Famous People with Psoriasis Trivia Quiz

Answer: Jerry Mathers

Jerry Mathers was the spokesperson for the National Psoriasis Foundation's awareness campaign entitled "Step into my skin".

Mathers played Theodore "Beaver" Cleaver on the sitcom getting the role at tender age of seven. When asked about the effect the disease had on his life Mathers stated, "Living with psoriasis is no picnic. When you're covered with flaky, scaly, unsightly skin it's difficult to live comfortably. People think it is contagious and they shun you, which can be humiliating."

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

In 1777 Franklin wrote a description of the disease as it manifested itself on his body. Like many sufferers Franklin blamed his lifestyle and diet for his malady. "I was sometimes vex'd with an itching on the Back, which I observ'd particularly after eating freely of Beef." Franklin, ever the scientist, was completely baffled by the arbitrary appearance of the disease; as are many physicians today nearly 300 years later.

Answer: Josef Stalin

The name "Psoriasis" comes from the Greek word psora which means "itch". One wonders if that irritation was enough to unbalance his mind. His henchman, Nikolai Yezhov, is also believed to have suffered from this skin complaint. Other possible candidates for psoriasis sufferers would be Jean-Paul Marat, Abimael Guzman and Robert the Bruce.

Answer: Lee Ann Rimes

Lee Ann is sharing her experience as a psoriasis sufferer on behalf of the "Stop Hiding" campaign to raise awareness of the disease which affects nearly seven million people in the United States of America. Lee Ann was diagnosed with the disease at the age of two but has, for the past five years, been free from any symptoms thanks to the right medication, diet and stress management regime.

Answer: Dennis Potter

Potter is famous for plays like: "Brimstone and Treacle" (1987), "Pennies from Heaven" (1978) and "Blackeyes" (1989). Alan Ayckbourn is known for plays such as: "Absent Friends" (starring Peter Bowles in 1975), "Absurd Person Singular" (Jane Horrocks in 2007) and "The Revengers' Comedies" (starring Joanna Lumley, 1991). Alan Bleasdale is known for "The Monocled Mutineer" and "Boys From The Blackstuff". Steven Berkoff has many talents; playwright ("Decadence with Joan Collins", "East", "West Messiah"), actor (appeared in "A Clockwork Orange", "Rambo" and "The Krays") and book writer (mainly about the theatre).

Answer: Vladimir Nabokov

The quote used in the question came from a letter Nabokov wrote to his wife revealing the rigors of a bad psoriatic attack after a series of radiation treatments.

While researching for this quiz I found many internet sites for psoriasis sufferers to talk to each other. One of them was headed with this quote:

"Patches of dead skin pile up like multiple-car collisions, bleeding sores stain the sheets, mounds of white flakes fill the house. It's the 'heartbreak of psoriasis'." This was from a blog called "Grad School Madness" and catches the depressive state of a sufferer in the full throes of an attack.

Answer: John Updike

John Updike, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, was plagued from an early age with psoriasis. In his book, "Self-Consciousness", he devoted an entire chapter to his lifelong battle with psoriasis called "At war with my skin." He states: "Because of my skin I counted myself out of any of those jobs - salesman, teacher, financier, movie star - that demand being presentable. What did that leave? Becoming a craftsman of some kind, closeted and unseen - perhaps a cartoonist or a writer, a worker in ink who can hide himself and send out a surrogate presence, a signature that multiplies even while it conceals."

Answer: Kenneth Starr

Kenneth Winston Starr was notorious in the 1990s for his report to Congress on the suicide of Vince Foster who was a deputy White House counsel. His report led to the Lewinsky scandal coming to light. During the Vietnam War Starr was classified 4-F due to the severity of his psoriasis.

Robert B. Fiske was the previous investigator into the Whitewater scandal. Leon Jawoski was a special prosecutor during the Watergate scandal.

Answer: Admiral William "Bull" Halsey

Prior to the Battle of Midway Admiral William "Bull" Halsey suffered a severe attack of psoriasis forcing him to hand over command to Rear-Admiral Raymond Spruance. To help the Rear-Admiral Halsey also sent his gifted Chief of Staff Captain Miles Browning to assist in the forthcoming battle.

Answer: Michael Gambon

I have not seen either the play or the subsequent film. One look at the affliction on Michael Gambon, as part of the advertising trailer, was enough to stop me watching any more scenes. Not because it looked ugly but because I am a sufferer myself and do not wish to be reminded of the effects of the disease on the human body.