CALL ME UNPRONOUNCEABLE

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AS someone who has heard his relatively simple six-letter last name pronounced about 47 different ways, I always try to make sure I get other people’s names right. But there are a bunch of celebrities whose names I’ve mangled over the years (I thought it was Charlize “thur-RONE,” for example.)

It’s still somewhat common for actors and singers to take easier-to-pronounce (and often less-Jewy) stage names. (Would Jon Stewart be as popular if he were still Jonathan Leibowitz? Probably, actually — he makes it no secret he’s Jewish, and a lot of people think his last name is Daily anyway. But you get my point.)

So I give these folks below a lot of credit for sticking with these names (most of which I’ve mispronounced — or just completely avoided saying out loud):

ACTORS

←Mary Lynn Rajskub: Surly “Chloe” on “24.” You know, the only person at CTU with a personality. It’s “rice-cub,” by the way (which is a lot easier than saying “surly Chloe” ten times fast.)

Chiwetel Ejiofor: Great actor who played a terrific bad guy in “Serenity.” HEAR his name pronounced here

Ryan Phillippe: I thought it was “fill-EEP.” Doesn’t that sound classier anyway?

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje: “Mr. Eko” on “Lost.” The hyphen is actually a rest stop.

Saoirse Ronan: Some say it’s “SEER-shuh,” others say it’s “SER-shuh.” Pick one and stick with it, or I’ll just keep calling you “sow-eerse.”

Don Cheadle: Am I the only one who wants to say “CHEE-ad-ull?”

Shia LeBeouf: I wouldn’t have even bothered learning this one, but it looks like this guy isn’t going away any time soon.

MUSICIANS

John Mayer: As in McCheese, not Oscar. (Geez, am I hungry or what?)

Sufjan Stevens: That’s “SOOF-yahn” to you.

Ciara: It’s “Sierra.” Her last name is pronounced ”  .”

→Sade:  I remember everyone pronouncing her name “shar-day” back in the shar-day. Apparently, even her record company printed “pronounced shar-day” after her name on the labels of her first releases in the ’80s. But it’s “sha-day,” as in “Sha” Na Na. Hey — now there’s a great idea for a collaboration!

(BONUS: As long as I’m embarrassing myself, I used to think grunge band Mudhoney‘s name was pronounced “mud-hoe-knee.” Sad, huh?)

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SICK AND (RE)TIRED

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I’M announcing to you all right now that I’m retiring from blogging so I can concentrate on keeping track of young celebrities who announce their retirements.

Take Joaquin Phoenix. Please. To rehab, preferably. Late last month, the 34-year-old Oscar-nominated actor formerly known as Leaf announced (well, mumbled and slurred, actually) that he was leaving acting to focus on his music. I don’t think Phoenix even had the reporter in focus when he announced his decision. (There’s a “Walk The Line” joke in there somewhere.)

A week ago, on a red carpet, he made sure dyslexics got his message too, with “Bye! Good” written on his fists.

Don’t worry, Joaquin fans — this Phoenix will rise again. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that young celebrities who announce their retirements are usually back to work before we can even start missing them.

Like superstar rapper Jay-Z. He made huge news in 2003 when he announced he was retiring from recording at the age of 33. Wonder whatever happened to that guy.

Daniel Day Lewis announced he was leaving acting in the late ’90s (he did qualify his retirement with a “semi-“) to focus on woodworking and shoemaking in Italy. Midlife crisis much?

How ’bout M.I.A.? The Sri Lankan rapper announced at this year’s Bonnaroo that she was pulling the plug on her career of being splooged over by music critics and making albums that no one else heard. Turned out she was just pregnant, and then a song of hers got popular because of the “Pineapple Express” trailer and voila — she was back on the job! M.I.A., my ass.

Four years ago, Hugh Grant said in a charmingly befuddled way that he was retiring because, for him, film acting is a “miserable experience.” Try it from our end, Hugh.

Eminem announced in 2005 that he would be taking a break from performing to focus on producing, and that his “Encore” disc was “certainly the cap on this part of his career,” as his manager put it. But would he retire? Slim chance, Slim Shady. Look for his new CD, “Relapse,” under your Christmas tree.

Sean Penn announced his retirement from acting in the early ’90s and was never seen again — except for “Carlito’s Way,”  “Dead Man Walking” and the 20 or so other movies he’s been in since. And who retires from acting and then does a couple episodes of “Friends”?

Everyone should take a cue from Clint Eastwood. The guy cut back on acting years ago to focus on directing, and he hasn’t acted for any other director in more than 15 years. But did he ever feel the need to tell the world? No. There were no announcements, no photo ops, no messages scrawled on his hands. He just kinda slid over into directing without calling much attention to himself — he did it so quietly and confidently that few people even noticed he wasn’t acting that much anymore.

So, Joaquin: Act, don’t act. Work, don’t work. Stay, go away. But show us, don’t tell us. Let your work speak for itself. And if it’s good, we’ll pay attention.