Deaths In The News: 2005 Trivia Game | Celebrity Deaths by Year

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Former All-American running back Glenn Davis died on March 9 of prostate cancer in La Quinta, California, at age 80. A Heisman Trophy winner in 1946, Davis played pro football briefly for which team?

Answer: Los Angeles Rams

Davis was "Mr. Outside" opposite teammate Felix "Doc" Blanchard, who was known as "Mr. Inside", at Army. He scored 59 touchdowns during his college career, and in 1945 averaged an astonishing 11.5 yards per carry. The year Davis won the Heisman, he beat some pretty good company, including teammate Blanchard (who finished fourth that year), running back Herman Wedemeyer and quarterback Bobby Layne.

After spending three years in the US Army, Davis led the Rams to the NFL Championship Game, but only played one more season beyond that due to knee injuries. (Thanks to wikipedia.com and davidpietruza.com for additional information.)

2. Actor Henry Corden died from complication of emphysema, on May 19, at age 85. A versatile supporting player who played in a number of movies, Corden is best known for providing the voice for which cartoon character?

Answer: Fred Flintstone

After the death of Alan Reed in 1977, Henry Corden took on the voice of Fred Flintstone, one of Hanna-Barbara's most famous characters. Not only did Corden give life to the character in animated series and specials, but he also voiced the role in a myriad of cereal commercials and video games. Among his live-action roles were guest appearances on series like "I Dream of Jeannie", "The Monkees" and "Hogan's Heroes". (Thanks to Wikipedia and The Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

3. Longtime federal judge Constance Baker Motley died of congestive heart failure in New York City, on September 28, at age 84. Before making history as the first female African-American federal judge, Motley became the first female African-American to serve in which state's senate?

Answer: New York

A graduate of New York University in 1943 and Columbia University's law school in 1946, Constance Baker Motley wrote the original complaint in the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, and successfully argued the case that allowed James Meredith to become the first African-American student to attend the University of Mississippi.

In 1964, she was elected to New York's state senate, and was appointed to a federal judgeship by President Johnson in 1966. At the time of her death, she was a district judge for the Southern District of New York, in the United States District Court. An active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Motley was honored with the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP in 2003 and the Presidential Citizens Medal in 1993. (Thanks to Wikipedia for additional information.)

4. Pioneering journalist Shana Alexander died on June 23, 2005, in Hermosa Beach, California, at age 79. Before gaining fame on the popular "Point-Counterpoint" segment on "60 Minutes", Alexander made history by becoming the first female staff writer for which magazine?

Answer: Life

The daughter of movie critic Cecilia Ager and songwriter Milton Ager, Shana Alexander wrote a number of non-fiction books during her career, touching on topics like the Mafia and Patty Hearst. She also wrote for Harper's Bazaar and Newsweek, and served as editor of McCall's in 1969. From 1975 to 1979, Alexander provided the liberal viewpoint, opposite conservative commentator James J. Kilpatrick, on the "Point-Counterpoint" segments at the end of "60 Minutes". (Thanks to CBS News and the Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

5. Legendary college basketball coach Clarence "Big House" Gaines died on April 18, from complications of a stroke, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, at age 81. Which of the following statements about Gaines is FALSE?

Answer: Gaines was an alumnus of Howard University

Big House Gaines was the first coach to lead a historically-black university to NCAA glory, leading Winston-Salem State University to the Division II basketball championship with Earl "The Pearl" Monroe in 1967. During his career, he won 828 games and 12 CIAA championships.

As a track coach, Gaines mentored a young man by the name of Eugene Wolcott, who would go on to become Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan. A native of Paducah, Gaines graduated from Morgan State College in Baltimore in 1945. (Thanks to Wikipedia and the Basketball Hall of Fame for additional information.)

6. Actress Barbara Bel Geddes died of lung cancer at her home in Northeast Harbor, Maine, on August 8, at age 82. Bel Geddes earned the first of her two Tony Award nominations for Best Dramatic Actress for her role in which well-known play?

Answer: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof"

Modern audiences remember Barbara Bel Geddes as the level-headed Miss Ellie, the matriarch of the Ewing family clan, on the hit CBS series "Dallas" during the 1980s. But Bel Geddes had a presence on Broadway as well, originating the role of Maggie in Tennessee Williams' famed play "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in 1955, and playing the lead in "Mary, Mary" in 1961.

Although she didn't win a Tony, she did win an Emmy for her work as Miss Ellie. (Thanks to Wikipedia and the Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

7. Academy Award-winning director Robert Wise died of heart failure in Los Angeles on September 14, at age 91. Which of the following motion pictures did Wise NOT direct during his long career?

Answer: "The Shining"

Getting his start as a sound editor on such films as "Of Human Bondage" and "The Gay Divorcee" (both released in 1934), Robert Wise served as the film editor of such classics as "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" (1939), "Citizen Kane" (1941) and "The Magnificant Ambersons" (1942).

In addition to winning Best Director Oscars for "West Side Story" (1961) and "The Sound of Music" (1965), Wise directed "The Day The Earth Stood Still" (1951), "Run Silent Run Deep" (1958), "The Hindenburg" (1975) and "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" (1979).

The late Stanley Kubrick directed "The Shining" in 1980. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

8. Author Judith Rossner died on August 9, from complications of leukemia and diabetes, at age 70. In the motion-picture adaptation of her famous novel, "Looking for Mr. Goodbar", which actress plays the story's main character, a teacher trolling singles bars in search of the perfect man?

Answer: Diane Keaton

Rossner's novel has eerie similarities to a real-life murder case on New York's West Side, in which a woman working the singles bars was killed by a prospective suitor. In a 1977 profile by The New York Times, however, Rossner denied that she based her book on that particular case.

Although "Mr. Goodbar" was Rossner's biggest commercial success, she also wrote other novels, including "To The Precipice", "Nine Months in the Life of an Old Maid", and "August". (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database and The New York Times for additional information.)

9. Former heavyweight boxing champion Max Schmeling died on February 2, in Hollenstadt, Germany, at age 99. Which of the following statements about Schmeling is FALSE?

Answer: He was an ardent supporter of the Nazi regime

Boasting a career record of 56 wins, 10 losses and 4 draws, with 40 knockouts, Max Schmeling was married for 54 years to Czech actress Anny Ondra, who appeared in over 80 films during a career spanning over 30 years. Despite the fact that he was linked to the Nazis by the American press, especially in his famed rematch against Joe Louis, he went to great lengths to distance himself from the party.

Not only did he help smuggle several Jewish friends out of Germany before the start of World War II, he later became good friends with Lewis and helped pay his medical bills during his later days. (Thanks to Wikipedia for additional information.)

10. Longtime CBS News correspondent George Herman died in Washington, DC, on February 8, at age 85. In what year did Herman begin his lengthy stint as host of the public-affairs program "Face the Nation"?

Answer: 1969

Although he is best known for hosting "Face the Nation", George Herman spent 43 years with the network as a field correspondent, covering everything from the Korean War to the Watergate break-in. According to fellow CBS News correspondent Bob Schieffer, in his book, "Face the Nation", Herman cited Israeli prime minister Golda Meier as one of the toughest people he ever interviewed on that show.

Herman hosted the program until 1983 and retired from CBS in 1987. (Thanks to the Internet Movie Database for additional information.)

Source: Author cag1970

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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Deaths In The News: 2005 Trivia Quiz

This quiz celebrates the lives of some notable people who passed away in 2005.

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