Different Kinds of Artists Trivia Quiz

Answer: Marilyn Monroe

American actress and model Marilyn Munroe (1926-1962) was known for her comic 'blonde bombshell' roles. She became a cultural icon and a sex symbol during the 1950s and early 1960s. It was, however, a crafted persona which interfered with her attempts to play more serious roles or to be considered a serious business woman. Some of her best-known films were "The Seven Year Itch" (1955) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959).

The contemporary western film "The Misfits" (1961), in which she appeared opposite Clark Gable, was her last film before her death from an apparent overdose. It appears that she took her own life in August 1962, although there have been plenty of alternative theories put forward over the years.

Answer: Clark Gable

His portrayal of Rhett Butler in "Gone With the Wind" (1939) is perhaps the most famous Clark Gable (1901-1960) role. He, however, appeared in more than 60 films in various genres, earning his Oscar for his role in "It Happened One Night" (1934); he also received nominations for his portrayal of Fletcher Christian in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935) and as Rhett Butler.

His final film was "The Misfits" (1961), where he co-starred with Marilyn Monroe.
Gable suffered at least two heart attacks during November 1960. The hospital was unable to resuscitate him after the second one.

Answer: Robert Frost

"New Hampshire" is a 1923 poetry collection by American poet Robert Frost (1874-1963). He was known for his depictions of New England rural life and use of colloquial language. He received four Pulitzer Prizes for Poetry. "Mending Wall" (1914), "The Road Not Taken" (1915), and "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening" from "New Hampshire" (1923) are among his better known poems.

Frost's life had its upsets and there was a family history of mental illness. His younger sister and one of his daughters were committed to mental hospitals and he himself had periods of depression. He lost his father to tuberculosis, his mother to cancer, and his wife to heart failure some 50 years before he died. Only two of his six children survived him. He was to die at the age of 88 years following complications after a heart attack.

Answer: Patsy Cline

Patsy Cline (1932-63) was an American singer who died in an air crash at 30 years of age. She had an eight-year recording career at the time of her death, where she made her mark as a vocalist both in country music and pop genres.

In addition to "Crazy", she had such hit singles as "I Fall to Pieces" (1961) and "She's Got You" (1962). She was reluctant to record Willie Nelson's song "Crazy", however, her version has become a country music standard and the song has been covered many times.

Answer: Gary Cooper

Award-winning American actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961) is best known for his strong, silent screen presence. He won an Oscar twice, and was nominated for a further three, including "Sergeant York" (1941) and "High Noon" (1954). Other films for which he is known include "Mr Deeds Goes to Town" (1936), "The Pride of the Yankees" (1942), and "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1943).

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1960 and was operated on in April of that year. Unfortunately the cancer had metastasized by then and eventually became inoperable. He died in May 1961 at the age of 60. Earlier that year he hiked for the final time with Ernest Hemingway, who also to die that year.

Answer: Karen Blixen

Karen Blixen (1885-1962), or Baroness Karen Christentze von Blixen-Finecke, was an award-winning Danish author. She wrote under various pseudonyms and is best known for her memoir "Out of Africa" (1937) and the short story "Babette's Feast" in "Anecdotes of Destiny" (1958). Both were adapted for film and won Oscars - the former won seven and the latter was the first Danish film to win an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film.

Blixen's death in 1962 at the age of 77 was apparently due to malnutrition, however, there were also additional health complications and an element of miscommunication involved. In 1915 she was diagnosed with syphilis and was treated with mercury and arsenic, both toxic and likely to have caused heavy metal poisoning. Stomach pain and longtime misuse of strong laxatives also contributed to her health issues.

Answer: Ernest Hemingway

American journalist, short-story writer, and novelist Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961) was noted for his adventurous lifestyle, blunt speaking and hard drinking. He spent time in the First World War as an ambulance driver, where he was seriously wounded. His 1929 novel "A Farewell to Arms" was the result. Similarly, his time as a journalist during the Spanish Civil War led to "For Whom the Bell Tolls" (1940). This was expected to win a Pulitzer Prize in 1941, however, in the end no prize was awarded that year. He won the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature instead.

In his last few years, Hemingway suffered from alcoholism, depression, and paranoia. His writing ability was also impaired, which was probably not helped by the electro-convulsive therapy he underwent. Ultimately, he committed suicide in 1961 at the age of 61. Suicide had been something of a family curse, with his father and three siblings being amongst those family members to take their own lives.

Answer: Eddie Cochrane

American rock and roll Eddie Cochrane (1938-1960) died at the age of 21 in a car crash following his last scheduled performance during a UK tour. Two of Cochrane's friends, Buddy Holly and Ritchie Valens, had died along with the Big Bopper in a 1959 plane crash, an event referred to as 'The Day the Music Died'. This affected Cochrane badly and resulted in his preference to work in the studio rather than touring. Financial obligations were the reason behind the UK tour, and excessive speed was deemed the cause of the single vehicle accident. He was a passenger in the car.

Cochrane was a prolific performer although only two of his thirty or so albums were released during his lifetime. "Twenty Flight Rock" was a song originally recorded for the 1956 comedy film "The Girl Can't Help It", and Cochrane appeared in the film singing the song, which has been covered many times. Other songs for which he is known include "Summertime Blues" (1958), "C'mon Everybody" (1958), and "Somethin' Else" (1959).

Answer: Oscar Hammerstein II

Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) is often paired with Richard Rodgers when it comes to musicals. Their first musical collaboration was "Oklahoma!", which was first performed in 1943. Others include "Carousel", "South Pacific", and "The Sound of Music".

He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards, including one for the song "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from the 1941 musical film "Lady Be Good". He died aged 65 of stomach cancer at his home in Pennsylvania some nine months after the launch of "The Sound of Music" on Broadway. The final song he wrote was "Edelweiss" for that musical.

Answer: C S Lewis

Best known perhaps for his "Chronicles of Narnia" series of fantasy novels, British novelist and Anglican lay theologian Clive Staples Lewis (1898-1963), or C S Lewis, also wrote the satirical Christian apologetic novel "The Screwtape Letters" (1942). Science fiction is another genre he tackled, writing "The Space Trilogy" which consisted of "Out of the Silent Planet" (1938), "Perelandra" (1943), and "That Hideous Strength" (1945).

Lewis was to have a meeting of minds with American writer Joy Davidman. They were married after she was diagnosed with terminal bone cancer. She was to die in 1960. Lewis wrote the book "A Grief Observed" (1961), reflections on his experiences of bereavement, using a pseudonym to avoid it being linked to him. Ironically, many friends recommended the book to him so that he could deal with his own grief.

He was diagnosed with recurrent nephritis in 1961. This diagnosis became end-stage kidney failure by mid-November 1963. He collapsed and died on 22 November 1963 at age 64. His death was overshadowed by news of President Kennedy's assassination and the death of English writer Aldous Huxley, which both occurred on the same day. This coincidence inspired the 1982 book "Between Heaven and Hell: A Dialog Somewhere Beyond Death with John F. Kennedy, C. S. Lewis, & Aldous Huxley" by Peter Kreeft, which is a philosophical discussion on faith.