They Made This Movie I Trivia Quiz

Answer: Richard Chamberlain

Richard Chamberlain is probably best-known for two things: Miniseries of the late 1970s and early 1980s ("The Thorn Birds", "Centennial", and "Shogun"), and the 1960s TV series "Dr. Kildare". In his 2003 autobiography "Shattered Love", he shed his otherwise reclusive personality and revealed his homosexuality.

Answer: O.J. Simpson

Born Orenthal James Simpson in 1947, O.J. became a household name from the time he won the Heisman, until his retirement from the NFL in 1979. He remained a fixture in sports as a broadcaster for ABC's "Monday Night Football" in the 1980s. He made his acting debut in the 1973 short film "Why".

Answer: Faye Dunaway

Faye Dunaway's marriage to Peter Wolf lasted five years (1974 - 1979). Born in 1941, she made her movie debut in "Hurry Sundown" (1967), and then got her big break in "Bonnie and Clyde" (1967) soon thereafter. Her other movie credits include "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968), "Chinatown" (1974), "Network" (1976), and "Mommie Dearest" (1981).

Answer: Paul Newman

Ohio native Paul Newman served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After his release from service, he pursued a career in acting, with his big break in "Cat On a Hot Tin Roof" in 1958. His acting Oscar came for 1986's "The Color of Money", in which he reprised his role of "Fast" Eddie Felson from "The Hustler" (1961). Though well-known as half of the Newman/Redford acting duo, the two appeared in only two movies together: "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969) and "The Sting" (1973). In 1982, Paul Newman launched the Newman's Own brand of food products, beginning with an oil and vinegar salad dressing, to fund his Hole In the Wall Camp in Connecticut (Named for the Hole In the Wall Gang, which was led by the real Butch and Sundance).

In its first 20 years, the Newman's Own product line has raised over $120 million for several charities (from newmansown.org).

Answer: Robert Vaughn

Robert Vaughn's mother was a stage actress, and his father was a radio actor. "What's a radio actor?" you may ask. Well, until the 1950s, a substantial portion of radio programming consisted of long-form programs, like "The Shadow", "Amos and Andy", and "Fibber McGee and Molly" (among MANY others).

These shows were often performed live, on the air, and many of them had studio audiences (especially the comedy shows). But I digress... As for Robert Vaughn, he did try his hand at motion pictures in the 1950s, but he found himself as a fixture on the television screen for over 20 years, beginning in 1961. Among his many TV credits are "The Lieutenant," "The Man From U.N.C.L.E.", and "The A-Team".

Answer: Fred Astaire

Born Frediric Austerlitz, Jr. in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1899, Fred Astaire helped to raise the collective spirits of Depression-Era America, with his dazzling footwork in his RKO musicals of the 1930s. Best known as Ginger Rogers' dance partner, he has also danced on-screen with Judy Garland, Debbie Reynolds and even Gene Kelly.

Answer: William Holden

William Holden was not only a heartthrob among the ladies in the 1950s, he was also among the best actors of the decade. Two of the three Academy Award nominations that he had received in his lifetime came in the 1950s: 1950 ("Sunset Blvd.") and 1953 ("Stalag 17", which he won). His third nomination came with 1976's "Network".

Answer: Steve McQueen

Steve McQueen was a sort of latter-day James Dean, in that both actors were from Indiana, both defined what it meant to be "cool," and both were fans of (and participants in) auto racing.

Answer: Jennifer Jones

After Mr. Selznick died, Jennifer Jones all but retired from motion pictures, appearing in only three films since 1965: "The Idol" (1966), "Angel, Angel, Down We Go" (aka "Cult of the Damned") (1969), and, of course, "The Towering Inferno" (1974). After retiring from acting altogether, Jennifer Jones contributed to several mental disorder charities, and she joined the Board of Directors for the Norton Simon Museum, in Pasadena, California.

Answer: The Towering Inferno

Regarded as one of the greatest disaster movies of all time, "The Towering Inferno" was the result of merging the production of two separate, but related, movies by 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Among the many interesting facts associated with this movie include the "rivalry" between Steve McQueen and Paul Newman. McQueen was so afraid of being upstaged by Newman, he personally made sure that both men had the same number of lines in the finished film. Also, both actors' names appear simultaneously in the opening credits; McQueen's name is on the lower-left of the screen, while Newman's is on the upper-right. Known as "diagonal billing," this allows each actor to be considered as the one with top billing, depending upon which way the names are read.