OK, then. DQs:
Born before 1800?
French?
Francis Urquhart cheated, lied and finally murdered his way to Prime Minister in the excellent book ‘House of Cards’ by Michael Dobbs, later adapted for a BBC TV series.
Played superbly by Ian Richardson, his catchphrase was “You might very well think that; I couldn’t possibly comment.”
**
Faith Usher** was murdered in the Rex Stout novel ‘Champagne for one’.
Unman is an elite opponent in LOTRO.
DQ: Were you from Eastern Europe?
DQ: Did you practise medicine?
DQ: Were you known for your religion?
Yes, and yes.
I’m going to pass on the first question and let you ask another - now that we know that he is from France, we know he’s not from Eastern Europe.
DQ2: No.
DQ3: I’ll rephrase the answer slightly - yes, I’m known as a religious figure.
**Summary - U
**
- Real person.
- Dead.
- Male.
- Born before 1900.
- Not a soldier.
- Not a politician.
- Not known for any artistic achievements.
- Last name does not begin with a ‘U’.
- Not American.
- European.
- Not British.
- Not a scientist, researcher, or inventor of any sort.
- Not German.
- Born before 1800.
- French.
- Not known for the practice of medicine.
- Known as a religious figure.
IQ1: Were you a French Pope that attempted to return the papacy from Avignon to Rome?
IQ2: Were you a recurring guest on a 90s sitcom that eventually became the focus of the show?
IQ:
Were you a Catholic leader with a non-rural name?
In case ChockFull hasn’t nailed it…
-
No, I’m not Pope Urban VI. (I think; it might have been V, in which case I’m wrong.)
-
I don’t know - DQ for you.
No, I’m not St. Urban. (or there are at least five other popes with the name Urban as well…)
Though I must say, you guys are getting awfully close.
I was thinking Urban V, but now I’m not so sure. I’d have to break the rules and do outside research to confirm.
Not Steve Urkel, from that show with Urkel that I never watched, but I know Homer Simpson hated him and he had his own cereal in the 90s.
Hmm.. we’re close huh. I can’t think of any other ‘U’ popes besides Urban. Unless this is one of those " ‘U’ is his given name, not his papal name" deals. Some other religion? The head of the Anglican church is the King of England, but you said he’s not a political figure. France would seem to imply some branch of Christianity. I’ll have to think about my one DQ.
Okay, before you run with that one, I’ll clarify - you lot are really close to it, but it isn’t the ‘Pope’ part that makes you close.
DQ: Were you Catholic?
(That’s my replacement question as per earlier post…)
IQ:
Are you an actor who graduated from Carnegie Mellon University and has had some TV successes?
I really had no idea there were so many actors with a ‘U’ for an initial (and there are still a couple that haven’t come up…) No idea; take a DQ. (By my count, yours will be the last DQ - ChockFull still has one more to ask, and I’m about to answer glee’s for #18.)
Yes, but the relationship did not end well, and I can’t tell, without doing research, how the Catholic church would currently describe this person. May I say ‘Catholic, with an asterisk’?
Summary - U
- Real person.
- Dead.
- Male.
- Born before 1900.
- Not a soldier.
- Not a politician.
- Not known for any artistic achievements.
- Last name does not begin with a ‘U’.
- Not American.
- European.
- Not British.
- Not a scientist, researcher, or inventor of any sort.
- Not German.
- Born before 1800.
- French.
- Not known for the practice of medicine.
- Known as a religious figure.
- Catholic*.
Blair Underwood, from LA Law, The Event, etc. etc. etc.
I’d better think more about my last DQ. I’m really drawing a total blank about this guy.
I’m stumped. If you’re not sure of his status, he’s probably not a saint, which would have been my next question.
Let’s try…
DQ: Were you alive prior to or when Martin Luther kicked off the Reformation (1517)? (As opposed to after 1517, in order to make the question binary, as I believe DQs have to be yes/no questions.)
To rephrase, Were you alive either before or during 1517?
Good one. I’ll wait to see the answer to that.
No, I was not alive either before 1517 nor in the year 1517 itself. Somewhere between 1517 AD and 1800 AD is your range of possible dates.
Perhaps it will help if I briefly outline how you would have heard of this person.
He is the title character of a (not very well known) 19th century play by a famous novelist.
He is the central character of a 20th century book by a different famous novelist, there is another play adapted from this book, there was a film adapted from the play, (directed by a famous director and starring a famous actor in the role of ‘U’) and there was an opera written based on the book/play. All of the works in this paragraph are 20th century works, and they all have the same title.
All of the above-mentioned works are closely based on the historical records of events in 'U’s life.
Elendil’s Heir, yours is the last DQ.
**Summary - U
**
- Real person.
- Dead.
- Male.
- Born before 1900.
- Not a soldier.
- Not a politician.
- Not known for any artistic achievements.
- Last name does not begin with a ‘U’.
- Not American.
- European.
- Not British.
- Not a scientist, researcher, or inventor of any sort.
- Not German.
- Born before 1800.
- French.
- Not known for the practice of medicine.
- Known as a religious figure.
- Catholic*.
- Not alive before nor in the year 1517.
I still don’t know who the hell the guy is. Any suggestions for the last DQ, before we all get our “Are you [firstname lastname]?”
Maybe, “Are you best known by your actual name, or by your royal, noble or ecclesiastical title?”
Maybe it’s me, but if you need to give such details as well as our 20 DQs, I think you should have chosen a better known person.
I suppose, but Botticelli is a strange game that way; I can’t tell in advance what my opponents do or do not know. With a resume like U’s, I’m a little surprised if you haven’t heard of him at all.
And it’s not as much fun when the name is too easy.
Of course we all have different backgrounds and interests.
Nevertheless, I honestly have no idea (and I believe the fun comes from going 'Oh … that’s who you mean!"
I’ve given up (and so have my History and French school colleagues. Plus Google gave me nothing either…)
Of course, glee, you know that you’re not supposed to do any research…?
All right, I’ll take the plunge with our final DQ:
Are you best known by your actual name, or by your royal, noble or ecclesiastical title?