The Time of Your Life Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kirk Douglas

Kirk Douglas was born in Amsterdam, New York on the 9th December 1916 to Jewish immigrant parents escaping from the Russians. After doing a variety of jobs and serving in the United States navy he appeared in his first film "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" in 1946.

He went on to make many films including "Lust for Life" (1956), "The Vikings" (1958) and "Spartacus" (1960). He also made many television appearances. He died at his Beverly Hills home on February 5th 2020 at the age of 103. He is the father of actor Michael Douglas.

Answer: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon, the ninth of ten children (and youngest daughter) of Claude Bowes-Lyon and Cecilia Cavendish-Bentinck, was born on the 4th August 1900. She spent much of her childhood at the family's ancestral home in Scotland, Glamis Castle.

She married Prince Albert, Duke of York (known as "Bertie" to his family) on 26th April 1923. After the abdication of Albert's brother Edward the couple were crowned King and Queen of Great Britain in 1937. She was widowed in 1952 and took the title Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother when her daughter became Queen Elizabeth II.

She died on 30th March 2002 at the age of 102.

Answer: Bob Hope

Lesley Townes Hope was born in Eltham, London on 29th May 1903. His family emigrated to America in 1908. After working in a variety of jobs he eventually made it to Broadway in 1927. In the 1940s he famously made seven "Road" films with singer Bing Crosby, the first being "Road to Singapore" in 1940.

He appeared in numerous other films and TV shows. During the Second World War Hope traveled overseas to entertain troops and he continued to do so until the early 1990s when he traveled to Saudi Arabia during the First Gulf War.

He died at his home in California on the 27th July 2003.

Answer: George Burns

George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum on the 20th January 1896. He was the ninth of 12 children born to Jewish immigrants. He met his future partner Gracie Allen in 1923 and they married in 1926. They went on to forge a successful career on both radio and television. Sadly Allen died of a heart attack in 1964. Burns carried on working and eventually, at the age of 80, won an Academy Award for best supporting actor for his role the Neil Simon film "The Sunshine Boys".

He continued working well into his 90s.

He died at the age of 100 and 49 days at his home in Beverly Hills on 9th March 1996.

Answer: Gloria Stuart

Gloria Frances Stewart was born on the 4th July 1910 in Santa Monica, California. She made many films in the 1930s including "The Invisible Man" (1933) and "Gold Diggers of 1935" (1935). She abandoned her acting career in 1945 and went on to have a successful career as an artist.

She returned to acting in 1975 and made numerous appearances on television. She is most famous for her role as the elderly Rose in James Cameron's 1997 film "Titanic". At the age of 87 she became the oldest person to be nominated for a competitive Oscar.

She died on September 2010 at the age of 100.

Answer: Grandma Moses

Anna Mary Robertson was born in Greenwich, New York on 7th September 1860 and was the third of 10 children. She married Thomas Salmon Moses and they went on to have 10 children, 5 of whom died at birth. She had enjoyed painting as a child and started to paint again in her late 70s.

She mainly painted scenes of rural life working from memory to portray the life she had experienced. She was a prolific artist who produced many pictures during her career as a painter. Her works are exhibited in many museums and art galleries around America.

She died on 13th December 1961 at the age of 101.

Answer: Irving Berlin

Irving Berlin (Israel Isidore Beilin) was born in Imperial Russia on 11th May 1888 and came to America at the age of five. He started working at the age of eight to support his impoverished family and left school at the age of 13. He began singing in bars and saloons to make money and taught himself to play the piano.

His fame began to grow and he had his first major hit "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1911. He founded his own music company in 1919 and his career went from strength to strength. Among his best known songs are "Putting on the Ritz" (1928), "God Bless America" (1938) and "White Christmas" which was introduced in the 1942 film "Holiday Inn". Berlin died on September 22nd 1989 in his Manhattan home.

Answer: Katherine Johnson

Johnson was born in West Virginia on 26th August 1918 and showed mathematical prowess from an early age. She studed mathematics at college and graduated with a degree in mathematics and French in 1937, from West Virginia State College. She was the first African American woman to attend West Virginia University in Morgantown.

She started working for National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), later to become NASA, in 1953. She worked on the United States aeronautic and space programmes and her calculations were key in the 1969 Apollo 11 flight to the Moon.

After a long and successful career she died on 24th February 2020 at the age of 101.

Answer: Peggy-Jean Montgomery

The child star Peggy-Jean Montgomery, known as "Baby Peggy" was born 29th October 1918 in San Diego, California. Between the years 1921 to 1924 she appeared in more than 150 short films. These include "Helen's Babies", "The Family Secret" and "Captain January" all made in 1924.

She had her own range of merchandise including sheet music, dolls and even milk which was all highly profitable. As an adult she became an author writing under the name Diana Serra Cary and producing several books including "Hollywood's Children" in 1977 based on her own experiences as a child star working under harsh and often dangerous condition.

She campaigned to improve the pay and conditions of child actors. She died on 24th February 2020 at the age of 101.

Answer: Vera Lynn

Vera Lynn was born in East Ham, Essex, England on 20th March 1917. She began performing at the age of seven and her first radio broadcast was with the Joe Loss Orchestra in 1935. She became very popular during the Second World War with such hits as "We'll Meet Again" and "The White Cliffs of Dover".

At the age of 92 she became the oldest living artist to have a number one in the British album chart with her 2009 compilation album "We'll Meet Again: The Very Best of Vera Lynn". At the time this quiz was written (April 2020) Vera Lynn was very much alive at the age of 103 and planning to re-release "We'll Meet Again" with soprano opera singer Katherine Jenkins as a charity single with all proceeds donated to NHS charities to support the NHS staff and volunteers during the Corovirus crisis.