Showbiz Biographies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Ben Johnson

The title would fit any of the four actors listed, however it belongs to the great character actor Ben Johnson. Ben was a world rodeo champion, a stunt man in westerns, an Oscar winner for "The Last Picture Show" and a fine character actor in his later years. Ben was seen to great effect as a criminal in the Steve McQueen classic "The Getaway".

Answer: Billy Wilder

Multi-award winning writer and director Billy Wilder is the subject of this well written biography by Ed Sikov. Wilder is also the subject of a biography titled "Nobody's Perfect", also well written by Charlotte Chandler. William Holden and Gloria Swanson both starred in the movie "Sunset Boulevard". Glenn Close won a Tony award for her performance in "Sunset Boulevard" on Broadway.

Answer: Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum famously said the the thing he looked for in a script was "days off". His output belies that ethic, as he appeared in no less than 120 feature films, eleven made-for-TV movies and two outstanding mini-series of the 1980s. Robert also appeared in two television series: "A Family for Joe", which only lasted half a season, and "African Skies", which lasted two seasons.

Answer: Shirley Temple

"Child Star" is an insightful biography of Shirley Temple from birth to her appointment to ambassadorial posts. By the time she had completed "Young People" in 1940 at age 14, Shirley had appeared in 50 feature films. Almost 80 years after her star shot to fame it is hard to realise just how big a personality she was.

Answer: Jerry Lee Lewis

"Great Balls of Fire" and "Whole Lotta Shakin" are also biographies of this pioneer rock 'n' roller who has led a very colourful life. Robert Blake, Phil Spector and Fatty Arbuckle were all involved in scandals concerning a killing.

Answer: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Leiber and Stoller are at the pinnacle of songwriting for early rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues. Elvis Presley recorded more than 30 of their compositions. Goffin and King were also powerhouse composers of the early sixties. Fabian was known as the "Hound Dog Man". For anybody interested in the music of these times I readily recommend this book.

Answer: Paul Anka

Paul Anka had his first hit at age 15 with "Diana". He is responsible for a number of well known hit songs for himself and others. "Lonely Boy", "Puppy Love" and "Put Your Head On My Shoulder" were top ten hits for Paul. He wrote "It Doesn't matter Anymore" for Buddy Holly and "She's A Lady" for Tom Jones, English translated "My Way" into English, and composed the theme for "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson".

Answer: Rosalind Russell

Four time Academy Award-nominated Rosalind Russell was one the most popular movie stars of the 30s, 40s and 50s. Her career flourished in the sixties with movies like "Gypsy" and two wonderful movies, "The Trouble With Angels" and "Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows". Among the many achievements in her life is the fact that she was nominated for five Golden Globes and won them all.

Answer: Bobby Rydell

Bobby Rydell, along with Bobby Vee, Gene Pitney, Chubby Checker and Del Shannon were the front runners of the second wave of rock 'n' rollers in the early sixties. These young teen idols were mostly backed by orchestras as producers tried to get away from the rougher style of rock.

This biography tells of Rydell's trials and tribulations and the reinvention of his stage act, whereby, like Bobby Darin, he morphed into a Las Vegas style performer. Whilst he did not chart beyond the late 1960s, his albums released in the seventies and eighties still hold up.

Answer: Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole was an eight time Academy Award nominee, and winner of many awards for his stage work. He wrote a wonderfully self deprecating look at his life and career. All actors in this question are British and all appeared with Peter O'Toole in his breakthrough film, "Lawrence of Arabia".