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Marvelous Mamie Van Doren Trivia Quiz

Of the Blond Bombshells, the "Three 'M's" in the 1950s (Marilyn, Mansfield and Mamie), only Mamie Van Doren made it to the 21st century racking up new fans worldwide! How much do you know about her?

A multiple-choice quiz by Robertogee. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
Robertogee

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
204,205

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
20

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
14 / 20

Plays
302

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 20

1. What is Mamie Van Doren's birth name? Hint

Victoria Marie Swenson

Evelyn Louise Bluerock

Myrtle Blythe Olafsson

Joan Lucille Olander

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Question 2 of 20

2. Where was Mamie Van Doren born? Hint

Minot, North Dakota

Leadville, Colorado

Glendive, Montana

Rowena, South Dakota

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Question 3 of 20

3. What year was Mamie Van Doren born? Hint

1931

1932

1930

1933

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Question 4 of 20

4. When she was a girl, Mamie Van Doren received a cherished autograph outside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles from what childhood idol? Hint

Jean Harlow

Bette Davis

Joan Crawford

Mae West

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Question 5 of 20

5. Universal Studios chose Mamie Van Doren's name from what two popular personages? Hint

A silent film star and a leading industrialist

A fictional heroine and a WWII hero

A British music hall singer and an historian

A President's wife and a quiz show contestant

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Question 6 of 20

6. Mamie Van Doren moved to Hollywood in what year? Hint

1944

1943

1942

1941

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Question 7 of 20

7. Mamie Van Doren's first job in Hollywood (at age 13) was what? Hint

An usherette at the Pantages Theatre

A neighborhood newspaper route

A children's clothing model for Sears-Roebuck

A dancer with the Meglin Kiddies

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Question 8 of 20

8. Mamie Van Doren's first speaking role in films consisted of one word: "Look!" Who starred in that film? Hint

Clark Gable

William Powell

Spencer Tracy

John Wayne

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Question 9 of 20

9. Which of the following is NOT a quotation from Mamie Van Doren? Hint

"To be glamorous, to be beautiful, is to be doomed eventually to be disappointed".

"There is a history of calamitous and violent deaths among the glamorous girls that boggles the mind and chills the blood, especially if you're one of the few survivors".

"Sex symbols are born and not made."

"Our profession is perhaps the most competitive in the world".

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Question 10 of 20

10. Mamie Van Doren and Jayne Mansfield co-starred in what two films? Hint

"The Las Vegas Hillbillys" and "Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt"

"The Big Operator" and "Guns, Girls and Gangsters"

"The Blonde from Buenos Aires" and "The Beat Generation"

"Girl's Town" and "Teacher's Pet"

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Question 11 of 20

11. "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" (1968), starring Mamie Van Doren, was directed by what up-and-coming young director? Hint

Peter Bogdanovich

William Friedkin

Steven Spielberg

Martin Scorsese

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Question 12 of 20

12. Before she was an actress, Mamie Van Doren was a band singer.

True

False

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Question 13 of 20

13. Mamie Van Doren and Tuesday Weld were featured together in what two films? Hint

"Sex Kittens Go to College" and "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve"

"Because They're Young" and "Rock, Rock, Rock"

"Bachelor Flat" and "High Time"

"College Confidential" and "I Walk the Line"

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Question 14 of 20

14. How many marriages has Mamie Van Doren had? Hint

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Question 15 of 20

15. At 18, Mamie Van Doren posed for famed painter of the "Vargas Girls", Alberto Vargas, and his painting of her appeared on the cover of what magazine? Hint

Esquire

Jaguar

Playboy

Escapade

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Question 16 of 20

16. Mamie Van Doren has children.

True

False

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Question 17 of 20

17. Including her early uncredited roles, Mamie Van Doren has appeared in how many films? Hint

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Question 18 of 20

18. What film featured Mamie Van Doren as "Silver Morgan" and jazz singer Mel Torme as the leader of a motorcycle gang? Hint

High School Confidential

Born Reckless

The Beat Generation

Girl's Town

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Question 19 of 20

19. Mamie Van Doren co-starred with Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows in what unforgettable film? Hint

The Girl in Black Stockings

Running Wild

Untamed Youth

College Confidential

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Question 20 of 20

20. Mamie Van Doren is happily single, swinging and still dating in her 70s.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. What is Mamie Van Doren's birth name?

Answer: Joan Lucille Olander

She was named after Joan Crawford.

2. Where was Mamie Van Doren born?

Answer: Rowena, South Dakota

Mamie started life with her family on a farm. She was the daughter of Warner Carl Olander (March 30, 1908-June 4, 1992) and Lucille Harriet Bennett (January 21, 1912-August 27, 1995).

3. What year was Mamie Van Doren born?

Answer: 1931

February 6. She's an Aquarian. She was born five years after Marilyn Monroe and two years before Jayne Mansfield.

4. When she was a girl, Mamie Van Doren received a cherished autograph outside the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles from what childhood idol?

Answer: Mae West

Shortly after moving to Hollywood, Joan (Mamie) and her mother attended an event at the Ambassador, where the future Mamie Van Doren shyly asked Miss West for her autograph. The star inscribed, "To Joanie -- a very pretty girl." Joan (Mamie) slept with it under her pillow.

But her real idol was Jean Harlow, she's always said, though she believes she follows in both their footsteps.

5. Universal Studios chose Mamie Van Doren's name from what two popular personages?

Answer: A President's wife and a quiz show contestant

Universal Studios inked a seven-year deal with her on January 20, 1953, on Eisenhower's inauguration day. They named her "Mamie" for Ike's wife. Deciding she needed a vaguely European surname to match her spectacular Swedish looks, they chose "Van Doren" from Charles Van Doren, then the reigning champion on TV's first "big money" quiz show, "The $64,000 Question".

6. Mamie Van Doren moved to Hollywood in what year?

Answer: 1942

She was born in Rowena, South Dakota, in 1931; the family moved to Sioux City, Iowa, in 1939; and in 1942 they settled in Hollywood.

7. Mamie Van Doren's first job in Hollywood (at age 13) was what?

Answer: An usherette at the Pantages Theatre

Her job as an usherette, much like Carol Burnett's first Hollywood job some years later, was Mamie's introduction to show business and allowed her to watch films for free!

8. Mamie Van Doren's first speaking role in films consisted of one word: "Look!" Who starred in that film?

Answer: John Wayne

She was discovered by Howard Hughes when, at age 16, she won "Miss Eight Ball" and "Miss Palm Springs". He cast her in "Jet Pilot" (uncredited), starring John Wayne, which was produced in 1949 and 1950, though not released until 1957.

9. Which of the following is NOT a quotation from Mamie Van Doren?

Answer: "Sex symbols are born and not made."

That quotation is from actress Teresa Wright, refusing to pose for cheesecake photographs. One of the most outspoken, well-written actresses who's ever lived, Mamie Van Doren's books and website are testimony to her brains -- as well as beauty.

10. Mamie Van Doren and Jayne Mansfield co-starred in what two films?

Answer: "The Las Vegas Hillbillys" and "Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt"

"The Las Vegas Hillbillys" (1966) and "Three Nuts in Search of a Bolt" (1964).Though Mamie and Jayne were professional friends, Jayne was notoriously jealous of Mamie in the "sexual conquest" department. With sad irony, Van Doren asked Mansfield to fill in for her at Gus Stevens' Supper Club in Biloxi, Mississippi, when a conflicting theatrical engagement arose for Miss Van Doren.

It was after that appearance that Jayne Mansfield was killed in an accident on June 29, 1967 at around 4 a.m., while being driven to New Orleans.

11. "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" (1968), starring Mamie Van Doren, was directed by what up-and-coming young director?

Answer: Peter Bogdanovich

Bogdanovich used a pseudonym (Derek Thomas), fearing the movie would ruin his reputation.

12. Before she was an actress, Mamie Van Doren was a band singer.

Answer: True

Still in her teens, Mamie sang with Ted Fio Rito's band and entered beauty contests. In "Teacher's Pet" (1958), with Doris Day and Clark Gable, Mamie warbled the unforgettable "Girl Who Invented Rock and Roll" -- thus laying (accurate) claim to being the first female rock and roll singer.

She sang in several films, including 1958's "Born Reckless" -- whose tagline was, "Mamie Rocks 'Em With 7 Red-Hot Reckless Tunes"!

13. Mamie Van Doren and Tuesday Weld were featured together in what two films?

Answer: "Sex Kittens Go to College" and "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve"

"Sex Kittens Go to College" in 1960, "The Private Lives of Adam and Eve" in 1961. The two actresses were friends.

14. How many marriages has Mamie Van Doren had?

Answer: 5

Jack Newman was a sportswear manufacturer with whom she eloped to Santa Barbara at seventeen. He was a wife-abuser and she quickly got out of the marriage. Ray Anthony, bandleader, fathered Mamie's son, Perry, in 1956. Baseball player Lee Meyers was husband #3. Businessman Ross McClintock was #4. Mamie's fifth marriage was to actor and video producer Thomas Dixon.

15. At 18, Mamie Van Doren posed for famed painter of the "Vargas Girls", Alberto Vargas, and his painting of her appeared on the cover of what magazine?

Answer: Esquire

Her painting appeared on the July 1951 cover, when she was 20.

16. Mamie Van Doren has children.

Answer: True

Her son, Perry, by band leader Ray Anthony, was born in 1956 and is a Southern California real estate agent.

17. Including her early uncredited roles, Mamie Van Doren has appeared in how many films?

Answer: 40

According to IMDB, her first role was in 1951's "Footlight Varieties". Her 40th appearance was in 2002's "Slackers".

18. What film featured Mamie Van Doren as "Silver Morgan" and jazz singer Mel Torme as the leader of a motorcycle gang?

Answer: Girl's Town

Released in 1959, the film also starred Elinor Donohue ("Father Knows Best") as Mamie's kid sister, and Sheilah Graham as a nun. It also featured Paul Anka's rendition of "Ave Maria". They don't make 'em like that any more.

19. Mamie Van Doren co-starred with Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows in what unforgettable film?

Answer: College Confidential

Released in 1960, Steve Allen played a sociologist conducting a survey at Collins College about the lives and mores of young people. Mamie played Sally Blake.

20. Mamie Van Doren is happily single, swinging and still dating in her 70s.

Answer: False

She's been happily and steadily married to Thomas Dixon since 1979. They reside in Newport Beach, California, from which they conduct their various enterprises and personally maintain Mamie Van Doren's outrageous, outspoken website.

Source: Author Robertogee

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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