Proud Papas

While doing some Father's Day research we discovered an amazing thing: Lots of famous people have famous fathers! These dads certainly have something to be proud of.

Here's a little conversation fodder for your father on his special day--make your dad proud of how much you know.

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1. Most people know the real-life fairy tale of American movie star Grace Kelly. But did you know that her dad, John B. Kelly, Sr., won a total of three gold medals at the Olympic Games in 1920 and 1924? (John, Jr., was also an Olympic rower.)

2. Tennis star Andre Agassi's athleticism probably comes from his dad, Mike, who was a world-class boxer. Mike Agassi competed in the 1948 London Olympics, and he later helped train Andre.

3. Shari Belafonte has been adding beauty and grace to television and film since the 1980s. In 1960 her dad, Harry Belafonte, became the first black man to win an Emmy Award. In the 1950s he popularized calypso music with the song "Banana Boat."

4. Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley changed the world's concept of monsters when she wrote the novel Frankenstein (1818). Maybe she got some of her ideas for the book from her father, William Godwin, who was a political philosopher and writer.

5. The U.S. Department of Defense named its computer programming language (Ada) after Ada Byron, countess of Lovelace, who helped develop an early computer. Her father was Lord Byron, one of the leading writers of the romantic movement.

6. In 1990 Ken Griffey, Sr., joined his son, Ken Griffey, Jr., in the Seattle Mariners' lineup. This marked the first time a father and son played on the same major league baseball team. Ken Griffey, Sr., retired after the 1991 season. In 2000, Ken Griffey, Jr., left the Mariners to join his father's former team, the Cinncinnati Reds.

7. American actor Lon Chaney, Jr., howled as the hairy monster in The Wolfman (1941). His dad, Lon Chaney, Sr., was silently scary as the Phantom in The Phantom of the Opera (1925).

8. During the 1980s Anjelica Huston starred in Prizzi's Honor (1985) and The Dead (1987). Both of these films were directed by her father, John Huston, who remains one of America's most critically acclaimed film directors.

9. Indira Gandhi served as prime minister of India twice (1966-1977 and 1980-1984). Her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, was the first prime minister of independent India, from 1947 to 1964. (He also popularized Nehru jackets, which were named after him.)

10. Isabella Rossellini is known for looking quite like her mother, film star Ingrid Bergman. Her father, Roberto Rossellini, was a leader of the neorealist movement in Italian film.

11. Since the 1970s Natalie Cole has been one of rhythm-and-blues music's reigning queens. It makes sense, since her dad was Nat "King" Cole.

12. Tallulah Bankhead* found success on stage, screen, and radio in the first half of the 20th century. She strayed from the more conventional path of her dad, William Brockman Bankhead, who was speaker of the House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940.

13. Henry Fonda won an Academy Award for his work in On Golden Pond (1981), in which he played father to real-life daughter Jane. In real life, Henry was also dad to Peter Fonda (star of Easy Rider, 1969), who is dad to actor Bridget.