It might be useful to find out if this person died in the 1980s or earlier. Could this fellow’s death have been the thing that caused the ‘fame’ in the 1970s?
No, he died AFTER the Eighties. Of completely natural causes (his death is in no way related to the reason for his fame).
- Real person
- Male
- Born in the 20th century
- No longer alive
- Not involved in the arts
- First name starts with “D”
- Not a political figure
- American
- Still alive in 1970
- Not famous for sports/athletics
- Not known as a businessman
- At peak of fame before 1970… but didn’t actually DO anything newsworthy until after 1970
- Never won a Nobel Prize
- Last name begins with a letter from N thru Z.
- Sort of involved in science
- A military officer and hero… but that’s not what I’m famous for
- My fame before 1970 was not due to family ties or connections
- Born before 1950
- Died after 1989, of natural causes
IQ: Were you blessed with the right stuff?
I believe EH still has two DQ’s coming, and since he invited us to ask them, I’ll try to narrow it down with this
DQ: Were you involved in the Sixties counterculture?
IQ: Did you become famous for offering a ride to a “bum” who was actually incredibly wealthy?
Oh man, I think I know who it is now. I recently read about an auction involving a photo in which he appeared.
**
YESSSSSS! At Last!
I am Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, one of the original seven Project Mercury Astronauts.**
So, what did all my odd answers mean?
-
I was a major celebrity in the Sixties as a Project Mercury astronaut… but due to an irregular heartbeat, my Mercury flight was scrubbed, and I didn’t get to go into space until the Soyuz mission in the Seventies… by which time, I was no longer much in the public eye.
-
I had a degree in aerospace engineering, and space exploration is certainly science related… but nobody would really call me a scientist.
-
I was a major in the Army Air Corps (later the US Air Force) and a heroic WW2 pilot… but that’s not what I’m remembered for.
As for my hints, I appeared as a secondary character in the movies ***The Right Stuff ***and Apollo 13.
Congratulations, Gael. Your turn!
Thanks. Ok…the new letter is “M”.
Well done, AppallingGael! I was thoroughly stumped!
This was Melvin Dummar, whose passenger was Howard Hughes.
New game IQ: Was your original last name Crocetti?
No, I am not Dean Martin.
This was Howard Dean, who was lieutenant governor of Vermont and a practicing M.D., and was actually seeing a patient when word came that Gov. Jim Snelling had died.
Congrats, AG! No way would I have guessed Deke.
IQ: Did you perform at the world premiere of Gone with the Wind?
Did you lose a chess match with Death?
Do you have one brother who sang with the Easybeats, and another who dresses like a schoolboy?
Did you turn 21 in prison, doing life without parole?
Were you the first man ever to score in a Super Bowl?
Are you a murder suspect played in a movie by Martin Mull?
astorian, hadn’t we agreed to no more than three IQs at a time?
Sorry… Gael can ignore or delete the appropriate number of IQs.
IQ: Did you give Stephen Dedalus the nickname ‘kinch’?
No, I am not Marian Anderson.