Notable Men from British Columbia Quiz

Answer: Michael Bublé

Michael Steven Bublé was born on September 9th, 1975 in Burnaby, B.C. He was interested in music from a very young age, and began singing in nightclubs at the age of 16 under the stage name of Mickey Bubbles. Bublé recorded his first, self-titled album (produced by David Foster) in 2003, reaching the Top Ten of the charts in Canada, the U.K., South Africa, and Australia.

His first Juno Awards were for Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Album of the Year (both in 2004) for that album, and his first Grammy was for the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album for 2008's "Call Me Irresponsible" (his fifth album). He has been named to both the Order of British Columbia and the Order of Canada for his work.

Answer: David Suzuki

David Takayoshi Suzuki was born on March 24th, 1936 in Vancouver, B.C. Suzuki went to the U.S.A. for his schooling, getting his B.A. in Biology at Amherst College (1958) and his Ph.D. in Zoology at the U. of Chicago (1961). He returned to Canada and eventually made his way back to B.C. where he spent his career in the genetics department of U.B.C.

Outside of his academic and professional career, David Suzuki made an impact through his environmental activism and his broadcasting career, most notably as the host of "The Nature of Things" (which debuted in 1960, and Suzuki hosted beginning in 1979). He has been named to both the Order of British Columbia, the Order of Canada, and the Fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada for his work.

Answer: Steve Yzerman

Stephen Gregory Yzerman was born on May 9th, 1965 in Cranbrook, B.C. After moving to Ontario as a child, Yzerman played hockey for local teams before being selected by the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League in 1981. From there, he was drafted fourth overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft (behind Brian Martin, Sylvain Turgeon and Pat LaFontaine).

Yzerman had a great start to his career, scoring 87 points in his rookie year (but losing out to goalie Tom Barrasso for the Rookie of the Year Calder Memorial Trophy), and making it to the All-Star game as the youngest player to do so at 18 years of age (a record that he held for 27 years). He would go on to have a stellar career, leading the Detroit Red Wings to three Stanley Cup wins (1997, 1998, 2002) and retiring as number six on the all-time scoring list with a total of 692 goals, 1063 assists for 1755 points over 22 seasons. Yzerman was inducted into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame in 2009.

Answer: Seth Rogen

Seth Aaron Rogen was born on April 15th, 1982 in Vancouver, B.C. As a youth, Rogen began doing stand-up comedy in Vancouver, getting recognition by placing second in the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest at just 16 years of age. Soon after, he auditioned for and got a role on Judd Apatow's show "Freaks and Geeks" (1999).

His first (minor) movie role came a few years later with 2001's "Donnie Darko", but his breakthrough came with 2007's "Knocked Up". Rogen has gone on to have a diverse, (largely) comedic career as and has gotten experience in (and accolades for) writing, directing and producing his own shows and movies.

Answer: Raymond Burr

William Raymond Stacy Burr was born on May 21st, 1917 in New Westminster, B.C. He moved with his mother to California at a young age, and began his entertainment career in radio dramas before moving to theatre with the Pasadena Playhouse in 1937, and just a few years later made his debut on Broadway in 1940 in "Crazy With the Heat". Beginning in the mid 1940's, Burr transitioned to the silver screen, most often in villainous roles.

Burr continued to work in radio and on film, but in the 1950s and '60s, he became most famous for his roles as criminal defense lawyer Perry Mason in the show of the same name (1957-66), and as police consultant Robert T. Ironside in "Ironside" (1967-1975). It was for his role as Perry Mason that Burr received two Emmys for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Continuing Character) in a Dramatic Series (in 1959 and 1961). Raymond Burr passed away after a fight with cancer in 1993.

Answer: William Spencer Vickrey

William Spencer Vickrey was born on June 21st, 1914 in Victoria, B.C. He moved to Massachusetts as a youth and finished high school in Andover and went on to pursue his university studies at Yale (B.S. in Mathematics) and at Columbia (Masters and Ph.D) in Economics. He would continue his career at Columbia, staying there for 61 years until his death in 1996.

That same year, Vickrey, along with colleague James Alexander Mirrlees, was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences for their "research into the economic theory of incentives under asymmetric information", according to Wikipedia. He received the news just three days before he passed away; the Award was presented posthumously. Vickrey became the first person from British Columbia to win a Nobel Prize.

Answer: Cam Neely

Cameron Michael Neely was born on June 6th, 1965 in Comox, B.C. He played in the minors in B.C. (in Maple Ridge) and then joined the Western Hockey League's Portland Winter Hawks before being drafted by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft (ninth overall). After three seasons with the Canucks, Neely was traded to the Boston Bruins, where he stayed for the remainder of his career until his retirement in 1996. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005, then returned to the Bruins organization as President of the club in 2007.

Although he never won the Stanley Cup during his playing career, he was able to raise the cup as president when the Bruins defeated the Canucks in 2011. One of Neely's accomplishments was to score 50 goals in just 44 games played. At the time, only Wayne Gretzky had done it quicker. Unfortunately, Neely is only an 'unofficial' member of the 50/50 club (50 goals in 50 games) as the stipulation is to score the goals within the first 50 games of the team's season. Neely had missed games that year due to injury, thus didn't 'technically' qualify.

Answer: James Doohan

James Montgomery Doohan was born on March 3rd, 1920 in Vancouver, B.C. Prior to pursuing his acting career, Doohan enlisted in the Canadian artillery at the beginning of World War II but did not see 'action' until D-Day and he was injured in the assault. He received pilot training after his recovery, finishing his service in that role.

Doohan went into radio and television after returning from the war, earning a reputation as a prolific and versatile actor. His most iconic role would come in 1966 as Montgomery 'Scotty' Scott on "Star Trek". Unfortunately, it would typecast him and make it difficult to find other work, although he would reprise his role in seven motion pictures (and one episode of "Star Trek: The Next Generation". James Doohan passed away in 2005 due from pulmonary fibrosis.

Answer: Ryan Reynolds

Ryan Rodney Reynolds was born on October 23rd in Vancouver, B.C. He began his entertainment career in 1991 with a role on a Canadian teen soap opera called "Hillside". His first film role was 1993's "Ordinary Magic". Various film and television roles would follow, with his breakthrough role coming in 1998 with the sitcom "Two Guys and a Girl". Movie success would soon follow with 2002's "National Lampoon's Van Wilder". Reynolds' star would continue to rise, but true stardom came with the iconic role of "Deadpool", with the first instalment in 2016.

In 2017, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Answer: David Foster

David Walter Foster was born on November 1st, 1949 in Victoria, B.C. He was a talented youngster who started the music program at the University of Washington at just 13 years of age. Before he was 20 years old, he had already performed with Ronnie Hawkins and Chuck Berry.

As a keyboardist, Foster formed some short-lived bands (Skylark, Airplay), but most of his success came through songwriting and producing albums for and with other groups, including Chicago and Earth, Wind and Fire, or individuals like Kenny Rogers, Bryan Adams, Richard Marx, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé, to name just a few. He has also composed classical music and film scores, and has put out eight of his own studio albums.

In 2011, Foster was named as the Chair of Verve Music Group, the world's largest jazz catalogue. He has also been named to both the Order of British Columbia, and the Order of Canada.