Fractured Stars of the Screen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sal Mineo

Born in 1939, Mineo was an American actor of both film and stage. His parents were Sicilian and were in the business of coffin making. Very depressing I should think for a young child. Mineo, who displayed fine acting ability in his movies, was unfortunately typecast from an early age as that of the troubled young man. He found it extremely hard to break away from this typecasting, but just as he was managing to do so, he was stabbed to death in an alley in 1976.

Mineo's most famous role was that of the character John (Plato) Crawford in the 1955 movie "Rebel Without A Cause". He was nominated for an Academy Award for this and for his role as Dov Landau in the 1960 movie "Exodus".

Answer: William Shatner

This truly excellent actor, singer, author, director and sometime comic was born in Canada in 1931. He has gone down in the entertainment business as the inimitable Captain Kirk of the Starship Enterprise in the television series and movies that began to appear on our screens from 1966 onward. He's a far more accomplished actor than presented in those enjoyable Science Fiction escapades however. He also played the police officer T.J. Hooker in the series of the same name which ran from 1982 to 1986. He hosted "Rescue 911" from 1989 to 1996, and played the hilarious Denny Crane in the two excellent courtroom drama series, "The Practice" (1997-2004) and "Boston Legal" (2004-2008). These are only a small part of this actor's coloured, varied and very accomplished life.

A few interesting facts relating to William Shater; He's of Jewish descent, and he was part of the first inter-racial kiss on television (between himself and Lieutenant Uhura in his role of Captain Kirk - episode "Plato's Stepchildren"). Following the cancellation of the "Star Trek" series, he was reduced to living in a camper while he struggled to find work to support his family. He doesn't enjoy being the object of adoring fans for his Captain Kirk persona, and has often been known to poke fun of the series. He played the role of Big Giant Head in the hilarious series "Third Rock from the Sun" (1996-2001) and he recorded a wake-up message for the crew of the space shuttle Discovery on its final day at the international space station. The best thing about him of all (for me) is that he constantly sends himself up. He has a wonderful sense of humour.

Answer: Burt Lancaster

Burt Lancaster (1913-1994) managed to make the transition from the good-looking all American hero roles to roles that displayed his fine acting abilities in far more complex parts. He was nominated four times for an Academy Award and won it once for his excellent portrayal of a con-man evangelist in the 1960 film "Elmer Gantry".

Of Irish descent, Lancaster spent his early working days as a member of a circus. When an injury forced his very early retirement from this employment he became a singing waiter for a time, joined the armed forces during the war years, and only reluctantly was then coaxed into what would become a fine acting career. Known to have been married three times, he ferociously guarded his private life from the press, and was a supporter of liberal causes and racial minorities and gay rights. Love the singing waiter bit.

Answer: Roseanne Barr

Roseanne Barr was born in 1952. Known for her television series "Roseanne" (1988 to 1997), not only is she an actress, comedian writer, director and producer but, in 2011 she announced her decision to run for the position of President of the United States. Heaven help us. Roseanne won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for that excellent comic-drama television series which portrayed the lives of a battling lower middle-class family in America. Of Ukrainian, Russian, Hungarian descent, she was brought up a Mormon in Salt Lake City, Utah. One of the reasons for this was that the family wished to hide their Jewish Heritage.

Roseanne's life seemed set on the path of salvation in the church when she was struck by a car at the age of sixteen. This resulted in a severe brain injury, requiring her hospitalisation in a psychiatric unit for eight months. Her behaviour after this accident was the complete opposite of what it had been before. When she turned eighteen, she told her parents she was visiting friends in another state for a fortnight - but she never returned. Roseanne has also announced that she is going to run for the position of President of Israel.

Answer: Meredith Baxter

Born in California in 1947, Meredith Baxter is an actress and producer. We would know her best, perhaps, as the charming, beautiful and talented mother on the excellent television series "Family Ties", which ran from 1982 to 1989. She is also known for her roles in the television series "Family" (1976-1980) and "Dan Vs", a black comedy, animated series which commenced in 2011.

In "Family Ties" her role required her to be the mother of actor Michael J. Fox. In actual fact, she was only fourteen years older than Michael who, though he was twenty-one when the series began, played the role of a teenage boy still in high school. In the gallant Michael's later series "Spin City", in which he acted from 1996 to 2000, Meredith played his mother in a guest-appearance role. In the series "Dan Vs", Michael Gross, who played the role of her husband in "Family Ties", played her husband in this new role. All one big happy family, which is nice to see.

Answer: Steve McQueen

Movie actor Steve McQueen was born in 1932 in Indiana. He was, at one stage of his successful film career, the highest paid actor in the world. His movies included the 1960 western "The Magnificent Seven", in which he played a hired gunfighter; the "Thomas Crown Affair" in which he played a bored millionaire thief; and the 1966 war film "Sand Pebbles" for which he won an Academy Award nomination. Known as "The King of Cool" for his acting style, McQueen raced cars and motorcycles for a hobby, and did many, but not all, of his own stunts in films. It was a long sad childhood and youth he endured before any of this took place however.

His father abandoned the family when McQueen was a baby, and his mother was an alcoholic, so the child was brought up by his grandparents for the first part of his life. His mother remarried twice from the time he was eight and came and took the little boy from the security of the life he had known with them. Both succeeding step-fathers proved to be extremely violent men who beat both the boy and his mother, sometimes to the point of unconsciousness. This, combined with the fact that he had dyslexia, and a hearing defect as a result of an uncured ear infection, was enough to guarantee he would grow up to become a rebellious youth. At one stage he ran away and joined a circus for a time, but was eventually placed into a home for troubled youth in California. This proved to be a happy time for the boy, if only for a short time and, for the rest of his life, even after becoming a star, McQueen returned regularly to the institution to give talks to, and play pool with, the troubled inmates there. Another touching fact about this part of his life was that he was known for always personally answering any letters he received from the boys.

His follow-up life, before fame knocked on his door, was fascinating and would make a movie in its own right. It included working as a towel boy in a brothel, running away to sea, and working as a lumberjack. He next joined the Marine Corps and this proved the making of him - after several initial encounters with the brig. After an honourable discharge, he studied acting and his career grew from there, along with his interest in the sport of racing. Married three times, McQueen was invited along to the home of Sharon Tate on the night of the horrific murder by the Manson gang in 1969, but declined the offer for a more tempting engagement. He was also known for requesting studios to keep him supplied with multiple numbers of razors, jeans and other objects during the times he spent making films, a fact which puzzled many people. It wouldn't be until after his death that it was revealed he always sent these to the boys home in which he had been happy for a short time all those years ago. Steve McQueen died from cancer at the age of fifty. His death was a particularly terrible one.

Answer: Bette Midler

Born in 1945, Bette Midler is a famous actress and singer who first rose to fame with her vocal skills, before branching out into acting. She has won many awards for her work as a performer, both on the screen and as a singer. Her gift of an excellent and moving voice can produce goosebumps in its listeners at times. Of Jewish descent, Bette was also voted the most talkative member of her school. Her singing career began in, of all places, a gay bathhouse - but that's Bette. Totally different from the rest of your run of the mill stars. Her first acting role (uncredited) was playing a seasick passenger in the 1966 movie "Hawaii". Her first music album "The Divine Miss M" was produced by Barry Manilow. "The Divine Miss M" is a nickname that has remained with Bette all her career. She has made a number of successful films since then as well, including her role as the drug-addicted performer in "The Rose" (1979). This performance earned her an Academy Award nomination.

Bette is not only a fine dramatic actress, but can have you splitting your sides with laughter for her comedic performances as well. Her role as the would-be actress chasing the same man as Shelly Long in the 1987 movie "Outrageous Fortune" was hilarious. Bette contributes to many fine charitable undertakings in between times. These include founding an organisation to give new life to overgrown and neglected parks in neighbourhoods of disadvantaged people, and funding educational facilities in high poverty parts of New York. What a gal is the divine Miss M.

Answer: Gene Hackman

Gene Hackman announced his retirement from acting in 2004. Hopefully he can be tempted back onto the big screen, as he's one of the finest and capable actors to ever appear on it. He won an Academy Award for his role in the 1971 movie "The French Connection" in which he played a detective investigating a drug-smuggling racket. Another Academy Award adorns his mantelpiece for his role in the 1992 movie "Unforgiven", in which he played a gunfighter turned corrupt sheriff. He's an incredibly powerful actor in whatever role he takes on, including his hilarious portrayal as a far right senator in the extremely funny 1996 movie "The Birdcage".

When studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse, in the early stages of his career, Hackman became good friends with another aspiring actor, Dustin Hoffman. Both Hackman and Hoffman were voted "Least Likely to Succeed" by their classmates. Interestingly one of the roles Gene Hackman turned down during his career (due to other work) was that of Mike Brady in the television series "The Brady Bunch" (1969-1974).

Answer: Van Johnson

Van Johnson (1916-2008) reigned as one of the MGM studio's top ranking actors when he was at the height of his career. This was during the period leading up to the Second World War and for some years afterwards. He usually played the healthy, all round American male in his roles. His films included the 1944 "30 Seconds Over Tokyo", in which he played Captain Lawson, one of the pilots in the first air raid on Japan following that country's attack on Pearl Harbour. This was based on the true story of the war's Doolittle Raid, and actual footage of the war was included in the movie.

Johnson had a troubled early childhood. His mother was an alcoholic who abandoned the family when he was a small boy, and his interactions with his father were cold and loveless on the part of the older man. In real life, Johnson was the exact opposite of the happy cheery roles he played. He was moody and depressed and found interacting with others difficult. Only when he was at the studio was he ever happy and relaxed. He looked on it as his family home. With sixty films to his credit and numerous television and stage roles as well, Johnson was adored by female fans the world over. When he married in 1947, many of the bobby-soxers of the time wore their socks at half mast to mark the occasion.

Answer: Jane Seymour

English actress Jane Seymour was born in 1951. She is the star of such films as the 1973 "James Bond" thriller "Live and Let Die", in which she played 007's love interest; and the lovely 1980 "Somewhere in Time" romantic drama as one of two lovers separated by two separate time periods.

She also starred in the successful American made television series "Dr Quinn: Medicine Woman" (1993-1998) as a doctor in the early days of the American west. The classically beautiful Jane Seymour has two different coloured eyes.