1950s Sitcoms that I Like Trivia Quiz

Answer: Henry and Alice

"Dennis the Menace" debuted in 1959. It starred Jay North as Dennis. His father, Henry Mitchell, was played by Herbert Anderson, and his mother, Alice, was played by Gloria Henry. As the name of the series implies, Dennis was always getting into trouble, usually because he wanted to help.

He loved his neighbors, Mr. and Mrs. Wilson. Sylvia Field played Mrs. Martha Wilson. She adored Dennis; however, her husband, Mr. George Wilson, thought Dennis was a pest and did his best to avoid him, but it never worked. Joseph Kearns played George Wilson until shortly before his death due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Gale Gordon replaced Joseph Kearns, playing George Wilson's brother, John Wilson.

After Joseph Kerns died, Martha Wilson was written out, and Sara Seegar joined the cast as John's wife, Eloise Wilson.

Answer: Stone

"The Donna Reed Show" also starred Carl Betz as her husband Alex Stone, a doctor. At the beginning of the series, they had two children: a daughter, Shelley Fabares, who played Mary, and a son, Jeff, played by Paul Petersen. When Mary went to college, and the actress playing her left the series, Paul's sister Patty Petersen played Trisha, an eight-year-old the family adopted. Donna Stone was a housewife on the show.

The show's opening credits showed her handing lunches to the kids as they went off to school and then to her husband as he left for work.

He would then come back in to kiss her before going.

Answer: Joyce Randolph

"The Honeymooners" only had 39 "classic episodes." Later on, there were some "lost episodes" released. Jackie Gleason played Ralph Kramden, a bus driver who worked on Madison Avenue. He lived in an apartment in Brooklyn with his wife Alice (Audrey Meadows).

Their neighbors and best friends, Ed Norton (Art Carney) and Thelma "Trixie" Norton (Joyce Randolph), lived upstairs. Most of the shows took place in the Kramden's kitchen. Amazingly despite its short run, it has become a classic. Jackie Gleason did not believe in rehearsing and consequently didn't always remember his lines and would pat his stomach to let the others know when he forgot one.

The man who announced the actors' names in the opening credits was Jack Lescoulie.

Answer: Cuba

"I Love Lucy" debuted in 1951 and starred then-married couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnez as Lucy and Ricky Ricardo. Their best friends and landlords were Ethel (Vivian Vance) and Fred Mertz (William Frawley). Ricky was a bandleader, and Lucy was always scheming to get on the show.

As funny as Lucy was, my all-time favorite scene she was not a significant part of (she and the Mertzes were watching). Ricky was telling Little Ricky (their son) the story of "Little Red Riding Hood", or as he told it partially in Spanish, "Caperucita Roja." I crack up every time I see it.

Answer: Eddie Haskell

"Leave It to Beaver" came out in 1957 and starred Hugh Beaumont as Mr. Ward Cleaver, Barbara Billingsley as June Cleaver, Tony Dow as Wally (their oldest son), and "of course, Jerry Mathers as the Beaver" (their youngest son). Beaver's real name was Theodore. Ken Osmond played Wally's best friend, Eddie. According to Ward, "Eddie was so polite it was almost un-American." Eddie was very hypocritical, however.

Answer: Maynard G Krebs

Dwayne Hickman played Dobie Gillis, and Bob Denver played his best friend, Maynard. The G stood for Gwalter. He was a beatnik into spiritualism and often used psychedelic drugs. Maynard was scared of the word "work," and he shrieked it back whenever someone said it around him. Maynard was less of a stereotypical beatnik and more of a hippie as the show progressed. "Scooby-Doo's" character Shaggy was based on Maynard. Dobie's father, Herbert, was played by Frank Faylen.

His catchline was, "I gotta kill that boy." His mother, Winnie, was played by Florida Friebus.

His unofficial girlfriend was Zelda, played by Sheila Kuehl. Whenever Dobie tried to say he didn't love her, she would wrinkle her nose, and he would always do it back and yell, "No, cut that out." She was convinced he wouldn't do it back if he weren't in love.

Answer: Two

"The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" ran from 1952 to 1966, and until 2020 it was the longest-running live-action comedy series on TV. It was a radio program before it went on TV. Ozzie Nelson (the actor) wanted to find a way to spend more time with his family, which is how the show came about.

He was formally a bandleader. His wife Harriet was a singer. Their two sons were David and Ricky. The show focused on the family and problems in daily life. Ozzie's music career or any career was rarely mentioned on the show. Ricky Nelson also became a singer and is probably best known for "Hello, Mary Lou." Sadly, on December 31, 1985, he was killed in a plane crash on the way to a concert.

His brother, David, died in 2011 from colon cancer. He was the last of the four.

Answer: Katy O'Connor

The Ann Sothern Show" ran from 1958 to 1961. Katy was an assistant manager at the Bartley House, a hotel in New York City. Her best friend and roommate, Olive Smith, was played by Ann Tyrrell. Her boss Jason McCauley was played by Ernest Truex. Katy was ahead of her time because she had an authoritative position.

Answer: Father

"Father Knows Best" starred Robert Young as the father, Jim Andreson, Sr. Jane Wyatt as his wife, Margaret. They had three children: Betty "Princess" Anderson, played by Elinor Donahue, James "Bud" Anderson, Jr. played by Billy Gray, and Kathy "Kitten" Anderson played by Lauren Chapin.

The father was a salesman and manager of the General Insurence Company, and Margaret was a housewife. The series was considered the ideal American family.

Answer: Gracie Allen

"The George Burns and Gracie Allens Show" premiered in 1950 and ran for eight years. The set was made to look like their actual house. Burns and Allen were married in 1926 and were married until she died in 1964. Burns died at age 100 in 1996. Burns broke the fourth wall on the series to comment on what was going on.