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Quiz about Born on the 17th of August
Quiz about Born on the 17th of August

Born on the 17th of August Trivia Quiz


The 1708 referred to in my membership title is my birthdate, the 17th August, bearing in mind that in Australia we put Day/Month/Year in that order, and this quiz concerns ten well-known people born on this day, in years gone by.

A multiple-choice quiz by muffin1708. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
muffin1708
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
372,060
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
240
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Legend has it that this man was born 'on a mountain top' in Tennessee on August 17th in the year 1786 and was a 19th century frontiersman, politician and soldier, which cumulatively earned him the right to be regarded as a true American folk hero. He represented Tennessee in the House of Representatives, before serving in the Texas Revolution, and valiantly losing his life at the Battle of the Alamo. Can you identify this true legend? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This lady was born in Brooklyn on the 17th of August in the year 1893 and was regarded as one of the sex symbols in the pioneering days of the silver screen. She acted risqué parts for that day and age and was quite adept at delivering suggestive one-liners. In World War II, American aircrews used her name in rhyming slang for their water life preservers, and her likeness can be seen on the cover of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album. Can you name this lady who was in the entertainment business from 1907 until 1978? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Born Frieda Lipschitz in Worcester, Massachusetts on the 17th of August 1919, this lady became a very popular singer in the period leading up to the rock and roll era, and went to number five on the Billboard charts with her very first hit in 1950 with "If I knew you were comin' (I'd have baked a cake)". In the next eight years she entered the top 40 charts twenty six times with six top tens including two number ones with "Kiss Of Fire" and "Dance With Me Henry" in 1952 and 1955 respectively. So what was this lady's professional name? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. This lady was born on the 17th of August 1920 in Dublin, Ireland and at age 18 this aspiring actress first tried out in a screen test in London that did not go well because of excessive makeup she was forced to wear. But her budding talent was noticed by leading actor and director Charles Laughton which led to him offering her a seven year contract, which in turn led to parts in Alfred Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn" and also as Esmerelda in the classic movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Can you name this lady who, in 1991, was awarded an Honorary Oscar by the Academy in recognition of a great movie career? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Born in Montreal, Canada on the 17th of August 1951, and while at the University of Toronto this man won a prestigious Rhodes scholarship and started to study English literature before abandoning this promising career move to take up acting. He soon showed his talent in the 1980 movie "Atlantic City" alongside Burt Lancaster and Susan Saradon where he was nominated for a Genie award for best performance by an Actor in a supporting role. Along the way he played Madonna's husband in "Desperately Seeking Susan" before, in 2005, scoring a long standing role as a medical examiner in a top TV police drama which ran until 2013. Can you identify this forensic detective with the "clic" reading glasses? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. This man was born in Manchester, Oklahoma on the of 17th August 1933 and followed his sisters into the music business. He had very limited success until he was offered a song which seemed, initially, to be a big hit in the making. However the highly tragic lyrics of the song caused it to be banned by radio stations across America and by the BBC in England. Gradually public demand for it caused the bans to be lifted and it went on to top the Billboard charts for two weeks in February 1960. Can you name this artist who comes under the category of a one hit wonder? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. On August the 17th 1943 one of our generation's greatest male movie stars was born in Manhattan New York. He has appeared in over ninety movies with most depicting underworld figures and dramas but could handle himself admirably in other categories including comedy and has also excelled as a producer of movies. Among the many awards he has received over the years were Academy awards in 1973 as a gangster and 1980 as a boxer. Can you name this movie icon? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. One of the great Formula One racing car drivers of yesteryear was born in Rio de Janeiro on the 17th of August 1952. From his active years of 1978-1991 he took out the driver's championship in 1981, 1983 and 1987. Can you tell which one of the many champion Brazilian F1 drivers this is? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. A very talented actor with two Best Actor Academy Awards to his credit was born on the 17th of August 1960 in Los Angeles, California. Also as a director his films have been well received by movie critics. His movie career began in 1981 with "Taps" alongside George C Scott and Timothy Hutton and teamed with Hutton four years later in the highly acclaimed movie "The Falcon and the Snowman" He has been very involved in political and social causes and is strong supporter for same sex marriage. Can you name this man with such a unique personality? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Born on the 17th of August 1969 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, this man has had a lot of involvement in the entertainment business by joining a now well known boy band at the age of fifteen. The band had unbelievable success in putting out nine top ten hits on the Billboard charts including three number ones in just under two years from 1988 to 1990. His first acting role came in 1996 in "Bullet" alongside Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur, and soon after played a pivotal role in "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis. As of 2014 he is playing a homicide detective in a TV cop show. Do you know who this "new kid" is? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Legend has it that this man was born 'on a mountain top' in Tennessee on August 17th in the year 1786 and was a 19th century frontiersman, politician and soldier, which cumulatively earned him the right to be regarded as a true American folk hero. He represented Tennessee in the House of Representatives, before serving in the Texas Revolution, and valiantly losing his life at the Battle of the Alamo. Can you identify this true legend?

Answer: Davy Crockett

The world was reawakened to the legend of Davy Crockett in the 1950s when George Bruns wrote the music and Thomas Blackburn contributed the lyrics to "The Ballad of Davy Crockett" for which Bill Hayes topped the Billboard Charts for five weeks, and the song earned admirable mentions for Tennessee Ernie Ford and Fess Parker who both took the song to number five, all in 1955. Add to this the Walt Disney movie production "Davy Crockett King of the Wild Frontier" starring Fess Parker and Buddy Ebsen in the same year, and there wasn't a child (or grown-up) anywhere who didn't idolise this man.
2. This lady was born in Brooklyn on the 17th of August in the year 1893 and was regarded as one of the sex symbols in the pioneering days of the silver screen. She acted risqué parts for that day and age and was quite adept at delivering suggestive one-liners. In World War II, American aircrews used her name in rhyming slang for their water life preservers, and her likeness can be seen on the cover of The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Album. Can you name this lady who was in the entertainment business from 1907 until 1978?

Answer: Mae West

Statements like "When I'm good I'm very good, but when I'm bad I'm better" was one of the many sayings in Mae West's repertoire. The allied aircrews rhyming slang, suffice to say, dealt with "best". She initially refused the offer to be seen on the Beatles' album saying she had never had a lonely heart, but a personal letter to her from the band persuaded her to agree with the request. Mae passed away on November 22nd 1980 in Los Angeles, aged 87.
3. Born Frieda Lipschitz in Worcester, Massachusetts on the 17th of August 1919, this lady became a very popular singer in the period leading up to the rock and roll era, and went to number five on the Billboard charts with her very first hit in 1950 with "If I knew you were comin' (I'd have baked a cake)". In the next eight years she entered the top 40 charts twenty six times with six top tens including two number ones with "Kiss Of Fire" and "Dance With Me Henry" in 1952 and 1955 respectively. So what was this lady's professional name?

Answer: Georgia Gibbs

Georgia Gibbs was a very versatile singer and proved equally at home when performing romantic ballads or belting out strong jazz numbers but her great talent often went unrecognised in an era where popular music was undergoing a radical change of style.

As a "Newsweek" musical critic recently stated "Georgia was the rare fifties canary with a genuine flair for rock and roll" and "I had a healthy respect for Georgia, and a sense of indignation over her neglect by critics." She passed away aged 87 on December 9th 2006 in New York.
4. This lady was born on the 17th of August 1920 in Dublin, Ireland and at age 18 this aspiring actress first tried out in a screen test in London that did not go well because of excessive makeup she was forced to wear. But her budding talent was noticed by leading actor and director Charles Laughton which led to him offering her a seven year contract, which in turn led to parts in Alfred Hitchcock's "Jamaica Inn" and also as Esmerelda in the classic movie "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". Can you name this lady who, in 1991, was awarded an Honorary Oscar by the Academy in recognition of a great movie career?

Answer: Maureen O'Hara

Maureen O'Hara became a US citizen in 1946 and now holds dual citizenship of the US and Ireland. She became only the second actress, after Myrna Loy, to be a recipient of an Honorary Oscar. The Academy was obviously mindful that this much sought after and famous actress had, remarkably, never been nominated, let alone won, an Oscar, and so set about to see justice done.
5. Born in Montreal, Canada on the 17th of August 1951, and while at the University of Toronto this man won a prestigious Rhodes scholarship and started to study English literature before abandoning this promising career move to take up acting. He soon showed his talent in the 1980 movie "Atlantic City" alongside Burt Lancaster and Susan Saradon where he was nominated for a Genie award for best performance by an Actor in a supporting role. Along the way he played Madonna's husband in "Desperately Seeking Susan" before, in 2005, scoring a long standing role as a medical examiner in a top TV police drama which ran until 2013. Can you identify this forensic detective with the "clic" reading glasses?

Answer: Robert Joy

Robert Joy is possibly best known as Dr Sid Hammerback with his part-in-the-middle glasses in CSI New York. As of 2014 Joy hasn't appeared in any movies but has had a lot of cameos in TV programs. In 2011 he and his daughter Ruby performed together in Shakespeare's "The Tempest."
6. This man was born in Manchester, Oklahoma on the of 17th August 1933 and followed his sisters into the music business. He had very limited success until he was offered a song which seemed, initially, to be a big hit in the making. However the highly tragic lyrics of the song caused it to be banned by radio stations across America and by the BBC in England. Gradually public demand for it caused the bans to be lifted and it went on to top the Billboard charts for two weeks in February 1960. Can you name this artist who comes under the category of a one hit wonder?

Answer: Mark Dinning

Mark Dinning's number one Billboard hit "Teen Angel" drew much criticism because of the tragedy when a teenage girl was killed by an oncoming train when attempting to retrieve her boyfriend's high school ring from the car stalled on the railway track. Mark Dinning had very little success thereafter with three songs barely reaching the Billboard top 100, but continued performing until his death from a heart attack in Jefferson City Missouri on the 22nd March 1986 aged just 52.
7. On August the 17th 1943 one of our generation's greatest male movie stars was born in Manhattan New York. He has appeared in over ninety movies with most depicting underworld figures and dramas but could handle himself admirably in other categories including comedy and has also excelled as a producer of movies. Among the many awards he has received over the years were Academy awards in 1973 as a gangster and 1980 as a boxer. Can you name this movie icon?

Answer: Robert De Niro

Robert De Niro's Oscars came for his playing of Vito Corleone in "Godfather 2" where he was Best Supporting Actor and Jake LaMotta in "Raging Bull" where he won the the top prize for Best Actor. Other accolades include the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2003, and the Golden Globe Cecil B DeMille Award in 2010.
8. One of the great Formula One racing car drivers of yesteryear was born in Rio de Janeiro on the 17th of August 1952. From his active years of 1978-1991 he took out the driver's championship in 1981, 1983 and 1987. Can you tell which one of the many champion Brazilian F1 drivers this is?

Answer: Nelson Piquet

After retirement from Formula One, Nelson Piquet had a try at the Indianapolis 500 for a couple of years but had no success when injured in an accident on track and then had car problems on another occasion.
9. A very talented actor with two Best Actor Academy Awards to his credit was born on the 17th of August 1960 in Los Angeles, California. Also as a director his films have been well received by movie critics. His movie career began in 1981 with "Taps" alongside George C Scott and Timothy Hutton and teamed with Hutton four years later in the highly acclaimed movie "The Falcon and the Snowman" He has been very involved in political and social causes and is strong supporter for same sex marriage. Can you name this man with such a unique personality?

Answer: Sean Penn

Sean Penn won Best Actor Oscars for "Mystic River" in 2003, and "Milk" in 2008. Add to this a further three nominations for Best Actor by the Academy and also eighty wins and a further sixty four nominations from a host of related institutions around the world.

His social and political dealings include helping victims of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005, rescue efforts after the earthquake in Haiti 2010 and assistance to people affected by floods in Pakistan 2012.
10. Born on the 17th of August 1969 in Dorchester, Massachusetts, this man has had a lot of involvement in the entertainment business by joining a now well known boy band at the age of fifteen. The band had unbelievable success in putting out nine top ten hits on the Billboard charts including three number ones in just under two years from 1988 to 1990. His first acting role came in 1996 in "Bullet" alongside Mickey Rourke and Tupac Shakur, and soon after played a pivotal role in "The Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis. As of 2014 he is playing a homicide detective in a TV cop show. Do you know who this "new kid" is?

Answer: Donnie Wahlberg

Donnie Wahlberg was a member of the highly successful boy band "New Kids On The Block" before following younger brother Mark into the acting business where he has played in several movies and TV shows and is an executive director of the TNT reality television show "Boston's Finest". Recently seen in the TV show "Blue Bloods" as Detective Danny Reagan alongside Tom Selleck.
Source: Author muffin1708

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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