David Schwimmer

[rowe@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu (Mickey Rowe)]

As promised...

I'm amazed both that so many people have noticed the David Schwimmer
on "Friends", and that there is such interest here.  Nevertheless,
I'll add to it...  I noticed the name in the first episode (prior to
that the actor was known to me only as "4B" due to a role played on
another network).  Thinking it was just a coincidence, I didn't give
it much thought.  Ross has previously been shown working in a museum,
and although it was unspecified, I presumed it was supposed to be
AMNH.  In the episode in question he was helping with a Cro-Magnon (or
some similar prehistoric human) diorama; part of that segment is still
in the opening credits.  He'd never called himself a paleontologist
prior to last week, so I presumed he was a low level employee.  I
don't think the script writers envision him as having a PhD, but I was
planning to write to the paleontologist to ask about it anyways...

Which brings me to the real paleontologist David Schwimmer.  He
unsubscribed from the dinosaur list when the computers at his site
were getting reconfigured a while back.  He does have a new e-mail
address, but hasn't resubscribed (I haven't bothered him about it, so
I don't know if he's ignoring us or if he just hasn't gotten around to
it).  However, I have his new address because he has sent things to
PaleoNet.  I've just received his response to my query about the
actor.  I'll quote from it (I think we're ok here copyright wise :-):

     I don't know the guy, but we're probably distantly related if he
     really is David Schwimmer.  How he became a "paleontologist" on
     TV is also a mystery to me.  One scenario is that he or his
     producer picked up my vitae in some context (e.g. a Who's who
     sort of thing) and used that for the program.  Or, it could be
     coincidence.

One final note... many of you have commented on the fact that Ross'
apartment doesn't have enough paleontological paraphernalia... I don't
think we've ever seen his apartment.  He does not live with Joey and
Chandler.  Similarly we've never seen Phoebe's apartment.  I guess
Ralph thought Ross lived in that building because Ralph only skimmed
the show :-)

-- 
Mickey Rowe     (rowe@lepomis.psych.upenn.edu)