Deaths in 2015 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Saudi Arabia

Abdullah took the Saudi throne in 2005 upon the death of his half-brother, King Faud. Another half-brother, Salmon, succeeded to the throne upon Abdullah's death. Abdullah is believed to have had about 30 wives, and to have fathered about 35 children.

Answer: schizophrenia

Nash did much groundbreaking work in the field of game theory, work which won him the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1994. Born in 1928, it was in 1959 that clear signs of his mental illness emerged, and he underwent several hospitalizations. His condition slowly improved, and he was able to return to academic life in the 1980s.

Answer: blues

B. B. King had many rhythm and blues hits. Perhaps his most famous hit was "The Thrill is Gone", for which he won a Grammy award in 1970.

Answer: The Weavers

The Weavers were quite popular in the early 1950s, but then disbanded in 1952 when they were blacklisted as a result of McCarthyism. Although they got back together a few years later and started playing concerts, the blacklisting by the industry continued, and none of the members of the group were permitted to appear on national television until finally in 1968 Pete Seeger appeared on the "Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour".

Answer: Wes Craven

The slasher genre of film is considered to have started with Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" in 1960. Craven and the other directors listed built on Hitchcock's success with slasher movies of their own in the 1970s and 1980s. Tobe Hooper did "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre", John Carpenter did "Halloween", and Sean Cunningham did "Friday the 13th".

Answer: Lesley Gore

Lesley Gore was no one-hit wonder, as she followed up her first hit with others, such as "Judy's Turn to Cry", and "You Don't Own Me". The latter was used by Rush Limbaugh to introduce the feminism segments on his radio talk show.

Answer: Edward Brooke

Brooke was a liberal Republican, during an era when liberal Republicans were quite common in the New England states. Brooke served two terms in the Senate, until his defeat in 1978 by Paul Tsongas. He died in January at 95. The other choices are other liberal Republicans from the Northeast part of the country.

Answer: bridge

Sharif, who was once ranked among the world's top 50 bridge players, authored several books on bridge and also co-authored a syndicated newspaper column on bridge.

Answer: Rod McKuen

Rod McKuen, who died in January at age 81, was frequently parodied, as when "National Lampoon" did a hilarious parody of "Listen to the Warm", called "Listen to the Drivel".

Answer: Meadowlark Lemon

Meadowlark Lemon played in over 16,000 games for the Globetrotters over a period of more than 20 years. He died in December at the age of 83. The other choices are former Globetrotters who, like Lemon, have had their numbers retired by the team.