It's All Relative Anyway-Famous Worldwide Kinfolk Online Quiz | People

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In 2006, Mariska Hargitay won an Emmy for her portrayal of Detective Olivia Benson on "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit". She has been starring in that role since the very first episode aired in September 1999. She has also appeared in over a dozen films, including, "Leaving Las Vegas" (1995), and "Lake Placid" (1999). A former Miss Beverly Hills (1982), her Hungarian born father Mickey Hargitay, was Mr. Universe in 1955. Can you name her voluptuous mother?

Answer: Jayne Mansfield

Jayne Mansfield was a beautiful, buxom, blonde bombshell of the 1950's-1960's. She was married to Mariska's father from 1958-1964. She was a star in Broadway shows, TV, Hollywood films, nite-clubs and "Playboy" magazine, whose pages she graced over 30 times, the first time being February, 1955. She won a Golden Globe and the Theatre World Award for Most Promising Actress for her portrayal of Rita Marlowe, in "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?" (1955-1956).
Jayne Mansfield also made 20 films between 1955-1968, including "Pete Kelly's Blues" (1955), "The Girl Can't Help It" (1956), and "A Guide for the Married Man" (1967). She accompanied Bob Hope on several of his morale building tours to our troops around the world. Jayne Mansfield was tragically killed at the age of 34 in a Slidell, LA car wreck which took the lives of two others. Mariska and her two brothers were sleeping in the back seat, and escaped without any serious injuries.
Jayne Mansfield has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Stars.

2. Whitney Houston, who passed away in 2012, had one of the most beautiful voices and greatest voice ranges of any singer I have ever heard. Between 1984-2009 she recorded 50 singles, 11 of which made it to the top of the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. At one point between 1985-1987, she had seven consecutive releases hit number one. Whitney Houston is credited with sales in excess of 200 million records, and she won two Emmys and seven Grammy Awards. In 2006 The Guinness Book of World Records proclaimed her the most awarded, most popular female artist of all-time. "Billboard" named her recording of "I Will Always Love You" (1992) number 49 on its list of the Greatest Songs of All-Time. She passed away in 2012 at the age of 48. Whitney Houston's first cousin is a pretty fair singer herself. Can you name this popular entertainer?

Answer: Dionne Warwick

Dionne Warwick's career has spanned six decades in which she has recorded over 35 albums and 50 singles. She won the first of her five Grammy Awards for, "Do You Know the Way to San Jose?" (1969). Fifty-six of Dionne Warwick's singles appeared on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, and she had two number one songs on the Rhythm & Blues list: "Walk On By" (1964), and "Reach Out for Me" (1964).

She collaborated with composer Burt Bacharach and lyricist Hal David on dozens of hit songs, including "Alfie" (1967), "I Say a Litle Prayer For You" (1967), and "This Girl's in Love with You" (1969).

In 1975 Dionne Warwick was chosen as "People's" magazine Favorite Female Singer. You can find Dionne Warwick's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6922 Hollywood Boulevard.

3. Most of us have heard the saying, "like father, like son". That old adage certainly applies to National Hockey League great Bobby Hull and his chip-off- the-old-ice son. Nicknamed "The Golden Jet", Canadian born Bobby was a ten- time All-Star, twice Most Valuable Player (MVP) and in 1961 led the Chicago Black Hawks to their first Stanley Cup championship in 23 years. In his career he scored 610 goals, with a high of 58 in the 1968-1969 season. He became the first player to score more than 50 goals in a season, when he tallied 51 in 1966. Bobby Hull was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983. His son had a tough act to follow, but he too became one of the leagues all-time greats. What is the name of his sharp shooting, speed skating son?

Answer: Brett

Brett Hull was one of the greatest players to ever lace up a pair of ice skates. Nicknamed "The Golden Brett", he was an eight time All-Star, the 1990-1991 MVP, and won Stanley Cups with the Dallas Stars in 1999, and the Detroit Red Wings in 2002. He racked up 741 goals, scoring 86 in the 1990-1991 season. He had a run of five consecutive seasons in which he scored 50 or more goals (1989-1993). He joined his dad in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

Interesting fact: Bobby and Brett Hull were the first father/son tandem to each score 50 goals in a season, score 600 goals, and score over 1,000 points in their careers.

4. Svetlana Alliluyeva was born in Moscow February 28, 1926. She lost her mother when she was just 16, and had a father who was busy in the "politics" of the Soviet Union. He was, in fact, the Soviet Premier. Svetlana decided to defect to the United States, and became an American citizen in 1967. During her time in the U.S. she lectured for a while at Princeton University. In 1970 she became known as Lana Peters when she married architect William Peters, a student of Frank Lloyd Wright. The marriage lasted three years, then later she lived in England before returning to her father's land in 1984. She came back to America in 2009, and died in Wisconsin on November 22, 2011. Who was her famous communist father?

Answer: Josef Stalin

Svetlana was Josef Stalin's only daughter. He served as the de facto head of the Soviet Union from about 1922-1952. He led the Soviet Union successfully through WWII, but over 20,000,000 Soviet troops and civilians were killed in the conflict (the most suffered by any country).

The Soviet Army brought the war in Europe to a virtual end when they captured Berlin in May 1945, leading to the suicide of Adolf Hitler on April 30 of that year. Especially from 1935 on, Stalin ordered the execution of hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of Soviet citizens whom he considered a threat to himself or the party, and large numbers were sent to forced labor camps.

He was twice named "Time" magazine's Man of the Year, while the war raged. He died on March 5, 1953, officially of a massive stroke, although many conspiracy theorists believe he was poisoned. Khrushchev and Malenkov were also Soviet Premiers. Vladimir Tretiak was the goalie for the Soviet Ice Hockey team that the Americans upset in "The Miracle on Ice", on their way to capturing Olympic gold in Lake Placid, N.Y in 1980.

5. Jesse James and Zerelda "Zee" Mimms were first cousins. Zerelda's pa was a preacher man and her ma was the sister of Jesse's dad Robert James. The house she grew up in was a bit crowded, as she was one of 12 children. Jesse grew up to be one of the most notorious outlaws and murderers of the Old American West. He was two years younger than his cuz', but to all intents and purposes they seemed to get along OK. Then on April 24, 1874, something a mite unusual happened. Can you opine what it may have been?

Answer: They got married.

Yup, after a nine year engagement, the kissin' cousins went and got hitched.
The family started a growin' with the birth of their first son, Jesse, born the next year. In 1878, Zee gave birth to twins who died shortly after being born. Finally, their daughter Mary arrived in 1879. Unfortunately for the family, the law ultimately caught up with Jesse, and he was shot to death by Robert Ford on April 3, 1882 at the age of 34. Zee and the kids moved to Kansas City and lived with her brother. She suffered great bouts of depression right until to the day of her death, November 13, 1900.

6. English born, Peter Lawford played the role of playboy, both on and off the screen. He was a popular romantic Hollywood leading man who made over five dozen films. Born in London, England, he arrived in Tinseltown in time to make his U.S. acting debut in "Lord Jeff" (1938), while still in his teens. In addition to the big screen, Lawford played Nick Charles opposite Phyllis Kirk's Nora Charles on the TV series, "The Thin Man". Back in Hollywood he appeared as Jonathan Harrow III, in 1948's, "The Easter Parade" with Fred Astaire and Judy Garland. He was British Brigadier Lord Lovat in "The Longest Day" (1962), which featured John Wayne, Henry Fonda, and just about every other male actor who could walk and chew gum at the same time. Peter Lawford became a U.S. citizen in 1960, and was a member of Hollywood's famous "Rat Pack", led by Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. He was married to his first wife, Patricia, from 1954-1966. He passed away on Christmas Eve, 1984 at the age of 61. While married to Patricia, who was his very famous American brother-in-law?

Answer: John F. Kennedy

Senators Robert (Bobby), and Edward (Teddy) Kennedy also became Lawford's brothers-in-law when he married their sister Patricia, "Pat", Kennedy in 1954. They would divorce in 1966. John Fitzgerald Kennedy (J.F.K.) was a Democratic senator from MA from 1953-1960. Jacqueline Bouvier became his wife on September 12, 1953, and together they were popularly referred to as Jack and Jackie. He won the presidency in the 1960 election by defeating Republican Richard Nixon, and became America's 35th Commander-in-Chief. J.F.K. had served with honor during WWII, winning the Navy & Marine Corps Medal as well as a Purple Heart for his actions as a Lieutenant aboard PT-109 which was hit off the Solomon Islands by a Japanese ship. When JFK was sworn in as president on January 20, 1961, he became the youngest man and first Catholic to hold that office. He was assassinated November 22, 1963 by Lee Harvey Oswald, in Dallas, TX.

Interesting fact: John F. Kennedy was also the first president to have won a Pulitzer Prize. He won it for, "Profiles in Courage" (1957).

7. TV journalist/reporter Gerald Michael (Geraldo) Rivera was born in N.Y on the fourth of July, 1943. He has also been an author and talk show host. Thanks to a degree earned at Brooklyn Law School in 1969 he was also an lawyer. He has been best known for working on TV, especially for his time as host of "Geraldo", a daytime gabfest which ran from 1987-1998 (for the last two years the name was changed and it aired as "The Geraldo Rivera Show"). His overhyped special, "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault" (1986), infamously was a colossal flop, uncovering nothing of any news value. He has also contributed news reporting and analysis for Fox News. From 1971-1975, he was married to his second wife, Edith. Which famous author was his father-in-law for that duration?

Answer: Kurt Vonnegut

American satirist and science-fiction scrivener Kurt Vonnegut was born November 11, 1922. He joined the Army during WWII, and in 1944, ironically on Mother's Day, his mom killed herself by overdosing on pills. He would become a P.O.W. in the "Battle of the Bulge" in December that same year, and was incarcerated in an underground meat slaughterhouse.

The German's name for the facility was Schlachthof F�nf, which translates into English as "Slaughterhouse-5". He would later (1969) write a book with that title, in which he recounted much of his experiences from the war. Among the better known of the 14 novels he wrote were "Cat's Cradle" (1963), and "Breakfast of Champions" (1973).

He died as the result of a fall at his home in New York City in 2007, at the age 84.

8. Gary Sheffield was a versatile major league baseball infielder/outfielder. He enjoyed a 21 year career from 1988-2009. During that time he played for eight teams, and was part of the 1997 World Series winning Florida Marlins. On April 17, 2009, he became the first player in history to hit his 500th home run as a pinch-hitter. Sheffield was a nine time All-Star, and he won the National League (N.L.) batting crown in 1992 when he hit .323. He had a lifetime batting average of .292, with 509 home runs and 1,676 runs batted in. When he hollered "uncle", which ex-major league pitcher answered?

Answer: Dwight "Doc" Gooden

Dwight "Doc Gooden burst upon the major league scene as a rookie for the New York Mets in 1984 at the age of 19. He quickly became known as "Dr. K." due to his propensity for striking out opposing batters. ("K" is the scorebook designation of a strike-out). His record of 17 wins againt 9 loses and 276 "K"s was enough to earn him the N.L. Rookie of the Year Award.
The following year he had one of the most dominant seasons any pitcher has ever had. His won-lost record was a stunning 24-4, with a miniscule 1.53 E.R.A.(earned run average) and 268 Ks. That year, at age 20, he became the youngest pitcher ever to win a Cy Young Award, emblematic of the best pitcher in the league. He was a four time All-Star, pitched for three World Series winning teams (1986 Mets, and 1996 & 2000 Yankees). Substance abuse and a year suspension (1995) derailed what appeared to be a sure fire Hall of Fame career. His lifetime stats were 194 wins, 112 losses and 2,293 "K"s. The single-game highlight of his 16 years in the majors came on May 14, 2000, when he tossed a no-hitter while pitching for the Yankees.
Doc Gooden was inducted into the N.Y. Mets Hall of Fame August 1, 2010.

9. Groucho (Julius), Harpo,(Adolph), Chico (Leonard), and Zeppo (Herbert) were the zany Marx Brothers of vaudeville, radio, Broadway, movies and TV fame. Leonard, the oldest of the four was in fact the second son born to Minnie and Samuel Marx. (A first boy, Manfred, died of influenza at the age of seven months in 1886). The Marx Brothers performed musical-comedy acts throughout the early quarter of the 20th century, and later made over two dozen classic movies, only the first handful of which included Zeppo. Usually when folks think of The Marx Brothers, it's Groucho, Harpo and Chico, who made more than 15 films together. Margaret Dumont starred as their foil in many of them. Some of their better known films include "Animal Crackers" (1930), "Duck Soup" (which was Zeppo's last film) in 1933, and "A Night at the Opera" (1937). Groucho hosted the wildly popular TV show, "You Bet Your Life". The show ran on NBC radio and TV from 1947-1961. There was however another brother, Milton, born in 1892, who acted in vaudeville with his siblings but never appeared in any of the madcap Marx Brothers movies. Can you conjure up his sobriquet?

Answer: Gummo

Milton "Gummo" Marx was born October 23, 1892. His acting days took a hiatus when he joined the Army during WWI. When he left the service he ran a raincoat store before joining Zeppo in a two-man act and he finally became a theatrical agent. He was one of the creators of "The Life of Reilly" comedy show which aired on NBC radio from 1945-1951, and starred William Bendix. Milton Marx passed away April 21, 1977 at the age of 84.
The Marx Brothers were inducted into the Motion Picture Hall of Fame in 1977. Groucho Marx has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (Radio & Television).

Interesting fact: On June 15, 1999, The American Film Institute (A.F.I.) included The Marx Brothers on their list of the Top 25 American Male Screen Legends. They were the only group to be so honored. (In case you're wondering, Humphrey Bogart topped the list).

10. Cecil B. DeMille is one of the greatest movie directors in Hollywood history. Over the course of 42 years he directed more than 75 movies, 60 of which came during the silent film era. He was known for his lavish spectacles such as seen in "The 10 Commandments" (1956), when he directed Charlton Heston as Moses, to part the Red Sea, in one of filmdom's most memorable scenes. He won the Academy Award for Best Picture, "The Greatest Show on Earth" (1953), and a couple of his other best known films include, "Cleopatra" (1934), and "Reap the Wild Wind" (1942). He was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Director's Guild in 1953, and the film industry awarded DeMille two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Which of the following great actors was the son-in-law of Cecil Blount DeMille from 1937-1965?

Answer: Anthony Quinn

Anthony Quinn was born Antonio Rodolfo Quinn Oaxaca on April 21, 1915 in Chihuahua, Mexico. In a career that spanned over six decades, Quinn appeared in more than 125 films. He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in "Viva Zapata" (1952), and for his portrayal of French artist Paul Gaugin in "Lust for Life" (1956). His most famous role however, may be that of Alexis Zorba, in "Zorba the Greek (1964), for which he received a Best Actor nomination. He was married to his first wife Katherine, nee DeMille, for more than a quarter of a century, and together they had five children.
Quinn was a gifted painter as well, with many of his works hanging in galleries in Paris, New York, Mexico City and many others in private collections.
Anthony Quinn was the Golden Globe's recipient of the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1987. Like his father-in-law, Anthony Quinn also has been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Interesting fact: During the Mexican Revolutionary War, Anthony's father, Frank Quinn rode and fought alongside General Pancho Villa.

Source: Author paulmallon

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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It's All Relative Anyway-Famous Worldwide Kinfolk Quiz

There is a familiar saying, "You can pick your friends, but you can't pick your relatives". Sometimes that's a good thing, other times, not so much. Let's see which of these you "kin" figure out.(This is an Author Challenge Quiz).

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