Initials DB

I am not the only person to wonder about the significance – if any – of the initials D.B.

Is it a red herring or is there any occult significance?

My interest began back in October 2003 when two famous illusionists/magicians with the initials DB achieved notoriety in Britain. DAVID BLAINE was in London for his 44 days of fasting (“Above The Below”), broadcast by Channel 4 (British TV), while DERREN BROWN performed his controversial ‘Russian Roulette’ stunt live, also on Channel 4.

Also rising to prominence in 2003 was another Brown and DB: DAN BROWN, whose bestselling novel “The Da Vinci Code” was published that year. His novel explores religious/occult symbolism.

Another DB magician was DAVID BERGLAS.

If the initials DB have any meaning, it’s probably because they are the 4th and 2nd letters of the English alphabet, so when combined become the number 42, which generated much speculation after it featured in the 1970s BBC cult sci-fi radio series (and TV series) “The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy”. 42 is in the Bible and also pops up in the fantasy writings of LEWIS CARROLL. See my article on 42.

DB = DIVINE BEING – a common expression for God or some deity/transcendent being.

Fictional characters with the initials DB include:-

DANA BARRETT – a central character in the paranormal comedy film “Ghostbusters”. Her apartment is on level 22 (a religious/occult number) at door number 2206, which is one less than 2207 = the golden ratio (approximately 1.618) raised to the power of 16.
22/7 = the Pi ratio, approximately.

DAVID BOWMAN – the protagonist in Arthur C. Clarke’s sci-fi novel (and movie) “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Did this name come from singer DAVID BOWIE, who would write/sing “Space Oddity”? Bowie took his stage name in 1965, before the release of the film (1968), although the discussions for the film by Clarke and Director Stanley Kubrick started in 1964. A biographer of the film wrote that Clarke and Kubrick invented the name in August 1964. See “Space Odyssey” (2018) by MICHAEL BENSON.

DEVLIN BOWMAN – Another Bowman! Devlin is the main villain in the movie “The Master Of Disguise” (2002). DEVLIN is an anagram of DEVIL N.

DUANE BARRY – an alleged alien abductee in the sci-fi/paranormal TV drama “The X-Files”. Barry’s character was based on the real medical case of PHINEAS CAGE, who suffered a personality change after an injury to his brain. Consequently, his left eyelid drooped to cover his eye, thus suitable for use for occult symbolism because a one-eyed person/creature is an old occult/religious/mythological symbol. The “X-Files” main character FOX MULDER resides at apartment number 42.

Coincidentally or not, the “X-Files” writing duo of BILLY BROWN and DAN ANGEL (for the 5th season in 1997/98) have names that when rearranged become DAN BROWN and BILLY ANGEL. Dan Brown’s novel “Angels And Demons” is an anagram of DAN ANGEL’S DEMONS.

DENISE BRYSON – transgender character (initially called DENNIS BRYSON) in the surreal, supernatural, TV drama series TWIN PEAKS, played by X-Files actor David Duchovny (Fox Mulder).

DEUCE BIGALOW – the main character in the movie “Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo” (1999), co-written by HARRIS GOLDBERG who also co-wrote the aforementioned “The Master Of Disguise”. The word DEUCE is a euphemism for the Devil.

DICK BARTON – Special Agent in the BBC Radio thriller serial (1946- 51).

DONNIE BRASCO – an alias and the name of the crime film (1997) based on the autobiographical book “Donnie Brasco: My Undercover Life In The Mafia”, about an FBI agent who employed the undercover alias DONNIE BRASCO.

DAVID BRENT – comedy character created and played by RICKY GERVAIS for the BBC TV sitcom “The Office”.

DOMINIC BADGUY – villain in “Muppets Most Wanted” (2014), played by the David Brent actor Ricky Gervais. Mistaken identity is a theme in the film.

“DOC” BROWN (aka EMMETT BROWN) – the time machine inventor in the comedy/sci-fi movie “Back To The Future”.

D.B. CAULFIELD (aka “D.B.”) – a brother of “The Catcher In The Rye” protagonist HOLDEN CAULFIELD.

DONCASTER BOY – name of a horse in the TV comedy “Ripping Yarns” (episode “Tomkinson’s Schooldays”).

DEVON BRADLEY – character in the Simpsons episode “The Great Money Caper”. Bart learns magic.

DANIEL BLAKE – titular character of the 2016 film drama “I, Daniel Blake”.

DAISY BUCHANAN – the love of JAY GATSBY in the novel “The Great Gatsby”.

DANGEROUS BEANS – a white rat (almost blind) who is an unofficial leader of some rats in the TERRY PRATCHETT novel “The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents” (2001).

MAJOR DUNCAN-BLEEK – a character in the Sherlock Holmes film “Terror By Night”.