January 2014, Botticelli

Psst: It’s the Mason-Dixon, not Macon-Dixon, Line.

Previous IQs:

Are you a noted male American dancer/choreographer? - Yes, Tommy Tune.
Was your statue near the White House made from captured, melted enemy cannon? - Maj. Gen. George Henry Thomas.
Was it whispered that you committed incest with your controversial American dad? - Theodosia Burr, daughter of Aaron.

DQs:

Ever won a Pulitzer?
Best-known work published after 1930?

IQs:

Were you noted for your writings on naval power?
Were you a childish alien with very advanced powers?
Were you, in the past three years, played by a guy with the wrong accent?

Note to self: Look at the damn post after you post it, stupid!

IQ1: Were you a World Chess Champion born in Latvia?

IQ2: Did you give precise observations of the 1572 Supernova?

IQ3: Were you Legolas’ father?

No, I’m not Trevanian. (I don’t know his birth name, that’s a pure guess.)

No, I’m not Hunter S. Thompson. 2 DQs for you.

You could probably take one more DQ - I thought I was so darn clever for realizing that William McKinley’s successor had a ‘T’ in his name, I forgot that there was a vice-president who became president after Lincoln was shot.

No, I’m not Thucydides, nor am I E.T. (I’m not sure if that’s who you are after, and I’m not sure you’ll find it an acceptable substitute…)
DQ for the wrong accent.

No, I’m not Tycho Brahe nor am I Tal. (Sorry, I only know Tal’s name from the ‘Chess Hymn’ from the musical ‘Chess’; I’m sure he must have a given name…)

DQ for the name of Legolas’ father. (Lordy, this game can be humbling!)

Yes.
No.

Yes.

No.
Yes.

Summary -

  1. Real
  2. Male
  3. Dead
  4. Last name begins with T
  5. American
  6. Known for The Arts
  7. Not known for music
  8. Born east of the Mississippi
  9. Died after 1920
  10. Born north of the Mason-Dixon line (Je m’excuse!)
  11. Known for writing
  12. Died after 1960
  13. Not a novelist
  14. Won a national or international literary award
  15. Did not win a Pulitzer
  16. Best known work was published after 1930

Just to clarify - I did win awards for my books; however, I never won a Pulitzer.

Outstanding DQs -

Elendil’s Heir - 2
SCAdian - 4 (arguably 5)
Fanganga - 2
ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness - 3
Spoons - 1
Professor Pepperwinkle - 2
glee - 1

I’ll use this one now.

DQ: A writer of plays?

1: Zachary Taylor
3: Torgo from MysteryScienceTheatre3000 staple Manos, the Hands of Fate.

DQ1: Known for non-fiction writing?
DQ2: Died after 1980?

I’ll hang on to one.

IQ1: Did Colonel Kurtz quote one of your most famous works in Apocalypse Now?
IQ2: Did you tell us about the doings in Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire?
IQ3: Do you never say a word on stage, while your partner never shuts up?

#1 was Booth Tarkington, #2 James Thurber.

Holding on to my DQs for now.

Previous IQs:

Were you noted for your writings on naval power? - I’ll rephrase.
Were you a childish alien with very advanced powers? - Ditto.
Were you, in the past three years, played by a guy with the wrong accent? - Thaddeus Stevens, born in Vermont and representing Pennsylvania in Congress, played by Texas-accented Tommy Lee Jones in Lincoln.

DQs:

Best known for short stories?

IQs:

Were you an American noted for your writings on naval power?
Were you a childish alien on Star Trek with very advanced powers?
Were you a top official in a Conan Doyle tale?

No, I’m not T. S. Eliot nor Teller of Penn and Teller. Isn’t Grover’s Corners the setting for “Our Town”? We’ve already had Thornton Wilder, and I’m still not him.

3 DQs. I’m particularly embarrassed about the Conan Doyle; I suspect it’s either the Home Office person in ‘The Naval Treaty’ or the person in ‘A Scandal in Bohemia’, but as neither name will come to mind, I accept my fate.

No.

Yes.
Yes.

You wouldn’t have asked that question if you’d known the answer to ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness’ DQ; however, I think it’s useful for you to know that he is best known for short essays. So the answer to short stories is ‘No’, but the answer to short ‘pieces’ is Yes.

Summary -

  1. Real
  2. Male
  3. Dead
  4. Last name begins with T
  5. American
  6. Known for The Arts
  7. Not known for music
  8. Born east of the Mississippi
  9. Died after 1920
  10. Born north of the Mason-Dixon line
  11. Known for writing
  12. Died after 1960
  13. Not a novelist
  14. Won a national or international literary award
  15. Did not win a Pulitzer
  16. Best known work was published after 1930
  17. Not a writer of plays
  18. Known for non-fiction writing
  19. Died after 1980
  20. Known for short essays

Just to clarify - I did win awards for my books; however, I never won a Pulitzer.

Outstanding DQs -

Elendil’s Heir - 4
SCAdian - 4 (arguably 5)
Fanganga - 2
ChockFullOfHeadyGoodness - 1
Professor Pepperwinkle - 2
glee - 1

Well, we’re up to the full count, so I’ll ask my last DQ:

DQ: Are you Studs Terkel?

Yup, could be him. I’d ask about Calvin Trillin, but he’s still alive.

Previous IQs:

Were you an American noted for your writings on naval power? - Alfred Thayer Mahan, who was very influential with Theodore Roosevelt.
Were you a childish alien on Star Trek with very advanced powers? - Trelane, in “The Squire of Gothos.”
Were you a top official in a Conan Doyle tale? - Trelawney Hope in “The Second Stain.”

I hadn’t heard of the guy you named and had to look him up and find he didn’t fit. The guy I was thinking of (and I suspect you knew and wanted to have some fun by dancing around him) was Samuel Clemens, pen name Mark Twain.

I’m stumped, so ignore me when deciding whether or not the round is over.

Haven’t a clue, so no final DQ from me.

Really good guess, and almost a perfect fit. The only distinction is that Studs Terkel did win a Pulitzer, and my fellow didn’t.

No, I wasn’t dancing around it; I’m just too tired and dumb to think of Mark Twain, which is a really bad sign. :smack: :smack:

Just for the record, though, I looked him up - according to Wikipedia, Trevanian is American and his birth name was Rodney William Whitaker. Can’t help you with not knowing him - I only knew him because a friend who was into thrillers would not leave me alone until I read Shibumi.

Now, because there were 3 DQs narrowing down the years before which he died, I’m game to answer another DQ and/or throw out a useful hint before revealing myself. Let me know what you folks would prefer.

Prof missed; fanganga and I pass. That leaves EH, Spoons, ChockFull and glee…
(And the reason this post doesn’t acknowledge Le Ministre’s is because I’ve been trying to post it since several minutes before he posted.)

I’d be game for a useful hint. Nothing comes to mind as things stand, but a hint might help.

Might be a blogger?

I read Trevanian’s Shibumi. Weird book - not sure I can recommend it.

Can’t think of who this is, though. Thinking about my “Are you Firstname Lastname?” question.