Our first thought, and yours: Was Brown’s former dean and erstwhile free-speech advocate Alexander Meiklejohn moonlighting as an obscure mononymous silent film star?

No he wasn’t, but apparently William Meiklejohn (1903-1981), also known as “The Starmaker,” was a renowned talent agent who represented Lucille Ball, Nat King Cole and Judy Garland. Today he is best remembered for discovering a young Ronald Reagan. As far as Wikipedia knows, he bore no relation to the Brown guy. His first name didn’t make it onto the star because he inexplicably had to share the honor with brother Campbell Meiklejohn, who managed the Grauman’s Egyptian Theater.

The Dean and The Starmaker, a side-by-side comparison.

If you dare venture down the cavalcade of blood, grime and tears that is the Hollywood Walk of Fame, you can find the Meiklejohn star at 1777 Vine, between Hollywood and Yucca.

Images via and via.

Flashback to your high school graduation: you walked confidently to the front of your capped-and-gowned class, picked up your diploma, and walked out of school forever.  A future of literally limitless possibilities at the top of College Hill was an option welcomed with open arms after years of college-driven course choices — until pre-registration. Then freshmen inevitably realized Brown’s curriculum pretty much meant they were all utterly overwhelmed and totally screwed.

Cue the entrance of those angels in punny shirts we like to call the Meiklejohns.  Unlike the professorial advisors who offered a few vague words of encouragement, Meiklejohns came to the rescue with the real dirt, including advice like which professors were snooze-worthy, who delivered captivating lectures, which classes were way too difficult for first-semester students, and reasons why you shouldn’t take that 9 a.m.  As the new college student breathed a sigh of relief, a string of questions must have fleetingly crossed his mind — where does the word “meiklejohn” come from? Should I get my lactaid pills? Who is John?

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