Theda Bara Trivia

1. Fox publicity said that Theda was from the Sahara Desert. In reality, she was born July 29, 1885, in the same city where Proctor & Gamble was founded. Can you identify which Ohio city this is?

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: Cincinnati

Someone pointed out to the publicity team that "Theda Bara" was an anagram of "Arab Death", and this also became a part of the publicity blitz. She was born Theodosia Burr Goodman.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Theodosia Goodman

Theda was a childhood nickname; Bara was a shortened version of a family name, Baranger. It was only a coincidence that the name was an anagram of "arab death," but it added to her exotic appeal. Incidentally, Alice Rosenbaum became Ayn Rand, Gladys Smith became Mary Pickford, and Harlean Carpenter became Jean Harlow.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: July 29, 1885

Theda shares her birthdate with fellow silent screen star Clara Bow, who was born in 1905.

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: A Fool There Was

This film was inspired by a play written in 1909 by Porter Emerson Browne. The play was inspired from a Rudyard Kipling poem, "The Vampire"--the movie title was also taken from the first line of the poem. The poem was inspired by a 1897 painting by Philip Burne-Jones. In the movie, though "The Fool" loved his wife and child, he became obsessed with another sexually and materially predatory woman until his death of ill health and social ruin. Theda became the "vamp" with the release of this film, and the word vamp became synonymous with a femme fatale and Theda Bara. "The Stain" was her film debut in 1914 as a gang moll. "Cleopatra" was released in 1917 and Salome was released in 1918. Only "A Fool There Was" was released in 1915.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Fox

Essanay was partially created by cowboy star G.M. "Bronco Billy" Anderson, Biograph was headed by director D.W. Griffith, and Keystone filmed the comedies of director Mack Sennett.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: 1914

Although she claimed to have come to the movies as a star, she was an extra in "The Stain," starring Virginia Pearson.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: A Fool There Was

"A Fool There Was" (1915) still exists. However, it's estimated that over seventy-five percent of all films made before 1950 are lost or destroyed. Silent films were made on nitrate film, which is not only perishable, but extremely flammible. Many films were ruined before they could be restored onto celluloid, including the majority of Theda's.

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: Cleopatra

The movie was loosely based on William Shakespeare's "Antony and Cleopatra". Wily Cleopatra successfully seduced Caesar, Pharon and Marc Antony. Only a few small fragments remain of the film, though there are several stills that can be found. "Madam Mystery" was made in 1926, "The Vixen" in 1916, and "Siren's Song" in 1919. In "Cleopatra" and "The Vixen" Theda did play a vamp, but not for the other two.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Arabian

Up to the time, there had not been an Arabian screen star, so Theda's faux ancestory appealed to the public. It was rumored that she was born in the shadow of the pyramids, and worked as a child actress in Paris, but she was actually Jewish and hailed from Ohio.

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: Charles J. Brabin

Theda was 36 in 1921. Charles and Theda remained married until her death in 1955. Charles died of a heart attack in 1957. Charles is still remembered for his independent production of "Driven" in 1923, though the film is believed to be lost. He directed Theda in two movies in 1919, "Kathleen Mavourneen" and "La Belle Russe".

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Cleopatra

Cleopatra was produced in 1917. It is one of the most looked-for silents still missing today.

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: 0

Theda's last movie, "45 Minutes from Hollywood", was produced in 1926. "The Jazz Singer", 1927, is recognized as the first "talkie" being the first feature length film with synchronized dialogue.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Madame Mystery

"Madame Mystery" (1926) was a Hal Roach comedy short that parodied Theda's former screen image.

From Quiz She's Got the Look

Answer: If I Had a Man Like Valentino

In part, the chorus lyrics included "Theda Bara sure would die, She would never roll another eye". Theda was mentioned in several popular songs in the 1920s, including "Red-Hot Hannah" and "Rebecca Came Back From Mecca". In fact, songs are still being written about her, e.g., in 2006, The Hot Puppies, a Welsh band, released the album "Under the Crooked Moon" with a song titled "Theda Bara". The answers are all 1923 tunes. "What'll I Do?" is an Irving Berlin tune. "Louisville Lou (That Vampin' Lady)" is composed by Milton Ager with lyrics by Jack Yellen. "Tin Roof Blues" was written by the band members of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: Charles Brabin

All four men directed Theda at various times in her career. J. Gordon Edwards directed her more than any other director at twenty-three times. Theda and Charles married in 1921. It was her first and only marriage.

From Quiz Hollywood's First Vamp

Answer: 1955

She died of cancer four months before her seventieth birthday.

This is category 20157

= Top 5% Rated Quiz, Top 10% Rated Quiz, Top 20% Rated Quiz, A Well Rated Quiz
= added recently, = Editor's Pick = FunTrivia Editor = Gold Member
Teachers / educators: FunTrivia welcomes the use of our website and quizzes in the classroom as a teaching aid or for preparing and testing students. See our education section. Our quizzes are printable and may be used as question sheets by k-12 teachers, parents, and home schoolers.

 ·  All questions, answers, and quiz content on this website is copyright FunTrivia, Inc and may not be reproduced without permission. Any images from TV shows and movies are copyright their studios, and are being used under "fair use" for commentary and education.