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About This Quiz
Test you knowledge about famous people who were born in the '50s.
Which two pop singers were born in 1958 and died within a decade of each other from prescription medicine overdose?
George Michael and Bryan Adams.
Elton John and John Lennon.
Michael Jackson and Prince.
Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009 and Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958- April 21, 1958) both were inducted into the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame (Jackson was inducted twice) and passed away after an overdose of prescription drugs.
Phil Collins and David Bowie.
Who wrote the Poisonwood Bible?
Barbara Kingsolver
Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) spent a portion of her childhood in what is now called the Democratic Republic of the Congo and based The Poisonwood Bible on some of her experiences- although it is not autobiographical.
J. K. Rowling
Lois Lowry
Ayn Rand
What nickname did Thomas Kinkade trademark?
"The painter of light."
William Thomas Kinkade III (January 19, 1958 – April 6, 2012) trademarked “painter of light†although J. M. W. Turner (1775-1851) was already referred to by this title. His work was the center of controversy with some loving it and others hating it for its commercialism.
"Messy Thom."
"The painter with heart."
"The boss."
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Which Olympic Track and Field medalist was known for glamorous long fingernails and tight-fitting outfits?
Wilma Rudolph.
Florence Joyner.
Florence Joyner (December 21, 1959-September 21, 1998) won one silver medal in the 1984 Olympics and three gold and one silver in the 1988 Olympics.
Evelyn Ashford.
Gail Devers.
What position did Vladimir Putin serve in before becoming Prime Minister and ultimately President of Russia?
Head of a branch of the KGB.
In 1998, Vladimir Putin (born October 7, 1952) was appointed head of the Federal Security Service, which was a branch of the KGB. He has rotated between Prime Minister and President of Russia ever since. He has frequently appeared on Time magazine's list of Most Influential People and Forbes magazine's list of Most Powerful People.
Head of the Ministry of Defense.
Head of the Finance Department.
Head of Foreign Affairs.
Who is one of the co-founders of Apple?
Mark Zuckerberg
Elon Musk
Steve Wozniak
Stephen Gary Wozniak (born August 11, 1950) is credited with designing the hardware, circuit board, and operating system for the Apple I.
Bill Gates
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Who was the first member of the British Royal Family to compete in the Olympics?
Queen Elizabeth II.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York.
Anne, Princess Royal.
Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise (born August 15, 1950) is a noted equestrian and has won several medals in the sport as well as competed in the 1976 Olympics on the British team.
Prince Henry of Wales.
Nick Park is the creator of which British cartoon duo?
Wallace and Grommit.
Nick Park (born December 6, 1958) is the award winning creator of Wallace and Gromit. He also created Chicken Run and has been doing stop animation since he was 13 years old.
Rocket Boy and Toro.
Frog and Toad.
Kate and Mim-Mim.
In which movie did John Candy play Barf?
National Lampoons Vacation.
Spaceballs.
Many John Franklin Candy (October 31, 1950-March 4, 1994) movies were about his character traveling- in Spaceballs, Barf traveled through outer space. He passed away while filming Wagons East in Mexico (he was Canadian) and is buried Holy Cross Cemetery, Culver City, CA, USA.
Boris and Natasha: The Movie.
Hot to Trot.
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Which female pop artist starred in the movies Suddenly Seeking Susan, Dick Tracy, and Evita?
Mariah Carey
Madonna
Madonna Louise Ciccone (born August 16th, 1958) was named after her mother and called "Little Nonni" as a child.
Olivia Newton-John
Cher
Who created the highly acclaimed character Bridget Jones?
Helen Fielding
Helen Fielding (born February 19, 1958) created Bridget Jones as a part of a newspaper column, and the character was so well received she turned the column into books about the character.
Bret Easton Ellis
Markus Zusak
Truman Capote
Which was Natalie Cole’s best-selling record?
Stardust.
Leavin'.
Unpredictable.
Unforgettable... with Love.
Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) released Unforgettable… with Love in 1991 and sold more than 7 million copies of it. For the title song, Unforgettable, she created an interactive duet with her father using one of his older recordings (he was deceased at the time).
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Of which country was Hugo Chavez the president?
Brazil.
Argentina.
Venezuela.
Hugo Rafael Chavez Frias (July 29, 1954-March 5, 2013) was the 64th president of Venezuela. He enacted many political reforms but his outspoken dislike of the United States caused much friction between the two countries.
Mexico.
Which entrepreneur began his empire with a magazine and a discount record store?
Sir Richard Branson.
Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born July 18, 1950) founded Student magazine and advertised discounted records for sale in it. With the money he made at his Virgin record store went on to purchase an English manor that he turned into a recording studio. He has had more than 400 companies under the Virgin label.
Piero Ferrari.
Warren Buffet.
Charles Koch.
Which actress was nominated for awards for her work on the two television series: Flamingo Road and Falcon Crest?
Morgan Fairchild.
Patsy Ann McClenny (born February 3, 1950) who was later known as Morgan Fairchild, primarily appeared in television series and films throughout her career. She is currently a board member for SAG (Screen Actors Guild).
Susan Sullivan.
Angela Channing.
Abby Dalton.
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Which lawyer turned author and gave us great legal thrillers such as The Firm and The Pelican Brief?
Tom Wolfe
John Grisham
John Grisham (born February 8, 1955) loves baseball and eventually began writing baseball novels as well as the movie Mickey (2004). He supports Little League activities in Mississippi.
Scott Turow
Truman Capote
Richard Dean Anderson acted in the title role for which 80s television series?
Airwolf.
Magnum, P. I.
Knight Rider.
MacGyver.
Richard Dean Anderson's (born January 23, 1950) began his acting career on General Hospital but MacGyver made him a star. After seven seasons, he eventually moved on to other smaller roles, but ended his career by starring in the series Stargate SG-1. He is currently only involved in production so he can spend more time with his daughter.
Which famous rivalry was the center of tennis from 1978-1981?
Sempras-Agassi
Becker-Edberg
McEnroe-Borg
Joe McEnroe (born ) was known for his temper and Bjorn Borg (born) was know for his cold demeanor, which often gave their rivalry the name "Fire and Ice." Their 14 tournament matches had them tied for wins (7-7).
Nadal-Djokovic
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Which pop artist was a drummer a heart but most widely known as a singer for the group she formed with her brother?
Karen Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950-February 4, 1983) was originally assigned the glockenspiel by her high school band director, but hated the instrument and asked to be switched to the drums.
"Moe" Tucker
"Gina" Schock
Janis Joplin
Francois Hollande was elected president of France in which year?
2008
2000
2012
François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (born 12 August 1954) was elected president of France in 2012. In the first round of voting, he came in first place with 28.63% of the vote.
2004
Which baseball player was known as "The Man of Steal"?
Darrell Woodard
Eddie Murray
Lou Brock
Rickey Henderson
Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) set the record for bases stolen in a single season at 130. During his entire career, he stole 1,406 bases.
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What caused Stevie Wonder to go blind?
Retinopathy of prematurity.
Retinopathy of prematurity caused the six-week premature Stevland Hardaway Judkins (born May 13, 1950), or Stevie Wonder as he was later called, to go blind shortly after birth.
He was born blind.
Glaucoma.
A childhood accident.
Which former Secretary of State was trained as a concert pianist since the age of three?
Hillary Clinton.
Warren Christopher.
Condoleezza Rice.
Condoleezza Rice (born November 14, 1954) was named after the Italian musical term, con dolcezza, which means to play sweetly. She switched from Democrat to Republican after a disagreement with President Carter’s foreign policy.
Madeline Albright.
Which quiz show did comedian Jeff Foxworthy host?
Wild and Crazy Kids.
Guts (Nickelodeon).
The Kids Are All Right.
Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?
Jeffrey Marshall "Jeff" Foxworthy (born September 6, 1958) is probably most famous for his redneck jokes and has written several comedy books containing them. He hosted Are You Smarter Than a Sixth Grader? for more than six seasons.
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Which Meatballs star appeared on both the first and last episodes of David Letterman?
Bill Murray.
Although William James "Bill" Murray (born September 21, 1950) is a highly renowned comedian, he has only won one Golden Globe award (for Lost in Translation) and one Emmy (for Saturday Night Live).
Chris Makepeace.
Jack Blum.
Matt Craven.
Which television show made Cybill Shepherd popular in the 1980s?
Cheers
Night Court
Moonlighting
Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) starred in Moonlighting from 1985-1989. She was named after her grandfathers: Cy and Bill.
Miami Vice
Who won the gold in the 1976 Olympics for figure skating?
Dorothy Hamill
Dorothy Stuart Hamill (born July 26, 1956) won the gold in figure skating in 1976 and soon after joined the Ice Capades. She was the female World Professional figure skating Champion from 1983-1987.
Mary Lou Retton
Linda Fratianne
Nancy Kerrigan
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Nelson Mandela served as president of which country during the 1990s?
Egypt
Sudan
South Africa
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999. He spent decades in prison fighting apartheid prior to running for office.
Cameroon
Who threw a "Hail Mary" touchdown pass to receiver Jerry Rice in the last few seconds of a 1987 49ers-Bengals American football game?
Boomer Esiason
Dan Marino
John Elway
Joe Montana
Joseph Clifford Montana (born June 11, 1956) was drafted in 1979 by the San Francisco 49ers and led them to four Super Bowl victories until he was seriously injured and traded to the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993.
Martin Short is a native of which country?
The U. S. A.
The U. K.
Canada.
Martin Hayter Short was born March 26, 1950, in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. He is well-known for his SCTV and Saturday Night Live performances as well as his roles in movies such as Three Amigos, Pure Luck, and Mars Attacks.
Australia.
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Amy Tan is known for writing fiction novels about what kind of relationships?
Best friends.
Male-female.
Sister-sister.
Mother-daughter.
Amy Tan’s (born February 19, 1952) first novel was The Joy Luck Club, which focused on the relationships between four Chinese mothers and their four American-born daughters. She occasionally plays in a band called “The Rock Bottom Remainders†with other authors.
Which talk show host has been called the "Queen of All Media"?
Ellen DeGeneres.
Rosie O'Donnell.
Oprah Winfrey.
Orpah (Oprah) Gail Winfrey (born January 29, 1954) started began with a talk show and eventually created her own production company. She has been called the most influential woman in the world.
Ricki Lake.
Who adapted the 86-DOS operating system for personal computers and called it MS-DOS, effectively repackaging it for IBM PCs?
Kent Evans.
Bill Gates.
William Henry "Bill" Gates III (born October 28, 1955) began programming in eighth grade and was allowed to do so instead of attending math class. He dropped out of Harvard to found Microsoft and was considered one of the wealthiest people in the world from 1995 to 2007 by Forbes.
Mark Zuckerberg.
Steve Jobs.
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Which Actor played the title role in Spike Lee’s Malcolm X?
Denzel Washington.
Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor and when he did not win, many people, including director Spike Lee were upset. Denzel also enjoys acting in live theater.
Forest Whitaker.
Jamie Foxx.
Will Smith.
The singer by the name of Sting was a part of which British rock band?
U2.
The Culture Club.
The Police.
Gordon Matthew Thomas Sumner (born 2 October 1951) was the primary songwriter, bass guitarist, and lead vocalist for the British band, The Police. He went on to become a solo artist in the mid-1980s.
The Rolling Stones.
You Got:
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