Celebrity Deaths in the 2020s Quiz

Answer: Bill Withers

William Harrison Withers Jr. was born on July 4, 1938. Bill left the Navy to pursue a music career in 1965. The first album Bill recorded was titled "Just as I Am" (1971), which included the track "Ain't No Sunshine". Between 1971 and 1985, a further eight albums were recorded.
"Lean on Me" was Bill's greatest hit, reaching the number one position on both the Soul and Billboard Hot 100 charts. Bill was also the writer and producer of the song.

Bill died from cardiopulmonary arrest in a Los Angeles hospital on March 30, 2020.

Answer: Diana Rigg

Born, Enid Diana Elizabeth Rigg, on July 20, 1938 Diana was born in Doncaster, Yorkshire, England. The first major appearance of Diana was as a secret agent and partner of John Steed in the TV programme "The Avengers". Diana also had a career in theatre, appearing in over thirty productions between 1967 and 2018 and featuring in twenty-one films from 1966 to 2021. Her role in TV also played a big part in her career, appearing in many TV programmes. Diana was on programmes like "Doctor Who", "Game of Thrones", "All Creatures Great and Small", and "Extras", to name a few.

Diana was diagnosed with cancer in March 2020 and sadly died aged 82 in London, England, on September 10, 2020.

Answer: Chuck Yeager

Charles Elwood Yeager, later known as Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager, was born in West Virginia, USA, on February 13, 1923.
Chuck is mainly known for his achievements as a test pilot for the U.S. Army Air Force. The record attempt at breaking the sound barrier was successful on October 14, 1947. The aircraft used to try and go at the speed of sound was called the Bell X-1, or Glamorous Glennis.

Chuck passed away in a Los Angeles hospital on December 7, 2020. John Nicoletti, a friend of Chuck, said over the years he had gone through some physical challenges, and a fall led to problems and other issues, due to his age.

Answer: Sean Connery

Thomas Connery, although known as Sean Connery, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 25, 1930.
Sean Connery played the part of the secret agent James Bond in the 1962 film "Dr. No". When it was released, the film received mixed reviews. The Vatican called the film dangerous as it depicted scenes of violence, vulgarity, sadism, and sex. However, with bad reviews, the public became more aware of the film, and the film became quite a draw. Sean went on to have the lead role in seven more "James Bond" films. Sean has starred in many other films, including "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade", "The Hunt for Red October", "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen".

Sean died on October 31, 2020, at his home in the Bahamas. His son, Jason, revealed that Sean had dementia in his last few years and had been unwell for some time. A report by "TMZ", a tabloid news organisation, revealed that the cause of death was pneumonia and respiratory failure, which they obtained from the death certificate.

Answer: Barbara Windsor

Barbara Windsor was born Barbara Ann Deeks on August 10, 1937. Barbara was known for her roles in the "Carry On" films. Barbara appeared nine times in total, the first being in the 1964 film "Carry On Spying". Her final appearance was in the 1974 film "Carry On Dick".
Barbara played the part of Peggy Mitchell in the TV series "EastEnders" as the Queen Vic landlady and later the owner of the pub. The last appearance of Peggy in "Eastenders" was on September 5, 2022.

Barbara died peacefully on December 10, 2020, at her London care home. Barbara was diagnosed in 2014 with Alzheimer's disease. Barbara was cremated at Golders Green Crematorium, London, on January 8, 2021. In attendance were some of her close friends, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, numbers were restricted. A few of the people who attended were Anna Karen, Christopher Biggins, Ross Kemp, David Walliams, and Matt Lucas.

Answer: Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas was born Issur Danielovitch on December 9, 1916. The film "Spartacus" was adapted from a book of the same name by American writer Howard Fast in 1951. Tony Curtis, Charles Laughton, and Peter Ustinov were also featured in the film. The film is basically about a slave named Spartacus who gets bought by Lentulus Batiatus, who owns a gladiatorial school. Spartacus gets trained by Marcellus at the gladiatorial school. Spartacus kills Marcellus in a tournament to the death, and the crowd goes mad. In all the mayhem, Spartacus and other gladiators overrun the guards and escape to the country. Spartacus becomes the leader of the escaped slaves and leads a revolt against the leaders of Rome.

In 1996, Kirk suffered a severe stroke, which affected his speech; however, after many months of speech-language therapy, he regained his speech, but in a limited way. On February 5, 2020, aged 103, Kirk passed away at his home in Beverly Hills, California, from natural causes.

Answer: Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland was born on July 1, 1916. Olivia had a career spanning over 70 years, starting with her first film, "Alibi Ike" (1935). The film "Captain Blood" (1935) was the turning point of her career and turned her into a star. Olivia is well known for the film "Gone With the Wind", in which she played the part of Melanie Hamilton. The film is a love story set around the time of the American Civil War. Rhett Butler, Scarlett O'Hara, and Melanie Hamilton are the main characters of the film.

Olivia de Havilland died on July 26, 2020, at the age of 104. Olivia de Havilland died peacefully in her sleep, of natural causes, at her home in Paris. She was cremated at the American Cathedral in Paris. At a later date, the urn containing Olivia de Havilland's ashes will be sent to her family burial site on the British island of Guernsey in the English Channel.

Answer: Kobe Bryant

Kobe Bean Bryant was born on August 23, 1978, and was killed on January 26, 2020. Kobe was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., where he grew up. Kobe started to play basketball at the tender age of three. Even at a very young age, Kobe was a fan of the "Los Angeles Lakers" basketball team.
The family moved around for a few years before moving back to Philadelphia in 1991. In 1996, Kobe signed up to play for the Lakers as a rookie. Over the next three years, Kobe went from being a rookie to becoming one of the best players in the world. Kobe stayed with the Larkers for 20 years and won many awards. The first award was NBA champion in 2000, and in 2008 he won NBA Most Valuable Player.

Kobes career statistics are very impressive, with points scored of 33,643 (25.0 ppg), rebounds of 7,047 (5.2 rpg), and assists of 6,306 (4.7 apg).

Kobe Bryant was killed along with his 13-year-old daughter Gianna and seven other people. At the time of the crash, thick fog and dark clouds made flying difficult. The NTSB investigators came to the conclusion that it was possible the crash was caused by the pilot being confused with the weather conditions. No black box was fitted to the helicopter, so it was very difficult for the NTSB to establish exactly what happened.

Answer: Stirling Moss

Stirling Moss, later to be Sir Stirling Craufurd Moss, was born on September 7, 1929. Moss has raced many types of race cars but is known for his Formula 1 driving. From 1951 to 1961, Moss won 16 F1 races and 24 podiums. The first F1 Grand Prix that Moss was entered in was the 1951 Swiss Grand Prix, driving for HWM-Alta, where he finished eighth. The first win for Moss, as a F1 driver, was in the 1955 British Grand Prix driving for Mercedes. Moss also qualified for the pole position. The last F1 race for Moss was the 1961 United States Grand Prix.
Stirling Moss record in race cars is impressive; he won 212 races out of 529 races he entered. On March 21, 2000, he was knighted by Prince Charles.

Stirling passed away on April 12, 2020, aged 90 at his London home after a long illness. In 2016 Stirling developed a serious chest infection and was taken to a hospital in Singapore where he spent over four months in hospital to recover. The recovery was a slow process and so Stirling announced his retirement from public life in January 2018.

Answer: Tim Brooke-Taylor

Tim Brooke-Taylor was born on July 17, 1940. Tim was known as a member of "The Goodies", which aired on British TV between 1970 and 1982. Other members of the comedy team were Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. The series was based on situational comedy and sketches. The trio were always ready to work for a fee and had the catchphrase "We Do Anything, Anytime, Anywhere". Tim was in many other TV programmes between 1966 and 2015.

Tim died on April 12, 2020 (aged 79). Tim was one of the unlucky ones who caught the COVID-19 disease and died of complications due to the virus. Graeme Garden, one of the Goodies and a close friend, told the Radio Times that he had the opinion that Tim was getting better, would soon be taken off the ventilator, and could be home soon. Sadly, he never made it, and he never had a chance to say good-bye as he lay unconscious.