Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. This film producer founded an animation company with Ub Iwerks as a young lad, but it went bankrupt. They created a series of films called "Alice Comedies" in the mid 1920s which did quite well. He then created a new character called Oswald the Lucky Rabbit which was again successful but his distributor managed to steal the rights to the character from him and also all the animators working on it. On the train home he doodled a mouse character and he and Ub made three cartoons about it, the first two of which didn't do well. They added sound to the third, and "Steamboat Willie" (1928) was the start of a massive success story.
2. This actor was part of a Vaudeville act as a young child. It couldn't happen today, but back then the act was all about how to discipline a naughty child. He would be thrown all over the stage and even into the audience by his parents. No matter what, he remained poker-faced. He became one of the great silent stars, the deadpan face and pork-pie hat becoming a trademark.
3. This famous Vaudeville comedian did not take up acting until late in life. He didn't make his first film until he was over 40. His son Keenan, who was also a well known character actor urged him to try. His best known role was Uncle Albert in "Mary Poppins" (1964). He also provided the voice of the Mad Hatter in "Alice in Wonderland" (1951).
4. This English writer was born in Egypt and moved to London at an early age. He is best known for his historical naval stories following the career of Horatio Hornblower. However, he did also write "The African Queen" which was turned into a film starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston.
5. This American singer/comedian was born in Russia and is famous for her loud delivery of comical, risqué songs in the first half of the 20th century. In 1909 she joined the Ziegfield Follies but it didn't last as the other female stars refused to share the spotlight with her. William Morris of the William Morris Agency picked up on this and turned her into a star. She became known as "The Last of the Red Hot Mamas" and she is known for the songs "Some of These Days" and "My Yiddishe Momme". She was Sophie __________. Clue: Australian word for food.
6. This man was an English novelist, biographer and travel writer. His most famous novel "Brideshead Revisited" was made into a highly successful TV mini-series starring Jeremy Irons. He also wrote a series of books known as the Sword of Honour Trilogy, consisting of "Men at Arms", "Officers and Gentlemen" and "Unconditional Surrender", regarded by many critics as the finest novel series of the Second World War.
7. This actress appeared in dozens of films, so much so that she became known as the "Queen of the Quickies". She had a radio show in 1936 and then she became a highly influential gossip columnist for "The Los Angeles Times".
8. This famous comedian was often arrested and charged with obscenity but he was usually acquitted. However, in 1964 he was arrested along with the owners of a Greenwich Village club and was convicted of obscenity after a 6 month trial and sentenced to 4 months in a workhouse. He was freed on appeal but died before the appeal was decided.
9. This English singer/songwriter was backed by "The Pirates". His biggest hit was probably "Shakin' All Over" which reached #1 in the UK pop charts.
10. This actor was a professional ballroom dancer at age 19. In his twenties, he was appearing in musicals and performing dramas on both the London stage and on Broadway. He was nominated for an Oscar in ""Laura" (1944) and "The Razor's Edge" (1946). Personally, I remember him playing Lt. Cmdr. Ewen Montagu in the wartime film "The Man Who Never Was" (1956). He made a number of films as Mr. Belevedere, an outspoken genius.
Source: Author
Spontini
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor
bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
