48th Academy Awards 1976 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Best Film Editing - Richard Chew, Sheldon Kahn, Lynzee Klingman

"One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1975) was the second movie to win all five top category Academy Awards, that being Best Picture, Actor in a Lead Role (Jack Nicholson), Actress in a Lead Role (Louise Fletcher), Director (Milos Forman), and Screenplay (Adapted) (Bo Goldman and Lawrence Hauben).

The only time this occurred prior to the 1976 Academy Awards was in 1935 for the film "It Happened One Night". It was also the first Academy Award win for Michael Douglas, though he wasn't in the film. He was the producer of it along with Saul Zaentz.

The rights for the film were purchased by Kirk Douglas in 1963 but he could not get the necessary backing from the film studios so he passed the rights to his son Michael, who got the backing from Fantasy Films. Though nominated for the Best Film Editing Academy Award, Richard Chew, Sheldon Kahn and Lynzee Klingman did not win the category.

The Best Film Editing Academy Award 1976 was won by Verna Fields for the movie "Jaws" (1975).

Answer: Statutory rape

Randle Patrick McMurphy is a decorated Korean War veteran who is dishonorably discharged due to insubordination. Though he claims that the 15 year old victim lied about her age and initiated the sexual encounter, McMurphy is found guilty of statutory rape and is sentenced to a short term.

But McMurphy wishes to avoid hard labor so declares himself mentally unstable and is transferred to a mental institution where he believes it will be more comfortable. Unfortunately for McMurphy, he doesn't count on Nurse Ratched (Louise Fletcher) who believes intimidation of the patients is required for successful treatment. Shock treatments and a lobotomy is the result for Randle McMurphy.

Answer: Homer Simpson

Don't say I didn't warn you. Prior to becoming the household name from the TV series "The Simpsons", Homer Simpson was the name of a character played by Donald Sutherland in the movie "The Day of the Locust" (1975). Based on the novel by Nathanael West, "The Day of the Locust" follows the story of Faye Greener (Karen Black) as she tries to make it big in Hollywood in the late 1930s. Tod Hackett (William Atherton) is an artist who has fallen in love with Faye, but Faye only has eyes for those who can further her career. Faye's father, Harry Greener, is an alcoholic and is portrayed by Burgess Meredith for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.

Answer: John Williams

The theme from "Jaws" (1975) was the second Academy Award win for John Williams, following his win for "Fiddler on the Roof" (1971). Spielberg later stated that without Williams's score, "the movie would only have been half as successful". "Jaws" (1975) was based on the 1974 novel by Peter Benchley and is about a great white shark attacking people at Amity Island, and the subsequent hunting of the shark. "Jaws" became the highest grossing film in 1975 overtaking "The Godfather" (1972). Unfortunately for Steven Spielberg he did not receive a nomination for Best Director, but "Jaws" was nominated for Best Movie and won three Academy Awards in the categories Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound.

Answer: Tommy

Jack Nicholson played The Specialist in the film "Tommy" (1975). "Tommy" was a film adaptation of the rock opera album "Tommy" by The Who. The film starred The Who members Roger Daltrey (Tommy), Pete Townshend (The Narrator/Himself), John Entwistle (Himself) and Keith Moon (Uncle Ernie/Himself). Also appearing were Ann-Margret as Nora Walker, a portrayal for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, Oliver Reed, Elton John (Pinball Wizard), Tina Turner and Eric Clapton. "Tommy" received a nomination for Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score at the Academy Awards 1976.

Answer: Christopher Plummer

Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer was born 13th December, 1929 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Christopher Plummer is one of few winners of the Triple Crown of Acting, that being Academy Award, Emmy Award and Tony Award. His Academy Award came in 2012 (Best Supporting Actor - "Beginners"), two Tony Awards in 1974 and 1997 (Best Actor in a Musical - "Cyrano" and Best Actor in a Play - "Barrymore") and two Emmy Awards in 1977 and 1994 (Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie - "The Moneychangers" and Outstanding Voice-Over Performance - "Madeline").

In 1975 Christopher Plummer played Rudyard Kipling in the movie "The Man Who Would Be King", a movie which was adapted from the novella by the author Rudyard Kipling.

Answer: Patrick Stewart

Sir Patrick Stewart OBE was born 13th July, 1940 Mirfield, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. Early in his career Patrick Stewart was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company and spent his early career on the stage. In 1975, he appeared as Eilert Lovborg in the movie "Hedda" (1975), his first cinematic film.

It was six years before he appeared in another cinematic film, that being the movie "Excalibur" (1981). In 1987 Patrick Stewart was cast as Jean-Luc Picard in the TV series "Star Trek: The Next Generation" which ran for 176 episodes and produced four films.

In 2000, Patrick Stewart was cast as Charles Xavier/Professor X in the "X-Men" series of films. In 2010, Patrick Stewart was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his services in the field of drama.

Answer: Carrie Fisher

Carrie Frances Fisher was born October 21, 1956 in Burbank, California, U.S.A. Her parents were Eddie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds. Prior to playing her iconic role of Princess Leia in the Star Wars series, Carrie Fisher made her debut as Lorna Karpf in the movie "Shampoo" (1975).

The movie is set on the eve of Richard Nixon's presidential election and follows the life of George Roundy (Warren Beatty), a successful hairdresser, as he dreams of opening up his own salon by obtaining the financial backing of Lester Karpf (Jack Warden), the husband of Felicia Karpf (Lee Grant) with whom Roundy is having an affair.

The music for the film "Shampoo" was written by Paul Simon, who married Carrie Fisher in 1983.

Answer: George Burns

George Burns received his only nomination for an Academy Award for his role in the film "The Sunshine Boys" (1975), portraying Al Lewis, a role that resulted in him winning the Best Supporting Actor award. The title of the film refers to the successful comedy act that Al Lewis (George Burns) and Willy Clark (Walter Matthau) were known as.

The movie follows the re-uniting of the comedy duo, as they try to put aside their differences for one last performance on a network program about the history of comedy.

When George Burns won the Academy Award in 1976 at the age of 80 he became the oldest winner of an Academy Award at that time.

Answer: Nashville

"Nashville" (1975) is a musical, comedy film which features an ensemble cast in a variety of stories, all involved with the country music and gospel music industries within the city of Nashville. Set over a period of five days leading up to a political rally for Hal Phillip Walker, a Replacement Party candidate, the movie follows 24 characters as their lives intertwine whilst they try to reach their individual goals. Linnea Reese (Lily Tomlin) is a white gospel singer recording a new song whilst she struggles with her marriage to Delbert (Ned Beatty), who is trying to organise the Hal Philip Walker campaign. Barbara Jean (Ronee Blakley) is a popular country singer trying to recover from a burn accident, whilst still trying to honor her musical performance obligations to the detriment of her health.

The characters of the film gradually come together towards the climax of the film, the Walker gala event. For their performances Lily Tomlin and Ronee Blakley were both nominated for an Academy Award.