Deaths In The News: 2002 Online Quiz | Death Becomes Them

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Chick Hearn, the legendary play-by-play voice of the Los Angeles Lakers, died on August 5 in Northridge, Califorinia, of complications after suffering a fall at his home, at age 85. What was Chick's real first name?

Answer: Francis

A native of Aurora, Illinois, Francis Dayle Hearn--he earned the nickname "Chick" after someone pulled a prank on him involving a chicken--moved out to Los Angeles in 1956 to become the play-by-play voice for USC's football and basketball games. In March 1961, Hearn became the play-by-play man for the Lakers, and called all but three of their games between then and December 2001, including an amazing 3,338 consecutive games between 1965 and 2001.

It was only fitting that Chick's last game on the mike was a victory, as the Lakers swept the New Jersey Nets to win their third straight NBA title in 2002. (Thanks to ESPN.com for information on Chick Hearn.)

2. Singer Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes died at age 30 on April 25 in La Ceiba, Honduras. How did she die?

Answer: Car crash

Lopes was a member of TLC, one of the most successful all-female recording groups in history, along with Ronzanda "Chilli" Thomas and Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins. But money and fame didn't shield Lopes from some off-the-mike problems, most notably setting fire to then-Atlanta Falcons receiver Andre Rison's home in 1994. Lopes and Rison had an on-again, off-again relationship that would end the year before she died. (Thanks to CNN.com for information on Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes.)

3. Author Chaim Potok died of brain cancer on July 23, in Merion, Pennsylvania, at age 73. Before becoming known as a writer, Potok engaged in what other line of work?

Answer: Rabbi

Born Herman Harold Potok to an Orthodox Jewish family in New York and raised in Philadelphia, Potok earned his rabbinical ordination in 1954 and was commissioned as a chaplain in the US Army the next year. He served for over a year with front-line medical and engineering troops in Korea. Potok wrote a number of fiction and non-fiction works over his lifetime, including "The Chosen", "The Promise" and "My Name Is Asher Lev". (Thanks to the La Sierra University website and ClassicNotes for information on Chaim Potok.)

4. Fast-food entrepreneur Dave Thomas died at age 69 on January 8, in Fort Lauderdale, of cancer. Which statement about Thomas is FALSE?

Answer: He named Wendy's after his mother.

Thomas used the success of the Wendy's chain to draw attention to adoption -- he was adopted as an infant -- and set up a foundation to encourage people to adopt children into loving, caring homes. He named Wendy's after his daughter, Melinda Lou (her nickname was Wendy).
(Thanks to Wendys.com and the Internet Movie Database for information on Dave Thomas.)

5. True or False: Advice columnist Ann Landers was the twin sister of Hollywood psychic Jeanne Dixon.

Answer: False

Ann Landers (real name Esther Pauline Friedman) did have a twin sister, advice columnist Abigail Van Buren (real name Pauline Esther Friedman). The sisters were born in Sioux City, Iowa on the Fourth of July, 1918. Landers died on June 22, at age 83, of multiple myeloma at her home in Chicago.

6. Motion-picture producer Julia Phillips died of cancer, at age 57, on New Year's Day in West Hollywood, California. Which of the following motion pictures did Phillips NOT serve as a producer on?

Answer: "Silver Streak"

Phillips made history in 1974, when "The Sting", starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, won the Oscar for Best Picture. It marked the first time that a woman served as a producer on a movie so honored. Phillips was also a producer on such classics as "Taxi Driver" and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", and summed up her experiences in Hollywood in her tell-all memoir, "You'll Never Eat Lunch In This Town Again." "Silver Streak", the 1976 cross-country train comedy-thriller, was produced by Thomas L. Miller and the late Edward K. Milkis. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for information on Julia Phillips and on "Silver Streak".)

7. Singer Waylon Jennings died on February 13, at age 64, in Chandler, Arizona, of complications from diabetes. In the mid-1980s, Jennings lent his vocal stylings to a quartet of veteran singers called The Highwaymen. Which singer listed below was NOT part of that group?

Answer: Merle Haggard

Winner of two Grammy Awards and four Country Music Association Awards for his work in country music, Waylon Jennings typically didn't attend awards shows because he felt that musicians shouldn't compete against one another. His work ranged from playing for childhood friend Buddy Holly, who he almost died with in 1959, to joining Cash, Kristopherson and Nelson to form The Highwaymen.

But he'll live on forever in reruns of the hit TV series "The Dukes of Hazzard", as both the singer of the show's theme and as the show's Balladeer. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for information on Waylon Jennings.)

8. Hall of Fame baseball star Ted Williams died on July 5, at age 83, in Inverness, Florida, of congestive heart failure. The last man to hit .400 or better in Major League Baseball in the 20th Century, Williams hit .406 in what year?

Answer: 1941

Arguably the greatest hitter in baseball history, Ted Williams hit 521 career homeruns and finished with a .344 average. He also served two tours of duty as a fighter pilot in the Marine Corps, taking time from the game during World War II and the Korean War to serve the country, and received a number of decorations, including 3 Air Medals for meritorious achievement in flight.

In 1995, the city of Boston honored him by naming a tunnel under Boston Harbor, a part of the city's Central Artery/Tunnel Project, for him. (Thanks to tedwilliams.com for information on Ted William's military achievements, and to bigdig.com on information on the Central Artery/Tunnel Project.)

9. Military leader Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., died at age 89, from pneumonia, in Washington, DC. In which branch of the military did Davis serve?

Answer: Air Force

The son of Brigadier General Benjamin O. Davis, Sr., the first African-American to rise to the rank of general in the US armed forces, the younger Davis was only the fourth black man to graduate from West Point and led the 332nd Fighter Group, the famed Tuskeegee Airmen, during World War II.

He became the first African-American to hold the rank of general in the US Air Force, and retired in 1970 at the rank of lieutenant general. Shortly after retirement, he supervised the federal sky marshal program and became an Assistant Secretary of Transportation. President Clinton gave him his fourth star, making him a full general, in 1998. (Thanks to ecctai.com for information on Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.)

10. Animator Chuck Jones died in Corona del Mar, California, at age 89, of congestive heart failure. Jones won the first of his three Academy Awards for a cartoon featuring which character(s)?

Answer: Pepe Le Pew

Cutting his teeth on cartoons out of Ub Iwerks Productions, Chuck Jones was hired by Friz Freleng to work at the Leon Schlesinger studios in 1936. He stayed on when the studios were bought by Warner Bros., and created a number of memorable characters, including the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Marvin the Martian.

But it was his 1949 cartoon, "For Scent-imental Reasons", featuring the misguided, though well-intentioned, Pepe Le Pew, that earned Jones his first Oscar. (Thanks to chuckjones.com and The Big Cartoon Database for information on Chuck Jones and "For Scent-imental Reasons".)

Source: Author cag1970

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor DakotaNorth before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Deaths In The News: 2002 Trivia Quiz

A number of well-known people passed away in 2002. See how much you know about their lives and how they ended.

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