A Woman Or A Man: The Name's The Same Quiz

Answer: Michael

Billed as Miss Michael Learned, she played the matriarch of the the family in the heartwarming tale of the lives of the Waltons in the mountains of Virginia from the mid 1930s to the outbreak of WW2. The show ran from 1972 to 1979 and she won four Primetime Emmy awards. Michael Learned worked steadily in theatre, television and on the big screen throughout her career.
Michael Landon had starring roles in many well remembered US television series, including "Bonanza", "Little House on the Prairie" and "Highway to Heaven". He died in 1991.

Answer: Robin

Robin Williams first found fame as a stand-up comedian on the club circuit before he was picked up by television. An acting role as an alien in "Mork and Mindy" followed and his first leading role on the big screen came in "Popeye" in 1980. His part in "Good Morning Vietnam" in 1987 earned him an Oscar nomination. The 1997 movie "Good Will Hunting" did lead to an Oscar win. There were also to be numerous other awards in television and in the movies. He died by suicide in 2014 at the age of 63.

Robin Tunney began her acting career in the movies in 1992 and on television had a big role in "Prison Breaks" in 2005 and 2006. Two years later she was to have a leading role in 151 episodes of "The Mentalist", which ran from 2008 to 2015. An avid poker player, Tunney took part in the World Series of Poker.

Answer: Taylor

Taylor Swift started performing in theatre at a very young age and was just 11 when she sang "The Star-Spangled Banner" before a Philadelphia 76ers basketball game. She started writing songs a year later. Initially working in the country music genre, she became a crossover success and record sales went on to pass the 100 million mark. Several Grammy awards came her way and she also started an acting career.

From 1994 to 1996. Taylor Hawkins was the drummer in Morisette's touring band. In 1997 he replaced William Goldsmith in the Foo Fighters after Goldsmith and band leader Dave Grohl had a falling out. Hawkins also sang lead vocals on several Foo Fighter releases. He also became involved in several personal projects and starred as Iggy Pop in the movie story of the New York music venue CBGB, also the title of the 2013 release.

Answer: Alex

Alex Trebek was born in Canada and worked on TV there from 1964 but found greater fame as a host of several game shows in the USA. He hosted "Jeopardy" from 1984 until his death in 2020. Alex Kingston was born in Surrey, England, and started acting at the age of 17. Numerous roles in TV and on the big screen on both sides of the Atlantic followed, and she appeared in 160 episodes of "ER" between 1997 and 2009. Between 2008 and 2015, she appeared in 15 episodes of the British sci-fi drama "Doctor Who", raising speculation that she would become the first female 'doctor', although that did not come to pass.

Answer: Brett

Brett Butler's first screen role was on TV in 1988 and from 1993 to 1998 she appeared in 120 episodes of US TV's "Grace Under Fire", in the titular role. She worked steadily on television thereafter.

From 2009, Brett Goldstein had a varied career on British television and movies. In 2020 he started a run in "Ted Lasso" and also wrote and produced episodes. That earned him a Primetime Emmy award and two Writers Guild of America awards.

Answer: Daryl

Daryl Simpson joined The Celtic Tenors in 2006. They released several records on Decca and toured widely in Australia and North America, as well as in Ireland.
A native of Omagh, Co Tyrone, Simpson was a leading light in the formation of the Omagh Community Youth Choir following the bomb attack in 1998 that killed 29 people and unborn twins. He was awarded a British Empire Medal (BEM) for services to music.

Daryl Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, and made her big screen debut in "The Fury" in 1978 at the age of 18. A host of movies followed and she won a Saturn Award for her role in "Splash" in 1984. More than 80 movies were to follow and in a top ten rated by IMDB in 2014 were "Steel Magnolias" (1989); "Kill Bill: Vol. 2 "(2004); "Splash" (1984); "Roxanne" (1987) and "Blade Runner" (1982) - those were the top five in order.

Answer: Whitney

Whitney Straight was born in New York City in 1912, but largely raised in England from childhood. In his early 20s he emerged as a noted racing car driver in Britain and in Europe. He became proprietor of a commercial airline, before serving as a pilot in the Royal Air Force in World War 2. After the war he continued his career in commercial airlines.

Whitney Houston was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1963 and her brilliant singing career ended with her accidental death, to which drug use contributed, at the age of 48. In her career she scored three number ones in the Billboard Hot 100 and had four chart-toppers in the UK.

Houston produced a remarkable catalogue of hits, including "I Will Always Love You", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody", "Saving All My Love for You" and "Ons Moment In Time". In a March 2021 piece "The 30 greatest female singers of all time, ranked in order of pure vocal ability", 'Smooth Radio' in the UK placed Houston at number one.

Answer: Sydney

Sydney Margaret Penny was born in Nashville, Tennessee, in August 1971. She was the voice of Lucy Van Pelt in the 1981 TV movie "It's Magic, Charlie Brown". After several more roles, she was Julia Santos Keeper in "All My Children" for 15 years from 1993, returning later for more stories.. Her two years as Samantha Kelly in "The Bold and the Beautiful"began in 2003.

Sydney Newman was born in Toronto, Ontario, in 1917 and died there in 1997. He made his name producing British television shows in the 1950s, before returning to his native land in 1970. While in England, he was one of the masterminds behind the TV science fiction show "Doctor Who". In Canada he became an influential administrator.

Answer: Sam

Sam Neill was an "army brat" ,- his father was an army officer stationed in Northern Ireland, where Sam was born in 1947. His first appearance on New Zealand television dated to 1971, but he was to find more prominence in Australia. His movie breakthrough came in "Omen III: The Final Conflict" in 1981 and two years later he became known to British TV audiences through "Reilly, Ace of Spies", a dramatisation of the life of the real spy Sidney Reilly.
Numerous roles on TV and on the big screen followed, including "Jurassic Park III " in 2003. In 2013 and 2014 he was in 12 episodes of the award-winning British TV show "Peaky Blinders". In later years he ran a winery in South Island, New Zealand.
Born in 1966, Samantha "Sam" Fox was just 16 when she first posed topless in a British mass-market daily newspaper. She later turned to acting and had a successful career as a pop singer and had several hits in the UK top 10.

Answer: Rory

Aurora "Rory" Block was born in New Jersey in 1949 and was noted as a blues singer and guitarist. She released numerous records and was a multi Blues Music Awards winner.
Rory McIlroy was born in Holywood (just one l, you will note) in Co Down, Northern Ireland, in 1989. He was a childhood golf sensation who made his way through amateur golf to the pinnacle of the professional game. He was world number one for 100 weeks. By the age of 25, he had won four of golf's "Major" tournaments.