Did Marilyn Manson play Paul on 'The Wonder Years' as a kid?
No, that was Josh Saviano, who now works as an attorney in New York. Marilyn Manson's real name is Brian Warner. When this rumor first erupted in 1996, Saviano reported getting e-mail messages every week asking whether he was Manson. (Credit: AP)
Was John Denver a U.S. Army sniper during the Vietnam War?
No, John Denver was classified 1-Y for the draft because he had missing toes from a lawnmower accident, and never served in the Armed Forces. (Credit: AP)
Did Marisa Tomei win an Oscar because Jack Palance read her name by mistake?
No, she won fair and square for "My Cousin Vinny." The rumor claims Vanessa Redgrave was really supposed to win, but the Academy Awards keep officials from the accounting firm Price Waterhouse in the wings in case of a wrong name being read. (Credit: AP)
Was Walter Matthau's given name Walter Matuschanskyayasky?
No, he was born Walter Matthow. The "Matuschanskyayasky" name was created for a cameo role in the 1974 movie "Earthquake" in which he appeared for free in exchange for his real name not being used. (Credit: AP)
Did Fred Rogers serve as a Navy SEAL in the Vietnam War, and have several confirmed kills?
No, Fred Rogers never served in the military. He went directly into television after graduating from college, and only interrupted his career to study for Presbyterian ministry at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. (Credit: wiredforbooks.org)
Did Gene Simmons had a cow's tongue grafted onto his own to make it longer?
No, Simmons' tongue is naturally as long as it appears. (Credit: AFP/Getty Images)
Did Jim Nabors and Rock Hudson marry each other?
No, this decades-old rumor was the result of a tongue-in-cheek party invitation sent across the country, which read "You are cordially invited to the wedding reception of Rock Hudson and Jim Nabors." The joke was that Hudson would be known as "Rock Pyle," after Nabors' Gomer Pyle character. Hudson says the rumor ruined his friendship with Nabors. (Credit: AP)
Did Subway pitchman Jared Fogle die?
No, he's still alive. The rumor claimed he died from losing so much weight so quickly on a Subway diet. (Credit: AP)
Was Frank Zappa was the son of Hugh 'Lumpy' Brannum, a.k.a. Mr. Greenjeans on "Captain Kangaroo?"
No, Frank Zappa's father's name was Francis Vincent Zappa Sr. The rumor started with a Zappa song called "Son of Mr. Green Genes." (Credit: AP)
Did Albert Einstein guest star on the TV Western "Gunsmoke?"
No, Einstein died in April 1955, five months before "Gunsmoke" went into production. (Credit: AP)
Did Charles Manson audition for the Monkees?
No, Manson was in prison from 1961 to 1967, and couldn't very easily have made the 1965 auditions. (Credit: AP)
Did famously bad "American Idol" contestant William Hung die of a heroin OD?
No, Hung is still very much alive. The rumor started with a spoof news story. (Credit: AP)
Did 'Don't Worry Be Happy' singer Bobby McFerrin commit suicide?
Some people relished in the irony of this rumor, that the man who wrote a song of such sunny optimism couldn't heed his own advice, but this rumor is not true either. Bobby McFerrin is still out there as a singer and conductor. This picture is from just a couple of years ago. (Credit: CBS)
