Know Your *BLANK* Brothers Trivia Quiz

Answer: Randy Quaid and Dennis Quaid

Randy Quaid (d/o/b: October 1950) was still taking acting classes at the University of Houston when a teacher suggested he go to the audition for the movie, "The Last Picture Show". The director, Peter Bogdanovich, must have liked what he saw in (Randy) Quaid - he landed his first movie role, as a 21 year old student. Dennis Quaid, who was less than four years younger than Randy, also enrolled in acting classes - for a while - at University of Houston. Dennis withdrew from the university and moved to Hollywood, to pursue his professional acting career rather than complete a degree program at that time.

His early movies included: "Breaking Away" (1979), "The Right Stuff" (1983) and "The Big Easy" (1987).

Answer: Astronauts

The study of multiple human births has been a fascination to scholars since history has been recorded. How are twins alike? How are twins different? Imagine the possibility of learning how extended time spent in outer space REALLY affects a person in comparison to staying within the earth's atmosphere. Brothers Mark Kelly and Scott Kelly gave NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) the opportunity to do just that. Per NASA: "Identical twin astronauts, Scott and Mark Kelly, ... subjects of NASA's Twins Study. Scott ... spent a year in space while Mark ... stayed on Earth as a control subject. Researchers looked at the effects of space travel on the human body." Spoiler alert: If you read more about the Twins Study by NASA you will learn the younger twin became the older twin.

Answer: American Football

Following in their parents footsteps has appeared to come more naturally for some children than others. Peyton Manning and Eli Manning were sons of a former pro football quarterback, Archie Manning, who played in the National Football League (NFL) between 1971 and 1984. Archie's son, Peyton - who was the middle child of three sons - played eighteen years in the NFL, was a part of two teams who won Super Bowls and as of the class of 2021 was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The youngest brother, Eli Manning, played sixteen years in the NFL and was (also) a member of two teams who won Super Bowls. With hopes of continuing their football dynasty into a third generation, Peyton and Eli's older brother, Cooper, had a son who began his own career by being an accomplished high school quarterback during the early 2020s.

Answer: Warner Bros.

Warner Bros. was an American film and entertainment company that was considered to be one of the "Big Five" major film studios during much of the twentieth century and into the 21st century. The four Warner brothers were children of Polish-Jewish parents who had emigrated to North America in the late 1880s.

The brothers were interested in the film industry and began their business investments by showing moving pictures as a traveling exhibition. Soon they were acquiring movie theaters and producing films. Brother Sam Warner has been credited with revolutionizing the film industry when he persuaded his brothers to join him and patent a process that led to "talkies" or, movies with synchronized audio and video.

Answer: The Three Stooges

As a comedy act the Three Stooges has been described as one of the most popular acts of the twentieth century. Professionally the brothers Moses (aka Moe), Samuel (aka Shemp) and Jerome (aka Curly) used the sir name of Howard. They were of Lithuanian Jewish descent and had changed Horwitz to Howard when their show business careers began.

The act known as the Three Stooges also included (at various times) other comedians/actors but at any given time there were only three in their routine(s). The comedy act made close to two hundred short films and thanks to syndicated television and mass merchandising of their images on a wide variety of products, the Three Stooges remained popular well into the 21st century.

Answer: Lyle Menéndez and Erik Menéndez

The Menéndez brothers were born on the east coast (of the USA) - Lyle, in January of 1968 and Erik, in November of 1970; they moved with their parents to California as teenagers. From appearances, the boys were raised with all the benefits of wealth and privilege.

Their parents, Kitty and José Menéndez, were shot to death in the den of their Beverly Hills (California) home on the night August 20, 1989. Immediately thereafter both brothers denied any involvement, saying they had found their parents dead when they went there after watching a movie at a local theater that evening. Thus, the brothers were not initially "strong" suspects but profligate spending by both brothers made law enforcement suspicious.

The brothers were arrested in March of 1990; it would more than two years before they were indicated and another two years before the Menéndez brothers were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Answer: Orville Wright and Wilbur Wright

Biography.com once described the invention of the Wright brothers as: "12 seconds that would change the world forever." After years of meticulous study, dedicated work, failures and re-constructions, the Wright Brothers' dreams of flight came to fruition, as Orville Wright took to the sky for 12 bumpy seconds.

The brothers are credited with launching the first airplane into the skies - it was December, 1903. The Wright brothers story should include their sister. Although she was an integral part of her brothers' success, her contributions have been somewhat ignored. Also an innovative thinker, Katharine (Wright) Haskell managed the bicycle shop and helped with flight operations.

She handled the communications and generally speaking, put into words the ideas of her brothers. Katharine was also a champion of equal rights for women and worked to earn the right of women to vote in her state of residence, Ohio (USA).

Answer: Edward, James and Bartholomew Masterson

When it comes to tales of the "Old West" (of the USA) the lines between "lawman" and "outlaw" may be as blurry as the lines between fact and fiction. Bartholomew "Bat" Masterson and his brothers, Ed and Jim, were some of the most colorful characters to be depicted as a part of the frontier (i.e., "Old West") of nineteenth century America.

It seemed these brothers represented both sides of the law - as law enforcement and as outlaws - both collectively and as individuals. Of the three, "Bat" Masterson became the most well-known.

After his tenure as local law enforcement in the Dodge City, Kansas area Bat became quiet the celebrity. He excelled as a journalist, mostly writing about sports and sporting events, and he was well acquainted with (US) President Theodore Roosevelt.

Answer: Medicine

The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota was one of the U.S.A.'s first examples of group practice of medicine. The brothers followed their father into the same profession as he had worked; both becoming physicians. The three Mayo doctors would become the founding members of the Mayo Clinic. Later other capable and ground-breaking doctors (and, eventually men and women from other professions) would join them and expand their hospital to include research and education facilities.

The Mayo Clinic's philosophy of allowing doctors to be in charge of the organization was one that served them well - the Mayo Clinic's stellar reputation lasted well into the 21st century.

Answer: Huey and Earl Long

As long as history has been recorded it seems politics and power are claimed by "families" in a variety of situations. Yet, before Huey Long became interested in politics his family was not found in the political arena. Nor did they live among the wealthy and prestigious. Quite the opposite, the Long family in Louisiana (U.S.A.) in which Huey Long and his brother, Earl, were raised, lived in an area that was described as improvised.

They were said to live among "poor whites" and their parish (the administrative divisions of Louisiana government) was that of rural, farm land. Yet by sheer determination and what seemed to be an innate political savvy, Huey Long became a political demagogue. Huey's political career ended in what was thought to be his prime when he was assassinated in 1935. Soon thereafter the political aspirations of the Long family were continued by Huey's brother, Earl; Huey's widow, Rose McConnell Long; Huey's son, Russell B. Long, and a long list of others who served in various capacities.

Answer: Terry Labonte and Bobby Labonte

Terry Labonte and his younger brother, Bobby Labonte both won Winston Cup Series Championships. Terry won in 1984 and 1996; Bobby won in 2000. Before he won the Winston Cup Series in 2000, Bobby Labonte had won the (NASCAR) Busch Series in 1991. He was the first driver to win both titles.

At the time the Labonte brothers were competing in NASCAR's Winston Cup Series and Busch Series races, NASCAR was among the most popular competitive sports in the world. Within NASCAR, the Winston Cup Series cars were often the main focus because the autos that competed in that series were heavier, longer and mechanically designed to be more powerful - thus ran at faster speeds. During their professional automobile racing careers both brothers would compete in and sponsor other drivers in a wide variety of race vehicles at a variety of venues.

Answer: Prince William and Prince Harry

Prince William and Prince Harry were members of the British Royal Family. They were the sons of Princess Diana and Prince Charles. At the time of their birth Prince Charles was heir to the British throne. Prince William was born in 1982; Prince Harry in 1984.

Their parents divorced in 1996 but before that divorce their mother, Princess Diana, had become a universally popular figure on her own regard. As her sons matured into young men many people saw those characteristics they had admired in Diana embodied in both of her children. Diana had made an effort to connect with people who were not among the royals, the privileged, the wealthy, etc.

In a documentary titled "Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy" both of her sons agreed that Diana had hoped for them to have as much of a "normal life" as possible and while she was alive had made efforts to allow them to do things (as they said) "outside the Palace walls".

Answer: The Jonas Brothers

Many times the younger siblings follow the older siblings' example; however it was the youngest brother who was responsible for initially getting his older brothers involved in the music. The Jonas Brothers band that was so popular in the very 2000s consisted of the brothers, Kevin Jonas (d/o/b 1987), Joe Jonas (d/o/b 1989), and Nick Jonas (d/o/b 1992).

In the late 1990s, the boys lived with their family in New Jersey where Nick (then a pre-teen) often performed in musical theater. Nick encouraged his brothers to form a group with him and, initially, their father acted as their manager - soon they had a record deal.

It was not long until they were a part of the Disney Entertainment industry. Their first studio album ("It's About Time") garnered modest sales but with the release of their second album ("Jonas Brothers") their popularity was established.

In less than ten years of selling records the Jonas Brothers sold over 17 million records. Not bad, at all.

Answer: Ira Gershwin and George Gershwin

Sometimes the relationship between siblings can be anything but harmonious; but the Gershwin brothers made beautiful music together. Ira Gershwin was less than two years older than his brother, George. Ira was credited as the lyricist and George as the composer of the songs mentioned in the question and many, many more.

The boys' parents were of Russian Jewish descent; the family lived in what was called New York City's Yiddish Theater. Both brothers were said to have enjoyed and appreciated musical theater from a very early age.

Intending to go about their careers separately the brothers worked in musical theater without each other for a while. It was beautifully and accurately described by wikipedia.com this way: "Once the brothers joined forces, their combined talents became one of the most influential forces in the history of American Musical Theatre."

Answer: Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

Contrary to what has been supposed, most the well-known tales credited to the Brothers Grimm were not their original stories but their labor of love to preserve some of the folk lore that had previously existed in oral format, being passed from generation to generation.

The folk tales were often a form of adult entertainment and were filled with rather sinister situations. Therefore, many of the tales for children (credited to the Brothers Grimm) were revised for a younger audience. A few of the more well-known stories that were adapted from the Brothers Grimm folktales included: "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs", "Sleeping Beauty", "Brave Little Tailor", "Tangled" and "Cinderella".