Famous People Born In 1959, Part 2 Trivia Game | Celebrities

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Some young girls are told "some day your prince will come" but this 1959-born woman made that dream come true. "The firm" did not always like her, and she was compared unfavourably to her sister-in-law. Which of these launched a career in television after parting from her prince?

Answer: Sarah, Duchess of York

Sarah Margaret Ferguson was born on 15th October 1959 in London. She married Prince Andrew, second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip in 1986. The marriage lasted 10 years and they had two children. They remained friends after their divorce.

She was considered by some sections of the British media as "frumpy" compared to her glamorous sister-in-law, Princess Diana. Fergie - as she was dubbed - had a weight problem and constantly battled with it. "The firm" was the name given to the Queen and Prince Phillip and they disapproved of Fergie's friendships with men other than her husband.

After their divorce, she began a successful media career in the USA and worked hard for charity - and Weight Watchers.

2. As a comedian and a TV host, this born-in-1959 individual was as camp as they came. Which English-born comic had his sticky moments, but proved to be light on his feet?

Answer: Julian Clary

Julian Clary was born on May 25th 1959 in Teddington, England. A 'graduate' of London's tough alternative comedy circuit, Clary went on to a career in television that included hosting the gameshow 'Sticky Moments with Julian Clary'. In 2004, with his professional dance partner Erin Boag, he was third in the BBC TV dance competition 'Strictly Come Dancing'.

3. To tell the truth, he was never happier than when making things up or putting words into the mouth of a busy builder. He got involved in a star war before a regular spot of weekly mocking came up. There was temptation to get into conflict with a co-star born in the same year. Whose 50th birthday cake was it anyway?

Answer: Greg Proops

Gregory Everett Proops was born on October 3 1959 in Phoenix Arizona. He was best know for roles in the improvisation show "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" in both the UK and the USA. (Another cast member Ryan Stiles was also born in 1959). Other appearances included "To Tell the Truth", the US panel game, and "Mock the Week", a UK panel game.

He also provided the voice for Bob The Builder in the animated series of the same name, and the voice of Beed, one part of a two-headed character in 'Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)'.

4. He was a delightful Prince Charming to an equally charming ogre, and also a Prince to a mad king. Which 1959-born actor found comedy the next best thing to really meaty Shakespearean roles?

Answer: Rupert Everett

Rupert James Hector Everett was born on May 29th 1959 in Norfolk, England. His movie roles included Prince Charming in "Shrek 2" (2004} and "Shrek The Third" (2007). He also starred as the Prince of Wales in "The Madness of King George" (1994) and in "The Next Best Thing" (2007). His piece of Shakespeare came in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" in 1999, that is if you excluded "Shakespeare In Love"(1998).

5. It's tough when you have to follow in someone's shoes, particularly when you're in 8.5 million homes every week. Which newsman was determined to remain number one nightly as his half-century approached?

Answer: Brian Williams

Brian Douglas Williams was born in Elmira New York on May 5 1959. In 2004 he succeeded Tom Brokaw as anchor of the 'NBC Nightly News'. Since then, it was regularly the most-watched news show on American TV, despite all the competition

6. Sixty-five million fans can't be wrong and everything he did, he did it for them. Which singer is also a pretty handy photographer?

Answer: Bryan Adams

Bryan Guy Adams was born on November 5th 1959 in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. He had a pretty straight-forward musical career from the time he cut his first demo in 1978, and had top 10 hits from his 1983 album "Cuts Like a Knife". Then, in 1993, he provided "Anything I Do, I Do It For You" for the "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves" movie. That was a monster hit. Adams was a regular nominee for Grammy and Academy awards.

It was estimated that by 2008 he had sold 65 million records. He is also a gifted photographer who mounted many major exhibitions of his work.

7. It's a long way from an apprenticeship in mechanical engineering to 'Top of the Pops', but that was the journey an English laughman made. He was one half of a double act that liked the smell of success. Who soared like a shooting star after his birth in 1959?

Answer: Vic Reeves

James Roderick Moir was born in Leeds, Yorkshire on January 24 1959. He seemed destined for a career in industry until he formed a band, but let the clowning take over from the music. He changed his name to Vic Reeves, and began to appear on the alternative comedy circuit. TV fame followed, especially after he teamed up with his partner Bob Mortimer.

They produced shows such as "The Smell of Reeves and Mortimer" (1993), "Shooting Stars" (1993-1997) and "Bang Bang, It's Reeves and Mortimer" (1999).

In 1991, Reeves and Mortimer teamed up with The Wonder Stuff to have a UK No 1 single with "Dizzy".

8. Her CV ran from palaeontologist to politician. Some thought she looked a little artificial, but which 1959-born former model still looked good, and raked in a fortune, as her 50th birthday approached?

Answer: Barbara Roberts

Barbara Millicent Roberts, was probably better known as 'Barbie', the doll that found a place in millions of homes. Barbara first appeared at the New York Trade Fair in 1959. She was created by Elliot and Ruth Handler, Polish immigrants to the USA. They had noticed that their daughter, Barbara, preferred to play with paper cut-out dolls rather than the babyish dolls already on the market. By 2009, Barbie had spawned many imitations, but was raking in $3.3 billion a year. [Source: 'Girl Power' by Eric Clarke, "The Daily Telegraph" magazine, January 2009].

9. The next question (The next question) - do I hear an echo? Which 1959-born singer might just have been half man-half rabbit?

Answer: Ian McCulloch

Ian Stephen McCulloch was born in Liverpool on May 5th 1959. His early musical career was in the band Crucial Three, but he was best known for his involvement with Echo and the Bunnymen. The band enjoyed critical acclaim and had a good reputation for concert performances, but chart success eluded them.

Their best performance was taking the album 'Ocean Rain' to number 4 in the British charts in 1984.

10. As a helicopter pilot, she was literally out of this world. Which 1959-born Florida native probably did not have a lot of space to get ideas above her station while looking down on the world?

Answer: Wendy B. Lawrence

Captain Wendy Barrien Lawrence, USN, was born in Jacksonville on July 2nd 1959. Her grandfather and father were both navy pilots and her father was a USN Vice-Admiral. Captain Lawrence became the first female graduate of the US Naval Academy to fly in space.

In all she chalked up 1,200 hours of space time in four missions after 1995, including serving on the US/USSR space station 'Mir'.

Source: Author darksplash

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor skunkee before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Famous People Born In 1959, Part 2 Quiz

Blow hard, and make a wish: More famous people with 50 candles on their birthday cakes in 2009.

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