Match the Supporting Actor with the Show - 1990s Quiz

Answer: David Hyde Pierce

"Frasier" was a spin-off series developed from the 1980s show "Cheers" and focused on the character of psychiatrist Frasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer). "Frasier" ran from 1993 to 2004 and followed the adventures of Seattle radio show host Crane and his family and friends. David Hyde Pierce portrayed his psychiatrist brother Niles, with the role of Frasier's brother being specifically created for him due to his resemblance to Grammer.

The critically-acclaimed show received 108 Emmy nominations during its run, the most of any series at that point in time. Pierce received Emmy nominations for his work on the show for eleven consecutive years from 1994 to 2004, and he won the award in 1995, 1998, 1999 and 2004.

Answer: LeVar Burton

"Star Trek: The Next Generation" actually started in the 1980s but it is included in this quiz because the majority of the episodes aired in the 1990s, with the series running from 1987 to 1994. Taking place 70 years after the final mission of Captain Kirk's Enterprise, this version of "Star Trek" featured a crew led by Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), and like the original series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation" was also created by Gene Roddenberry. On the show, LeVar Burton portrayed Geordi La Forge, initially the helmsman and later the chief engineer for the ship. La Forge was blind and used a Visual Instrument and Sensory Organ Replacement (VISOR) to grant him some aspects of vision. Burton stated that the VISOR was uncomfortable to wear and actually gave him "a daily headache for about six years".

Answer: Michael Richards

Frequently mentioned as one of the best television series of all time by magazines such as "TV Guide" and "Entertainment Weekly", "Seinfeld" ran from 1989 to 1998. Based on the stand-up comedy of Jerry Seinfeld, the episodes often featured multiple interwoven plots involving everyday situations in the lives of Seinfeld and his friends, Elaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus), George (Jason Alexander) and Kramer (Michael Richards). Michael Richards and Jason Alexander both received multiple Emmy nominations for their work on the show in the Supporting Actor category; Richards was nominated in 1993-1997, winning the award in 1993, 1994 and 1997, while Alexander received nominations in 1992-1998 but didn't win.

Answer: Jerry Van Dyke

The sports comedy "Coach" ran from 1989 to 1997 and featured Craig T. Nelson as Hayden Fox, the football coach of the fictional Minnesota State University Screaming Eagles and later in the series, as a coach of an NFL expansion team. The show focused on Fox's personal life as well as his job where he worked with assistant coaches Luther Van Dam (Jerry Van Dyke) and Dauber Dybinski (Bill Fagerbakke). Because of the nature of the show, several NFL stars and personalities made guest appearances during the series, including Troy Aikman, Dick Butkus and Mike Ditka. Van Dyke received Emmy nominations for his work on the show in 1990-1992 and 1994 but didn't win.

Incidentally, Van Dyke portrayed the character Luther Van Damme on the 1997 episode "Drew Gets Married" of "The Drew Carey Show", but it was a one-time appearance; he wasn't a regular cast member on the show.

Answer: Dean Stockwell

The science fiction series "Quantum Leap" originally aired from 1989 to 1993 and featured Scott Bakula as Dr. Sam Beckett who was able to use time travel to change history, in some cases inhabiting the body of real people from history, like Lee Harvey Oswald. Dean Stockwell portrayed Admiral Al Calavicci, Sam's friend and assistant, who appeared as a hologram and provided guidance to Sam during his leaps.

Although the show only ran for a few seasons, it developed quite a following and is now considered a cult classic. Stockwell received Emmy nominations for his work on the show in 1990-1993 but didn't win.

Answer: Richard Karn

"Home Improvement" ran from 1991 to 1999 and was based on the stand-up comedy of Tim Allen. On the show, Allen portrayed Tim Taylor, an accident-prone handyman who hosted a home improvement show, "Tool Time" along with his much more competent assistant Al Borland (Richard Karn).

While part of the series was devoted to Taylor's home life with his family and barely visible neighbor, Wilson W. Wilson, most of the comedy revolved around "Tool Time" escapades with Borland. Karn went on to host the game show "Family Feud" following his time on the series, and in a case of life imitating art, he later hosted a do-it-yourself show called "You Karn Fix it Yourself".

Answer: Daniel Davis

Created by Fran Drescher and her then-husband Peter Jacobson, "The Nanny" ran from 1993 to 1999. On the show, Fran Fine (Drescher) became the unlikely nanny to the children of Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (Charles Shaughnessy), and she worked her way into his life, often in collusion with Niles the butler (Daniel Davis).

The snooty Niles looked out for Sheffield and Fine and was an instrument in developing the eventual romantic relationship between the two. Although Niles had an English accent, Davis was actually from Arkansas.

He used the same accent when he appeared in a guest role on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" playing Professor Moriarty, but he wasn't a regular cast member on that show, only appearing twice.

Answer: Hector Elizondo

The David E. Kelley medical drama "Chicago Hope" ran from 1994 to 2000 and featured an ensemble cast including Mandy Patinkin, Adam Arkin, Barbara Hershey, Christine Lahti, Thomas Gibson and future "NCIS" co-stars Mark Harmon, Lauren Holly and Rocky Carroll.

Hector Elizondo was on the show for its entire run, portraying the hospital Chief of Staff Phillip Watters, which was the only character to appear in every episode of the show. Characters from the series appeared on other TV shows, such as "Picket Fences" and "Early Edition", and in 1998, "The Other Cheek" episode was the first U.S. television series episode to be broadcast in HDTV. For his work on the show, Elizondo received Emmy nominations in 1995-1998, winning the award in 1997. Arkin also received a Supporting Actor Emmy nod in 1997.

Answer: Jaleel White

The sitcom "Family Matters" ran from 1989 to 1997 and followed the adventures of an African-American middle class family, the Winslows, headed by police officer Carl Winslow (Reginald VelJohnson). Although the show was intended to focus on the Winslow family, it was the character of Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) who became the breakout star. Urkel was a geeky kid who lived next door to the Winslows and who was infatuated with Winslow's daughter Laura (Kellie Shanygne Williams).

His catchphrase "Did I do that?" was one of the best known from the 1990s.

Although the series only received an Emmy nomination in a technical category, White received awards for his work on the show from the NAACP Image Awards in 1994 and 1995.

Answer: Ryan Stiles

"The Drew Carey Show" ran from 1995 to 2004 and was based on the stand-up comedy of Drew Carey. On the show for all but the last two years of the series, Carey portrayed the assistant director of personnel at a department store, and the series focused on his work life with Mimi (Kathy Kinney) and home life with friends Lewis (Ryan Stiles), Oswald (Diedrich Bader), and on-and-off girlfriend Kate (Christa Miller). Several characters left the series in the final two years, including Miller, and the setting was changed to an online retailer. Stiles had appeared on the U.K. improv show "Whose Line is it Anyway?" which started in the late 1980s, and when an American version was created in 1998, both Carey and Stiles were executive producers and performers on the program.