The Multi-Coloured World of Entertainment Quiz

Answer: Charles Dickens

David Copperfield has been responsible for several spectacular and elaborate illusions, including making the Statue of Liberty 'disappear' and seeming to walk through the Great Wall of China. His television specials have won many awards including over twenty Emmy Awards, and he has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first magician to be so honoured during his lifetime.

Having been serialised previously, Charles Dickens's 'David Copperfield' was published in novel form in 1850. It was his eighth novel and one of his best known and most-loved works.

Answer: Bonanza

Although he is probably best remembered for his role as family patriarch Ben Cartwright on 'Bonanza', Lorne Greene actually started his media career as a newsreader for CBC, and also narrated several documentaries. As well as his famous role on 'Bonanza' he also starred in the film and television versions of 'Battlestar Galactica' and its subsequent spin-off 'Galactica 80'. Lorne Greene was born Lyon Himan Green in Ottawa in 1915, and died in California in 1987 aged 72.

Answer: Mean Mr Mustard

'Mean Mr Mustard' was composed by John Lennon while he was in India. It appears on the Beatles' 1969 'Abbey Road' album as part of the 16-minute medley with 'Sun King' on side two of the album, and also appears on their compilation album 'Anthology 3' released in 1996. John Lennon later said he had never liked the song.

Answer: Cactus Flower

Goldie Hawn had her first television role in 'Good Morning World' in 1967, followed in 1968 by her appearances in 'Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In', which brought her international fame. It was for her appearance as the character Toni Simmons in 1969 comedy 'Cactus Flower' that she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was born in 1945 and is the mother of actors Oliver Hudson and Kate Hudson.

Answer: Sherlock Holmes

'A Study in Scarlet' was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's first novel featuring Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson. The first film featuring his detective was a silent film made in 1914 which has now sadly been lost. Sherlock Holmes has been portrayed on screen by several actors, most notably Basil Rathbone, Jeremy Brett and, more recently, by Benedict Cumberbatch in the television adaptations named simply 'Sherlock', updated to modern-day London.

Of the four novels and many short stories featuring Sherlock Holmes, several have 'colourful' words in the title, among them 'The Adventure of the Red Headed League', 'The Five Orange Pips', The Adventure of the Blue Carbuncle' and 'Silver Blaze'.

Answer: White

Actress Betty White, born 1922, played Rose Nylund on hit sitcom 'The Golden Girls', which won several awards including three Golden Globes. Her long and distinguished television career was recognised by Guinness World Records in 2013 for being the longest ever for a woman, and she has won several prestigious awards, winning her first Emmy Award in 1975 for her role of Sue Ann Nivens in 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show'.

Barry White (1944-2003) was famous for his characteristic deep bass voice. He was also an accomplished pianist. In his long career in the music industry, which included song writing and production work, he also had several chart hits in his solo singing career.

Answer: Alicia Silverstone

Alicia Silverstone was born in California in 1976 and has appeared in several films. Her first starring role was as Adrian Forrester in 'The Crush' (1993), for which she was the winner of two MTV Awards the following year, for Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Villain. She also starred in the hugely successful comedy film 'Clueless' in 1995.

Answer: The Picture of Dorian Gray

'The Picture of Dorian Gray' was written by Dublin-born writer Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) and first published in instalments in 1890 before being revised and expanded into a full-length novel published the following year. The tale revolves around debauched man-about-town Dorian Gray, who expresses an idle wish that his portrait, painted by artist Basil Hallward, could bear the signs of the depravity and ageing of his hedonistic lifestyle, whilst his own looks remain unchanged. A fateful wish that becomes all too real; the changes he sees in the painting horrify him, which ultimately lead him to murder Hallward and destroy the painting, which results in his own destruction.

Several films have been made of Oscar Wilde's classic tale; the 1945 version starring Hurd Hatfield is probably the most well-known.

Answer: Billie Holiday

From a traumatic childhood, Billie Holiday, born Eleanora Fagan in 1915, rose to become one of the leading jazz singers of her day. Starting with singing in nightclubs from her teens, her first hit single, 'Riffin' the Scotch', released in late 1933, put her on the road to international stardom, and was followed by many other hits. 'Lady Sings the Blues' was the title of her autobiography, published along with the release of an LP of the same name in 1956. Billie Holiday died from heart complications related to cirrhosis of the liver in July 1959, aged just 44.

Her life and career were portrayed in the 1972 film 'Lady Sings the Blues' by Diana Ross, lead singer of The Supremes.

Answer: The Pink Panther

Peter Sellers' inept Inspector Clouseau was a true comic gem. From his first appearance in 'The Pink Panther' the character has appeared in several further films, with Sellers starring in most of them. His last 'Pink Panther' film was 'Revenge of the Pink Panther' in 1978, although previously-shot footage was used for 'Trail of the Pink Panther', released in 1982, two years after his death in 1980, which did not meet with box-office success.

The series was reprised in 2006 starring Steve Martin as Inspector Clouseau.