60s Trivia Questions and Answers
Sixties trivia covering the music, films, sport and politics of 1960 to 1969: the Kennedys, the Beatles, Cassius Clay, Woodstock and the rest. Every question is tied to the decade itself. The answer follows each question.
There are 42 questions on this page. They are free to use for quiz nights, classrooms and pub quizzes, and each one links to its own page.
Related lists: 50s trivia questions, 70s trivia questions, Beatles trivia questions, US Presidents trivia questions.
1.From which building in Dallas, Texas, did Lee Harvey Oswald shoot the bullets that killed President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963?
Answer: DALLAS BOOK DEPOSITORY
Open this question2.Feb. 25, 1964, young boxing phenomenon Cassius Clay first gained the heavyweight title when he knocked out which champion?
Answer: SONNY LISTON
Open this question3.Which person said, in 1962: "I'll say it again, I've said it before / Archie Moore will fall in four." You must get his name correct, exactly.
Answer: CASSIUS CLAY
Open this question4.On August 7, 1963, Jacqueline Kennedy gave birth to a son, who died 2 days later. What was his name?
Answer: PATRICK BOUVIER KENNEDY
Open this question5.In 1966, American POW Jeremiah Denton sent a message to his superiors about prisoner treatment from the North Vietnamese military during a staged televised interview that was telecast back to the United States. What was the one-word message Denton sent by blinking his eyes in Morse code?
Answer: T-O-R-T-U-R-E
Open this question6.The title of which 1963 comedy with a super cast contained the same word repeated four times in a row? b. Name any one star.
Answer: a. IT'S A MAD, MAD, MAD, MAD WORLD b. tracy, berle, winters, caesar, silvers, merman, hackett, durante, buster keaton...
Open this question7.What were the names of the two athletes who raised their fists in the Black Power salute at the 1968 Olympic games, and in which city did this occur?
Answer: TOMMY SMITH / JOHN CARLOS / MEXICO CITY
Open this question8.The first Broadway "rock musical" opened in 1968 and became a film in 1979. What was the title?
Answer: HAIR
Open this question9.Which one of the Beatles, in 1968, was first to release a solo album? Was it Ringo, George, John, or Paul?
Answer: GEORGE HARRISON
Open this question10.In Oakland, California in 1966 Huey Newton and Bobby Seale founded what militant organization which called upon blacks to arm themselves for a confrontation against their white oppressors?
Answer: BLACK PANTHERS
Open this question11.In what year was Edward Kennedy first elected Senator from Massachusetts?
Answer: 1962 +/- 1 year
Open this question12.In 1968, this person became the first professional golfer to top $1 million in career earnings. Who was he?
Answer: ARNOLD PALMER
Open this question13.Who was the author of the 1961 classic of science-fiction, "Stranger in a Strange Land"?
Answer: ROBERT HEINLEIN
Open this question14.The lyrics of which 1965 folk-rock hit came from the Book of Ecclesiastes and who recording it?
Answer: TURN, TURN, TURN - THE BYRDS
Open this question15.After this singer recorded the song, Pata Pata in 1967, she became the first African singer to have a hit on the American charts. Who is she?
Answer: MIRIAM MAKEBA
Open this question16.Which musician improvised a guitar arrangement of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the 1969 Woodstock Festival?
Answer: JIMI HENDRIX
Open this question17.How many years did the Berlin Wall stand? (+/- 1 year margin of error)
Answer: 28 YEARS - 1961-89
Open this question18.After Cassius Clay changed his name to Muhammad Ali, he defended his heavyweight boxing title for the first time in May, 1965, against which opponent?
Answer: SONNY LISTON who he knocked out in the first round
Open this question19.This song was written by John Denver and recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary. It became #1 on the music charts on November 8, 1969 - Peter, Paul, and Mary's only #1 hit. What was the title?
Answer: LEAVING ON A JET PLANE
Open this question20.Which person, in the 1960's, accused the automobile industry of producing dangerous cars, when he wrote the book Unsafe at Any Speed ?
Answer: RALPH NADER
Open this question21.Can you recall the name of the 1961 film which was coincidentally the last film made by both Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe?
Answer: THE MISFITS
Open this question22.Barbra Streisand's first two film leads, in 1968 and 1969, were in films with two-word titles. What were they?
Answer: FUNNY GIRL / HELLO, DOLLY!
Open this question23.The first James Bond film was released in 1962, starred Sean Connery, and included the name of a profession in the title. What was it?
Answer: DR. NO
Open this question24.Which unusual characters were portrayed in the original 1966 film, Batman, by Burgess Meredith, Caesar Romero, Frank Gorshin, and Lee Meriwether?
Answer: PENGUIN, JOKER, RIDDLER, CATWOMAN
Open this question25.What was the title of the first album released by The Grateful Dead, in 1967?
Answer: THE GRATEFUL DEAD
Open this question26.The actress Goldie Hawn made her national debut in what famous TV show from the late 1960's?
Answer: ROWAN AND MARTIN'S LAUGH-IN
Open this question27.In 1967, which American jurist became the first black person to hold a seat as a Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court?
Answer: THURGOOD MARSHALL
Open this question28.Marilyn Monroe died in 1962 at what age, of what reason?
Answer: Age 36 / DRUG OVERDOSE originally Norma Jean Baker. 1926-1962.
Open this question29.This song, written by Bob Dylan in April,1962, became a famous protest song, perhaps the theme song of the 1960's civil rights movement. What's the title?
Answer: BLOWIN' IN THE WIND
Open this question30.One of the most serious and frightening events in the cold war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. occurred October 28, 1962. What was it?
Answer: CUBAN MISSILE CRISIS -Khrushchev agreed to dismantle Soviet missile bases in Cuba
Open this question31.After her appearance at Hollywood's Coconut Grove in August 1963, one reviewer called her "The most fascinating young female singer to come along since Judy Garland." Who was she?
Answer: BARBRA STREISAND
Open this question32.In 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson underwent surgery, his Vice President served as acting President of the United States for exactly three hours. Who was this v.p., and what kind of surgery ?
Answer: HUBERT HUMPHREY / GALLBLADDER
Open this question33.Some people consider Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 masterpiece, Psycho, the greatest suspense flick of all time. What character killed a woman in the famous shower scene, and which actor and actress played these roles?
Answer: NORMAN BATES/ ANTHONY PERKINS / JANET LEIGH
Open this question34.One of the three main acting stars of the 1969 film, Easy Rider also directed the film. Who was it?
Answer: DENNIS HOPPER
Open this question35.In the mid-1960's, playing the role of an undercover agent, he became the first black actor to star in a weekly TV series. Who is he, and what was the name of the TV series?
Answer: BILL COSBY / "I SPY" 1965-68
Open this question36.November 22, 1963: was Jackie Kennedy sitting to the left or right of her husband in the car in Dallas?
Answer: LEFT
Open this question37.Spaghetti Westerns, popularized in the 1960s by film director Sergio Leone, were usually filmed in which two countries?
Answer: SPAIN AND ITALY
Open this question38.1966 was a good year for these two sisters. One starred in the film Blow-Up and the other got an Oscar nomination for her role in Georgie Girl. What were the first and last names of these two ladies?
Answer: VANESSA AND LYNN REDGRAVE
Open this question39.Which British rock group formed in the late 1960's, with a flute-playing lead singer, named themselves after an 18th Century inventor of farm implements?
Answer: JETHRO TULL
Open this question40.Which Mexican-American labor leader, known for his commitment to nonviolent resistance, organized California food harvesters into the United Farm Workers in the 1960's?
Answer: CESAR CHAVEZ
Open this question41.He defected from Russia in 1961, joined the Royal Ballet of England in 1962, and starred in the 1977 film, Valentino. Who was he?
Answer: RUDOLF NUREYEV
Open this question42.Which Irish-born novelist and playright, whose plays include Waiting for Godot (1952), won the 1969 Nobel Prize for literature?
Answer: SAMUEL BECKETT
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