Actually, it's not so much a legend as the truth, retold in a pithily written blog entry by rising wordsmith and 20Nothings Blog author Jessie Rosen.
The short version of the story: William H. Macy, of Fargo and Pleasantville and about two dozen other movies, plays and artistic ventures fame, told co-founder Kimberly Kaye how to start this company. He also told her to call him "Bill." (She was unable to do so.)
The longer version of the story is all laid out here, in Jessie Rosen's Effable Arts-themed blog entry. Thanks for that, Miss Rosen. (PS: We believe the 70's version of Ramen Noodles was Corn Flakes. Or, as per Miss Kaye's interview, CHEESE.)
Other fun facts:
--"Bill" Macy wrote bad checks to a Chicago junk-yard thug in order to get seats for he and Mr. Mamet's first show, then called the thug from the safety of his home to beg the guy to wait until AFTER their show opened before breaking his legs. (The show recouped, Macy paid the thug, and all walked away unharmed.)
-- An early Macy and Mamet fundraiser: "We sold signs engraved with the names of people who made donations for $25 each, then put them on the back of each seat in the theater. Then, five years later, when the theater was doing very well, we ripped all the signs off and resold them for $500 a piece."
-- Seriously, American Buffalo was written because of a fight over a piece of cheese. (Somehow that story never gets old.)
DISCLAIMER: William H. Macy does not endorse unscrupulous behavior or fights over dairy as ongoing business practices.
This one's for you, Bill.
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