First or Last to Die? Trivia Quiz

Answer: DeForest Kelley (Dr. McCoy)

Alas, the wonderful Leonard Nimoy's death at the age of 83 in February 2015 marked the passing of the third of the seven actors who played major characters in "Star Trek: The Original Series". Preceding him were James Doohan, the Canadian with the memorable Scottish accent in his role as "Scotty" the Chief Engineer, who died aged 85 in July 2005, and DeForest Kelley, who played the ship's doctor, Leonard "Bones" McCoy, who passed away at the age of 79 in June 1999. Kelley made his screen debut in 1947 and played made numerous appearances in TV series, particularly Westerns ("The Lone Ranger", "Bonanza" and "Gunsmoke") in his pre-"Trek" days.

Kelley and Doohan were significantly older than the other major cast members, both having been born in 1920 (Kelley in January and Doohan in March). All of the other major cast members were born in the 1930s, William Shatner (Captain James Tiberius Kirk) the oldest, in 1931; Nichelle Nichols (Lieutenant Nyota Uhura) in 1932; Walter Koenig (Ensign Pavel Chekov) in 1936; and George Takei (Lieutenant Hikaru Sulu) in 1937.

An honourable mention should also go to one other semi-regular cast member, Majel Barrett. The second wife of series creator Gene Roddenberry, Barrett played Nurse Christine Chapel in "The Original Series", Lwaxana Troi in "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: DS9", and also provided the voice of the on board computer, died aged 76 in 2008.

Answer: Max Baer Jr. (Jethro Bodine)

Although he always addressed Jed Clampett as "Uncle Jed", Jethro Bodine was actually the son of Jed's cousin (Pearl Bodine). Jethro was played by Max Baer Jr., the son of former world heavyweight boxing champion Max Baer, himself an occasional actor. Born in Oakland, California in 1937, the 9-year stint as the doltish Jethro Bodine was the highlight is Baer's 30-year acting career.

Born Christian Ludolf Ebsen Jr. in Belleville, IL in 2008, Buddy Ebsen's acting career prior to the "Beverley Hillbillies" included dancing with Shirley Temple in "Captain January" (1936) and playing Audrey Hepburn's husband in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961). He was also originally cast as the Tin Man in "The Wizard of Oz" but had to drop out due to an allergy to the make-up. When his nine years as Jed Clampett ended in 1971, Ebsen found another role as the title character in "Barnaby Jones" (1973-1980). He died aged 95 in 2003.

Born in 1921, Nancy Kulp had numerous small film roles and a number of appearances as recurring characters in TV series prior to becoming "Miss Jane" (Hathaway) in "The Beverley Hillbillies". She died aged 69 in 1991. Millburn Drysdale, his wife Margaret and son "Sonny" were the Clampetts' neighbours. Millburn was also their tight-fisted bank president. Millburn was played by Raymond Bailey (born in San Francisco CA in 1904), who died aged 75 in 1980. The oldest member of the show's regular cast (Baer was the youngest) was Irene Ryan (1902-1973), who played "Granny", Jed's mother-in-law.

Answer: David Canary ("Candy" Canaday)

Born in Elwood, Indiana in 1938, David Hoyt Canary went to the University of Cincinnati on a football scholarship and was selected by the Denver Broncos in the first American Football League draft in 1960. Rather than become a footballer, though, he chose acting. Canary joined the cast of "Bonanza" in 1967, having previously appeared in two episodes of the series' main rival, "Gunsmoke", earlier in the year. He continued to play "Candy" Canaday until the series finished its 14-year run in 1973. In 1984, Canary joined the cast of the hit ABC soap "All My Children", playing the dual roles of both Adam and Stuart Chandler. He continued in these roles until the series' ABC finale in 2011. Canary had been the last surviving member from the main cast of "Bonanza" for almost six years when he died at the age of 77 in November 2015.

Pernell Elven Roberts, Jr. was born in Georgia in 1928. He played Adam Cartwright, eldest son of Ben Cartwright (Lorne Greene), from the beginning of "Bonanza" in 1959 until 1965. It was his death aged 81 in January 2010 that left Canary as the last surviving cast member.

Dan Davis Blocker, born in Texas in 1928, a 6'4", 320-pound Korea War veteran, played Eric Cartwright, Ben's middle son, nicknamed "Hoss" from the show's debut in 1959 until the actor's untimely death aged just 43 in 1972. He was the first of the series' main cast to die. San Francisco native Victor Sen Yung (born in 1915), played the family's highly-strung cook, Hop Sing. He died aged 65 in 1980. The oldest of the main cast members was Ray Teal (1902-1976), a veteran of more than 250 films and 90 TV shows, who played Sheriff Roy Coffee in "Bonanza".

Answer: James Beck (Private Walker)

Stanley James Carroll Beck, born in London in 1929, played the platoon's black-market spiv, Private Walker. Although one of the younger members of the cast, Beck died from pancreatitis during filming of the sixth series of "Dad's Army" in 1973 at the age of just 44.

Edward Sinclair (born in Oldham in 1914), who played the verger Maurice Yeatman, also died a couple of months prior to the end of the series' run in November 1977.

Ian Lancaster (Private Pike, who later went on to spend four years in "Eastenders") and Clive Dunn OBE (who died aged 92 in 2012) were the only members of the platoon to survive more than seven years beyond the end of the series. John Laurie (the doom-laden Scotsman, Private Frazer) died aged 83 in 1980; Arthur Lowe (Captain Mainwaring) aged 66 in 1982; John Le Mesurier (Sergeant Wilson) aged 71 in 1983; and the oldest cast-member, Arnold Ridley (the doddery old Private Godfrey) aged 88 in 1984.

The deaths of other recurring cast members Bill Pertwee (Warden Hodges) aged 86 in 2013 and Pamela Cundell (Mrs Fox) aged 95 in 2015, left just Lavender and Frank Williams (Reverend Timothy Farthing), who was born in 1931 as the only surviving members of the cast.

Answer: McLean Stevenson (Lt. Colonel Henry Blake)

Edgar McLean Stevenson, Jr. was born in Norman, Illinois in 1927, making him older than most of the other cast members. Shortly before "M*A*S*H" debuted in 1972, Stevenson had made his screen debut as Michael Nicholson on "The Doris Day Show", a role he played for three years. Although he appeared in only 70 episodes (less than any of the other major cast members), he earned a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor during his stint in "M*A*S*H". He later went on to spend two years playing the title character in NBC sitcom "Hello, Larry". Stevenson died aged 68 in 1996, making him the first casualty from among the main "M*A*S*H" cast members. It is notable that 13 years after the first airing of that historic final episode in 1983, all eleven major cast members were still alive.

Born in 1939, Larry Linville was one of the younger cast members. His death at the age of just 60 in 2000 means that he will always be the shortest-lived of them all. Born in Detroit in 1915, Harry Morgan was by more than a decade the oldest member of the "M*A*S*H" cast. With a film career spanning six decades and more than 100 film roles to his credit, he was also one of the most experienced. Morgan died in 2011 aged 96.

Born in Evanston, Illinois in 1932, William Christopher became the oldest surviving cast member upon the death of Harry Morgan. He is one of only four cast members to appear in more than 200 episodes of "M*A*S*H": Christopher 218, Jamie Farr (Klinger) 219, Loretta Swit ("Hot Lips" Houlihan) 243 and Alan Alda (Hawkeye Pierce) 251. (There were 260 episodes in the 11-year history of the series - 252 regular length and four double-length, which count as two).

Answer: Nicholas Smith (Mr Rumbold)

Born in Surrey in 1934, Nicholas Smith's first regular role on UK TV was as PC Jeff Yates in Merseyside-based police series "Z-Cars", a role he continued to play until 1975. He played Mr Cuthbert "Jug Ears" Rumbold, the bumbling, incompetent floor manager at Grace Brothers store throughout the 13-year run of "Are You Being Served". The death of Frank Thornton in March 2013 left Smith as the last surviving cast member of "AYBS?" and Smith died less than three years later, aged 81 in December 2015.

Other than Brough, Bennett (the cast's two eldest members) and Arthur English (who played the maintenance man Mr Harmon) who died in 1995, the remaining cast all survived to see the 25th anniversary of the show's TV debut. They then began dropping like flies: John Inman (Mr Humphries) first in 2007 aged 71; the youngest cast member Wendy Richard (aged 65) and Mollie Sugden (Mrs Slocombe, aged 86), both in 2009; and Trevor Bannister (aged 76) in 2011. Frank Thornton, who later enjoyed a successful run as Truly in "Last of the Summer Wine", was the longest-lived cast member: he was 92 when he died in 2013.

Answer: James Garner ("The Rockford Files")

Born James Scott Bumgarner in Norman, Oklahoma in 1928, James Garner made his TV debut in 1955 and appeared in his first movie a year later. He played the title character in the hit Western series "Maverick" between 1957 and 1962, and from 1971-72 starred as "Nichols" (the name of both the fictional Arizona town and its Sherriff). "The Rockford Files", with Garner as private investigator Jim Rockford, ran from 1974 until 1980 and he reprised the role for a handful of TV movies in the latter half of the 1990s. An accomplished big screen actor, Garner's film roles include "The Great Escape" (1963), "Grand Prix" (1966), "Victor/Victoria" (1982) and "Space Cowboys" in 2000. He also earned an Oscar nomination for "Murphy's Romance" (1985). Garner died aged 86 in 2014.

Born in Garden City NY in 1922, the films of Telly Savalas include "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967), "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) and "Kelly's Heroes" (1970). He earned an Oscar nomination for "Birdman of Alcatraz" in 1962, but it is probably as the lollipop-sucking TV detective "Kojak" (1973-78) that he is best known. He died in January 1994, just a day after his 72nd birthday.

Born in Detroit MI in 1928, George Pepppard Jr. co-starred with Audrey Hepburn in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" (1961). It is for two TV roles, as the Polish-American, Boston-based freelance investigator Thomas Banacek (1972-74) and as Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith, the cigar-smoking, renegade leader in "The A-Team" (1983-87) that he is probably best known. In between those two roles, Peppard was cast as Blake Carrington in the original pilots of "Dynasty", but he withdrew at the last moment and was replaced by John Forsythe. Peppard died aged 65 in May 1994.

Born John William Cann Jr. in Louisville, Kentucky in 1920, William Conrad began his show-business career as the voice of Marshal Matt Dillon in the radio series "Gunsmoke" (1952-61). His starring TV roles include private detective Frank Cannon in "Cannon" (1971-76), reclusive detective genius "Nero Wolfe" (1981) and prosecutor J. L. (Jason Lochinvar) "Fatman" McCabe in "Jake and the Fatman" (1987-92). Conrad died aged 73 in February 1994.

Answer: Carroll O'Connor (Archie Bunker)

John Carroll O'Connor was born in New York City in 1924. He made his screen debut in 1956, but it was his performance as Major General Colt in the 1970 comedy "Kelly's Heroes" that earned him major recognition and, probably, the role of Archie Bunker in "All in the Family" which debuted the following year. O'Connor played the highly-prejudiced WWII veteran for 13 years, the first nine in "All in the Family" and then a further four in the spinoff, "Archie Bunker's Place". From 1988-94, O'Connor starred as Sheriff Bill Gillespie in "In the Heat of the Night" and he also had a regular role in "Mad About You" (1996-99). He died of a heart attack aged 76 in 2001.

Born Jeanne Murray in 1929 in New York City, Jean Stapleton played Archie's long-suffering wife Edith for the nine years of "All in the Family", winning three Emmy Awards and two Golden Globes in the process. She died aged 90 in 2013. Philadelphia-native Sherman Hemsley, played George Jefferson who, along with his wife Louise (Isabel Sanford) and son Lionel (Mike Evans), lived next door to the Bunkers in the early years of "All in the Family" before going on to their own spinoff series "The Jeffersons" (1975-85). Hemsley died 74 in 2012.

Sally Struthers, born in Portland, Oregon in 1948, played Gloria, the Bunkers' daughter, who was married to Polish-American hippie Michael Stivic (Rob Reiner) from 1971 until 1978. From 2000 until 2007, she appeared regularly as Babette Dell in the hit comedy-drama series "Gilmore Girls". She was still acting well past the 40th anniversary of the TV series' debut in 1971: she appeared on stage in the title role of "Hello, Dolly" on its 50th anniversary tour (2013-14), in "Spamalot" (2014) playing God! and in the hit musical "Mame" (2015-16).

Answer: Anna Karen (Olive Rudge)

Born in Durban, South Africa in 1936, Anna Karen was working as a stripper in London when she landed the role of Stan's sister, Olive, in "On the Buses". Along with Bob Grant and Stephen Lewis, she was one of the three actors to appear in all 74 episodes of the series. After "On the Buses", Karen reprised the character of Olive, now a factory worker, for two seasons of "The Rag Trade" (1977-78). Since 1996, she has played the recurring character Sal Martin (aka Aunt Sal) in the hit BBC soap "Eastenders".

The oldest members of the "On the Buses" cast, Dame Cicely Courtneidge (1893-1980) and Doris Hare (1905-2000) share the role of Stan's mother, Mabel Butler (Hare taking over the character after seven episodes). The only other cast member to die before the 30th anniversary of the series was Michael Robbins, who played Olive's husband, Arthur. He died aged 62 in 1992.

Bob Grant, the second-youngest cast member after Anna Karen, died aged 71 in 2003 and Reg Varney lived to the age of 92, dying in 2008.

Answer: Michael Learned (Olivia Walton)

Born in Washington DC in 1939, Michael Learned played Olivia Walton, the family matriarch, for the first seven seasons and four movies. She won a record four Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy Awards, three of them for "The Waltons" and the last for "Nurse" in 1982. Between 2006 and 2009, she appeared periodically in "Scrubs" as Mrs. Wilk and, since turning 70, she has enjoyed regular roles in "General Hospital" (23 episodes in 2010 as Shirley Smith) and "The Young and the Restless" (14 episodes in 2011 as Katherine Chancellor).

The first member of the Walton family to die was Will Geer, who played Zebulon "Grandpa" Walton. Born William Aughe Ghere in Frankfort, Indiana in 1902, he died aged 76, shortly after completing filming of the sixth season of the series in 1978. Ellen Corby won three Emmy Awards for her performances as Esther "Grandma" Walton. Nominated for an Oscar for the 1948 drama film "I Remember Mama", Corby's film career lasted more than 60 years, from her screen debut in 1933 to appearances in the Waltons movies in the 1990s. She died aged 87 in 1999. The final member of the senior Waltons quartet is Ralph Waite, who played family patriarch John Sr. throughout the series 9-year run. In his latter days he appeared regularly in the hit CBS police procedural "NCIS" as Jackson Gibbs, the father of Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Waite died aged 85 in 2014.