Died in the 1960s Trivia

1. Which night club owner turned assassin went to heaven in '67?

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Jack Ruby

Jack Ruby was found guilty of murdering Lee Harvey Oswald and was sentenced to death. He successfully appealed the conviction and was awaiting a new trial at the time of his death in prison on January 3, 1967, which was due to a pulmonary embolism that was caused by lung cancer.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust : 26

Answer: Judy Garland

Probably most famous for playing Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz", she also starred in "Meet Me in St. Louis" which was another smash hit. She was signed up by Louis B. Meyer in 1935 but nothing much happened. The arrival of Deanna Durbin on the scene didn't help. In 1937, Meyer heard her sing at a party for Clark Gable in 1937 and finally paid attention to her talent and started preparing musicals for her. It was at this time she was prescribed tablets to control her stress/tiredness on set. She also had weight problems and was given amphetamines to control it resulting in a lifelong addiction to drugs. She was given a special juvenile Oscar in 1940 for outstanding performances in the previous year. She died in London on 22 June 1969 following an overdose of barbiturates.

From Quiz Decade of Death: the 60s

Answer: Clark Gable

It was Clark Gable, possibly best known for his role in "Gone With The Wind". Gable was nicknamed the "King of Hollywood". Oliver Hardy died in 1957, Stan Laurel in 1965 and Buster Keaton passed away in 1966.

From Quiz Departed in the 1960s

Answer: Boris Pasternak

Boris Leonidovich Pasternak was born in Moscow in 1890. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1958, but because of fierce opposition in the Soviet Union, where 'Dr. Zhivago' had been banned as a "hostile political act," he declined the honour. It was to be accepted posthumously by his son in 1989.

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Langston Hughes

Langston Hughes was a well-known writer of a new genre of poetry, which was known as jazz poetry. Poets would incorporate beats and rhythms from jazz music, which was an important part of African-American culture at the time, into their poetry. He also became the leader of the Harlem Renaissance, which was considered to be a rebirth of African-American arts. He died on May 22, 1967, from complications after surgery related to prostate cancer.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust : 26

Answer: Sharon Tate

Most famous for the film "Valley of the Dolls" (1967), she was two weeks away from giving birth on 9 August 1969 when her home was invaded by members of Charles Manson's "family". She and four others were repeatedly stabbed and messages written with their blood daubed over the walls of the house.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 20

Answer: David O. Selznik

Because "Gone With the Wind" was taking so much of his time in 1938/9 and he had other obligations to United Artists he brought over a promising English director from Europe to produce/direct his UA projects. That rising star was Alfred Hitchcock. Selznik was married to 1944 Oscar winning actress Jennifer Jones ("The Song of Bernadette") and he died on 22 June 1965.

From Quiz In Memoriam 1963

Answer: Robert Frost

Robert Frost was named as America's 12th "Consultant in Poetry" in 1958, a title similar to Britain's "Poet Laureate" although the American appointment is for a two-year period rather than for life. Frost was one of the first winners of the Pulitzer Poetry prize, in 1924 for "New Hampshire: A Poem with Notes and Grace Notes" (the award having been instigated two years earlier). He won again in 1931 for his "Collected Poems", in 1937 for "A Further Range" and in 1943 for "A Witness Tree". Frost never graduated from college but during his lifetime he was awarded more than 40 honorary degrees from universities including Oxford, Cambridge, Princeton, Harvard and Dartmouth (twice -- the only person ever so honored). Frost died of heart failure on January 29, 1963 in Boston MA aged 88. Frost's death was followed quickly by another of America's best-known poets, Sylvia Plath, who committed suicide on February 11, aged just 30. The alternatives have also all both won the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry and held the position of America's Poet Laureate.

From Quiz Decade of Death: the 60s

Answer: Carl Jung

Jung was, like Freud, a depth psychologist and the founder of analytical psychology. Freud had already died in 1939 and was the founder of psychoanalysis. Jung and Freud used to be partners but ended up in academic quarrels with each other. Wertheimer, a gestalt pyschologist, died in 1943. Maslow passed away in 1970 and is a humanist psychologist known for his hierarchy of human needs.

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Brian Epstein

Epstein discovered the Beatles at the Cavern Club in 1961. Even though he was sure they would become famous performers, his group was rejected by many of the record companies in London. George Martin agreed to sign the group in 1962, mostly because Epstein was so certain of their potential for success. Indeed, the early success of the group is said to have been due to his managerial style, and ability to mediate and find answers to problems regarding personal disputes. Paul McCartney famously called him "the Fifth Beatle". Brian Epstein died on August 27, 1967 due to an overdose of Carbitral, which was a form of sleeping pill.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 33

Answer: Martin Luther King, Jr

King's "I Have A Dream" speech was an eloquent and powerful condemnation of the way Black Americans were treated in their own country. It is one of the most famous speeches ever made. He was assassinated on 4 April 1968 while in Memphis, Tennessee by James Earl Ray. A Federal holiday, known as Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on the 3rd Monday of January each year in honour of his life.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 25

Answer: Bert Lahr

All possible answers acted in the "The Wizard of Oz". Ray Bolger was The Scarecrow, Jack Haley the Tin Man, and Frank Morgan the Wizard himself. Bert died 4 December 1967. Judy Garland was about to go on stage when she heard of his death and dedicated "Over the Rainbow" to his memory that night.

From Quiz In Memoriam 1963

Answer: Patsy Cline

Born Virginia Patterson Hensley in Winchester VA in 1932, Patsy Cline was a country/pop crossover artist and one of the most acclaimed female vocalist of the 20th Century. The Country Music Hall of Fame opened in Nashville TN in 1961 and in 1973 Patsy Cline was inducted as its first female member. (As of 2013, only 16 of the 121 inductees are women, plus two groups that include female members.) Cline scored her first hit single with "Walkin' After Midnight" in 1957 and twice topped the Billboard Hot Country Chart, with "I Fall to Pieces" in 1961 and "She's Got You" in 1962. Cline was hospitalized for a month in 1961 due to injuries sustained in a car crash in which the driver of the other car was killed. Six weeks later, she was back on stage on crutches. Cline died in a plane crash near Camden TN, 140 miles short of their destination in Nashville on March 5, 1963. Thousands attended Cline's memorial service in her home town and she is buried in Shenandoah Memorial Park in Winchester VA. The alternatives are three more singers/musicians who died in aviation accidents: Otis Redding in 1967 in Madison WI; guitarist Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1990 in a helicopter crash in Elkhorn WI; and Lynyrd Skynyrd vocalist Ronnie Van Zant along with other band members in 1977 in Gillsburg MS.

From Quiz Departed in the 1960s

Answer: Marilyn Monroe & Monroe

Norma Jean Mortenson was born in Los Angeles in 1926 and was raised by a succession of foster parents and orphanages. Having borrowed her grandmother's surname, she became Marilyn Monroe and appeared in some 30 films between 1947 and 1962, when she was found dead at home, apparently having taken an overdose of sleeping pills - but we will probably never know for sure!

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Che Guevara

Born in Argentina, Che Guevara is still a symbol of rebellion today. As a young man he became a medical student; it was during this time that he became radicalized by the poverty and suffering he saw. While in Mexico City he met Fidel and Raúl Castro and joined their 26th of July Movement. Quickly rising through the ranks, and becoming the second-in-command, he led the guerillas who eventually brought down the government of Fulgencio Batista. After the revolution he filled many roles in the new government, including Minister of Industries, where he began agrarian land reform. He died on October 9, 1967, after being captured and executed in Bolivia.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 33

Answer: John Steinbeck

He was also awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 "for his realistic and imaginative writings, combining as they do sympathetic humour and keen social perception". He died on 20 December 1968 of heart disease.

From Quiz In Memoriam 1963

Answer: Max Miller

Born Thomas Henry Sargent in Brighton, England in 1896, Max Miller is widely considered the greatest stand-up comedian of his generation. Primarily a music hall performer, Miller also made more than a dozen films in the 1930s and 1940s. Miller never swore or actually told a dirty joke, but he was the master of innuendo and by omitting the final word of a gag or skit he sidestepped the censorship legislation of the time to deliver what was considered highly risqué material. Known for his flamboyant suits and numerous catchphrases, Miller's humor outlived him by decades with many comedians continuing to tell his jokes long after his death. A "Max Miller Appreciation Society" based in his home town still keeps his memory alive today. Max Miller died on May 7, 1963 in Brighton aged 68.

From Quiz Decade of Death: the 60s

Answer: Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley is author of numerours works including "Brave New World". Herbert George Wells (author of "War of the Worlds") died in 1946. George Orwell (author of "Animal Farm" and "Nineteen Eighty-Four") died in 1950. Saul Bellow ("Seize the Day") lived till 2005. C.S. Lewis also died on 22.11.1963.

From Quiz Departed in the 1960s

Answer: Edith Piaf & Piaf

Born Edith Giovanna Gassion in Paris in 1915, Edith changed her name to Piaf (Parisien slang for "sparrow" - she was a small lady!) at the suggestion of the nightclub owner who gave her her first job. Most famously known for her rendition of "Je Ne Regrette Rien," she also appeared in films, one of which was written for her by her close friend, writer Jean Cocteau - who incidentally died on the same day of a coronary after hearing of Edith's demise.

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Robert Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer, an American physicist, became the head of the Los Alamos Laboratory, which was known as Project Y, in 1943. The purpose of the project was to design and build the first atomic bomb. After the first atomic bomb was detonated on July 16, 1945, Oppenheimer famously said, "Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds". After WWII, he became associated with the Atomic Energy Commission, and was appointed as Chairman of its General Advisory Committee. In addition he teamed with other scientists to make the world aware of the dangers that some scientific discoveries posed to humanity. He died of throat cancer on February 18, 1967.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 33

Answer: Helen Keller

She lost her hearing and sight at 19 months old as a result of an illness. 20-year-old Anne Sullivan entered her life when she was 7 and taught her to communicate using signs. Keller became a world-famous political activist and supporter of people with disabilities. President Lyndon Johnson awarded her the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1964. She died on 1 June 1968.

From Quiz In Memoriam 1963

Answer: John XXIII

Born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli in the Province of Bergamo in northern Italy in 1881, he became the 23rd Pope to take the name John but the first in more than 500 years when he was elected in October 1958. His papacy is best remembered for the calling of the historic "Second Vatican Council", which opened in October 1962 although he did not live to see it concluded three years later. Pope John XXIII died of stomach cancer on June 3, 1963 in Vatican City at the age of 81. He was succeeded by Paul VI, who began the canonization process that has taken more than half a century.

From Quiz Decade of Death: the 60s

Answer: Douglas MacArthur

Douglas MacArthur led the US forces in the Pacific in WWII. MacArthur was also commander of the UN forces in the Korean War, a post from which he was forced to resign. He was then and later criticised for his plans to throw a cobalt bomb in the Chinese Sea to make it radioactive. Later calculations on the plan made clear this would have been the end of mankind and perhaps all life on earth. Patton was a US general on the European front. He died in 1945 in Germany. Eisenhower (aka "Ike") died in 1969 and was commander of the Allied forces in Europe and became president of the United States. Montgomery was the main British general on the European front.

From Quiz Departed in the 1960s

Answer: Herbert Hoover

Born in Iowa in 1874, Herbert Clark Hoover became the 31st President in 1929 and served during the dark days of the Depression. Franklin D. Roosevelt defeated him in the 1933 election, leaving him a broken and embittered man.

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Carl Sandburg

During his lifetime, Carl Sandburg won three Pulitzer Prizes - two for his poetry, and one for his biography of Abraham Lincoln. Much of his poetry centered on life in Chicago, Illinois, as he was a reporter there for the "Chicago Daily News". A multi-talented individual, he was also awarded a Grammy in 1959 for Best Performance - Documentary Or Spoken Word (Other Than Comedy) for his recording of "Lincoln Portrait" with the New York Philharmonic. He died on July 22, 1967, of natural causes.

From Quiz Another One Bites the Dust: 20

Answer: Fred Quimby

Quimby was head of the short features department of MGM. The "Tom and Jerry" cartoons were actually created by Joseph Barbera and William Hanna but Quimby is named as the producer on the credits despite having no involvement in the creative process. When they won multiple Oscars it was always Quimby who received the Oscar. He didn't even invite Hanna or Barbera onto the stage with him. He died on 16 September 1965.

From Quiz In Memoriam 1963

Answer: Guy Burgess

Guy Francis de Moncy Burgess was born in Devonport in Plymouth in 1911 and was a student at Eton and the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth before he went to Cambridge. Like Blunt, Burgess was a member of the (then Marxist) "Cambridge Apostles", a secret and elite debating society before he was recruited by the Comintern in Moscow. Recruited by Section D of MI6 as a propaganda specialist in the late 1930s, Burgess joined the News Department at the Foreign Office in 1944. This gave him access to Top Secret documents that he then transmitted to the KGB. During the Marshall Plan negotiations, Burgess was seconded to the British Embassy in Washington D.C., where he shared a flat with Kim Philby. Maclean was suspected of espionage in 1951 but he was tipped off by Philby and escaped to Moscow, and Burgess went with him. Maclean lived happily in exile for more than 30 years, but Burgess did not enjoy Soviet life. His high alcohol intake contributed to his death on August 30, 1963 in Moscow aged 52.

From Quiz Decade of Death: the 60s

Answer: Winston Churchill & Malcolm X

Both Churchill and Malcolm X died in 1965. Churchill, the legendary UK prime minister, was the first to really oppose the Nazis. Malcolm X was one of the leaders of the Nation of Islam. He was murdered by rivals within the Nation of Islam. The other people mentioned in this question died in the following years: 1952 Eva 'Evita' Perón (Argentinian first lady) 1959 George Marshall (American politician, 'the Marshall Plan') 1973 David Ben-Gurion (First prime minister of Israel) 1973 Salvador Allende (Chilean president from 1970 to military coup in 1973) 1977 Andreas Baader (German RAF terrorist) 1987 Rudolf Hess (German politician, party leader of the nazi party NSDAP and second man after Hitler)

From Quiz Departed in the 1960s

Answer: Winston Churchill & Churchill

Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill was born at Blenheim Palace in 1874. He was to become a war correspondent, soldier, politician and statesman as well as an accomplished author, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953. When he died, at the age of 90, he received a state funeral.

From Quiz Went To Heaven in '67

Answer: Henry Kaiser

Henry Kaiser was an industrialist who owned Kaiser Shipyards, where the Liberty ships were built during WWII. After the war he also led the companies Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Steel, along with Kaiser-Frazer and Kaiser Motors, automobile companies that were known for the safety of their designs. A wealthy businessman, Kaiser was also connected to charitable organizations and established Kaiser Permanente, which provided health care for his workers. He died on August 24, 1967, of an unspecified cause.

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