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Who Died First? Part Three Trivia Quiz

So many dead people, so little time. Each of the following ten questions presents the names of four famous people--associated with each other--and you have to tell me which one went to that great history blog in the sky FIRST.

A multiple-choice quiz by DonTozzi. Estimated time: 7 mins.

Author
DonTozzi

Time
7 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
378,833

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
367

Last 3 plays: wwwocls (8/10), Guest 174 (6/10), Guest 175 (5/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Damned commies! You know they're trying to take over the world! Right? Karl Marx, Freddie Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, all those Reds. But which one went to that big collective farm first? Hint

Engels

Marx

Trotsky

Lenin

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Capitalists! You greased the gears of your profit machines with the blood of your workers! But the Grim Taskmaster came for you, too. Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Henry Frick and John D. Rockefeller were all fat cats, but which one went to the Great Money Vault in eternity first? Hint

Henry Ford

Andrew Carnegie

Henry Frick

John D. Rockefeller

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death".

Yeah, whatever. Shut up. (We all know we're going to be fertilizer for grass to eat.) But which one of these English dramatists died first? Hint

Christopher Marlowe

Thomas Kyd

William Shakespeare

Ben Jonson

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. These next four were powerhouses behind the rhythm and blues/soul movement. Now, I hope, they are peaceful souls. But who went to the top of the Final Chart first? Hint

Marvin Gaye

Eddie Kendricks

David Ruffin

Curtis Mayfield

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. These four writers of mystery/crime novels all died in the 1970s! Just a coincidence? Or was it... murder? Nah, just coincidence. But which one went to that Big Sleep first? Hint

James M. Cain

Agatha Christie

Erle Stanley Gardner

Rex Stout

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. Green Acres is the place to be! Greenlawn is the place to be buried. These four stars of the mildly amusing series "Green Acres" have gone on to greener pastures. But who went first? Hint

Eddie Albert (who played Oliver Douglas)

Pat Buttram (who played Mr. Haney)

Eva Gabor (who played Lisa Douglas)

Frank Cady (who played Sam Drucker)

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "I want to be alone." These recluses were so adept at staying out of public view that sightings of them made the news. But they couldn't hide from our friend, the Reaper. Whom did he find first? Hint

Greta Garbo

J.D. Salinger

Bobby Fischer

Howard Hughes

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. Ten-hut! About face! Forward, die! These great American generals bravely and fearlessly sent thousands of other soldiers to their deaths. However, sooner or later, they, too, would meet their maker. But Taps was played for whom first? Hint

George Patton

Dwight D. Eisenhower

Omar Bradley

Douglas MacArthur

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Sing us a dirge, you're the piano man. All four of these musicians had one thing in common: they wise-cracked while playing beautiful piano. Oh, and they're all dead--make that two things in common. So which one went first? Hint

Victor Borge

Dudley Moore

Peter Allen

Liberace

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. I'm gonna offer you a question that you can't refuse. "The Godfather" featured many actors who either won, were nominated for, or should have been nominated for, Academy Awards. But which one slept with the fishes first? Hint

Richard Castellano, who played Clemenza

Marlon Brando, who played Vito Corleone

John Cazale, who played Fredo Corleone

Sterling Hayden, who played Officer McCluskey

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Most Recent Scores

Apr 12 2024 : wwwocls: 8/10
Apr 07 2024 : Guest 174: 6/10
Mar 22 2024 : Guest 175: 5/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Damned commies! You know they're trying to take over the world! Right? Karl Marx, Freddie Engels, Lenin, Trotsky, all those Reds. But which one went to that big collective farm first?

Answer: Marx

Comrades! Tovarishchi! Karl Marx died in 1883. Friedrich Engels died in 1895. Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov--aka Lenin--died in 1924. Trotsky was assassinated in 1940. Workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your lives!

Answer: Andrew Carnegie

This was a close one. Andrew Carnegie cashed out on August 11, 1919. Henry Frick's life expectancy went bankrupt a few months later on December 2, 1919. The life of John D. Rockefeller's loan expired in 1937 (when he was 98 years old). Henry Ford rang up his NO SALE in 1947. I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me life.

3. "To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow, Creeps in this petty pace from day to day, To the last syllable of recorded time; And all our yesterdays have lighted fools The way to dusty death". Yeah, whatever. Shut up. (We all know we're going to be fertilizer for grass to eat.) But which one of these English dramatists died first?

Answer: Christopher Marlowe

Christopher Marlowe was stabbed to death on May 30, 1593. Boy, he really must have irritated a prima donna actor! He was only 29. Just over a year later, Thomas Kyd bowed out on August 15, 1594. He was a kid, too (awful pun intended). He was only 35. Big Billy Shakespeare went to sleep (perchance to dream) on April 23, 1616--which may very well have been his 52nd birthday. Finally, Ben Jonson brought down the curtain on August 6, 1637.

May flights of angels sing thee to thy rest! Hey, what is this? The Masterpiece Theater?

4. These next four were powerhouses behind the rhythm and blues/soul movement. Now, I hope, they are peaceful souls. But who went to the top of the Final Chart first?

Answer: Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye last saw what was going on on April Fool's Day 1984. His father made sure that it was no joke. David Ruffin died on June 1, 1991. David's fellow Temptation, Eddie Kendricks, kept on truckin' outta here just over a year later on October 5, 1992. Curtis Mayfield Superflew to the other side in 1999.

5. These four writers of mystery/crime novels all died in the 1970s! Just a coincidence? Or was it... murder? Nah, just coincidence. But which one went to that Big Sleep first?

Answer: Erle Stanley Gardner

No one is to leave the room. I am about to reveal the solution. Erle Stanley Gardner was found guilty of being mortal on March 11, 1970. (His Perry Mason had no defense against this charge.) Rex Stout wished he could have more meals with Nero Wolfe but that was not to be.

He died on October 27, 1975. Less than three months later (Hmmmm... curious), Agatha Christie boarded the Orient Express to Eternity on January 12, 1976. Lastly, the grim reaper only had to ring once for James M. Cain on October 27, 1977, exactly two years after Rex Stout. (Most interesting.)

6. Green Acres is the place to be! Greenlawn is the place to be buried. These four stars of the mildly amusing series "Green Acres" have gone on to greener pastures. But who went first?

Answer: Pat Buttram (who played Mr. Haney)

Mr. Haney! (I can almost hear Eddie Albert growl.) Pat Buttram passed away in 1994. The stunning Eva Gabor died in 1995, dah-ling. Eddie Albert, the oldest of the group, died at 99 years old in 2005, and Frank Cady died in 2012. He was 96. Next stop, Petticoat Junction? Nah.

Answer: Howard Hughes

Multimillionaire, inventor, industrialist, and OCD victim, Howard Hughes, was flushed out first in 1976. Swedish beauty and actress, Greta Garbo, who could have given Howard Hughes a run for his money, literally, died in 1990. At the time of her death, her estate was estimated to be worth over $30 million--in 1990 dollars! Eccentric chess master, Bobby Fischer, was checkmated in 2008. "Catcher in the Rye" author, J.D. Salinger, was caught by Mr. Death in 2010.

Answer: George Patton

Old Blood 'n' Guts Patton became just old bones in 1945, immediately after the end of WWII. Douglas MacArthur just faded away after 1964. General and then President Eisenhower was next in 1969. Omar Bradley was last to go, in 1981. Old soldiers never die, they just... Oh, no, wait. They do just die.

Answer: Liberace

Władziu Valentino Liberace, my parents' favorite, played his final chord in 1987. Five years later, Peter Allen, who was born down under in Australia, went permanently down and six feet under. Victor Borge (I'd better watch my punctuation here) passed away in 2000. Finally, and finally, Dudley Moore stopped tickling the ivories, and our funny bones, in 2002.

Answer: John Cazale, who played Fredo Corleone

"You broke my heart, Fredo!" John Cazale died on March 12, 1978. While filming "The Deerhunter" he was so sick with lung cancer that the director, MIchael Cimino, and Cazale's girlfriend at the time, Meryl Streep, decided to film his scenes first. Cazale died before the movie was released. "How's the Italian food in this restaurant?" Sterling Hayden got the zotz on May 23, 1986. Richard Castellano, who was nominated for an Oscar for "Lovers and Other Strangers", was whacked on December 10, 1988. The last that the Big Buttonman Targeted was Marlon Brando, who died on July 1, 2004.

Source: Author DonTozzi

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