I Can't Put The Name With The Face - Part 2 Quiz

Answer: Jennifer Lopez as Selena Quintanilla

'Selena' starred J-Lo as the Texas born Latin singer who released her first album at age 12, and won numerous awards before she was murdered by the president of her fan club at age 23. Selena accused Yolanda Saldivar of embezzling funds from the fan club and Saldivar shot her. Selena died of blood loss just days before her 24th birthday.
Jennifer Lopez had been a 'Fly Girl' on TV and done a couple of movies but this was her first starring role. She received a Golden Globe nomination for her portrayal of Selena.

Answer: Gary Oldman as Ludwig van Beethoven

Gary Oldman played the part of Ludwig van Beethoven. This was not Oldman's first time portraying a musician. In 1986, he played Sid Vicious, leader of the punk group, the Sex Pistols.
Beethoven's secretary, Anton Schindler (played by Jeroen Krabbe, who was initially selected to play Beethoven) was dealing with Beethoven's affairs after his death. He found three love letters and tried to determine who Beethoven's immortal beloved was.
The movie received mixed but mostly positive reviews but did not garner any awards.

Answer: Sissy Spacek as Loretta Lynn

Sissy Spacek played Loretta Webb, who married Doolittle Lynn, played by Tommy Lee Jones. By 20, she had four children and a not-so-glamorous life. Doo bought her a guitar as a present. She taught herself to play it, sang, and wrote a bunch of songs to eventually be one of the most loved and award-winning female country artists ever.
Loretta wrote the autobiography on which the movie was based and the movie became a box office hit. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards, and Spacek won a Best Actress Oscar. Spacek sang all of Lynn's songs in the movie.

Answer: Gary Busey as Buddy Holly

'The Buddy Holly Story' was released in 1978 and starred Gary Busey as the iconic Buddy Holly. The movie started with Holly's teen years in Lubbock, Texas with his band, The Crickets. Just a couple of years later, Buddy, the Big Bopper and Ritchie Valens died in a plane crash. When Buddy died, he had only released three albums but had enough home and studio recordings to continue to have songs released for the next 10 years.
At the time Buddy died in 1959, he was 22 years old and only weighed about 150 pounds. Busey was 33 years old and had to loose over 30 pounds to play the thin Holly. Busey at one time was scheduled to play Holly's drummer in a project that fell apart. Busey was nominated for some awards but the movie was not a critical success.
There have been several movies, songs, and even some TV episodes dedicated to Buddy Holly. On what would have been his 75th birthday, he got a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame.

Answer: Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline

Jessica Lange played Patsy Cline in the 1985 movie 'Sweet Dreams'. This is the story of a country singer who divorced one man to marry another only to find him abusive and domineering. She had quit singing to be a full-time wife and mother but eventually went back to her first love, singing. She became successful which put a strain on her family relationships. At 30 years old and the peak of her popularity, she died in a plane crash. There were some key elements of the movie that were not accurate, like when and how the plane Patsy was in crashed and whether Patsy was the victim of spousal abuse.
Meryl Streep claimed she begged the director, Karel Reisz, for the part of Patsy Cline but he always had his heart set on Lange to play the part. Lange received her fourth Oscar nomination for 'Sweet Dreams'. Lange received two nominations in 1982, the first time in forty years that had happened. She made her acting debut as the helpless maiden Dwan in the 1976 version of 'King Kong'.
The musicians listed in the answer section of this question have recorded songs entitled 'Sweet Dreams'.

Answer: Robert Alda as George Gershwin

Robert Alda, father of Alan Alda, played George Gershwin, brother of Ira Gershwin in the 1945 movie. At age 26, George composed the classical piece for piano, 'Rhapsody In Blue', which turned out to be the most popular of his works. Early in his career, Gershwin recorded over 100 piano rolls to support himself but very little of Gershwin actually playing his own music has survived the years. He wrote music for movies, operas, musicals, piano solos and orchestral pieces. He had also been nominated for and received many, many awards.
The movie of his life told the story of two fictional love interests. His need to succeed as a pianist and composer interfered with personal life. But the movie also gave the audience a chance to meet a few of his peers that made cameo appearances and hear some of the world's greatest music.
Robert Alda was a talented singer, dancer and actor. He was known for his first major role, as George Gershwin, and for his performance in the classic 'Imitation Of Life'. He also did some acting on Broadway and many guest starring roles on TV. He did two guest appearances as a doctor on his son's long running hit - 'M*A*S*H'.

Answer: Lou Diamond Phillips as Ritchie Valens

Lou Diamond Phillips starred as Ritchie Valens in 'La Bamba', released in 1987. This was more than just the rise and fall of a star. Ritchie's family was poor, his half-brother was jealous of him, and his girlfriend's parents didn't approve of him. Ritchie was afraid of flying but as he became more popular, he had to go from coast to coast for appearances and had to overcome the fear of flying.
On February 3, 1959, Ritchie Valens, The Big Bopper, and Buddy Holly got on a small private plane to fly to another gig. The plane went down because of bad weather and all were lost.
Ritchie's family approved the story/movie and at one point, Ritchie's sister called out her brother's name as Lou Diamond Phillips was acting out a scene. Los Lobos performed all of Ritchie's songs and had a cameo appearance in the movie. The movie was well received as was Phillips' portrayal of Valens. 'La Bamba' was nominated for a Golden Globe Award.
There are monuments erected near the crash site in Iowa. Don McLean's song, 'American Pie' (aka 'The Day The Music Died'), is about the deaths of the three musicians. A 50th Anniversary concert was held on February 2, 2009.

Answer: Angela Bassett as Tina Turner

'What's Love Got To Do With It' was released in 1993 and starred Angela Bassett as Anna Mae Bullock, aka Tina Turner. All of the actresses in the answer section were considered for the part.
Laurence Fishburne starred as Tina's abusive husband, Ike. It's reported that Fishburne was offered the part many times and turned it down until he found out that Bassett was scheduled to play Turner.
Tina had written an autobiography on which the movie was to be based but the movie strayed from the book over and over.
Ike Turner wrote his own biography which claimed that the movie hurt his career and that much of the movie was completely made up.
The movie was nominated for two Oscars and won a Golden Globe Award.

Answer: Steve Allen as Benny Goodman

'The Benny Goodman Story' was released in 1956 and starred Steve Allen as the big band leader and clarinetist. Steve Allen was a well-known TV star in the '50s and '60s. He had a variety show ('The Steve Allen Show'), similar to 'The Tonight Show' (Johnny Carson), 'The Jay Leno Show' and 'The Jack Paar Tonight Show'.
Goodman's wife was played by Donna Reed, also a well-known star. Reed was very active in movies when 'The Benny Goodman Story' was released. A few years following that, she began to be a familiar name on TV as well.
This was another story that followed a musician from a young age to stardom as a band leader during the wonderful swing era. And again, the story may have been advertised as a biography but was not necessarily historically correct. The movie didn't receive any awards but the music from the movie (many of Goodman's clarinet parts were actual recordings of him, not Allen on clarinet) and the cameo appearances of other big band, jazz and swing personalities made the movie fun and well worth watching.

Answer: Bette Midler as Mary Rose Foster

Bette Midler was Mary Rose Foster in this 1979 movie. Her character was based on the life of Janis Joplin. In fact, the movie was to be named 'Pearl' which was the name of Janis' last album and her nickname but Janis' family refused to let the producers have the rights to her story. Years later, Janis' sister wrote a biography. Many have been looked at to make an official biopic. There may not be as many around who remember Janis and she may not be as relevant as she once was.
Bette Midler was praised for her performance and some described it as haunting. The actors and the movie received numerous award nominations.
I don't think anyone would argue that Janis put her heart and soul in her music and she left this world way too soon.