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Classic Radio Programs Trivia Quiz

Let's warm up the Motorola, gather round, and listen to some old-time radio.

A multiple-choice quiz by agony. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
agony

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
151,533

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
1565

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in this series in which Bogart was the owner of a Havana hotel. Hint

Vic and Sade

Escape

Bold Venture

Big Town

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Question 2 of 10

2. Complete this tag line "A tale well calculated to keep you_________" Hint

guessing

in stitches

in suspense

on the edge of your seat

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Question 3 of 10

3. This show was hosted by Paul McGrath as the creepy punster with the oily chuckle, and Mary Bennet as the impossibly cheery spokeswoman for Lipton Tea. Hint

Quiet Please

Lights Out

Inner Sanctum

Murder by Experts

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Question 4 of 10

4. What was Phil Harris' nickname for Jack Benny? Hint

Tightwad

Jackson

Bunny

Jacko

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Question 5 of 10

5. The framing device for this detective program had its hero, an insurance investigator, going through his expense account receipts. Hint

Dimension X

Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

The Saint

Grand Central Station

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Question 6 of 10

6. This famous radio couple lived at 79 Wistful Vista. Hint

Lum and Abner

Lucy and Ricky

Fibber McGee and Molly

Abbott and Costello

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Question 7 of 10

7. This program was unusual in that it began on television, and later moved to radio. Hint

Have Gun, Will Travel

The Lone Ranger

The Cisco Kid

Hopalong Cassidy

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Question 8 of 10

8. This series starred Jimmy Stewart as Britt Ponsett. Hint

The Whistler

Have Gun, Will Travel

The Mysterious Traveller

The Six Shooter

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Question 9 of 10

9. This phrase was in the introduction to every show. "There's just one way to deal with the killers and the spoilers, and that's with a US Marshal and the smell of ____________"

Answer: (One Word)

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Question 10 of 10

10. One of the stars of this show started as a Ziegfield girl, whose story was portrayed in "Funny Girl" by Barbra Streisand. Hint

The Chase and Sanborn Hour

The Jack Benny Show

The Abbott and Costello Show

The Baby Snooks Show

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall starred in this series in which Bogart was the owner of a Havana hotel.

Answer: Bold Venture

Bogart played Slate Shannon and Bacall was Sailor Duvall, his ward, in this series from the '50's.

2. Complete this tag line "A tale well calculated to keep you_________"

Answer: in suspense

"Suspense" ran for more than twenty years on CBS. It was one of the most well-regarded shows on the radio, attracting many Hollywood stars, such as Cary Grant, Ronald Colman, and Judy Garland. Alfred Hitchcock directed the first episode, on June 22, 1940.

3. This show was hosted by Paul McGrath as the creepy punster with the oily chuckle, and Mary Bennet as the impossibly cheery spokeswoman for Lipton Tea.

Answer: Inner Sanctum

This pair, hosting the show with the famous "creaking door", were the most incongruous couple you can imagine. McGrath, as Raymond the vampire, would say something like, "Maybe we'll be lucky and there will be lots of .... blood heh heh heh" and Mary would answer brightly, "Oh, don't talk that way! I'm sure our listeners would rather hear about Lipton Tea, with its 'brisk' flavour."

4. What was Phil Harris' nickname for Jack Benny?

Answer: Jackson

Phil Harris may be better known to younger audiences as the characters he voiced in various Disney movies - Baloo in "The Jungle Book", Little John in "Robin Hood", and O'Malley in "The Aristocats".

5. The framing device for this detective program had its hero, an insurance investigator, going through his expense account receipts.

Answer: Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar

The man with the "action-packed expense account", "Johnny Dollar" was the last of the old-time radio dramas, ending its run, which started in 1949, on Sept 30, 1962.

6. This famous radio couple lived at 79 Wistful Vista.

Answer: Fibber McGee and Molly

One of the running gags on this show was the overstuffed closet. Every time Fibber would open the closet door, there would be a wonderful sound-effect of clanging and clattering, as everything in the closet hit the floor. When I was a child in the '60s and '70s, years after the end of the show, people would still say "like opening Fibber McGee's closet".

The modern phrase would be, I suppose, "You don't wanna go there".

7. This program was unusual in that it began on television, and later moved to radio.

Answer: Have Gun, Will Travel

This series began on TV in the fall of 1957, and moved to radio in November of 1958. Richard Boone played Paladin on television; John Dehner on radio.

8. This series starred Jimmy Stewart as Britt Ponsett.

Answer: The Six Shooter

"The man in the saddle is angular and long-legged; his skin is sun dyed brown. The gun in his holster is gray steel and rainbow mother-of-pearl, its handle unmarked. People call them both ...The Six Shooter."

9. This phrase was in the introduction to every show. "There's just one way to deal with the killers and the spoilers, and that's with a US Marshal and the smell of ____________"

Answer: Gunsmoke

"I'm that man...the first man they look for and the last they want to meet." William Conrad, later to appear on TV in "Cannon" and "Jake and the Fatman" was the voice of Matt Dillon on radio's "Gunsmoke".

10. One of the stars of this show started as a Ziegfield girl, whose story was portrayed in "Funny Girl" by Barbra Streisand.

Answer: The Baby Snooks Show

Fanny Brice played Baby Snooks, and Hanley Stafford (mostly, the role was also played briefly by Frank Morgan and Alan Reed) was Daddy. "My Daddy loves me!"

Source: Author agony

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor JuniorTheJaws before going online.
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