"Airplane!" (1980) Actors and Actresses Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Ted Striker, played by Robert Hays, is an impromptu pilot and unlikely hero in "Airplane!" Hays spent most of his career in TV roles including a made for TV movie as David Kaczynski, brother of one of the most wanted U.S. terrorists. Can you name the movie?

Answer: Unabomber: The True Story

Ted Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber, operated for over 15 years before finally being caught by the FBI as the direct result of a tip from his own brother, David. David and his wife observed that the infamous "Unabomber Manifesto" was written in a way that was very similar to his brother's writings. David received one million dollars as a reward for the tip; he stated he planned to give the money back to the victims of the crimes.

2. Julie Hagerty plays the leading lady Elaine Dickenson. In 1985, she would co-star with Albert Brooks in a movie he also wrote and directed. What is the name of this film that chronicles the adventures of a couple trying to find themselves as they roam the country in a Winnebago?

Answer: Lost In America

"Lost In America" appears in both Bravo's 100 Funniest Movies list as well as The American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Laughs list. The couple travels from Los Angeles through Las Vegas, the Hoover Dam, and eventually end up in small town Arizona.

"Mother" and "Defending Your Life" are two other comedies that Brooks wrote, directed, and starred in with Debbie Reynolds and Meryl Streep as the female counterparts respectively. "What About Bob?" is a Julie Hagerty comedy also starring Richard Dreyfuss and Bill Murray.

3. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar appears as Roger Murdock, the airplane's co-pilot. In what movie does Abdul-Jabbar play as himself, an NBA player, giving an interview and commenting on the great basketball performance of the eponymous character played by Chevy Chase?

Answer: Fletch

"Fletch" would open as the second most popular movie of the week upon its release, behind "Rambo: First Blood, Part II." It would go on to become a bit of a cult film, with Chase showing off his quick wit and comedic chops. The other answers are roles Chase plays -- Clark Griswold from "National Lampoon's Vacation", Ty Webb from "Caddyshack", and Dusty Bottoms from "Three Amigos."

Kareem has over 35 credits (and counting) in TV and film -- not bad for a Basketball Hall Of Famer!

4. David Leisure's first acting credit was a Hare Krishna in "Airplane!" As a student-actor at San Diego State University, Leisure was roommates with Robert Hays, who played Ted Striker. In a 1995 film, Leisure plays the role of a modeling scout who has some advice for characters Jan and Marcia. Can you name this movie which was based on a classic television show?

Answer: The Brady Bunch Movie

The light and campy "The Brady Bunch Movie" with Christine Taylor as Marcia and Jennifer Elise Cox as Jan opened as the number one film upon its release in 1995. Leisure's character provides a variety of suggested tips for Marcia to increase her chances of becoming a model such as losing weight, fixing her teeth, and getting plastic surgery. Marcia, however, takes the greatest offense at the suggestion that she cut her hair.

5. Peter Graves was Captain Clarence Oveur in "Airplane!" and was a veteran actor at that point, having been involved in the industry since his first credited movie role in 1951. One of his first roles was as Sergeant Frank Price in a film about American pilots held captive as German prisoners during World War II. Can you name this film which starred William Holden?

Answer: Stalag 17

Graves playes the role of the secret informant in "Stalag 17", posing as a captured American, but in reality working with the Germans. While initially rejected as looking "too American" for the role, Graves' agent was friends with director Billy Wilder and arranged for the two to meet. Wilder was impressed enough to get Graves a screen test where he secured his first major film role.

6. Barbara Billingsley appears in the film credited as "Jive Lady." She's almost instantly recognizable from a role she played decades before as June Cleaver, a loving mother to her family. Can you name the 1997 movie adaptation where Billingsley appears instead as Aunt Martha?

Answer: Leave It To Beaver

Actress Janine Turner would take the main role of June on the film version of "Leave It To Beaver," but it wouldn't have been the same without seeing Barbara Billingsley on screen. Frank Bank and Ken Osmond also were given roles in the adaptation. Contracts originally were written to include two sequels, but due to the poor performance of the film in theaters, those plans were scrapped.

7. Robert Stack played Captain Rex Kramer in "Airplane!" A veteran actor in many classic movies, Stack played in a 1942 black comedy with Jack Benny and Carole Lombard, released one month after Lombard's death in an airplane crash. What is the name of this movie with actors in Nazi occupied Warsaw performing a Shakespearean play?

Answer: To Be Or Not To Be

Stack played Lieutenant Stanislav Sobinski, a Polish pilot who falls in love with Lombard's character. Lombard had been friends with Stack for years prior to the filming of the movie. The film was initially received poorly during World War II; many did not appreciate a comedy involving the Nazis feeling it to be insensitive.

As years have passed, the film has been better appreciated, and the United States National Film Registry has added it to their preservation list.

8. Jonathan Banks has a small part as Gunderson, an air traffic control operator. Though many know him as Mike from the "Breaking Bad" franchise, Banks had a memorable role as Frank Pike, an experienced FBI agent managing an undercover agent who infiltrates criminal enterprises. What is this TV movie which is based on a show with the same name?

Answer: Wiseguy

The TV movie "Wiseguy" aired six years after the critically rated show had ended, cancelled due to poor ratings. Reviewers also praised the TV movie, but it aired on ABC on Thursday night up against NBC's formidable "Must See TV" lineup which featured "Seinfeld" and "ER," the top two rated shows of 1996, once again struggling to get viewers.

9. Lloyd Bridges portrays Steve McCroskey, the head of the air traffic control tower who has several addictions including smoking, drinking, and sniffing glue. Eleven years after "Airplane!", writer/director Jim Abrahams cast Bridges in a film primarily parodying the hit "Top Gun." What is the name of this 1991 film starring Charlie Sheen?

Answer: Hot Shots!

"Hot Shots!" also had scenes parodying other popular movies: "Dances With Wolves," "Rocky," "Superman," and "Gone With The Wind" among others. Bridges portrays a feeble and bumbling Admiral Benson in charge of a top secret mission named Operation Sleepy Weasel. "Top Secret!" and "Mafia!" are two other Jim Abrahams parodies focusing on spy movies and crime family movies respectively. "Safety Last!" is a 1923 silent romantic comedy, the source of the iconic image of actor Harold Lloyd holding onto the hands of a giant clock on the outside of a skyscraper.

10. Leslie Nielsen played Dr. Rumack, giving some of the best deadpan joke deliveries in the movie. Like many of the actors, this role was quite different from Nielsen's earlier work. Can you name the film where Nielsen played a ship's captain whose vessel is overturned by a tsunami on New Year's Eve?

Answer: The Poseidon Adventure

The 1972 movie adaptation of the novel by the same name, "The Poseidon Adventure" had an all-star cast including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, Red Buttons, Shelley Winters, Roddy McDowall, and Carol Lynley among others. Nielsen's career arc would change considerably after "Airplane!" finding great success in spoof style movie comedies.

Source: Author SmoothBrain

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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Have some fun exploring the careers of those actors and actresses that starred in the ground breaking comedic film "Airplane!" Some knowledge of television and made-for-TV movies might be useful.

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