Walter Plinge is a pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

, traditionally used in London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 theatre

Theatre

Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...

s when a part has not been cast, an actor is playing two parts, or an actor does not want his or her name in the programme. Plinge was supposedly a real London publican

Public house

A public house, informally known as a pub, is a drinking establishment fundamental to the culture of Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. There are approximately 53,500 public houses in the United Kingdom. This number has been declining every year, so that nearly half of the smaller...

, honoured by a group of actors with the borrowing of his name.

The name has also been used occasionally in American theatre, as has the more popular George Spelvin

George Spelvin

George Spelvin, Georgette Spelvin, and Georgina Spelvin are the traditional pseudonyms used in programs in American theater. The reasons for the use of an alternate name vary. Actors who do not want to be credited, or whose names would otherwise appear twice because they are playing more than one...

. Similar pseudonyms are David Agnew

David Agnew

"David Agnew" was a particular kind of pen name, employed exclusively on BBC television drama programmes of the 1970s. It was used only as a scriptwriting credit.-Conditions of use:...

 at the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 and Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee

Alan Smithee was an official pseudonym used by film directors who wish to disown a project, coined in 1968. Until its use was formally discontinued in 2000, it was the sole pseudonym used by members of the Directors Guild of America when a director dissatisfied with the final product proved to...

 in Hollywood.

In literature, Walter Plinge is a character in Terry Pratchett's novel, Maskerade

Maskerade

Maskerade is the eighteenth novel in the Discworld series by Terry Pratchett. The witches Granny Weatherwax and Nanny Ogg visit the Ankh-Morpork Opera House to find Agnes Nitt, a girl from Lancre, and get caught up in a story similar to The Phantom of the Opera.-Plot summary:The story begins with...

.