Here from Denny & Claire, your "When Swing Was King" friends, is our latest activity project. We send it along, of course, in hopes that it might provide a little break from the quarantine blues, but also to remind you that you are all in our thoughts and, more important, our prayers. Hoping to see you soon in person!
1) Which of the following is NOT a Pat Boone hit record?
a) “Lonely Street”
b) “Love Letters in the Sand”
c) “Moody River”
d) “Speedy Gonzalez”
2) What 1942 movie starred Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Rains, a film that won Oscars for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay?
a) Maltese Falcon
b) This Gun for Hire
c) Sahara
d) Casablanca
3) In a decade with a variety of sports champions (six different NFL champions, five different World Series winners and collegiate football national champions, and eight different college basketball national champions), one sport had only one world champion from 1937 to 1949. The sport was heavyweight-boxing. And who was that longtime champion?
a) Jack Dempsey
b) Sugar Ray Robinson
c) Joe Louis
d) Rocky Marciano
4) The comic strip that included the characters of Peppermint Patty, Linus, and Pigpen was:
a) Katzenjammer Kids
b) Family Circus
c) Peanuts
d) Huckleberry Hound
5) Tommy Dorsey's instrument was:
a) trombone
b) clarinet
c) saxophone
d) drums
6) The big band that gave the world such sensational hits as “String of Pearls,” “Little Brown Jug,” “Moonlight Serenade,” and “Pennsylvania 6500” was:
a) Guy Lombardo Orchestra
b) Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
c) Glenn Miller Orchestra
d) Shep Fields Orchestra
7) What award-winning 1947 Christmas movie was set in New York City, began its action on Thanksgiving Day, and featured Kris Kringle hauled into court.
a) Miracle on 34th Street
b) Shop Around The Corner
c) Christmas in Central Park
d) Going My Way
8) What Broadway musical includes the songs “Bali Hai,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” and “I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair”?
a) Brigadoon
b) Kiss Me Kate
c) Kismet
d) South Pacific
9) The 1948 World Series was the first to be televised on a national network. And it was the first World Series that included an African-American pitcher (Satchel Paige). Who were the teams involved? (Hint: one of these teams would be moved in 1953 to Milwaukee.)
a) New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers
b) Boston Red Sox and Kansas City Royals
c) Boston Braves and Cleveland Indians
d) New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates
10) The famous "Road pictures" featured what team of Hollywood stars?
a) Laurel & Hardy
b) Crosby, Hope, and Lamour
c) The Marx Brothers
d) The Three Stooges
11) Most of the most popular records in the year 1940 came from the big bands or crooners like Crosby. However, a relative unknown by the name of Cliff Edwards scored a number one hit after singing it for the soundtrack of a Walt Disney movie. What was the song?
a) “Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah”
b) “As Time Goes By”
c) “When You Wish Upon a Star”
d) “A Tisket a Tasket”
12) And what was the Disney movie referred to in the above question?
a) Pinocchio
b) Song of the South
c) Sleeping Beauty
d) Fantasia
13) Which of the following is NOT a Hank Williams hit record?
a) “Lovesick Blues”
b) “Cold, Cold Heart”
c) “Big Bad John”
d) “I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry”
14) Top radio shows of 1946 included comedy/variety series starring such big names as Bob Hope, Red Skelton, Jack Benny, and Fred Allen. But the top-rated show, was headlined by actual husband-and-wife team Jim and Marian Jordan. The show also featured Gale Gordon as Mayor LaTrivia?
a) Fibber Magee and Molly
b) The Great Gildersleeve
c) Amos and Andy
d) The Bickersons
15) Led by "Mr. Inside" (Doc Blanchard) and "Mr. Outside" (Glenn Davis), two sophomores who would win the Heisman Trophy in 1945 and 1946 respectively, this team was the undefeated NCAA football National Champions in 1944.
a) Army
b) Notre Dame
c) Ohio State
d) USC
16) It was in 1951 that the Topps Company first released what form of collectable items?
a) Hula Hoops
b) Baseball cards
c) Barbie dolls
d) Kewpie dolls
17) What was NOT a popular dance of the 1940's?
a) “Jitterbug”
b) “Lindy Hop”
c) “Charleston”
d) “The Twist”
18) Nat King Cole's instrument was:
a) trombone
b) piano
c) saxophone
d) drums
19) Making its debut as a comic strip in 1948 was a gem by Walt Kelly. Set in the Okefenokee Swamp, its characters included Albert Alligator, Churchy LaFemme, and Howland Owl.
a) Pogo
b) Fearless Fosdick
c) Lil Abner
d) The Katzenjammer Kids
20) What smash Broadway hit contained the songs “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top,” “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin',” and “People Will Say We're in Love”?
a) Guys and Dolls
b) South Pacific
c) Oklahoma!
d) The King and I
21) Which early TV series was introduced by the music of Rossini's "William Tell Overture"?
a) The Shadow
b) Johnny Dollar
c) Dragnet
d) The Lone Ranger
22) Which of the following is NOT an Elvis hit record?
a) “Love Me Tender”
b) “Only the Lonely”
c) “Jailhouse Rock”
d) “Are You Lonesome Tonight?”
23) What songwriter gave us “Begin the Beguine,” “Anything Goes,” “Night and Day,” “True Love,” “I've Got You Under My Skin,” and many more terrific songs?
a) Irving Berlin
b) Cole Porter
c) Oscar Hammerstein II
d) Hoagy Carmichael
24) It was in 1952 that the first episode aired of a TV show featuring a real-life family. Originally begun on radio, the show would become a huge TV hit. It featured two sons (one who would become a successful pop star) and parents who had been stars in their own right in the big band era. That show was:
a) Make Room for Daddy
b) The Donna Reed Show
c) The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
d) Father Knows Best
25) Harry James' instrument was:
a) trombone
b) clarinet
c) saxophone
d) trumpet
26) Yank magazine named this singer as the man who had done the most for the morale of American soldiers at war during World War II.
a) Bing Crosby
b) Frankie Laine
c) Perry Como
d) Frank Sinatra
27) "Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?" was the introduction to one of the top-rated daytime radio shows of all time. That show was?
a) Inner Sanctum
b) The Whistler
c) The Shadow
d) Suspense
28) Which of the following was NOT part of the Jack Benny radio cast?
a) Phil Harris
b) Eddie Anderson
c) Dennis Day
d) Red Skelton
29) In 1945, a young English actress famed for her beautiful eyes starred in a film called National Velvet. Who was she?
a) Olivia DeHaviland
b) Elizabeth Taylor
c) Joan Collins
d) Vivien Leigh
30) Chick Webb's instrument was:
a) trombone
b) clarinet
c) saxophone
d) drums
Answers:
1) a
2) d
3) c
4) c
5) a
6) c
7) a
8) d
9) c
10) b
11) c
12) a
13) c
14) a
15) a
16) b
17) d
18) b
19) a
20) c
21) d
22) b
23) b
24) c
25) d
26) a
27) c
28) d
29) b
30) d
