Results: Two Great Men Died This Weekend -- One Was Synonymous With Heroism and The Other Was Synonymous With Broadway And Entertainment
Published on 08/27/2018
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Senator John McCain died Saturday, after a short battle with aggressive brain cancer, at the age of 81. His legacy is impressive -- he was a naval bomber pilot, prisoner of war, conservative maverick, giant of the Senate, twice-defeated presidential candidate and an abrasive American hero who fought for what he believed, no matter how unpopular. He was also a husband, a father, a grandfather and a son (his mother is still alive at age 106, and a man of quiet faith. The tributes attest to his respectability and reputation. Here are a few things about him you may not know. How many of these did you know?
He has been married twice and has seven children, including one adopted daughter, who the brought home from a Bangladeshi orphanage run by Mother Teresa.
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421 votes
McCain served in the military from 1958 until 1981. His 1999 autobiography, "Faith of My Fathers," tells about his early life and capture as a POW while serving in Vietnam. The book was made into a television movie in 2005.
38%
799 votes
He has been awarded several military decorations and awards, including the Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, Navy Commendation, and Prisoner of War. He received the Liberty Medal in October 2017.
32%
679 votes
McCain had been planning his funeral services over the last year and his family made clear that Trump is not invited. Former rivals and Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush were asked to give eulogies.
34%
722 votes
He was largely an anomaly in his own party -- as one of the few Republicans willing to criticize Trump and a believer in the idealized "shining city on a hill" brand of conservatism exemplified by his hero Ronald Reagan
26%
552 votes
He formed a friendship with Sen. Ted Kennedy, and spoke at his funeral. Ironically, his late colleague from Massachusetts died from the same form of brain cancer that eventually killed McCain. Both men died on August 25 9 years apart (see last question).
20%
429 votes
Two of McCain's sons are continuing the family's military tradition: the youngest son, Jimmy, is a Marine, while another son, Jack, is in the Navy.
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226 votes
Asked how he wanted to be remembered, McCain said: "He served his country, and not always right -- made a lot of mistakes, made a lot of errors -- but served his country, and, I hope we could add, honorably."
20%
413 votes
Knew all
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185 votes
None
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768 votes
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One day later, on August 26, the entertainment world lost one of their shining stars. Neil Simon died from complications of pneumonia, at the age of 91, in his beloved New York City. Lauded as perhaps the most successful playwright since Shakespeare, Simon gave us some of the best and funniest plays -- chief among them The Odd Couple. He was born on Independence Day 1927, in The Bronx, and his Jewish childhood in the city would figure again and again in his stage and screen work. He was synonymous with Broadway, although his work crossed over to movies. Which Neil Simon plays or movies are you familiar with (his body of work is huge, so I can not list all of them, so have included only some)?
The Odd Couple
56%
1188 votes
Come Blow Your Horn
7%
139 votes
Brighten Beach Memoirs
13%
283 votes
The Sunshine Boys
21%
449 votes
The Goodbye Girl
31%
649 votes
Lost In Yonkers
10%
212 votes
Sweet Charity
11%
239 votes
California Suite
15%
320 votes
Plaza Suite
12%
259 votes
Last of the Red Hot Lovers
11%
237 votes
The Prisoner of Second Avenue
6%
116 votes
Promises, Promises
5%
105 votes
Biloxi Blues
22%
472 votes
All
4%
90 votes
None
31%
662 votes
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So, a very sad weekend for both entertainment and politics. Sometimes a specific date or time period sees several high profile deaths, sometimes related or sometimes not related at all. As many have pointed out, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin died on August 16, and 41 years earlier on the same day, we lost the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis. How many of these sad occurrences were you familiar with?
On November 22, 1963, three towering figures of the 20th century died. John F. Kennedy, author Aldous Huxley and author C.S. Lewis. Of course, Kennedy's murder was the big news, and completely overshadowed the two others'
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463 votes
Lauren Bacall died on August 12, 2014 aged 89. Sadly, her death wasn't big news because we were all still reeling from the shocking suicide of Robin Williams, which happened the day before.
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462 votes
The June 25, 2009 death of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson caught us all by surprise, and Farrah Fawcett who died on the same day, was barely mentioned.
38%
789 votes
The American actor and comedian John Ritter died on September 11, 2003. Dying on the two-year anniversary of the September 11 attacks would always be overshadowed, but Ritter was also eclipsed by Johnny Cash, who died the very next day.
25%
535 votes
At any other time, the death of Mother Teresa on September 5, 1997 would have been huge news. However, the death of the world famous missionary was overshadowed by the sudden loss of Princess Diana, who died on August 31.
27%
569 votes
The death of influential filmmaker Federico Fellini would have been front page news, but Fellini's death on October 31, 1993 barely made headlines because film star and heartthrob River Phoenix died suddenly on the same day.
7%
149 votes
Groucho Marx, who died on 19 August 1977, died just three days after Elvis Presley, one of the most famous celebrity deaths of all time
14%
285 votes
Milton Berle, Dudley Moore & Billy Wilder all died on March 27, 2002, a very sad day for entertainment.
11%
238 votes
None
46%
963 votes
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