Who directed the cable-TV remake of Christmas in Connecticut? (a) Richard Lester (b) Bernardo Bertolucci (c) Jonathan Demme (d) Arnold Schwarzenegger
In 1946, David Lean directed a memorable version of Great Expectations that has become a holiday broadcast staple. What is the name of the film’s orphan hero? (a) Pip Pirrip (b) David Copperfield (c) Nicholas Nickleby (d) Oliver Twist
Finish this sentence from the animated classic The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. “Maybe Christmas,” he thought, “doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps …” (a) "… means cruising in a convertible with four on the floor.” (b) "… is a mail-order package from Land’s End at your door.” (c) "… is a new pair of socks in a shade you abhor.” (d) "… means a little bit more.”
From what town did the Grinch attempt to steal Christmas? (a) Bedford Falls (b) Whoville (c) Schenectady (d) Smallville
Whom did the Grinch encounter during his trip? (a) Cindy Lou Who (b) Horton the Elephant (c) The Cat in the Hat (d) The Lorax
In the 1982 animated feature The Snowman, who is the main attraction at the party to which the Snowman brings his young friend? (a) An elf (b) The Snow Queen (c) A baby in swaddling clothes (d) Santa Claus
How do the characters played by Jason Robards and Julie Harris meet in the 1988 HBO special The Christmas Wife? (a) By bumping into one another on a street corner (b) By being seated in adjoining seats to watch a performance of The Nutcracker (c) Through a lonely hearts agency (d) Via office e-mail
What member of the cast of M*A*S*H also appears in Fred Astaire’s classic holiday television movie, The Man in the Santa Claus Suit? (a) Gary Burghoff (b) Alan Alda (c) Robert Duvall (d) Bud Cort
In the 1989 Married … with Children sendup of It’s a Wonderful Life called It’s a Bundyful Life, who played Al Bundy’s guardian angel? (a) Howard Stern (b) Bobcat Goldthwait (c) Sam Kinison (d) Vincent Price
On which classic Christmas story is 1987's A Miracle Down Under loosely based? (a) The Gift of the Magi (b) The Little Drummer Boy (c) A Christmas Carol (d) A Christmas Memory
The 1990 syndicated movie The Kid Who Loved Christmas tells the story of a jazz musician (Michael Warren) who, after becoming a widower, fights to retain custody of his foster child. Which entertainment legend made his final film appearance in this movie? (a) Michael Landon (b) Sammy Davis Jr. (c) Cary Grant (d) James Cagney
In what year was Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol first broadcast? (a) 1962 (b) 1963 (c) 1964 (d) 1965
Whose voice narrated the animated special Frosty the Snowman? (a) Boris Karloff (b) Gene Autry (c) Fred Astaire (d) Jimmy Durante
Name the actress who played a mannequin who comes to life in the 1990 made-for-TV Christmas movie A Mom for Christmas. No multiple-choice here, but we will give you a big, big hint: She starred in the most successful movie musical of all time.
Name the members of the group that scored a hit that featured the chorus “Christmas, don’t be late” in the early 1960s. (a) John, Paul, George, and Ringo (b) Mick, Keith, Charlie, Bill, and Ron (c) Pete, Roger, John, and Keith (d) Simon, Theodore, and Alvin
Which unlikely duet crooned “The Little Drummer Boy” for a holiday television special? (a) Janet Jackson and Frank Sinatra (b) David Bowie and Bing Crosby (c) Paul McCartney and Elvis Costello (d) Pat Boone and Little Richard
Which group recorded the novelty songs “Plenty of Jam Jars,” “Everywhere It’s Christmas,” and “Christmas Time (Is Here Again)” for special Christmas disks meant for limited distribution to the official members of their fan club? (a) Spike Jones and His City Slickers (b) The Beatles (c) The Partridge Family (d) The Cowsills
Name the lead vocalist on the ‘80s Christmas hit “2000 Miles.” (a) Deborah Harry (b) Pat Benatar (c) Joan Jett (d) Chrissie Hynde
Who recorded the only antiwar holiday song to achieve chart status in the U.S. during the Vietnam War? What was the song?
Name the rock star who organized the benefit recording “Do They Know It’s Christmas,” and won praise for his work on behalf of famine victims. (a) Bob Geldof (b) Elton John (c) Mark Knopfler (d) Sting
This song, composed for a children’s Christmas program in the 1940s, sold over a million copies in seven weeks when it was released nationally, thereby becoming one of the fastest-selling records in history. Name the song. (a) "Frosty, the Snowman” (b) "Winter Wonderland” (c) "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth” (d) "Silver Bells”
Who recorded the original version of “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"? (a) Jimmy Boyd (b) Herman Hasswell (c) Pinky Lee (d) Michael Jackson
How old was this artist when he recorded “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus"? (a) 11 (b) 12 (c) 9 (d) 44
In what year was Bing Crosby’s recording of Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas” released? (a) 1942 (b) 1943 (c) 1944 (d) 1945
Who recorded the immortal holiday classic “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"? (a) Weird Al Yankovic (b) Barnes & Barnes (c) Elmo and Patsy (d) The Nurk Twins
One of the following recordings is fictitious. Which is it? (a) "Santa Bring My Baby Back to Me,” by Elvis Presley (b) "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town,” by Bruce Springsteen (c) "Away in a Manger,” by the Brady Bunch (d) "Santa’s Got a Brand New Bag,” by James Brown (e) "Winter Wonderland Experience,” by Jimi Hendrix
Who was the artist who recorded a chorus of barking dogs singing “Jingle Bells"? (a) Don Charles (b) Dr. Demento (c) David Gilmour (d) Philip Glass
Who recorded “Santa Claus and His Old Lady"? (a) John Cougar Mellencamp (b) John Mellencamp (c) John Cougar (d) Cheech and Chong
Who wrote the song “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer"? (a) Gene Autry (b) Johnny Marks (c) Kurt Weill (d) Harry Warren
When was Rudolph’s song first released commercially? (a) 1947 (b) 1948 (c) 1949 (d) 1950
Who wrote the book about Rudolph that is said to have inspired the song? (a) E. B. White (b) Theodore Geisel (c) Robert L. May (d) Watty Piper
Which figure comes closest to the actual number of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” recordings sold, by all artists recording it, since the song was first released? (a) 20 million (b) 50 million (c) 80 million (d) 100 million
In the animated special Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, who utters the immortal line “His beak blinks like a blinkin’ beacon!"? (a) Santa (b) Prancer (c) Comet (d) Donner
What is the name of Rudolph’s dentist friend? (a) Marvin (b) Newton (c) Irving (d) Herbie
What is the name of Rudolph’s explorer friend? (a) Barry Lyndon (b) Yukon Cornelius (c) Yukon Jack (d) Jumping Jack Flash
What do Bumbles do? (a) Bounce (b) Make honey (c) Rumble (d) The Froog
This made-for-TV movie was not only the highest-rated Christmas special of the 1988 season—it was the highest-rated TV movie of the year for the network that broadcast it. What was it? (a) The Homecoming at Walton’s Mountain (b) Adventure at Space Mountain: A Christmas Saga (c) Michael Landon Presents a Little House Christmas (d) A Very Brady Christmas
Who plays Mary Steenburgen’s guardian angel in 1985's One Magic Christmas ? (a) Dennis Hopper (b) Harry Dean Stanton (c) Burgess Meredith (d) Walter Matthau
In 1985's Santa Claus: The Movie, what did the evil toymaker B.Z. attempt to foist upon the world’s children? (a) A lollipop that would supposedly allow them to fly, but that would be likely to explode when used (b) The Everlasting Gobstopper (c) Poisoned candy canes (d) Fruitcake
What is the name of Chevy Chase’s character in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation? (a) Frank Appleton (b) Clark Griswold (c) Brad Majors (d) Ward Cleaver
Who plays the Ghost of Christmas Present in 1988's Scrooged? (a) Jack Nicholson (b) David Johansen (c) Carol Kane (d) Jason Robards
How does the Ghost of Christmas Present highlight Bill Murray’s lesson in Scrooged? (a) Gives him a cookie for every correct answer (b) Allows him a glimpse at his own gravestone (c) Causes the headlines in the Wall Street Journal to change to odd messages only the two of them would understand (d) Attacks him with a toaster
What is Bill Murray’s job in Scrooged ? (a) He is a stock-market tycoon. (b) He is president of the IBC television network. (c) He is chief executive officer of the world’s largest toy company. (d) He is a writer.
In Scrooged, how does Bill Murray suggest that mice decked out as reindeer should be outfitted? (a) With antlers stapled to their heads (b) With tiny candy canes (c) With fake sleigh bells that don’t ring (d) With forty red, white, and blue shoestrings
Which of the following animated characters starred in a Christmas holiday special or video? (a) Bart Simpson (b) The Jetsons (c) The Flintstones (d) Tom & Jerry (e) All of the above
How many feature-length, Christmas-related films had been released by Walt Disney Studios before 1985's One Magic Christmas ? (a) Four (b) Three (c) Two (d) Zero
Who played Jesus in 1965's The Greatest Story Ever Told? (a) Patrick McGoohan (b) David McCallum (c) Robert Reed (d) Max Von Sydow
Jack Jones and Mel Torme joined Judy Garland on her 1963 network television Christmas special. Name the future Academy-Award winner who also made an appearance on that program.
Who starred in the 1982 American Ballet Theatre production of The Nutcracker, now broadcast seemingly every holiday season on PBS? (a) Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland (b) Rudolf Nureyev and Margot Fonteyn (c) Leslie Collier and Anthony Dowell (d) Shari Lewis and Lamb Chop
In the episode of The Brady Bunch entitled “The Voice of Christmas,” why does young Cindy Brady ask Santa to restore her mother’s voice? (a) So Carol Brady can sing at Christmas church services (b) So Carol Brady can audition for a community production of The Sound of Music (c) So Carol Brady can recite “A Visit from St. Nicholas” to the Brady family as she always does at Christmas time (d) So Carol Brady can sing about Wesson Oil
In the film Prancer, what happens when little Jessica first walks within sight of an above-street display of Santa’s reindeer? (a) She has a near-death experience. (b) She sees the ghost of her mother. (c) She watches as one of the reindeer falls to the ground and nearly strikes an automobile. (d) She makes a wish.
In Prancer, why does Jessica’s father want to shoot the real reindeer after he sees it standing in the middle of the road? (a) It’s wounded and he wants to put it out of its misery. (b) It’s strikingly similar in appearance to an old girlfriend. (c) He’s a warped, frustrated old man. (d) He’s hallucinating.
Which Christmas song does Judy Garland sing in Meet Me in St. Louis ? (a) "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” (b) "Winter Wonderland” (c) "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (d) "The Christmas Song”
How does a Christmas tree figure into the plot of 1973's The Poseidon Adventure? (a) Ernest Borgnine uses it to stop an attacking shark. (b) Terrified passengers climb it in an attempt to reach the bottom of the capsized ship. (c) Leslie Nielsen trips on it, causing a concussion that keeps him from responding effectively to the tidal wave bearing down on the ship. (d) Shelley Winters wears a gown that is ripped by it as she passes one of the ornaments.
Which characters end up dressing as Santa Claus in the Christmas episode of I Love Lucy in which the object is to cheer up a distraught Little Ricky? (a) Lucy (b) Lucy and Ethel (c) Lucy, Ethel, and Ricky (d) Lucy, Ethel, Ricky, and Fred
The Everything Quiz Answers and Scoring
d
c
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b
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d
a
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10. a (Poitier appeared in 1963's Lilies of the Field, which preceded this feature.)
b 12. d
d
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a (This was a trick question; “eponymous” means that the special bears the
same name as the character. A futuristic animated version of The Little Match Girl aired in 1991.)
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c (Peter was George’s father.)
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a (Hunter played Captain James T. Kirk’s predecessor.)
d (Another trick question. Gruber’s only music credit is the immortal “Silent Night.”)
b
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b
46. Here are six: Reginald Owen (1938), Alistair Sim (1951), Mr. Magoo (1962), Albert Finney (1970), George C. Scott (1982), and Michael Caine (1992). Okay, okay, Magoo is a bit of a stretch. (By the way, Bill Murray is not a correct answer; his character’s name in Scrooged is Frank Cross.)
b
48. d (Ben-Hur opens with an account of the Nativity.)
b
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65. Olivia Newton-John (The megahit musical was, of course, Grease.)
d 67. b
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"Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band
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d (Donner is Rudolph’s dad)
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d
Judy’s seventeen-year-old daughter, Liza Minnelli, of course. Liza’s siblings, Joey Luft and Lorna Luft, also appeared.