50 Fun Facts About The Pursuit of Happyness

Which puzzle does Chris Gardner solve in a taxi to impress a brokerage manager in The Pursuit of Happyness?

A Rubik's Cube had gone on sale worldwide only the year before, so solving one still looked like genius. The feat earns Chris a shot at a stockbroker internship.

Which medical devices does Chris Gardner stake his entire savings on in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Bone-density scanners were his pitch to doctors as a handy improvement on standard X-rays. Shifting the very last one takes him almost the whole film.

Christopher is five in The Pursuit of Happyness, but what was Chris Gardner's real son when they were homeless?

A toddler is what Christopher Jr. really was, about 19 months old when his father took sole charge of him. The film aged him to five.

Dan Castellaneta, who plays Alan Frakesh in The Pursuit of Happyness, is famous as the voice of which cartoon father?

Homer Simpson has won Castellaneta four Emmys, and he also voices Krusty the Clown and Grampa. The family began as shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show.

Why is Chris Gardner arrested the night before his big interview in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Unpaid parking tickets cost him a night in a cell, so he runs to the interview straight from jail. The real Gardner was held for ten days over $1,200 in fines.

Where do Chris Gardner and his son sleep after being locked out of their motel in The Pursuit of Happyness?

A subway station restroom was no invention: the real Gardner and his boy once slept in a locked bathroom on San Francisco's BART network.

Which make of red sports car leads Chris Gardner to quiz its stockbroker owner in The Pursuit of Happyness?

A Ferrari stopped the real Gardner in his tracks too, after a sales call at a San Francisco hospital. Its owner, broker Bob Bridges, became his guide into finance.

How does a penniless Chris Gardner raise cash to repair his last machine in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Selling his blood pays for the repair, and the mended machine then goes to a physician. That sale is his last, clearing the stock that swallowed his savings.

The Pursuit of Happyness is set in 1981, the year which US president took office and survived a shooting?

Ronald Reagan was shot outside the Washington Hilton that March, just ten weeks after his inauguration. He recovered and went on to serve two full terms.

Which Founding Father drafted the Declaration of Independence line that gives The Pursuit of Happyness its title?

Thomas Jefferson wrote the draft, which a Committee of Five then edited. Some scholars think he swapped the phrase in for John Locke's word, estate.

At which real brokerage does Chris Gardner win a place on a training scheme in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Dean Witter also trained the real Gardner, who arrived with no degree, no experience and almost no contacts. He aimed for 200 calls a day to stand out.

To which city does Linda move for a restaurant job, leaving Chris with their son, in The Pursuit of Happyness?

New York is where Linda hopes to work at her sister's boyfriend's new restaurant. The real boy's mother took him to the East Coast, then left him with Gardner months later.

Which federal agency drains Chris Gardner's bank account in The Pursuit of Happyness, leaving him just $21.33?

The IRS takes the money for back income taxes, and father and son are evicted soon afterwards. From then on Chris hides his situation from everyone at work.

What chore explains the scruffy clothes Chris Gardner wears to his job interview in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Painting his apartment was a favour to the landlord, done for free to put off eviction over late rent. He reaches the interview still wearing the splashes.

Which NFL team do Chris Gardner and his son watch as guests of a pension-fund boss in The Pursuit of Happyness?

The 49ers game puts Chris among Walter Ribbon's wealthy friends, every one a possible client. He got there by calling on Ribbon in person, against the firm's rules.

What does a nearly broke Chris Gardner lend his boss Mr. Frohm five dollars for in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Cab fare is all Frohm wants, yet five dollars is nearly everything Chris has. Frohm repays him on the day he offers Chris the job.

The misspelt title of The Pursuit of Happyness copies a mural Chris Gardner sees outside which place?

His son's daycare had the word spelt with a Y on its wall, and the real Gardner saw the same mistake during his months without a home.

What does Christopher tell his father as they walk away at the end of The Pursuit of Happyness?

Knock-knock jokes fill the last scene, just as the real Chris Gardner strolls past in a business suit and the two men swap a glance.

Which Westworld star plays Linda, the worn-out partner who walks out on Chris, in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Thandiwe Newton was credited here as Thandie, the spelling she used for most of her career. Her Emmy came in 2018 for playing the android Maeve.

Will Smith lost the Oscar for The Pursuit of Happyness but later won Best Actor for which tennis drama?

King Richard cast him as Richard Williams, father and coach of Venus and Serena. It was his third Best Actor nomination, 15 years after this one.

Which actor beat Will Smith's turn in The Pursuit of Happyness to the Best Actor Oscar by playing Idi Amin?

Forest Whitaker won for his portrayal of the Ugandan dictator in a drama released the same year. Smith's nomination was the only one his film received at the Oscars.

Will Smith's earlier role as which boxer convinced Chris Gardner's daughter that he could play her father?

Muhammad Ali had already earned Smith an Oscar nomination, yet Gardner thought a blockbuster star was miscast until his daughter Jacintha set him straight.

The Pursuit of Happyness was the first American film for its director, who made his name in which country?

Italy knew Muccino for The Last Kiss, whose audience prize at Sundance caught Hollywood's eye. Will Smith then chose him personally to direct.

Which 2008 drama reunited Will Smith with the man who directed him in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Seven Pounds cast Smith as a man set on changing the lives of seven strangers. Critics disliked it, yet it still took about $170 million worldwide.

Jaden Smith, the son in The Pursuit of Happyness, later trained under Jackie Chan in which 2010 film?

The Karate Kid moved the 1984 story to Beijing, so the martial art the boy learns is really kung fu, despite the title.

Which 2013 science-fiction film reunited Will and Jaden Smith as father and son, following The Pursuit of Happyness?

After Earth grew from Will Smith's own story idea about a father and son stranded in the wilderness, later moved 1,000 years into the future.

Which honour did Jaden Smith win for Breakthrough Performance in The Pursuit of Happyness, his first film?

An MTV Movie Award went to Jaden in 2007, when he was eight. His father was up for Best Performance at the same ceremony but lost to Johnny Depp.

Which soul legend's songs Higher Ground and Jesus Children of America are heard in The Pursuit of Happyness?

Stevie Wonder wrote Higher Ground for his 1973 album Innervisions, and it climbed to number four on the US singles chart.

Which British singer earned a Golden Globe nomination for A Father's Way, a song from The Pursuit of Happyness?

Seal was up for Best Original Song, the film's second nomination at the Globes. He is best known for Kiss from a Rose, a hit from Batman Forever.

Which San Francisco church, which sheltered the real Chris Gardner, lends its gospel choir to The Pursuit of Happyness?

Glide Memorial's pastor, Cecil Williams, let father and son stay in a shelter meant for homeless women. Its choir, the Glide Ensemble, sings in the film.

In which Wisconsin city was Chris Gardner, the real salesman behind The Pursuit of Happyness, born?

Milwaukee gave Gardner a hard start, with an abusive stepfather and two spells in foster care. His mother still taught him to rely on himself.

In which branch of the US military did the real Chris Gardner serve as a hospital corpsman before moving west?

The Navy posted him to Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. A heart surgeon he got to know there offered him a research post in San Francisco.

Which career did the real Chris Gardner abandon just before turning 26, put off by ten more years of training?

Medicine had been his plan after he ran a research laboratory and co-wrote journal articles with a surgeon. He turned to sales instead, and doubled his income.

From which basketball legend did the real Chris Gardner buy a black sports car, years after being homeless?

Michael Jordan sold him the car, and Gardner gave it an Illinois licence plate that reads NOT MJ.

In which city did the real Chris Gardner found his own brokerage, using the family dinner table as a desk?

Chicago was where he set up in 1987, in a small Presidential Towers flat with just $10,000 of start-up capital.

An interview on which ABC news programme first showed Chris Gardner that his story had Hollywood potential?

20/20 drew an overwhelming national response to his interview. His memoir followed in May 2006, and the film reached cinemas that December.

Quincy Troupe, co-author of the memoir The Pursuit of Happyness, also co-wrote which jazz legend's autobiography?

Miles Davis told his story to Troupe for a 1989 autobiography, the work the poet is still best known for.

Which South African leader met the real Chris Gardner to discuss investing in the country's emerging markets?

Nelson Mandela met him during a visit to observe elections, about ten years after apartheid ended. Gardner hoped his venture would create hundreds of jobs.

Which licensing exam did the real Chris Gardner pass at the first attempt to become a full stockbroker?

The Series 7 turned him from trainee into a full employee in 1982. It is the licensing exam for brokers who buy and sell securities for clients.

Which department-store giant bought Chris Gardner's future employer in 1981, the year The Pursuit of Happyness is set?

Sears bought the brokerage and the estate agency Coldwell Banker in the same year, then launched the Discover credit card four years later.

Which Sony-owned studio, known for its Torch Lady logo, released The Pursuit of Happyness?

Columbia Pictures takes its emblem from Columbia, a female personification of the United States. Coca-Cola owned the studio for a few years before Sony bought it in 1989.

Which fantasy film, opening the same weekend, did The Pursuit of Happyness beat to number one at the box office?

Eragon, a dragon adventure based on Christopher Paolini's novel, was beaten along with Charlotte's Web. The Smiths' drama took $27 million in its first three days.

Which Wall Street firm later recruited the real Chris Gardner to its San Francisco office, before he went solo?

Bear Stearns hired him away from the firm that had trained him. The bank itself collapsed in 2008 and was absorbed by JPMorgan Chase.

In which San Francisco district were the real Chris Gardner and his son homeless for nearly a year?

The Tenderloin hid their secret well: none of Gardner's co-workers knew that he and the boy were sleeping in flophouses, parks and airports.

Who produced The Pursuit of Happyness and holds both a Best Picture Oscar, for Forrest Gump, and a Super Bowl ring?

Steve Tisch earned the ring as a co-owner of the Giants, the NFL team his family shares. His company Escape Artists made the film with Will Smith's Overbrook.

Andrea Guerra, composer for The Pursuit of Happyness, also scored which Don Cheadle drama about sheltering refugees?

Hotel Rwanda won Guerra the best-composer prize at the European Film Awards. Its lead plays a hotel manager who shelters more than a thousand people during a genocide.

James Karen, who plays Martin Frohm in The Pursuit of Happyness, was a property developer in which 1982 horror hit?

Poltergeist cast Karen as Teague, the developer who built a housing estate on top of a former cemetery. East Coast viewers knew him better as a supermarket pitchman.

What is the catch in the six-month broker internship Chris Gardner wins in The Pursuit of Happyness?

It pays no salary, and only one of the twenty interns will be hired at the end. Chris takes the gamble anyway, to Linda's dismay.

Besides a walk-on cameo, which credit did the real Chris Gardner receive on The Pursuit of Happyness?

Associate producer was his title, yet he skipped the film's opening day to speak at a company Christmas party in Wisconsin.

In the Declaration of Independence, the pursuit of happiness follows which two other unalienable rights?

Life and liberty come first in the trio, rights the Declaration says governments are created to protect. Earlier colonial texts had paired them with property.