50s TV Heroes: Heroic Gestures and Other Habits Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. This refugee hero from radio drama was a litterbug, always leaving his tacky bullets lying around after he had vanquished his foes. His horse's name was the same as the material from which his remarkable ammunition was made. Who was this masked man?

Answer: The Lone Ranger

Clayton Moore became the Lone Ranger for the Television show that debuted in 1949. A man of principal (spelling intended) - if not interest - Moore resigned from the show when his salary demands were not met in 1952. A better salary offer lured him back to the saddle in 1954.

In 1978, the media cast the Wrather Corporation as the villain in a dispute with Clayton Moore. Once again, it seems that it was not the principle of the thing but the money. Wrather, planning to release a new Lone Ranger film, found themselves vilified in the press for asking that Moore stop making public appearances as the Lone Ranger.

It was notable that Moore had neglected to pay a licensing fee to Wrather for the multitude of "Lone Ranger" appearances he had been making throughout the 1970s.

2. Great Caesar's ghost! Can't this man do anything without first removing those ridiculous glasses of his? Which 50s hero, after first looking this way and that, yanked off his glasses before ducking into the nearest closet (or phone booth) to ready himself for action?

Answer: Superman

Television's first Superman began his never-ending battle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way in 1951. The not very imposing figure of George Reeves in his costume graced America's television screens for more than 100 episodes before the show's untimely end in 1957. George Reeves' demise in 1959 was still more untimely.

Although his death was ruled a suicide, some speculate that an unknown assailant fired the single shot to the head that killed Reeves.

3. One of his sidekicks drove a jeep named "Nellybelle". His dog's name was Bullet and his horse was the palomino named Trigger. But what distinguished this cowboy from the other cowboy heroes of the 1950s?

Answer: He sang the show's theme with his wife Dale.

Roy Rogers (or his financial advisors) demonstrated a keen grasp of marketing concepts in the days before "marketing" was a concept. Initial success as a recording star led to his singing cowboy films of the 1930s and 1940s. But in addition to Roy Rogers films, Roy Rogers records and the "Roy Rogers" TV show, there were also Roy Rogers novels, Roy Rogers comics, Roy Rogers lunch boxes and ultimately, a Roy Rogers restaurant chain.

The young fan could pack a Roy Rogers cap pistol and wear a Roy Rogers hat, neckerchief and gloves.

There were even Roy Rogers and Trigger action figures!

4. He died defending the Republic of Texas with his cap on (coonskin cap, that is), swinging Old Betsey, his beloved rifle. What was the name of this b'ar killing, onetime Congressman?

Answer: David Crockett

On October 27, 1954, the first "Disneyland" show was broadcast. In return for producing the show for ABC, Walt Disney received funding for the revolutionary amusement park he was constructing amidst the orange groves of the then rural Anaheim. "Davy Crockett Indian Fighter" was shown on December 15, 1954. February 23, 1955 will live in television infamy as the day that Walt Disney killed off our beloved television hero at the Alamo. Disney repented of dispatching Davy and aired two "prequels" in 1955, but it wasn't the same.

The coonskin cap my parents purchased for me was one of over 10 million sold in the eight months following the original broadcast.

5. He arrested the bad guys in the name of the Crown and rode a horse named Rex. But, who is this intrepid pursuer of evildoers who shall ever be remembered shouting into the howling gale, amidst the swirling snow, "On King. On you huskies!"?

Answer: Sergeant Preston

A popular radio program debuting in 1938, "Sergeant Preston of the Yukon" moved to television in 1955. The show's creators, George W. Trendle and Fran Striker, were also responsible for "The Lone Ranger". Sgt. Preston, loyal officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, at times pursued criminals riding on his dog sled, his gallant dog King leading the pack.

The action took place in Canada's Yukon Territory, a feature exploited by the show's sponsor. As a premium, Quaker's Puffed Wheat and Puffed Rice boxes once contained a deed to one square inch of land in the Yukon.

6. This hero to a generation of small children wore mouse ears and a t-shirt with his name on the front. He wrote the show's song that reassured us that he would see us real soon. "Why? Because we like you." What was the name the adult leader of Disney's Mouseketeers?

Answer: Jimmie Dodd

Airing each weekday afternoon, "The Mickey Mouse Club" debuted in October 1955. However, the Mouseketeers had previously appeared on the television special that celebrated the opening of Disneyland in April 1955. The Mouseketeers were not actors but amateurs culled from a search of schools. In 1958, ABC insisted on increasing the number of commercials shown during each show. Walt Disney refused. ABC enforced the contract provision that forbade Disney to move the show to another network, and the show was cancelled after three seasons. It was revived in the 1970s and again in the 1990s.

Jimmie Dodd had an undistinguished film career prior to being selected as the "adult leader" for the Mouseketeers at age 45. A songwriter, Jimmie wrote the "Mickey Mouse Club" theme song. I'm sure I was not the only kid in the United States who used to sit on his front step wishing that Jimmie Dodd would come along and make him a Mouseketeer.

7. In the 50s, some TV heroes were real dogs. Tongue lolling out in a Michael Jordan-esque fashion, this canine TV hero would spring into action on the command of his "boy" Rusty. With what memorable phrase did Rusty launch his prodigious pooch into action?

Answer: Yo, Rinny!

Private Rin Tin Tin and his trusty boy Rusty served in the cavalry troop known as the "Fighting Blue Devils". Their television adventures were chronicled on "The Adventures of Rin Tin Tin" in the years 1954-59. However, an American army corporal rescued the original Rin Tin Tin that starred in movies of the 1930s as a starving pup from a World War I trench in France in 1918.

The success of the original Rin Tin Tin's films was so considerable that by the time of his death in 1932, Rin Tin Tin was being credited with saving Warner Studios from bankruptcy.

8. His headquarters stood "on a mountaintop, high above a large city"; he devoted himself "to the cause of freedom and justice" and dedicated his life "to the struggle against evil men everywhere." Of course, if you wanted to obtain the decoder pin for this TV hero's "Secret Squadron", you had to drink (or at least purchase) Ovaltine. Who was this "war hero who has never stopped fighting against his country's enemies"?

Answer: Captain Midnight

It might not have been an Ovaltine executive who said, "Give me the children", but the company certainly understood how to exploit the concept. In 1935 Ovaltine began inviting English children listening to its radio action-adventure show to join the "League of Ovaltineys". Lured by a series of premiums, a full 10% of all English children were members of this "secret club" by 1939!

However, there was a problem with Ovaltine (other than its palatability) - it was poorly soluble. Solution: the Little Orphan Annie Shake-up Mug, marketed as a mail-in premium to kids listening to the popular radio show. (My mom fixed my Ovaltine with hot milk.) There followed the Little Orphan Annie decoder badge. In 1941 Ovaltine ended its sponsorship of Annie and took up with Captain Midnight, and thus was the Captain Midnight decoder badge born.

Jet Jackson, the television Captain Midnight, led the Secret Squadron. His secret agent adventures commingled action with just a bit of science fiction.

9. "Out of the night, when the full moon is bright, comes the horseman known as..." What letter does this "bold renegade" carve to mark his deeds?

Answer: Z

Guy Williams played his part of the swashbuckling Zorro to perfection for the Disney TV series that began in 1957. An excellent supporting cast that included the mute "Bernardo" and the hapless "Sergeant Garcia" coupled with gripping plots and the occasional guest appearance of Annette Funicello kept me enthralled. (Perhaps it is wise to keep in mind I was only eight at the time.) Just as was the case with "The Mickey Mouse Club", a dispute between Disney and ABC killed the show.

10. "And then I saw it..." Lloyd Bridges played Mike Nelson, perhaps the only TV sleuth whose thoughts provided a running commentary on his search for clues and culprits. However, the unique setting in which he pursued evildoers rendered this device a dramatic necessity. For in which special locale did we see Mike Nelson hunt wrongdoers?

Answer: Underwater

"Sea Hunt" starred Lloyd Bridges as diver Mike Nelson whose cases invariably included long segments of underwater action. During these, the audience listened in to the thoughts of the star. CBS turned down an opportunity to host the show, and so it was produced in syndication and began airing in 1958. From 1958 to 1960, a pet store owner from Canoga Park appeared in six episodes - Leonard Nimoy.

However, Lloyd Bridges' most notable guest star was involved in the problem of a bomb planted in a hydroelectric plant in a 1961 episode.

It is unclear whether this guest star, Jack Nicholson, was the planter of the bomb.

Source: Author uglybird

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Some swashed, some buckled and one even drooled. See if you can identify these iconic television heroes from their trademark behaviors and accoutrements.

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