Character Actors: The Real Stars Quiz

Answer: Elisha Cook Jr.

Elisha Cook Jr. was born Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. in San Francisco, USA, in 1903. He died of a stroke in Big Pine, California, USA, in 1995 aged 91.

His movie debut was in "Her Unborn Child" (1930). He was dubbed "Hollywood's lightest heavy" and was in numerous movies for over more than 60 years. He played gunsel Wilma Cook in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) and small time crook Harry Jones in "The Big Sleep" (1946), both starring Humphrey Bogart. He played ex-Confederate homesteader Frank "Stonewall" Torrey in "Shane" (1953), starring Alan Ladd. He played racetrack window teller George Peatty in "The Killing" (1956), starring Sterling Hayden. He played Mr. Nicklas in "Rosemary's Baby" (1968), starring Mia Farrow. He played Willie in "Electra Glide in Blue" (1973), starring Robert Blake.

He appeared in many TV series such as "Perry Mason", "The Untouchables", "The Fugitive", "Gunsmoke", "Bonanza", "Batman", "Quincy M. D.", "The Bionic Woman", "Magnum P. I." and "The A - Team". He played attorney at law Samuel T. Cogley who defended Captain James T. Kirk in the "Court Martial" episode of "Star Trek".

He rarely made it to the final reel of any of the movies that he was in but as the last surviving cast member of "The Maltese Falcon" maybe he did in the end.

Answer: Richard Jaeckel

Richard Jaeckel was born Richard Hanley Jaeckel in Long Beach, Long Island, New York, USA, in 1928. He died from melanoma in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1997 aged 70.

Aged 17 and working at the 20th Century Fox studios in Hollywood as a mailboy, he got the part of Pvt. Johnny "Chicken" Anderson in the 1943 movie "Guadalcanal Diary", starring Lloyd Nolan. He served in the United States Merchant Marines from 1944 to 1949, in which year he appeared in the movies "Battleground", starring Van Johnson and "Sands of Iwo Jima", starring John Wayne. Even though he was shot and killed by Johnny Ringo (Gregory Peck) in the opening scene of his next movie "The Gunfighter" (1950) he was still making movies and TV shows 40 years later in the '90s.

In 1972 he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Joe Ben Stamper in "Sometimes A Great Notion" (a.k.a. "Never Give An Inch"), directed by Paul Newman. He played the recurring role of Lt. Ben Edwards on the US TV show "Baywatch" which ran from 1989 to 1999.

Answer: Bernard Lee

Bernard Lee was born John Bernard Lee in Brentford, London, England, in 1908. He died of stomach cancer in 1981, aged 73.

His first stage appearance was at the Oxford music hall, London in 1914 at the age of six. He worked as a fruit porter to pay his fees at RADA and after graduating, acted on stage in Cardiff and London's West End. His first movie was "The Double Event" (1934). He appeared in "Rhodes of Africa" (1936), with Walter Huston and Oskar Homolka. He served in the Royal Sussex Regiment during WWII. In the '40s and '50s he acted in many memorable movies such as "The Third Man" (1949), "The Purple Plain" (1954), "The Battle of the River Plate" (1956) and "Dunkirk" (1958). In 1962 he was cast as M in the first "James Bond" movie "Dr. No". "Bond" aficionados agree that his portrayal is very close to Ian Fleming's concept of the character.

Tragedy struck in 1972 when his wife Gladys was killed in a fire at their home. He was then mugged. Depressed he turned to drink and was out of work for two years and in debt. Actor Richard Burton gave him a cheque after bumping into him in a pub, which helped him with his depression. His grandson is actor Jonny Lee Miller.

Answer: Michael Ripper

Michael Ripper was born Michael George Ripper in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England, in 1913. He died in London, England, in 2000 aged 87.

His first role was uncredited in "Prison Breaker" (1936), starring James Mason. Many uncredited parts followed and even in prestigious movies if you blinked you missed him. He was Barney, a waiter in the Three Cripples pub in "Oliver Twist" (1948), starring Alec Guinness and Robert Newton. He was Forrest the second murderer, in "Richard III" (1955), starring Sir Lawrence Olivier, Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson. He was Outer Party Orator in "1984" (1956), starring Edmund O'Brien.

He will of course always be remembered for the Hammer House of Horror movies that he appeared in. He made over 30 movies for Hammer and played coachmen, drunks, gravediggers, innkeepers, peasants, poachers, policemen and undertakers. Some of his finest moments were in movies such as "Quatermas II" (1957), starring Brian Donlevy, "The Mummy" (1959), starring Christopher Lee, "Curse Of The Werewolf" (1961), starring Oliver Reed, "Captain Clegg" (1962), starring Peter Cushing, "The Reptile" (1966), starring Noel Willman, "Plague Of The Zombies" (1966), starring Andre Morell and "The Mummy's Shroud" (1967), starring Andre Morell.

Answer: Thelma Ritter

Thelma Ritter was born in Brooklyn, New York, USA, in 1902. She died of a heart attack in New York, New York, USA in 1969 aged 66.

Her early career was in the theatre and radio but in 1947 she made a brief uncredited appearance in her first movie "Miracle on 34th Street", starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. In her second movie "Call Northside 777" (1948), starring James Stewart and Richard Conte, and her third movie "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949), starring Kirk Douglas and Jeanne Crain she was again uncredited.

Her first nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress came for her performance as Birdie Coonan in "All About Eve" (1950), starring Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders and Garry Merrill. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, three times for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and once for the Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She did not win any of them!

Answer: Agnes Moorehead

Agnes Moorehead was born Agnes Robertson Moorehead in Clinton, Massachusetts, USA, in 1900. She died of uterine cancer in 1974 aged 73.

Graduating from Central High School St. Louis, Missouri, in 1918 she gained a bachelor's degree, with a major in biology from Muskingum University New Concord, Ohio. She earned a master's degree in English and public speaking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She did post-graduate studies at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, graduating with honours in 1929. An educated woman she had an unsuccessful early showbiz career, often unemployed and hungry for days at a time. Eventually finding work in radio and working on a number of programmes on the same day. Later she met Orson Welles and joined his Mercury Players.

Moving to Hollywood when Welles began working for RKO Pictures. She made her movie debut playing his mother in "Citizen Kane" (1941). She appeared in the Orson Welles movies "The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942), receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and "Journey Into Fear" (1943). Perhaps the role she will be most remembered for came in 1964 when she played the witch Endora, Samantha's mother in the US situation comedy "Bewitched".

Answer: Brock Peters

Brock Peters was born George Fisher in New York, New York, USA, in 1927. He died of pancreatic cancer in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 2005 aged 78.

He made his movie debut as Sgt. Brown in "Carmen Jones" (1954), starring Harry Belafonte, on whose 1956 hit "The Banana Boat Song (Day-O)" he sang backing vocals. He played Tom Robinson in "To Kill A Mocking Bird" (1962), starring Gregory Peck. He played Johnny in "The L-Shaped Room" (1962), starring Leslie Caron. He played Rodriguez in "The Pawnbroker" (1964), starring Rod Steiger. He became friends with Charlton Heston after working with him on many stage productions in the '40s & '50s and later played Aesop in "Major Dundee" (1965) and Lieutenant Hatcher in "Soylent Green" (1973), both starring Charlton Heston.

He had a long connection with the "Star Trek" franchise. In "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home" (1986) and "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country" (1991) he played Fleet Admiral Cartwright. On TV he played Joseph Sisko, father of "Deep Space Nine's" commanding officer Benjamin Sisko in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine".

He read the eulogy at the funeral of Gregory Peck in 2003. Peck had played his attorney Atticus Finch in the movie "To Kill A Mocking Bird" in 1962.

Answer: Eve Arden

Eve Arden was born Eunice M. Quedens in Mill Valley, California, USA in 1908. She died of colorectal cancer and heart disease in Los Angeles, California, USA, in 1990 aged 82.

Her first movie was the back stage musical "The Song Of Love" (1929). Cast under her own name she played a wisecracking showgirl who becomes a rival to the film's star, the now completely forgotten Belle Baker. Her big break came in "Stage Door" (1937), starring Katharine Hepburn, Ginger Rogers and Lucille Ball. Eve Arden played Eve, a fast-talking, witty supporting character. There seems to be a pattern forming here. In "Mildred Pierce" (1945) she played Ida Corwin, a wise-cracking friend of Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford). This time Eve Arden was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

She starred as Constance Brooks in the long running radio and TV show "Our Miss Brooks". On radio it ran from 1948 to 1957, on TV it ran from 1952 to 1956. She played Principal McGee in "Grease" (1978), starring John Travolta and "Grease 2" (1982), starring Michelle Pfeiffer. This would be Eve Arden's last movie appearance.

Answer: Burt Kwouk

Burt Kwouk was born Herbert Kwouk in Warrington, Lancashire, England, in 1930. He was raised in Shanghai, China and graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, USA, in 1953.

He is probably best known for playing Cato Fong, man-servant to Peter Sellers' Inspector Clouseau in the "Pink Panther" movies. His first movie was "Windom's Way" (1957), starring Peter Finch, in which he had an uncredited role as Father Amyan's Aide. He has appeared in three James Bond movies, "Goldfinger" (1964), "Casino Royale" (1967) and "You Only Live Twice" (1967).

In 1968 he played Chairman Peng, Chinese premier, opposite Lawrence Olivier as Piotr Ilyich Kamenev, premier of the Soviet Union and Anthony Quinn as Pope Kiril I, in "The Shoes Of The Fisherman". It doesn't get much better than acting in a scene with those two - heady stuff. In 2002 he joined the cast of the BBC comedy "Last Of The Summer Wine" as 'Electrical' Entwistle electrician, second hand washing machine seller and fortune-teller from the land of eastern wisdom, Hull in Yorkshire.

Answer: Nigel Bruce

Nigel Bruce is best known for playing the part of Dr. John H. Watson, friend and sidekick of Sherlock Holmes, played by Basil Rathbone. They starred in 14 "Sherlock Holmes" movies between 1939 and 1946.

Nigel Bruce was born William Nigel Ernle Bruce in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico in 1895. His father Sir William Waller Bruce, 10th Baronet and mother Angelica were on holiday in Mexico when he was born. He was educated in England at The Grange, Stevenage and Abingdon School, Oxfordshire.

When the first world war started Lieutenant Bruce served in France from 1914 in the 10th Service Battalion - Somerset Light Infantry and the Honourable Artillery Company. He was badly wounded at Cambrai in 1915 with eleven bullets in his left leg. He spent most of the remainder of the war in a wheelchair.

He made his first stage appearance in "Why Marry?" as a footman, at the Comedy Theatre in London's West End in 1920. He made numerous appearances on stage and in the late '20s appeared in silent movies. He moved to Hollywood in 1934, living on North Alpine Drive, Beverly Hills.