Farewell, Robbie Coltrane Trivia Quiz

Answer: Anthony Robert McMillan

Robbie Coltrane's parents were Jean Howie, a music teacher and Ian Baxter, a general practitioner and forensic police surgeon (interesting, given the role Mr Coltrane played later in his career as Fitz in "Cracker"). He had an older sister, Annie and a younger sister Jane. He had a private education, played Rugby in the first XV, headed his school's debating society and pursued theatre options throughout his school life. He studied after he finished school. When he moved into acting in his early 20s, he adopted the named Robbie Coltrane as a tribute to his favourite musician, saxophonist John (William) Coltrane.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1, an unabashed Robbie Coltrane fan.

Answer: Glasgow School of Art

Robbie attended Glenalmond College in Perthshire where he excelled at rugby, debating and art. He described his time there as deeply unhappy. His experiences led him, in later life, to call for the ban on private education. He attended the Glasgow School of Art and studied painting, turning to acting once he had left. In a BBC interview he said that the architecture at the school was inspiring and gave pupils a boost to create. In April 2014 he returned to the school in order to open a new building, the Reid Building, named in honour of the first female director of the school, Dame Seona Reid.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew's smpdit artfully posts this question.

Answer: Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door

"Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind the Green Door" was a short television movie written by Rik Mayall, who also starred as Turvey, an 'investigative' reporter. Coltrane played the role of Mick the lodger, who was AWOL from the Army.

Mayall and Coltrane later performed together in the BBC comedy series "A KIck Up the Eighties" where Coltrane appeared in the second season in 1984. He later played three characters in Mayall's comedy series "The Young Ones" (1982-1984).

Following this, Coltrane starred in many other comedic shows including "Blackadder" (1982-83) and "Tutti Frutti" (1987). He was also outstanding as Sir John Falstaff in Kenneth Branagh's 1989 version of "Henry V".

Phoenix Rising's leith90 blames her slightly warped sense of humour on her husband, who introduced her to "The Young Ones" and "Black Adder".

Answer: Pilates instructor

Coltrane and Gemmell met when she was 18 and still in college. They had two children together - son Spencer, born in 1992 and daughter Alice in 1998. They lived together in Scotland but the marriage itself was short-lived. The reason for the breakup was never announced, although Coltrane's busy career and their 19-year age difference have been cited as contributors. Gossip columns noted that Ms. Gemmell moved in with a BBC executive shortly after the split, and also that there was a brief rapprochement.

Coltrane's family life was marred by other causes for melancholy in addition to the divorce - his father, Ian Baxter McMillan, died of lung cancer when Robbie was 19, and his sister Jane died after ingesting pills while under treatment for depression. He was survived by his older sister Annie and his two children.

Player pusdoc has never attended a pilates class, but has watched all of the "Harry Potter" movies.

Answer: Criminal psychologist

"Cracker" showcased Robbie Coltrane as criminal psychologist (or "cracker"), Dr Edward "Fitz" Fitzgerald who worked with the Greater Manchester Police to solve murderous crimes. (The first three seasons were written by noted crime writer Jimmy McGovern who wrote the series as an anti-thesis to the Helen Mirren police procedural "Prime Suspect".) There were three seasons broadcast from 1993-1995, a Hong Kong set special in 1996 and a further one-off show in 2006. Writer Jimmy McGovern wrote the series in part, as an antithesis to the "Prime Suspect" drama series which Mr McGovern thought was unrealistic.

In the three regular series the show ran, Mr Coltrane received the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor in three consecutive years. Robbie Coltrane was absolutely brilliant in this series and it gained Mr Coltrane a worldwide following. A feature of the show was Fitz, who was often brought onto the case, reluctantly, by the police, when their conventional detective methods failed to find the culprit.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: Coltrane in a Cadillac

In 1993, Robbie Coltrane made a TV program and wrote a book about a 4000-mile road trip across the US in a 1951 Cadillac convertible. It explored various aspects of the American automobile culture including the positioning of the Cadillac, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Indianapolis and Dodge City. It also examined the dependence of Detroit and East St Louis on the Automobile industry, and there are tributes to James Dean and Huckleberry Finn.

In 1997, Mr Coltrane demonstrated his prowess with machinery in a six-part documentary in "Coltrane's Planes and Automobiles", including detailed explanations on how certain machines worked including the steam engine, diesel, the supercharger, a V8, a two-stroke engine and jet engine. The highlight of this series was Mr Coltrane removing the motor from a Trabant in 23 minutes.

This question was written by unabashed Coltrane fan (both of them), Phoenix Rising's 1nn1.

Answer: The World is Not Enough

In 1995, Robbie first played the role of Valentin Zukovsky in "Goldeneye", then in 1999 he reprised the role for "The World is Not Enough".(He was supposed to be killed off in this movie but his performance was so impressive he was given a 'reprieve' so he could appear in a second movie). Pierce Brosnan starred as James Bond in both of those movies. Robbie's character was a former KGB agent, Russian mob boss, and casino owner. He was an ally to James Bond in these movies.

Phoenix Rising's Jaknginger loves the James Bond film series and plans, one day, to begin the Ian Fleming's Bond novels.

Answer: Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts

"Rubeus Hagrid" was introduced early in the first film "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone". He was a half-giant, very kind, and humble, and Harry's first introduction to the wizarding world. He was the "Keeper of Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts". The "Hagrid" character had storylines that were subtly woven into each film. He would often do special tasks for Professor Dumbledore and was a member of "The Order of the Phoenix". In the third film, "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban", Hagrid was promoted to professor of "Care of Magical Creatures".

Robbie Coltrane played "Hagrid" in all eight "Harry Potter" films. He was handpicked by author J.K. Rowling to play the role. Robbie was an accomplished actor, with a career spanning more than 40 years yet he will always be remembered most as Hagrid.

Phoenix Rising's Red Crew member jaknginger will forever remember Robbie Coltrane for his role as big, kind-hearted Hagrid.

Answer: OBE

Awards were frequent and prestigious. Robbie Coltrane was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) in the New Year's Honours list in 2006 for his contributions to Drama. This class of award was established in 1917 by King George V and comprises both civil and military divisions. Civil awards are for services to the arts and sciences, and for charitable works outside the government realm. The OBE is the fourth of five classes of award, the first two conferring the rank of Knight or Dame upon the recipient.

Upon receiving the award, Coltrane quipped "What was really nice about the OBE is that it's the first award where I didn't have to make a speech and I didn't have to sit there waiting to see if I'd won."

Among his acting awards, Coltrane won BAFTA awards for Best Actor for his work on "Cracker" over three consecutive years from 1994 to 1996. He was nominated for the same award for "National Treasure" in 2017. In 1990, Coltrane won the "Peter Sellers Award for Comedy" in the Evening Standard British Film Awards which is dedicated to British and Irish talent.

Phoenix Rising's leith90 added this question and secretly thought Coltrane deserved to be a Knight as Sir Hagrid has quite a nice ring to it.

Answer: Osteoarthritis

Osteoarthritis, an inflammation the joints, exacerbated by obesity, had plagued him from 2016 and he was expected to require surgery on his knees in order to give relief. He became wheelchair bound in 2019, stating that he was in constant pain. He was also a Type 2 diabetic. Robbie died on the 14th October in 2022 at the Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert, Scotland. His death certificate listed his cause of death as being multiple organ failure and sepsis (blood poisoning).

He knew his legacy as "Hagrid" would outlast him. In a programme celebrating "20 Years of Harry Potter" Robbie talked about how parents and their children would be enjoying the series in 50 years' time, and stated "I'll not be here, sadly. but...But Hagrid will. Yes."

Player smpdit joins Phoenix Rising's Red Crew in mourning the passing of an extraordinary man.