Name that Celebrity Quiz: Famous Names & Far-Fetched Facts

Never mind your Kardashians and your T Swifts—naming these famous people, some still around and some long gone, will be a challenge.

Researching scavenger hunts and trivia games all day every day has led us to tons of fascinating—and obscure—facts about celebrities.  See if you can identify each of the following celebs from these lesser-known facts about them. Some of these are pretty tough, but you can do it. The answers are at the end. Good luck, and good guessing!

 1. The Brooklyn Boy

He was born Allen Konigsberg in Brooklyn. As a child he was nicknamed Red and dazzled kids with his magic and card tricks. He got his start on the TV series Your Show of Shows, and later appeared on Candid Camera. He wrote a play called Don’t Drink the Water; the movie version starred Jackie Gleason. A documentary was made about his tour of Europe playing the clarinet. In 1997 he made his only sitcom appearance, a cameo on Just Shoot Me! He once said, “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work; I want to achieve immortality through not dying.” Who is he?

a) Mel Brooks
b) Woody Allen
c) Walter Mathau
d) Martin Scorcese

2. The Writer

She wrote for Vanity Fair and The New Yorker. She was a member of the Algonquin Roundtable, which met at the Algonquin Hotel on 44th St. near 6th Ave. She wrote, “Men seldom make passes / At girls who wear glasses” and “Brevity is the soul of lingerie.” She also once quipped, “If all the girls who attended the Yale prom were laid end to end, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised.” Her screenplays include A Star Is Born and The Cowboy and the Lady. Who is she?

a) Annie Leibovitz
b) Maya Angelou
c) Dorothy Parker
d) Lois Lane

3. The Disappearing Man

In his book Chronicles he writes about his early years in New York. When he lived on MacDougal St. in the Village, he once chased down a man who regularly went through his trash—the snoop called himself “a garbologist.” While living at another Village address, he wrote “Positively West 4th St.,” which trashed a former lover. He once wrote, “The sun’s not yellow, it’s chicken.” Late in life he became a born-again Christian, and once said in an interview, “Being noticed can be a burden. Jesus got himself crucified because he got himself noticed. So I disappear a lot.” Who is he?

a) Bob Dylan
b) John Lennon
c) Weird Al Yankovic
d) Art Garfunkel

4. The General

He was nicknamed “General.” He could sing and dance, and twice performed for the Queen of England. His wedding at Grace Church (at Broadway and 10th St.) was front-page news, and during the ceremony he and his bride stood atop a grand piano. The newlyweds were received in the White House by the president. His waxy likeness used to appear in Madame Tussauds, dressed up like and posed next to Napoleon Bonaparte. More than 10,000 people attended his funeral, and P.T. Barnum paid for the statue that marks his grave. Who is he?

a) George Washington
b) Peter Dinklage
c) Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy
d) Tom Thumb

5. The Donut Diva

After she moved to New York from Michigan, she lived in squalor and worked at a Dunkin’ Donuts and as a hat-check girl at the club Danceteria. Yet she studied with Martha Graham and danced with Alvin Ailey’s company. She played drums and guitar in a group called the Breakfast Club. When she auditioned for a role in a movie that centered on the East Village scene, she was told to go take four weeks of acting lessons and come back. She once said, “I miss New York. I still love how people talk to you on the street—just assault you and tell you what they think of your jacket.” She also said, “I always thought of losing my virginity as a career move.” Who is she?

a) Lady Gaga
b) Madonna
c) Pink
d) Ruth Bader Ginsburg

6. The Hallucinogen

At the age of five, his parents took him to his brother’s grave and told him he was the reincarnation of that sibling. His first one-man show was in New York in 1933. He donated a sketch of the Crucifixion to New York’s Rikers Island prison, where it hung until it was stolen in 2003 by four prison guards. (It’s sill missing.) He advised, “Have no fear of perfection—you’ll never reach it.” He also said, “I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.” He is best known for melting watches. Who is he?

a) Andy Warhol
b) Marcel Duchamp
c) Cookie Monster
d) Salvador Dali

Ready for the Answers?

Last chance! Here you go: 1. (b) Woody Allen; 2. (c) Dorothy Parker; 3. (a) Bob Dylan; 4. (d) Tom Thumb; 5. (b) Madonna; 6. (d) Salvador Dali

How’d you do? Let us know on Facebook or Twitter. For more information on Watson Adventures scavenger hunts, check out our public hunts in seven cities around the country, or ask us about private events.