Great Film Stars Who Died in the 2020s. Quiz

Answer: Eva Marie Saint

American actress Eva Marie Saint (July 4, 1924-October 6, 2026) won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar in her feature film debut, "On The Waterfront" (1954), in which she played the sister of a murdered longshoremen. A versatile actress, she seemed as much at home in drama as well as comedy.

Some of her other well known films were as an American nurse in Palestine in "Exodus" (1960) and as the harried wife of playwright Carl Reiner's character in "The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming" (1966).

Answer: Sean Connery

Scottish actor Sean Connery (August 35, 1930- October 31, 2020) originated the role of suave secret agent James Bond in "Dr. No" (1962). He won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as a tough cop teaching Kevin Costner's Elliot Ness how to bring down mobster Al Capone in "The Untouchables" (1987). Connery was also acclaimed for his role as Soviet Captain Marko Ramius, who, along with his officers, plotted to defect to the United States with an advanced submarine in the 1990 adaptation of Tom Clancy's "The Hunt for Red October".

Answer: Gene Hackman

California-born Gene Hackman (January 30, 1930-February 18, 2025) won a Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of a New York narcotics officer fighting heroin traffickers in "The French Connection" (1971), and a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for 1992's "Unforgiven", where he played the amoral sheriff "Little Bill" Dagget. Hackman also was praised for his performance as Buck Barrow, the older brother of outlaw Clyde Barrow, in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967).

Answer: James Earl Jones

American actor James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931-September 9, 2024) was nominated for Best Actor for his performance as an early 1900s black boxing champion victimized by racism in "The Great White Hope" (1970). Jones also won critical acclaim for his roles as rebellious writer Terrence Mann in "Field of Dreams" (1989) and as coal miner "Few Clothes" Johnson Matewan" (1987).

Answer: Diane Keaton

Versatile American actress Diane Keaton (January 5, 1946-October 11, 2025) was a frequent collaborator with director Woody Allen in the early part of her career, turning in great comedy performances as Boris' philosophical cousin/wife Sonja in "Love and Death" (1975), and her Oscar winning role as a would-be nightclub singer in "Annie Hall" (1977). Keaton was also played Kaye Corleone, wife of gangster Michael, in all three "Godfather" films (1972, 1974, 1990).

Answer: Val Kilmer

Another child of California, Val Kilmer (December 31, 1959-April 1, 2025) began his film career as an Elvis-like American singer behind the Iron Curtain in the 1985 spy movie spoof "Top Secret!". Kilmer also played Tom Cruise's nemesis, "Iceman", in "Top Gun" (1986), a film set at the Navy Advanced Air Combat Academy.

He won critical acclaim for his performance as Doc Holliday, the tubercular gunfighter and gambler who was a friend of the Earp brothers in the 1993 film "Tombstone".

Answer: Maggie Smith

Acclaimed British actress Dame Maggie Smith (December 28, 1934-September 27, 2024) won the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance as the eccentric, well-loved teacher in the 1969 film "The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie", and won the Best Supporting Actress award for "California Suite (1968), where she played an Englishwoman visiting California to attend the Academy Awards. Smith was also acclaimed for her performance as the chaperone to Helena Bonham Carter's character in the 1986 film, "A Room with a View".

Answer: Olivia De Havilland

British actress Olivia De Havilland (July 1, 1916- July 26, 2020) was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Vivien Leigh's tragic sister-in-law, Melanie, in "Gone With the Wind" (1939). De Havilland also had several collaborations with Errol Flynn, including "The Adventures of Robin Hood" (1938), where she played the noblewoman and Robin's love interest Maid Marian.

In "They Died With Their Boots On" (1941), she played American cavalry officer George Custer's wife, Elizabeth. De Havilland later won two Best Actress awards in the mid 1940s.

Answer: Kirk Douglas

A native of New York, Kirk Douglas (December 9, 1916- February 5, 2020) was famous for "Spartacus" (1960), where he played the leader of the slave revolt against Rome, and as World War I French Colonel Dax, a peacetime lawyer who tries to save three of his men who are condemned to death by a vengeful general in "Paths of Glory" (1957), both directed by Stanley Kubrick.

In the epic "Cast a Giant Shadow" (1966), Douglas played the American Colonel David "Mickey" Marcus, a World War II veteran who volunteered to help Israel in the 1948 War of Independence.

Answer: Ray Liotta

Born in Newark, New Jersey, Ray Liotta (December 18, 1954- May 26, 2022) had a successful and varied career. Liotta played baseball legend "Shoeless Joe" Jackson in the 1989 film "Field of Dreams" and gangster Henry Hill in Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, "Goodfellas" (1990). One of Liotta's comic roles was as a biker who tormented pretenders Tim Allen, John Travolta, Martin Lawrence, and William H. Macy in the 2007 film "Wild Hogs".