From Television Star to Billboard Teen Idol Quiz

Answer: The Rifleman

Young Johnny Crawford had already been involved with two pilots when a pilot he did for "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theater" was picked up as "The Rifleman". He went on to star in films and had a successful recording career. Although "Cindy's Birthday" was his biggest hit, Johnny placed five songs in the Top Forty including "Rumors" and "Patti Ann". Since 1992 he has toured with his Johnny Crawford Orchestra, specializing in classic dance music.
"Stagecoach West" (1960) featured Wayne Rogers, Robert Bray, Richard Eyer and James Burke. "Frontier Circus" (1961) had Chill Wills, John Derek and Richard Jaeckel in the cast. "The Deputy" featured Henry Fonda and ran from 1959 to 1961.
Interesting fact; Johnny was shot by John Wayne in the 1966 movie, El Dorado.

Answer: Richard Chamberlain

Although he became known for starring in such television mini-series as "Shogun", "Centennial" and "The Thorn Birds", Richard Chamberlain's breakout role was as Doctor Kildare in the television show of the same name from 1961 to 1966. In 1962 Chamberlain released "Theme From Dr. Kildare (Three Stars Will Shine Tonight)" and recorded occasional follow-up recordings until 1976.
Vince Edwards starred in "Ben Casey" from 1961 to 1966. Piano player Valjean had a US Top 40 hit with the instrumental theme. Chad Everett was on "Medical Center" from 1969 to 1976. Nelson Riddle recorded the instrumental theme to "Emergency!". The show starred Robert Fulton and ran from 1972 to 1979.
Interesting Fact; Chamberlain's first credited television role was as a guest star on an episode of "Whispering Smith" titled "Stain of Justice" in 1961.

Answer: I Think I Love You

David Cassidy and Shirley Jones were the only two members of the television cast to perform on the recording of "I Think I Love You". Shirley Jones was already an accomplished singer on Broadway and in movies. David went on to record over 15 albums as a solo artist and a dozen recordings as part of The Partridge Family. "I Think I Love You" composer Tony Romeo wrote over 150 songs, including Lou Christie's "I'm Gonna Make You Mine", before he passed away in 1995.
"My Baby Loves Lovin'" was a 1970 Number 13 hit for White Plains. "That's Where I Went Wrong" was done by The Poppy Family featuring Susan Jacks and Bobbi Martin released "For the Love of Him" in 1970.
Interesting fact; Perry Como released a version of "I Think I Love You" on his "It's Impossible" album the same year as The Partridge Family released the song.

Answer: Here Come the Brides

Joan Blondell, David Soul and Robert Brown starred with Sherman on "Here Come the Brides". The show also proved to be the perfect vehicle for Sherman as it pertained to his recording career. In 1969 he had his first gold record with the US Number Three hit "Little Woman". He had a string of hits over the next two years. In 1975 his "Here Come the Brides" co-star David Soul would land a role on "Starsky and Hutch" and have a Number One record the following year with "Don't Give Up On Us".
"Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" ran on CBS from 1982 to 1983. "My Three Sons" ran from 1960 to 1972 and "The Waltons' ran from 1972 to 1981.
Interesting Fact; When "Here Come the Brides" ended Sherman had a high profile guest spot on "The Partridge Family" which led to a short lived series called "Getting Together". Unfortunately, it was scheduled opposite "All in the Family".

Answer: Johnny Loves Me

"Johnny Loves Me" reached number 21 three months after "Johnny Angel" topped the charts. Between 1962 and 1964 Fabares released five albums but never matched the success of "Johnny Angel". Shelly began acting when she was only three and had her first television role by the age of ten. She left "The Donna Reed Show" after five seasons to begin a movie career and has since compiled lengthy film and television credits including three Elvis films; "Girl Happy" (1965), "Clambake" (1967) and "Spinout" (1966). She also had the role of Christine Armstrong Fox on the nineties television series, "Coach". In 1994 a compilation of her hits was released.
Joanie Sommers recorded "Johnny Get Angry" in 1962. "Johnny Will" was a 1962 release by Pat Boone and "Bobby's Girl" was a hit by Marcie Blane the same year.
Interesting fact; In the sixties Shelley was married to record producer Lou Adler for two years.

Answer: Paul Petersen

Paul Petersen played Donna Reed's son, Jeff, on "The Donna Reed Show". At the age of ten he was a Mouseketeer and in 1958 he was one of the the children in the cast of the movie, "Houseboat", starring Cary Grant and Sophia Loren. He began his role on "The Donna Reed Show" at age 12 and on one episode he sang "My Dad" to Carl Betz, his father on the series. The song reached Number Six on the US Billboard charts. He used the show as a vehicle to sing "She Can't Find Her Keys" the same year. He recorded other songs such as "Amy" and "Lollipops and Roses" during the run of the show. He later landed a contract with Motown Records.
Ray Peterson recorded several Top Ten hits including "Tell Laura I Love Her" in 1960. Bobby Rydell had many hits including the 1962 release, "The Cha-Cha-Cha" and "Close to Cathy" was Mike Clifford's 1962 hit.
Interesting fact; After his days as a child actor were over Peterson pursued a degree in literature and wrote 16 adventure novels.

Answer: General Hospital

Rick Springfield had the role of Doctor Noah Drake on "General Hospital". Rick's musical aspiration came before his acting. By 1968 he was in a band called MPD, Ltd, touring Vietnam to entertain the troops. When he returned to Australia he was in a band called Zoot and later had a hit as a solo artist titled "Speak to the Sky". The success of the song landed him an appearance on "American bandstand". After a few rough starts in the US as a solo performer he finally achieved stardom as a singer after joining the cast of "General Hospital".
Susan Lucci has played the role of Erica Kane on "All My Children" since the show debuted in 1970. Helen Wagner has played Nancy Hughes on "As the World Turns" since first aired in 1956. "The Edge of Night" was one of the last Soap operas to change from live broadcasting to taping 1975.
Interesting Fact; In 1984 Rick Springfield made a film called "Hard to Hold". It was box office flop but the soundtrack included the Top Ten hit "Love Somebody".

Answer: Let Her In

"Let Her In" was Travolta's 1976 Top Ten hit. His singing endeavors began in 1969 with "You Set My Dreams To Music" and he released a dozen singles before "Let Her In" charted in the Top Ten, in large part due to his exposure as Vinnie Barbarino. In addition to his many acting accomplishments Travolta occasionally released singles over the years. A recent release was "I Thought I Lost You" in 2008. In 1978 his duet with Olivia Newton-John from "Grease", "You're the One That I Want", topped the US Billboard charts.
"Let 'Em In" was released by Paul McCartney and Wings in 1976. "Let Your Love Flow" was a Number One by The Bellamy Brothers the same year. "Let's Do It Again" was a 1975 Number One by The Staple Singers.
Interesting fact; In the 2007 remake of "Hairspray" Travolta played Edna Turnblad. It was his first role in a musical since "Grease".

Answer: Hawaiian Eye

Connie Stevens played Cricket Blake on "Hawaiian Eye". She made several guest appearances on "77 Sunset Strip" which led to her singing the duet with Ed Byrnes. Byrnes was one of the stars of "77 Sunset Strip" (1958-1964). He played a hip valet who aspired to be a private investigator and was constantly combing his hair. Connie had been working in singing groups and initially got work as an extra before landing starring roles.

Her television exposure provided recognition for her recordings which included "Why'd You Wanna Make Me Cry?", "Now That You've Gone" and "Mr. Songwriter". "Wendy and Me" featured Connie with George Burns for one season in 1964. Craig Stevens' co-star on Peter Gunn was Lola Albright from 1958 to 1961. Interesting fact; Connie's family was musically inclined.

In the fifties Connie formed a group with three guys she dubbed The Foremost. The three male singers went on to become The Lettermen.

Answer: Shaun Cassidy

Shaun Cassidy was David's half brother. Shirley Jones was his mom and Shaun apparently inherited her musical genes. His hit songs were released while he was acting on "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" and in 1977 his self-titled debut album was the biggest selling debut album for a solo performer at the time of release. His fame led to high-grossing concert venues and the release of albums until his final album in 1980 called "Wasp". After the television series wrapped Shaun focused on theater and behind-the-scenes production work.
Parker Stevenson co-starred with Cassidy on "The Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries" but never aspired to a singing career. Leif Garrett appeared in many films and on television shows and also enjoyed a career as a singer. Scott Baio is known for his roles on "Happy Days" and "Charles in Charge" but has not had any hit singles.
Interesting fact; "That's Rock and Roll" and "Hey Deanie" were written by Eric Carmen and Shaun's "Wasp" album was produced by Todd Rundgren.