Born in the R.S.A. Trivia Quiz

Answer: Laurens van der Post

Laurens van der Post was born on 13 December 1906 in Philippolis when South Africa was still a British colony. He was educated in South Africa and started work there as a reporter. He went to England in 1928 and until 1948 divided his time between England and South Africa.

He fought in the British Army in World War II and was interned in a Japanese Prisoner Camp. After the war he became a mediator in Indonesia which was fighting for independence from The Netherlands. During this time he met Lord Mountbatten and later on he became mentor to Prince Charles.

His books were inspired by the various places and environments he came across and his experiences there. His first novel was "In a Province" about racial differences in South Africa, which was published in 1931 by Virginia Woolf her husband Leonard Woolf. Also noteworthy is "The Lost World of the Kalahari" published in 1958 based on the 1956 documentary he did for BBC TV about the bushmen in South Africa.

The movie "Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence" (1983) with David Bowie in the title role was based on three of his novels about his time in a Japanese Prisoner Camp namely "A Bar of Shadow" (1954), "The Seed and the Sower" (1963) and "The Night of the New Moon" (1970).

He died on 16 December 1996 and was buried in London 4 days later. Amongst the many friends that attended his funeral was Nelson Mandela, Prince Charles and his neighbour, Margaret Thatcher.

Answer: Basil Rathbone

Basil Rathbone was born on 13 June 1892 in Johannesburg. When the Anglo-Boer War became imminent three years later he fled to England with his family. On 22 April 1911, Rathbone made his first appearance on stage as Hortensio in "The Taming of the Shrew".

This was followed by several more Shakespearean roles. He fought in World War I from 1916 where he became an intelligence officer due to his ability to disguise himself. He also performed on Broadway and it was his role there in "The Swan" (1923) that established him as an actor.

He then moved to film, mostly playing the villain. His first film appearance was in 1921 in "Innocent". In 1939 he appeared for the first time as Sherlock Holmes in "The Hound of the Baskervilles" with Nigel Bruce as Dr. Watson.

He would play the role in 14 films. After growing tired of the role he moved back to New York where he appeared on stage and in films. In the 1960s he appeared in low-budget films, mostly for the money, and on television as well. His last film was "Hillbillys in a Haunted House". On 21 July 1967 Basil Rathbone passed away in New York from a heart attack.

Answer: Manfred Mann

Manfred Mann was born Michael Lubowitz in Johannesburg in 1940. He studied classical piano during his teens and had developed into a jazz pianist by the age of 19. He moved to London in 1961, changed his name to Manfred Mann and met Mike Hugg with whom he formed his first group, The Manne-Hugg Blues Band.

In 1963 they formed the first Manfred Mann group with Paul Jones on vocals and harmonica, Mike Vickers on sax, flute and guitar and Dave Richmond on bass. The line-up would change many times. Mike d'Abo became their vocalist from 1966 to 1969 when the group split up.

In 1969 Manfred Mann and Mike Hugg formed Chapter Three but the group disbanded in 1971 leading Manfred Mann to form the Manfred Mann's Earth Band, this time without Mike Hugg and with Chris Thompson on vocals and guitar.

Their first no. 1 hit was a rock cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Blinded by the Light" in 1977. Manfred Mann's Earth Band has continued to perform and record, albeit with a different line-up.

Answer: Dave Matthews

Dave Matthews was born on 9 January 9 1967 in Johannesburg, South Africa. When he was two years old the family moved to New York State. In the 1970s they temporarily moved to Cambridge, England but returned to New York again. After his father died in 1977 the family moved back to South Africa in 1980. In 1986 after Dave finished school he moved to Charlottesville, Virginia, where his family lived before he was born. He became part of the local music scene there. After writing some songs he decided to put a band together to record a demo. in early 1991 The Dave Matthews Band was formed with drummer Carter Beauford and saxophonist LeRoi Moore. Stefan Lessard joined on bass, Peter Griesar on keyboard and violinist Boyd Tinsley completed the line-up. On 9 November 1993 the band released their first album "Remember Two Things" which became an immediate success and the rest is history!

Sadly, the saxophonist and co-founder of the of Dave Matthews Band, LeRoi Moore, died unexpectedly on 19 August 2008.

Answer: Steve Nash

Stephen John Nash was born on 7 February 1974 in Johannesburg, South Africa. when Nash was two years old the family moved to Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, because of the Apartheid system in South Africa. He played basketball at high-school and got a scholarship to Santa Clara University where he became one of the greatest players in the West Coast Conference and is regarded as one of the top point guards in the United States.

In 2005 he became the first Canadian ever to win the NBA's Most Valuable Player award and the next year became the ninth player to win consecutive MVP awards after basketball legends names like Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar. Steve Nash played for the Phoenix Suns from 1996 to 1998, then went to play for the Dallas Mavericks but returned to the Phoenix Suns in 2004.

Answer: Alice Krige

Alice Maud Krige was born in Upington, South African on 28 June 1954 and grew up in Port Elizabeth. She is probably best known for her role as the Borg Queen in the film "Star Trek: First Contact" as well as in the final episode of the television series "Star Trek: Voyager".

While studying clinical psychology she enrolled in a drama class which led her to chance her studies and career choice. She moved to London in 1976 where she attended the Central School of Speech and Drama. She made her professional acting debut in a 1979 BBC "Play for Today" and the next year appeared on television in "A Tale of Two Cities".

Some of her best known roles are Sybil Gordon in "Chariots of Fire" (1981) which was her film debut, Bathsheba in "King David" (1985) and Mary Shelley in "Haunted Summer" (1988).

She appeared on stage in numerous plays, including Shakespeare, as well as in numerous television series and movies.

Answer: Beau Brummel

He was born in South Africa as Michael Bush. He started singing in 1960 and formed his own group, The Teenbeats before moving to London in 1961. There he sang in coffee bars and after signing a recording contract with Norrie Paramour, who had Cliff Richard and the Shadows as his clients, changed his name to Beau Brummel after the well-know British dandy of the early 19th century.

He adopted the style of the original Beau Brummel, wearing double-breasted jackets and tying his long hair at the back with a bow.

He lived in high style in London, mixing with the rich and famous and even had a valet. He also had his own boutique in the famous Carnaby Street of the 1960s. With his backing, the band The Nobleman released a number of singles which had moderate success but it was his flamboyant style that made the papers.

After a while his popularity waned and he returned to South Africa where he made a film, appeared in a series of photo story books and opened the "Beau Valley" nudist resort.

Answer: Kevin Curren

Kevin Melvyn Curren was born on 2 March 1958 in Durban, South Africa. He played cricket and tennis at school and cricket was his favourite but when things did not work out for him in the game he concentrated on tennis. By the time he left school he was so good at it that he received a scholarship to the University of Texas in Austin in the United States.

He won the NCAA singles title in 1979 and then turned professional winning his first professional singles title in 1981 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

His first Grand Slam semi-final was at Wimbledon in 1983 which he lost. In 1984 he reached the final of the Australian Open, losing to Mats Wilander. He reached the final at Wimbledon in 1985 by beating Stefan Edberg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors along the way but lost to Boris Becker. Though he never won a Grand Slam singles title, he did win four Grand Slam doubles titles.

His highest world ranking was no. 5 in singles and no. 3 in doubles. He retired in 1993 and became captain of South Africa's Davis Cup team.

Answer: Jody Scheckter

Jody David Scheckter was born on 29 January 1950 in East London, South Africa. The South African Grand Prix was held at East London from 1962 to 1965 before moving to Kyalami near Johannesburg. Scheckter moved to Britain in 1970. He made his Formula 1 debut with McLaren in Formula One at Watkins Glen in 1972.

His early Formula 1 career were marred by crashes most notably at Silverstone on 14 July 1973 when he spun at the start causing a multiple pileup that resulted in half of the field to retire.

In 1973 he went to Tyrell where he drove until 1976 when he drove the Tyrell P34 six-wheeler and gave it its only win in the Swedish Grand Prix. He finished a good third in the Championship. In 1975 he became the only South African Grand Prix to date to win his home race.

In 1977 he joined the new Wolf team, winning the teams' very first race and finishing second in the championship behind Niki Lauda. In 1979 he joined Ferrari alongside Gilles Villeneuve and won the World Championship ahead of his team-mate. 1980 was a dismal year for him and he retired from the sport and founded a company that built firearms training simulators in the USA.

He later sold the company and is now an organic farmer in Britain.

Answer: Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron was born on 7 August 1975 in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, South Africa. She grew up as an only child on the family farm. When she was 6 she took up ballet and wanted to make it her career. At 13 she was send to boarding school and studied at the National School Of The Arts in Johannesburg.

When she was 15 her mother fatally shot her alcoholic and abusive father after he attacked her mother. She was not charged in the incident. At 16 she won a local modelling contest which led to an offer to model in Milan, Italy.

After a year she left modelling and decided to stay in New York where she continued modelling and returned to ballet. However a knee injury ended her ballet career at the age of 18. She then went to Los Angeles in the hope of landing an acting career.

She was discovered after a talent manager saw her make a scene, yelling at a bank teller who didn't want to cash her cheque. She landed a role in "2 Days in the Valley" (1996) and the rest is history. In 2004 she won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in "Monster".