Hey Hey! I'll get the popcorn

He changed his name because he was in the field of entertainment and considered himself a playwright and actor. An ethnic sounding name was more exotic.

Nothing against him at all for this and unlike some on here who like to second guess his actions and reasoning on any subject, he spoke often and openly that it was for artistic reasons on line with many others. The reason this upsets people is that he was quick to scold anyone performing outside of what he considered their indigenous musical heritage. This didn't go down well with singers who wondered why his strange complaint never applied to himself.

The name also helped when he pretended to sound Scottish.