Take My Childhood, Please! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Maude Adams

Maude Adams (1872-1953) was a very successful actress most of her life. At one time she earned over a million dollars a year - and that was before 1930. She began dazzling audiences as an infant when her actress mother carried her on stage.

Answer: Jackie Coogan

Jackie Coogan (1914-1984) found out too late that his parents had spent all the money which he had earned as a child actor. He eventually sued his own mother to get the money. His struggle led to the 'Coogan Law' (1939), which protects child actors from losing their hard earned money to greedy parents or guardians.
The law was updated in 2002 in order to plug gaps and deal with loopholes.

Answer: Natalie Wood

Natalie Wood (1938-1981) grew up on film. She worked with some incredible talents over her career. These included Edmund Gwen in 'Miracle on 34th Street' (1947), James Dean (1931-1955) in 'Rebel Without a Cause' (1955) among others. Her death by drowning in 1981 is often still a subject for conjecture.

Answer: Elizabeth Taylor

Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011) played Jane's loving friend, Helen, in 'Jane Eyre' (1943). Her beauty accentuated the drabness in Jane's appearance and life. It's interesting that although not even listed in the credits, Miss Taylor became one of the premier movie stars of the 20th century.

Answer: Freddy Bartholomew

Freddie Bartholomew (1924-1992) played in a number of British classic films. In 'David Copperfield' (1935), he held his own opposite Lionel Barrymore (1878-1954) and Basil Rathbone (1892-1967). He had a maturity of acting skills that made him quite fascinating in classic roles.

Answer: Shirley Temple

Shirley Temple (1926-) was the premier child actor in the 30's. She could do it all - as a singer, dancer and actress. In 'Heidi' (1937), she had many scenes with the famous Jean Hersholt (1886-1956) and her performance is clearly believable and precocious. Oscar followers will know Mr. Hersholt as the namesake of the 'Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award'.

Answer: Milton Berle

Milton Berle (1908-2002) first appeared in early silent films as a child actor. His career spanned over 80 years! He is best known as 'Uncle Milty' and as 'Mr. Television' due to his popular show from the '50s.

Answer: Jane Withers

Jane Withers (1926-) began as a wisecracking child actor and eventually became a popular TV commercial character known as 'Josephine the Plumber'. She was often cast, as a child opposite the sweetness of Shirley Temple (1928-) and played a perfect foil to her.

Answer: Roddy McDowall

Roddy McDowall (1924-1994) worked in films most of his life. He was great at making us cry. Even though he was on screen for less than 30 minutes in 'Keys to the kingdom' (1944) we were moved by his orphaned plight. His career was successful up to his death in 1994.

Answer: Haley Joel Osment

Haley Joel Osment (1988-) was incredibly convincing as a child who saw dead people in 'The Sixth Sense' (1999). He has found it difficult to make the transition to successful adult roles but his talent was always well beyond his years at the time.