Sunday, May 17, 2026

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2026): Actor and Character

NPR Sunday Puzzle (May 17, 2026): Actor and Character
Q: Name a famous actor of the past, seven letter first name and seven letter last name. Remove three consecutive letters from his last name and the remaining letters in order will be the well known lead character from a long running series of films. What actor and character are these?
Rearrange the letters of the actor and you'll get an animal and a fruit.

Edit: You get a CHINCHILLA and a PEAR.
A: CHARLIE CHA(PLI)N --> CHARLIE CHAN

113 comments:

  1. The key is in the Bible.

    Congratulations once again, legolambda!

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  2. Sounds like a good Sunday Puzzle.

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  3. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  4. Remove all letters that appear more than once in the name of the character. Rearrange to get something you might find in the ocean.

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  5. One actor who played the long running character is from my old stomping ground. Although by today's standards, he'd have to be from somewhere else.

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  6. Name an actor who played the character. Remove five consecutive letters. Add a word that is the opposite of what remains of the actor's first name. The result is a novel solution.

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  7. The three letters that are removed can be anagrammed to either spell a rock band abbreviation or the first three letters of another musical group.

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  8. Hi everyone. Easy puzzle today from Lego but you can always change the station if you don't like this week's offering.

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  9. Nice one, Lego! I'm thinking the correct submissions will be back to 4 digits this week.

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    1. Yes, I expect bigger numbers this week too.

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    2. I agree—more correct answers this week.

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  10. I got the answer - this week’s challenge is relatively easy, in stark contrast to last week’s challenge.

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  11. The character was originally described as being from a specific location, although many of the films featured different locations.

    Several TV shows, in a similar genre to the original, feature the original location.

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  12. Nothing to add but my congrats to Joseph. Not sure anyone keeps track of this but is it possible that you are the all time leading guest contributor to the NPR Sunday morning puzzle? It wouldn't surprise me a bit... :)

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    1. Thank you, JayB (and others who have posted complimentary comments). But I strongly suspect there are others (likely many others!) who have had more puzzles featured on NPR than I.
      LegoGratefully

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  13. Mad Magazine ran a piece back in the 50s that went something like this: “You’ve read the book, now watch the movie!” “You’ve seen the movie, now watch the tv show!” “You’ve seen the tv show, now play the board game!” “You’ve played the board game, now buy the cocktail napkins!” In the case of this particular character we got a radio and stage version as well, but sadly no cocktail napkins. Hoping this isn't TMI.

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    1. No napkins, but there IS a cocktail.

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    2. I'm a little sloe, but this is what got me there.

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    3. I remember the Mad magazine page, and it was hilarious. I've never had one, but there is a cocktail named Charlie.

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  14. A modernist poet comes to mind.

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  15. Replies
    1. I thought about making some kind of snarky "ballroom" comment, but my conscience dictated taking a more honorable approach, so I went with Ms. Muldowney.

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  16. Blaine’s clue confirmed my solution.

    And Joe… Superman walks around with a big “S” on his chest for Super. You walk around with a big “P” on your chest for Puzzleman.

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  17. Nice puzzle, Lego! Not too hard, for me, but I'm out of novel avenues with which to clue it without saying too much. Congrats!

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  18. I guess for the Star Trek question he was only counting broadcast series…

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  19. If you change 2 letters of the actor's last name, then you will get something interesting.

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    1. If you change the P and N in Chaplin to R and E, then you will get Charlie. Then, Charlie Chaplin's name would be Charlie Charlie.

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  20. Anyone else feel like going for a brief hike?

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  21. This is an excellent puzzle. Usually when I solve one of these while still in bed, and without using any lists, I find it too easy, but not this time. I doubt there will be many correct entries.

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    1. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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    2. Seriously? Did you have a stroke?

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    3. I refuse to answer questions into my sex life.

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  22. You can also get two non-name words, each by removing 3 other consecutive letters from the actor's last name.

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  23. Name a famous actor of the past, 7 letter first name and 7 letter last name . There are 4 different ways to remove 3 consecutive letters from his last name so that the remaining letters in order spell common words. Too bad, Sandra Bullock!

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  24. Think of another famous actor of the past, 5 & 6 letters. His last name is a homophonic synonym of a common vehicle. Add 5 letters to his last name and you will get a common brand name of this vehicle.

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    1. I was spelling the actor's last name incorrectly. It should be 5 letters. 5 & 5.

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    2. Is the actor Peter Lorre? (I don't know brand names of trucks.)

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    3. Nodd, You are correct, and I just now looked and noticed I made a mistake in saying to add 5 letters, when it should be add 4 letters. I never noticed the spelling before. The last name of Peter Lorre is phonetically the same as the British name for semi trucks: Lorry. So the answer is Peterbilt, and not Peterbuilt as I was thinking when I wrote it. I suspect you are very familiar with Peterbilt trucks if you have ever been on a freeway. LOL

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    4. I am familiar with Peterbilt. However, your puzzle said to add the letters to the last name rather than the first name.

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    5. I told you I had another birthday.

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    6. Yeah, but I now have them once a year! And my years are going by faster now.

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    7. I was going to say something about that, but I forgot what it was.

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    8. Maybe you should consult with a mammary doctor.

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    9. To help me keep abreast of my declining recall?

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    10. You're really gonna milk this for all it's worth.

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    11. Bust my buttons, are you Irish?

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    12. According to Unlock Your Past, "The Scott surname has Irish roots, tracing its origin to the Latin term 'scotti.'"

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    13. But let's not get bogged down in genealogical details.

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    14. I agree; perhaps we should have a Rob Roy instead.

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    15. I'll have a Guinness, thanks.

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    16. Try one glassfull, at cool room temperature, of Pauliner and you will never to back to that sub-standard hyped up swill.
      Paulaner Salvator is the original, world-renowned Doppelbock (double bock) from Munich, Germany. Brewed by Paulaner monks for over 375 years, this rich "liquid bread" is celebrated for its deep amber color, 7.9% ABV, and superb balance of toasted dark caramel, chocolate, and subtle hop notes.

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    17. Wow. I haven't taken a drink in years, but perhaps I'll make an exception. When I did drink, I enjoyed dark beer.

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    18. Nodd, I am not joking about this one. I lived in WĂ¼rzburg, Deutschland for a full 2 1/2 years and left in August 1966. Everywhere in Germany they make bier, but Paulaner Thomasbrau is the finest, and I used to frequent an establishment that serves cheese platters and sliced real bread. They served both hell and dunkel (light & dark) on tap, but not cold so you could not taste and appreciate it. It was expensive, even for there at that time. I still drink a bit here on occasion, but that libation does not travel well, as you most likely know. Still wonderful though. If you chill it, you will not be able to taste it. Those are some very happy monks I tell you.

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  25. One played a character of his own many times and would never have encountered the other character.

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  26. I didn't anticipate that you brilliant Blainesvillians would find this latest NPR offer of mine to be quite such a piece-of-cake! But that appears to be the consensus.
    So...
    without further ado (or adieu), and with Blaine's indulgence (remember Blaine, you've got that "Delete button"!), I shall now (as is my wont but probably not your want!) inflict upon you, my fellow Blainesvillian masses, a perhaps-a-bit-more-challenging "Schpuzzle of the Week" that I am serving up on this week's edition of Puzzleria!:
    Schpuzzle of the Week:
    Kitchen gizmos? Ocean creatures?

    Take a five-letter noun for an eggbeater or chopper when you begin using it, and a five-letter verb for what it may then do.
    Rearrange these 10 letters to spell the two-word etymology of the name of a creature related to whales.
    What are this noun, verb, two-word etymology and creature?

    LegoMakingAnAttemptAtMakingAmends

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    1. This is a tough one, Lego! I was sure I had the creature and the 2-word etymology, but I couldn't tie them to the kitchen tools.

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    2. Of course you knew the answer was obvious. It wouldn't have been published if it wasn't. My only question is, did you add the "seven, seven" or was that Shortz? Because adding that detail took it from a seriously challenging puzzle to next to mindless. It narrowed the field from perhaps thousands to maybe, what, three?

      We're all rooting for you Lego to replace Shortz. Hopefully NPR realizes that before the audience dwindles to 10.

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    3. Thank you Lancek and Spanky McFarland.
      Lancek, in my My Schpuzzle, the chopper and eggbeater are not "kitchen gizmos" (which I hoped to hint at in my headline that included the phrase "kitchen Gizmos? with a que?tion mark). However, both also are also slang terms for something much larger!
      Spanky, thank you for even mentioning me in the same sentence with Will Shortz... but he occupies a place of prominence on the Puzzlemasters' "Mount Rushmore!" Compared to him, I am but an "insect crawling around my anthill!"
      I created and sent will this current NPR puzzle back during the "20-teens-years" (2013-2019). I do not recall whether I added the word "seven" in the version I sent him.

      LegoWithGratitudeToLancek&Spanky

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    4. Aha moment! I too was hung up in the kitchen….
      More tomorrow.

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    5. Got it! I was right about the creature, but (like SuperZee apparently), I could not stand the heat.

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    6. I was lucky. As soon as I saw Lego’s hint, I remembered some of my prior coworkers, who were helicopter pilots. Brave men all, for as an engineer, I was taught to think of helicopters as, “Flying fatigue test machines.”

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  27. The nth sequel in the Movie Franchise puzzle franchise

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  28. That Bowie song about changes!

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  29. That guy from Hamilton says: On fire? Stop, drop, and roll, man!

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    1. jan, what did you think watching those 2 fighter jets mating in midair in Idaho? I heard they are out of Oak Harbor, on Whidbey Island, near here.

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    2. I think those are four very lucky fliers, assuming they're all okay! I believe they would be saves number 7,817 through 7,820 for Martin-Baker ejection seats.

      (Technically, those are electronic warfare planes, not strictly fighters.)

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    3. Good point! We wouldn't want to confuse warfare with fighting. Let's keep it clean.

      They were fortunate to be in positions to eject. I was also impressed at how fast they inflated. Now they are fully qualified for membership in The Caterpillar Club and receive their lapel pins.

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    4. Not to mention their ties and tie pins, etc., from M-B's Tie Club.

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    5. I think all 4 chutes opened in a tie too.

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    6. I guess the common thread, so to speak, among caterpillars, ties, and parachutes, is silk (as in "hitting the silk"). I imagine that parachutes were originally made of silk because of its lightness and, well, silkiness, which undoubtedly helps with opening without hanging up.

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    7. They were first silk because nylon was not born yet.

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    8. Actually, before silk, they were canvas or linen, obviously suboptimal.

      My wife just had a bunch of knitting and yarn ruined by moth larvae. I wonder if the two caterpillar species are in cohoots? Sounds like a business model.

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    9. I live in Oak Harbor! Small world.

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  30. We can rule out RenĂ© Auberjonois as the actor… đŸ˜‰

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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    2. In the movie M*A*S*H, René Auberjonois played Father Francis Mulcahy, an army chapl(a)in

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  31. RIP Barney Frank.

    And, with Trump's $1.8B payout to the January 6 rioters, and the DOJ giving Trump, his family and business a pass on tax investigations, no-bid contracts, etc., RIP rule of law. And, with the Supreme Court's redistricting rulings, RIP democracy in general.

    Sad times!

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    1. Delicious menu, and all served with a generous helping of Sauce Alito.

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  32. Charlie Chaplin >>> Charlie Chan NOT Charlie Horse.

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  33. Charlie Chaplin…Charlie Chan

    Charlie Chan was described by author Earl Derr Biggers as a Honolulu Police Detective. But in later books and in the movies, he travelled the world solving cases in such places as Tahiti, Mexico, Paris, San Francisco, Monaco, and New York.

    I found Lego’s additional puzzle tougher. Although I’d known that the closest relative to whales is the hippopotamus, and that the name came from river horse, it was not until Lego hinted that eggbeater and chopper were not kitchen tools that I saw the light.

    When a helicopter first takes off it is a riser; it may later hover.

    So the answer to Lego’s supplement is hippopotamus >> river horse >> riser and hover.

    My hat’s off to Lego for the elegant misdirection!

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  34. CHARLIE CHAPLIN —> CHARLIE CHAN

    “The key is in the Bible.”
    —> Keye Luke (as in the Bible’s Book of Luke), the actor who in the Warner Oland-Charlie Chan films played Chan’s “Number One Son,” Lee

    “A modernist poet comes to mind.”
    —> Hart Crane, who wrote the poem “Chaplinesque”

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  35. CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CHARLIE CHAN

    My clue was writing that I'm out of novel avenues with which to clue it without saying too much.

    Out Of Novel Avenues spells out OONA, and I've long been intrigued by the name of Charlie Chaplin's daughter.

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  36. CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CHARLIE CHAN

    > Musical clue: a David Bowie song I probably can't name here.

    Ch-ch-ch-CHANges. (That's "Ch-" for CHARLIE, "ch-" for CHAPLIN, "ch-" for CHARLIE again, and . . . .)

    >> I'm thinking the correct submissions will be back to 4 digits this week.
    > Yes, I expect bigger numbers this week too.

    CHARLIE CHAN was created by Earl Derr Biggers.

    > That guy from Hamilton says: On fire? Stop, drop, and roll, man!

    Don't CHAR! LIE, CHAP! -- LIN

    (Sorry!)

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  37. Absolutely never heard of Charlie Chan.

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  38. I used to watch Charlie Chan on TV — the 39 episodes were on in 1957-1958. I guess that tells you I’m OLD!

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    1. Me too. I watch them on my parents 19 inch black and white TV, with a rabbit ear antenna.

      Charlie Chan, Our Gang, Amos and Andy, The Lone Ranger, Sky King, Abbott and Costello, and the Three Stooges, staples of 1950's TV.

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  39. Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chan

    I wrote: The three letters that are removed can be anagrammed to either spell a rock band abbreviation or the first three letters of another musical group.
    PLI can be anagrammed to PiL (Public Image Ltd) or LIP (Lipps, Inc.). I wanted to mention that the second group was a disco group, but since there are only so many of those, I felt that might be TMI. Coincidentally, both names sound more like corporations than musical groups. The “PLI” combination also works with (The) Plimsouls and Pilot.

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    1. So, Tortitude, where do you stand on Funkytown?

      Are you Lipps, Inc. or Pseudo Echo?

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    2. I only vaguely remember Pseudo Echo, so I guess I'll have to go with Lipps, Inc.

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  40. Our friend ViolinTeddy, author of the always-popular "Strad-Steiff Subleties" feature on Puzzleria!, is our featured puzzle-maker on this week's edition of our blog. "VT" has concocted "Ten Not-So-Easy Word-Teasy Appetizers" that will challenge the hopeful solver to "bring-to-light" seventeen mysteriously shrouded-in-the-myst words. Anyone who can “Solve All Seventeen!” (the title of these "Subtleties") shall be forthwith ceremoniously inducted in the "Seventeenth-Heaven-Level of Puzzling-Mystery-Mastery!"
    We'll do our best to upload these fruits of ViolinTeddy's genius very soon this very afternoon!
    Also on this week's menus:
    ~ a Schpuzzle Of The Week" titled "Civic, Duty, Artistic Beauty,"
    ~ a "Clean Sheets But Dirty Sheep" Hors d’Oeuvre titled "SlumberJacks-and-LumberJills,"
    ~ a "Consequenceial Slice" titled "We need five more to reach twenty-four,"
    ~ an “Open Your Workbooks” Dessert titled "Keeping time, weighing in... counting Geigers?" and
    ~ a few handfuls of riff-offing of Will Shortz's current in-the-offing National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday Challenge Puzzle, titled "Little Tramp Transforms Into Sino-Sherlock!"

    So join us please. You may or may not be a masochist... but I guarantee that you'll enjoy the "string-along strains of mystery" slyly composed (but sweetly performed) by our friend ViolinTeddy!

    LegoThankfulToBlainesvilliansForTheirKindCommentsThisPastWeekConcerningMyNPRPuzzleChChChChallenge!(NiceChChChCHintsFromjanAndThenFromTomR)

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  41. My musical clue was Sam Cooke, because his baby loves the cha-cha-cha.

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    1. Would The Coasters have been too much of a TMI hint? "Searchin'" mentions Charlie Chan.

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  42. Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chan

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  43. My post - “I got the answer - this week’s challenge is relatively easy, in stark contrast to last week’s challenge.” - this was all referring to Oona Chaplin, the granddaughter of Charlie, who is a “relative” of his that played the role of Talisa “Stark” in Game of Thrones (“got”).

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  44. Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chan. Sydney Toler who played Chan, was born in Kansas City, MO in 1874, and I presume moved out when he became a professional actor in 1892. Somebody told me that he came from, or at least lived in my neighborhood of Brookside. I don't know how he could have since Brookside wasn't developed until the 1920's. I don't think it would go over now for a non-Asian to play an Asian. Peter Sellers was the last non-Asian to play Charlie Chan, in the 1970s I believe. Think of all the criticism Fisher Stevens got for Short Circuit, and that was 1986.

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  45. Charlie Chaplin – pli --> Charlie Chan

    Last Sunday I said, “Blaine’s clue confirmed my solution.” Anagramming Charlie Chan yields “Chinchilla Pear.”

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  46. CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CHARLIE CHAN

    "Hi everyone. Easy puzzle today from Lego but you can always CHANge the station if you don't like this week's offering."

    Kindergarten graduation happened today under blue skies after a week of hardcore (for us) rain. Their sweet singing brings on a tear every year. Six is such a mesmerizing, thoughtful, exciting age.

    It was fun to talk with a geologist dad and an engineer granddad, both with ties to the oil biz. Our display of hydraulic fracturing using straws as pipe pieces was of interest to both. One is quite involved in fracking in the Marcellus play in WV.

    And the kyanite, too. Though that's more a metamorphic geologist's purview. Or, you, know, me and everyone I talk to these days ;-).

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  47. Charlie Chaplin, Charlie Chan

    I had said: Remove all letters that appear more than once in the name of the character. Rearrange to get something you might find in the ocean.

    CHARLIE CHAN - CHA => RLIEN => LINER, as in an Ocean Liner.

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  48. CHARLIE CHAPLIN, CHARLIE CHAN
    pjbHasNeverReallyWatchedFilmsOfEitherMen,ButHeDidSolveThisOneVeryFast

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  49. Two non-name words, each by removing 3 other consecutive letters from the actor's last name:
    CHAPLIN: CHAP, CHIN

    Famous past actor, 7 letters each name, 4 ways to remove 3 consecutive letters from his last name:
    RAYMOND MILLAND: MILL, MILD, MIND, LAND

    Too bad, SANDRA BULLOCK!: BULL, BULK, BUCK, BOCK, LOCK

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For NPR puzzle posts, don't post the answer or any hints that could lead to the answer before the deadline (usually Thursday at 3pm ET). If you know the answer, submit it to NPR, but don't give it away here.

You may provide indirect hints to the answer to show you know it, but make sure they don't assist with solving. You can openly discuss your hints and the answer after the deadline. Thank you.