Family Members in Other Roles Trivia Quiz

Answer: Grandma Moses

Anne Mary Robertson Moses (1860-1961) was, in fact, 78 when she really started painting seriously, having by then raised five of the ten children she bore to husband Thomas to adulthood, on farms in Virginia and New York state. Though she had been interested in art since childhood, it was only in later life that she had the time to act on that interest, eventually producing over 1500 works of art, many of them in what she called "old-timey" style (and others called primitive or naive).

The nickname Grandma Moses was given to her by the press.

Answer: Cousin Vinny

"My Cousin Vinny" starred Joe Pesci as Vinny Gambini, an inexperienced lawyer who is called upon to defend his cousin Bill (Ralph Macchio) and another young man who have been erroneously charged with murder when passing through a small town in Alabama. Marisa Tomei received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Vinny's girlfriend. Fred Gwynne was entertaining as the judge who could not always understand Vinny's New York accent.

Answer: Father Brown

The Catholic priest and amateur detective known as Father Brown appeared in over 50 short stories written by Gilbert Keith Chesterton, all of which were later collected in a number of books. Father Brown, whose first name is not definitely known, has been portrayed in movies and on television by Alec Guinness, Kenneth More and Mark Williams over the years.

His detecting skills have not always been appreciated by the local constabulary, but he almost always ends up doing some good.

Answer: Brother Cadfael

A Welsh Benedictine monk, living in the 12th century at Shrewsbury Abbey, Brother Cadfael appeared in at least twenty books written by Ellis Peters (nee Edith Pargeter) between 1977 and 1994. Cadfael helped law enforcement solve a number of mysteries, including murder, over the course of the series. A UK television series of the 1990s cast Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael.

Answer: Uncle Buck

John Candy appeared in the title role of "Uncle Buck" (1989) bringing to life a character described (among other things) as a slob, and probably the last person a parent would think of to look after their kids. Circumstances dictated that Buck Russell be left in charge of two nieces and a young nephew (Macaulay Culkin) and although his methods were not conventional, Uncle Buck did manage the job, giving audiences a few laughs along the way.

Answer: Sister Sledge

They could well sing that song, as they were indeed all sisters. Hailing from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the four Sledge sisters (Debbie, Joni, Kim and Kathy) decided in 1971 to form a soul and R&B group and call themselves Sister Sledge. Kathy left the group to pursue a solo career, and Joni passed away in 2017. Debbie and Kim continued to perform as Sister Sledge thereafter.

Answer: Mother Nature

Mother Nature is usually depicted as a warm, nurturing, maternal figure who personifies all the good and wonderful things about the natural world. This includes all the plants that grow and creatures that walk, fly and swim, as well as landforms and oceans. Though the term has usually been reserved for the beneficial side of nature, at least one margarine television commercial of the 1970s used a somewhat threatening tone to impart the advice "It's not nice to fool Mother Nature."

Answer: Sister Kenny

Elizabeth Kenny (1880-1952) was an Australian bush nurse who was largely self trained. She earned the right to be called "Sister" (a British honorific for senior nurses) whilst nursing troops during World War I, during which time it was reported that she developed her treatment methods (though other versions were also told).

Her treatment consisted of application of heat packs or warm blankets, followed by rehabilitative exercise, in contrast to the more accepted method of applying plaster casts to affected limbs.

A 1946 Hollywood movie called "Sister Kenny" starred Rosalind Russell in the title role, but took the usual liberties with the facts.

Answer: Mother Teresa

Anjeze Gonxhe Bojaxhiu was born in 1910 in Skopje, but became known to the world as Mother Teresa, who spent much of her life in Kolkata, India, dying there in 1997, and being canonised as Saint Teresa of Calcutta in 2016. In 1950 she founded the Missionaries of Charity in that city, with the aim of caring for the poor, including children, refugees, prostitutes and the aged and infirm.

She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 amongst other accolades for her charitable works.

Answer: Auntie Mame

Mame Dennis first appeared in the 1955 novel "Auntie Mame, An Irreverent Escapade" written by Edward Everett Tanner III, using the pseudonym Patrick Dennis. Patrick was ostensibly Mame's nephew, and it is probable that she was based on Tanner's real aunt, Marion Tanner. Mame was flamboyant and always ready for some fun, as can be observed in the 1958 movie "Auntie Mame" starring Rosalind Russell as Mame, and in the 1974 musical movie "Mame" with Lucille Ball in the title role.

Answer: Mother Machree

Written in 1910, "Mother Machree" is a rather weepy song, with lyrics extolling the virtues of the dear lady of the title. Rida Johnson Young and Chauncey Olcott, who also was the first to sing the song, were responsible for the lyrics, while Ernest Ball provided the melody.

The song has featured in a number of movies, from "Mother Machree" (1928) which had an early synchronised sound track, to Tom Waits' rendition as he leads a pack animal in the 2018 film "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs".

Answer: Father Time

Often depicted as an old man with a long white beard and who carries a scythe or sickle, Father Time represents the passage of the minutes, hours and days that we call "time". He might also be seen with an hourglass, another way of showing the passage of time.

The Urban Dictionary describes him as a "friendly Grim Reaper", while other sources note the differences between the two. His origin may be from Greek or Roman sources, with arguments to be made for both.

Answer: Uncle Sam

As he is the personification of the USA, it would be easy to surmise that the name Uncle Sam simply came from the initials US, but it might not be that simple. One story is that there was a real Uncle Sam, a man named Samuel Wilson, who supplied the American forces with meat during the War of 1812. Whether or not that is so, the character of Uncle Sam developed into a man with a white beard wearing a top hat with stars on its band and patriotically striped trousers. During WWI he featured on recruiting posters as he did again during WWII.

In the docudrama "December 7th" (1943) Walter Huston appeared in the role of Uncle Sam.

Answer: Cousin Itt

Cousin Itt was a member of "The Addams Family" who was created specifically for the TV show, and not in the original cartoons by Charles Addams (though Addams did later draw Itt). Portrayed mainly by Felix Silla, Cousin Itt appeared entirely covered in long blond hair, sometimes wearing a bowler hat and sunglasses.

Itt was the cousin of Gomez Addams (John Astin). The character has also appeared in subsequent series, animated series and movies, though the 1991 film changed the spelling to It.

Answer: Father Christmas

Father Christmas has come to be almost synonymous with Santa Claus, in that he is the person who brings gifts to good children at Christmastime, but until the middle of the nineteenth century he was more concerned with adult merrymaking than with boys and girls.

This Father Christmas was very much like the Ghost of Christmas Present in Dickens' "A Christmas Carol", fond of wassail and good food. By the latter part of the century, however, the American Santa Claus had found his way into the minds of Victorian English families, and the admixture of the two legends resulted in Father Christmas becoming the children's gift giver.