Who or What Killed Them? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Run over by a car

Rex Allen was born on the last day of 1920 in Arizona and died in the driveway of his home on the 17th December 1999 at the age of 78. He was apparently 'reversed over' by his caretaker after either stumbling or suffering from a medical condition.

Answer: Suicide

Clara Blandick was born in June 1880 in Hong Kong, and in her later years suffered from extremely painful arthritis. In April 1962 she attended church, went home, took an overdose of sleeping pills, pulled a plastic bag over her head and died of asphyxiation.

Answer: In a Fire

A much nominated musical actor on Broadway, Jack Cassidy was born John Joseph Edward Cassidy in March 1927 in Queens, New York and died in December 1976 in West Hollywood in a house fire, he had apparently been smoking and fell asleep!

Answer: Strangulation

Isadora Duncan was born Dora Angela Duncan in May 1878 in San Francisco, California. A passenger in a sports car speeding through Nice, her silk scarf became tangled around one of the cars wheels, it dragged her from the car and broke her neck by strangulation, killing her instantly!

Answer: Suicide

Peg Entwistle aka Lillian Entwistle committed suicide in 1932 by jumping from the 'H' of the then 'HOLLYWOODLAND' sign. Finding some success on stage, she had appeared in the film 'Thirteen Women' in 1932 but was released by the RKO Studio shortly after she committed suicide.

Answer: Murdered

Dian Fossey, born 16 January 1932, is remembered for her work with gorillas and the dispelling of the myth that they were violent as she sat, unharmed, observing them almost everyday for 22 years! Dian was murdered, probably with a machete, by an unknown assailant, probably a poacher, at her Research Centre in the Virunga Mountains in December 1985. She wrote 'Gorillas in the Mist'.

Answer: Respiratory Failure

Eva Gabor was born in November 1921 and died in April 1995 in Los Angeles, California, from respiratory failure brought about by complications from food poisoning!

Answer: AIDS

John Holmes died in March 1988 from encephalitis (swelling of the brain) brought on by Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS). It is not known how he contracted AIDS but in addition to his purported 14,000 'sexual episodes' over the years, he was an intravenous drug user, another way the AIDS virus can spread.

Answer: Hanged

Eugene Izzi died in 1997 from 'accidental' hanging. He hanged himself from an 11th floor window of a building on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, possibly whilst researching a scene for a book!

Answer: Shot

Jesse Woodson James was born in Kearney, Missouri on 5 September 1847, the son of a Baptist Minister. Jesse served in the war and a year after the surrender he and his brother Frank robbed the Liberty Bank, netting $60,000! For the next 15 years, the James boys robbed trains and banks across the USA, building a legend that lives today. On 3 April 1882, at Jesse's home in Missouri, Bob Ford shot and killed him with a bullet in the back of the head to collect the $10,000 reward, but Ford was charged with murder and sentenced to hang! Ford was, however, pardoned and died in a bar-room brawl.

Answer: Suicide

Born in New Jersey on 14th November 1921, Brian Keith died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on 24th June 1997, ending his battle with cancer! As a child actor he appeared in silent films and as a serious actor he gained accolades for his portrayal of Teddy Roosevelt in the mini-series 'The Wind and the Lion' in 1975.

Answer: Suicide

Carole Landis was born Frances Lillian Mary Ridste on 1st January 1919. Married five times during her short life (twice to the same man) she was quoted shortly before her death, "Let me tell you this, every girl in the world wants to find the right man, someone who is sympathetic and understanding and helpful and strong, someone she can love madly and actresses are no exception; the glamour and the tinsel, the fame and the money mean very little if there is hurt in the heart." She committed suicide with an overdose of seconal on 5th July 1948 shortly after her contract with 20th Century Fox had ended.

Answer: Pneumonia

Dudley Stuart John Moore, comedian and actor, was born in April 1935 in Essex, England and died in March 2002 from pneumonia which was a complication of a brain disorder that he suffered from, called Progressive Supranuclear Palsy!

Answer: Plane Crash

Ricky Nelson, born Eric Hilliard Nelson, on 8 May 1940 in New Jersey, grew up in California. He began his career on the 'Ozzie and Harriet' radio show, developed by his parents, Ozzie, a big band leader, and Harriet, an actress and singer. 'Little Ricky' first appeared on the show in 1949 and from 1952 to 1965 the show was seen on American television. Ricky became a 'teen heart-throb' who acted in movies and kept performing until his death in a plane crash on 31 December 1985.

Answer: Uncertain Causes

Lani O' Grady was born Lanita Rose Agrati in California on 2 October 1954 and died of a drug overdose on 25 September 2001 of uncertain causes, as it could not be determined whether her death was a suicide or accidental. She had guest roles on the 'Love Boat' in 1979 and 1980 after her role in 'Eight is Enough' in 1977.

Answer: Misadventure

Edgar Allan Poe was in Baltimore, drinking. An election was in progress and apparently he fell into the hands of a gang of 'repeaters' who drugged him. Four days later he was found by a friend who sent the then unconscious, dying poet to the Washington Hospital. Several days of delirium followed and his final words were uttered on 7 October 1849, "Lord help my poor soul."

Answer: Alzheimer's Disease

Mae Questel was born in New York on 13th September 1908 and died on 4th January 1998. She began in vaudeville in her late teens and provided the voice for 'Betty Boop' in 1931. She was also the voice of 'Olive Oyl' in the 'Popeye' cartoons from 1933 to 1967. During the 1930s her recording of 'The Good Ship Lollipop' sold over two million copies!

Answer: Murdered

Grigori Efimovich Rasputin was born in 1872. On 30th December 1916, a plot to assassinate Rasputin, who was favoured by the Czarina, was instigated wherein he drank several glasses of poison wine and ate pastries laced with cyanide! When this failed to kill him, he was shot twice, stabbed repeatedly and finally drowned in the icy Neva river!

Answer: Head Injury

Kevin Smith was born on 16 March 1963 in Auckland, New Zealand and died on 15 February 2002 in Beijing, China after a head injury from a fall on a movie set! Kevin was injured the day after he finished filming, apparently falling from a height of six storeys! With critical injuries, he died ten days later in his sleep.

Answer: Parkinson's Disease

Terry Thomas was born in North London on 14th July 1911 and died on 8th January 8 1990 of natural causes. He starred in many comedic films, both British and American, including "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" (1963).

Answer: Cancer

Robert Urich died of Synovial Cell Carconoma (cancer) on 16 April 2002. He was born on 19 December 1946 and acted in several American television series including, 'Spenser for Hire' and 'Soap'.

Answer: Accidentally shot himself

Vincent Willem van Gogh, who sold just one painting in his lifetime, only became one of the world's greatest painters after his death, by suicide at age 37. He accidentally shot himself in the chest in July 1890 and died two days later! He was quoted as saying, "I have a terrible need of, dare I say the word, religion; then I go out at night to paint the stars."

Answer: Broken Neck

William Warfield was born in Arkansas on 22 January 1920 and attended music school in New York. His most famous role was the title role in George Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess' and he toured Australia in 1950, performing 35 concerts across the continent! He died from a broken neck on 25 August 2002.

Answer: Shooting

Gig Young, born Byron Elsworth Barr on 4 November 1913 in Minnesota shot himself and his wife in October 1978 in New York! A trail of failed marriages, including one to actor Elizabeth Montgomery, and a widowing, was a precursor to what was to come. Three weeks after marrying a German actress, Young shot her to death and then turned the gun on himself.

He was 64 years old and the newest Mrs Young, aged 21, was less than half his age!

Answer: Pneumonia

Darryl Francis Zanuck was born in Nebraska on 5 September 1902, abandoned by his parents as a young teen, he joined the army and fought in World War I. He then pursued a career as a writer and with Warner Brothers he wrote up to 19 scripts a year and became Head of Production at 23 years of age. He died on 22 December 1979 in Palm Springs, California from pneumonia.