The Eighties Club
The Politics and Pop Culture of the 1980s
Trivia Challenge # 1
1. Steven Van Zandt's 1985 protest album was entitled Sun City: Artists Against __________.
2. Singer/dancer Paula Abdul was a cheerleader for which professional basketball team?
3. Gordon Shumway was the name of a wisecracking alien nicknamed ______ in an 80's TV sitcom.
4. In 1989, the city of Cincinnati tried to shut down the homoerotic art show of photographer _________________.
5. What was the name of the first video game, which was produced by Atari? Was it Tron, Centipede, Pong, or Dragon's Lair?
6. Ronald Reagan's first wife, Jane Wyman, was a regular cast member of what primetime television series?
7. _____________ was the young man whose obsession with actress ____________ led him to attempt the assassination of President Reagan in March 1981.
8. Eighties pop-lit sensation Jay McInerney penned the novel _______________, which was made into a film starring Michael J. Fox in 1988.
9. "I'm a man without conviction," warbled Boy George of Culture Club in the hit song ________________.
10. What was the name of Budweiser's "Original Party Animal," a pit bull mascot that debuted in a 1987 commercial?
11. On U2's Rattle and Hum (1988), Bono sang a duet with ________ entitled "Love Rescue Me."
12. Lisa Bonet, who played Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show, shocked a lot of people in the 1987 film ____________, which featured her in a torrid sex scene that nearly earned the flick an X rating.
13. When George Bush was trailing Michael Dukakis during the 1988 presidential campaign, he blamed his woes on the "_______ thing."
14. What country singer did the voice-overs on the television series The Dukes of Hazzard?
15. The ghosts in the original Pac-Man game were named Pinky, Blinky, Inky and _______. (Choices: Kinky, Clyde, Koosh, Caspar.)
16. Playboy paid former PTL church secretary ____________ $1 million for an interview and a nude pictorial in 1987.
17. George Michael's steamy 1987 hit single ______________ was banned by 75 radio stations across the U.S.
18. Name the famous Houston honky tonk featured in the 1980 film Urban Cowboy. (Remember Debra Winger riding the mechanical bull?)
19. Secretary of Commerce _________________ died during a 1987 rodeo competition when a horse fell on him.
20. The ____________ boycotted the Moscow Olympics in 1980, and the ______________ boycotted the Los Angeles games in 1984.
21. The first black Miss America, _______________, was stripped of her crown when Penthouse published nude pictures of her in 1984.
22. "Don't worry, be happy," was the good advice jazz singer ____________ gave us in 1988.
23. Milton Berle appeared in drag in the music video for "Round and Round," a hit song by the heavy metal band _______.
24. Name the first space shuttle, launched in 1981. (Choices: Columbia, Discovery, America, Challenger.)
25. "Suckin' on chili dogs outside the Tastee Freeze," are lyrics from the song ___________ by John Cougar Mellencamp.
26. Fundamentalist Christians wanted a film entitled _________ ______________ boycotted because they thought its representation of Jesus was sacrilegious.
27. Exercise guru ____________ had a New York bestseller with his/her Never-Say-Diet Book.
28. The line "Thank you for your support" always closed the commercials for what wine cooler manufacturer?
29. In 1982, a helicopter crash during the filming of ____________ killed actor Vic Morrow and two children.
30. During the 1980s the Pentagon paid $604.09 for a _________.
(Choices: Allen wrench, doorknob, toilet seat, coffee maker.)
31. During a 1984 off-the-record meeting with a Washington Post reporter, Jesse Jackson referred to New York City as __________, causing something of a stir.
32. In 1988, Mike Tyson earned $20 million after knocking out __________ in 91 seconds during a championship fight in Atlantic City.
33. Referring to the drowning of actress ___________, Geraldo Rivera tells his audience, "If you think it was an accident, applaud." (Tacky, Geraldo, very tacky.)
34. _________ (two words) was a huge 1985 hunger-relief benefit organized by Bob Geldof (of Boomtown Rats fame), with concerts held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia.
35. What was the name of the charter boat aboard which presidential contender Gary Hart apparently had an ill-advised dalliance with would-be model Donna Rice in 1987?
36. Which of Ronald Reagan's children appeared in an American Express commercial? (You only have 4 choices: Maureen, Michael, Ron, Patti.)
37. The heart of a seven-month old baboon was transplanted into an infant known as _________, who survived for 20 days. (Choices: Baby M, Baby Jessica, Baby Fae, Baby X)
38. During his 1980 presidential debate with Reagan, Jimmy Carter asked his daughter ______ what she thought was the most important issue of the day. (She said nuclear weaponry -- and probably enunciated it more distinctly than Carter did during the debate.)
39. In 1982, a jury convicted _____________ of twice trying to kill his wife Sunny with insulin injections. (He was later acquitted in a retrial.)
40. On "Black Monday," 19 October 1987, the stock market plunged _____ points. (Choices: 58, 508, 1580, 5800)
41. John Cusack played Peter Gabriel's "In Your Eyes" on his boom box outside Ione Skye's bedroom window in what 1989 movie?
42. 1981 was a great year for ___________, who not only got to date Susan Anton but who also had a smash hit with the film Arthur.
43. In 1985, ________________ beat Chris Evert to become the first woman to win four straight Wimbledon tennis titles.
44. ______ made sports superstar Bo Jackson its poster boy with a series of "Bo Knows" ads. (Choices: Adidas, Reebok, Converse, Nike.)
45. In 1983 the Soviet fighters shot down Korean Airlines Flight _____, a civilian jetliner that had gone off course and blundered into Soviet airspace.
46. "I pity the fool" was a phrase we associated with _______, a former bar bouncer who starred in Rocky III and, later, in a hit action series on TV.
47. David Stockman, Reagan's Director of the Office of Management and Budget, got into hot water with his boss after an article in which he criticized Reaganomics appeared in the December 1981 issue of ___________. (Choices: The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Atlantic Monthly, Harpers.)
48. Which actor played the father of an infant who put a major crimp in the lifestyles of three confirmed bachelors in the film Three Men And A Baby? (Choices: Steve Guttenberg, Ted Danson, Billy Crystal, Tom Selleck.)
49. In his bestselling book The Art of the Deal, __________ talked about the techniques that resulted in his owning about half of Manhatten and Atlantic City. (Or at least it seemed he owned that much.)
50. The ______ was a a colorful analog watch that sometimes came with scented bands, and became all the rage, at least for a while.

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