Fictional Educators Trivia Quiz

Answer: Helen Crump

For those old enough to remember early black and white TV, one of the most popular shows of the time was "The Andy Griffith Show" which ran from 1960 to 1968. In 1963, Opie (Andy's son, played by Ronny Howard) got a new teacher who the kids called "old lady Crump".

Helen Crump turned out to be not so old, very pretty and a caring teacher. Miss Crump was played by Aneta Corsaut (1933-1995).

Answer: John Keating

Robin Williams (1951-2014) had many starring roles in his life, both comedic and dramatic. In my opinion, few had the impact of English Professor John Keating, from the wonderful 1989 film "Dead Poets Society". The movie was set in 1959, at the conservative Vermont boarding school, Welton Academy. Keating understood and cared about his students and had a profound effect on their lives.

Answer: Pete Dixon

The setting: Walt Whitman High in Los Angeles, California; the year: 1969. "Room 222" was an early dramady combining the comic interactions of students and teachers with the dramatic events of the times. The protagonist was Pete Dixon, an African-American teacher of American History. Mr. Dixon was played by Lloyd Haynes (1934-1986) who also appeared on episodes of "Star Trek" and "Batman".

Answer: Charles Chipping

One of filmdom's greatest and best known known teachers was Charles Chipping, better known as Mr. Chips, from the poignant 1939 movie "Goodbye, Mr. Chips". The film was based on James Hilton's 1934 novella. Mr. Chips was a former Latin teacher and headmaster of the Brookfield School in England.

The beloved teacher was played by Robert Donat (1905-1958). Donat won a Best Actor Academy Award for his portrayal.

Answer: Louanne Johnson

I don't usually think of Michelle Pfeiffer as tough, but she was very believable as ex-marine Louanne Johnson in the 1995 movie "Dangerous Minds". Louanne brought her teaching and military skills to Carlmont High School, an inner city school in Belmont, California.

After an inauspicious beginning, she used unconventional methods, e.g., karate and Bob Dylan music, to reach her students. Among Pfeiffer's other movies are "Hairspray" and "Dangerous Liaisons".

Answer: Charlie Moore

We move from an inner city class to a class of gifted NYC high school students on the TV show "Head of the Class" which ran from 1986 to 1991. Howard Hesseman played the laidback Charlie Moore who taught an "enrichment" class to students who thought they knew everything, but found they had a lot to learn.

Hesseman had gained fame earlier for his role as Johnny Fever on "WKRP in Cincinnati".

Answer: Mark Thackeray

Mark Thackeray is an American engineer in England in "To Sir, with Love" (1967). Unable to find a job, he gets work as a teacher in a tough London East End school. The school is populated with behavioral problems, some of whom had been expelled from other schools.

His kindness and caring eventually win the respect of the kids. Mark is played by the great actor Sidney Poitier whose other roles include "Lilies of the Field", "In the Heat of the Night" and "The Defiant Ones".

Answer: Herbert Garrison

The animated show "South Park" began airing in 1997. For the first nine seasons, fourth grade teacher Mr. Garrison was a man, i.e., Herbert Garrison. He had a sex change operation and became Janet Garrison, but then had a reverse sex change operation.

He also later ran for president of the United States, but that's for another quiz. Mr. Garrison is voiced by Trey Parker, the co-creator of "South Park" with Matt Stone.

Answer: Sharon Norbury

Sharon Norbury or Ms. Norbury as she is known at work, is a twelfth grade calculus teacher at North Shore High School in Evanston, Illinois in the 2004 comedy "Mean Girls". She also coaches the North Shore Mathletes and sometimes tends bar. She tries to educate her students and make them better people. Tina Fey, who plays Ms. Norbury, was the screenwriter for the movie. Fey is also known for her "Saturday Night Live" appearances and as Liz Lemon on "30 Rock".

Answer: George Feeny

Finally, we have the curmudgeonly George Hamilton Feeny from "Boy Meets World" which aired from 1993 to 2000. Mr. Feeny is Cory Matthews' elementary school teacher at Jefferson Elementary in Philadelphia, PA. He moves up to John Adams High School (along with Cory and friends) where he becomes the principal (and later a professor at Pennbrook).

He is also Cory's neighbor. Feeny is played by William Daniels who was known for playing Dr. Mark Craig on "St. Elsewhere".