Charlie, Chuck and Charles in Charge Quiz

Answer: Charles Dickens

Boz was an early pen name of the great writer Charles Dickens (1812-1870). It came from a mispronunciation of a character from "The Vicar of Wakefield". Considered one of the greatest writers of the Victorian era, if not of all time, Dickens gave us some of the world's most memorable characters, e.g., Scrooge and Oliver Twist.

As a child, Dickens had to leave school to work in a factory (for six shillings a week) when his father was put in a debtors' prison. This accounts for his themes of social criticism and injustice.

Answer: Charles Barkley

"Sir" Charles Barkley, also known as the "Round Mound of Rebound" is a sportscaster and former player in the National Basketball Association. He was a power forward for the Philadelphia 76ers, the Phoenix Suns and the Houston Rockets. In 1993 he was voted the Most Valuable Player in the NBA. And, on the 50th anniversary of the NBA, Barkley was named one of the 50 Greatest Players in NBA History.

Answer: Chuck Lorre

Chuck Lorre is a television director, producer and writer, sometimes called "King of the Sitcoms". Some of his earlier creations were "Cybill", "Grace Under Fire" and "Dharma and Greg". He has gone on to produce some of TV's biggest hits, e.g., "Two and a Half Men" (2003-2015), "The Big Bang Theory" (2007-2019), "Mom", "The Kominsky Method" and "Young Sheldon".

The latter is a prequel depicting the early years of genius physicist Sheldon Cooper.

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

"The Little Tramp' Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) was one of the most versatile and talented artists of the silent era. He was a comic actor and filmmaker who could make audiences laugh and cry. Chaplin's career spanned more than seven decades. He was an icon and a major influence on the future of films. During the "sound era" of movies, he continued to make silent films such as "City Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936), but "The Great Dictator" (1940) is a "talkie".

Answer: Chuck Berry

Singer Chuck Berry (1926-2017) was one of the pioneers of rock and roll. He helped develop the rhythm and blues sound with his guitar solos and flamboyant style. Among his early hits were "Maybellene" (1955), "Roll Over Beethoven" (1956) and "Johhny B. Goode" (1958).

However, it was not until 1972 that he had his first and only chart topping hit, i.e., "My Ding-a-Ling". Despite his infamous personal misdeeds, he was one of the first musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986.

Answer: Chuck Palahniuk

Chuck Palahniuk is an American novelist and journalist. One of his most famous novels is "Fight Club", an award winning book, published in 1996, and made into a 1999 film with Brad Pitt and Edward Norton (but I can "never talk about fight club"). Palahniuk describes his work as "transgressional fiction" which deals with characters who try to break free from the norms and constraints of conventional society.

Answer: Charles Babbage

British mathematician Charles Babbage (1791-1871) was also an inventor, mechanical engineer and philosopher. He is credited with having invented the concept of a "digital programmable computer". Babbage is often called the "father of the computer" for creating the first mechanical computer.

His ideas are realized in the "Analytic Engine" of 1837, a precursor to the hand-held devices our modern society could not live without.

Answer: Charles Cornwallis

Charles Cornwallis (1738-1805) was a Marquess, Viscount, Earl and British Army general. His claim to fame, in what is now the United States, was his surrender at the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 during the American War of Independence aka the Revolutionary War.

His actions resulted in a significant end to the fighting, and the birth of an independent nation. Cornwallis later went on to help successfully govern in both Ireland and India.

Answer: Charles Bronson

Actor Charles Bronson (1921-2003) appeared in many films of the 1960s and 1970s, usually with a tough guy persona. He was born Charles Buchinsky to Lithuanian parents in a coal mining region in Pennsylvania. He was the first in his family to graduate from high school, and began working in the coal mines before entering the military in World War II. Bronson was one of the leads in "The Magnificent Seven" (1960), "The Great Escape" (1963), "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) and "Death Wish" (1974).

Answer: Chuck Woolery

Game and talk show host Chuck Woolery was born in Kentucky in 1941. Before Pat Sajak, Woolery was the original host of "Wheel of Fortune" from 1975 to 1981. Among the other games shows he's hosted are: "Love Connection" (1983-1994), "Scrabble" (1984-1990 and 1993), "Greed" (1999-2000) and "Lingo" (2002-2007).

In the 1960s, Chuck had a musical career as a singer with a folk song trio called The Bordermen, and later as a solo artist and songwriter.

Answer: Chuck Barris

In keeping with the game show motif, we have Chuck Barris (1929-2017), creator, producer and host of "The Gong Show" from 1976 to 1989. The show was sort of a wacky update of "Ted Mack's Original Amateur Hour", and the predecessor of TV's reality shows. Barris was also responsible for creating both "The Dating Game" (1965-1999) and "The Newlywed Game" (1966-2013).

A man of many talents, he wrote the 1962 hit song "Palisades Park" for Freddy Cannon, and was a book author.

Answer: Charles Schulz

Charles M. Schulz (1922-2000) was a legendary American cartoonist. In the late 1940s he began writing a one-panel strip called "Lil' Folks" (where Charlie Brown was born), before creating the wonderful "Peanuts" comic strip. His cartoons are responsible for having influenced the works of Jim Davis ("Garfield"), Bill Watterson ("Calvin and Hobbes") and Matt Groening ("The Simpsons"). Schulz' cartoons have been made into TV specials, films and even a Broadway show.

Answer: Charles Laughton

Charles Laughton (1899-1962) was a British stage and film actor. Classically trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut on stage in 1926. A year later he met his future wife, actress Elsa Lanchester and they were married in 1929, until his death.

A consummate actor, Laughton won an Academy Award for Best Actor in the 1934 movie "The Private Life of Henry VIII". He was nominated for Best Actor Oscars for his role as Captain Bligh in "Mutiny on the Bounty" (1935) and for "Witness for the Prosecution" (1957).

Answer: Charlie Parker

Composer and jazz saxophonist Charlie Parker (1920-1955) was originally nicknamed "Yardbird", later shortened to "Bird". He was one of major influences in the development of a type of uptempo jazz called 'bebop'. Parker changed the face of the genre with new harmonic concepts and chord substitutions.

He was a musical virtuoso who became an icon for the "hipsters" of the "Beat Generation". Among his flights of fancy are "Yardbird Suite", "Ornithology", "Bird Gets the Worm" and "Birds of Paradise".

Answer: Charles Manson

Last, and most assuredly least, is criminal and cult leader Charles Manson (1934-2017). In 1967 he became the self-appointed leader of the California based "Manson Family". Short in stature, his Napoleon complex demonstrated itself in aggressive and domineering behavior.

He spoke to his disciples about "Helter Skelter", i.e., an apocalyptic race war. In the summer of 1969, he had his followers commit nine murders. In 1971, Manson was convicted of first-degree murder. He died in jail in 2017 at the age of 83.