'The Dirty Dozen' - The Cast Trivia Quiz

Answer: Telly Savalas

Savalas put in a deliciously wicked performance as the screw loose, woman hating Archer J. Maggot, who almost caused the mission for 'The Dirty Dozen' to go awry. In 1972, while filming 'Lisa and the Devil', he decided to give up smoking. To offset his cravings for a cigarette he had his character, Leandro, occasionally suck on a lollipop.

This was a trait that he would carry forward into the television series 'Kojak', which started filming that same year. Telly was nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his performance as Feto Gomez in the 1962 film 'The Birdman of Alcatraz'.

He also has the distinction of playing a 'Bond' villain - Ernst Stavro Blofeld in 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service' (1969).

Answer: John Cassavetes

John Cassavetes' performance as Victor Franko in 'The Dirty Dozen' was a standout, getting him a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at both the Academy Awards and Golden Globes. He was unsuccessful in both, losing the Oscar to fellow 'Dirty Dozen' cast member George Kennedy, for his effort in 'Cool Hand Luke' (1968). John also received great accolades as a writer and director of the 1959 film 'Shadows', a beat generation movie that delved into, what was a taboo subject at the time, an inter-racial love affair.

The movie has been cited as being both historically and culturally significant and has been preserved by the US National Film Registry. Cassavetes' 1968 writing for his film 'Faces' collected the Film Critics award for Best Screenplay but missed out at the Academy Awards to Mel Brooks ('The Producers').

Answer: Lee Marvin

Lee Marvin was Major John Reisman in this movie. He was confrontational and had issues with establishment and it was his role to train the men and lead them on the mission. Marvin turned in an outstanding performance as the ruthless Charlie Strom in 1964's 'The Killers'.

It was a role that earned him a BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Award as well as the Golden Laurel award. He collected another Laurel in 'The Professionals' (1966) and created controversy for his portrayal of the exceedingly violent Vince Stone in 'The Big Heat' (1953).

In one scene he brutally threw scalding coffee into his girlfriend's face, Debby Marsh, played by Gloria Grahame. Marvin won a Best Actor Oscar for a decidedly off-beat performance in 'Cat Ballou' (1965) and is a direct descendant of Thomas Jefferson.

His Christian name was inspired by Confederate General Robert E. Lee.

Answer: Jim Brown

'The Running Man' (1987) is a film that alludes to Brown's career as a professional US footballer and his exploits as a running back before becoming an actor. He is considered one of the best athletes ever produced in the United States. Not confined to the football field, he was also a star at lacrosse, baseball, basketball and on the athletics track.

He became the first man to be inducted into three Sporting Halls of Fame. As an actor, his first screen appearance was in the western 'Rio Conchos' (1964) alongside Richard Boone.

His love scene with Raquel Welch in '100 Rifles' (1969) was one of the earliest examples of inter-racial love portrayed on film.

Answer: George Kennedy

Kennedy, as Major Max Armbruster plays a minor role in 'The Dirty Dozen', however, he is sympathetic to the prisoners' cause and provides the ruling that will allow them to show off their progress during a war games exercise. George Kennedy's illustrious career has seen him win an Oscar as the prison leader, Dragline, in 'Cool Hand Luke' (1967) to being nominated as Worst Supporting Actor as the chauffeur, Cotton, in Bo Derek's 1984 vehicle 'Bolero'. Ever versatile, he displayed a comedic touch as the 'high on laughing gas' Mr Doctor Graves in 'Wacko' (1982) to providing the voice for Brick Bazooka in 'Small Soldiers' (1997).

Answer: Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine is Major General Worden, the man who gives the go-ahead to the mission in 'The Dirty Dozen'. He is the only member of this cast who would appear in all of the immediate sequels to the film. Borgnine gave the screen a remarkable performance as the lovelorn Bronx butcher in the 1955 film 'Marty'.

He garnered a host of awards for the role including an Academy Award for Best Actor as well as a BAFTA and a Golden Globe. At the other end of the scale he was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Supporting Actor in the Wes Craven directed 'Deadly Blessing' (1981).

A versatile actor he could portray the trail bitten killer, Dutch Engstrom, in 'The Wild Bunch' (1969) and switch to the light hearted Quinton McHale in 'McHale's Navy' (1963).

Answer: Clint Walker

Walker's character, Samson Posey, is sentenced to hang for accidently killing a soldier in a bar room brawl - it only took one punch. Clint had previously made a name for himself playing the ever cool, ever handsome, Cheyenne Bodie in the television series 'Cheyenne' (1955) for eight seasons.

He had a bit part in Cecil B. DeMille's 'Ten Commandments' (1956) and roles alongside Vincent Price in 'More Dead Than Alive' (1968) and Charles Bronson (again) in 'White Buffalo' (1977). In 1997 he was presented with the Golden Boot award for his services to the Western genre.

Answer: Richard Jaeckel

As Sergeant Clyde Bowren, Jaeckel brings another, in a long line of, stocky, tough characters to life in 'The Dirty Dozen'. Richard proved to be a favourite 'go to man' for director Robert Aldrich. He worked with Aldrich in several projects, which included 'The Dirty Dozen', Ulzana's Raid' (1972) and '... All the Marbles' (1981). His standout performance, however, was adding a sense of humour to the tragic Joe Ben Stamper in the 1971 film 'Sometimes a Great Notion', for which he was rewarded with a nomination for Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards.

Answer: Charles Bronson

Charles Bronson, one of the screen best tough guys, plays Joseph Wladislaw in this movie, a man sentenced to hang for shooting a deserting officer. Wladislaw would become another in a long line of memorable characters that Bronson would portray in a career that spanned fifty years. These include Bernardo O'Reilly in 'The Magnificent Seven' (1960), Danny Velinski, the Tunnel King, in 1963's 'The Great Escape' and architect turned vigilante Paul Kersey in Michael Winner's 'Death Wish' (1974). The latter would spawn four sequels.

Answer: Donald Sutherland

Golden Globe winner Donald Sutherland is Vernon L. Pinkley in 'The Dirty Dozen'. He is prisoner number two and gets the opportunity to impersonate a general at a dress parade. Making a name for himself playing off-beat roles, Sutherland was Sergeant Oddball in 'Kelly's Heroes' (1970) and the almost asleep small town detective in 'Klute' (1971).

He was nominated for a Best Actor BAFTA award for his performance in the British horror movie 'Don't Look Now' (1973).