Famous Fitzgeralds Trivia Quiz

Answer: Larry

Born August 31, 1983 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, African-American, Larry Darnell Fitzgerald, Jr. attended the University of Pittsburgh. After graduation, Fitzgerald was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in 2004 as their wide receiver wearing the #11 red jersey. Fitzgerald, who is more often called "Fitz" for short, has collected many trophies and awards throughout his college and NFL playing career.

He was selected as Pro Bowl MVP of 2009.

Answer: Kevin

Born on September 23, 1951, Kevin Terrel Fitzgerald received his DVM in 1983 from Colorado State University. Fitzgerald became well-known from the series, "Emergency Vets" (1998-2002) and "E-Vet Interns" (2007) on the popular cable channel, "Animal Planet".

The shows were filmed from Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver, Colorado where Dr. Fitzgerald has been employed since 1985. When he is not taking care of animals, the busy vet is an assistant professor at the University of Denver in veterinary, travels to various locations for speaking and lecture engagements, and is seriously involved in his second love: stand-up comedy.

He believes in having a positive attitude and laughter, which is the best medicine of all! Now for the big surprise: he has a horrible fear of spiders! Imagine that.

Answer: Edmund

The wreck of the SS Edmund Fitzgerald is one of the most renowned, historical ship wrecks on the American Great Lakes. Sadly, twenty-nine people lost their lives in the tragedy on November 10, 1975. Found at 530 feet (160m) deep below the great lake, also known as Gitche Gumee, many have concluded that monstrous waves from a horrific winter storm or gale overtook the enormous ship, sinking it quickly. While in communication with another ship's captain, Captain Ernest McSorley, who was age sixty-three, with forty-four years of experience, confided that it had been the worst waves he had ever been in. The bell from the ship was raised on July 4, 1995. In 1976, singer-songwriter, Gordon Lightfoot, penned and recorded "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald". Lightfoot's song memorialized the crew members as well as the famous freighter.
A partial of his lyrics include:

"At seven p.m. a main hatchway caved in.
He said 'fellas, it's been good to know ya'.
The captain wired in he had water comin' in,
And the good ship and crew was in peril.
And later that night, when its lights went out of sight,
Came the wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald".

"In a musty old hall in Detroit they prayed,
In the Maritime Sailors' Cathedral.
The church bell chimed, 'til it rang 29 times,
For each man on the Edmund Fitzgerald".

A sad disaster indeed!

Answer: Rose

Irishman Thomas Fitzgerald, grandfather of Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald, left his native homeland of County Limerick in Bruff, Ireland during the great potato famine. John "Honey Fitz" Fizgerald and his wife Mary bore six children, with Rose being the oldest of her siblings on July 22, 1890, in Boston, Massachusetts. Becoming a successful family in politics, Rose was able to earn a great education. On October 7, 1914, Rose married Joseph Kennedy, whose family members were also Irish immigrants.

The Kennedys had nine children in which three were prominent, political figures.

However, tragedies struck the family like a curse. Rose survived five of her children. Her third daughter, Rosemary, had to be hospitalized at a sanatorium for mentally-impaired people.

The mighty matriarch of the Kennedy clan had a stroke in 1984. Years later, she died at her beloved Hyannis Port, Massachusetts home on January 22, 1995. Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy was 104 years old.

Answer: F. Scott

Highly respected as one of America's greatest writers, Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald struggled with life and with his writing career. He attended several colleges, but dropped out to join the military. During those years, Fitzgerald began drinking, and as he aged, it intensified until he became an alcoholic. In 1919, he met Zelda Sayre from Montgomery, Alabama. She was also a writer and a dancer. The couple married after the publication of successful novel, "This Side of Paradise" (1920).

Later their marriage became roller-coaster ride. Fitzgerald felt like a failure when his writings weren't accepted and unfortunately blamed his wife for his troubles. The Fitzgeralds had a daughter in 1921; they named Frances Scott 'Scottie' Fitzgerald, who grew up to be an author as well. After years of enduring the writer's drunken and adulterous behavior, Zelda was institutionalized with the mental distress of schizophrenia. F. Scott Fitzgerald suffered a massive heart attack on December 21, 1940, and died at the young age of forty-four. Other great novels by Fitzgerald were "The Beautiful and Damned" (1922), "Tender is the Night" (1934), and probably his most famous work, "The Great Gatsby" (1925). Scottie had her parents interred in Rockville, Maryland, at Saint Mary's Cemetery. On the tomb she had inscribed the final quote of "The Great Gatsby":

"So We Beat On. Boats Against The Current. Borne Ceaselessly Into The Past".

Answer: Ella

Known in the music industry as the "First Lady of Song", Ella Jane Fitzgerald was born in 1917. Ella endured many trials and hardships as a child, but she never gave up her dream of being a singer. Her first opportunity came on November 21, 1934, in Harlem, New York, at the Apollo theater.

She was only seventeen at the time, but her career began to soar after her debut and her recording of the song, "A-Tisket, A-Tasket" (1938). In 1939, she had her own band called, Ella Fitzgerald and her Famous Orchestra. Ella set out and went solo in 1942 and left the big band scene.

After signing with Decca Records that same year, she recorded an album entitled, "Flying Home". Not only did she excel as a jazz vocalist, but did as well in swing, bebop, and traditional pop. Fitzgerald was so popular that she stayed busy recording and touring and had been very lucky to work with other famous musical performers such as Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie, Tommy Flanagan, Frank Sinatra, and the list goes on.

She's been honored with many major Grammy Awards, trophies and other national recognitions, with one being the Presidential Medal of Freedom, a very high achievement for an African-American female. With such singing talent, Ella expanded her career into films and television specials as well. Some of her notable films were "Let No Man Write my Epitaph" (1960), "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955), "Ride 'Em Cowboy" (1942), and "St. Louis Blues" (1958). Fitzgerald would later be honored by the United States Postal Service when they released her stamp in 2007. A tribute album was also recorded and released in 2007 entitled, "We All Love Ella". Some of its featured artists included famous musicians as Gladys Knight, k.d. lang, Linda Ronstadt, Michael Buble, Natalie Cole and Queen Latifah. Fitzgerald developed diabetes, which had blinded her. Both of her legs had to be amputated, and she finally succumbed to the deadly disease on June 15, 1996, at the age of seventy-nine.

Answer: Geraldine Fitzgerald

Born to an attorney and his wife on November 24, 1913, in County Wicklow, south of Dublin, Ireland, Geraldine became a young acting performer while in her teens. Her big break came when the film, "The Mill on the Floss" (1937) was such a huge success. Shortly afterwards, Fitzgerald moved to New York and captivated her audiences on Broadway and theatres in 1938.

Her acting talents were so fantastic; it would catch the eye of some of Hollywood's biggest film producers as Hal Wallis and Samuel Mayer.

She had a significant role in the drama "Dark Victory" (1939) that starred Bette Davis. Geraldine's most popular film was the successful box-office hit, "Wuthering Heights" (1939), which co-starred Laurence Olivier as Heathcliff. For her role in the film, the Academy Awards nominated her for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

In her later years, Fitzgerald did many guest appearances on television series and acted in several movies. Some were "Poltergeist II: The Other Side" (1986), "Arthur" (1981), and "Arthur 2" (1988), which starred Dudley Moore and Liza Minnelli.

She had been married twice and had a son and a daughter. Fitzgerald was stricken with Alzheimer's and died at the age of ninety-one on July 17, 2005.

Answer: casino

Do you want to visit Ireland but not cross the ocean to get there? Then take a trip to downtown Las Vegas, Nevada. At 34-stories high, you'll find the famous Fitzgerald's Casino and Hotel. Once inside, you'll feel as if you've arrived on the Emerald Isle.

It boasts the theme of "Luck of the Irish" with leprechauns, shamrocks, pots of gold, and the color green everywhere you look! Successful casino operators, Lincoln (Fitz) Fitzgerald and his wife, Meta, moved from Michigan to the western United States when they built what they called, "one hell of a hotel and casino".

The 42,000 square foot opulent business venue offers events, entertainment, fine dining, a business center and a refreshing pool and spa. It consists of 638 luxurious hotel rooms and/or suites, and if boredom should set in, there are gaming tables and nearly 1000 slot machines. You may even forget that you're still in the states! Fitzgerald's Casinos have also been located in Reno, Nevada, Blackhawk, Colorado, and in the delta of Tunica, Mississippi, operated by Fitzgerald's Gaming Corporation.

Answer: Barry

William Joseph Shields, born March 10, 1888 in Dublin, Ireland, used the stage name Barry Fitzgerald when he began his acting career. In 1924, Barry made his acting debut on stage at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. His former room-mate, playwright, Sean O'Casey, cast him in his play, "Juno and the Paycock" in 1930.

Although he stood short in stature at five foot four inches, his acting career became huge in 1935 after director John Ford persuaded him to try his Irish luck in Hollywood. He then worked with some of the greatest names in show business. Fitzgerald acted in many films, but some of his most popular ones were "Top o' the Morning" (1949), "How Green Was My Valley" (1941), "And Then There Were None" (1945), "The Quiet Man" (1952), "The Sea Wolf" (1941), and "The Story of Seabiscuit" (1949).

However, the role that most remember him for was the elderly priest, 'Father Fitzgibbon' in the musical/comedy and drama film, "Going My Way" (1944) with Bing Crosby. For his remarkable performance, Fitzgerald won the Best Supporting Actor from the Academy Awards, an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and a Golden Globe award from the New York Film Critics Circle (NYFCC).

After retiring from his acting career, Fitzgerald returned to his dearly loved home of Ireland where he died in Dublin on January 14, 1961.

Answer: Tara

Despite being relocated to various locations as a young child and attending a number of different schools due to her mother's separations, Tara grounded her career shortly after graduating from the Drama Centre in London, England in 1990. Tara was born on September 17, 1967, in Sussex, England, and as a struggling student at a prestigious acting school, she worked as a waitress in a restaurant in Kensington to help pay her school dues.

However, it paid off swiftly. In 1991, she debuted in the romantic comedy, "Hear My Song". Since then, she's had many credits added to her resume. Fitzgerald has done a variety of television shows on the BBC channel in the U.K. and has often lent her voice as a narrator to several different television series and commercial advertisements as well. Tara has a fondness for being portrayed in old English historical costumes and carefully chooses her roles.

She has also been featured on Broadway plays such as Ralph Fiennes' "Hamlet" (1995) and "A Streetcar Named Desire" (2000). Fitzgerald chose not to move to Hollywood, instead, lives in West London. Being the grand-niece of the famed actress, Geraldine Fitzgerald from the film "Wuthering Heights" (1939), Tara carries on the family tradition of acting.

Other featured films that she is known for are "Rancid Aluminum" (2001), "Conquest" (1998), "Dark Blue World" (2001), and "I Capture the Castle" (2003), among many more. Odds are that she'll never work as a waitress again!