeling.

2. About 10 years ago, a new checker started at the local supermarket I go to and she looked astonishingly like my sister in law.

3. Also about 10 years ago, I had a student in my class who looked very much like a weather forecaster on a local channel at the time, who’s name I don’t recall and is long gone. When she did a presentation for my class and was dressed in professional attire, it was even more apparent.

4. There’s a current CNN reporter named Kara Scannell who resembles the former psychologist at my high school.

User avatar
Luther's nephew Dobie
Fleet Admiral
Posts: 1343
Joined: Thu May 30, 2013 4:16 am
Location: Swamps of Jersey

Re: Doppelgangers from the original cast!

#5 Post by Luther's nephew Dobie »

ZelenskyTheValiant (Ivan) wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2024 3:57 pm
metalmoose wrote: Fri Apr 05, 2024 8:28 am I'm sure you've heard of the concept of doppelgangers, the idea that there is a "clone" or replica of everyone somewhere on the Earth. Usually they are portrayed as a bad character such as in the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image". I have had several weird instances of these encounters, the latest of which has led me to create this post. Before I explain that encounter, here are my originals... My girlfriend at the time and now wife, were travelling back north from Florida where we picked up my Grandma's car. She had recently died and we made the trip down there from NYS to take possession of it. Driving north together in her car, in the rear-view mirror for several miles in the car behind us, we saw a little old lady wearing a colorful head scarf and bright shirt. She looked remarkably like my Gramma The mismatched paisley and plaid combo of the outfit she wore was stunningly similar to the usual weird 60's and 70's era stuff my Grandma wore. We pulled over to a rest stop and the car followed. Oddly, although my girlfriend and I kept mentioning the woman in conversation to each other, we somehow lost track of her and her car. We didn't get to see her up close at the rest stop. My next encounters were much stranger... Years later, I was shopping alone at a big box store 20 minutes from my home when an unrecognizable woman came up to me in the isle and said "Hi Kenny, How's your sister doing"? My name is Kenny so I said, "Do you mean my step sister"? She said "No, your sister!, I haven't heard from her in a week or two". Since I do not have a sister I was really confused with her question. Who was this person? After a few seconds of awkwardness I decided to say "You must have the wrong person". She replied aren't you Kenny who works at the gas station on the corner of so and so street? I said "No". "I don't work at a gas station and I don't have a sister". She looked totally befuddled, like I was pulling a bad prank on her. After a bit she said "That's amazing, you even have the same shirt and hat on". I was nearly speechless. Who was this other guy who looks exactly like me and happens to have the same not-so-common name? I mean come on, I could be a Ken or Kenneth, my proper name, but my friends call me Kenny. So bizarre! And the same clothes? A year later the almost identical thing happened at different store, 5 minutes away from the previous encounter. A random woman said "Hi Kenny" to me again. She also though I worked at a gas station nearby. I told her I was not that person and that she was mistaken. It made me feel like a jerk because these people obviously were sincere in there thinking. This leads me to my encounter this past evening, and the connection to Magnum PI. I saw a man looking confused through the glass door and wall, in the main hallway where I work. It was a common occurrence, for most of the building was closed by this time of day, except for one open business at the end of the hall. I opened the door and asked him "Are you looking for the x-ray place"? He said "Yes". I directed him down the hallway to the right. He said "Thanks you" and went on his way. I closed the door and while walking through my office I though to myself "That guy looks familiar". After only a brief moment I realized who he reminded me of. He looked and sounded exactly like John Ireland aka Wyndom Jackson from the Black Orchid episode! It wasn't just his looks and voice, even his mannerisms were totally similar. This led me down the rabbit hole in my mind to my past doppelganger experiences and gave me the idea for this post. It brought to mind the other Magnum connection I always joke about... The drummer from the band Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, (Nick Ceroli), looks exactly like the Jim Bonnick character "Mac", played by Jeff MacKay, (in every photo I have of him on the albums). It's so easy to pick him out of the band photos with his "Mac like" grin and moustache. Anyhow, do any of you have any doppelganger encounters with people who look like cast members of the show?
Dude! You're definitely living some kind of Twilight Zone life. :shock: :D Especially with that Kenny story. Just curious - did you ever decide to check out the local gas stations in the area to see if you could spot this Kenny? :)
Rod Serling said he had the same thing happen to him and it really rattled him.
It inspired the Twilight Zone episode "Mirror Image" starring Martin Milner and Vera Miles, taking place in a bus station.
Milner was so good portraying his crazed double - sprinting at the end with a demonic smile - that it creeped me out as a kid.

Post Reply