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Quiz about Downside Up
Quiz about Downside Up

Downside Up Trivia Quiz


The downside is that these people are dead, the upside is that they're still making millions. "Forbes Magazine" publishes a list of top earning dead celebrities each year; lets take a look at the top ten on the list for 2016.

A multiple-choice quiz by slfcpd. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
slfcpd
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
388,317
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
424
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Our first celebrity, coming in at number ten on the list, became famous in the 1950s for pin-up photos. Her black hair with a short front fringe and her blue eyes became her trade mark. Our celebrity passed away in 2008, and her income since her death has been predominately from a line of clothing and accessories that bears her name. Who could this be? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. The only scientist to make the top ten, coming in at number nine, is next on the Forbes list - Albert Einstein. His work on the Special and General Theories of Relativity and the photoelectric effect of light was ground breaking. He received a Nobel Prize in 1921, in which category? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. At number eight is one of four musicians to make the top ten on the 2016 Forbes List - John Lennon. Much is known of Lennon's life and music, but can you tell me where he's buried? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, comes in at number seven on the Forbes list. Can you tell me in which of his books are the characters "Thing One" and "Thing Two"? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. At number six on the Forbes list is out next musician. This person was a committed Rastafari, with a love for marijuana smoking, who brought reggae music to the world. Who was he? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Our next celebrity, holding the number five spot on the Forbes list, actually passed away in 2016. Prince received many awards over his lifetime, one of which was a Golden Globe Award in 2007 for the song "The Song of the Heart" which he wrote for which children's movie? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. I don't believe that the celebrity that makes number four on the Forbes list will be a surprise to anyone. In 2016, forty years after his death, he sold over a million albums, and people continue to flock to his home "Graceland". This celebrity can only be?

Answer: (First and Last Name)
Question 8 of 10
8. The only sportsman to make the Forbes list comes in at number three. This charismatic golfer has been lauded as one of the greatest players ever, earning the nickname "The King". He revolutionised golf, helping change the perception that it was only for the upper classes. Who was this golfer that passed away in 2016? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The creator of a well-known comic strip is next on the Forbes list. Charles Schulz passed away in 2000, but the licensing rights to his cartoons and characters place him as the second highest earning dead celebrity of 2016. What was the name of his cartoon strip? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Our top dead celebrity earner for 2016 was another musician. The estate of this person made $750 million alone for the sale of its half share of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalogue. This person made a name for himself singing with his brothers, and went on to a phenomenally successful solo career. This celebrity would be? Hint





Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Our first celebrity, coming in at number ten on the list, became famous in the 1950s for pin-up photos. Her black hair with a short front fringe and her blue eyes became her trade mark. Our celebrity passed away in 2008, and her income since her death has been predominately from a line of clothing and accessories that bears her name. Who could this be?

Answer: Bettie Page

I'll freely admit that I had never heard of this celebrity before I saw the Forbes list, so I looked her up and a quiz was born.

Bettie Page was born in 1923 in Nashville, Tennessee, and died in Los Angeles California in 2008.

It was in the 1950, that Bettie made a name for herself. She started out in pin-up photography and moved into "glamour photography" which involved photos in erotic poses with or without clothes. She began to work for photographer Irving Klaw as a fetish and bondage model, in both films and still photos. She did some acting in television and films as well as a couple of feature length burlesque films. She was "Playmate of the Month" centrefold in "Playboy" in January 1955, which meant she was in demand for the next few years as a model.

In 1959 she became a born again Christian and got out of modelling. In 1979 she had a nervous breakdown; she was diagnosed with schizophrenia and spent twenty months in care. On release she had a fight with her landlord and was arrested but found not guilty by reason of insanity. She was placed under state supervision for eight years, being released in 1992.

During the 1980s Bettie was unaware that she had amassed a cult following built up around her pin-up and lingerie pictures from the 1950s. A fan magazine had been created telling stories of her life, the media started to pick up the story and the photos that were widely available began recirculating.

When Bettie became aware of her new found fame she hired a law firm to help recoup some of the profits people were making using her likeness. She later hired a management company to look after her interests.

According to "Forbes Magazine" she made eleven million dollars in 2016 from Betty Page Clothing and Accessories.
2. The only scientist to make the top ten, coming in at number nine, is next on the Forbes list - Albert Einstein. His work on the Special and General Theories of Relativity and the photoelectric effect of light was ground breaking. He received a Nobel Prize in 1921, in which category?

Answer: Physics

Albert Einstein was born in Ulm, Germany in 1879, and died in Princeton, New Jersey in 1955.

He spent much of his early life in Munich, and later Milan, Italy. He finished his high school education in Zurich, Switzerland and went on to university in Zurich. It was while at school in Zurich that he met his first wife Malina Maric.

Albert and Malina had a daughter in 1902, before they were married. Malina went back to her parents in Serbia to have the child, and little is known of what happened to her after that. It has been suggested that the child was left with Malina'a parents, that she was adopted out, or even that she died from illness at an early age. Her birth only came to light in 1986, when Einstein's granddaughter found old letters in which a daughter "Lieserl" was mentioned.

Albert and Malina were married in 1903, and they had two further children, both boys. They divorced in 1919, and in the same year he married his cousin Elsa Lowenthal. They stayed married till her death in 1936.

The eleven and a half million earned by Einstein's estate in 2016 was from Licensing and Salesforce Einstein.
3. At number eight is one of four musicians to make the top ten on the 2016 Forbes List - John Lennon. Much is known of Lennon's life and music, but can you tell me where he's buried?

Answer: He was cremated

John Winston Lennon was born in Liverpool, England in 1940, and was murdered in Manhattan, New York in 1980.

After his death, there was no funeral, he was cremated and his ashes scattered in Central Park. Later the Strawberry Fields memorial was built in Central Park in remembrance.

The twelve million dollars earned by his estate in 2016 was from music sales and the Cirque du Soleil theatrical production "Love" which uses the music of "The Beatles".
4. Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, comes in at number seven on the Forbes list. Can you tell me in which of his books are the characters "Thing One" and "Thing Two"?

Answer: The Cat in the Hat

Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1904 and died in La Jolla, California in 1991 of oral cancer.

Although best known for his children's books, Geisel started out as an illustrator and cartoonist for magazines and other publications. He did illustrations for advertising campaigns, he was a political cartoonist and during World War II he worked in the animation department for the army producing short films.

His first children's book "And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street", was published in 1937. He went on to publish over 60 books, which have spawned television specials, television series, feature films and a Broadway musical.

His estate made twenty million dollars in 2016 from book sales.
5. At number six on the Forbes list is out next musician. This person was a committed Rastafari, with a love for marijuana smoking, who brought reggae music to the world. Who was he?

Answer: Bob Marley

Robert Nesta Marley was born in Nine Miles, Parish of St. Ann, Jamaica in 1945. He died of cancer in Miami, Florida in 1981.

Marley was well known for his music, he was a singer-songwriter and guitar player who blended the reggae, ska and rocksteady genres in his work.

It is not this that his estate makes the most money from, however. The twenty- one million in earnings in 2016 is attributed to the sales of audio products through the "House of Marley" business, and the sale of beverages through the "Marley Beverage Company".

The other musicians mentioned actually passed away in 2016.
6. Our next celebrity, holding the number five spot on the Forbes list, actually passed away in 2016. Prince received many awards over his lifetime, one of which was a Golden Globe Award in 2007 for the song "The Song of the Heart" which he wrote for which children's movie?

Answer: Happy Feet

Prince Rogers Nelson was born in 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota and died from a drug overdose in Chanhassen, Minnesota in 2016.

Prince wasn't just a singer-songwriter, he was an actor, record producer, dancer, multiple instrument player and philanthropist.

His music combined a wide variety of musical styles from funk, rock, psychedelia and pop to R&B, soul and new wave.

The top selling dead celebrities list is determined by calculated pre-tax incomes before deducting expenses for agents, managers and lawyers. The incomes for the 2016 list were calculated between October 1st 2015 and October 1st 2016. So the combined incomes for Prince's record sales and live performances before he passed away came to twenty-five million.
7. I don't believe that the celebrity that makes number four on the Forbes list will be a surprise to anyone. In 2016, forty years after his death, he sold over a million albums, and people continue to flock to his home "Graceland". This celebrity can only be?

Answer: Elvis Presley

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935 and died from heart failure in Memphis, Tennessee in 1977.

His music blending pop, blues and gospel is still popular today. His films, although not critically acclaimed mostly made profits, and many spawned soundtrack albums. His image and music captivated the world and earned him the title "King of Rock and Roll".

In January 1973 Elvis did the first ever global concert satellite broadcast called "Aloha from Hawaii". The double album from the concert, released in February 1973 was the last Elvis album to make US number one in his lifetime.

Elvis's estate made twenty seven million dollars in 2016.
8. The only sportsman to make the Forbes list comes in at number three. This charismatic golfer has been lauded as one of the greatest players ever, earning the nickname "The King". He revolutionised golf, helping change the perception that it was only for the upper classes. Who was this golfer that passed away in 2016?

Answer: Arnold Palmer

Arnold Daniel Palmer was born in 1929 in Latrobe, Pennsylvania and passed away in hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania while awaiting heart surgery,

Arnold Palmer turned professional in 1954; he quickly became popular because of his humble beginnings and ability to engage with fans. He became one of the first television sports superstars and along with Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player became part of "The Big Three" of golf in the 1960s.

He won over 60 PGA Tour Titles, seven of these majors, he was "Player of the Year" twice and "Highest Money Winner in a Season" on four occasions. He was named "Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year" in 1960. He has a Congressional Gold Medal and was the first golfer to win the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2004.

As Arnold passed away on September 25th of 2016, the majority of his earnings for the year occurred while he was still alive. His forty million earnings came mostly from Arnold Palmer Tea and sales of his many retail products.
9. The creator of a well-known comic strip is next on the Forbes list. Charles Schulz passed away in 2000, but the licensing rights to his cartoons and characters place him as the second highest earning dead celebrity of 2016. What was the name of his cartoon strip?

Answer: Peanuts

Charles Schulz was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota in 1922 and died in Santa Rosa, California in 2000 from colon cancer.

Peanuts, featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all the gang debuted in 1950. At the height of its popularity it was published in over two and a half thousand newspapers in over seventy countries. The final strip was published in 2000. As well as the cartoon strip there were more than thirty television specials made, movies and musicals too.

The 3D movie released in 2015 called "The Peanuts Movie" as well as other licencing income contributed to the estate's forty eight million revenue in 2016.
10. Our top dead celebrity earner for 2016 was another musician. The estate of this person made $750 million alone for the sale of its half share of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalogue. This person made a name for himself singing with his brothers, and went on to a phenomenally successful solo career. This celebrity would be?

Answer: Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958 and died in Los Angeles, California in 2009. He died from cardiac arrest brought on by propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication.

Michael started out with four of his brothers in the Jackson five in 1964, but it was his solo career that made him such a dominant force in popular music. His work in the early 1980s on music videos changed the way they were viewed, the music videos were not just a way to sell a song, they were an art form in themselves.

His distinctive look, which evolved over time and his easily recognisable dance moves streamed into popular culture. His albums rank amongst the best-selling albums of all time, the "Thriller" album alone sold over 65 million copies.

He received many awards over his lifetime for his music, song writing and philanthropy. He has also had over 30 Guinness World Records to his name.

His estate earnings came in at eight hundred and twenty five million in 2016, the highest in the history of the Forbes Top Dead Celebrities list to that date, the majority coming from the sale of the Sony/ATV music publishing catalogue.
Source: Author slfcpd

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