Come out to the Meadow, Gene Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gene Autry

Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (1907-1998) starred in nearly 100 movies, nearly all Westerns (with singing!), in the '30s, '40s and early '50s, and also starred in a Western-themed TV show through much of the '50s.

These days, though, he's mostly known for introducing a bunch of Christmas favourites: "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer", "Frosty the Snowman", "Here Comes Santa Claus", and others.

Answer: Gene Simmons

Gene Simmons, (birth name Chaim Witz, 1948) is best known as the bassist and singer in the band Kiss. Kiss were of course known for their makeup and for the wild and outrageous stage shows they put on.

Israeli-born Simmons adopted his stage name in tribute to singer/songwriter Jumpin' Gene Simmons, who had a minor hit in 1964 with the novelty song, "Haunted House", and who also wrote Tim McGraw's 1994 hit, "Indian Outlaw".

Answer: Gene Hackman

Eugene Allen Hackman (born 1930) has won two Academy Awards, one for Best Actor for his portrayal of Popeye Doyle in "The French Connection", 1971, and one for Best Supporting Actor as Little Bill Daggett in 1992's "Unforgiven".

He struggled for quite some time in his early career, working low paying jobs and getting the occasional bit part in TV and movies, but finally gained recognition in 1967's "Bonnie and Clyde" as Clyde's older brother. This role got him an Oscar nomination, and he never really looked back.

Answer: Gene Kelly

Eugene Curran Kelly (1912-1996) shares the podium with Fred Astaire as the best known (and best?) male dancers in the Golden Age of Hollywood, Astaire bringing a ballroom sensibility to his performances, while Kelly's background was in ballet.

His one-two punch of "An American in Paris" (1951) and "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) cemented his reputation, and are probably the films he is best known for now. I think we can all agree to just not mention 1980's "Xanadu".

Answer: Gene Roddenberry

Eugene Wesley Roddenberry Sr. (1921-1991) was a writer and producer, who created the original series of "Star Trek" (1966-1969) and continued to produce, write, and consult on further expansion of the franchise until his death.

As a young man he was a pilot, serving in the Pacific theatre in WWII. While in the Air Force, he survived two plane crashes, and yet another as a civilian pilot for Pan Am after the war. After this he decided to quit flying and become a writer - probably a good idea.

Answer: Gene Wilder

Jerome Silberman (1933-2016) is the second name in this quiz to have made an early appearance in "Bonnie and Clyde"; he played a hostage. He's mostly known for his comedic roles, in collaboration with performers like Mel Brooks and Richard Pryor, and with his wife, Gilda Radner.

The hints refer to his characters in "Blazing Saddles" (1974) and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" (1971).

Answer: Gene Tierney

Gene Eliza Tierney (1920-1991) is the only woman in this quiz; she was named after an uncle. She starred in the original "Heaven Can Wait", in 1943, but is probably best known for "Laura", from 1944 (it's a great movie, and a great performance, if you've never seen it, featuring a pre-horror appearance from Vincent Price).

My favourite of her movies is "The Ghost and Mrs Muir" from 1947, a sweet sad romance of the kind they sure don't make anymore. 1950's "Night and the City" is also worth a look.

Answer: Gene Siskel

Eugene Kal Siskel (1946-1999) was a film critic with the Chicago tribune. With Roger Ebert, he presented "Sneak Previews" and various iterations of "At the Movies", film review programs that, in a way, created the modern genre of in-depth film discourse for a mainstream audience.

Dozens of film podcasts owe something to Siskel and Ebert and their "thumbs up" and "thumbs down".

Answer: Gene Krupa

Eugene Bertram Krupa (1909-1973) was a jazz drummer in the swing era. As the story goes, he became a drummer because the drum kit was the cheapest instrument in the catalogue, but that seems a little unlikely in a world that contains kazoos.

He was instrumental in several innovations in jazz drum recording, including his famous solo on "Sing Sing Sing" with the Benny Goodman Orchestra.

Answer: Gene Levy

Eugene Levy (1946) is a Canadian actor, comedian and writer. His career started in the famous 1972 Toronto production of "Godspell", which included half the people you can think of who went on to become well known Canadian performers of the era - Martin Short, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Paul Shaffer, and Howard Shore.

He's worked on "SCTV", the "American Pie" movies, "Schitt's Creek", and has co-written and appeared in Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, such as "A Mighty Wind" and "Best in Show". It was in "Best in Show" where he had the small but perfect gag of the man with two left feet.