Yet Another Oscars ABC Trivia Quiz

Answer: All Of them

All of their books translated into Oscar worthy films. Walker penned "The Color Purple" which was nominated multiple times but didn't win any. Tyler wrote "The Accidental Tourist", among others, that won a statue for Geena Davis as Best Supporting Actress. Rice wrote "Interview With A Vampire", nominated for production design and music.

Answer: Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice

Elliott Gould and Dyan Cannon (perhaps notable for being the ex-spouses of Barbra Streisand and Cary Grant, as time went on) were nominated for this flick which, at the time, was considered very controversial. Wife swapping! Gasp. It seems very tame today. Terence Stamp was nominated for "Billy Budd" in 1962. The other two choices scored no acting nominations.

Answer: Chita Rivera

Rivera, who has done quite well for herself on Broadway, never had much of a movie career. Leachman won for "The Last Picture Show" in 1971. Bergen was nominated for "Starting Over" in 1979 and Lahti scored a nomination for "Swing Shift" in 1984.

Answer: Diane Varsi for "Peyton Place"

Varsi got her one and only nomination that year playing Allison MacKenzie in the rather massive soap opera "Peyton Place". Reynolds, oddly enough, did not get noticed for "Singing In The Rain", arguably one of the best musicals ever filmed. Della Reese was not in "Pete Kelly's Blues"---Peggy Lee was nominated for that one in 1955. Day was nominated for best LEAD actress in 1959 for "Pillow Talk".

Answer: easy rider

Nicholson played a spaced out lawyer in "Easy Rider", earning the only acting nod in what is now, by many, considered a classic film. He didn't win, but it set a course for him to excel in a career full of offbeat roles.

Answer: Fiddler On The Roof

Topol, who seems to have vanished from the planet, was singled out for "Fiddler". Michael Douglas did not make the cut for "Fatal Attraction", although Anne Archer and that crazy Glenn Close did in 1987. Hitchcock's "Frenzy" in 1972 was nomination-free. "Fiddler On The Roof" came out in 1971, by the way.

Answer: gladiator

While his work in "The Insider" got him his first one, and was probably a better acting job, this epic "Gladiator" got him the gold.

Answer: Helen Keller

The movie won Oscars for both Anne Bancroft, playing teacher Annie Sullivan, and Patty Duke, playing the fiercely impaired young Helen Keller. But I'll bet everyone knows that.

Answer: I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang

In his day he was quite a popular actor. In this one he played a man wrongly convicted, who was brutalized badly during his time on the chain gang.

Answer: Jeremy Irons

Pesci was nominated for "Raging Bull" and won on his second try with "Goodfellas". Wayne got his first nomination for "Sands Of Iwo Jima" in 1949, picking up his win in 1969 for "True Grit". Julie Andrews has been nominated for "The Sound Of Music" and "Victor/Victoria" but won hers for "Mary Poppins" in 1964. Irons was nominated, and he won for "Reversal Of Fortune".

Answer: King Kong (1933)

"Key Largo" won an award for Claire Trevor in 1948. "The Killing Fields" got Haing S. Ngor one in 1984. And, of course, Yul Brynner got Best Actor in 1956 for "The King And I". "King Kong", the original, didn't even receive one nomination! The remake, released in 1976, actually won an Oscar, for visual effects.

Answer: Long Day's Journey Into Night

Ms. Hepburn won as Best Actress in 1968 for "The Lion In Winter". "Love Among The Ruins" was a TV movie released in 1974, so not Oscar material. She played the tragic and addicted mother in "Long Day's Journey Into Night" in 1962 and was Oscar nominated for what some critics say was her finest performance.

Answer: Melinda Dillon

Dillon played the mother whose son was snatched up by aliens. Her performance was pretty good in a strong cast that was basically overwhelmed by special effects.

Answer: Night Of The Iguana

Grayson Hall made only one notable movie with "Iguana" but had a pretty respectable stage career before that. Then she hooked up in that afternoon show full of vampires and werewolves. In "Night Of The Iguana" she played a church woman who just would not give Richard Burton's character, a defrocked priest, a break. She passed away in 1985.

Answer: Oh my! All of them have!

Olivier for "Henry V" and "Hamlet". "Ordinary People" was Best Picture in 1980. And Oliver Stone has won several.

Answer: Piper Laurie

In chronological order, Piper's nominations came for "The Hustler", "Carrie" and then "Children Of A Lesser God". Her birth name was Rosetta Jacobs but I think Piper Laurie has a better ring to it. I'll offer an opinion and say that her work in "Carrie" bordered on brilliance. To play such a whacked out character and to pull it off without looking ridiculous takes talent.

Answer: Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino made his first splash with "Reservoir Dogs" in 1992 at the ripe old age of only 28. His Oscar attention came, of course, with "Pulp Fiction" in 1994. He and Mira didn't last long, by the way. And I'm reasonably sure that he could now buy the video store he once worked in.

Answer: Roger Daltrey

Those two were in "Tommy" and I guess that Ann-Margret got her nomination for enduring beans flying out from the TV set and nearly drowning her.

Answer: Sunday, Bloody Sunday

This film was up for some Oscars, including, Lead Actors, Peter Finch and Glenda Jackson. Murray Head was the one who lip-locked with Peter Finch but he didn't get an Oscar nomination for it. "Suddenly Last Summer", released in 1959, addressed homosexuality.

But back then it was more regular to take on a theme of ripping a gay guy to pieces and eating him. Pretty grizzly stuff. "Summer And Smoke" dealt with a preacher's spinster daughter and "Stanley And Iris" was about illiteracy.

Answer: The Grapes Of Wrath

This one should have been pretty easy for movie fans. Henry Fonda, playing Tom Joad, was awesome in that 1940 movie. Jane Darwell, playing Ma Joad, won for Best Supporting Actress. Some say that 1939 was the overall best year in film history ("Gone With The Wind", "The Wizard Of Oz", etc.), but 1940 was pretty awesome as well.

Answer: usual suspects

Yikes. I love "The Usual Suspects". Smartly written, well acted. Spacey went on to win Best Actor for "American Beauty". So far, I've never seen him give a bad performance.

Answer: victor/victoria

The movie came out over 20 years ago and has become a dubious Broadway show. Everyone thought Robert Preston would win for Best Supporting Actor for it, but he didn't. Julie Andrews was nominated, too, as was Leslie Ann Warren. None of them won.

Answer: Wag The Dog

The film came out in 1997, rather mystically foretelling of sexual scandals and the ensuing PR to hide it in the White House.

Answer: You Light Up My Life

This song was Debbie Boone's, daughter of Pat Boone, only big hit. I thought it was about as original as pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving but it was very popular back then.

Answer: Zorba The Greek

Lila Kedrova won for "Zorba" in 1964. Anthony Quinn, in probably his signature performance, was nominated and lost playing the title role. I hope you don't have a headache from all these Oscar questions and that you had some fun with this quiz. Have a great day!