OK, Who Was It Then? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Al Martino

Al Martino was born Jasper Cini in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA, in 1927. The first UK singles chart was published in the New Musical Express in 1952 and "Here In My Heart" was the first number one hit. It was officially number one for nine weeks in 1952/1953 but had been a UK best seller for many weeks before the singles chart was published.

Al Martino played singer Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather" (1972) and "The Godfather Part III" (1990). Fontane asks Don Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando) to help him in getting a role in a movie. The producer of the movie refuses to give Fontane the role at first. After Corleone makes the producer an offer he can't refuse and he wakes up with the head of his own race horse beside him, Johnny Fontane gets the role.

Al Martino died at his home in Springfield, Pennsylvania, USA, in 2009 aged 82. On the previous day he had returned to the recording studio to complete a new ten-track album with the producer Joe Vulpis. The last song he recorded was the Garth Brooks's song "If Tomorrow Never Comes".

Answer: Paul McCartney

Paul McCartney's brother Michael had a number one hit for four weeks on the UK singles chart with "Lily The Pink" as a member of the comedy/poetry/singing trio The Scaffold in 1968.

Peter Michael McCartney was the younger brother of Paul. In the early '60s when The Beatles were becoming successful Mike was working as an apprentice hairdresser in Liverpool and was also a member of The Scaffold along with Roger McGough and John Gorman. He changed his name to Mike McGear so as not to appear to be cashing in on his famous brother's name. The Scaffold had two other UK Top Ten hits with "Thank U Very Much", number four in 1967 and "Liverpool Lou", number seven in 1974.

He reverted to his real name in the '80s after retiring from music and devoted more time to photography. He had always had an interest in photography and was given the nickname "Flash Harry" in the '60s by The Beatles' then manager Brian Epstein.

Answer: Art Garfunkel

Art Garfunkel appeared in "Catch-22" as Capt. Nately (billed as Arthur Garfunkel).

Art Garfunkel had a very successful music career as one half of Simon and Garfunkel. Between 1965 and 1975 they had eight Top Ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100 which included the three number one hits: "The Sounds Of Silence", "Mrs. Robinson" and "Bridge Over Troubled Water". He had one US solo Top Ten hit with "All I Know" in 1972.

In the UK Simon and Garfunkel had five Top Ten hits between 1966 and 1970 which included the number one hit "Bridge Over Troubled Water". Solo in the UK, Garfunkel had three chart hits which included the two number one hits "I Only Have Eyes For You" and "Bright Eyes".

Answer: Robert Mitchum

Robert Mitchum starred as Brig. Gen. Norman Cota in the 1962 movie "The Longest Day".

Actor/author/composer/singer Robert Mitchum was born Robert Charles Durman Mitchum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA, in 1917. He got his first break in 1942 when playing a villain in a number of the "Hopalong Cassidy" series of B-western movies starring William Boyd. At the 1946 Academy Awards, Mitchum got his only nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Lt./Capt. Bill Walker in the movie "The Story of G. I. Joe".

Robert Mitchum died of complications of lung cancer and emphysema in Santa Barbara, California, USA, in 1997 aged 79.

Answer: Marty Wilde

Marty Wilde who was born Reginald Smith in London in 1939, was a very popular singer in the UK.

He had six Top Ten hits on the UK singles chart between 1958 and 1961. All but one were covers of American hits which was the standard practice at that time. The other hit was the self penned "Bad Boy". He later wrote many hits for such acts as The Casuals, Lulu, Status Quo and his daughter Kim Wilde. He appeared in four UK movies, the last of which was "Stardust" (1974) starring David Essex and one of Marty Wilde's contemporaries, Adam Faith.

Although Kim Wilde had a US number one hit, she like her father never had a number one hit in the UK. She did however have eight Top Ten hits in the UK between 1981 and 1988.

Answer: Gene Pitney

Gene Pitney was the special guest star on the remake by Marc Almond of his own '60s UK hits "Something's Gotten Hold Of My Heart". It was number one for four weeks on the UK singles chart in 1989. Pitney's original version peaked at number five on the UK singles chart in 1967. Neither version charted on the Billboard Hot 100.

Gene Pitney was born Gene Francis Alan Pitney in Hartford, Connecticut, USA, in 1940. Between 1961 and 1968 he had ten Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 of which four made the Top Ten. Between 1963 and 1968 he had 11 Top 20 hits on the UK singles chart of which ten made the Top Ten. He never had a solo number one hit on either chart.

Gene Pitney died of a heart attack in his hotel room in Cardiff, Wales, UK, in 2006 aged 66. He was on a tour of the UK at the time.

Answer: Natalie Cole

Natalie Cole performed a duet with her father Nat King Cole on "Unforgettable" which peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991. It peaked at number 19 on the UK singles chart the same year.

Between 1975 and 1991 Natalie Cole had eight Top 20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, five of which made the Top Ten. Between 1988 and 1991 she had four Top 20 hits on the UK singles chart, two of which made the Top Ten. The song "Unforgettable" was written in 1951 as "Uncomparable" by Irving Gordon. The title was changed at the request of the publishing company. Nat King Cole first recorded the song in 1951 with an arrangement by Nelson Riddle. He re-recorded it in 1961 for the album "The Nat King Cole Story.

Nat King Cole died of cancer in Santa Monica, California, USA, in 1965 aged 45.

Answer: Davy Jones

In March 1961 Davy Jones played Colin Lomax, the grandson of Ena Sharples. She was one of the main characters in "Coronation Street" at the time. In 1965 he joined Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork to form The Monkees.

In December 1961 Peter Noone played an unnamed child but in the next episode he was named as Stanley Fairclough, the son of Len, who was another one of the main characters in "Coronation Street" at the time. In 1962 he joined Karl Green, Keith Hopwood, Steve Titterington and Alan Wrigley in Herman and The Hermits. Derek Leckenby and Barry Whitwam later replaced Titterington and Wrigley and the group eventually became Herman's Hermits.

Answer: Bonanza

The star of "Bonanza", Canadian actor Lorne Greene, was at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 for one week with "Ringo". It peaked at number 22 on the UK singles chart.

The song was not about Ringo, the drummer in The Beatles. Nevertheless, the title may have helped the sales of the record. The Beatles had stormed the Billboard Hot 100 in 1964 and had already had five number one hits that year, before "Ringo" reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Bonanza" ran for 430 episodes between 1959 and 1973 and starred Lorne Greene as Ben Cartwright, Pernell Roberts as Adam Cartwright, Dan Blocker as Eric "Hoss" Cartwright and Michael Landon as Joseph "Little Joe" Cartwright. Lorne Greene, who died of complications from pneumonia in 1987 aged 72, was only 13 years older than Roberts and Blocker, two of his sons in "Bonanza".

Answer: Laurence Olivier

Peter Sellers performed The Beatles' "A Hard Day's Night" as Richard III in the style of Laurence Olivier. It peaked at number 14 on the UK singles chart in 1965 and at number 52 in 1993. It did not chart in the US.

Sellers had made many previous recordings in the '50s and '60s, his biggest hit being "Goodness Gracious Me" with Italian actress Sophia Loren. It peaked at number four on the UK singles chart in 1960 and was produced by George Martin. The Beatles had heard of producer George Martin long before meeting him, through his recordings with Sellers and various others including "My Boomerang Won't Come Back" in 1961 with Charlie Drake and "Right Said Fred" in 1962 with Bernard Cribbins.