Nom De Guerre: Part Deux Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dick Sargent

Dick Sargent was born on April 19th, 1930, in Carmel, California, and died in Los Angeles, California, on July 8th, 1994. He was best known for playing Darrin Stephens on the classic television series "Bewitched" (1964 to 1972). Dick York played the Darren Stephens character initially for the first 170 episodes of the show and Sargent replaced him playing the role for the final 84 episodes. York suffered a serious back injury during the filming of the 1959 movie "They Came To Cordura".

He suffered agonizing back pain in the years following the injury which he controlled with pain medications that he became addicted to and he eventually had to quit the show due to both the pain and the addiction. Ironically, Sargent was offered the role initially before York but turned it down for another television series called "Broadside" which was cancelled after only 32 episodes.

Answer: Gene Wilder

Gene Wilder was born on June 11th, 1933, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and died in Stamford, Connecticut, on August 29th, 2016. He first came to prominence with his portrayal of the character Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks' 1967 movie comedy "The Producers". He played comic foil to actor Zero Mostel's character Max Bialystock. Together they undertook a scheme to make a fortune off a Broadway flop which was thwarted when the sure misfire became a hit. Wilder also played prominent roles in two additional Brooks' directed 1974 films "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein".

He was nominated for Oscars for his portrayal of Bloom and also along with Brooks for Best Adapted Screenplay for co-writing the script for "Frankenstein".

Answer: Alan Thicke

Alan Thicke was born on March 1st, 1947, in Kirkland Lake, Canada, and died in Burbank, California, on December 13th, 2016. Jeffrey was his birth father's last name while Thicke was his step father's last name. His birth parents divorced when he was still a young boy and his mother remarried.

He was best known for his role as Dr. Jason Seaver on the popular television show "Growing Pains" (1985 to 1992). He played the patriarch of the Seaver family. Joanna Kerns played his spouse Maggie and Kirk Cameron, Tracey Gold, Jeremy Miller and Ashley Johnson played their offspring. Future Oscar Best Actor Winner Leonardo DiCaprio appeared in the final two seasons of the show playing Luke Brower, a homeless boy given shelter by the Seaver family. DiCaprio won his Oscar in 2016 for his role of outdoors man Hugh Glass in 2015's "The Revenant".

Answer: Hugh O'Brian

Hugh O'Brian was born on April 19th, 1925, in Rochester, New York, and died in Beverly Hills, California, on September 5th, 2016. He decided to change his last name after Krampe was misspelled on a playbill for a play he was appearing in. He chose his mother's maiden-name O'Brien but it was also spelled incorrectly and he decided to continue forward with it rather than correct it.

He is best known for his portrayal of legendary frontier law man Wyatt Earp in the popular Western television series "The Life And Legend Of Wyatt Earp" (1955 to 1961). Apart from his work in television, he also had a decent career in motion picture films appearing in movies such as 1954's "There's No Business Like Show Business", 1965's "Ten Little Indians" and 1976's "The Shootist".

Answer: Donna Douglas

Donna Douglas was born on September 26th, 1932, in Pride, Louisiana, and died in Zachary, Louisiana, on January 1st, 2015. Her signature role was Elly May Clampett on the popular television series "The Beverly Hillbillies" (1962 to 1971). She played a tom-boy critter-loving curvy blue-eyed blonde to perfection as the innocent but tough wrasslin' daughter of nouveau-riche hillbilly oil millionaire Jed Clampett.

She was primarily a television actress but did appear in a memorable movie playing Frankie to Elvis Presley's Johnny in the 1966 romantic comedy film "Frankie And Johnny". Later after her acting career dwindled she found new careers as a real estate agent, a gospel singer and as an author.

Answer: Jean Stapleton

Jean Stapleton was born on January 19th, 1923, in New York City, New York, and died in New York City, New York, on May 31st, 2013. Her iconic role was playing Edith Bunker on the ground-breaking 1970s situation comedy "All In The Family". 'Dingbat' is what her television husband Archie Bunker called her usually to deride her for a lack of intelligence but also some times in an affectionate way. Carroll O'Connor starred alongside her as Archie. Sally Struthers and Rob Reiner played her daughter Gloria and son-in-law Michael Stivic respectively.

She won 3 Emmy Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Edith. She was also an accomplished stage and movie actress in addition to her prolific television work. She appeared on Broadway in shows such as "Damn Yankees!" and "Funny Girl" and films such as 1971's "Cold Turkey" and 1998's "You've Got Mail".

Answer: Troy Donahue

Troy Donahue was born on January 27th, 1936, in New York City, New York, and died in Santa Monica, California on September 2nd, 2001. He was a heartthrob for females in the 1950s and 1960s. His blonde hair, blue eyes and general good looks set many a female heart afire.

His big chance came when he was cast opposite Sandra Dee as her love-interest in 1959's "A Summer Place". This performance led to his first lead role playing Parrish McLean in 1961's "Parrish". Movie legend Claudette Colbert played his mother in the film in her final movie role.

A string of mediocre movies and television roles followed in the 1960s and he never gained much respect for his acting talent. He also later admitted to abusing drugs and alcohol during his brief flicker of fame.

The rest of his acting career had little of note though director Francis Ford Coppola, a friend from his teen age years in a military cadet school, cast him in 1975's Oscar Winning Best Picture "The Godfather: Part II" (1974) in a small part and he played a character named Merle Johnson, which acknowledged his birth name.

Answer: Ginger Rogers

Ginger Rogers was born on July 16th, 1911, in Independence, Missouri, and died in Rancho Mirage, California, on April 25th, 1995. Fred Astaire was her dance partner in 10 movies they made together in the 1930s and 1940s. The first movie they made as a team was 1933's "Flying Down To Rio" and the last one they appeared in together was 1949's "The Barkleys Of Broadway". Rogers also had a long career on stage, in movies and on television without her well known partner. On Broadway she starred in productions such as "Girl Crazy" and "Hello, Dolly!".

She won an Oscar as Best Actress for her portrayal of Kitty Foyle in 1940's film "Kitty Foyle". Her last television appearance was in a guest role in 1987 on the 1980s television drama series "Hotel" (1983 to 1988).

The series starred James Brolin and Connie Selleca.

Answer: Jean Arthur

Jean Arthur was born on October 17th, 1900, in Plattsburgh, New York, and died in Carmel, California, on June 19th, 1991. She was likely the leading female comedic actress of her time. She started out in silent films and made a successful transition to the talkies.

Her screen debut was a small part in John Ford's silent 1923 film "Cameo Kirby". Her first non-silent movies were low budget ones like 1929's "The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu" in which she starred opposite Warner Oland who would later gain fame playing Charlie Chan in a series of 1930s detective movies.

Her star began to shine when director Frank Capra cast her in three of his 1930s films. She played Babe Bennett to Gary Cooper's Longfellow Deed's in 1936's "Mr. Deeds Goes To Town", Alice Sycamore to James Stewart's Tony Kirby in 1938's Oscar Best Movie Winner "You Can't Take It With You" and politically-savvy Clarissa Saunders to James Stewart's politically-naive Jefferson Smith in 1939's "Mr. Smith Goes To Washington".

She was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar for 1943's "The More The Merrier" but did not win.

After retiring from making movies for a number of years, she came out of retirement to briefly work in television and starred in her own series in 1966's "The Jean Arthur Show" which was cancelled mid-season after which she faded from and avoided the public eye.

Answer: Alan Hale (Sr.)

Alan Hale (Sr.) was born on February 10th, 1892, in Washington, District of Columbia, and died on January 22nd, 1950, in Hollywood, California. His movie acting career spanned the early decades of film. His first movie was the silent film "The Cowboy And The Lady" (1911). During his career, he acted alongside such screen legends as Errol Flynn, Douglas Fairbanks, Katherine Hepburn and Clark Gable.

He appeared in 13 films with Flynn. His signature role was Little John who he played in 3 films, 1922's "Robin Hood", 1938's "The Adventures Of Robin Hood" and 1950's "Rogues Of Sherwood Forest". "Forest" was the last of three films released after his death.

His son and namesake, Alan Hale Jr., also had a decent acting career mostly in television.

He was best known as The Skipper on the 1960s comedy television series "Gilligan's Island" (1964 to 1967).