Thanks for reading the November 2023 issue of This Awful Awesome Life. Previous issues are available to read on our website. Go to www.thisawfulawesomelife.com and start scrolling or you can enter specific search criteria.

Next month we are finishing up the year and focusing on topics we may not have covered in 2023.

We’re also celebrating the holiday season and looking forward to 2024 and the new year of This Awful Awesome Life.

Orlando Bartro, Linda Cahill, and I will be back with interesting articles and recipes for you.

We’ll also have reading recommendations, streaming articles, “What’s in a Word?” and “Dare to Believe.” Plus, we’ll have a quiz, this month in pictures, and book reviews.

Stay safe. Stay well. You are important, and you are loved.

All my best,

Fran             

Answers to the November 2023 Hollywood Tough Guy Quiz:

1.    This actor starred in actions films such as A Better Tomorrow, Bulletproof Munk, City on Fire, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. He also starred in the romantic blockbusters, Love in a Fallen City and An Autumn’s Tale. Chow Yun Fat

2.    After receiving Academy Award and Gloden Globes nominations for his role in The Godfather, this actor won a Saturn Award for his portrayal of Jonathan E. in Rollerball.  James Caan

3.    After starring in a string of “Spaghetti Westerns,” this actor went on to play tough guy Harry Callahan and win Academy Awards for Best Picture and Director for the films, Unforgiven and Million Dollar Baby. Clint Eastwood

4.    In 2022, this actor, the second highest grossing actor of all time – his films have grossed 27 billion dollars worldwide, was awarded an honorary Academy Award as a cultural icon. Some of his best-known films include Pulp Fiction, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Django Unchained, and the Marvel series of films. Samuel L. Jackson

5.    Before playing tough guys in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The Dirty Dozen, and The Delta Force, this actor served in the Marine Corps as a scout sniper during World War II taking part in 21 amphibious assaults on Japanese held islands in the Pacific Theater. He was wounded during the Battle of Saipan and spent over a year recovering in a military hospital after his sciatic nerve was severed. Lee Marvin

6.    Weighing in at 135 pounds, this 5’7” actor starred in The Way of the Dragon and Fists of Fury. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a mix of martial arts styles which paved the way for modern mixed martial arts (MMA). He died tragically at the age of 32. Bruce Lee

7.    This actor owes his big break to actor Leslie Howard who was cast as the lead in the play, The Petrified Forest. When Warner Brothers made the screen version, they insisted Edward G. Robinson should play the tough guy, Duke Mantee. Howard refused to be in the movie unless his Broadway costar reprised his role as Mantee. After positive critical reviews of his performance, the actor went on to star in The Maltese Falcon. The Caine Mutiny,  and Casablanca before winning an Academy Award for his role in The African Queen. Humphrey Bogart

8.    We loved him in Moonlighting, but his iconic role as John McClane in the Die-Hard series made him a major motion picture star. Bruce Willis

9.    Known for his roles in the HBO drama, The Wire and the BBC drama, Luther, this actor went on to have important roles in Prometheus, Pacific Rims, Thor, The Suicide Squad, and Three Thousand Years of Longing. Idris Elba

10. This actor was known for his ability to play stone cold killers and mercenaries in action films such as Nighthawk and The Hitcher. His best-known American film is Blade Runner.  Rutger Hauer

11. He was “Handsome Bob” in the Guy Ritchie film, RocknRolla, Eames in  Inception, and Bane in The Dark Knight Rises. For his role as Tommy Riordan Conlon in Warrior, he trained extensively to gain 28 pounds of muscle. Tom Hardy

12. This actor was once a member of Britain’s National Diving Team competing for England in the 1990 Commonwealth Games. He got his first acting break because he had experience working at market stalls and was cast in the Guy Ritchie  crime films, Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Guns and Snatch. You know him as Frank Martin in The Transporter trilogy, and “Handsome Rob” in The Italian Job. Jason Statham

13. Considered one of the most influential actors of his generation, this two-time Academy Award winner has starred in Raging Bull, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, and The Irishman. He has also flexed his comedy muscles in Meet the Parents, The Intern, and Analyze This. Robert De Niro

14. Born into extreme poverty in Ehrenfeld, Pennsylvania, this actor became a miner like his late father before enlisting in the United States Air Force during World War II. His first leading role was in the film, Machine Gun Kelly. He later acted in The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, and The Dirty Dozen. In the 70s, he became the world’s number one box office star commanding a million dollars per film. You also know him as Paul Kersey in Death Wish. Charles Bronson

15. He was nominated for an Academy Award for playing Oskar Schindler in the Steven Spielberg holocaust drama, Schindler’s List. He starred as the Irish independence activist Michael Collins in the film of the same name. He made our quiz for starring in action films such as Taken, Batman Begins, and Retribution. Liam Neeson

16. After rooming with future Vice President Al Gore at Harvard University, this actor went on to win an Emmy for his portrayal of Gary Gilmore in the television adaptation of Norman Mailer’s The Executioner’s Song. He starred as Deputy U.S. Marshal, Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, and the sequel U.S. Marshals. Tommy Lee Jones

17. This actor and film producer is best known as Dominic Toretto in the Fast and Furious franchise, Richard B. Riddick in The Chronicles of Riddick franchise, and Xander Cage in XXX. Vin Diesel

18. After a successful football career, this actor became known as Hollywood’s first Black action hero starring in the films The Dirty Dozen, Ice Station Zebra, and 100 Rifles. Jim Brown

19. Known for films such as the Sand Pebbles, Bullitt, The Magnificent Seven, and The Great Escape, this actor also raced cars and motorcycles. Steve McQueen

20. Known for his lanky frame, distinctive voice, and signature mustache, this actor started with small roles in The Way West and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. He also appeared in several Louis L’Amour adaptations such as The Quick and The Dead, Conagher, The Sacketts, and The Shadow Riders. He also starred in Gettysburg, Tombstone, Road House, and The Big Lebowski. Sam Elliott

21. After a successful career as a professional wrestler, his first acting role was in The Mummy Returns. He’s known for films such as The Scorpion King, and The Fast and Furious films. He has also made several family friendly films such as Escape to Witch Mountain, The Game Plan, and Moana. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

22. He is one of only two actors in the history of American cinema to have starred in a number one box office hit  across six consecutive decades. He’s best known for his roles as Rocky Balboa and John Rambo. Sylvester Stallone

23. This Academy Award winning actor made his film debut starring as Boo Radley in To Kill a Mockingbird. He also starred in The Great Santini, The Godfather, and Apocalypse Now. Robert Duvall

24. After his roles as Ivan Drago in Rocky IV, this actor played the lead in over 80 action movies such as Masters of the Universe, Red Scorpion, Universal Soldier, and The Expendables.  Dolph Lundgren

25. A former Mr. Universe, this actor was in Conan the Barbarian, The Terminator, True Lies, and The Running Man. Arnold Schwarzenegger