Tune In TV History
Ask Your Grandparents
1. Who was known as "Mr. Television"?
A. Sid Caesar
B. Milton Berle
C. Ed Sullivan
D. Jack Benny
2. "Glad we could get together" was the signature sign-off for what well-known TV news anchor?
A. John Cameron Swazye
B. Edward R. Murrow
C. Walter Cronkite
D. Chet Huntley
3. Who hosted "The Arthur Murray Party"?
4. What singing star was abruptly dropped from the highly rated "Arthur Godfrey and His Friends" when Godfrey announced on the air that "That, folks, was [the singer's] swan song." (He later cited "a lack of humility" on the singer's part.) Bonus: Who replaced the singer?
5. What weekly comedy variety show had a glittering roster of writers that included Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, Larry Gelbart, and others? Bonus: What performer played opposite the star of that show?
6. Who moderated the urbane "What's My Line?" one of the longest-running game shows in TV history? (It aired from 1950 to 1967.)
7. What comedy series about a Norwegian-American family was the impetus for the many sitcoms that followed it? (Hint: The title role was played by the theater's distinguished Peggy Wood.)
8. "Gunsmoke" was TV's longest-running prime-time show with continuing characters (1955-75). James Arness starred as Marshall Matt Dillon. Arness's real-life brother began co-starring in "Fury" the same year "Gunsmoke" began on TV. What is his name?
9. What hugely popular children's adventure series was subtitled "Guardian of the Safety of the World!"?
10. Robert Young played insurance executive Jim Anderson in "Father Knows Best." What were the nicknames of his on-screen children?
Ask Your Parents:
1. Mel Blanc's protean voice spoke for many cartoon characters on TV and in the movies. Which of the following was not played by him?
A. Cosmo Spacely (of "The Jetsons")
B. Speed Buggy
C. Bugs Bunny
D. Fred Flintstone
2. One of the actors on "Hogan's Heroes," a sitcom set in a Nazi POW camp, actually had been imprisoned by the Germans in such a camp. Who was it?
A. Robert Crane (Col. Robert Hogan)
B. Robert Clary (Cpl. Louis Le Beau)
C. Richard Dawson (Cpl. Peter Newkirk)
D. John Banner (Sgt. Hans Schulz)
3. "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." starred Robert Vaughn and David McCallum (Illya Kuryakin) as Ian Fleming-type spies. What does U.N.C.L.E. stand for? Bonus: What was the name of Robert Vaughn's character, and what does he share with a George Lucas creation?
4. An anonymous group of studio musicians who sang for Saturday-morning cartoon characters made several records, including the monster hit "Sugar, Sugar." What was the name of the TV-show band?
5. Alan Hale played "The Skipper" on "Gilligan's Island." But what was the Skipper's "real" TV name?
6. Before he was Gilligan, Bob Denver was Maynard G. Krebs on what show? (And do you know its exact title?)
7. Bill Cosby and Robert Culp played Alexander (Scotty) Scott and Kelly Robinson, two American undercover agents who traveled around the world on various assignments. What was their cover story?
8. It was surely the feeblest premise of any sitcom to date. It starred Jerry Van Dyke and a 1928 Porter. What was the name of this short-lived show?
9. Before he donned pointy ears and joined the Enterprise on "Star Trek," Leonard Nimoy was Paris, a master of disguises on this clock-ticking drama. Its name?
10. Many people know that the Beatles made their television debut on "The Ed Sullivan Show" (Feb. 9, 1964). Where did the Rolling Stones make their TV debut? Do you remember when?
Ask Your Friends:
1. Some of the cartoon characters on "Brand Spanking New Doug" have skin colors not found in nature. What color is Doug's face? What about his friend Skeeter?
2. Arthur, the lead character in the PBS-TV animated series of the same name, is what kind of animal?
3. Where do Tim (the Toolman) Taylor and his family live in the sitcom "Home Improvement"? Bonus: What is his mysterious neighbor Wilson's first name?
4. Match the dog with the animated television show:
A. Spike 1. "Rugrats"
B. Porkchop 2. "Arthur"
C. Pal 3. "Bobby's World"
D. Roger 4. "Brand Spanking New Doug"
5. What are the names of the Animaniacs? What is their relationship to each other? Bonus: What is the name of the evil psychiatrist they often battle?
6. Baby Bop, Barney's young dinosaur pal on "Barney & Friends," is what kind of dinosaur?
7. Bill Nye is "_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _."
8."Sunny day, sweeping the clouds away. On my way to where the air is sweet...." are some of the words to a famous show's theme song. What is the name of the show?
9. Which Friday-night TV character found she had special powers when she moved in with her two batty aunts?
10. What is Bart Simpson's favorite mode of transportation?
A. Bicycle
B. Skateboard
C. Walking
D. Rollerblades
11. What was Maggie Simpson's first word? Can you name the real-life actress who spoke it?
12. Why hasn't Mr. Rogers ever visited "The Neighborhood of Make-Believe"?
Quiz Answers
ASK YOUR GRANDPARENTS: 1. B; 2. A; 3. No, not Arthur Murray, but his wife, Kathryn. She always brought him on at the end for a brief twirl with the words "Here's my favorite dancing partner...."; 4. Julius LaRosa. He was replaced by Pat Boone; 5. Sid Caesar's "Your Show of Shows." Bonus: Imogene Coca played opposite Caesar; 6. John Daly; 7. "Mama"; 8. Peter Graves; 9. "Captain Video"; 10. Princess, Bud, and Kitten.
ASK YOUR PARENTS: 1. D. Fred Flintstone was played by Alan Reed; Barney Rubble was Blanc, though; 2. B; 3. United Network Command for Law and Enforcement. Bonus: Napoleon Solo - he has the same last name as Han Solo in the "Star Wars" movies; 4. The Archies. (And remember "Yummy, Yummy, Yummy"?); 5. Jonas Grumby; 6. "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis"; 7. Bill Cosby was the trainer for tennis pro Robert Culp; 8. "My Mother, the Car." (Ann Southern was the voice of the car.); 9. "Mission: Impossible"; 10. "The Hollywood Palace," June 13, 1964.
ASK YOUR FRIENDS: 1. Doug's face is pink, Skeeter's is blue; 2. An aardvark; 3. Detroit. Bonus: Wilson's first name is also Wilson; 4. A1, B4, C2, D3; 5. Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Yakko and Wakko are the Warner brothers, and Dot is their sister. Bonus: Dr. Scratchandsniff; 6. A triceratops; 7. "The Science Guy"; 8. "Sesame Street"; 9. "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch"; 10. B; 11. "Daddy!" was spoken by Elizabeth Taylor; 12. Fred Rogers has to work the puppets.
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