Facts on Famous Performers No 2 Quiz

Answer: William Holden

William Holden was born in 1918. He was spotted by a talent scout for Paramount Studios in 1937 and began taking small parts in movies from that time. When the Second World War drew the US into the international conflict, Holden enlisted in the Army's Air Force, rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. In 1950 he hit the big time with his portrayal of Joe Gillis opposite Gloria Swanson in the movie "Sunset Boulevard". He was nominated for an Academy Award for his work in that film, but it would be his role in "Stalag 17" (1953) that saw him take the award home. Because the award ceremony was running late, Holden had no time to say anything but "Thank you" when he accepted the Oscar. So annoyed was he by this that he took out advertisements in various Hollywood magazines to thank those he couldn't on the night.

Sadly this fine character actor of 71 films began to drink heavily towards the close of his career. It was this that killed him. Whilst alone and intoxicated one night in 1981, he slipped on a rug and violently hit his head on the corner of a bedside cabinet. The cut was so deep that he bled to death. Today he is remembered not only for his many films, but also for the William Holden Wildlife Foundation. Holden had supported wildlife conservation for many years. Following his death, his long time girlfriend, the actress Stefanie Powers, established this foundation as a memorial. It is based at a ranch that Holden owned in Kenya, Africa.

Answer: Tallulah Bankhead

Tallulah Bankhead was controversial to say the least. She was beautiful, intelligent and talented it's true, but her personal life with both men and women, and her frank comments to the media about same, were truly scandalous. None of those comments can be quoted in here. Born in Alabama in 1902, she came from a powerful political family. They must have reeled continually from shock as her antics were reported back to them. She was the star of such productions as "The Little Foxes" (1939) and Alfred Hitchcock's 1944 film "Lifeboat".

That aside, Tallulah was irrepressible, entertaining, very witty, and one unique figure all round. For example, she loved driving and during eight years she once spent in London, she drove herself round in a Bentley. However, because she continually got lost, she always hired a taxi to lead the way so she could follow it. She was also renowned for the no holds barred parties she threw, her habit of turning cartwheels without wearing any underwear, of entering a room completely naked, and her witticisms. Once, when leaving a nightclub, she noticed a Salvation Army band playing. Reaching into her purse, she tossed a twenty dollar note into one of their tambourines, remarking "There, dahlings, I know it's been a rough winter for you Spanish dancers".

Answer: Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was born in 1911 and died in 1989. She was the star of the television series "I Love Lucy" and its several spinoffs. Lucy, who is related to Ginger Rogers, gave us the gift of laughter. In one of the scenes in "I Love Lucy", for example, the audience laughed for so long that half the soundtrack had to be cut out. She also acted in films and was a radio star as well - and owned a Television production studio to boot. She was married twice, but her true love remained her first husband, Desi Arnaz, to whom she was married for twenty years.

Lucy's phobia about birds springs from the day her father died, when she was aged three. A small bird became trapped in the house of grief. The impression of its frantic attempts to fly to freedom, coupled with her confusion and fear at the loss of her father, remained with her all her life. Birds for her became associated with loss, despair and unhappiness.

Answer: Walter Foghorn Matthau

This wasn't the first time Walter Matthau used a false name, and he appeared in several movies under different aliases. When he played a cameo performance in the 1974 movie "Earthquake" for example, he requested, as a joke, that his name be credited as Walter Matuschanskayasky. Unfortunately this backfired on him somewhat. He found his birth name being officially listed in various articles as exactly that from then on. His actual birth name was Walter John Matthow. He was born in New York on October 1, 1920, to a Lithuanian mother and a Russian father, both of whom were Jewish.

Matthau's early career in films was in dramatic or villainous roles. It wasn't until 1965 when he performed in the stage play "The Odd Couple" as the character Oscar Madison that his true gift of comedy was recognised. He would go on to perform that role in the 1968 film version of the same name with the actor Jack Lemmon. The two men had met on the set of the 1966 film "The Fortune Cookie" and remained lifelong friends from that time. They made a total of ten films together. Walter Matthau died of cancer in 2000. He is buried in a cemetery in Los Angeles. Jack Lemmon, who died shortly afterwards, is buried in the same cemetery.

Answer: Bell's Palsy

Clooney, who was born in 1961, had to put up with this condition for almost a year before it righted itself. He said the experience of being laughed at by his classmates helped strengthen his character. Another interesting fact about this actor is that he is connected to several famous entertainers. The first was to his aunt, singer and actress Rosemary Clooney (1928-2002). The others are to actress and singer Debby Boone (born 1956), who is the daughter of actor and singer Pat Boone (born 1934). She married Clooney's cousin, Gabriel Ferrer, who is the son of Rosemary Clooney and actor and director Jose Ferrer.

Bell's Palsy is a condition which affects a nerve in the face. The outcome of this is that one side of the face is paralysed and somewhat grotesquely twisted for several weeks to months, or even permanently. No cause has been identified for it yet. You usually end up with a drooped and drooling mouth and a staring eye which can't blink and cannot be closed, and that has to be taped shut. I had the rotten thing for two months once, when I was a student teacher, right before I started a teaching assignment. I think the students behaved out of fear.

Answer: His mother refused to cut his long, curly, shoulder-length hair

Moe, of Lithuanian Jewish descent, was born Moses Harry Horwitz in 1897, in Brooklyn, New York city. His mother adored his long curly hair and refused to have it trimmed. When Moe started school however, he couldn't take the teasing from his classmates that his curls instigated. He marched home one day, stuck a bowl on his head, and cut round it. Perhaps he should go down in history as the first Beatle. Moe and his brothers made many slapstick comedy films as the "The Three Stooges" for four decades, and brought laughter to many film-goers all over the world. Some of these included a series of anti-Nazi films during the 1940s. Films, such as "You Nazty Spy!" (1930); and "I'll Never Heil Again" (1941), both of which poked fun of the Nazi regime.

In real life, Moe was the exact opposite of the character of the bullying and abrasive leader of the Stooges, and was described by all he knew him as a gentle and loving man. He married Helen Schonberger in 1925 and the couple remained married for fifty years, until they both died in 1975, Moe from lung cancer (May) and Helen from a heart attack (October). They had two children. Interestingly, Helen was a cousin to the magician Harry Houdini.

Answer: Betty White

With many Emmy awards and at least twenty nominations of same to her credit, the amazing Betty White (born 17 January, 1922) just never stops. Apart from all her earlier successes and appearances in television and film and on radio, she joined the cast of the soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" as a recurring character in 2006.

She had an ongoing role in the television series "Boston Legal" from 2005 to 2008. Then there was her role as the hero's grandmother in the 2009 movie "The Proposal" (starring Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds).

She was also a co-star in the 2010 film "You Again". In 2010, she signed up as one of the stars in the new television series "Hot in Cleveland" in which her character is that of a vinegar-tongued elderly caretaker (Polish) with a very colorful past. Astonishing. That's in addition to all her guest appearances on other shows.

The role we perhaps most identify with Betty is that of the wide-eyed innocent in the series "The Golden Girls", which ran from 1985 to 1992.

In this show, she played one of four middle-aged and elderly women, either widowed or divorced, sharing a house in Miami, Florida. She's one incredible lady, and her eyes just sparkle with energy, laughter and continuing enthusiasm for life whenever and wherever she can be seen lighting up the silver screen.

Answer: He said the child looked like a "fat little Dutchman"

In fact, there is not a drop of Dutch blood in Ronald's Reagan's ancestry at all, but English, Scots and Irish only. The family, when he was a child, wasn't particularly well off, and at one stage they lived above a store in Tampico, Illinois. Mr Reagan would joke when he and his own family moved into the White House years later that they "were living above the store again". Everyone knows of course that Dutch was the fortieth president of the United States from 1981 to 1989, but perhaps some don't know that he was also an actor in his younger days, making a total of 78 films in all. None were particularly successful, and were usually classed as B grade movies. Still, it was a living. One of these was "Love is on the Air", made in 1937, in which he plays a crime reporter who clashes with his sponsor, when it is revealed that this sponsor is in cahoots with the criminals being investigated. Just as he was beginning to make a name for himself in the movies, however, along came World War two, and Reagan was called up, where he was soon moved to the Motion Picture Unit of the defence force. By the time the war was concluded, Dutch had risen to the rank of captain, having made more than 400 films, usually of a training nature, for the boys.

When his first wife, the actress Jane Wyman, filed for divorce in 1948 (due to her dislike of his duties in the Screen Actors Guild Union, and his later political ambitions), he met the actress Nancy Davis the following year. The couple were married in a quiet ceremony in 1952. This marriage was one of true love, mutual support and encouragement always, and they remained together until Mr Reagan's death, at the age of 93, in 2004. Nancy Reagan would remark of her husband shortly before this death that "My life began with Ronnie...I can't imagine life without him"; and in a letter he once sent to her, he wrote that "Whatever I treasure and enjoy...all would be without meaning if I didn't have you". Lifeguard who saved 77 people from drowning, radio announcer, actor, Captain, politician, President of the United States, all combined with a great and unifying love. Not too bad at all for a "fat little Dutchman", wouldn't you agree?

Answer: Babe

Cromwell (born 1940) has been nominated for various awards many times for his roles in both film, stage and on television. One of his particularly impressive roles was in the 2006 film "The Queen" where he plays the role of Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, who is Queen Elizabeth II's husband.

His ability with various accents is also impressive. In the enchanting 1995 film "Babe" in which he plays farmer Arthur Hoggett, the owner of the pig Babe, I actually thought he was a true blue Aussie. During the course of his career, Cromwell has acted in over 50 films and appeared in almost 100 television series or films. We think it's awfully funny over here that he decided to become an ethical vegan during the making of the film, "Babe". We also think it's amusing that, at 6 foot, seven inches tall, he's listed on official records as the tallest actor, up to 2012, to be nominated for an Academy Award. What's that got to do with anything?

Answer: Mistook a chimney for a balcony - and fell in

Born in 1920, Sirkka, who must have been remarkedly short-sighted, died in 1939. She had already made three films in that short time and the world was her oyster until the night she inadvertently re-enacted the role of Santa Claus. At a cast and crew party for this, her last film, she went up to the roof of the hotel where the party was being held with a group of other party-goers. Spotting a chimney that was a couple of metres tall, one that had a ladder fixed to its side, Sirkka thought the ladder would lead her up to a balcony if she climbed it.

She did so, tripped when she laughingly reached the top, and fell down the chimney into a fully operating furnace below. The poor myopic girl died instantly.