Mixed Famous People Trivia

61. Which talk show host who won multiple Emmy Awards and starred as Sophia in Steven Spielberg's 'The Color Purple' is an acknowledged workaholic?

From Quiz Work! Work! Work!

Answer: Oprah Winfrey

Oprah is also an author, actress, producer, philantropist and humanitarian. She is the first black billionaire in North America. Oprah believes that if you love the work you do and it fulfills you the rest will come. She works extremely long hours and never fails to support various charities with her means.

From Quiz Oh, Those '50s Gals!

Answer: She was the first American woman to walk in space

Captain Sullivan was the first American woman to walk in space. She was a member of three different Space Shuttle missions that allowed her to log more than 500 hours in space. Since her retirement from NASA she continued to work in various capacities - never straying far from her love of science, particularly of geology. By the way, she shares this birth year with another extraordinary American astronaut - Sally Ride.

From Quiz Hero with a 'Heart'

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

Franklin was known for his many talents and witty remarks, but was also regarded as a highly personable man of good character. In between his incredibly productive working life, he also fathered 17 children! One of his many famous quotations is "The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness. You have to catch it yourself."

From Quiz Stroke of Genius

Answer: Isaac Newton

This incident is very famous, as from it came the theory of gravitation, which changed the way we see gravity and the universe. Albert Einstein challenged this theory later on, but neither have been proved, therefore both remain as theories. David Gross was a theoretical physicist and Exley a mathematician.

From Quiz Interesting Facts on Famous People No 2

Answer: Because he used his brain a lot

Tesla was born in what we know now as Croatia in 1856. He is possibly remembered more for his peculiar beliefs on certain subjects, and his failed inventions, than for his sheer genius which went greatly unheralded during his lifetime. This mechanical and electrical engineer, inventor, and physicist moved to live the USA in 1884 to work for Thomas Edison, who, sad to say, gypped Tesla out of a fortune when he failed to honour a verbal contract that the two men had made. It was only under the wing of George Westinghouse that Tesla made any headway at all with his own groundbreaking discoveries and inventions. These included his work on electricity, X-rays, various electrical devices, remote control devices, fluorescent lighting, vertically lift-off planes, the AC induction motor, transformers, long range weapons, turbines and an entire range of now lost patents and inventions. Some of those blueprints are said to be locked away with the military, but many others more he carried in his mind. These included his belief that energy could be harvested from space and various devices to enable the world to do so, and his experiments with converting matter into energy. Tesla had an eidetic memory, slept very little, held unusual dietary habits, was obsessed with the number three, hated anything with a round shape, refused to shake hands, and had a horror of touching hair and fat people. He also believed he was in contact with aliens on Mars. If alive today, no doubt, Tesla would be medically diagnosed. Yet his weird and obsessive genius, left on its own, allowed his brilliant mind to conceive some completely astonishing ideas. He said that many of these ideas came to him in visions where he could picture their exact dimensions in his mind before even putting pen to paper. With his death, penniless and in debt, these ideas were lost forever. Along with his belief that his thinking processes changed the colour of his eyes, he also believed that scrunching one's toes one hundred times every night was the means to increase intellectual ability. I've been trying this every night since first reading this. Results: Thinking ability remains unaltered. Toes are complaining heartily.

From Quiz America's Most Flaunted

Answer: Zsa Zsa Gabor

The saying "truth is stranger than fiction" is never more accurate then when discussing Zsa Zsa Gabor and her equally fascinating sisters Magda and Eva. Zsa Zsa was born Sari Gabor in 1917 in Budapest, Hungary to a Jewish mother and a Hungarian soldier father. At fifteen (1936) already devastatingly beautiful, Zsa Zsa became Miss Hungary; and in 1941 she and her mother joined her youngest sister Eva and immigrated to the USA. Zsa Zsa's oldest sister Magda stayed in Europe but left Hungary for Spain and Portugal. Zsa Zsa acted and sang but neither brought her fame. Fame came from her beauty and her willingness to use marriage as a form of social ladder. Zsa Zsa was first married at 17 to a wealthy Turkish politician and writer. This ended in divorce when she moved to America. In 1942 Gabor married Conrad Hilton (of the Hilton Hotel chain), and entered the realms of society superstardom. The marriage did not last and Gabor admitted to having numerous affairs during the five year marriage, most notoriously with her stepson, 18 year old Conrad "Nicky" Hilton Jr. Nicky moved on from his stepmother to eventually marrying another beautiful serial bride - Elizabeth Taylor. After Hilton, Gabor married Academy Award winning actor George Sanders. Both admitted to taking the marriage vows as suggestions rather than binding. Famously, Sands last wife was Zsa Zsa's sister Magda, whom he married in 1970. That marriage lasted about 2 months. Zsa Zsa married a total of nine times mixing Americans, Brits, Mexicans and Germans each sharing a common denominator of wealth and a flair for public drama. Even as her beauty faded Gabor found ways to maintain her tabloid fame. She engaged in a ten year feud and lost a multi-million dollar libel suit with actress Elke Sommer that centered around insults during joint appearances on the forgettable 1984 television show "Circus of the Stars". In 1989 Gabor was arrested for assaulting (slapping) a Beverly Hills police officer during a routine traffic stop. Between legal bills and poor investments Gabor saw much of her "hard won" fortune dissipate in her later years. Eva Gabor, the youngest Gabor sister, is best known for playing Lisa Douglas, the spoiled wife of Eddie Albert's Oliver Wendell Douglas in US television's "Green Acres". Gabor and Albert were "city slickers" who relocated to the rural town of Hooterville and played the bemused fish out of water. Eva Gabor was the most accomplished thespian of the sisters and also had great success in business, launching a clothing and fragrance line in the early 1970's. However Eva followed her sisters in bad luck in love as she was married and divorced five times. Margaux Hemingway was the granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, a model and actress, who committed suicide (as did her grandfather) in 1996.

From Quiz Facts on Famous People

Answer: He wore a set of miniature boots

Romans soldiers wore very sturdy boots for their long campaigns and military service in all parts of the Empire. The Roman word for one of these boots is "Caliga". From the tiny age of three, Gaius was taken by his father, General Germanicus, on many of his campaigns in northern Europe. Germanicus had a small soldier's uniform and miniature soldier's boots made for the child. It was the soldiers in these campaigns who endowed the child with the nickname Caligula. It gave them much amusement to see the little boy dressed in his uniform, with a sturdy little caliga on each foot, attempting to stride around the camps as his father did. Information for this question was obtained from the following site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caligula

From Quiz Brilliant Businessmen!

Answer: Steve Jobs

Jobs died October 5th, 2011, from pancreatic cancer. While with Apple, he helped develop such revolutionary items as the Mac, iPod, and iPhone. Additionally, Jobs bought Pixar in 1986, and it is now an extremely successful film animation company. Andy Rooney, Joe Frazier, and Kim Jong Il are other famous people who died in 2011.

From Quiz It Could Be Worse...

Answer: The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger

Morgan was the backup candidate for NASA's Teacher In Space program; in her place, Christa McAuliffe was selected to be a member of the Challenger crew, and was killed when the Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff in 1986. Barbara Morgan joined NASA again in 1998 as a mission specialist. She was selected for the crew of STS-118, which was launched and returned to earth successfully in 2007.

From Quiz Wild and Untamed Thing

Answer: Oliver Reed

Reed was born in London in 1938 and was the nephew of film director Sir Carol Reed. Oliver Reed appeared in 'Women in Love' (1969), often remembered for the nude wrestling scene with Alan Bates, and 'The Big Sleep' (1978) among many others. He died during the filming of 'Gladiator' in 2000, in which he played the role of a gladiator trainer. All the actors named have had problems with alcohol abuse, although Farrell has been reported to have given up drinking. Farrell, Harris and Meyers were all born in Ireland.

From Quiz Sgt. Pepper's: The Album Cover

Answer: Bob Dylan

During the 20 plus years of the tour, Dylan has averaged more than 100 performances a year. (Dylan can be seen in the back row, last on the right.)

From Quiz Your Daddy's Rich

Answer: Christina

Onassis made his money from shipping, and consolidated his fortune by marrying Athina Livanos, the daughter of another shipping magnate, in 1946. They had two children; Alexander was born in 1948 and was killed in an aeroplane accident in 1973 and Christina, born in 1950. Onassis and Athina divorced following her discovery of his affair with opera singer Maria Callas and that affair ended eight years later when Onassis proposed to Jackie Kennedy. Onassis himself died soon after his son in 1975. Christina died in 1988 at the age of only thirty seven, with the family fortune passing to her only daughter, named Athina after her grandmother. So far, Athina appears to have avoided the Greek tragedy which surrounded the Onassis family.

From Quiz Quirks of the Rich and Famous

Answer: Burned his violins

Wellington had only joined the army in 1787 because he had no other work and his aristocratic family was short of money. Up until 1793 and his marriage proposal, he didn't take his army career seriously however, and more often than not could be seen attending socials, balls, entertaining guests, and partaking in the odd spot or two of gambling, although not excessively so. He was also a rather fine violinist with an aspiring career in that field. His devastation and anger over the rejection of his marriage proposal was the spur that led to his finally taking his army career seriously - and history is replete with the outstanding success of his endeavours in that regard. Just for the record, he did get to eventually marry his Kitty, some thirteen years later, but alas, the marriage was not a satisfactory one. So much for the romantic gesture of burning those poor, hapless violins.

From Quiz We're Number Two!

Answer: Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

A New Jersey native, Aldrin had his name legally changed to "Buzz" in the 1980's. Bean, Mitchell and Cernan were all fellow Apollo astronauts. Aldrin has co-authored several books including "Return to Earth" and "Men from Earth".

From Quiz Ballpark Figures

Answer: Dr Seuss

Dr Seuss is perhaps best known for his "Cat in the Hat" series of children's stories, with "Green Eggs and Ham" and "Fox in Socks" following closely behind. Since his death in 1991, his stories have remained popular and at the time of publishing the Forbes List, he was likely to sell 3 million copies in 2010 alone. Several of his stories have been made into movies, and many of his characters now are enjoyed through the technology of iPhone apps.

From Quiz We Remember Them

Answer: Horatio Lord Nelson

Nelson was born in 1758. He is the naval hero who is remembered by English school-children for having disobeyed an order, during the Battle of Copenhagen, to cease firing at the Danish fleet. He put the telescope to his blind eye and, saying that he couldn't see the signal, continued firing. This action resulted in a victory for the English fleet. Aside from all his heroic deeds, he is surely to be honoured for coping with sea-sickness all his life - every time he went to sea.

From Quiz Other Names of Famous Duos

Answer: Gene and Roger

Their show became popular, in part, because they had dramatically different views about art, which was always reflected in their reviews. Gene Siskel died in 1999 and Roger Ebert continued on as a movie reviewer.

From Quiz 100 World Famous Folks: 80-71

Answer: Clarence Birdseye

Birdseye started out freezing seafood after an ice fishing trip. He discovered that even though the fish froze almost immediately, when cooked later, they still tasted fresh. In 1922, he started Birdseye Seafoods Inc. He developed a process called quick freezing, which maintained the taste of a fresh product. In 1927 he extended the quick freezing process to meat, poultry, fruits and vegetables.

From Quiz 100 World Famous Folks: 90-81

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Infamous and known throughout the world for the atrocities of the Holocaust. His book "Mein Kampf" portrayed his plans for Germany in the 1930's. He and his Nazi military were defeated in 1945.

From Quiz 100 World Famous Folks: 100-91

Answer: Emperor Hirohito

He reigned from 1926-1989, a total of 63 years. He underwent surgery on his pancreas in 1987. He was diagnosed with duodenal cancer, which is similar to intestinal cancer.

From Quiz Strange Sides of Famous People

Answer: T. E. Lawrence

T. E. Lawrence (1888-1935) known as "Lawrence of Arabia", said that while being brutally assaulted by the Turks that he experienced "a delicious warmth, probably sexual ..." ("Seven Pillars of Wisdom" 1922, p. 480., by T. E. Lawrence). There are at least three editions of the text and this statement, which was regarded with amazement and horror by some of his friends, was omitted from later versions. For details of the various editions see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Pillars_of_Wisdom

From Quiz Ten Distinguished Dinner Guests

Answer: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich

Born in Kislovodsk, Russia, in 1918, Solzhenitsyn spent eight years (1945-1953) in labour camps. After his first novella was published in 1962, Solzhenitsyn faced increasing persecution. He was awarded the 1971 Nobel Prize for Literature - a prize received personally in 1974, following his exile when authorities learned he was writing another book critical of the Soviet Union. Solzhenitsyn settled in America, where he completed that novel, "The Gulag Archipelago". He returned home in 1994, following the collapse of the Soviet Union. His native country honoured him in 1997 with the establishment of the Solzhenitsyn Prize for Literature.

From Quiz Ten Famous People

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin was voted number 95 on "Biography of the Millennium". His pathos and humor was understood in almost any language. One time, he lost a Charlie Chaplin lookalike contest.

From Quiz Famous Personality Tidbits

Answer: John Unitas

The often injured Hall of Fame quarterback lost nearly all the use of his right arm.

From Quiz Famous People in History

Answer: Mary Tudor

Elizabeth was kept there until Queen Mary I, her half-sister, died in 1558, then she was put on the throne.

From Quiz Descriptions of Famous People

Answer: Henry Clay

Douglas was known as the 'Little Giant'.

From Quiz A Smorgasbord of Famous People

Answer: Fran Allison

From Quiz People Who Were Honoured With a Smooth Landing

Answer: judges

Judges Giovanni Falcone (born in 1939) and Paolo Borsellino (born in 1940) were both native sons of Palermo, close friends and partners in the fight against the Mafia, which sadly claimed both their lives in 1992. On 23 May, Falcone was assassinated, together with his wife and fellow magistrate, Francesca Morvillo, and three police officers that were escorting them, in a bombing near the town of Capaci, on the highway leading from Palermo's airport to the city centre. 57 days later, on 19 July, Paolo Borsellino and five police officers (one of them a woman) were killed by a car bomb parked near the judge's mother's house in Palermo. Both murders were orchestrated by infamous Mafia boss Salvatore Riina, who was arrested in January 1993, and spent the rest of his life in a maximum-security prison (he died in 2017). A few years after the judges' tragic demise, Palermo-Punta Raisi International Airport, located about 25 km (15.5 mi) from the centre of the city, was renamed Falcone-Borsellino International Airport. Monuments and memorial to the fallen judges can be found all over Italy, and also outside the country. LadyNym of Phoenix Rising's Red Crew remembers those terrible days all too well, and wrote this question with a heavy heart.

From Quiz To Reach Out

Answer: Diana Ross

After a successful career being the lead singer for The Supremes, Ross embarked on a solo career in 1970. Her first single was "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)". Initially the song found limited commercial success, but over time it became one of her most popular songs and has become an anthem that is sung at many philanthropic venues. Ross sang the song at the Nobel Peace Concert in 2008 and has reached out herself to help foundations to fight AIDS, Parkinson's Disease, and autism.

From Quiz Love Times Two

Answer: Robert Bolt

While well respected as a playwright, Bolt found a wider audience with his screen writings for films such as "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962), "Doctor Zhivago" (1965), and "A Man for All Seasons" (1966), as well as winning two Oscars. By the time he wrote the screenplay for "Ryan's Daughter" (1970) he had been married to Sarah Miles for three years, but by 1973 their marriage was on a downhill slope after the promising young screenwriter, David Whiting, with whom Miles had been having an affair, was found dead in her hotel room. She was eventually acquitted of all involvement in his death, but the incident seriously harmed her career and wrecked her marriage which finally ended in divorce in 1976. In 1979, Bolt suffered a severe stroke which paralysed his right side and gave him a serious speech impediment and Miles began caring for him, leading to their love for each other reigniting and their remarriage in 1988. The couple remained together until 1995, when, following a long illness, Bolt died.

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