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Quiz about Love the Attenboroughs
Quiz about Love the Attenboroughs

Love the Attenboroughs Trivia Quiz


What's not to love about the brothers Richard and David Attenborough? Each has contributed in his own way to our entertainment, as have other family members we'll meet here. (For brevity's sake, titles have been ignored.)

A multiple-choice quiz by spanishliz. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
spanishliz
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
404,711
Updated
Dec 31 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
209
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: buncha1956 (6/10), Possum1 (9/10), Wordpie (9/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Eldest son, Richard, was born in which city, most likely due to their father's occupation at the time? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Richard's on-screen debut was memorable, if uncredited. In which Noel Coward masterwork did he portray a frightened young seaman aboard a destroyer? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. While Richard has mostly found fame in the world of feature films, brother David has been prominent in which other form of entertainment?


Question 4 of 10
4. Both Richard and David Attenborough served in the British armed forces as young men.


Question 5 of 10
5. Long happy marriages are not always possible for celebrities, but both David and Richard enjoyed long happy relationships with their spouses. Which of these British actresses was married to Richard from 1945 until his death in 2014? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Richard turned to directing with "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), but for which film did he receive Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Picture and Best Director? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Tragedy struck the Attenborough family in 2004, when several family members were killed in the same incident. What caused these deaths (and many others)?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Richard, and his grandson, Will Attenborough, appeared in movies with the same title, but made 59 years apart. Both took place during the same WWII event, though the plots differed. What title did the two movies share? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. David Attenborough has always provided beautiful images of the natural world in his television series, specials and films. In later years he has become more vocal about environmental issues in his work, including which documentary that he describes as his "witness statement", released by Netflix in October 2020 (and to cinemas a few days earlier)? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which Attenborough brother was created a life peer, Baron Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames, in 1993?



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Eldest son, Richard, was born in which city, most likely due to their father's occupation at the time?

Answer: Cambridge (University fellow)

Richard Samuel Attenborough, eldest of three sons of Frederick Levi Attenborough, scholar and Cambridge fellow (1920-25), was born in Cambridge in 1923. Younger brothers David Frederick and John Michael were born in Isleworth, Middlesex (now part of London) in 1926 and 1928 respectively, at which time Frederick was principal of Borough Road Training College in that place. Frederick went on to be principal of University College, Leicester from 1932-51.

While Richard and David went on to careers in the public eye, John (1928-2012) had a successful career as an executive in the motor industry.
2. Richard's on-screen debut was memorable, if uncredited. In which Noel Coward masterwork did he portray a frightened young seaman aboard a destroyer?

Answer: In Which We Serve

To call "In Which We Serve" (1942) Noel Coward's masterwork is actually something of an understatement, as he starred in, directed, produced, wrote and wrote the music (in whole or in part) for this "story of a ship", loosely based on the experiences of Lord Louis Mountbatten during World War II. One of the memorable sequences is the less than heroic reaction of one young man (played by Richard Attenborough) to HMS Torrin's first action, and his subsequent desire to redeem himself.

Richard found himself cast in a similar role in "Morning Departure" (aka "Operation Disaster")(1950), but this time on a submarine. He was a pilot newly arrived in Heaven in "A Matter of Life and Death" (aka "Stairway to Heaven") (1946) and the despicable young gangster, Pinkie Brown, in "Brighton Rock" (1948).
3. While Richard has mostly found fame in the world of feature films, brother David has been prominent in which other form of entertainment?

Answer: Television

Having pursued a degree in Natural Science at Cambridge, David began his long association with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in the early 1950s and has written, produced and presented a multitude of programmes since that time. These include "Zoo Quest", "Life on Earth", "The Living Planet" and many, many more.

He has also authored a number of books which can be seen as accompaniments to these series.
4. Both Richard and David Attenborough served in the British armed forces as young men.

Answer: True

Richard served in the Royal Air Force film unit during the Second World War, actually taking part in some bomber operations. David did his post-war National Service in the Royal Navy. I've been unable to find any information about their younger brother John in this regard, therefore have not included him here, though one might surmise that he would also have been called up for National Service.

Richard, of course, portrayed a number of servicemen on screen, including Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett in "The Great Escape" (1963) and American sailor Frenchy Burgoyne in "The Sand Pebbles" (1966) for which he received a Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe.
5. Long happy marriages are not always possible for celebrities, but both David and Richard enjoyed long happy relationships with their spouses. Which of these British actresses was married to Richard from 1945 until his death in 2014?

Answer: Sheila Sim

Sheila Sim and Richard Attenborough met whilst they were students at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) and married in 1945. They appeared in three films together, including "The Guinea Pig" (1948), as well as on stage in "The Mousetrap". Sheila appears to have given up film work by 1960, but continued to work for the Actors' Charitable Trust, and its care home, Denville Hall. It was there that she died, two years after Richard.

Charlotte and Jane Attenborough are their daughters, while Jane Seymour was married to their son Michael for awhile.

David's marriage to his spouse, Jane Oriel, which produced two children, lasted from 1950 until her death in 1997.
6. Richard turned to directing with "Oh! What a Lovely War" (1969), but for which film did he receive Academy Awards (Oscars) for Best Picture and Best Director?

Answer: Gandhi

"Gandhi" (1982), a life story of the Indian leader and pacifist, was a pet project for Richard, and it took a long time to put it all together, but the result was worth the trouble. Star Ben Kingsley (as Gandhi) won the Best Actor Oscar and the film's total Oscar haul was eight. The two for Richard Attenborough were his only Oscars, from his only Oscar nominations. The movie also garnered him a Golden Globe and two BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards).

The three incorrect choices were all also directed by Richard and either were nominated for or won Golden Globes and/or BAFTAs.
7. Tragedy struck the Attenborough family in 2004, when several family members were killed in the same incident. What caused these deaths (and many others)?

Answer: Boxing Day tsunami

On December 26 (Boxing Day) 2004 an earthquake under the Indian Ocean caused a violent tsunami which devastated parts of Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other areas. Richard's daughter Jane, her children, husband and mother-in-law were vacationing in Thailand when it hit. Jane, her daughter Lucy and her mother-in-law perished. Daughter Alice was severely injured, but Jane's husband Michael Holland and son Sam survived without injury. Jane had been heavily involved in Dance UK, and the promotion of music education.

Richard spoke at the memorial service, and has been quoted as calling Boxing Day 2004 the "worst day of my life".
8. Richard, and his grandson, Will Attenborough, appeared in movies with the same title, but made 59 years apart. Both took place during the same WWII event, though the plots differed. What title did the two movies share?

Answer: Dunkirk

Richard Attenborough and frequent co-star John Mills appeared in "Dunkirk" (1958), directed by Leslie Norman and also starring Bernard Lee (the original M to Sean Connery's James Bond). Richard played a reluctant owner of one of the "little ships" that crossed the Channel to aid in the rescue of the Expeditionary Force from the French shore. Grandson Will, who was born in 1991, appeared in Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" (2017) as an unnamed Second Lieutenant amongst the troops on the Dunkirk beaches.

Will's father Michael and brother Tom are both stage directors, while his mother is actress Karen Lewis-Attenborough.

The incorrect choices are all real movie titles, but neither Richard nor Will Attenborough appears in any of them.
9. David Attenborough has always provided beautiful images of the natural world in his television series, specials and films. In later years he has become more vocal about environmental issues in his work, including which documentary that he describes as his "witness statement", released by Netflix in October 2020 (and to cinemas a few days earlier)?

Answer: David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

The production and release of "David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet" was delayed for several months by the COVID-19 pandemic, but was well received when it eventually became available. In the film, David looks ahead to what might happen to the planet over the course of a lifetime as long as his own, but beginning now, and proposes ways in which some of the less desirable outcomes can be avoided. He advocates for biodiversity, re-wilding, renewable energy, curtailing deforestation and eating more plant based foods as ways to combat climate change.

The incorrect choices are all earlier projects of David's.
10. Which Attenborough brother was created a life peer, Baron Attenborough of Richmond upon Thames, in 1993?

Answer: Richard

Although his peerage was not political, being for "services to cinema", Richard chose to sit on the Labour benches in the House of Lords. His previous honours included being appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1967, and Knight Bachelor in 1976.

David's honours include the Order of Merit (OM), Companion of Honour (CH) and Knight Bachelor, amongst many others.
Source: Author spanishliz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ponycargirl before going online.
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