Dick Van Dyke Show Quiz

TV BANTER QUIZ #7

The Dick Van Dyke Show was created by Carl Reiner and it was based on Reiner's experiences as a television comedy writer for Sid Caesar.   If you are a fan of the classic Dick Van Dyke Show, try this quiz.  Good luck and enjoy!

1.  For how many seasons did The Dick Van Dyke show run?

A.  7

B.  8

C.  5

D.  6

E.  9  



2.  What was Laura Petrie's maiden name?

A.  Morrison

B.  Myers

C.  Meehan

D.  Donnelly



3.  Bespectacled Mel Cooley was the producer of the Alan Brady Show.  How was he related to the show's star?

A.  Alan and Mel were cousins.

B.  Mel was Alan's halfbrother.  They had the same mother.

C.  Mel was Alan's stepbrother.  He was the son of Alan's stepfather.

D.  Mel was Alan's brother-in-law. 

E.  Mel and Alan were not related at all.



4.  Richard Deacon, the actor who played Mel Cooley, also appeared on another famous television sitcom - Leave it to Beaver.  What character did Richard Deacon play on Leave it to Beaver?  (This is your bonus question so give yourself an extra point if you answer it correctly.)

A.  Eddie Haskell's father, George Haskell

B.  Julie Foster's father

C.  Larry Mondello's father

D.  Gilbert Bates' father

E.  Lumpy's father, Fred Rutherford



5.  Buddy Sorrell's brother was a . . .

A.  pool shark

B.  card shark

C.  rabbi

D.  psychiatrist

E.  boxer



6.  Which comedian appeared in a two-part episode as a hold-up man who robbed Laura and Rob while they were trapped in a stalled elevator.

A.  Danny Thomas

B.  Milton Berle

C.  Don Rickles

D.  Red Skelton

E.  Don Rickles



7.  Which 1960's singing duo appeared as teen idols who hid in Rob and Laura's house to avoid fans?

A.  Peter and Gordon

B.  Chad and Jeremy

C.  Simon and Garfunkel

D.  Jan and Dean

E.  Sonny and Cher



8.  Laura revealed Alan Brady's secret on television.  What was the secret?

A.  Alan was afraid of heights.

B.  Alan was a high school dropout.

C.  Alan was an ex-convict.

D.  Alan's wife left him for another man.

E  Alan wore a toupee.



9.  What was the nickname of Buddy Sorrell's wife?

A.  Pudding

B.  Bunny

C.  Pickles

D.  Petunia

E.  Perky



10.  Dick Van Dyke's real-life brother, Jerry Van Dyke, portrayed Rob Petrie's brother Stacey on the show.  What musical instrument did Stacey play?

A.  accordion

B.  guitar

C.  piano

D.  drums

E.  banjo



11.  Morey Amsterdam played the role of Rob Petrie's comedy writing associate, Buddy Sorrell.  What was Buddy's real first name?

A.  Maurice

B.  Morris

C.  Douglas

D.  Ernest

E.  Abraham



12.  Rob and Laura's neighbours, Jerry and Millie Helper, had a son.  What was the name of their son?

A.  Billy

B.  Tom

C.  Freddie

D.  Jimmy

E.  Rodney


13.  What was Jerry Helper's occupation?

A.  lawyer

B.  psychiatrist

C.  sculptor

D.  dentist

E.  newspaper columnist


14.  What was the name of Sally Rogers' (Rose Marie) sometimes boyfriend?

A.  Henry

B.  Herman

C.  Ralph 

D.  Elmer

E.  Arnold   


15.  The pilot episode for The Dick Van Dyke Show was titled Head of the Family.  Who portrayed Rob Petrie in the pilot?

A.  Alan Alda

B.  Robert Cummings

C.  Jim Backus

D.  Carl Reiner

E.  Dick York



ANSWERS

1.  C

The Dick Van Dyke Show ran for five seasons, from 1961 until 1966.  The first episode of the series aired on October 3, 1961 on CBS.  158 episodes of the series were aired.


2.  C

Laura Petrie's maiden name was Meehan.  There is some confusion because in a 1961 episode (Season 1, Episode 6) titled "Oh, How We Met on the Night that We Danced," it was Laura Meeker (Note: Mary Tyler Moore's first husband was Richard Meeker).  In several subsequent episodes, Laura's maiden name was Meehan. 


3.  D

Mel Cooley was Alan Brady's brother-in-law. 


4.  E. 

Richard Deacon also portrayed Fred Rutherford, Ward Cleaver's work colleague and Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford's dad on Leave it to Beaver.  Deacon passed away on August 8, 1984 of a heart attack in Los Angeles.  He was 63 years old.


5.  A

Buddy Sorrell's brother was a pool shark.  In an episode titled "Hustling the Hustler," Rob discovered that Blackie Sorrell (played by Phil Leeds) was a pool hustler.  The episode aired on October 24, 1962.


6.  E

Comedian Don Rickles portrayed a thief named Lyle Delp who stole Rob and Laura's wedding rings while an elevator.  The two-part story was aired in 1964.  The first part was titled "4 1/2" and the second part was called "The Alan Brady Show Goes to Jail."  Lyle went to prison and Rob, Laura, Body and Sally entertained them.


7.  B

British singing duo Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde portrayed the Red Coats in an episode entitled "The Red Coats Are Coming."  The episode, which aired on February 10, 1965, spoofed Beatlemania.  Chad and Jeremy performed two songs - "I Don't Want No Other Baby But You" and "My, How the Time Goes By."


8.  E.

Laura Petrie blurted out that Alan Brady wore a toupee while she was being interviewed on national television.  In the1965 episode titled "Coast-to-Coast Big Mouth," Laura and her best friend Millie (Ann Morgan Guilbert) were part of a studio audience for a quiz show.


9.  C

Buddy's wife's nickname was Pickles.  Her real name was Fiona.  Two actresses portrayed Pickles.  They were Barbara Perry and Joan Shawlee.  After the second season, however, Pickles became an offscreen character.


10.  E

Stacey Petrie played the banjo.


11.  A

Buddy's real name was Maurice.  By the way, Morey Amsterdam died of a heart attack in Los Angeles, California on October 28, 1996.  Morey was 87 at the time of his passing.

Morey Amsterdam

12.  C

Jerry and Millie's young son was named Freddie Helper.


13.  D

Jerry Helper was a dentist.  The role of Dr. Helper was played by Jerry Paris.  Jerry Paris later went on to direct over 200 episodes of another popular sitcom, Happy Days.  He died on March 31, 1986 due to complications from brain cancer surgery.  He was 60 years old at the time of his death.

Jerry Paris

14.  B

 Sally's occasional boyfriend was the nerdy Herman Glimscher (played by Bill Idelson).  Rose Marie, who played Sally Rogers, was born in New York City on August 15, 1923 and recently turned 88 years old. 

Rose Marie

15.  D

Carl Reiner portrayed comedy writer Rob Petrie in the 1959 pilot episode, Head of the Family.  In the pilot, Rob was the head writer for the "Alan Sturdy Show."  Barbara Britton played his wife, Laura, and Gary Morgan had the role of their son, Ritchie.  Sylvia Miles and Carl Brill were cast as Sally and Buddy.  The name "Petrie" was pronounced "pea-tree" in Head of the Family.

Producer Sheldon Leonard was impressed with the premise of the show but not the casting.  Advertisers were cool to the idea of sponsoring a sitcom with Carl Reiner in the starring role.  Reiner swallowed his pride and the show was recast and retitled The Dick Van Dyke Show after its new star.  25-year-old Mary Tyler Moore took over the role of Laura and Larry Matthews was chosen to portray their son, Ritchie. 

On the Van Dyke show, Rob was the head writer for the Alan Brady Show.  In the early years of the series, the egotistical Alan Brady was seldom seen, and if seen, only from the back.  It was not until the fourth season of the show that Brady's face was revealed to viewers as the face of Carl Reiner himself.

END NOTE

Rob and Laura Petrie lived in New Rochelle, New York.  When Carl Reiner was a New York comedy writer, he also resided in New Rochelle.  Carl has a son named Rob, better known as All in the Family's "Meathead."

- Joanne