The One Where You Match The Parents Quiz

Answer: Frank Buffay, Sr

Frank Buffay Sr is Phoebe's father. He is an unseen character for some time, having abandoned his wife, Lily, when Phoebe and her twin sister, Ursula, were babies. This was despite his plan to stay and raise his children, who he actually conceived with his and Lily's friend, Phoebe Abbott, who was in a ménage à trois with the couple. Frank, having divorced his wife, moved to Upstate New York, where he raised a second family, including his son Frank Jr; he subsequently leaves his second family. Frank finally appears when he hears that his former mother-in-law has died, attending her funeral where he meets Phoebe as an adult for the first time.

Bob Balaban has had a distinguished career since the early 1970s. During his time, he has received numerous award nominations for acting, producing and directing, as well as writing a series of children's books. He made his only appearance as Frank Sr in the season five episode "The One With Joey's Bag".

Answer: Joey Tribbiani, Sr

Joey Tribbiani, Sr is Joey's father. A pipe fitter by trade, he lives on Staten Island with his wife, Gloria, where he raised six daughters and his only son. Although Joey is close to his dad, there are some things about him that he doesn't know, such as the fact that, despite his apparently contented life with his wife, he has been having an extra-marital affair with Ronnie Rapolato, a pet mortician. When Joey does find out, he heartily disapproves, but is forced to accept the situation when his mother reminds him how much happier Joey Sr is now, as he has a "hobby".

Robert Costanzo appeared as Joey Sr in the season one episode "The One With The Boobies". Although this was his only appearance in "Friends", in 2006 he became the only actor other than Matt LeBlanc to reprise a role from the parent show in the spin-off series "Joey", when he played Joey Sr in the second season episode "Joey and the Dad".

Answer: Nora Tyler Bing

Nora Tyler Bing is Chandler's mother. The successful author of a series of explicit novels for adults, we learn that, when Chandler was nine years old, she divorced her husband following his admission that he was leaving her for the pool boy. Although in her own mind she raised Chandler well, his upbringing was somewhat unorthodox, her idea of good parenting being buying her son his first packet of condoms. Despite this, she admits she loves her son, and is excited to participate in his wedding to Monica, even though it forces her together with her ex-husband, Charles. However, the pair are able to remain cordial, even going so far as to escort Chandler down the aisle before the ceremony.

Morgan Fairchild's first appearance as Nora Bing came in the season one episode "The One With Mrs Bing". She appeared in three consecutive episodes at the end of season seven and the start season eight, beginning with "The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 1" and ending with "The One After I Do". At the time she was approached, the actress was hesitant to accept the part, as she felt she was probably too young to play Chandler's mother. Despite this, she accepted, and reconsidered her view when Matthew Perry, who played Chandler, approached her on set and told her that his father, the actor John Bennett Perry, had worked with her on the soap opera "Flamingo Road" in the early 1980s, and as a boy Matthew would visit the set.

Answer: Phoebe Abbott

Phoebe learns from her grandmother about a former friend of her parents who lives in Montauk, Phoebe Abbott. Upon visiting her, Phoebe learns that in fact, far from being merely a friend of her parents, the other Phoebe in fact lived with them in a ménage à trois situation, and got pregnant with twins, meaning that she is Phoebe's birth mother. The two Phoebes eventually come to terms with this, and begin to build a relationship, to the point that it is to her birth mother that Phoebe turns for advice when trying to decide whether to serve as a surrogate for her half-brother Frank and his wife.

Teri Garr had appeared in film and on television for several years before getting her big break being cast as Inga in the Mel Brooks film, "Young Frankenstein" in 1974. Following this, she gained a reputation as a comedy actress, which included an Oscar nomination for her role in "Tootsie". She appeared as Phoebe Abbott in a total of three episodes of "Friends", beginning with the final episode of season three, "The One At The Beach", which continued into the first episode of season four, "The One With The Jellyfish". Her final appearance came in the season four episode "The One With Phoebe's Uterus".

Answer: Jack Geller

Jack Geller is Monica and Ross's father. An affable and likeable man, with an unfortunate tendency to put his foot in his mouth, he is from Long Island, where he lives with his wife Judy and raised his two children. While both Jack and his wife are known to favour Ross over Monica, Jack is less overt about this, and has often been more sympathetic towards his daughter, to the extent that, when Monica is told that all of the child possessions that were stored in her parents' garage had been destroyed, Jack gave Monica his Porsche.

Although Elliott Gould had been well known, and had starred in a number of films during his career, being cast as Jack Geller introduced him to a new generation of fans, and saw his career begin an upward swing. Following his casting in "Friends", he made a critically acclaimed appearance in 1998's "American History X", and was cast as part of the ensemble in "Ocean's 11" in 2001. He eventually appeared in a total of twenty episodes across all ten seasons, beginning with season one's "The One With The Sonogram at the End", and concluding with "The One With The Cake" in season ten.

Answer: Leonard Greene

Leonard Greene is Rachel's father. A cardiologist by profession, Dr Greene is an overbearing perfectionist, who can be both unpleasant and occasionally amoral. However, despite this, he loves his daughter, having told people that Rachel is the only one of his three children he is actually proud of. Leonard's relationship with Rachel's mother, Sandra, is fractious, with the pair having gone through a difficult divorce, to the point that they are unable to be in the same room without arguing; they even had to be "shushed" by Archbishop Desmond Tutu during the commencement address at their daughter Jill's graduation.

Ron Leibman was an actor with a long and distinguished career, having made his film debut in 1970's "Where's Poppa?". He won an Emmy in 1979 for his lead role in the TV series "Kaz", and a Tony in 1993 for his role as Roy Cohn in "Angels in America". Despite this success, he commented following his appearances in "Friends" the thing people asked him most was "aren't you Rachel's dad?". He appeared in four episodes in total, beginning with season two's "The One With Two Parties", and ending with season ten's "The One Where Joey Speaks French".

Answer: Judy Geller

Judy Geller is Ross and Monica's mother. Although she obviously loves them both, she favours Ross, criticising Monica whenever she has done something wrong, to the point where she describes anyone making a mistake as having "pulled a Monica". However, it is evident that this is not done with any malice, and is simply the way she was raised by her own mother, who was as critical of Judy when she was younger. As time goes on, Judy comes to accept Monica's foibles more, at the same time realising that Ross is not perhaps the "golden child" she imagined him to be.

Christina Pickles was born in Yorkshire, the daughter of Alfred Pickles, who was formerly the Mayor of Halifax. She moved to New York in the late 1950s after attending RADA, with her first significant role coming in 1961 in "Look Back in Anger". She had a number of significant roles on television during the 1970s and 80s, before being cast as Judy Geller, a role she played in a total of 19 episodes across the ten seasons of "Friends", beginning with "The One With The Sonogram At The End" in season one, and ending with season ten's "The One With The Cake".

Answer: Sandra Greene

Sandra Greene is Rachel's mother. As an individual, she displays many of the qualities Rachel had prior to her move to the city - she is seemingly dependent on others for money, somewhat spoiled, and dismissive of people in minimum-wage professions. However, she also has a desire to be independent upon seeing her daughter's success and happiness in the new life she has made. She has a toxic relationship with her ex-husband, Dr Leonard Greene, who she divorces not long after Rachel strikes out on her own, to the extent that they are unable to be in the same room without arguing.

Marlo Thomas was cast in her first major role by director Mike Nichols, when she played the lead role in the West End production of "Barefoot in the Park". the following year, she won the lead role in the ABC sitcom "That Girl", which ran until 1971. Prior to her being cast in "Friends", she had won three Emmy Awards, a Golden Globe and a Peabody Award; her role as Sandra Greene earned her an eighth Emmy nomination. She appeared in a total of three episodes; "The One With The Lesbian Wedding" in season one, "The One With The Two Parties" in season two, and "The One With The Baby Shower" in season eight.

Answer: Charles Bing

Charles Bing is Chandler's father. An unseen character during the first few seasons of the show, it is revealed that he is gay, having had an affair with the pool boy, who he left his wife for when Chandler was nine, and that he is the star of a cabaret show in Las Vegas called "Viva Las Gaygas", where he performs as a drag-queen named Helena Handbasket. It is in this guise that Chandler and Monica visit him in Las Vegas to invite him to their wedding. Despite his fraught relationship with his ex-wife Nora, Charles (dressed as Helena) joins her to escort Chandler down the aisle prior to the ceremony, and is able to sit cordially with her during the reception.

Kathleen Turner appeared as Charles Bing in the final three episodes of season 7 of "Friends", beginning with "The One With Chandler's Dad", and ending with "The One With Monica and Chandler's Wedding, Part 2". She was originally approached to play the role by the show's co-creator, David Crane, who came backstage following a performance of her one-woman show to enquire if she would be interested. The idea of a woman playing a man playing a woman appealed, and she agreed.

Answer: Gloria Tribbiani

Gloria Tribbiani is Joey's mother, who lives on Staten Island with her husband, Joey Sr. The mother of seven children, she was once written up in a medical journal owing to the fact that she became pregnant almost immediately following the birth of each of her children, leading to each being almost exactly nine months older than the next. Gloria is both a doting mother and a formidable woman, as can be seen when she arrives at Joey's apartment to deliver chicken, and admonish him by slapping his head. This is to force Joey to make peace with the fact his father is having an extra-marital affair, as she has, because of how much better Joey Sr is treating her.

Of the ten actors to play the parents, Brenda Vaccaro, who played Gloria, appeared the least. She was present in a single scene in the season one episode "The One With The Boobies". This makes her and her on-screen husband, Robert Costanzo, who played Joey Sr, the pair that appeared least during the ten-season run of "Friends".