Final 48'ers: More from Entertainment Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, our first subject left us too soon in 2003. She won a Tony in "Ain't Misbehavin'" and then an Emmy on TV for the same role. On the TV sitcom "Gimme a Break!" she won two nominations for Emmy Awards and two for Golden Globe Awards. Who was this talented actress and singer?

Answer: Nell Carter

Like many successful singers who emerged from America's South, Nell Carter got her start by singing in church choir and gospel music on the radio.

Audra McDonald has won six Tony Awards, but was born in 1970.

Aretha Franklin was born in Tennessee in 1942. She sang and styled her way to becoming "The Queen of Soul" by the late Sixties. She showed it off with "R E S P E C T" in "The Blues Brothers."

Diana Ross was born in Detroit in 1944. Singing with the Supremes, she became one of the greatest stars in American music. She's also been a success in such films as "Lady Sings the Blues" and "Mahogany."

2. Born on the Isle of Wight, our next 48'er is a thespian giant, having won an Oscar, a Tony, an Emmy, and a Golden Globe in such productions as "Dead Ringers", "Reversal of Fortune", and "Elizabeth I." My favorite was his performance as Tiberias in "Kingdom of Heaven." Who is this stage and screen veteran who also owns Kilcoe Castle in County Cork in Ireland?

Answer: Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons began his acting career doing West End Shakespearean productions, beginning in 1969. He has also won awards from Film Critics groups of Boston, Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles, as well as the National Society of Film Critics. He is also known for his activism in charity work and politics.

Liam Neeson was born in Ballymena, Northern Ireland in 1952, Sean Connery was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1930, and Michael Caine was born in London in 1933.

3. Born in Jacksonville, Florida, our next 48'er was a founder of Lynyrd Skynyrd, but died tragically in a plane crash in Mississippi in 1977. Who was this icon of Southern Rock to whom a memorial park is located in Asbury, Florida?

Answer: Ronnie Van Zant

Elvis and Marc Bolan also died in 1977, Elvis at age 42 and Bolan, who was born in 1947, at age 30. Among the galaxy of entertainment stars who also passed away in 1977 are Joan Crawford, Charlie Chaplin, Maria Callas, Groucho Marx, Ethel Waters, Guy Lombardo, and Freddie Prinze.

Southern Rock performer Stevie Ray Vaughn, who was born in 1954, also passed away too soon at age 35 in 1990.

4. Our next 48'er was born in Alabama and starred in TV's "Charlie's Angels" and "Scarecrow and Mrs. King." Who is this Southern belle whose first TV role was as Daphne Harridge in "Dark Shadows"?

Answer: Kate Jackson

Jackson was in "Dark Shadows" from 1970 to 1971, in "Charlie's Angels" from 1976 to 1979, and in "Scarecrow..." from 1983 to 1987. She also had lead roles in "The Rookies" (as Jill Danko) from 1972 to 1976, and "Baby Boom" in 1988 and '89.

All of the incorrect choices were also in "Charlie's Angels", with Fawcett and Smith part of the original trio along with Jackson. Farrah Fawcett was born in 1947, but succumbed to cancer in 2009. Jaclyn Smith was born in 1945 and Cheryl Ladd was born in 1951.

5. Our next 48'er played parts of two seasons with the NFL's Oakland Raiders and a few more in the CFL before turning to acting, where he is best known as Apollo Creed in "Rocky" and three sequels. Who is this January 48'er from New Orleans, who starred as the title character in "Action Jackson"?

Answer: Carl Weathers

All four choices played football in college, with O.J. and Williamson also becoming big pro stars. Simpson won the Heisman Trophy at Southern Cal, was a four-time NFL rushing leader with the Bills, and is in the NCAA and NFL Halls of Fame. Williamson was a three-time AFL All-Star and won an AFL title with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966. Both have also made several films. Johnson was on the University of Miami's 1991 national championship team. Although he was on a CFL roster for a while, his pro sports career lay in professional wrestling. He has also made several movies, often in the lead role.

Williamson was born in 1938, Simpson in 1947, and Johnson in 1972.

6. Our next 48'er's career suffered early on, thanks to a relationship with David Carradine, as well as with a seagull. But she would go on to become the first actress to win back-to-back Cannes Film Festival Best Actress awards in 1987 and 1988 for "Shy People" and "A World Apart", as well as winning a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her role in the 1990 TV movie, "A Killing in a Small Town." Who was this Hollywood-born actress whose role as Madame Serene Merle in "The Portrait of a Lady" won an Oscar nomination in 1996?

Answer: Barbara Hershey

Hershey had a six-year relationship with Carradine, during which she also changed her name to Barbara Seagull, after a seagull became the casualty of a scene being filmed for a movie Hershey was in, called "Last Summer." After dropping the "Seagull" part of her stage name and shedding her "hippie" image by leaving Carradine's influence, Hershey's career took off after her role in 1986 in Woody Allen's "Hannah and Her Sisters." Then followed her back-to-back Best Actress wins at the Cannes Film Festival.

7. You've got a friend in our next 48'er, who won five Grammy Awards between 1971 and 2003, as well as the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. The MusiCares Foundation, established by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, also named him "Man of the Year" in 2006. Who is this Boston-born singer who made his big move in 1970 with "Fire and Rain"?

Answer: James Taylor

"You've Got a Friend" was Taylor's first number 1 song, which he recorded in 1971. "Before This World," recorded in 2015, was his first number 1 album.

All three of the incorrect choices were also born in 1948. London-born Cat Stevens, whose birth name was Steven Demetre Georgiou, changed his name to Yusuf Islam in 1978. Steve Winwood was born in Birmingham, England, and Ted Nugent was born in Redford, Michigan.

8. Among our next 48'er's awards are two Tonys for stage performances, a Golden Globe for Best Actress in 1981's "Pennies from Heaven," and from being in the cast of five Grammy Award-winning "Best Musical Show Albums." Three of her solo recordings have also been Grammy Award nominees. Who was this portrayer of Annie Oakley in the 1999 Broadway revival of "Annie Get Your Gun," and whose star was placed on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1987?

Answer: Bernadette Peters

The stage shows that Peters was in that won Grammy's for "Best Show Albums" were 1984's "Sunday in the Park with George", 1988's "Into the Woods", 1999's "Annie Get Your Gun", and 2003's "Gypsy." While Peters played Annie Oakley, Andrea McArdle played Annie in the Broadway musical "Annie."

9. Our next 48'er's drums were silenced way too soon when he passed away in 1980 after an overconsumption of alcohol. English-born, his death also signaled the breakup of his band, Led Zeppelin. Who was this drumming impresario who was ranked as the best rock and roll drummer in history by such publications as "Stylus" magazine, "Classic Rock", "Modern Drummer", and "Rhythm" magazine, as well as a 2011 reader poll of "Rolling Stone"?

Answer: John Bonham

Nirvana and Foo Fighters drummer Dave Grohl also called Bonham "the greatest drummer of all time."

Like Bonham, Keith Moon, drummer of The Who, was born in the UK, and died at age 32, with alcohol abuse a contributing factor. Moon was born in 1946.

Stewart Copeland, drummer for The Police, and Neil Peart, drummer for Rush, were both born in 1952 and are still active. Copeland was born in Virginia, and Peart in Canada.

10. Born in Houston on Christmas Day, our final 48'er was playing steel guitar at age 13 for Patsy Cline, on the way to earning her the nickname, "The Sweetheart of Steel". Her first (of at least 5) number one songs was 1978's "Sleeping Single in a Double Bed." From 1980 to '82, she had her own TV variety show, along with two of her sisters. Who is this country music icon whose signature song is "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool"?

Answer: Barbara Mandrell

"Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters" ran from 1980 to 1982 and was hosted by sisters Louise and Irlene, as well as Barbara. But Barbara began to suffer from vocal strain, and the show was shelved in compliance with doctor's orders. Barbara was to win over 35 awards from Country Music organizations, People's Choice awards, and Grammy Awards from 1971 to 2010.

In 1999 she was inducted into the Country Gospel Hall of Fame, in 2009 into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, and in 2014 into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum.

Source: Author shvdotr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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This is my last quiz of people born in 1948. This is a second group from the entertainment industry. I hope you recognize them.

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