David Bowie, Rudolph And Mr. Magoo: Take Our Annual CityNews.ca Christmas Quiz

Christmas is about religion, strength, celebration, family and more. You don’t have to belong to the faith to agree that those values are shared by many. But over the years, the holiday has been celebrated in print, movies, records and of course on TV.

So for our annual CityNews.ca Christmas Quiz, we thought we’d concentrate on the media and its classic and sometimes questionable interpretation of the holiday. Here are the 12 Questions of Christmas.

1) Bing Crosby was never exactly thought of as hip by a new generation. But that perception changed a bit when he dueted with a rock icon on a 1977 Christmas classic  Who was the star and what was the song? See answer

2) For bonus points, what was so unusual about the recording of this classic? See answer

3) This Christmas special involving one of the most famous movie franchises in modern history was considered such an unbelievable embarrassment that it only aired once, on November 17, 1978. Its creator has since forever removed it from the marketplace and will never allow it to be released on DVD. What film was it based on? See answer

4) The Dickens classic “A Christmas Carol” has been used by countless TV shows as a variation on a theme. And it’s been filmed many times, with stars like Star Trek’s Patrick Stewart and George C. Scott taking on the Scrooge character. Cicely Tyson even played a female version of the miser.

For many, the 1951 version with Alistair Sim as Scrooge is the quintessential version. But when was the earliest known surviving copy of this classic story put on film? See answer

5) The one incarnation of  “A Christmas Carol” most baby boomers – and subsequent generations – saw for the first time was the classic “Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol” made in 1962. It features the near-sighted and now politically incorrect character as Ebenezer Scrooge. ( See an excerpt, including the rarely seen introduction, here.)

The show was originally scheduled to have a song included in it, written by famed composers Bob Merrill and Julie Styne. But by the time they submitted it, the lengthy animation process had already been done – and it was too late to include it.

The tune would later become world famous by a different artist and become one of that performer’s early signature songs. What’s the name of this famous piece and who benefited by not having it included in the cartoon? See answer

6) In 1939, Reginald May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer as a promotional Christmas giveaway for the Montgomery Ward department store in Chicago. No one realized what a hit it would become. But May almost gave the world’s most famous sleigh puller some different names. What were they? See answer

7) Who is Francis Pharcellus Church and what did he write that has made him a part of Christmas lore since 1897? See answer

8) What event was broadcast by all the major networks around the world on Christmas Eve 1968 and what made it so special? See answer

9) “A Christmas Story,” the 1983 film about a boy named Ralphie and his desire for a Red Ryder BB gun, has become for many the greatest Christmas movie of all time. Everyone knows Darren McGavin played the role of swear-filled dad Mr. Parker. But he wasn’t the original choice for the part. Who was and why didn’t he get it? See answer

10) What do the following people have in common: Charlie Chaplin, James Brown, Dean Martin and W.C. Fields? See answer

11) What do the following people also have in common: Sissy Spacek, Annie Lennox, Humphrey Bogart, Conrad Hilton and Sir Issac Newton? See answer

12) And finally, White Christmas by Irving Berlin, remains the most famous Christmas song of all time, and the version sung by Bing Crosby is the top selling rendition of this timeless classic. But there are words to this iconic tune that precede the “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas” lyric made so famous over the years. What are they? See answer

 

ANSWERS

1) David Bowie was an admirer of Crosby’s and sang “The Little Drummer Boy” with him. See it here. Back to question 2.

 

2) It was taped in the middle of a summer heat wave in England – and the air conditioning kept breaking down! Back to question 3

 

3) “The Star Wars Holiday Special” featured almost all of the main cast members and celebrity guest stars like Art Carney, Harvey Korman and Bea Arthur. Find out everything you need to know about it here. See some rare scenes from it here. Back to question 4

 

4) It was called Scrooge or Marley’s Ghost, a silent film made way back in 1901. Find out what’s known about it here. According to the Internet Movie Database, only half of the celluloid from this film is known to exist. Back to question 5

5) The song was called “People” and it became the first big hit for the then up-and-coming Barbra Streisand. Back to question 6

 

6) Rollo, or like the author himself, Reginald. Somehow Reginald The Red-Nosed Reindeer doesn’t sound like he would have gone down in history.  Back to question 7

 

7) Church was a newsman with the now long defunct New York Sun newspaper who wrote an editorial to an 8-year-old girl name Virginia O’Hanlon, who asked in a letter if there really was a Santa Claus. His uncredited response, “Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus” has since become the most famous editorial in history. Read the full text here.  Back to question 8

 

8) It was a live broadcast from the crew of Apollo 8, orbiting the moon. It showed pictures of the Earth below and featured all crew members reading from the book of Genesis. And it ended with the famous words from Commander Frank Borman that sent shivers down many spines in the days of the Vietnam War era. “From the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a Merry Christmas, and God bless all of you – all of you on the good Earth.”

It’s not very sophisticated in comparison with today’s modern technology. But as it marks the 40th anniversary of the event, it has stayed with those who saw it for four decades. See and hear it here. Back to question 9

 

9) It was Jack Nicholson, who liked the script but wanted too much money. So McGavin was cast instead, a serendipitous accident that director Bob Clark insists landed the perfect man in one of the film’s most important roles. Back to question 10

 

10) They all passed away on December 25 th – Christmas Day. Back to question 11

 

11) If you got the last one right, it’s not much of a stretch to guess this one. All were born on Christmas Day, which probably means they spent their childhood getting cheated out of Christmas or birthday presents! Back to question 12

 

12) Surprisingly, they revolve around the singer being in a warm place on Christmas Eve and thinking back to the kind of holidays he recalled in his earlier days. Here are the original missing lyrics.

The sun is shining

The grass is green

The orange and palm trees sway.

I’ve never seen such a day

In Beverly Hills LA.

But it’s December the 24th

And I am longing to be up North

 

I’m dreaming of a White Christmas

Just like the ones I used to know…

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today