It's NOT all relative... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Not one of those listed

Sorry for the double negativity, but in researching this question, I was surprised to discover that all the famous Boones I know, e.g., actor Richard Boone, singer Pat Boone, baseball player Bret and his brother Aaron, all have a direct blood line to the the great hero and frontiersman, Daniel. Perhaps this is because, in addition to having a brother named Squire, Daniel managed to find time to father 6 sons and 4 daughters (this was before TV and the internet).

He apparently "lit up" far more lives than I imagined.

Answer: Ted Cassidy

Ted Cassidy, the 6'9' actor, played the role of Lurch on the TV comedy "The Addams Family" from 1964-1966. For those old enough to remember, his catch phase was "You rang?". However, he is in no way related to the actor Jack Cassidy. On the other hand, Jack Cassidy (1927-1976) had one child, David, (Keith Partridge) with his first wife, and Shaun ("The Hardy Boys") with his second wife, Shirley Jones; a lot of Partridges in that pear tree!

Answer: Gary Cooper

Gary Cooper (1901-1961) was an actor whose career ran the gamut from silent films through the 1950s. He was in some great films including "Sergeant York" (1941) and "High Noon" (1952) for which he won two Best Actor Academy Awards. On the other hand, Cornelius Vanderbilt (the railroad magnate) had a famous granddaughter who became the "poor little rich girl" and famous fashion designer, i.e., Gloria Vanderbilt, who was married at one time to the famous conductor, Leopold Stokowski with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Gloria later gave birth to the famous journalist and CNN TV personality, Anderson Cooper. Good genes there!

Answer: Cathy Lee Crosby

Cathy Lee Crosby is an actress who played the role of "Wonder Woman" in the 1974 TV movie; she was also a co-host of the series "That's Incredible!" from 1980 to 1984. Her mother was an actress and her father, Lou, was the announcer for "The Lawrence Welk Show".

The famous crooner Bing Crosby (can you name any other crooners?) was the brother of bandleader Bob (and the Bobcats), married to Kathryn (who was an actress under the name Kathryn Grant) and the scion of Mary (Kristin Shepard on "Dallas"), along with Gary, Philip, Lindsay, Dennis, Nathaniel and Harry, and paternal grandfather of Denise. I guess we can figure out what to do during a "White Christmas".

Answer: Bette Davis

Sammy Davis Jr. (1925-1990) was a part of Frank Sinatra's Rat Pack. He started dancing with the Will Mastin Trio (with his uncle and his father) at the age of 7. He was also an actor, a singer, a musician and an excellent impressionist. May Britt was a Swedish actress (in films like "The Young Lions") and Sammy's second wife; Sammy's 3rd wife, Altovise, was a TV actress ("Charlie's Angels", "Chips") and dancer.

A polar opposite, except for the acting talent, Bette or Ruth Elizabeth Davis (1908-1989) was not related to Sammy.

She won two Oscars in 1935 and 1938 for "Dangerous" and "Jezebel" and 8 other nominations, had 4 husbands, 3 children and a full life.

Answer: Jesse

Jesse Jackson born in 1941 is, of course, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Baptist minister and civil rights activist. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party in both 1984 and 1988 and was a founder of the Rainbow Coalition but is not related to Michael or his family. Michael's father is Joe Jackson (not shoeless Joe Jackson or Joe Jackson who sang "Steppin Out") who was a Golden Gloves boxer and founder of the musical group "The Falcons". Janet, a famous actress and singer and Jermaine (Jackson 5) are Michael's siblings along with Marlon, Tito, Jackie, La Toya, Randy and Rebbie (and, perhaps, others while Joe was steppin' out).

Answer: Arthur Penn

Sean Penn is a great actor, having won Academy Awards for both "Mystic River" (2003) and "Milk" (2008). He put in an electrifying performance in "Dead Man Walking" (1996) and immortalized the stoner, Jeff Spicoli, in the 1982 film "Fast Times at Ridgemont High". Sean's mother, Eileen Ryan Penn, his brother, singer Michael Penn and his ex-wife, Robin Wright (not to mention Madonna) would all be invited. Arthur Penn (1922-2010), the director of such great films as "The Miracle Worker" (1962) "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) and "Little Big Man" (1970) would not be invited and would be unable to attend anyway.

Answer: Malcolm Jamal Warner

Lenny Kravitz' music is a fusion of almost every type of music: rock; soul; R&B; psychedelic; funk; reggae and folk, with 1999's "American Woman" being one of his best known songs. His mother is Roxie Roker who played Helen Willis on "The Jeffersons"; his ex-wife is Lisa Bonet from "The Cosby Show" and strangely enough, weatherman Al Roker and Lenny Kravitz' grandfathers were cousins.

Although Malcolm Jamal Warner played Theo Huxtable, the brother of Lisa Bonet's character on "The Cosby Show", he is in no way related to Lenny Kravitz in real life.

Answer: Sam Smith

Actor, rapper, producer, Will Smith, the Fresh Prince of Philadelphia, was called "the most powerful actor in Hollywood" by "Newsweek", in April 2007. His progeny include Trey from his first marriage to Sheree Zampino and Jaden and Willow from his marriage with Jada Pinkett Smith.

He's fought aliens in "Men in Black" and "Independence Day"; he fought again when he played "Ali" and he was "Gettin' Jiggy Wit It" in 1997. While Sam Smith is also a singer, that is where the connection ends. Starting out relatively young (born in the UK in 1992), in December 2014 he was nominated for 6 Grammys including Best New Artist and Record of the Year, "Stay with Me".

Answer: Flip Wilson

One of the most original and innovative groups of the 1960s was the Beach Boys. In 1961, their line-up included the leader and co-founder Brian Wilson, his brothers Carl and Dennis, their cousin Mike Love and friend Al Jardine. There were "Good Vibrations" with "Barbara Ann" on the "Sloop John B", and Brian's daughter, Carnie, continued the line as part of the group Wilson Phillips. Flip Wilson (1933-1998) is no relation to the aforementioned, but was a comic genius and an innovator in his own right.

In the 1970s, he hosted his own weekly eponymous variety show ("the Devil made me do it") and won a Golden Globe Award and two Emmys.