Wolfgang Mozart, beginning to decompose in 1791
Vienna
"The Rhodora" is a 19th century poem written by this 3-name American writer; his distant cousin founded a school in Boston that shares their last name
Ralph Waldo Emerson
The "R" in the MMR vaccine, it's the medical name for German measles
rubella
Darth Vader chops off Luke's hand, so Marty fills in on guitar at the dance
The Empire Strikes Back to the Future
This celestial symbol of Islam appears on the flags of nations such as Turkey, Tunisia, and Turkmenistan
(star and) crescent
It's Spanish for "open" & goes with "open" on a bilingual sign in a store or cafe window
abierto
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, not that the event affected the entire world or anything
Sarajevo
The Spike Jonze film "Adaptation" is about trying to bring this steal of a book by Susan Orlean to the big screen
The Orchid Thief
Both Graves' & Hashimoto's disease are disorders that primarily affect this gland
the thyroid
Gollum plummets into the crack of Doom, causing Sauron to plummet from the top of the Empire State Building
The Return of the King Kong
The Christmas nativity scene shown here also goes by this French name
a crèche
It comes immediately before Junio & Julio
Mayro
Niels Bohr, quantum leaping in 1962
Copenhagen
Completes A.E. Housman's "Lent Lily" rhyme: "Find the windflower playing with every wind at will, but not the" this
the daffodil (triple stumper)
Since it regenerates, a part of this hepatic organ can be transplanted from a living donor & grow to normal size
the liver
Michael Cera fights his girlfriend's exes as Robin Williams fights to get out of his mother's shadow
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World According to Garp (triple stumper)
Measuring about 14 1/2 feet long, it was called by Pope John Paul II "a mirror of the gospel"
the Shroud of Turin
In the live action movie "Dora & the Lost City of Gold", Dora asks the audience, "Can you say" this tasty word?
delicioso (triple stumper)
Suddenly ex-president for life Papa Doc Duvalier
Port-au-Prince
Daniel Keyes gave this mouse a serious brain boost in "Flowers for" him
Algernon
Beginning with 3 consonants, it's the word for a professional who is trained to draw blood
a phlebotomist
Rex Harrison teaches Audrey Hepburn how to speak proper English & vocalize like Billie Holiday
My Fair Lady Day (My Fair Lay Sings the Blues)
A symbol of Judaism blown on special occasions has this name in Hebrew
a shofar
This word completes a Spanish-language release title of a classic '70s film, "Fiebre del ____ por la Noche"
Sábado (it's Saturday Night Fever in Spanish)
August Strindberg, going way heavy on the drama in 1912
Stockholm
Robert Frost's poem "Design" features this flower known for its curative powers
the heal-all (triple stumper)
The norovirus is a common cause of this 15-letter inflammation of the stomach lining & intestines
gastroenteritis (triple stumper)
Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef & Eli Wallach fight for gold while Marlon Brando gives Yanks a bad name overseas
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly American
Seen outside of shrines, torii gates mark the boundary between the secular world & the sacred in this "way of the gods" religion
Shintoism
This type of tequila, Spanish for "rested", takes a siesta in its barrel for several months, developing a golden hue
reposado (triple stumper)