| SISSYSPACEK | Two years before winning a Best Actress Oscar, she appeared on the Opry stage for the first time, singing with the star she portrayed |
| LUCILLEBALL | She appeared on the cover of the first national edition of TV Guide |
| WARRENBEATTY | American actor and filmmaker who has been nominated for 15 Academy Awards, winning a Best Director Oscar for the film Reds (6,6) |
| AGEE | James who died three years before winning a Pulitzer |
| ELLE | Supermodel Macpherson or a magazine whose cover she appeared on |
| PERMIAN | The largest extinction in Earth's history took place during this time, which lasted from about 299 million to about 252 million years ago and set the stage for the emergence of the dinosaurs. |
| STAND | What the candidate must do before winning a seat (5) |
| EDGAR | Principal character in Sir Walter Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor; or, the dramatist who adapted Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde to stage for the RSC (5) |
| OAKS | Dumbarton ___ Conference (meeting that set the stage for the founding of the United Nations) |
| POSTAGE | Quiet on first stage for the mail (7) |
| ARGO | It won the Best Picture Oscar two years before "Birdman" |
| MAST | "Two Years Before the ___"; Alan Ladd film based on a classic |
| ADOUT | Possible score before winning a game |
| FORTYLOVE | Score just before winning a game, say |
| ADIN | Score just before winning a game |
| AUDITION | What an actor has to undergo before winning a part (8) |
| WHEELOFFORTUNE | This game show filmed three weeks' worth of shows at the Opry House in 2003; FIDDLES, BANJOS, AND STEEL GUITARS was one round's answer, for the category "Things" |
| DIETRICH | Actress who stunned the world when she appeared in a trouser suit, Marlene ... |
| SNOWWHITE | Along with the seven dwarfs, she appeared in Disney's 1938 world-first full-length animated film (4, |
| ALI | - MacGraw, US actress who shot to fame when she appeared in the 1970 motion picture Love Story (3) |
