Deaths in 2018 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bush

George H.W. Bush died in November at age 94, less than a year after the passing of his wife of 73 years, Barbara Bush. Bush was president 1989-1993, following the two terms of Ronald Reagan. He was denied a second term when he lost the 1992 election to Bill Clinton.

Answer: John McCain

McCain ran as the Republican candidate for president in 2008, losing to Barack Obama. He died in August of a brain tumor, at age 81. McCain was a prisoner of war in North Vietnam from 1967 to 1973.

Answer: Stephen Hawking

Hawking was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) in 1963 at age 21, and given two years to live. Despite this bleak prognosis, he lived till the age of 76. His popular science book, "A Brief History of Time", published in 1988, has sold over ten million copies. Hawking is famous to trivia buffs as tweaking Einstein's famous saying that "God does not play dice with the universe", to say that "Not only does God play dice, but he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen".

Answer: "Beetle Bailey" and "Hi and Lois"

Walker, who himself was a World War Two veteran, started "Beetle Bailey", about a lazy Army private, in 1950. Four years later he created, along with Dik Browne, a spin-off called "Hi and Lois", with Lois being Beetle's sister. Both cartoon strips continued to be produced by the descendants of Walker and (in the case of "Hi and Lois") his collaborator, Dik Browne.

Answer: Breaking the four-minute mile barrier

Bannister's record-breaking mile run took place in Oxford, England, on May 6, 1954, when he ran the mile in 3:59.4. What is amazing is that Australia's John Landy lowered the record to 3:58.0 just 46 days later. Other notable runners who have broken the record since then include Herb Elliott, Peter Snell, Jim Ryun, Sebastian Coe, and Steve Ovett.

Answer: The Adventures of Augie March

Roth burst onto the literary scene in 1959 with his novella "Goodbye, Columbus", followed by many other works, including "Portnoy's Complaint" in 1969 and "Our Gang" in 1971. "The Adventures of Augie March" is by Saul Bellow.

Answer: Anthony Bourdain

Bourdain became famous when his 2000 book, "Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Cultural Underbelly", became a bestseller. After that he wrote other bestselling books and hosted several TV shows. For the last five years of his life he was host of the popular CNN show, "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown", which took him all over the world as he explored the cuisine and culture of faraway places.

Answer: Aretha Franklin

Aretha Franklin moved to Detroit with her family at the age of five, and died there in 2018 at the age of 76. She had been known as "The Queen of Soul" since 1967. In 2005 she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S.

Answer: Death of a Salesman

"Death of a Salesman" is a melancholy drama by Arthur Miller, while the others are three of Simon's many comedies. While most of Simon's many Broadway plays were comedies, he did write a few dramas, including "Lost in Yonkers", which won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Answer: Nancy Wilson

Nancy Wilson was a jazz singer whose career lasted more than 50 years, during which she recorded more than 70 albums and won three Grammy Awards. The other choices were known for their acting work in "The Facts of Life" (Charlotte Rae), "Superman" (Margot Kidder), and "Peyton Place" (Dorothy Malone).