Wave Goodbye Trivia Quiz

Famously the only child of Elvis, Lisa Marie was born in 1968 in Memphis. Her parents separated when she was only four years old and her father died in 1977 when she was still under the age of ten. Lisa herself found it hard to find lasting happiness in her personal life, with her first marriage, to Danny Keogh, lasting six years and producing two children. She then had two short marriages, to Michael Jackson and Nicolas Cage, before marrying Michael Lockwood in 2006. This marriage produced twin daughters, but the couple separated in 2016 and divorced in 2021.

Lisa Marie died on 12 January 2023 following a cardiac arrest and is buried near her father in the grounds of Graceland. Her son, Benjamin Keogh, is also buried there.

Francisco Rabaneda Cuervo, better known as Paco Rabanne, was born in Spain's Basque region in 1934. His mother worked for the fashion house Balenciaga and moved the family to Paris when the company relocated there in 1939 - his father had been executed during the Spanish Civil War.

Rabanne made a name for himself with his innovative use of metal - he was the designer of the dresses worn by Jane Fonda in the 1968 film 'Barbarella'. Like many other designers, Rabanne expanded into the perfume business. Paco retired in 1999 and kept a low profile, with the company renaming itself just as Rabanne. He died on 3 February 2023 just before his 89th birthday.

Paul was born in Wirral, the peninsula across the Mersey from Liverpool, in 1955. He made his name as a drag queen named Lily Savage, working in gay clubs in London. O'Grady became something of a spokesman for gay rights in the 1980s.

Paul moved into more mainstream entertainment as a presenter of television shows, initially as Lily but later as himself in 'The Paul O'Grady Show'. More recently, he demonstrated his love for animals, dogs in particular, presenting programmes from Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Paul adopted some of the animals himself and highlighted the plight of abandoned animals. He died aged sixty-seven in March with heart arrhythmia given as the cause of death.

Although Belafonte was the man who popularised calypso as a music genre, he was actually born in New York rather than Jamaica. His parents were of Caribbean heritage, though. Belafonte's third album was named 'Calypso' and was released in 1956. It became a landmark by being the first album by a single singer to sell over one million copies.

Belafonte was also known as an actor and political activist, particularly in the civil rights movement He helped to support Martin Luther King jr and his family financially while King was campaigning. Belafonte was also a humanitarian, involved in Live Aid (1985) and acting as a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. This remarkable man lived to the age of ninety-six before heart failure claimed his life in April 2023.

Born in Ontario in1938 Lightfoot was a prolific songwriter with his compositions often telling stories. These include 'The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald', composed in 1976 about the sinking of a freighter of that name on Lake Superior the previous year. 'Canadian Railroad Trilogy' links three songs about the building of Canada's railways.

Lightfoot's earliest successes came when other performers recorded his songs. 'Early Morning Rain' and 'For Lovin' Me' were performed by Peter Paul and Mary and Marty Robbins recorded 'Ribbon of Darkness'. Lightfoot himself had chart success with 'If You Could Read My Mind' in 1970. Gordon continued touring until near the end of his life, only cancelling the remainder of his 2023 tour when he became too ill to continue. He died at the age of eighty-four on 1 May 2023.

Glenda Jackson was born in Birkenhead in 1936, the second Wirral born person to feature in this quiz. She moved to London in 1954 after winning a scholarship to study acting at the Royal Academy for Dramatic Art. Jackson's first film role came in 1963 with an uncredited part in 'This Sporting Life' but 1969 brought her stardom, and an Oscar for Best Actress, when she appeared in 'Women in Love'. This adaptation of the novel by D H Lawrence was directed by Ken Russell and also starred Alan Bates, Oliver Reed and Jennie Linden. After this, Glenda was rarely out of work.

Her long interest in politics led her to retire from acting in 1991 to stand for Parliament as a Labour (left wing) candidate. Previous attempts to get her to become a full time politician had been rebuffed but Glenda decided that the time was right to change careers. She stood down prior to the 2016 election, citing her age as the main factor. This did not prevent her returning to acting, and she took on several roles. Glenda died on 15 June 2023 at the age of eighty-seven.

O'Connor was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1966 and released her first album in 1987. This was well received but it was her second album, 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got', which was a huge hit reaching number one in many countries from Australia to the USA.

The tracks included a cover of Prince's song, 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which became a huge hit for Sinead. Sadly, her personal life was difficult, with four short-lived marriages, the suicide of her third child, Shane, and her own mental health issues.

In July 2023 she was found dead in her London flat at the relatively young age of fifty-six.

Born near Barnsley in Yorkshire in 1935, Michael Parkinson became one of Britain's best known and best loved radio and television presenters. He began as a journalist before moving into television as a news presenter in the 1960s. Parkinson also hosted quiz shows, but is best remembered as one of the best chat show hosts of all time. His style was to let his guests be themselves rather than making the show about himself and he attracted many of the A list celebrities of his time. Among his interviewees were Muhammad Ali, Fred Astaire, Madonna and Orson Welles.

A lower point came when he interviewed Rod Hull and his puppet Emu in 1976, with Hull using Emu to physically attack the presenter in a joke which went rather too far. Parkinson died at the age of eighty-eight in August 2023.

Another Dublin born celebrity, Gambon came to Britain with his family in 1946 when he was six years old. His father ensured that Michael became a British citizen. which opened doors for him which might otherwise have remained closed.

Gambon began his long and successful acting career in 1962 before being recruited by Laurence Olivier for his National Theatre Company. Other actors Olivier took on at the same time included Frank Finlay and Derek Jacobi. Gambon established himself on the stage before taking on film and television roles - he appeared in the television adaptation of Dennis Potter's 'The Singing Detective' in 1986. Many people will remember him as Albus Dumbledore (the name means bumblebee), the role he took on in the third film in the 'Harry Potter' series following the death of Richard Harris who had previously portrayed the character. Gambon died on 27 September 2023 with pneumonia given as the primary cause.

Although he was born in America, in 1969, Matthew Perry was raised primarily in Canada as his parents separated when he was only a year old. His mother returned to her home country and remarried. He moved to Los Angeles to live with his father in 1984 and began his acting career.

In 1994 he was cast as Chandler Bing, the wisecracking character who uses comedy as a defence mechanism. This role lasted until 2004 and made Perry famous. This fame came at a cost, though, with addictions to alcohol and drugs causing health problems - he described himself as having been an alcoholic from the age of fourteen in his autobiography. Despite this, Perry continued a successful career and devoted much time and money to philanthropic work, particularly in the area of addiction. On 28 October 2023 Perry died at his home in Los Angels aged only fifty-four.