1970s Sitcoms That I Like Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oscar Madison

"The Odd Couple" premiered in 1970 and starred Tony Randall as Felix Unger and Jack Klugman as Oscar Madison. It was based on a play (which also became a movie) of the same name written by the late Neil Simon. Both men were divorced. Felix drove Oscar crazy with his obsessive cleaning and honking (if you aren't familiar with it, you need to look it up. Tony Randall was a pro at it). Meanwhile, Oscar drove Felix crazy cause he was a major slob. The other people in the answers were Oscar and Felix's friends and poker players. Murray was also a police officer on the show.

Answer: "All in the Family"

"All in the Family" came out in 1971, starring Carroll O'Connor as Archie Bunker, a very opinionated bigot man who also has a soft side. Jean Stapleton played his wife Edith (aka Dingbat). O'Connor and Stapleton also sang the theme song, "Those Were the Days." Sally Struthers played their daughter Gloria. Gloria's husband, Michael (aka Meathead), was played by Rob Reiner. Archie told Edith, "stifle yourself" whenever she tried to share her viewpoint on something. "All in the Family" had five spin-offs, three of which were successful, "Maude," (which had its own spin-off "Good Times"), "The Jeffersons," (which had a spin-off called "Checking In"), and "Archie Bunker's Place" (which was considered a different show, but was much like the origins show, although during the first season Edith died as Jean Stapleton asked to be written off the show.

The less successful spin-offs were "Gloria" and "704 Hauser."

Answer: Captain Benjamin Franklin Pierce

"M*A*S*H" debuted in 1972. As he is better known, Captain Hawkeye Pierce was the chief surgeon played by Alan Alda. Major "Hot Lips" (as she has been called) Houlihan was the head nurse played by Loretta Swit. Corporal Radar (as he is most commonly known) O'Reilly is the clerk played by Gary Burghoff. Burghoff also played him in the movie - he was the only leading actor to play the part on both. Burghoff had Poland Syndrome, which affected his right hand.

It was not very noticeable as he managed to conceal the hand with props or by putting it in his pocket. Father Mulcahy was the chaplain played by William Christopher.

Interestingly the Korean War was three years long, "M*A*S*H" ran for eleven.

Answer: Lamont

"Sanford and Son" came out in 1972 and stared Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford, a junkyard owner. Demond Wilson played his son Lamont. "Sanford and Son" was based on the British series "Steptoe and Son." Sanford was always faking heart attacks and saying, "I'm coming to you, Elizabeth." Elizabeth was his wife, who was already gone before the show started. Sanford was a schemer, and Lamont didn't want anything to do with those schemes.

In 1991, while filming "The Royal Family," Foxx had a massive heart attack.

The cast members thought he was joking around until he grabbed a chair and fell to the floor. He died in the hospital later that evening.

Answer: False

Potsie's real first name was Warren. Anson Williams played Warren "Potsie" Weber. He appeared in all eleven seasons of the show's run. Potsie attended school with Ritchie Cunningham (played by Ron Howard) and was one of his best friends. They and Ralph Malph (played by Donny Most) often hung out at Arnold's Drive-In. Potsie is not very smart but he is a good singer.

According to the episode, "The Deadly Dares" Weber got the nickname Potsie because he liked to make things with clay as a child.

Answer: Saturday Night

"Saturday Night Live" or "SNL" is a sketch comedy. The original cast was Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Garrett Morris, Loraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. Chevy Chase was the first "Weekend Update" host and the first cast member to leave the show. Since then, actors have come and gone.

There was a film short on the show in season three called "Don't Look Back in Anger," where he visits the graves of all the other cast members. This has become somewhat ironic since, in 1982, Belushi was the first cast member from "SNL" to die.

Many actors such as Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd, and Jane Curtin have gone on and had successful prime-time television series or movies throughout the years. The cast was initially called "The Not Ready for Prime-Time Players." And in the words of Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna, "It just goes to show you, it's always something."

Answer: "Alice"

"Alice" premiered in 1976 and starred Linda Levin in the title role. Alice worked as a waitress in Mel's Diner. Mel was played by Vic Tayback, who also played Mel in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," the movie from which the series is based. Polly Holliday played Flo.

Answer: "Soap"

"Soap," a parody on the daytime soap operas, came out in 1977. The Tates and the Campbells were the two families. Jessica Tate (Katherine Helmand) and Mary Campbell (Cathryn Damon) are sisters. The Tates had a butler named Benson (Robert Guillaume) left the series in 1979 to star in his own show "Benson." The Tates are a wealthy family, whereas the Campbells are a working-class family. Mary's stepson Chuck (Jay Johnson) is a ventriloquist who believes his dummy Bob is real. Jodie Dallas (Billy Crystal) was the son of Mary and her ex-husband Jonny. Jodie is considered one of the first openly gay characters on television; however, he had more relationships with women than men, even getting one pregnant. Every week at the beginning of the show, Rod Roddy summarized the previous weeks' storylines and then said, "Confused? You won't be after this week's episode of 'Soap."

Answer: Mork

"Mork and Mindy" came out in 1978 and starred Robin Williams and Pam Dawber as the title characters. Mork is an alien from Ork who was grown on a test tube. He is sent by egg to Earth and lands in Boulder, Colorado, where he meets and lives with Mindy McConnell.

The two fall in love and get married. Mork has a baby named Mearth (Jonathan Winters). Organs start old and get younger. Mork had to report to Orson (voiced by Ralph James) what he learned about earthlings that week at the end of every show. During this time, Mork, who usually wore suspenders, wore a red suit with a triangle on the front. Mork constantly insulted Orson, calling him names like "Your Fatitude." Robin Williams improvised much of what Mork said and did, such as sitting by putting his head in the chair.

Answer: "The Facts of Life"

"The Facts of Life" came out in 1979. It was a spin-off of "Diff'rent Strokes in which Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) becomes a housemother at Eastland School, an all-girl boarding school. Blair Warner was the rich girl in the group played by Lisa Whelchel. Tootsie Ramsey (Kim Fields) was the youngest girl at the school. Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn) is Jewish and also large-figured.

She has a very healthy self-image, however. Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon) was added in season two and was the tough biker who was originally an outsider.

There were other girls as well, but these were the main ones.