Ask a question about an American writer & see if anyone knows the answer w/o using google-Part 5

[red dog 1]

Last edited Tue Oct 12, 2021, 07:22 PM - Edit history (1)

(Guesses are always welcome)

1) Harlan Ellison frequently ran away from home, taking an array of jobs.
Name one of the jobs he had by age 18.

2) What award-winning science fiction author wrote the short story "Horror on the #33"?

3) What was Dan Brown's occupation before the release of "The Da Vinci Code"?

4) What was the original title of "To Kill a Mockingbird"? (answered)

5) What foreign languages did J.D. Salinger speak?

6) What famous movie director once wrote a screenplay for the TV show "Gunsmoke"?

7) What American writer has an asteroid named after him? (answered)

8) What famous writer was arrested for possession of marijuana, fled to Mexico to avoid jail,
then came back to the U.S. and appeared on radio and TV shows, even as he was wanted by the FBI?










More questions about American writers from Part 4
https://democraticunderground.com/10181558398

[Goonch]

1. 4)

Atticus

(and Boo Radley was played by Robert Duval in the film)

[red dog 1]

3. Ding!

[Wolf Frankula]

2. 7. Robert Heinlein.

Wolf

[red dog 1]

4. Ding!

[red dog 1]

5. What American writer received an M.D. from Harvard Medical School in 1969,

but did not practice medicine, choosing to focus on his writing instead.
(His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide)

[AngryOldDem]

12. Michael Crichton?

[red dog 1]

23. Ding!

[TexasBushwhacker]

13. Michael Crichton n/t

[red dog 1]

6. What American writer once worked at Walt Disney Studios for only four hours?

(Before he was fired)

[red dog 1]

7. What writer was also a successful poet, cartoonist, songwriter and playwright

whose books have sold over 20 million copies, and was the recipient of two Grammy Awards as well as Golden Globe Award and Academy Award nominations?

[Harker]

38. Shel Silverstein?

[red dog 1]

42. You got it, Hark!

[red dog 1]

8. What writer was also a playwright, editor, war journalist, U.S. Ambassador, and a two-term

Last edited Wed Oct 20, 2021, 06:41 PM - Edit history (1)

member of Congress?

(Hint: it's a woman)

[First Speaker]

107. Claire Booth Luce?

[red dog 1]

111. Ding!

[red dog 1]

9. What famous American writer wrote the novel "Junkie:Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict"?

[Harker]

15. William S. Burroughs. n/t

[red dog 1]

16. Correct!

[red dog 1]

10. What state is Stephen King from?

(What state was he born in?)

[TexasBushwhacker]

14. Maine

[red dog 1]

11. What was John Steinbeck's middle name?

[red dog 1]

17. What was Tom Clancy's original occupation?

[red dog 1]

18. Who wrote three books about out-of-body experiences?

(First one in 1971)

[Mad_Dem_X]

68. Shirley MacLaine?

Just a wild guess.

[red dog 1]

69. Sorry, no.

(Very good guess, though)

[red dog 1]

19. What was Hunter S. Thompson's first published novel?

[Wolf Frankula]

21. The Curse of Lono.

Wolf

[red dog 1]

22. Nope

[red dog 1]

24. # 10 is a fairly easy one

Most Stephen King fans should know that one

[red dog 1]

25. Do you know any "Beat" writers?

Here's an easy one: What Beat writer/poet wrote "Trout Fishing in America"?

(This one is exclusively for jfz9580m only)

[red dog 1]

31. Yeah, I think Naked Lunch was Burroughs

I recently watched the documentary "Burroughs"....(it depressed me)

[red dog 1]

26. What was the name given to Hunter S. Thompson's home in Colorado?

(Hunter named it himself)

[Wolf Frankula]

29. Owl Farm

Don't get me started on him personally. I'd rather remember him as a great writer.

Wolf

[red dog 1]

30. He was a great writer.

[jmowreader]

28. What do "The Mountains of California" and "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive" have in common?

[Harker]

37. Both written by men named John Muir.

I've owned copies of both.

[jmowreader]

39. Yes, absolutely

[red dog 1]

32. What was Gloria Naylor's last novel?

(Title is actually a number)

[red dog 1]

33. What was Richard Matheson's first professional sale?

(Hint: it was a short story)

[First Speaker]

108. Born of Man and Woman

[red dog 1]

112. You got it!

[red dog 1]

34. What American poet won four Pulitzer Prizes?

[First Speaker]

53. Frost?

[red dog 1]

64. Ding!

[red dog 1]

35. Who is often called the "dean of science fiction writers"?

[Harker]

40. John W. Campbell?

[red dog 1]

41. Nope, sorry

[Harker]

43. Asimov?

Last guess.

[red dog 1]

44. Nope, good guess though

(Why is that your last guess?)

[Harker]

45. Campbell was Asimov's first SF editor.

I'm out of ideas, although Arthur C. Clarke was a bit deanish... ETA...but not American.

[red dog 1]

46. That's OK, at least you tried.

[Harker]

47. I'll leave my mind open.

[red dog 1]

48. It's a very famous Sci-Fi writer

[First Speaker]

51. Heinlein. Who else?

[red dog 1]

65. Ding!

You got it!

[red dog 1]

36. What writer ran away from home when he was 13 to join a circus?

(And subsequently wrote a great short story about it)

[red dog 1]

49. What famous writer appeared in a scene in "The Odd Couple" sitting next to Walter Matthau and

telling him
"A triple play, Oscar! One of the greatest plays I've ever seen, and you missed it! You missed it, Oscar!"

[red dog 1]

50. What Sci-fi writer won two World Fantasy Awards, was nominated for two Nebula Awards, and

a Hugo Award; wrote seven novels, and 34 short stories?
[One of his novels was "The Color Out of Time"]

[First Speaker]

52. Michael Shea

[red dog 1]

57. Yes

(Are you a Michael Shea fan?)

[First Speaker]

59. Indeed...

[red dog 1]

63. Have you read his short story "Horror On The # 33"?

[red dog 1]

73. Imo, "The Horror on the #33" is the best short story Michael ever wrote

(Not that I've read ALL of his short stories, but most of them)

[First Speaker]

54. What SF/Fantasy writer was the son of a famous Shakespearean actor...

...and acted with him on the stage, when he was young?

[Harker]

55. Wild guess... Terry Pratchett? n/t

[First Speaker]

56. Nope. Hint: his first story appeared in 1939...

[red dog 1]

58. What famous writer won three Hugo Awards, a Nebula Award, a Jupiter Award, a World Fantasy

Award & an Edgar Award, and, although legally blind for the last 23 years of his life, he kept on writing until his death at age 96.

[First Speaker]

60. A guess--Jack Vance?

[red dog 1]

61. That's the guy!

(Good guess)

[red dog 1]

62. Who wrote the best-selling book "Rush Limbaugh Is A Big Fat Idiot"?

[Mad_Dem_X]

67. The one-and-only Al Franken!

[red dog 1]

70. Yes!

(who should still be Senator Al Franken, imo)

It's a hilarious book, by the way...I loved it!

[red dog 1]

66. Where was Ernest Hemingway born?

[Harker]

77. I know where he died.

[Harker]

78. I looked it up. I'd forgotten it was my father's home town. n/t

[VGNonly]

80. 1899

Same as my maternal grandmother.

[AngryOldDem]

134. I want to say Evanston, IL.

[ShazzieB]

135. Oak Park, Illinois?

[red dog 1]

136. You got it!

[red dog 1]

71. What was Neil Simon's first produced play?

[red dog 1]

72. What famous science fiction writer wrote 44 novels, more than 120 short stories, had five

popular films made based on his work, yet even his later years had financial troubles?

(Hint: He died at age 53)

[Harker]

76. Philip K. Dick?

Though 44 seems high...

[red dog 1]

85. Yeah, it was him.

[Harker]

88. I'd be surprised if I could name twenty. n/t

[red dog 1]

74. Who wrote the novel "Get Shorty"?

[Harker]

75. Elmore Leonard.

I have a few of his Westerns.

[red dog 1]

84. Ding!

[VGNonly]

79. What famous screenwriter wrote

Thirty Seconds over Tokyo?

[Harker]

87. Ted Lawson.

[VGNonly]

89. He wrote the book

but not the screenplay.

[Harker]

90. Ah.

I took a shot, thinking that maybe he became a famous post-war screenwriter.

[VGNonly]

91. Dalton Trumbo

[Harker]

92. Ooh.

He certainly went through some changes.

[VGNonly]

82. What famous writer

was in the film Back to School with Rodney Dangerfield?

[VGNonly]

83. Who wrote the novel

which included the characters: Seldom Seen Smith, George Hayduke, Bella Abzug, Doc Sarvis and Bishop Love?

[Harker]

86. Edward Abbey.

I was reading "One Life at a Time, Please" when he died.

[Harker]

93. T.S. Eliot borrowed heavily from what Arthur Conan Doyle

Sherlock Holmes story in writing " Murder in the Cathedral", a verse play about the murder of Thomas Becket?

[Harker]

94. Man, Horse Badorties is the titular narrator, man, of what 1974 novel

by William Kotzwinkle, man?

[Harker]

95. What Beat figure's autobiographical novel "The First Third"

(as in the first third of his life) was published posthumously in 1971?

[red dog 1]

97. I had to look that one up...I love all the Beat "figures" & writers & poets

(Especially Richard Brautigan)

[Harker]

98. You'll be pleased reading it.

He was more influential than productive, and in a very big way.

[red dog 1]

99. I'd love to read it

He was a real character!

When he lived in Los Gatos, CA., he tried to grow pot in the empty lot next door
(back then, you could get 10 years for just having a joint)

[Harker]

100. Set partly in Denver, which was 25 miles away to me at the time.

Quite a character, right!

[Harker]

96. Who penned "Bombs Away: the Story of a Bomber Team" in 1942?

[red dog 1]

101. Who wrote the novel "Juneteenth"?

[red dog 1]

102. Name one of the two writers who the Coen Brothers considered for the role of "Big" Jeffrey Lebowski

In "The Big Lebowski"?

[red dog 1]

103. Jack Kerouac died at age 47 from an abdominal hemorrhage..What caused the hemorrhage?

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(A lifestyle choice)

[VGNonly]

122. Heavy drinking

Last edited Sat Jan 1, 2022, 10:46 PM - Edit history (1)

Too many bennies probably didn't help.

[red dog 1]

123. Yeah, it was mostly the drinking

(I think the one who took way too many Bennies was his buddy Neal Cassady)

[VGNonly]

124. The rumor is that

the "scroll" was produced because Jack was so wacked out on speed, that he never stopped writing On The Road, hence wrote on paper rolls.

[red dog 1]

104. What famous writer wrote the short story "The 3 Most Important Things In Life"?

[red dog 1]

105. Who wrote "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?"

[red dog 1]

106. What American author wrote the short story "I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream"?

[First Speaker]

109. Harlan!

[red dog 1]

110. That's the guy!

[red dog 1]

113. What famous writer wrote over 100 novels & non-fiction books. was a three-time Edgar Award

winner, and was awarded a "Grand Master" by the Mystery Writers of America?

[First Speaker]

128. Wild guess--Rex Stout?...

...it could be a lot of guys...Elmore Leonard, John B MacDonald, Robert Parker, a half-dozen others. But I'll stick with Stout...

[red dog 1]

131. No, it wasn't Rex Stout

Last edited Sun Jan 2, 2022, 07:10 PM - Edit history (1)

(or any of the others you listed)

[red dog 1]

114. What American writer created "Conan the Barbarian"?

(He's regarded as the father of the "sword and sorcery" sub-genre)

[First Speaker]

125. Robert E Howard

[red dog 1]

133. Yes

[red dog 1]

115. Who wrote the book "Franny and Zooey"?

[First Speaker]

126. J. D. Salinger...

...I tried to read it as a kid, but my lousy childhood just made it seem phony to me...

[red dog 1]

130. That's the guy!

[red dog 1]

116. What was Philip K. Dick's middle name?

[red dog 1]

117. Who wrote the story upon which the film "Poltergeist" was based?

[red dog 1]

118. Name a book written by George Carlin

[First Speaker]

127. Brain Droppings

[red dog 1]

129. I hadn't heard of that one

I'll have to check it out...(I loved that guy)

[red dog 1]

119. Where was Mark Twain born?

[red dog 1]

120. What was the title of Stephen King's first independently published story?

(Not one of the stories he wrote in high school & printed using a mimeograph machine)

[VGNonly]

121. Poet Robinson Jeffers

was censored and shunned for doing what?

[red dog 1]

132. What American writer/journalist was also a stand-up comedian & child violin prodigy, who was the

youngest person ever to play Carnegie Hall at age 6.

[red dog 1]

137. Name one of the celebrities who attended Hunter S. Thompson's Memorial ceremony

(There wasn't a funeral, as such)

[red dog 1]

138. What sci-fi writer once taught English as a Second Language at USF, worked as a house-painter,

a construction laborer, and a night clerk at a San Francisco flophouse?

[red dog 1]

139. What well-known writer had gargoyles mounted on the front of his house?