Who Gets Top Billing? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Farrah Fawcett

Farrah Fawcett, actress and model, was considered one of the sexiest symbols of the 1970s. She captured international attention while playing on the TV series "Charlie's Angels". She died at age 62 on June 25, 2009. Few hours after her death, the singer, composer, and dancer Michael Jackson, known as the King of Pop, also passed away.

He began his career in the Jackson 5 group and in 1971 began his solo career. His album "Thriller" broke all sales records and his collection of albums and shows made him known all over the world.

He died at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest. His death overshadowed the news of Farrah Fawcett's death.

Answer: Jean Cocteau

Édith Giovanna Gassion, known as Édith Piaf, had a hard life since childhood and she dedicated herself to music to survive. She was a songwriter, singer, cabaret performer and movie star, known as France's National Chanteuse. In 1940, Piaf co-starred in Jean Cocteau's successful play "Le Bel Indiferent".

This piece was made by her friend Jean Cocteau, who was known for his various activities linked to the arts and specially to the theater. Her ingestion of alcohol and drugs and accidents made her weak; she died of liver cancer at age 47, in October 10, 1963. Jean Cocteau died on October 11, at the age of 74, as the result of a heart attack, a few hours after receiving news of the death of his great friend Édith Piaf.

Answer: Aldous Huxley and C. S. Lewis

The English science fiction novelist Aldous Leonard Huxley produced almost 50 works being the best known the "Brave New World". He died at the age of 69, in Los Angeles on November 22, 1963. A few minutes later the Irish writer Clive Staples Lewis, known as C.S.Lewis, aged 64, died in Oxford, England. Lewis published on several topics and became well-known as the author of "The Chronicles of Narnia".

The news about the death of these two important writers was almost unnoticed because few hours after the world was shocked by the news that the American President John Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas.

Answer: Lauren Bacall

Robin William was an American actor and comedian; he began his career as stand-up comedian in the 1970's and became known for acting in the sitcom "Mork and Mindy". He has worked on many successful movies having finished his career in the "Night at the Museum" trilogy (2006-2014). On August 11, 2014 , we are all surprised by the news that he had committed suicide at age 63.

In the following day, August 12, Lauren Bacall passed away at age 89. She began her professional life as a model and had a movie career from 1944 to 1996 and was considered one of the 20 Greatest Actresses of the 20th Century by the American Film Institute.

Her death was shadowed by Robin Williams death.

Answer: John Adams

On 4 July 1826, exactly 50 years after the signing of the Declaration of the Independence, John Adams, age 90, who served as the second US president, and Thomas Jefferson, age 82, the third American president, died a few hours apart. Both are considered Founding Fathers, they helped create America and worked on the Declaration of Independence. Both believed in the importance of democracy, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness, but they disagreed about the ways to accomplish these ideals.

Answer: Yul Brynner

George Orson Welles, who died at the age of 70, was an American screenwriter, director, and actor having worked in theater, radio, and movies productions. His film "Citzen Kane", released in 1941 is considered one of the "greatest films ever made". Yul Brynner was a Russian-American theater and movie actor, best known as his role as King of Siam, both in theater (4,625 appearances on stage) and in movies, having received the Academy Award for Best Actor for this role.

The shaved head was his trademark.

He died when he was 65 years old. Orson Welles and Yul Brynner acted together in the movie "Battle of Neretva" (1969) based on World War II events. Both died on 10 October 1985.

Answer: Orville Wright

Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was known for his passive resistance approach named "Satyagraha". He fought for India's independence from Britain and preached peace between Hindus and Muslims. He was against the idea of parting India into two countries, but his idea did not prevail and Pakistan was created.

In 1948, Gandhi was murdered in New Delhi. On the same day the American Orville Wright died. Orville and his brother Wilbur, both men of great mechanical ability, dedicated themselves to the construction of a device that, although heavier than the air, could fly.

In December 1903, Orville piloted the first powered, controlled flight. Gandhi and Orville changed the world with their ideas. They had memorable lives that ended on January 30, 1948, when Gandhi was 78 years old and Orville was 77 years old.

Answer: Mother Teresa

Although Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales, had a privileged life and lived in a different world than Anjeë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu, better known as Mother Teresa, a friendship blossomed between them. They met for the first time in Rome, February 1992, and had met several times later to discuss matter related to needy people.

Their friendship lasted until Diana's death, aged 36 in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. Mother Teresa died one day later at the age of 87.

Answer: Miguel de Cervantes

The English actor, poet, playwright and businessman Shakespeare, born in 1564, is considered by many to be the greatest dramatist of all time. The Spanish poet, novelist and playwriter Miguel de Cervantes was born in 1547 and his most famous work was "The Ingenious Gentleman Sir Quixote of La Mancha" or just "Don Quixote".

The work of each of them was considered a gift for humanity. Shakespeare's death at 52 and Cervantes's death at 68 were recorded as being April 23, 1616. They died on the same date BUT not on the same day.

The explanation for this is that Shakespeare died in England, that still used the Julian calendar, and Cervantes died in Spain, that had already adopted the Gregorian calendar. So, Miguel de Cervantes died 10 days before William Shakespeare.

Answer: Roland Ratzenberger

The Grand Prix of Formula 1, held in San Marino on May 1st, 1994, was memorable by many accidents and two fatalities. Training on Friday, April 29, the driver Rubens Barrichello, suffered an accident and was seriously injured. On Saturday, April 30, in the qualifying training, the Austrian driver's car Roland Ratzenberger crashed into a concrete barrier which caused the death of the driver.

Despite the events mentioned, the Gran Prix was held on May 1st. Senna made harsh criticisms of the track conditions but decided to run. On the sixth lap, the direction of Sennas's car did not respond to his command and hit the Tamburello curve wall; the pilot was taken to the hospital but he was dead. Senna's death generated a stir in the world press. The main figures associated with Formula 1 went to Brazil for Senna's funeral; only Max Mosley, president of the Féderation Internationale de l'Automobile - FIA went to Salzburg in order to attend the funeral of Roland Ratzenberger.