They Went That-A-Way Part II Trivia Quiz

Answer: decapitation by a falling helicopter

Morrow died on the set of "Twilight Zone: The Movie", during early morning filming (about 2:30 am) on July 23, 1982.
The scene called for Morrow, while carrying two small children (5 year old Renee Chen and 7 year old My-ca Le) to cross a small river, rescuing them from a wartime gunfight between opposing military troops, near their small deserted village. The scene started with Morrow crossing a small river
while carrying the kids through the knee deep water. A pyrotechnic device used as special effects, fired into the air and accidentally severed the tail rotor of a helicopter that was hovering about 25 feet above the actors.
The helicopter then spun out of control and crashed into the river, with the right skid of the helicopter crushing Renee to death, and the main rotor severing the head of Morrow, and severing the head, shoulder and an arm of My-ca.

The six occupants inside the helicopter suffered only minor injuries.

Following the gruesome accident, the set director, John Landis, reportedly yelled through a loud speaker, "That's a wrap", the standard words used to end the days filming. The scene and that portion of the storyline were deleted from the movie.

Prior to the beginning of the filming, the parents of the two children were each given an envelope by a production assistant, containing $500.00 dollars in cash as payment. The children were not officially part of the cast as it would have been illegal for children to work at that hour.

The accident led to both civil and criminal legal actions against Landis and the production company. The accident also led to massive reforms in U.S. Child Labor laws and safety regulations on movie sets.

Answer: space capsule training accident

Grissom was killed along with fellow astronauts Ed White and Roger B. Chaffee, when a flash fire raced through their Apollo One space capsule as it sat atop the booster vehicle, on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy.
In an official report, NASA announced the fire was the result of a short circuit, accelerated by a pure oxygen artificial environment inside the space capsule.

Grissom was a veteran of two previous space missions. At the conclusion of his first space flight (Mercury-Redstone 4), on July 21, 1961, which lasted about 15 minutes, Grissom was criticized for what was first thought to be an action he committed that resulted in the loss of his space capsule. While being picked up following a successful flight and splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean, the hatch door release explosives of his "Liberty Bell 7" space capsule prematurely detonated, and opened, resulting in the capsule filling up with water and sinking some 16,000 feet to the ocean floor. Grissom was rescued by his helicopter recovery team, but the capsule, loaded with vital data was lost. Some speculated at the time that during the recovery operation, Grissom either panicked, or accidentally activated hatch releasing explosives too soon.

Grissom became the first astronaut to return to space, serving as the command pilot aboard the "Gemini 3" space mission, with Astronaut John W. Young in March of 1965.

Ed White was the first American astronaut to perform a "spacewalk" (EVA) in June of 1965, aboard the "Gemini 4" space mission, flown with astronaut James McDivitt.

The Apollo 1 mission would have been the first space flight for Astronaut Roger B. Chaffee.

Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 space capsule was located and recovered 38 years after it sank, in 1999.

Answer: Paul Williams

Williams, the original lead singer for the group, was found laying next to his car, dead of an apparent self inflicted gunshot wound to the head. His car was parked in a deserted lot near the Motown Records (then known as Hitsville U.S.A.) headquarters and recording studios in Detroit, Michigan.
Many of his friends and associates felt that 34 year old Williams was never able to recover from deep depression, and severe medical problems.
Williams had been stricken with Sickle Cell Disease in his early years. Williams condition was worsened by his bouts with alcoholism, failed business investments, and turmoil within his marriage and personal affairs.
Failing health conditions caused him to limit his on stage performances with The Temptations. At one point, Williams would appear on stage with the group, but was too weak to sing. Vocals for his songs came from singer Richard Street, who sang from a position behind the curtains, out of public view.
Street eventually replaced Williams in the group when Williams became too weak to perform.

Answer: shot and killed while attending a church service

Mrs. King was shot and killed by deranged gunman, Marcus Wayne Chenault, as she sat at the organ in the Ebenezer Baptist Church, the very church that had been pastored by both her husband and her late son.
Mrs. King for many years played a vital role in the affairs of the church. Her death at the age of 69, came six years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Chenault, a 23 year old black man from Ohio, later stated that he shot her because "all Christians are my enemies".

Answer: suffered a heart attack in her sleep

The issue of a heart attack as the cause of death was clouded by a rumor circulating at the time that Mama Cass Elliot had choked to death while eating a ham sandwich.
This rumor was dispelled when Dr. Keith Simpson, a British pathologist, and Gavin Thurston, a London coroner, who performed her autopsy, issued a report that determined heart failure to be the official cause of death.

Answer: drowning

Following the completion of her last novel, "Between the Acts", Woolf is believed to have fallen victim of deep mental depression. Woolf had suffered a previous nervous breakdown.
On March 28, 1941, Woolf drowned herself by walking into the River Ouse, near her home, after weighing herself down by placing stones in her pockets. Her body was recovered nearly a month later on April 18, 1941.

Answer: heart attack

James served 35 years in the U.S. Air Force. He saw combat in wars in Korea and Vietnam. Among the many honors bestowed on James, were the Distinguished Service Medal, the Legion of Merit Award, and the Distinguished Flying Cross. James died less than one month after his retirement from the Air Force.

Answer: Marvin Gaye

Soul and R&B recording artist Marvin Pentz Gaye Jr. died as result of a gunshot wound. During a family argument regarding misplaced business documents, Marvin Jr. was shot and killed by his father, Marvin Gaye Sr.
Marvin Sr. was sentenced to six years of probation after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Charges of first degree murder were dropped after doctors discovered that Marvin Sr. had a brain tumor. Marvin Sr. died of pneumonia in 1998.

Patsy Cline, born Virginia Patterson Hensley on September 8, 1932, was killed on March 6, 1963, when the plane she was in crashed in swamped woodlands in Camden, Tennessee, 85 miles from Nashville, Tennessee. Identification at the crash scene was difficult as only Patsy's shoulders, the back of her head, and right arm were in one recognizable piece.

On December 10, 1967, the light plane in which singer Otis Redding was traveling, crashed into Lake Monona in Madison, Wisconsin, killing the singer, his valet, the pilot, and four members of the singing group, the Bar-Kays,

Big band leader Glenn Miller perished on December 15, 1944, after departing an RAF air base in England in a Nuseman C-64 aircraft. The flight was to take Miller and other passengers to to Paris, France. It is believed that the aircraft encountered icing conditions over the English Channel, and crashed.
Miller and his band had been performing for Allied troops prior to the crash and was planning on putting on a show in Paris.
Some speculated at the time that the plane was shot down (in error) by Allied forces and lost.

Answer: jumped from a 50 foot tall advertisement sign

Peg Entwistle was a struggling New York stage actress who decided to move to Hollywood California to advance her career as an actress.
After answering numerous casting calls and auditions, she became depressed due to her inability to find an acting job. At one point she was signed by RKO Studios for a small part in their film production of "Thirteen Women".
The film received poor reviews from movie critics, and negative feedback from test screenings.
After five months in Hollywood, Entwistle found her career at a complete standstill. The final blow to her self esteem came when "Thirteen Women" was released on September 16, 1932, and she was not invited to the films gala premiere.
Entwistle, after drinking on the night of the premiere, made her way up the southern slope of Mt. Lee, just down the street from the residence she shared with her uncle. She proceeded to the foot of the huge "HOLLYWOODLAND" sign, that had been erected in 1923, by a real estate development company to advertise property in the Beachwood Canyons area, just above Hollywood. The letters that spelled Hollywoodland were each 50 feet tall and 35 feet wide.
At the base of the letter "H", Entwistle removed her coat, neatly folded it, and placed it on the ground with her purse. Entwistle, using a service ladder, climbed to the top of the letter "H". Entwistle then jumped to her death. Officials later theorized that Entwistle was most likely killed instantly when her body hit the ground.
Entwistle's body was discovered in the brush at the base of the hill two days later, and pronounced dead.
When police examined her belongings, in her purse, they found a note that read:
"I am afraid. I am a coward. I am sorry for everything. If I had done this a long time ago, it would have saved a lot of pain. P.E.".
Two days later, in an ironic twist, Entwistle's uncle opened a letter addressed to her from the Beverly Hills Playhouse. It had been mailed the day before she jumped. The letter was an offer for her to play the lead role in their stage production, in which her character would commit suicide in the final act.
The last four letters on the sign were removed in 1947. The "HOLLYWOOD" sign remains today as one of the most famous landmarks in the Hollywood-Los Angeles area.
Sources:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/peg_entwistle
www.franksreelreview.com/shorttakeslhollywood.htm

Answer: William Frawley

William Clement Frawley, who played Fred Mertz, lived 79 years, and 5 days, from February 26, 1887 until March 3, 1966. Frawley died of a heart attack while walking on Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood, California.

Lucille Desiree Ball, who portrayed the redhead Lucy Ricardo, lived for 77 years and 8 months, from August 6, 1911 until April 26, 1989. Ball, who became one of the most powerful executives in Hollywood, died at Cedars Hospital in Los Angeles, California, of an acute aorta aneurism.

Vivian Roberta Johnson (Vance), who played Lucy's partner and landlady Ethel Mertz, lived 70 years, and nearly one month, from July 26, 1909 until August 17, 1979. Vance died of breast and bone cancer.

Desiderio Alberto Arnaz Ye De Ach, who played band leader Ricky Ricardo, lived 69 years and 8 months. Arnaz died of lung cancer.

An interesting note, while Vance and Frawley played husband and wife on the series, the two actors greatly disliked each other in real life.
Most attributed their mutual hatred to Vance's vocal resentment for having to play the wife to a man 22 years her senior. Frawley reportedly overheard Vance complaining, saying that he should be playing her father rather than her husband. Frawley took offense and never forgave her. "She's one of the finest girls to come out of Kansas" he once observed, "But I often wish she'd go back there".
Vance and her fourth husband, John Dodds, were dining out when they heard Frawley had died. Upon receiving the news, Vance reportedly shouted "Champagne for everybody".

Sources:
www.imdb.com/title/ttoo43208/43k
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_Lucy