Dance Varmint - and Sing! Quiz | Entertainment

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Hiya, my name is Tony Manero. Don't touch my hair! Let me put down this paint can and take off this hardware store apron. What should I put on to go to the club on Saturday night?

Answer: a white suit

In "Saturday Night Fever"(1977) John Travolta played Tony Manero, who worked in a Brooklyn, New York hardware store by day and became the king of disco on Saturday nights. The film was well received, spurring interest in discos, and the image of Travolta in a white suit has become iconic.

2. A song and dance man from Nebraska, Fred Astaire became the symbol of elegance in films when dancing in a tuxedo with leading ladies, especially one named like a fragrant spice. What song achieved that distinction for him?

Answer: Puttin' on the Ritz

Starring in thirty-one musical movies beginning in 1933, during his 76-year movie and television career, Fred Astaire danced and sang his way to fame. He and Ginger Rogers appeared in 10 musicals which set the standard for that type of film. His performance of "Puttin' on the Ritz" in the 1946 film "Blue Skies" became Astaire's trademark as the suave, debonair gentleman.

The song was inspired by a slang term for dressing fashionably, which was in turn inspired by the luxurious Ritz Hotel in London.

3. Two actors parlayed a TV skit into a full-length movie in which they sang and (sort of) danced their way into movie goers hearts. Who were these two who were on a mission from God? 

Answer: The Blues Brothers

John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd were early cast members of "Saturday Night Live". They played two white blues musicians named the Blues Brothers on three occasions for the show in 1976. They then released a record album "Briefcase Full of Blues" in 1978 and made "The Blues Brothers" movie in 1980, a film about two brothers tasked by a nun to earn money to keep open the Chicago orphanage where they grew up. Though they used comedic personas as the brothers, they sang and danced their way through some real blues music with a band of real blues musicians.

4. I started as part of a family group and then went solo. Frontwards or backwards, it was a thrill to watch me dance and sing. In what dance was it hard to tell if I was coming or going?

Answer: Moon Walk

Did you ever try to do the Moon Walk, walking backwards while making it look like you're walking forward? It's even hard to write it down coherently but Michael Jackson made it look so easy! And his record album "Thriller" sold so many copies they lost count; well, not really but it is listed as the best selling album - ever.

5. Though she appeared in movies and television, Ethel Merman was regarded as the queen of the Broadway musical comedy. She epitomized the phrase "belt out a song". Speaking of songs, what became her theme song?

Answer: There's No Business Like Show Business

The Irving Berlin song "There's No Business Like Show Business" which he wrote for the 1946 play "Annie Get Your Gun" was sung by Ethel Merman and became branded as her song after she sang it in the 1954 movie of the same name. The songs in that musical (and later movie) were tailored for Merman's style.

The song was later used as the title of a play and movie "There's No Business Like Show Business"; they were not as successful as "Annie...".

6. Dr. Jake Houseman expected a typical, relaxing vacation in New York's Catskill mountains. It all started going wrong for him when his teenage daughter "Baby" met the resort's dance instructor, Johnny Castle. What was the name of the movie?

Answer: Dirty Dancing

Patrick Swayze teamed with Jennifer Grey in 1987's "Dirty Dancing", the story of a girl from an affluent family and a working-class employee of a resort. As their romance bloomed, he trained her as his dance partner for an important performance at a nearby resort.

The movie culminates with their dancing to "(I've Had) The Time of My Life". "Dirty Dancing" was the first film to sell over one million copies on home video.

7. A famous scene from a movie shows Gene Kelly twirling around a light post in a drenching downpour. Which movie is that scene from?

Answer: Singin' in the Rain

Gene Kelly was one of the major stars in musical movies in the 1940s and '50s. As well as "Singin' in the Rain" he starred in "Anchors Aweigh" and "An American in Paris". Kelly is credited with making ballet acceptable to movie audiences.

8. Don't just say "ow", say "OWWW!" Who was known as "the hardest working man in show business"?

Answer: James Brown

He had great dancers in his revues and music videos but you always seemed to end up watching James Brown do his own dance moves. Also known as the "Godfather of Soul", Brown's career spanned six decades, going from small African-American clubs to the international stage.

He caught the attention of white audiences with "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag" (1967) and stole some spotlight performing "Living in America" in the movie "Rocky IV" (1985). Part of the running story of Brown's shows was about him supposedly working himself to exhaustion, falling to his knees, and the emcee putting a cape over his shoulders and leading him offstage while Brown's band played "Please, Please, Please".

9. Singer, dancer, actress and the woman who taught Mick Jagger how to move. Which of these was a hit album for Tina Turner?

Answer: Private Dancer

Starting her career with husband Ike, Tina Turner had some hit records in the 1960s and '70s. Ending an abusive relationship with Ike she continued her success. Her album "Private Dancer" (1984) was a worldwide hit. Instead of her usual rhythm and blues songs, Turner did a mix of rock, pop, jazz and ballads.

As for teaching Jagger to dance, she told "People" magazine: "I tried to teach him some dances, because he'd just stand still onstage with the tambourine. He'd try things like the Pony or some hip movements backstage and we'd all just laugh." No one laughs at Mick's dancing anymore.

10. An all-around entertainer, this man was a singer, dancer, actor and impressionist. His career started in vaudeville when he was three years old. He eventually became friends with a 'pack' of rodentia. Who was this tap dancer and purveyor of sweet treats?

Answer: Sammy Davis, Jr.

From dancing with the Will Mastin Trio in 1928 at age three to being a member of the Rat Pack in the 1960s to having his biggest hit record, "The Candy Man" in 1972, Sammy Davis, Jr. worked around the boundaries of racial segregation while enduring being discriminated against.

Despite receiving accolades and awards as a singer and actor (he won a Tony Award nomination for his performance in "Golden Boy" on Broadway in 1964 to 1966) , Davis suffered the racial prejudice that was common against blacks in the mid-20th century.

Source: Author CmdrK

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor kyleisalive before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Dance Varmint - and Sing! Trivia Quiz

Asked once if he considered himself a singer or a poet, Bob Dylan said he mostly thought he was a song-and-dance man. He hasn't shown himself to be much of a dancer but the people in this quiz have shown that they can do both. Can you identify them?

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