Match the Stars 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bob Hope

Hope is a low level con-man in trouble as he owes money to the mob. The story is based on a Damon Runyon short story. Hope tries to raise money by wearing a Santa suit out of season then establishes a gambling operation supposedly owned by elderly ladies. This becomes a greater issue as the business is competing with mob endeavors. Still achieves a 73% Rotten Tomatoes score.

Born Leslie Townes Hope in England, his family migrated to Cleveland, Ohio. He lived to be a hundred and had a long and successful career in all media including comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer, dancer, athlete, and author. In films he was generally himself as that was what people expected. He made a series of 'Road' pictures with Bing Crosby and Dorothy Lamour and made some of his better screen performances in "Monsieur Beaucaire(1946), "Seven Little Foys" (1955), and "Paleface" (1948).

Among his many achievements were hosting the Academy Awards 19 times, making 57 tours to entertain servicemen, and having decades long running radio and television shows.

Hope loved golf and in 1995 played in a foursome with Bill Clinton, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush.

Answer: John Wayne

Wayne won an Academy Award for "True Grit" in 1970 but it was more of a life time achievement recognition as he aced out Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight for "Midnight Cowboy". Wayne made 170 movies including the silent era and was often relegated to two dimensional characters.

However, his acting prowess is evident in such films as "Stagecoach"(1939), "The Searchers"(1956), "The Quiet Man"((1952) and my favorite "Red River". In it Wayne is Mr. Nice Guy but descends into a ruthless demigod as he dances on the edge of madness while directing a cattle drive.

Answer: Peter Sellers

How does an actor emerge from an ensemble cast for individual recognition? He plays three roles. First the title character, a German Nazi now working with the US government; a confused an ineffective president; and a British officer defeated by a vending machine. Best line: Strangelove addresses the president as 'mein Führer'.

In several of Sellers films he played multiple characters. Sellers is also remembered for the "Pink Panther" films.

Answer: Harold Lloyd

By consensus the three great comedy stars in silent films were Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Lloyd seems, to me, to have the best persona to relate to an audience. In "Safety Last" Lloyd goes to the 'city' to find his fortune. He finds work in a department store where he must be creative to avoid the wrath of his boss. Later we see Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic.

The film was successful with the public and with critics.

It enabled Lloyd to become a creative leader of silent film comedy and even into the sound era.

Answer: Alastair Sim

Over 200 adaptations of "A Christmas Carol" have been produced. None, in my opinion, quite masters the material better than this 1951 version. Ghosts are meant to be scary and the ghosts here will give you goosebumps and shivers. Even though you know it's coming, Marley's shriek will always move me. Alastair Sim's performance as Scrooge runs the gamut from crusty, uncaring miser to the giddy, giggling, reborn humanitarian.

Sim was the classic character actor in that he had few starring roles but could be counted upon to enrich the work with his acting skills on stage, film, radio, or television. He was a very private person and protective of his family. He resolutely refused to sign autographs.

Answer: Cary Grant

Cary Grant gives one of his best comic performances in this tale of senior citizen ladies who feed arsenic to strangers. Raymond Massey's take on Boris Karloff is so convincing that Boris could not have done better himself. Peter Lorre plays Doctor Einstein who sounds and moves like Peter Lorre. Perhaps one of the best black comedies ever.

Born Archibald Leach in England, Grant had a career portraying sophisticated leading men. His acting career spanned from 1932 to 1966 and was paired with many actresses including Mae West, Katharine Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman, Deborah Kerr, and Doris Day among others. His charm often made his co-stars shine.

Answer: Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper portrays a young man just discharged from a mental hospital. He wants to re-unite with his ex-wife and get on with his life. However, Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), who has mental health issues as well, intervenes. Together they dance their way to love. Robert De Niro is in a supporting role as Cooper's father and he is also the number one fan of the Philadelphia Eagles football team - so much so that he has been banned from games for unacceptable behavior.

Cooper also has received high marks for his roles in "American Sniper"(2014) and "American Hustle" (2013). He pushes the envelope from playing the voice over of a cartoon raccoon in "Guardians of the Galaxy" (2014) and on the Broadway stage in a revival of "The Elephant Man" (2015).

Answer: Orson Welles

"Citizen Kane" is on many lists as one of the outstanding films of all time. Orson Welles co-wrote, directed, produced, and acted in this movie loosely based on the life of newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. Welles used innovative camera techniques, an ensemble cast, and inserted newsreel footage that gave a reality to the story.

When I was dating my wife, I noticed that she had a snow globe. I took it and lay down on the couch, closed my eyes, dropped it gently on the carpet, and whispered 'Rosebud'. No reaction. She had never seen "Citizen Kane" so I had a lot of explaining to do to convince her that I was not mad.

Answer: Lon Chaney

Lon Chaney was the master of horror film in the silent era. Often doing his own make-up, Chaney created many monstrous characters, many re-made in the sound era. His contribution to his genre should not be underestimated. Tragically, many of his film creations have been lost due to deterioration of film.

Born of deaf parents, he learned early the art of pantomime that silent films were a natural for him. "The Man of a Thousand Faces" (1958) is a sanitized version of his life starring James Cagney.

His son, Creighton, was pressured by executives to change his name to Lon Chaney, Junior and had a long career mostly in the horror genre.

Answer: Donald O'Connor

Although billed as a second banana in this film, O'Connor matches Ethel Merman in energy. O'Connor was a great dancer and created the second most remembered dance in "Singin' in the Rain" (1952), "Make'm Laugh". Gene Kelly upstages with his dance to the title song.

O'Connor was in a number of 'B' movies aimed at teenagers. Later he played a straight man to Francis, the talking mule in several films. His television "Colgate Comedy Hour" was one of the most entertaining. His last screen appearance was "Out to Sea", a Walter Matthau/Jack Lemmon pairing. Ironically, it was also the final film for Edward Mulhare and Gloria De Haven, all three dying shortly afterwards.