Television Trivia

Television has only been around since the early twentieth century, but in that time, there has been quite a bit television trivia.

Here are some examples of television trivia from classic television shows. There are many classic television Christmas specials for children. Do you know who narrated “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?” It was Burl Ives. Who narrated the cartoon “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” by playing a mail carrier? That was none other than dancer and actor Fred Astaire. Finally, Jimmy Durante narrated the favorite “Frosty the Snowman.”

Here is some comedy television trivia for you. What United States president appeared on the comedy variety show Rowan and Martin’s Laugh In? It was Richard Nixon who appeared right before he was elected president. Do you remember who was the only person not fired from WJM at the end of the Mary Tyler Moore Show? It was the bumbling newscaster Tex Baxter, played by actor Ted Knight. The Mary Tyler Moore Show spanned three spin-off shows: Lou Grant, Rhoda and Phyllis.

A favorite detective show of the 1960’s was Dragnet. Do you remember who Blue Boy was? Actor Michael Burns played Benji “Blue Boy” Carver. His character not only introduced LSD to the show, but also overdosed from using it at the end. Jack Webb was the star and producer of Dragnet, but also went on to be the director of Adam-12, a popular police drama and Emergency!, a popular medical drama.

Did you ever watch Happy Days? If you watched the first season, you may remember that Richie and Joanie had an older brother named Chuck. But whatever happened to Chuck? For some unexplained reason, Chuck disappeared after the first season, never to return to the sitcom that ran for 10 years. Do you know what the longest running animated series in prime time? That is the Simpsons, taking over that title from the Flintstones, which ran from 1960 until 1966.