They Died in the Bathroom Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lenny Bruce

Leonard Alfred Schneider was born on October 13, 1925, in Mineola, New York. His mother, Sally Marr, was a dancer and stage performer. She influenced his decision to become a stand-up comic. When he was 16, he joined the United States Navy during World War II. During this time, aboard the USS Brooklyn, he would do comedy performances for his shipmates. He would dress in drag in his act, causing the ship's medical doctor to say he was "experiencing homosexual urges." He was discharged dishonorably, but because he had not broken any rules, it was changed to "Under Honorable Conditions...by reason of unsuitability for the naval service." In 1947, he adopted the stage name Lenny Bruce. In 1951, he married Honey Harlow, a stripper. They had a tumultuous relationship, breaking up and getting back together until his death.

He was on "Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts," a radio program. On the show, he did impressions of movie stars, an act inspired by Sis Caesar's "The Bavarian Mimic" routine. In the 1950s, his roommate was comic Buddy Hackett. The two had performed together on the "Patrice Munsel Show" under the name "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." In 1957, Bruce was fired from the Slate Brothers nightclub after one night for what was considered dirty humor or "blue material."

Getting fired led him to his first album, "The Sick Humor of Lenny Bruce." It also led to more legal troubles and other problems. In 1961, he was arrested for obscenity in San Francisco, California. He was mainly blacklisted on television, being known as a "sick comic." When he was allowed on TV, he had to give a typed copy of his act and get it pre-approved. He had multiple arrests throughout his career. He also became addicted to multiple drugs, including meth. This led to even more arrests and mental heath problems.

Bruce's last performance was on June 25, 1966, in San Francisco at the Fillmore Auditorium. Less than two months later, he was found dead in his bathroom. A photo was taken showing that he was shooting drugs when he died. His cause of death was ruled "acute morphine poisoning caused by an overdose." He was only 40 years old.

Answer: Judy Garland

Frances Ethel Gumm was born on June 10, 1922, in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, USA. Her parents were vaudeville actors. Baby (as she was called by her family) started performing when she was two, dancing with her older sisters. In the summer of 1926, they moved to Lancaster, California, because rumors had circulated that her father "had homosexual inclinations." After an error listed them as the Glum sisters, they decided to use a new stage name: Garland. There are different stories as to where the name Garland came from. They became the Garland sisters in 1934. Not long after, Frances Ethel Gumm changed her name from Frances to Judy. The name Judy was from a Hoagy Carmichael song. In 1935, Judy's sister Jane "Suzanne" Garland left the group and got married in Reno, Nevada. The sisters' group broke up.

In 1935, not long before they broke up, Louis B. Mayer of MGM sent Burton Lane, a songwriter, to go check out the Garland Sisters act. Impressed with Judy Garland, she was brought to MGM to audition at the studio. She was given a contract on the spot. However, they were not sure what to do with her. She was thirteen at the time, too young to play adult roles, and too old to play little kid roles.

Her first film was not with MGM, but with FOX, called "Pigskin Parade." She had tenth billing in the football musical. Soon, she was back at MGM in musicals known as "backyard musicals," which starred her and Mickey Rooney. The first was "Thoroughbreds Don't Cry" in 1937. The first film in which they were the leads was "Babes in Arms" (1939). Garland has said she, Rooney, and other children were constantly forced to take amphetamines to stay awake during the long hours, as well as barbiturates to make them sleep when they were finished. This led to an addiction that she struggled with her entire life. Mickey Rooney has denied this, however. Garland has also said she was only allowed to eat a bowl of soup and a cup of black coffee to keep her weight under control. She was not overweight, but the constant dieting led to self-doubt that also lasted all her life.

When she was sixteen, she was cast in her most iconic role, Dorothy Gale in "The Wizard of Oz." The song "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" became her signature song. She was actually the third choice to play Dorothy; the first was Shirley Temple, and the second was Deanna Durbin. At the Academy Awards, she received an Academy Juvenile Award for her performance. It was her only Oscar. She was one of only 12 child performers to win a Juvenile Academy Award.

As an adult, she continued to make movies such as "Me and My Gal" (1942), "Meet Me in St. Louis" (1944), and "The Clock" (1945). In 1959, she had acute hepatitis. She was told she only had five years to live, and if she lived longer, she would be a semi-invalid and unable to work again. However, she recovered and started doing concerts, appearing at Carnegie Hall on April 23, 1961. From 1961-1964 she was on her own show, "The Judy Garland Show."

She was married five times, most famously to director Vincente Minnelli. She had three children: Liza Minnieli (with Vincente) who is the most famous of her children, Lorna Luft, and Sydney Luft (with Sidney Luft). On June 22, 1969, she was found dead by her fifth husband, Mickey Deans, in the bathroom. The cause of death was listed as "an incautious self-overdosage of barbiturates." It was ruled an accidental overdose. At her funeral, Ray Bolger (who played the Scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz") stated, "She just plain wore out."

Answer: Lorraine

Godrey IV was married to Matilda of Tuscany, his stepmother's daughter. They had one child in 1071, but sadly she died the same year she was born. That same year, they started living in separate homes and were on opposite sides of the Investiture Controversy.

She supported Pope Gregory VII, while Godfrey supported Emperor Henry IV. He fought for Henry against Magnus, the Duke of Saxony, in 1075. In 1076, he fought for the bishop of Utrecht. On February 26th or 27th, 1076, Godfrey was in Vlaardingen going to the bathroom.

While doing so, he was assassinated with a spear.

Answer: Elvis Presley

Elvis Aron Presley was born on January 8, 1935, in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA. As a teenager, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. When he was 18, Elvis went to Memphis Recording Service and paid four dollars to record the songs "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartache Begins." This was also the home of Sun Records, owned at the time by Sam Philips. He recorded the songs for his mother, but had hopes of catching Phillips' attention. While Philipps was not there that day, his assistant Marion Keisker was. Keisker recorded part of Elvis' singing and also got his name and number. Keisker noticed Elvis had a unique style when he sang.

In 1954, he was signed on with Sun Records. Phillips wanted to bring the sound of African-American music to the White listeners. Elvis, who was White but had a voice like an African-American, was perfect. The following year, he left Sun Records and went to RCA Victor. Colonel Tom Parker was his manager throughout his career. Presley recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" with RCA and quickly became a rock and roll megastar. In 1956, he starred in his first movie, "Love Me Tender." Two years later, he was drafted, and his career was put on hold while he served in the United States Army. When he returned, he continued to record songs, give concerts, and make movies.

In 1967, he married Priscilla Beaulieu, and they had one daughter together whom they named Lisa Marie. In 1973, he did a concert in Hawaii called "Aloha from Hawaii." This was the first solo artist concert to be heard internationally. That same year, he and Priscilla divorced. Presley gave his final concert on June 26, 1977, in Indianapolis, Indiana. Years of drug abuse and poor eating had caused mupltiple health problems such as glaucoma, high blood pressure, and liver damage. On August 16, 1977, Elvis Presley was found by his fiancee Ginger Alden, on the bathroom floor at Graceland. He was unresponsive and pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital at the age of 42.

Answer: South Carolina

In 1983, Michael Godwin was tried and convicted in South Carolina on murder charges. The victim was named Mary Royem, and she was 24 years old. He beat her to death with an iron. He was sentenced to death by the electric chair; however, his sentence was later reduced to life in prison. Around March 1989, he sat on the metal toilet in his jail cell at the Central Correctional Institution.

While sitting there, he tried to fix earphones connected to his television by biting the wire. The 28-year-old who avoided the electric chair six years earlier died by electrocution.

Answer: Ioan Culianu

Ioan Petru Culianu (also written Couliano) was born on January 5, 1950, in Iasi, People's Republic of Romania. In 1972, he graduated from the University of Bucharest, having majored in Italian language and literature. He then went to Italy, having been granted political asylum, and graduated with his doctorate in the history of religion from the Universita Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan, Italy, in 1975. From 1976 until 1985, he taught at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. In 1986, he came to the United States, where he obtained his green card as a permanent resident in January 1991. There, he became a professor at the University of Chicago.

On May 21, 1991, not long after talking with doctoral student Alexander Arguelles, he was murdered in the bathroom at the University of Chicago Divinity School. He was shot in the back of the head. They had not found a murderer or a motive. About 18 months earlier, Nicolae Ceausescu, the leader of Romania, was murdered during the Romanian Revolution. Culianu had published articles and given interviews criticizing the post-Revolution regime, making him an adversary to the Romanian government.

Answer: Don Simpson

Donald Clarence Simpson was born in Seattle, Washington, on October 29, 1943, and grew up in Juneau, Alaska. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in English. In 1972, he worked for Warner Bros., marketing exploitation films such as "A Clockwork Orange." In 1976, he co-wrote the movie "Cannonball" for Paramount Studios with Paul Bartel. He also had a small part in the movie. He was let go from Paramount in 1982 after passing out at a meeting due to his drug use. During the 1970s, he took classes planning to join Scientology but quit, believing he was spending a lot but not seeing good results.

After that, he and Jerry Bruckheimer formed a partnership, and they produced many big hits of the 1980s such as "Flashdance" (1983), "Beverly Hills Cop (1984), and "Top Gun" (1984). In 1990, they signed a five-year contract with Paramount. However, that did not last long. After they produced "Days of Thunder" in 1990, the pair left Paramount over a disagreement. Simpson was known for bragging and exaggerating about what he had done. Jeff Katzenberg coined the term "Don Simpson Discount Factor," aka "DSDF." It was a way to calm the exaggerations down.

The following year, they signed with Disney, but their first film with the company, "The Ref" (1994), was a flop. However, their next three, which included "Bad Boys" (1995) with Columbia Pictures, were all successful. As they became more and more successful, Simpson's cocaine use and partying also grew. In December 1995, Bruckheimer dissolved their partnership, having become tired of Simpson's drug use. Their final movie was "The Rock," released in 1996. Sadly, on January 19, 1996, Simpson was found dead in his bathroom in Los Angeles, California. His death was ultimately ruled heart failure due to combined drug intoxication. He had cocaine and prescription drugs in his system. Overall, he had 21 different drugs in his system. After his death, investigative reporter Chuck Philips of the "Los Angeles Times" revealed he had drugs from 15 different doctors, and police found over two thousand drugs in his closet in alphabetical order.

Answer: Murphy Brown

Robert Joseph Pastorelli was born on June 21, 1954, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and grew up in Edison, NJ. He had planned to become a boxer, but that plan changed when he was 19 and was seriously injured in a high-speed automobile accident that nearly killed him. It was not long after this that he began having problems with drugs. In 1977, he made his acting debut in New York City in the stage version of "Rebel Without a Cause." He also appeared in "The Rainmaker" and "Death of a Salesman." These shows, while in NYC, were not on Broadway when he did them.

In 1982, he moved to Los Angeles, California, to try and make it in Hollywood. At first, he got small guest spots on TV shows. He also had supporting roles in films such as "Outrageous Fortune" (1987) and "Beverly Hills Cop II (1987). In 1988, he got his television break playing Eldin Bernecky, the house painter for Murphy Brown, on the sitcom "Murphy Brown" from 1988 until 1994. He also appeared in more films such as "Sister Act II: Back in the Habit" (1993), and "Michael" (1996).

On March 15, 1999, his girlfriend Charemon Jonovich was killed. It happened at Patorelli's home, and he told the police that she shot herself in the head while they were arguing. The Los Angeles Department of Coroner ruled the death undetermined, as they do not know if it was suicide or homicide. Pastorelli was never charged or even considered a suspect. However, his career declined after the incident. On March 8, 2004, he was found dead in his bathroom from a drug overdose. The report listed it as "fatal blood concentration of morphine." He was 49 years old.

Answer: Christopher Shale

Christopher Michael Henry Shale was born on August 23, 1954, in Northampton, Northamptonshire, England. After he finished school, he was commissioned as a British Army officer. He was married to Nicola and had a son named Alby with her. He was also the stepfather to her two children from a previous marriage.

In 1990, he founded Oxford Resources, which gave business advice on business supplies. From 2001 to 2005, he was a director of the Centre for Policy Studies. Also, during this time, he sponsored Open Europe. On June 25, 2011, after being missing for hours, Shale was found dead.

He had a heart attack at the Glastonbury Festival while using the portable toilet. He was 56 years old.

Answer: Jing

In 599 BC, Ji Ju (also known as Ji Nou) succeeded his father, Duke Cheng, who died in 600 BC. Known to the public as Duke Jing, he was the duke of the state of Jin in China. During the Zhou dynasty, Jin was a major state in what was then the center of China.

During the third year of his reign, King Zhuang of Chu attacked an ally of Jin's. Jing sent an army led by Xun Linfu, Sui Hui, and Zhao Sho to help. Unfortunately, they were too late, and King Zhuang had already surrendered. However, they stayed to attack Chu, but were defeated in the Battle of Bi. Jin was weakened, but remained one of China's strongest states. The following year, the Red Di people attacked Jin while they were down, with the help of Xian Hu. Jin had Xian Hu and his entire clan destroyed. Bo Ji, Duke Jing's older sister, was married to a major Red Di state ruler. She was killed by Lushi minister Feng Shu. Jing ultimately had Shu killed.

In 589 BC, Qi, another major state, attacked the states of Lu and Wey, who were allies of Jin. Jing again sent his armies to help, and they won the Battle of An. This win helped Jing regain some power that was lost during the Battle of Bi.

In 581 BC, Duke Jing took ill. He abdicated the throne to his son, Duke Li of Jin. According to the "Zuo Zhuan" (a classic Chinese text), Jing dreamed of an evil spirit before his death, and then contacted a wu (or a shaman) who told him not to eat the wheat from the harvest. However, he got even sicker anyway, and then had another dream of two urchins teasing him that he could not get the medicine he needed. A doctor told him the disease (which was not named) reached the area between the heart and diaphragm and was now terminal. Jing decided the shaman was wrong and got the new harvest's wheat, then had the shaman killed. Duke Jing was about to eat, but went to use the toilet and accidentally fell in and died.

Answer: horses

Tamme Hanken was born on May 16, 1960, in Filsum, West Germany. He was a horse whisperer. When the horses had broken bones, he was able to set them. He never had a formal chiropractic education, however. He was on two documentaries on the public service station (NDR) in Germany. In 2001, he published the book "Das Gluck der Pferde in meinen Handen." (In English, it means "The happiness of horses in my hands.") The book is an autobiography in which Hanken discusses how he developed his gift for working with horses. He worked with other animals as well, but horses were the main animal he worked with. The book also discusses home remedies often not used by veterinarians.

Hanken was 6'9" (2.05m) in height and weighed 310 pounds (141 kgm). On October 10, 2016, Hanken had a heart attack while using the bathroom and died suddenly. The obituary published by NDR referred to him as "a gentle giant."

Answer: Sheltech

Toufiq M. Seraj was born on July 1, 1956, in Pabna, East Pakistan, Pakistan. Seraj graduated from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology with a master's degree. He then got his PhD from the University of Liverpool. In 1988, he founded the real estate company Sheltech (Pvt.) Ltd. in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

He was also a director of the company, which had three chains of boutique hotels. The company had over 3700 apartments in Dhaka as well. Seraj was married to Zeba Islam Seraj, and they had two daughters.

His wife was a professor at the University of Dhaka. On June 20, 2019, Seraj died from a massive heart attack on the way to Barcelona, Spain. He was in the airplane's bathroom when he died. The plane stopped in Doha, Qatar, and his body was flown back to Dhaka.

Answer: Chun Doo-hwan

Chun Doo-hwan was born on January 18, 1931, in Goshen, Keishonan Province, Korea, Empire of Japan. In 1955, he graduated from the Korea Military Academy with a degree in science. In October 1979, Park Chung Hee, president of South Korea, was assassinated during a dinner at the KCIA. In December of that year, Chun staged a military coup, usurped power, and declared martial law. In March 1981, he established the Fifth Republic of Korea. During his time in power, South Korea had its highest economic growth rate ever, with a trade surplus in 1986.

In 1987, Chun allowed the first presidential election to be "free and open." His friend Roh Tae-woo won, but continued many of Chun's policies. In 1996, the Seoul High Court convicted Chun on multiple charges, including treason. However, later that year, President-elect Kim Dae-jung pardoned him, but he did need to pay a fine for money that was embezzled while he was in power. On November 23, 2021, Chun died in his bathroom from complications of blood cancer. The South Korean government opted not to have a state funeral for him because of his crimes and lack of remorse. He was 90 years old.

Answer: Elagabalus

Varius Avitus Bassianus was born around 204 AD. He was known by the nickname Elagabalus. At a young age, he served as priest of the sun god Elagabal, which is how he got the nickname. In 217, his cousin Caracalla, the then-emperor, was assassinated when he stopped to use the bathroom. Elagabalus' grandmother, Julia Maesa, started a revolt against Caracalla's successor, Macrinus so that her grandson could become emperor.

During his reign, he was known for his disregard for Roman religious traditions. The sun god for whom he got his nickname was originally a Syrian god. This was considered a cult in ancient Rome, and he forced members of his government to also participate in worshipping Elagabalus. On top of this, he was very promiscuous, having four wives, relations with men, and engaging in prostitution.

Ironically, because of his behavior, his grandmother, who revolted to make him the emperor, also plotted his assassination. In 222, at the age of 18, while in a latrine taking refuge, he was murdered by the Praetorian Guard. He was beheaded, and his clothes were removed. They dragged his body around the city, and then threw it into the Tiber River.

Answer: Limp Bizkit

Samuel Robert Rivers was born on September 2, 1977, in Jacksonville, Florida. While he was in middle school, he played the tuba in his middle school band. His interest in music came from his friend John Otto, who played jazz-style drums. In high school, he started playing the guitar. At the suggestion of his music teacher, he switched to the bass.

While working at Chick-fil-A, he met Fred Durst. The two started hanging out and jamming together. While Rivers was a great bass player, Durst was a great vocalist. Soon they and some others formed a band called Malachi Sage, which did not last long. Then in 1994, they, with Otto, formed Limp Bizkit. Later, Wes Borland and DJ Lethal also joined the band. When Rivers was 19, Limp Bizkit released their first album, "Three Dollar Bill, Y'all." The band became one of the defining bands of nu metal.

Rivers left Limp Bizkit in 2015 due to liver disease, which was caused by his drinking. He received a liver transplant and later returned to the band. His last performance with the band was on August 24, 2025. On October 18, 2025, Rivers died in his bathroom at the age of 48. No official cause was released at the time of his death.