Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Richard Gere's first three major film roles were all turned down by what actor?

2) Peggy Lee was nominated for an Oscar for what film?

3) What did President Hoover do with his salary?

4) What was the world's first airline?


Answers:

1) John Travolta turned down the lead roles in Days of Heaven, American Gigolo, and An Officer and a Gentleman before they were offered to Gere.

2) Lee appeared in Pete Kelly's Blues, in a role which garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

3) During his entire 47 years in government, Herbert Hoover turned over each of his federal salary checks to charity. He had become independently wealthy before entering politics.

4) DELAG, an acronym from German: Deutsche Luftschiffahrts-Aktiengesellschaft ("German Airship Travel Corporation") was the world's first airline to use an aircraft (a Zeppelin rigid airship) in revenue service. It was founded on November 16, 1909 with government assistance, and operated airships manufactured by Zeppelin Corporation. Its headquarters were in Frankfurt.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What is the most popular game in Las Vegas?

2) What popular Christmas flower was named for an American ambassador to Mexico?

3) What Hollywood club is famous for its roasts of celebrities?

4) What beloved writer of songs about the South hardly ever visited the region?


Answers:

1) Black Jack.

2) The Poinsettia, named after Joel Poinsett.

3) The Friars Club.

4) Stephen Foster from Pennsylvania.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter were the leader and co-leader of Weather Report, which they formed in 1970. They are also alums of what jazz great who was one of the first to play jazz fusion?

2) Which jewel is perceived as a symbol of success?

3) What is the name of the city that was planned and partly laid out by Major Pierre Charles L'Enfant, a French engineer, in the late 1700s? And, after whom was the city named?

4) The jazz group Fourplay scored a hit in 1991 with El Debarge singing lead on a cover of Marvin Gaye's song "After the Dance" -- Nathan East on bass, Harvey Mason, Jr. on drums, and Lee Ritenour on guitar. Who was the keyboardist making up the final piece of the group? Here's a clue: He scored a hit with a song named "Angela," also known as the theme to the T.V. show "Taxi."


Answers:

1) Miles Davis. Joe Zawinul and Wayne Shorter worked with Miles Davis in the late 1960s. They formed Weather Report in 1970 and disbanded in 1987. Sadly, Joe Zawinul passed away on September 11, 2007.

2) The birthstone for May, the emerald, is perceived as a symbol of success. Even more than the diamond, this jewel has been a favorite of emperors and kings.

3) Washington, D.C., which was named after our first president, George Washington -- the district was named after Christopher Columbus.

4) Bob James. Fourplay was formed in 1991; however, the members first played together on Bob James' 1990 effort "Grand Piano Canyon." Lee Ritenour left the group in 1997 and was replaced by Larry Carlton. Larry Carlton left in 2010 and was replaced by present guitarist Jeff Golub.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) The first woman to be nominated for Vice President by a major U.S. political party was born on August 26, 1935. Who?

2) During the rise of the bebop era, who was the house pianist at Minton's Playhouse?

3) Dr. Lee DeForest was born on August 26, 1873. He invented something that all of you listening [to my show] today can be thankful for. What?

4) Who was the girl singer in Gene Krupa's band?


Answers:

1) Geraldine Ferraro.

2) Thelonious Monk.

3) The 3-element vacuum tube, making possible all of our wonderful electronic technology -- radio... television... radar traps... One of Dr. DeForest's early inventions was stolen by his competitor's spies, so he planted trees outside the windows of his laboratory -- so the spies couldn't see DeForest for the trees.

4) Anita O'Day.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Actor Sean Connery was born August 25, 1930. How many James Bond films did he star in? Can you name them?

2) In Great Britain on August 25, 1972, computerized axial tomography was introduced. We know it better as what?

3) In 1939, Lina Medina became the youngest mother on record. How old was she?


Answers:

1) 7 -- in order from most recent to earliest film:

Never Say Never Again (1983)
Diamonds Are Forever (1971)
You Only Live Twice (1967)
Thunderball (1965)
Goldfinger (1964)
From Russia With Love (1963)
Dr. No (1962)

2) CAT scan

3) 5 years old

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Prior to his presidential service, George H.W. Bush served as director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Which president appointed him to the CIA?

2) What United States park and tourist destination is 95 percent water?

3) How many commercials are aimed at kids?

4) Who was regarded as the "James Dean of Jazz" in the 1950s?


Answers:

1) President Gerald Ford.

2) Biscayne National Park.

3) According to the Federal Trade Commission, there are 20,000 television commercials made each year that are aimed exclusively at children. Of these, 7,000 are for sugared breakfast cereals.

4) Chet Baker.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Who was the first musician to put together a jazz trio of piano, guitar, and bass?

2) Which blood type is the most rare?

3) On radio in the 1940s, was Captain Midnight's mechanic (a) Aristotle Jones, (b)Ichabod Mudd, or (c) Jet Jackson?

4) Wes Montgomery taught himself to play the guitar while still a teenager, and developed an interesting playing style. What was unique about his self-taught style?


Answers:

1) Nat King Cole.

2) Type O is the most common blood type in the world. Type AB is the rarest. There is also a subtype called A-H, but to date only three people in the world are known to have it.

3) Ichabod "Icky" Mudd. Aristotle Jones was the Captain's scientific adviser.

4) He played with his thumb.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) In the comic strip Blondie, what is the husband's name?

2) Which two U.S. cities are both known for producing some of the best thoroughbred horses in the world?

3) The first English settlers to set foot in America landed at the tip of what city on April 29, 1607? This city is a popular tourist destination.

4) In the comic strip B.C., what are the talking clams used for?


Answers:

1) Dagwood.

2) Lexington, Kentucky and Ocala, Florida.

3) Virginia Beach, Virginia.

4) Money.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Actor John Stamos (born on this date in 1963), occasionally appeared as drummer and backup vocalist in what band?

2) What is the most frequently stolen car in the United States?

3) This began as one of the first radio comedy series, written and voiced by Freeman Gosden and Charles Correll and originating from station WMAQ in Chicago. After the program was first broadcast in 1928, it grew to become a huge influence on radio series that followed. The show ran as a nightly radio serial from 1928 until 1943, as a weekly situation comedy from 1943 until 1955, and as a nightly disc-jockey program from 1954 until 1960. A television adaptation ran on CBS-TV from 1951 until 1953, and continued in syndicated reruns from 1954 until 1966, when it disappeared after complaints from civil rights groups. Can you name the show?

4) What is the name of the victim in the board game "Clue"?


Answers:

1) The Beach Boys.

2) According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, the 1994 Honda Accord is the car that auto thieves love the most.

3) Amos and Andy!

4) Mr. Boddy.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Actor Patrick Swayze (born August 18, 1952) co-starred with whom in Dirty Dancing?

2) In a deck of playing cards, which king does NOT have a moustache?

3) Which TV personality insured her legs for $2 million?

4) In the famous Abbott and Costello "Who's on First" skit, what was the right fielder's name?


Answers:

1) Jennifer Grey (who won Season 11 of Dancing With The Stars).

2) The King of Hearts.

3) Mary Hart of "Entertainment Tonight."

4) There was no right fielder named.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What's the difference between a land mile and a nautical (ocean) mile?

2) In which TV series did Sean Penn make his camera debut?

3) What was the original plastic?

4) How many different animal shapes are in the Animal Crackers cookie zoo?

Answers:

1) A land (or statute) mile is 5,280 feet. On the ocean, a nautical mile measures 6,080 feet.

2) Barnaby Jones.

3) The first plastic invented was celluloid. It came about as an alternative for billiard balls made from ivory.

4) 18.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was the name of the ship that was attacked at Pearl Harbor? It is still commissioned and on display.

2) Which U.S. county occupies the smallest area?

3) Where is the largest concentration of bones in the human body?

4) Can you name the four state capitals with names starting with the same letter as their corresponding state's names?

Answers:

1) The USS Arizona

2) Manhattan

3) Of the 206 bones in the body, 106 are in the hands and feet.

4) Dover, DE; Honolulu, HI; Indianapolis, IN; Oklahoma City, OK.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Which two U.S. states have the highest speed limit?

2) Which country is second largest in the world?

3) What Country & Western star was depicted biographically in the film Coal Miner's Daughter, and what actress won the Oscar for her role in the film?

4) What early explorer to the New World paved the way for Dutch colonization in what is now the New York area? He was later set to sea and abandoned by mutineers.

Answers:

1) Utah and Texas both have stretches of highway with an 80 mph speed limit.

2) Canada is the second largest country after Russia. Nearly 90 percent of Canada's population is concentrated within 161 km of the United States/Canada border.

3) Loretta Lynn was the Coal Miner's Daughter, and Sissy Spacek won the Oscar (she even did the singing in the film).

4) Henry Hudson was the abandoned explorer.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) On August 12, 1974, for the first time in history, two teammates were elected to baseball's Hall of Fame on the same day. Can you name them?

2) How many varieties of tomatoes are there?

3) What's the difference between regular boxing gloves and golden gloves?

4) On August 12, 1973, Jack Nicklaus won the Professional Golfers' Association championship for his 14th major title, surpassing Bobby Jones' record of 13 majors. How many majors did Jack win in his career?

Answers:

1) Yankees Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford.

2) 7500!

3) The gloves worn by professional boxers weigh a regulation 8 ounces. The golden gloves, on the other hand, weigh 10 ounces.

4) Jack Nicklaus won 18 major tournaments in his career.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Today is the birthday of Terry Gene Bollea, better known as?

2) How much coffee does a tree produce?

3) In 1934, how much did Babe Ruth pay a fan for the baseball he hit for his 700th career home run?

4) How many punctuation marks are there in English grammar? Can you name at least half of them?

Answers:

1) Hulk Hogan.

2) It takes five years for a coffee tree to reach maturity. The average yield from one tree is the equivalent of one roasted pound of coffee.

3) $20.

4) There are 14 punctuation marks in English grammar.
period
comma
colon
semicolon
dash
hyphen
apostrophe
question mark
exclamation point
quotation marks
brackets
parenthesis
braces
ellipses

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) What was the original title of the Beatles' song, "Eleanor Rigby"?

2) What popular festival is celebrated on the eve of All Saints' Day?

3) This U.S. senator was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.

Answers:

1) "Daisy Hawkins"

2) Hallowe'en

3) Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., pitched for several teams, including the Philadelphia Phillies and the Detroit Tigers.

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) Sean Penn received a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of a jazz guitar player in Sweet and Lowdown (1999). Although he was American in the film, the character was actually based on a famed French jazz guitarist who recorded during the 1930s and 40s. Who was he?

2) What was Queen Victoria's first official act as Sovereign?

3) Jazz can be hot or cool. One of the first to define "cool" jazz was a piano virtuoso, noted mostly as a big band leader. He greatly influenced jazz by his less frantic approach to the genre. And what could be cooler than a "Snowfall"? Oh, Miles Davis was one of his admirers. What was this cool cat's name?

4) Hard as it is to believe, this drummer first performed professionally at the age of 18 months on the vaudeville stage. By thirteen, he was the leader of his own band. He entered into the Big Band era by drumming for Tommy Dorsey and Harry James, among others. He traveled successfully with his own big band even after the genre declined in popularity. Who was this percussionist?

Answers:

1) Django Reinhardt.

2) Eighteen-year-old Queen Victoria's first act after her coronation in 1838 was having her bed moved from her mother's room to the very first room of her own.

3) Claude Thornhill.

4) Buddy Rich.

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) The name of this soft drink is a nickname for the illegal alcohol, moonshine. It was originally intended to be used as a whiskey mixer.

2) A 19th-century entrepreneur started his empire at the age of 16 with a ferry service from Staten Island to Manhattan. Who was he?

3) What language did Queen Victoria speak?

Answers:

1) Mountain Dew.

2) Cornelius Vanderbilt, Sr.

3) Queen Victoria's mother was the daughter of a German duke. Though she ruled England for 64 years, she was never able to speak English perfectly.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Question:

1) Which U.S. president signed legislation designating Martin Luther King Day as a federal holiday?

Answer:

1) Ronald Reagan

Fun Fact! On this date in 1936 Jesse Owens won the 200-meter dash at the Berlin Olympics while his teammate, Mack Robinson came in second. Mack's little brother, Jackie became the first player in major-league baseball to break the color barrier.

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) Yesterday was former child actor Jay North's birthday. What was his TV character's name?

2) When Jimmy Steart ended his tour of duty in the armed forces, what was his rank?

3) Benjamin Franklin believed a warm bed sapped one's strength, so as a bed became too warm in the night he'd switch to a cold one. How many beds did he wind up sleeping in every night?

4) Which pro wrestler did Richard Belzer (Law and Order) sue for putting him in a stranglehold and rendering him unconscious?

Answers:

1) Dennis the Menace

2) Brigadier General

3) 4

4) Hulk Hogan

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) Dino Crocetti and Joseph Levitch were a stage and screen duo of much fame under their adopted showbiz name. Can you name this popular team?

2) Who penned "Tuxedo Junction"?

3) What is the longest river in Europe?

4) What is the common name for the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police?

Answers:

1) Crocetti and Levitch adopted the names Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis (Martin and Lewis).

2) Erskine Hawkins.

3) Europe's longest river is the Volga in Russia.

4) Scotland Yard.

Alan Rock's Trivia

Questions:

1) How much can a thirsty camel drink?

2) In what musical group did Roy Rogers perform?

3) What is Africa's longest river?

4) In DC Comics, Inc., what do the initials "DC" stand for?

Answers:

1) When thirsty, a camel can swig down 25 gallons of water in less than three minutes!

2) Roy Rogers performed in the Sons of the Pioneers group.

3) The Nile is Africa's longest river, at 4,160 miles.

4) The initials "DC" refer to the company's series "Detective Comics."

Alan Rock's Trivia!

Questions:

1) The trophy awarded to the team winning the NBA finals has a name. What is the name of the trophy?

2) What's the difference between a nook and a cranny?

3) This bop-era bass-baritone was born in Pittsburgh. He ended his days there as well. In addition to singing he also was a bandleader, and was often called "Mr. B." Who was he?

4) She was one of the great vocalists of the Swing Era and a regular at the Cotton Club, singing with Ellington's band. Who was she?

Answers:

1) The Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy

2) A nook is a corner; a cranny is a crack.

3) Billy Eckstine

4) Ivie Anderson