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Guinness Sir Alec Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
Guinness Sir Alec Quizzes, Trivia

Sir Alec Guinness Trivia

Sir Alec Guinness Trivia Quizzes

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3 quizzes and 40 trivia questions.
1.
  Give a Hand for the Wonderful Sir Alec Guinness!   popular trivia quiz  
Ordering Quiz
 10 Qns
As an actor, Sir Alec Guinness got a lot of hands of applause during his career. Can you order these ten inspiring events in the life of the great Alec Guinness? No need to hold the applause!
Difficult, 10 Qns, lordprescott, Mar 16 23
Difficult
lordprescott gold member
Mar 16 23
86 plays
2.
  Having a Guinness with Sir Alec   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sir Alec Guinness was an amazing actor who will always be remembered for his method acting on stage and on the silver screen. Let's hear it from Sir Alec himself, as I sat down to have a pint or three with him.
Average, 10 Qns, LeoDaVinci, Apr 11 21
Average
LeoDaVinci editor
Apr 11 21
264 plays
3.
  Sir Alec Guinness    
Multiple Choice
 20 Qns
A quiz on the life and work of one of the twentieth century's most versatile and fascinating actors. Sir Alec's career went well beyond "Star Wars". Good Luck & Enjoy!
Tough, 20 Qns, jouen58, Nov 24 14
Tough
jouen58
748 plays

Sir Alec Guinness Trivia Questions

1. Where was Sir Alec Guinness born?

From Quiz
Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Marylebone

Guinness was born on 2nd April 1914 at Marylebone, London.

2. Guinness applied for a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 1933. To which legendary actor did he turn to for advice at the outset of his career?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Sir John Gielgud

Unusually for one so shy and unsure of himself, Guinness impulsively approached the already famous and celebrated Gielgud for advice. Gielgud referred him to the great actress Martita Hunt (who would later costar with Guinness as Miss Havisham in "Great Expectations"). Hunt tried to discourage him from an acting career, but he eventually won her over.

3. Guinness portrayed the Fool in Shakespeare's "King Lear" in 1947 alongside this legendary actor in the title role.

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Sir Laurence Olivier

Olivier's performance was not well received and he was annoyed that Guinness had received the lion's share of attention (and praise) from the critics. Guinness' explanation was quite simple: whenever Olivier entered, the lights came up on him; all Guinness had to do was stay very close to Olivier.

4. Which two Dickens roles did Guinness memorably portray in film versions directed by David Lean?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Fagin in "Oliver Twist" and Herbert Pocket in "Great Expectations"

In addition to these, Guinness played William Dorrit in the 1987 film version of "Little Dorrit" and the ghost of Jacob Marley in the 1970 film "Scrooge", a musical version of "A Christmas Carol" starring Albert Finney.

5. What was notable about Guinness' performance in the 1949 film "Kind Hearts and Coronets"?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: He portrays eight different characters, including a woman.

This extraordinary black comedy concerns one Mazzini (Dennis Price), the son of an aristocratic mother whose family, the D'Ascoynes, reject her when she marries an Italian opera singer. When the D'Ascoyne's refuse even to permit her burial in the family plot, Mazzini vows revenge. He schemes to eliminate them all and succeed to the dukedom. All eight of the D'Ascoynes, including a woman (Lady Agatha; a suffragette) are played brilliantly by Guinness (at one point he plays his own father). If you see only one Guinness film in your life, this should be the one.

6. Guinness starred with Stanley Holloway in the delightful 1948 comedy "The Lavender Hill Mob." What hair-raising near-miss befell both men during filming?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: They nearly fell off the Eiffel tower.

In his 1996 memoir "My Name Escapes Me", Guinness states that "Ealing studios never succeeded in killing me in spite of some quite good tries." At one point, he and Holloway were at the top of the Eiffel Tower and were supposed to run from the police down a spiral staircase. Part of the way down, Guinness realized to his horror that the staircase ended abruptly three feet ahead of him and immediately sat down (it was apparently still under construction; there was a sign on the trap door leading to the staircase reading "Workmen Only"). When the directors yelled at him to run further down, he called up "Further down is eternity!" He adds, with understandable bitterness "No one had checked up on the staircase and no one apologized; that wasn't Ealing policy."

7. What religion did Sir Alec convert to in the 1950s?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Catholicism

In 1954 Guinness played the title role in the film "Father Brown", based on Gilbert K. Chesterton's books about a fictional detective-priest. After filming one day he was headed toward a bar, still in costume, when a small boy grabbed his hand and began chattering away in French. Guinness let the child lead him to his home, where they bid each other "Bon jour" before the boy disappeared into the house. Guinness was moved and impressed by the innate trust that the clerical garb had inspired in the child. At about this time, his own 11 year-old son Matthew became paralyzed from the waist down. Guinness found himself wandering into the local church and praying, which eventually led to his taking instruction in the Catholic faith, to which he converted in 1955.

8. Guinness once met and liked this celebrity icon, ________ , and had a premonition of his/her tragic death in an automobile accident.

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: James Dean

Dean had just purchased the 1955 silver Porsche which would prove to be his death car when he encountered Guinness, Grace Kelly, and Louis Jourdan. When Dean bragged that the car could do 150 mph, Guinness told him that it looked very dangerous and that he should never set foot in the car; if he did, Guinness warned, he would be dead within a week. Dean laughed off the warning; six days later (Sept. 30) he had his fatal accident. (Ironically, Grace Kelly would also die in an auto accident 26 years later.). Guinness was also once the dinner guest of Princess Diana at a social function; sadly, he had no premonition of her tragic accident.

9. Which famous and tragic poet did Guinness portray onstage in a 1964 Broadway play?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Dylan Thomas

The 1964 play "Dylan" dealt with the final months of the alcoholic poet's life. His performance won him the Antoinette Perry award that year.

10. What is the (highly unusual) name of Sir Alec's wife, to whom he was married for 62 years until his death in 2000?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Merula

Guinness was married to playwright and artist Merula Salaman for 62 years until his death in August 2000. They met when Guinness was appearing in a production of Gielgud's "Noah" and married in 1938.

11. In his 1996 memoir, Guinness describes a loving service which his wife often performed for him; what was it?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: She would place a small vase of flowers on his desk.

Merula would do this each week. In his 1996 memoir, Guinness writes "I rarely see her do this; her loving gestures are nearly always a surprise."

12. In what year did Sir Alec receive his knighthood? (Hint: it was one year after another momentous event in his career.)

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: 1959

Guinness was knighted in 1959 by Queen Elizabeth II; this was one year after his Oscar win for "Bridge on the River Kwai".

13. What infamous historical figure did Guinness portray in a 1973 film?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: Adolf Hitler

Guinness portrayed Hitler in "Hitler; the Last Ten Days", detailing the German dictator's final days in the bunker. Other (less notorious) historical personages Guinness has portrayed are Prince Faisal (in "Lawrence of Arabia"), Marcus Aurelius (in "The Fall of the Roman Empire"), King Charles I (in "Cromwell"), and Benjamin Disraeli (in "The Mudlark")

14. How many films of the "Star Wars" series did Guinness appear in?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: 3

Although his character Obi Wan Kenobi died in the first "Star Wars" installment, he reappears as a spiritual presence in "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Return of the Jedi".

15. Sir Alec Guinness died in 2000 at the age of 86. What did he leave his wife after his death?

From Quiz Sir Alec Guinness

Answer: A letter

A man of somewhat mercurial temperament in his private life, Guinness frequently agonised over his occasional bouts of bad temper. He had left Merula a letter to be read after his death emphasizing his deep love and affection and expressing regret for any pain he had caused her.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:53 AM
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