Born on Friday the Thirteenth Trivia Quiz

Answer: Rosemary Kennedy

Rosemary Kennedy was the eldest daughter of Joseph and Rose Kennedy and born a year after her brother, the future president of the United States John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Right from the start this young lady's life was to be a tragedy following a botched birth due to the obstetrician being late to attend.

She then grew up slightly retarded which was an embarrassment to her parents as it threatened to sully the name of the mighty Kennedy clan. Her condition forced her father Joseph to subject her to a new but unproven frontal lobotomy on her brain which left her totally incapacitated both physically and mentally.

She was then admitted to a home in Wisconsin, with her condition kept secret from her siblings. They became aware of her plight after Joseph's severe stroke in 1961 that left him ,too, in a vegetative state, and the family then took care of her.

She became the inspiration for her sister Eunice to put forward an idea that led to the formation of the Special Olympics. Eunice then broke the story of her sister's tragic life to the newspapers, but it was not until 1987 that the true story of the lobotomy was released to the world. Rose Marie (Rosemary) Kennedy passed away aged 86 on January 7th 2005, and ironically was the first of the children to die of natural causes.

Answer: Bob Crane

Robert Edward {Bob} Crane started out as a very versatile drummer, radio host, and disc jockey before becoming well known as an actor. In the TV sitcom Hogan's Heroes, where he played Colonel Robert E Hogan, he received his Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

However his private life was reportedly dubious, with private acting roles of himself and women in what could only be described as sexual poses and it is alleged that some of the women were not aware that they were being filmed. An ego driven Bob made no secret of his conquests and showed them off to friends and acquaintances. Bob Crane was bludgeoned to death in his Scottsdale Arizona apartment on June 18th 1978. No one has yet been charged with this crime.

Answer: Fidel Castro

After many years of guerilla warfare against the Cuban government of Fulgencio Batista, Fidel Castro's army finally wore down this dictatorial outfit to gain total Communist control in 1959. Castro's long reign did not improve living conditions for the population and severe trade embargos were put in place against Cuba, especially by the United States.

In 1961 the country easily defended itself in what was termed the "Bay of Pigs Invasion" by a strong group of Cuban exiles. The following year Cuba was involved in the "Cuban Missile Crisis" in a standoff between the Soviet Union and the United States which captured the attention of the world and was finally negotiated peacefully. Fidel finally offered his resignation in 2008 and his brother Raul Castro took command.

This opened a new era for the country with friendlier relations leading to, hopefully, a brighter future for Cuba.

Answer: Javier Sotomayor (Cuba)

Cuban champion high jump exponent Javier Sotomayor's prodigious leap of 2.45 metres was made in 1993 in Salamanca Spain and this world record leap also made him the first athlete to soar over 8 feet on the Imperial scale. To attend training in Cuba Javier's only means of transport to training was a ten minute bus ride.

He became a Spanish citizen in 2015. The three other athletes highlighted in the question have very similar achievements to that of Sotomayer in that they all share long standing track and field records as of October 2016. Kevin Young beat the great Edwin Moses' 400 metres hurdles record at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in 46.7 seconds, Mike Powell broke Bob Beamon's huge long jump record with 8.95 metres in the 1991 Tokyo world championships and Jonathan Edwards broke his own triple jump world record, that had stood for about 20 minutes, with a distance of 18.29 metres at the 1995 Gothenburg World Championships. That made him the only man to break the 18 metre record, but also the first to exceed 60 feet on the Imperial scale.

Answer: Don Adams

Donald James Yarmy (Adams) had a five decade career on television as an actor, comedian and director. He also supplied voice-overs for animated TV shows. Appeared on live shows such as the Perry Como, Steve Allen and Bill Dana shows where he showed his comedy talents in the latter as an inept hotel detective.

In 1965 he was cast in the role that made him a household name as Maxwell Smart in the award winning sitcom "Get Smart" and made an unforgettable liaison with Barbara Feldon as Agent 99. His performance in that show earned him three consecutive Emmy Awards.

The show proved very popular for a few years, but then the novelty wore off and falling ratings led to its demise in 1970 after 138 episodes.

Answer: Julia Dreyfus

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will be best remembered as playing Elaine Benes on the amazingly popular, long running "Seinfeld" TV series. She earned twenty two Emmy Award nominations including seven wins for acting and two for producing throughout her career. Also five American Comedy Awards and a Golden Globe for "Seinfeld", two Critics Choice awards for "Veep" and many nominations for "The New Adventures of Old Christine".

She received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and was inducted into the TV Hall of Fame in 2014.

Answer: Christopher Plummer

Canadian superstar actor Christopher Plummer has entertained movie goers for many years but didn't hit the silver screen until 1958. He started an early career on stage with the Canadian Repertory Theatre and on Broadway before a series of TV movies.

Besides "The Sound of Music" he played major roles in other great movies such as "Nlght of the Generals" where he played Field Marshall Erwin Rommel, "Battle of Britain" and "Malcolm X" to name a few. Surprisingly, though, after winning multiple Emmys and Tonys along with a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA awards, an Oscar always eluded him. Justice was done in 2012 when he won an Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in the Mike Mills movie "Beginners".

At age 82 Christopher Plummer had finally won the right to "take Oscar home".

Answer: Peabo Bryson

It would be no exaggeration to sat that Peabo Bryson had all the luck. He was fortunate enough to sing love songs and ballads with the likes of Natalie Cole, Minnie Riperton, Melissa Manchester, Chaka Kahn and Roberta Flack. In 1993 he won a Grammy alongside Celine Dion for record of the year with "Beauty and the Beast" and the next year took out the same award with Regina Belle for "A Whole New World" (Aladdin's Theme).

Answer: Marco Andretti

While not emulating the feats of his grandfather, Mario Andretti or his Indy Car winner father Michael, Marco Andretti was nevertheless a competent driver with three wins and 20 podium finishes in the Indy Car Series between 2006 and 2016.

Answer: Steve Buscemi

Steve Buscemi also played the role of Tony Blundetto in "The Sopranos" and directed an episode of the show. He received multiple Screen Actors Guild award nominations for his role as Enoch "Nucky" Thompson in the TV series "Boardwalk Empire". In this series, to October 2016, he had scored four wins from eight nominations.