Silent Stars Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Chaplin

His tramp character is an icon of silent films with his bowler hat and cane. His numerous marriages and affairs are legends, including Pola Negri, Marian Davies, Paulette Goddard, and Oona O'Neill, to name a few.

Answer: Pola Negri

Negri claimed to have been engaged to Rudolph Valentino at the time of his death and put on a very dramatic appearance at his funeral. She was reported to have been second choice for the lead in Sunset Boulevard, a role that went to Gloria Swanson.

Answer: Lon Chaney, Sr.

James Cagney played homage to Chaney in his movie "Man of a Thousand Faces" (1957). His son, Lon Chaney, Jr. had a long career as a star in horror movies and as a character actor. Chaney made 150 movies but only his last was a 'talkie'. He died of cancer two months later.

Answer: Theda Bara

Bara retired from films in 1926, as her husband did not want a wife who worked. Only about six of her forty films exist. The type of costumes she wore were banned by the production code of 1930. In later years she played hostess to a variety of occasions.

Answer: Douglas Fairbanks, Sr.

Fairbanks was married for 16 years to Mary Pickford. They were often referred to as the King and Queen of Hollywood. Their estate, Pickfair, was a mecca for the who's who of the era. His son by a previous marriage, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., carried on the dashing Fairbanks tradition.

Answer: Gloria Swanson

Swanson was nominated for the silent film "Sadie Thompson", playing a prostitute in 1928 and later for "Sunset Boulevard" in 1950, playing aging washed-up actress, but won neither. She was Cecil B. Demille favorite actress. In her divorce from her second husband, Herbert Somborn, it was alleged that she had 13 times committed adultery.

Her first husband was Wallace Beery, a marriage which lasted two years. She had a total of six husbands. It is also alleged that she had an on-going relationship with Joseph Kennedy.

After her success in "Sunset Boulevard, she carved out character roles and occasional TV performances. At one time she made a guest appearance on the "Beverly Hillbillies".

Answer: Fatty Arbuckle

At a party a young woman had to be taken to the hospital where she died of peritonitis a couple of days later. Rumors were spread that she had been raped by Arbuckle and his heavy weight and the use of a foreign object precipitated her death. Some of prosecution witnesses were proven unreliable and some evidence might have been rigged. Arbuckle later found some work directing, but under an assumed name.

In his early years he had been a mentor to both Chaplin and Keaton. Chris Farley was preparing to play Arbuckle in a movie, but died before it could be filmed

Answer: Mary Pickford

Pickford was able to play younger roles until time caught up with her. During her marriage to Douglas Fairbanks, at their Pickfair estate, she was a much sought after hostess. This continued after her divorce from Fairbanks and her remarriage to actor and band leader Buddy Rogers. She was likewise instrumental in establishing the Motion Picture Relief Fund to aid down-and-out actors.

Answer: Rudolph Valentino

Valentino's early death added to his mystique. Pola Negri, among many females, was devastated. Valentino once said of himself "Women are not in love with me but with the picture of me on the screen. I am merely the canvas on which women paint their dreams."

Answer: Pearl White

Pearl White was an athletic woman and did her own stunts in films. These were fast action films. Her "Perils of Pauline" serial made her a star, although she did appear in many other movies and shorts. Pain from her many injuries brought her to drink and she died an alcoholic. Betty Hutton starred in a movie made of her life but it was highly fictionalized.