'Mister'...ry Trivia Quiz

Answer: Don Rickles

If you said John Ratzenberger, you are very smart but very wrong! While John (Cliff Clavin from "Cheers") was in "Toy Story", he was the voice of Hamm. Don Rickles is a stand-up comedian known for his insult humor, i.e., "you hockey puck!". He used to appear on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson and has earned the nicknames 'The Merchant of Venom' and, in keeping with this quiz, 'Mr. Warmth'. Don has been around a long time, appearing in movies like "Run Silent, Run Deep" in 1958 where he made his film debut, "Dean Martin's Celebrity Roasts" and his TV series "CPO Sharkey" (1976-1978).

Answer: Laurence Tureaud

Did you know Mr. T's real name or do you only know him as B.A. Baracas from "The A-Team" (1983-1987) or, perhaps, as Clubber Lang in Rocky III (1982)? Born in 1952, Mr. T grew up in a rough neighborhood in Chicago, Illinois, and was the 11th of 12 children.

In the mid-eighties and mid-nineties, he participated in professional wrestling and was Hulk Hogan's tag team partner for the first "Wrestlemania" in 1985. Who could forget his signature gold chains, mohawk haircut (which very few people could successfully pull off), his beard and gruff voice 'pitying the fool'? In the past he also worked as a bodyguard for Steve McQueen, Diana Ross and Muhammad Ali.

Answer: 5th dimension

First of all, it seems when I wasn't looking someone changed the original spelling of Mr. Mxyztplk to the current Mr. Mxyzptlk (notice the movement of the 't') - I have no idea why! Let's just call him Mr. M for now; while all the choices above are places in the Superman world, Mr. M is a trickster from the 5th dimension (sort of an animated Loki).

He loves tormenting Superman who, despite his super strength, seems vulnerable to Mr. M's magic. The only way to get him to return to the 5th dimension (NOT the singing group) is to get him to spell his name backwards, at which point he is transported back home for a minimum of 90 days (although that seems to have changed too).

Answer: Mr. Bojangles

The song "Mr. Bojangles" was first written and performed by Jerry Jeff Walker for his 1968 album. According to Walker, the song is not about Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson. a tap dancer and actor who was the highest paid black entertainer of the first half of the 20th century, and the first to appear in a film with an interracial dance team (with Shirley Temple in "The Little Colonel"). Walker's version, and the one the "Nitty Gritty Dirt Band" took to #1 in 1971, was about a homeless white man he met in a Louisiana prison in 1965 who called himself 'Mr. Bojangles'; he told a sad story about his dog and, when asked to 'lighten up', he danced.

Answer: Don Herbert

Don Herbert was the creator and host of the show "Watch Mr. Wizard" (1951-1965 and 1970-1971) who explained the joys and mysteries of science and technology to the baby boomers of the 1950s and 1960s. "Mr. Wizard's World" appeared on TV from 1983 through 1991, reaching countless young minds of a new generation. Before that, Herbert (last name Kemske) became a captain in the U.S. Air Force during World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

He died in 2007, just before his 90th birthday; Bill Nye wrote about him: "Herbert's techniques and performances helped create the U.S.'s first generation of homegrown rocket scientists...He sent us to the moon.

He changed the world".

Answer: Joe Dimaggio

Mr. Coffee was the name of a new home kitchen coffee maker available in 1972 by Sunbeam Corp. (later known as American Household, Inc.). In 1973, Joe Dimaggio, the famous center fielder for the New York Yankees in their halcyon days, was convinced to become the spokesperson for Mr. Coffee. "The Yankee Clipper" or "Joltin' Joe" was considered one of the best all around baseball players in the history of the game, was extremely popular with the public and became the husband of Marilyn Monroe in 1954.

He and 'Mr. Coffee' revolutionized coffee and, with Dimaggio's help, the product sold more than one million units by 1974. (Mr. Coffee may have named his son Keurig.)

Answer: Jim Backus

Quincy Magoo, the wealthy, short, stubborn and half-blind cartoon character, was voiced by Jim Backus beginning in 1949; in fact, in 1962 he starred as Ebenezer Scrooge in the animated film "Mr. Magoo's Christmas" taken directly from the Dickens' story. Aside from being Mr. Magoo, Jim Backus was a well-known radio, television and film actor. On radio he played the rich Herbert Updike III; on TV he played a judge in "I Married Joan" and in the movies he appeared as the wimpy father of James Dean's character, Jim Stark, in "Rebel Without a Cause" (1955).

He may be best known, however, for his portrayal of the very rich Thurston Howell, III on "Gilligan's Island".

Answer: Bob Parr

All is quiet in the suburban city of Metroville where the former crime fighting duo, Mr. Incredible and his wife Elastigirl, are forced to live quiet undercover lives ever since all superheroes have been banned by the government. Insurance salesman Bob Parr and his wife Helen are forced into a mundane life style with their 3 kids, Violet, Dash and Jack-Jack, all of whom were also born with superpowers. Of course one day Mr.

Incredible is called into action (or there would be no movie) and he gets into trouble, so his family must go to his aid. With new costumes designed by Edna 'E' Mode (an Edith Head clone), they all go into action to save the day!

Answer: Wilbur Post

"A horse is a horse, of course, of course" and Wilbur Post happens to be the owner of the talking horse - Mr. Ed; the problems arise because Mr. Ed won't talk to anyone but Wilbur (oh, those wacky 1950s sitcoms). Wilbur is a sweet and klutzy architect whose wife, Carol, thinks he loves Mr. Ed more than he loves her since he spends so much time in the barn talking to Ed. Oh yeah, and sometimes that prankster, Ed, calls out from the barn or speaks on the telephone, and everyone thinks its Wilbur...the high jinks never end! Wilbur is played by Alan Young who also voices the Disney character Scrooge McDuck.

Answer: Mr. Men

Roger Hargreaves is a British author who wrote a series of 49 children's stories beginning in 1971; the series was known as 'Mr. Men' and later 42 'Little Miss' books were added. Each book has its own main character, e.g., 'Mr. Tickle' or 'Mr. Happy' or 'Little Miss Chatterbox'. Each protagonist has the physical attributes and personalities of their names, and Hargreaves uses the single dominant feature of the 'person' to convey a moral lesson (sort of a modern Aesop).

These are wonderful, brightly colored stories to read to young children who are first learning about their world.

After Hargreaves died in 1988, his son Adam continued writing and illustrating new stories.