American/English famous names for each playing card

I want to create a book and possibly a practice deck of playing cards with the picture of a different famous person on each card.

My thread for China and India magicians has not gotten much response, probably due to the English language issue and different cultures therefore I am switching attention to this thread which is sticking with the American / English culture for the naming conventions.

The purpose of doing this is to be able to later utilize the Person, Action memory system.
The "Action" will come later but first we need a strong association of each card to a famous person or occupation.

My current scheme uses a lot of famous people names and could have copyright issues so I could replace those names by using the names below.

Copyright free names, I think:
Scrooge, Cinderella, Snow White witch, thumbelina, Red Riding Hood, Big Bad Wolf, Hansel and Gretel, Beauty, Beast, Jack and the beanstalk, Three musketeers, Paul Bunyan, Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Napoleon, Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Brutus, Einstein, Sir Isaac Newton, George Washington, Benedict Arnold, Martin Luther King, Jefferson, Merlin, Houdini, Thurston, Bess Houdini, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Samuel Morse, Philo Farnsworth (the true inventor of TV), Sherlock Holmes, Jack the ripper, emperor Ming, Magellan, Samson, Delilah, Adam, Eve, Moses, Noah, Pharaoh, Marie Antoinette, Christopher Columbus, Crazy Horse, Colonel Custer, Paul Bunyan, Amelia Earhart, Yeti, Bigfoot, Al Capone, Santa (sled), Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain, Gladiator, Annie Oakley, Beethoven, Mozart, Ponce de Leon (fountain of youth), Joan of Arc, Molly pitcher, Rapunzel long golden hair, Rumpelstiltskin. Frog (tongue). Whale blow water, King Arthur, Gulliver,

Hmmm, instead of coming up with totally new people, I could use my existing scheme but just give each card a funny similar parody name and replace Igor with Frankenstein simply because Frankenstein is easier to remember. Historic names are mostly copyright free, but some can be branded to a specific product or service.

The following names should be clear of copyright issues (especially since not being used here in association with any product).

Spades (Ace through King):
Red Baron, Leprechaun, Stooges, Admiral, Sheriff, Lizzie Borden, Samurai, Snowman, Cat
woman, Farmer, JFK, La Teeth Ah, Henry VII.

Hearts (Ace through King):
Cupid, Dr Hoot, Dandy sisters, Beet Lentils, Spicy Cinnamon, Milly Cyprus, Cruising moms, Magnificent Marilyn, Colonel Clanker, Tin Man, John Voltage, Dolly Partridge, Elvis Pretzel.

Clubs (Ace through King):
Jackie Bird, Fred Caveman, Frankenstein, Shiva, Grim Reaper, Rusting Stubs, Frank Singer, Goliath, Baby Ruthless, Bowler, Pirate, Dr Joyce Sisters, Policeman.

Diamonds (Ace through King):
Randy Duckworth, General Patton, Golfer (Bengal Forest), Elizabeth Eloper, Magic Dribbler, Coach, Quarterback, Tim ate Her, Macbeth, Tennis player, Jack Tut, Queen Victoria, Winston Churchill.

I have pretty strong mnemonic links of the names to each playing card but some are weaker and less well known, but these can easily be overcome with a little bit of true and fictitious associations.

Weakly linked cards (and mnemonic associations to improve the mental link):

4S Admiral Yamamoto sunk 4 battleships but were dug up (Spades) and reused.

5S Sheriff Gary Cooper during shootout killed and buried five criminals using five shovels.

6S Lizzie Borden used an ax to kill six people and bury them with a spade (not true but pretend).

9H German General who does not like Valentines and says "nein hearts".

3C Frankenstein monster has three club shaped stitches in his forehead.

6C Rusty Staub was a baseball player that played for six different clubs and had red hair and a rusty bat.

7C Frank Sinatra performed at Vegas clubs where 7 is a lucky number.

QC Doctor Joyce Brothers was an expert on boxing (Queen about boxing clubs).

3D pretend that Tiger Woods has three large diamonds embedded in the handle of his golf clubs.

4D pretend that Elizabeth Taylor wears four diamond rings on one hand.

9D pretend that Macbeth has a crown with nine diamonds in it (also the playing card nine of diamonds is associated with Scottish myth).

The other playing cards have strong mental associations to a famous person.

I plan to specify them later.

I'm thinking about some improvements:
Even though Shiva officially has four arms most images show six arms (or more).

Golfers yell the word "Four" a lot and golfers use clubs.

Am thinking about having Shiva be for the six of clubs (thus wiping out Rusty Staub) and having Golfer be for the four of clubs.

If I do that then the three of diamonds needs a new person and I'm thinking of using Dracula and having his pendant have three diamonds on it.
Eventually Dracula's action will be "Biting".

But if I do all that then I will miss the nice mental link on my Tritium stack for position 18 which by pure chance happens to be the three of diamonds which is currently the golfer (18 hole golf course is a wonderful mental link).

Since no one else is using my Tritium stack I think I can afford to make the overall naming convention better and therefore make the above changes. I can easily adjust my Tritium mnemonic stories.

I also looked to see if the Tamariz Mnemonica Stack or the Aaronson Stack happen to have the three of diamonds in position 18 and of course they don't so no loss there.

Reminder that this famous person naming convention that I am proposing can eventually be used with any stack and the benefit of using it is that a running mnemonic story can be mentally created so the magician can more quickly rattle off a series of cards without having to mentally think of the position numbers each time.

I've made a lot of changes so here is what I believe is my final assignment of famous names. Most of these names will still be well known a hundred years from now, but there are a few that may wane. And some may last forever such as the generic names: "Farmer, Sheriff, Bowler, Pirate, Bagpiper, Tennis player" and made up name "Jack Tut".

I'm calling this list:
Glowball Famous Names Version 6.

I have bypassed using the phonetic "MAJOR" technique and instead use a direct pegging method to associate the card with a famous name.

Spades:
AS - Red Baron (Ace of death in the skies)
2S - Sherlock Holmes and Watson (2 detectives like Sam Spade)
3S - Godzilla (has three spade symbols on back)
4S - Darth Vader (says "use the Four S")
5S - Spock (five spade symbols on fingernails)
6S - Popeye (6 spade symbols tattooed on arms)
7S - Samurai (7 samurai used shovels to sword fight)
8S - Snowman (looks like figure 8 & shovels snow)
9S - Cat woman (cats have nine lives, black outfit)
10S - Farmer Shepherd (dug 10 holes for fence posts)
JS - JFK (Jack of death, killed in office)
QS - Queen Marie Antoinette (evil dark Queen)
KS - Henry VIII (evil dark king)

Hearts:
AH - Cupid (Ace with bow and arrow to heart)
2H - Dr Who (physically has two hearts)
3H - Andrews Sisters (three lovely hearts)
4H - Beatles/Ringo (4 heartthrob's for girls)
5H - Superman (pretend he has five hearts)
6H - Miley Cyrus (she has congenital sick heart)
7H - Seven Dwarfs (seven lovable Dwarfs)
8H - Marilyn Monroe (her figure looks like an eight and men loved her)
9H - Colonel Klink (no love, nein hearts)
10H - Tin Man (Oz tin Man wanted heart)
JH - John Travolta (Sat Night Fever heart throb)
QH - Dolly Parton (queen of our hearts)
KH - Elvis Presley (king heartthrob for women)

Clubs:
AC - Tiger Woods (Ace of the golf clubs)
2C - Fred Flintstone (holds stone club in each hand)
3C - Frankenstein (3 clubs shaped stitches across forehead)
4C - Leprechaun (likes the four of clovers 4C)
5C - Grim Reaper (scythe is club & shaped like #5)
6C - Shiva (has six arms each with a club)
7C - Frank Sinatra (Vegas performer at 7 clubs, and dice rolls lucky 7)
8C - Goliath (holds 4 battle clubs in each hand thus has eight clubs)
9C - Babe Ruth (9 means baseball and a baseball bat is a club)
10C - Bowler (bowling pins are 10 clubs)
JC - Pirate (Jack Sparrow fought using clubs sometimes)
QC - Joan of Arc (she fought with clubs sometimes)
KC - Sheriff (they are the king of Billy clubs)

Diamonds:
AD - Randy Johnson (Ace pitcher baseball diamond)
2D - General Patton (2 diamonds on pistol handle)
3D - Dracula (wore necklace with 3 diamonds)
4D - Elizabeth Taylor (wore four diamond rings)
5D - Magic Johnson (5 NBA championships rings)
6D - Coach Belichick (6 Superbowl championship rings)
7D - Quarterback Tom Brady (7 super Bowl championship rings)
8D - Thor (ate diamonds for energy)
9D - Scottish bagpiper (3 diamonds on each of three pipes giving nine diamonds)
10D - Tennis player (Chris Everett lost her diamond bracelet playing tennis therefore she is the "Tennis of Diamonds")
JD - Jack Tut (ancient rich Egyptian priest)
QD - Queen Victoria (rich English queen)
KD - Winston Churchill (wore huge diamond ring)

Of course the word "rich" equates to diamonds.

I have pretty strong mnemonic links of the names to each playing card but some are weaker and less well known, but these are easily overcome with a little bit of true and fictitious associations.

My list of mnemonic names for numbers 1 through 52. These associations can come in handy for certain memory techniques.

This is especially handy if using a 52 Loci memory (palace?) method as recommended by Cafe member Divrom (instead of doing PAO just do P).

Below are mental image objects (each object represents a number).

1 wand (sounds and looks like like "one")
2 big tooth (sounds like two)
3 tricycle (has three wheels)
4 giraffe with four long legs
5 beehive w #5 on it (rhymes with five)
6 ladybug with six legs and six spots
7 Aston Martin automobile (James Bond 007)
8 octopus (has eight legs)
9 Cheshire cat with Nine lives
10 two hands fingers extended
11 chopsticks look like 11
12 carton of dozen eggs
13 goalie mask (Jason Friday 13th)
14 old fashioned wooden fort with teenagers
15 badminton birdie (15 points wins)
16 candles (famous movie 16 Candles)
17 teenage magazine 17
18 A driver's license card (legal age to drive)
19 bananas with 19 on it (potassium atomic# 19)
20 eyeglasses frame with small missing portion (also 20/20 vision relates to 20)
21 a mug of beer (legal drinking age)
22 a small hunting rifle
23 a strand of DNA chromosome ("23 and Me")
24 The Sun (comes up every 24 hours)
25 a quarter (USA coin 25 cents)
26 distance runner (words "Marathon 26 miles")
27 a woman's dress (movie 27 Dresses)
28 Kuwait towers (Kuwait sounds like 28)
29 a diving board (leap year Feb 29)
30 famous battleship mighty MO (the M looks like a sideways three and the letter O looks like a zero)
31 Empire State Building (built 1931)
32 set of false chatter teeth (humans have 32 teeth)
33 big vinyl record (33 RPM)
34 Landspeeder X-34 (Luke Skywalker's vehicle)
35 speed limit sign with 35 mph
36 a big 36-in yardstick
37 Eiffel Tower with 37 landings between steps
38 an hourglass (image a "3" followed by an hourglas makes 38 or just have 3 hour glasses)
39 a traffic light with a cat on the side (three lights with nine lives)
40 Noah's ark (rained 40 days)
41 Japanese zero airplane (1941 Pearl harbor)
42 the universe picture (hitchhiker's guide Galaxy 42 meaning)
43 a Domino with a four and a three.
44 Landing craft (1944 Normandy invasion)
45 Atom bomb (created 1945)
46 Champagne bottle w 46 (1946 year celebration end WWII)
47 AK-47 with curved magazine visual image
48 Continental state map (USA 48 States)
49 Pan of gold and water (49'ers)
50 American flag starfield (has 50 stars)
51 Flying saucer (in area 51)
52 Bomber airplane (B52)

Here are mnemonics for numbers up through 77 (in case any magician is also using octal codes). Note that 0 through 7 can be used for each of two digits.

53 Llama (major system L and M are 53)
54 police car 54 where are you
55 speed limit sign
56 Chevy automobile
57 Bottle of ketchup (Heinz 57)

60 a clock tower or pocket watch
61 Bob Dylan album "Highway 61 Revisited"
62 Samson (atomic number 62 samarium)
63 Michael Jordan scoring 63 points
64 game show booth (64K question)
65 wheelchair for retirement
66 route 66 sign
67 bow an arrow (the seven looks like an arrow)

70 speed limit sign
71 SR-71 Blackbird Lockheed airplane
72 pentagon shape, central angle is 72 degrees
73 Sheldon Cooper Big bang TV show best #73
74 light bulb filament tungsten element 74
75 Cruise ship 75th anniversary
76 Paul Revere "the British are coming"
77 setting sun, 77 sunset strip TV show

I really don't like to use people to represent numbers because I want people to be used to represent playing cards.

Therefore different objects are needed to associate with Bob Dylan, Samson, Michael Jordan, Sheldon Cooper, and Paul Revere.

Perhaps:
61 Bob Dylan - microphone
62 Samson - scissors for Delilah
63 Michael Jordan - donut for dunking
73 Sheldon Cooper - firecracker (Big bang)
76 Paul Revere - American flag with circle stars

Method C (Divrom method) practice deck(s):
Practice deck(s) for the "number" images:
use a blank deck or just draw the object on the backs of an old red back deck and be sure to write its number on the object. Then on the other side of the blank deck draw just the object without the number (if you don't have a blank deck then do this on another red back deck).

Physically look through the deck that has the numbers (each card one by one and say the object name and its number out loud to help imprint the number).

After doing this then use the deck without the numbers to practice mentally seeing the image with the number on it.

Reminder that this "image to represent a number" Loci technique is primarily to do the Divrom suggested 52 Loci method which I am calling Method C in this thread.

Note that this "object number" Divrom method can be helpful to aid Method A or Method B, but not required since if using Method A or Method B you are drawing the number directly on the face of each playing card (its own practice deck).

For example the Ten of Diamonds on my Tritium stack is at position 8:
using "Method A" I have drawn a giant number eight around the two diamonds in the middle of the card. Drawing an octopus on the Ten of Diamonds could be helpful, but it is an extra mental process, albeit very quick, to mentally convert the octopus to the number eight.

I forgot to describe more clearly what Method A and Method B are.

So here is a little more about those two methods.

I refer to these methods as DIRECT PEGGING methods.

The two DIRECT PEGGING methods that I recommend are:

Method A. The position number is written in a unique way on the face of each card on a practice deck (no "person" image is used with Method A). The number may be written big, it may be written small, it may have a circle around the number, it may have an underline, it may have a square around the number. Each card will have its own number written in a unique way so that the magician remembers the image.

Method B. Similar to Method A but Method B incorporates a mnemonic image (a person) on the face of each card with the position number written on the face of each card on a practice deck.

Basically I believe that a DIRECT PEGGING memory system such as Harry Lorraine used is easier with quicker recall especially to know the POSITION of a card within a memorized stack.

Easier and quicker at performance time than say a speed memorizer PAO technique which is great at memorizing the sequence of cards but is a terrible method at quickly knowing a card's position number within the deck.