Match the Actor with the Show - 1950s Edition Quiz

Answer: Robert Young

Long before "The Simpsons", we had the middle-class Anderson family residing in another town of Springfield on "Father Knows Best". The sitcom ran from 1954 to 1960 and followed the domestic adventures of insurance salesman Jim Anderson (Robert Young), his homemaker wife (Jane Wyatt), and their three children (Elinor Donahue, Billy Gray, and Lauren Chapin).

Although father got the credit, it was mother Margaret (Wyatt) who was usually the voice of reason. Young received four consecutive Emmy nominations (1956-1959) for his work on the show, and he won the award in 1957 and 1958. Wyatt also picked up a few Emmy awards for her work on the show in the Lead Actress category, and Donahue and Gray also scored nominations in the Supporting categories.

Answer: James Garner

The western drama "Maverick" ran from 1957 to 1962 and initially starred James Garner as the poker-playing Bret Maverick. He was later joined by Jack Kelly as his brother Bart, and when Garner left the series in 1960, future "James Bond" Roger Moore joined the series as cousin Beau. Moore was replaced the following year with Robert Colbert as another Maverick brother, Brent.

The series followed the various Mavericks as they traveled around the west, getting in and out of various trouble which frequently involved women. Garner was the only cast member to receive an Emmy nomination; he did so in 1959 but didn't win, but the show did manage to pick up the "Best Western Series" Emmy that year.

Answer: Jackie Gleason

"The Honeymooners" had originally debuted as a sketch on the "Cavalcade of Stars" show in 1951 and was then continued as seven to thirteen minute sketches on "The Jackie Gleason Show" from 1952-1955. The half-hour sitcom "The Honeymooners" actually only ran one season (1955/1956).

The series followed the schemes and adventures of bus driver Ralph Kramden (Jackie Gleason), his best friend Ed Norton (Art Carney), and their wives (Audrey Meadows and Joyce Randolph). The show was noted for being one of the first television series to show working class couples in realistic living conditions. For "The Honeymooners" series, Gleason received an Emmy nomination in 1956 but didn't win.

He also picked up two nominations in 1954 and 1955 for "The Jackie Gleason Show" but didn't win those either. Both Carney and Meadows picked up Emmy nominations for their supporting work on the show, with Carney winning the award.

Answer: Danny Thomas

Also known as "The Danny Thomas Show", the sitcom "Make Room for Daddy" ran from 1953 to 1964. On the show, Thomas portrayed entertainer Danny Williams whose job left him little time for his family. Jean Hagen portrayed his strict wife Margaret who ran the household. Hagen left the series after season three, and her character was killed off -- one of the first deaths on a sitcom. Williams was then a widower for a few seasons before marrying his son's nurse. Thomas received four Emmy nominations (1955, 1956, 1958, and 1959) for his work on the show, winning the award in the first year. Hagen was the only other cast member to receive nominations for her work on the show.

Answer: Jack Webb

The police procedural drama "Dragnet" ran from 1951 to 1959 and featured Jack Webb as the no-nonsense Sergeant Joe Friday and Ben Alexander as his partner Frank Smith. The show first started on radio with Webb and Alexander serving in the same roles. The series was serious in nature, almost to the point of being a documentary; Webb, who also created and produced the show, had worked with the Los Angeles Police Department to ensure authenticity, and most episodes were based on real cases. Webb received three consecutive Emmy nominations (1954-1956) for his work on the show but didn't win. Alexander was the only other cast member to receive nominations for his work on the show.

Answer: Wally Cox

The sitcom "Mister Peepers" ran from 1952 to 1955 and followed the adventures of meek science teacher Robinson Peepers (Wally Cox) at Jefferson City Junior High School. The cast included Tony Randall, Jack Warden, and Marion Lorne as fellow members of staff at the school. On the show, Peepers was a timid and gentle soul who frequently managed to find himself in embarrassing situations.

The wedding episode where Peepers married nurse Nancy Remington (Patricia Benoit) was one of television's first blockbuster episodes, and their wedding photo made the cover of "TV Guide" magazine.

The show received several Emmy nominations, but no wins. Cox received his sole nomination in 1954 for his work on the show. Supporting performers Randall and Lorne also received Emmy nominations.

Answer: Craig Stevens

The film noir detective series "Peter Gunn" ran from 1958 to 1961 and is probably best remembered for its Emmy-nominated and Grammy-winning theme music (the album "The Music from Peter Gunn" won the Album of the Year award for Henry Mancini at the 1st Grammy Awards in 1958). Craig Stevens portrayed the titular stylish private investigator who had a passion for jazz and who managed to solve cases during the half-hour time slot without a hair out of place.

The show received eight Emmy nominations, all in 1959, but didn't pick up any awards. Stevens received a nomination for his work on the show, as did supporting performers Herschel Bernardi, Lola Albright, and Hope Emerson.

Answer: Clayton Moore

One of the first western TV series, "The Lone Ranger" ran from 1949 to 1957. Clayton Moore portrayed the fictional hero for most of the series' run; John Hart temporarily replace Moore in the early 1950s due to a contract dispute. On the show, the Lone Ranger was a former Texas Ranger who was the sole survivor of a massacre; rather than return to the job, he donned a mask and chased after bad guys with the help of Indian scout Tonto (Jay Silverheels).

The show received two Emmy nominations during its run but none for Moore or any other performers. Moore did receive a TV Land Awards nomination in 2005 in the Favorite Crimestopper category but lost to Adam West and Burt Ward for "Batman".

Answer: Desi Arnaz

"I Love Lucy" ran from 1951 to 1957 and was arguably the most famous of the 1950s sitcoms. The show was developed from an earlier radio program, "My Favorite Husband", which starred Lucille Ball as a zany housewife. When that program was being developed for television, Ball insisted that her husband, Cuban bandleader Desi Arnaz, be cast as her husband; the network resisted initially because of concerns over viewer response to a "mixed" marriage, but after the couple put together a successful vaudeville act based on their marriage, the network relented. Arnaz was cast as bandleader Ricky Ricardo, with Ball portraying his talentless but starstruck wife Lucy. William Frawley and Vivian Vance portrayed the Ricardo's neighbors and best friends who were frequently dragged into Lucy's schemes.

The show received many Emmy nominations during its run and scored a few wins, but Arnaz was the only recurring cast member not to receive any acting nominations. However he did pick up nominations in 1952-1955 as a producer of the show, and he won the Emmy in 1953 and 1954 as an executive producer in the "Best Situation Comedy" category.

Answer: George Reeves

"Adventures of Superman" ran from 1952 to 1958 and starred George Reeves as the alien superhero who masqueraded as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent in his off time. The series followed Superman from his infancy on the planet Krypton to his daily battles with bad guys on Earth.

The show may have been popular with fans but not with Emmy voters; it received no Emmy nominations during its run. However in later years, Reeves received two nominations from the TV Land Awards: Superest Super Hero (2003) and Most "Out of this World" (2005).

He lost the Super Hero award to Lee Majors ("The Six Million Dollar Man") and the "Out of this World" award to Robin Williams ("Mork and Mindy").