How to Find 6 Degrees of Kevin Bacon using Google

Google just implemented a new feature that uses the IMDB to pull up the number of connections to reach Kevin Bacon for cast members listed in the database. You’ve probably heard of this as a conversational game among cinema buffs. The premise behind it is that every actor who has been on screen is at least 6 film castings away from Kevin Bacon. The degrees needed to find a connection to Kevin Bacon is known as the actor’s Bacon number.

For example, Shirley Temple starred with Carroll Baker in Hollywood Uncensored (1 degree). Carol Baker and Eli Wallach appeared in Baby Doll (2 degrees), and Eli Wallach starred with Kevin Bacon in Mystic River (3 degrees). This gives Shirley Temple a Kevin Bacon number of 3, Carol Baker a 2 and Eli Wallach a 1 since he starred directly with Kevin Bacon.

To find it on Google, all you have to do is type in the actor’s name followed by Bacon number in the search box.

While it isn’t the most useful trick added to Google’s search service, it’s an entertaining one. As far as I could tell, the current record holder still stands to be William Rufus Shafter who holds a Bacon number of 7, one of the few actors outside of the 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon. Have fun!