Facts on Famous Performers No 1 Quiz

Answer: Minute Waltz

The Polish Chopin (1810-1849) would be highly indignant, one suspects, at this lovely and lively composition of his being labelled and played in this fashion. He wrote it to last approximately two minutes and thirty seconds. Chopin's music is haunting and beautiful and can move one to tears, given the right mood and setting.

This piece however was written in a playful style, joyous and happy. Chopin composed it after observing the antics of a little dog trying to catch its tail. He named the piece "The Little Dog Waltz".

Answer: Noel Coward

Noel Coward (1899-1973) had a writing style similar to that of Oscar Wilde's. It was sophisticated and witty, with a tangy taste to his wit. He wrote many popular plays which are still being performed right into the 21st century by theatre groups. These include the popular and highly amusing work "Blithe Spirit" which first premiered on stage in 1944.

This play has also been made into a film, a musical, and several television productions. Part of his secret service work in World War included running the British propaganda office in Paris. So successful was he at this work, that Hitler had him listed in his "Black Book" to be arrested and killed, should the Germans manage to successfully invade Britain.

Answer: Shakespearian

Heston (1923-2008) first got the taste for theatre work by managing a playhouse in North Carolina in 1947. Some of his most famous roles on stage included Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and "Julius Caesar" and "Anthony and Cleopatra". It was while he was acting in a television production of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" that he was spotted by movie producer Hal B. Wallis - and the rest, as they say, is history. Heston was not afraid to use his fame for various causes and, in addition to his mighty screen presence, became renowned as a lifelong political activist. Among other issues, he vigorously opposed racism and just as vigorously supported the civil rights movement, long before they became the "popular" nationwide causes they later did.

Heston would state of political correctness that it was simply "tyranny with manners", and in an address to the Harvard Law School, he said to the students that, "You are the best and brightest. You, here in this fertile cradle of American academia...you are the cream. But I submit that you and your counterparts across the land are the most socially conformed and politically silenced generation since Concord Bridge. And as long as you validate that and abide it, you are, by your grandfathers' standards, cowards".

Answer: The death of Harpo Marx

Harpo (1888-1964) was the second oldest of the Marx brothers. His death devastated the closely knit Marx family. His last public performance was in 1964 when, speaking for the first time, he announced his retirement. He then went on to talk for a lengthy period to the audience about his life and how much he would miss entertaining. Host Allan Sherman burst into tears at Harpo's retirement announcement.

He later said with a sad laugh that Harpo, who had remained silent all his acting career, just "wouldn't shut up" at this, his last performance. Harpo had a deep baritone voice in real life, but it was so much at odds with his comic acting persona, that he never used it. On the screen, he instead communicated facially, with gestures, and with a whistle. Harpo was also a very fine harpist, and his skill on this instrument was shown in many screen performances. Following his death, he bequeathed his harp to the "State of Israel".

Answer: Anna Pavlova

Russian born Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) has been described as one of the most famous ballerinas in history. Her most renowned role was that she had created in "The Dying Swan", a role she performed more than 4,000 times in her all too short career. In 1931, Pavlova succumbed to pneumonia and was told that she would need surgery, but that if she agreed to this, she would never be able to dance again.

She replied "If I can't dance, then I'd rather be dead". She passed away three weeks later.

Answer: Eddie from "Frasier"

Eddie's peculiar real name was Moose. Perhaps that explains his misbehaviour. He was born in 1990 and was a handful right from birth. The following is a description of his behaviour: "Chasing cats was ones of the activities that led to this troubled terrier becoming one of TV's most precious pooches. Originally owned by a Florida family, Moose was too hard to handle. He couldn't be house trained; he chewed everything; he dug and barked a lot; and he was constantly escaping and climbing trees". His exasperated owners finally gave the dog away, when he was two and a half, to an animal trainer who worked for film companies. When Moose scored the role of Eddie on TV's "Frasier", which ran from 1993 to 2004, he actually received more fan mail than the human stars of the show. On his retirement from acting, Eddie led the life of Riley with his owner-trainer, and eventually died, plump and happy, in 2006.

Moose's son in real life, Enzo, sometimes acted as a stunt double for Moose in the series, and was considered a replacement for Moose as he got older. He went on to become a film actor in his own right. Moose's daughter, Miko, who had also been considered as a replacement but didn't grow big enough, was given to a technician. Moose's son Moosie was adopted by Peri Gilpin, who played Roz Doyle on the show.

Answer: Shave an eleven day beard growth off in sixty seconds

The add was for Remington Razors and from that hairy beginning, Coburn (1928-2002) went on to a career spanning forty-five years in the film industry. He specialised in tough, strong roles such as that seen in his role in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960) and "The Great Escape" (1963). James Coburn won an Academy for his role as Glen Whitehouse in the 1997 film "Affliction".

Answer: Bette Davis

Bette Davis (1908-1989) was one of Hollywood's greatest actresses for most of her career. She won two Oscars and was nominated an amazing ten more times for her art. She specialised in unsympathetic female roles, ones that other actresses would normally refuse in case they damaged their image in the eyes of the public.

Her strong personality saw her personal life as somewhat troubled. Perhaps all she experienced there manifested itself in her powerful acting style. Yet this tough, brilliant woman would say of her first screen test in 1930 that "I was the most Yankee-est, most modest virgin who ever walked the earth.

They laid me on a couch and I tested fifteen men...They all had to lie on top of me and give me a passionate kiss. Oh, I thought I would die. Just thought I would die".

It's ironic sometimes how life turns out. Some of her greatest roles were playing women with very dubious moral behaviours. Bette Davis said she gave the Academy Award the nickname of her then husband, whose middle name was Oscar - because their backsides were alike.

Answer: Choctaw Native American

Although her early career featured her in many advertisements for various products, and several bit parts in films, Farrah Fawcett rose to fame for her role of Jill Munroe in the original televison series "Charlie's Angels". This production ran from 1976-81. Her role in this and her follow up roles in film saw her earn many Golden Globe and Emmy nominations. Following the suggestion by her agent that Farrah appear on a poster, Farrah did her own make-up and hairstyle for the shoot. The result eventually became that pin-up poster of her in the red bathing suit which sold up to twelve million copies. It also, no doubt, contributed to a spike in the hormone levels of many a male at that time. Farrah owned the rights to this poster, and it earned her quite a good deal of money along the way.

She left her role in the TV series after one season, and various reason have been given for this. The stress it was placing on her marriage to another well know TV star was one (Lee Majors of "Six Million Dollar Man" fame), and the suggestion she wanted to branch out into films was another. She herself would say of the series that "When the show was number three, I thought it was our acting. When we got to be number one, I decided it could only be because none of us wears a bra". Born in 1947, the lovely Farrah died in 2009 of cancer.

Answer: "That's it. I'm having my DNA fumigated"

Eddie Fisher (1928-2010) has been described as "one of the world's most famous and successful singers". He was at the height of his fame in the 1950s, sold a staggering number of records, and was even host of his own TV show. Married to popular actress, singer and dancer Debbie Reynolds, Fisher's romance and subsequent marriage to actress Elizabeth Taylor caused a world wide scandal. That marriage only lasted five years and he would go on to marry three more times. One of these subsequent marriages was to actress and singer Connie Stevens. That only lasted two years. Eddie Fisher's first autobiography, written in 1981, was called "Eddie: My Life, My Loves".

His second, written in 1999, and which caused such outrage to his family, was called "Been There, Done That".

It seems he certainly had.