October Birthdays Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jerome

Jerome Lester Horwitz was born in Brooklyn, New York, the youngest of five brothers (including Moe and Shemp of Three Stooges fame). The older brothers nicknamed him "Curly" in order to tease him. Curly reportedly resented having short hair during his Stooge days because he considered himself a ladies man; he wanted to look fashionable with a stylish haircut. Howard died in 1952 and was laid to rest in East Los Angeles.

Answer: The Boy Friend

Julie Andrews began her Broadway career in 1954, playing the role of Polly Browne in a show called "The Boy Friend." This comedy was produced on Broadway from September 1954 to November 1955, and Andrews received generally good reviews for her performance.

In 1956, Andrews was cast in the Broadway show "My Fair Lady"- and a superstar was born. She would play the role of Cinderella in a 1957 television production. Julie Andrews did not appear in the 1955 musical "Pipe Dream."

Answer: Julia Roberts

Julia Roberts won the 2001 Oscar Award for Best Actress in the movie "Erin Brockovich." In the film, Roberts played a file clerk who began investigating the huge Pacific Gas & Electric Company's alleged contamination of a small town's water supply. Roberts had previously received Oscar nominations for her work in "Steel Magnolias" (1989) and in "Pretty Woman" (1990). Alicia Silverstone was born (1976) in San Francisco; Penny Marshall (1943) and Sigourney Weaver (1949) were born in New York City.

Answer: You Bet Your Life

Julius Henry "Groucho" Marx was born in New York City. Groucho was part of the legendary Marx Brothers comedy team that enjoyed tremendous success during the 1930s. During the 1950s, Groucho hosted a popular TV quiz show entitled "You Bet Your Life." Contestants would win money if they happened to utter the "secret word" which appeared on the television screen for the viewing audience.

A toy duck would drop down from the ceiling in celebration if contestants said the secret word. Groucho hosted a short-lived radio show called "Blue Ribbon Town" in the 1940s; "Tell It to Groucho" was a TV show in 1962 which only aired for five months; and "Skidoo" was the title of a 1968 Otto Preminger movie in which Groucho made an appearance.

Answer: She was born in England.

Kate Winslet was born in Reading, England, in 1975. She was bitten by the acting bug at a young age; she appeared on a BBC television series entitled "Dark Season" while she was still a teenager. Winslet was nominated for an Academy Award for her portrayal of Rose in the blockbuster movie "Titanic" (1997), but she didn't win- the Oscar went to Kim Basinger in "L.A. Confidential" (1997). Winslet would later play the role of Ophelia in the 1996 movie "Hamlet".

Answer: Jake Houseman

Jerry Orbach was born in New York City and had an amazing career in show business: he performed in Broadway shows, Hollywood movies, and in a popular television series. Orbach played the father of Baby (Jennifer Grey) in the box-office smash movie "Dirty Dancing." Playing the role of Dr. Jake Houseman, Orbach managed to blend tenderness with tough-sounding paternal advice. Lennie Briscoe was a character whom Orbach portrayed on the successful "Law and Order" TV series. Orbach played Billy Flynn in the Broadway show "Chicago", and he portrayed Harry McGraw in a television show called "The Law and Harry McGraw" in 1987. Orbach succumbed to cancer in 2004.

Answer: King

Luciano Pavarotti was born in Medina, Italy, in 1935 and began his singing career in 1961. Pavarotti supposedly received his nickname "The King of High Cs" after a legendary performance in 1972 at the New York Metropolitan Opera in which he "brought down the house." Pavarotti become more than a mere opera singer; he was a flamboyant showman who brought the joy of opera music to the masses. Pavarotti died from pancreatic cancer in 2006.

Answer: Bull Durham

Susan Sarandon gave a command performance as a baseball groupie named Annie Savoy in the 1988 hit movie "Bull Durham." Sarandon and Kevin Costner had excellent chemistry in this film about minor league sports in Durham, North Carolina. Sarandon's character was supposed to romance a rookie pitcher named Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins), but she ended up being attracted to veteran catcher Crash Davis (Costner).

The movie "Atlantic City" was released in 1980, and "The Client" appeared in 1994. Sarandon won an Academy Award in 1995 for her work in "Dead Man Walking."

Answer: A sportswriter

Walter Matthau, born in New York City, often portrayed grouchy characters in his later films. In 1968, Matthau co-starred with actor Jack Lemmon in the hit movie "The Odd Couple." Matthau played the role of Oscar Madison, a divorced sportswriter who shared a Manhattan apartment with a compulsive "neat freak" named Felix Unger (Lemmon). Matthau and Lemmon teamed up in several other movies, including "The Fortune Cookie" (1966) and "Grumpy Old Men" (1993). Matthau died in 2000 after suffering a cardiac arrest.

Answer: Michael Landon

Eugene Maurice Orowitz, better known as Michael Landon, had a long and prolific career in American television. He starred as Little Joe Cartwright in the highly successful "Bonanza" Western series from 1959 to 1973. Landon then played the role of Charles Ingalls in the popular series "Little House on the Prairie", 1974-1983.

He was an "angel" on the TV series "Highway to Heaven", which aired from 1984 to 1989. Tom Bosley was born in 1927, Ron Leibman was born in 1937, and Robert Reed was born in 1932.