CLOSE one-name study

Today my husband Alan and I are celebrating our wedding anniversary, and in the context of our respective one-name studies I am particularly reminded today of a strange coincidence which we came across some time ago, concerning Ivy CLOSE (1890-1968). Ivy Lilian CLOSE was born on 15 June 1890 in Stockton on Tees, County Durham, the daughter of watch maker and jeweller John Robert CLOSE (1867-1936) and his wife Emma BLACKBURN (1868-1927).   In the 1911 census she described herself as a vocalist, the Daily Mirror awarded her the title of “Most beautiful woman in the world”, but in her 20s she became much better known as a popular actress in silent films. My husband is studying the surname NEAME, and I am researching CLOSE.   Imagine our surprise, then, when we discovered a marriage between a NEAME and a CLOSE, neither of whom, as far as we know, was related to us.   Not only that, but it was a marriage between two people who have made a significant impact on the world of en