One And Done: (In)Famous One Shot Stars Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Six-year-old David Kory's only connection to show business was being the son of a Radio City Music Hall Rockette when he landed the gem lead role of a young orphan in post-WWII Italy who wins the hearts of some hardened U.S. Army folk. Sadly, this 1961 film was woefully lambasted by the critics for its over-syrupy tone and shameless yanking of heart strings. What was the name of the movie?

Answer: Dondi

'Dondi' was based on the comic strip of the same name that lasted from 1955 till 1986. For some reason, Kory's attempt to capture Dondi's big-eyed open-faced optimism failed to capture the hearts of...well...pretty much anybody, thanks in large part to whoever told him what an Italian accent sounded like.

The film soon found itself among many critics' 'worst films of all time' list. One critic wrote later of co-star David Janssen, "It's no wonder he became 'The Fugitive'". Kory did one brief television role in 1963 and was never heard from again.

2. Caroline Marie (Carrie) Henn was nine years old without even a school play to her credit when she starred in one of the most anticipated sequels of 1986, opposite co-star Sigourney Weaver, a handful of space-Marines and a massive monster. After this, Henn never appeared in any other movies or even a TV show. What was her one-hit movie?

Answer: Aliens

Nicknamed 'Screamer', Carrie and her brother Christopher were Americans living in England, where 'Aliens' was being filmed nearby. It was Carrie who landed the juicy role of the tousle-headed little girl 'Newt', who was protected by Weaver's character of Ripley, survivor of the first 'Alien' movie in 1979.

At the helm directing was James Cameron, who would begin shooting the first 'Terminator' movie before 'Aliens' was even done. Despite mostly positive reviews, Henn had no desire to continue any sort of an acting career and grew up to become a teacher instead, but did manage to keep up a lengthy correspondence with Weaver through the years.

3. When looking for a lead actor in this 1981 western, the producers took a gamble and opted for a 30-year-old former athlete with no movie experience named Klinton Spilsbury to be the star of their next big movie. Well, the movie was a disaster almost from page one, dealing with the antics of their new lead actor as well as a former star who wasn't ready to step down yet. If anything, it gave a black eye to go behind the famous mask. What was the movie?

Answer: The Legend of the Lone Ranger

Spilsbury, son of an Arizona football coach, had the looks and the physique, but apparently not much else. He reportedly got into a number of altercations in places that would be unseemly to just about any hero-type. After the final scenes were shot, even his voice had to be re-dubbed by actor James Keach.

In addition to this, producer Jack Wrather filed a restraining order against legendary actor Clayton Moore, who was still making appearances with the Lone Ranger mask he wore for many years on television.

The end product was bad publicity and a movie that garnered several Golden Raspberry awards for worst film of the year. Spilsbury, winner of 'Worst Lead Actor' and 'Worst New Talent', would never make another film.

4. 13-year-old Texas native Peter Gardner Ostrum was living in Ohio when he was called to play the lead in a wonderful 1971 childrens classic with four other children. Once the cameras stopped, however, he stepped away from the limelight and followed his own path to become a veterinarian. What was the name of the film?

Answer: Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory

'Willy Wonka' was based on Roald Dahl's book 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', with music and lyrics by Leslie Briscusse and Anthony Newley, who was also an actor in the original 'Dr. Doolittle' with Rex Harrison. Ostrum, who played the lead role of Charlie Bucket, wasn't the only cast member who cast aside an acting career after their only role. Michael Bollner, who played Augustus Gloop, was selected because he lived in Munich, not far away from where 'Willy Wonka' was filming.

After shooting ended, he went back to school to eventually become a tax accountant. Paris Themen (Mike Teevee) would do a number of commercials and TV shows and Denise Nickerson (Violet Beauregard) had a part in the hit TV series 'Dark Shadows' before retiring. Julie Dawn Cole (Veruca Salt) was the only child who continued acting into the 21st century.

5. Poor Roger Waters...he went through all the trouble of writing, producing and performing in one of the great rock concept albums of the 1970s, but when it came time to turn it into a movie, he couldn't get the lead role...a role which went, ironically, to another singer with no acting experience. Roger had to settle for the cameo of being Best Man at what appears to be his own wedding. It remains the only movie role of his otherwise outstanding career. Of what movie (based on the album of the same name) am I referring?

Answer: Pink Floyd The Wall

The role of 'Pink' went to Bob Geldof, who was lead singer of the Irish band the Boomtown Rats. This selection failed to drop Roger's self-esteem much, as he reportedly had a number of 'philosophical differences' with the movie's director, Alan Parker, over the direction of the film in respect to Waters' (and Pink Floyd's) album.
Incidentally, while the other three choices are actual movie titles, none of them are related to the Pink Floyd albums of the same name.

6. I may be quibbling here, but Renee Jeanne Falconetti may have participated in one or two forgettable silent shorts back in 1917. Regardless, there is no question of the grand performance in her only feature-length release in 1928, based on the life (and, more to the point, death) of a great heroine of medieval French history. What was the film?

Answer: The Passion of Joan of Arc

If there is any controversy surrounding this actress, it lay within her name. There are several sources that suggest there may have been more than one actress with the surname Falconetti, whether it be Renee or Maria (or even Marie). There is no doubt, however, that the actress listed as 'Melle Falconetti' in Carl Theodor Dryer's 1928 film production of the trial and execution of Joan of Arc brought with her one of the most poignant roles in film history.

This Renee Falconetti was well known on the Paris stage, mostly as a light comedic actress. World War II forced her out of her home country, eventually landing in Argentina, where she died in 1946 without ever standing before another movie camera.

7. I must quibble a bit with this...the 1976 film 'The Million Dollar Rip-Off' is a television movie, as opposed to a theatrical release. Nonetheless, the movie itself would not be memorable except for its lead actor. This is the only movie role of what famed stand-up comedian and star of the sit-com 'Chico and the Man'?

Answer: Freddie Prinze

Prinze, son of a German father and a Puerto Rican mother, exploded onto the comedy scene in the early 1970s, garnering several plumb appearances on 'The Tonight Show' and eventually his own TV series as hip Chicano mechanic Chico Rodriguez opposite crusty garage owner Albertson as 'the Man' in the title. Sadly, with the fame came the parties, the booze and the drugs that dragged Prinze down until his death by self-inflicted gunshot in 1977 at the age of 22.

He left behind a son, future actor and writer Freddie Prinze, Jr.

8. You probably wouldn't have picked 10-year-old Ohio native David Svoboda out of a police line-up if you weren't captured at least once a year by the quiet eerie kid with the aviator cap and oversized goggles who expressed his like for 'The Wizard of Oz'...especially the Tin Man...without anyone asking. In what perennial holiday movie did David make his indelible mark?

Answer: A Christmas Story

Svoboda appears to be the only kid actor in this 1983 film who didn't do any other acting chores for the big screen. He did wait until the 1990s to appear on the small screen for a crime series filmed in the Czech Republic. The film's star, Peter Billingsly (Ralphie) was in a number of films before getting the lead in this retrospective of author Jean Shepherd's childhood. Now he makes his mark behind the camera as a producer. Even the bullies are doing well. Yano Anaya (Grover Dill) made his mark as a young version of rock bassist Michael Anthony in Van Halen's video 'Hot for Teacher' and Zack Ward (Scut Farkus) grew out of his coonskin-cap phase to become somewhat of an action star.

9. From 1983 to 1991, Jeff Cohen acted in a number of made-for-TV movies and shows, but his one foray into feature films was in 1985 as a slightly overweight 11-year-old kid nicknamed 'Chunk', who became infamous for a dance called the 'Truffle Shuffle'. In what movie did Jeff Cohen's brief light shine?

Answer: The Goonies

Cohen said in an interview that once the novelty of acting wore off, it stayed off. So, too did his weight. He joined the football team in high school and traded the flab for muscle. He later went to the University of California at Berkley (where he would still do his 'Truffle Shuffle' at sporting events, but only on the premise of school spirit) and was elected President of the college's student union.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and became an well-known attorney...well, well-known to his clients, anyway.

10. Technically, this doesn't fit the criteria of the quiz, but when you wait 34 years between your first movie (where you win an Oscar) and your second, I will make an exception. A former Army sergeant with little acting ability, Harold Russell practically stole this 1946 classic movie about the home front of World War II from more seasoned actors like Fredrick March, Dana Andrews and Myrna Loy before dropping out of the film industry. What is this marvelous film?

Answer: The Best Years of Our Lives

27-year-old Harold Russell enlisted in the military on December 8, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was training paratroopers in North Carolina for a military educational film when some explosives detonated, costing Russell both his hands.

After being fitted with hooks, he starred in another training film dealing with injured war veterans. This film caught the eye of director William Wyler, who cast him in his movie as Homer Parrish, an injured sailor coming home. The people who run the Academy Awards presented him a special Oscar for being an inspiration to disabled soldiers (the story goes that they didn't expect him to win in the category 'Best Supporting Actor').

He did win, and therefore became the first person to win two Oscars for the same role.

He didn't do another movie until 1980, when he was cast in 'Inside Moves'. His third and final role was in 'Dogtown', made in 1996. Russell died January 29, 2002.

Source: Author Oddball

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LadyCaitriona before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Hollywood abounds with tales of stars being found in the most unlikely places, but not much is said of those stars if they happen to go out after one brief shining moment. Just to let you know we haven't forgotten.

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