Iconic TV Shows of the 50s & 60s
Instructions: From I Love Lucy to The Twilight Zone — test your knowledge of television's most beloved early shows!
- 1.
On 'I Love Lucy,' what was the name of the nightclub where Ricky Ricardo performed?
AClub BabaluBThe CopaCThe Tropicana ClubDThe Stork Club - 2.
Which show famously introduced rock 'n' roll acts, comedians, and variety performers to a Sunday night audience?
AThe Ed Sullivan ShowBAmerican BandstandCThe Jack Benny ProgramDThe Tonight Show - 3.
What was the name of the sheriff in the fictional town of Mayberry, North Carolina?
ASheriff Andy TaylorBSheriff Barney FifeCSheriff Lucas McCainDSheriff Matt Dillon - 4.
Which sci-fi anthology series, hosted by Rod Serling, explored strange and supernatural stories?
AThe Twilight ZoneBScience Fiction TheatreCThe Outer LimitsDAlfred Hitchcock Presents - 5.
Which 1950s Western TV show featured Marshal Matt Dillon keeping order in Dodge City?
AHave Gun – Will TravelBBonanzaCRawhideDGunsmoke - 6.
Who played the bumbling deputy Barney Fife on 'The Andy Griffith Show'?
ADon KnottsBJim NaborsCHoward McNearDGeorge Lindsey - 7.
What groundbreaking 1960s TV show featured an interracial cast aboard the USS Enterprise?
AVoyage to the Bottom of the SeaBStar TrekCThe Time TunnelDLost in Space - 8.
Which family sitcom featured a housekeeper named Hazel Burke?
AHazelBThe Dick Van Dyke ShowCMy Three SonsDThe Donna Reed Show - 9.
On 'The Honeymooners,' what was Ralph Kramden's job?
ACab driverBPostal workerCPlumberDBus driver - 10.
Which 1960s sitcom featured a genie discovered by an astronaut?
AMy Favorite MartianBThe Flying NunCI Dream of JeannieDBewitched - 11.
What classic TV show featured the Ricardo and Mertz families as neighbors?
AI Love LucyBThe HoneymoonersCMake Room for DaddyDThe Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet - 12.
Which TV Western, set on the Ponderosa ranch, featured the Cartwright family?
ABonanzaBThe RiflemanCThe Big ValleyDGunsmoke - 13.
Who hosted the panel show 'What's My Line?' for its entire CBS run from 1950 to 1967?
AArt LinkletterBGarry MooreCJohn DalyDAllen Ludden - 14.
Which 1960s spy spoof TV series starred Don Adams as a bumbling secret agent?
AI SpyBGet SmartCThe Man from U.N.C.L.E.DMission: Impossible - 15.
Which comedian hosted a pioneering TV variety show from 1948 to 1956, earning the nickname 'Mr. Television'?
ASid CaesarBRed SkeltonCMilton BerleDJackie Gleason
Answer Key
Ricky Ricardo performed at the Tropicana Club (later renamed Club Babalu in some episodes). Desi Arnaz's real-life musical talent made the performances authentic.
The Ed Sullivan Show ran from 1948 to 1971, showcasing everyone from Elvis Presley and the Beatles to the cast of the Broadway show 'Oliver!'
Andy Griffith starred as the wise and folksy Sheriff Andy Taylor on The Andy Griffith Show (1960-1968). The show is still beloved for its small-town warmth.
The Twilight Zone ran from 1959 to 1964, with Rod Serling writing or co-writing 92 of the 156 episodes. Its twist endings became legendary.
Gunsmoke ran for 20 seasons from 1955 to 1975, making it one of the longest-running primetime live-action series in American television history.
Don Knotts won five Emmy Awards for his portrayal of the lovable but inept Barney Fife, making him one of the most awarded comedy actors of the era.
Star Trek, created by Gene Roddenberry, debuted in 1966 and featured one of TV's first interracial casts, including the first interracial kiss on American television.
Shirley Booth starred as the opinionated but lovable maid Hazel from 1961 to 1966, winning two Emmy Awards for the role.
Jackie Gleason's Ralph Kramden drove a bus for the Gotham Bus Company. The show, set in a modest Brooklyn apartment, ran as a series in 1955-56.
I Dream of Jeannie starred Barbara Eden as a 2,000-year-old genie and Larry Hagman as astronaut Tony Nelson. It ran from 1965 to 1970.
Fred and Ethel Mertz, played by William Frawley and Vivian Vance, were the Ricardos' landlords and best friends on I Love Lucy.
Bonanza aired from 1959 to 1973 and was one of the first series broadcast in color. The Cartwright family — Ben, Adam, Hoss, and Little Joe — became household names.
John Daly moderated What's My Line? for all 17 years of its original run. Panelists like Dorothy Kilgallen and Bennett Cerf became celebrities in their own right.
Get Smart, created by Mel Brooks and Buck Henry, ran from 1965 to 1970. Maxwell Smart's shoe phone and the catchphrase 'Would you believe...' became iconic.
Milton Berle's Texaco Star Theater was so popular that it's credited with driving early television sales. Restaurants and movie theaters reportedly emptied on Tuesday nights.