60 Fun Facts About 1960s Television

The first Kennedy-Nixon debate of September 1960 was held in the studios of WBBM-TV in which city?

Nixon refused make-up and his stubble showed on black-and-white screens; the next presidential debates were not held until 1976.

Which writer created Coronation Street, basing Weatherfield on his home town of Salford?

Granada's founder Sidney Bernstein initially rejected the idea; it is now the world's longest-running soap.

The Flintstones, launched on ABC in 1960, was the first animated series to do what?

Bill Hanna cited The Honeymooners as one of its inspirations.

The Andy Griffith Show was set in Mayberry, a fictional small town in which state?

The show ended its final season at number one in the Nielsen ratings and never finished lower than seventh.

The Andy Griffith Show originated from an episode of which comedian's sitcom?

Don Knotts's Barney Fife and Ron Howard's Opie became the supporting stars.

Rob Petrie of The Dick Van Dyke Show was head writer for a fictional TV variety star with what name?

Carl Reiner's series won 15 Emmys and was set in suburban New Rochelle.

Rod Serling wrote or co-wrote how many of The Twilight Zone's 156 episodes?

He also hosted and narrated, appearing on screen in each opening scene.

On The Avengers, which actress played Emma Peel opposite Patrick Macnee's John Steed?

Honor Blackman's Cathy Gale came before her and Linda Thorson's Tara King after; the show began in January 1961.

The Beverly Hillbillies' Clampett family struck oil and moved to California from which mountains?

Creator Paul Henning followed it with Petticoat Junction and Green Acres.

Which 1962 satellite relayed the first transatlantic television pictures?

The same year Johnny Carson took over The Tonight Show from Jack Paar.

The Jetsons holds what distinction in ABC's history?

Only 24 episodes were made in 1962-63; new ones followed in the 1980s.

Steptoe and Son's rag-and-bone men lived at 26a Oil Drum Lane in which part of London?

Galton and Simpson's sitcom was remade in the US as Sanford and Son.

Who presented the BBC's ground-breaking 1962-63 satire show That Was the Week That Was?

Ned Sherrin devised and produced it; Millicent Martin sang the topical opening song.

Doctor Who's first episode, in November 1963, aired eighty seconds late due to news about what?

William Hartnell was the first of what are now fourteen Doctors.

In The Fugitive, Dr Richard Kimble hunts the real killer of his wife, a man distinguished by what?

David Janssen starred; Barry Morse's Lieutenant Gerard was his Javert.

The Beatles' first Ed Sullivan Show appearance on 9 February 1964 drew an audience of over how many?

The show ran on CBS every Sunday night from 1948 to 1971.

Which song was the first ever featured on Top of the Pops on 1 January 1964?

The Rolling Stones were the first band to perform, with 'I Wanna Be Your Man'.

Ready Steady Go! opened every Friday evening with which slogan?

Rediffusion's show ran from 1963 to 1966 with theme tunes including the Surfaris' 'Wipe Out'.

Gilligan's Island's castaways left Honolulu on the SS Minnow for how long a tour?

Sherwood Schwartz's show ran 98 episodes on CBS from 1964.

The Munsters lived at what address?

Fred Gwynne's Herman was Frankenstein's monster and Al Lewis's Grandpa was Dracula.

The Addams Family sitcom of 1964 was based on cartoons from which magazine?

Vic Mizzy composed and sang the finger-snapping theme; The Munsters beat it in the ratings.

Which actor replaced the ailing original Darrin in Bewitched for its final three seasons?

Elizabeth Montgomery's Samantha and Agnes Moorehead's Endora carried on regardless.

Which suave agent of The Man from U.N.C.L.E. was co-conceived by the creator of James Bond?

The show was originally to be called Ian Fleming's Solo; producer Sam Rolfe added the Soviet Kuryakin.

The 1964 'Daisy' political advertisement, aired only once, helped which candidate to a landslide?

It is regarded as a turning point in political advertising.

Peyton Place, the ABC evening soap that launched Mia Farrow, was at its peak aired how often?

It launched Mia Farrow and Ryan O'Neal and ran 514 episodes from 1964 to 1969.

Merv Griffin's Jeopardy!, which debuted on NBC in 1964, was hosted for its first 15 years by whom?

Contestants are given answers and must respond with questions.

I Dream of Jeannie's Tony Nelson, played by Larry Hagman, worked for which organisation?

His capsule Stardust One came down near a desert island where he found the bottle.

Get Smart was created by Buck Henry and which comedy legend?

Maxwell Smart, Agent 86, worked for CONTROL against KAOS.

Thunderbirds' International Rescue was led by Jeff Tracy and how many of his sons?

Gerry Anderson's Supermarionation puppets premiered on ITV in September 1965.

Hogan's Heroes was set in which fictional German prisoner-of-war camp?

Werner Klemperer's Klink and John Banner's Schultz ran it for 168 episodes.

Which East End bigot, played by Warren Mitchell, inspired America's Archie Bunker?

Johnny Speight's Till Death Us Do Part began as a 1965 Comedy Playhouse pilot.

Which network became the first to broadcast its entire schedule in colour, in 1966?

BBC2 made Britain's first colour broadcasts the following year.

Star Trek was cancelled by NBC after how many seasons?

Its ratings were low; 79 episodes were made and Desilu produced it.

Gene Roddenberry pitched Star Trek in his first draft as which Western 'to the stars'?

Each episode was to be a self-contained adventure within a continuing voyage.

Batman with Adam West aired on ABC how often during its first two seasons?

Producer William Dozier cast West after seeing him play a Bond-like spy in a Nestlé Quik advert.

Which actor played the Joker in the 1960s Batman series?

Burgess Meredith was the Penguin and Frank Gorshin the Riddler.

Which advert did the producers of The Monkees run in Daily Variety in September 1965?

Around 400 hopefuls turned up; the show won the Outstanding Comedy Series Emmy in 1967.

Who took over as Jim Phelps from season two of Mission: Impossible, after Dan Briggs led the team in season one?

Desilu financed the show, whose taped messages promised the Secretary would 'disavow any knowledge'.

Dark Shadows' breakout character, the vampire Barnabas Collins, was played by whom?

Dan Curtis's Gothic soap ran weekdays on ABC from 1966 to 1971.

The Prisoner's Village exteriors were filmed in which Welsh seaside spot?

Patrick McGoohan's Number Six ran for a single series of 17 episodes.

The Forsyte Saga of 1967 was the last major British drama serial made in what?

Its BBC1 repeat drew 18 million for the finale in 1969.

Which US president-to-be uttered 'Sock it to me' as a cameo guest on Laugh-In in 1968?

Judy Carne was usually tricked into saying it and then doused or dropped through a trap door.

Dad's Army, which began on BBC1 in July 1968, is about which wartime force?

Jimmy Perry and David Croft wrote it; Captain Mainwaring's 'You stupid boy!' is a classic put-down.

Star Trek's 'Plato's Stepchildren' (1968) featured an interracial kiss between which characters?

The kiss was mimed and partly obscured, and Khan had kissed Lt McGivers a year earlier.

Sesame Street premiered in November 1969, created by Lloyd Morrisett and which television producer?

The Children's Television Workshop had an $8 million grant to make it.

Scooby-Doo, Where Are You! was originally developed under what title?

The early concept leaned heavily on the gang being a musical group.

Which creator of Gilligan's Island also created The Brady Bunch, which debuted on ABC in September 1969?

Widowed architect Mike Brady married Carol and her three daughters.

Monty Python's Flying Circus premiered on BBC1 on which date in 1969?

45 episodes followed over four series; Cleese left after the third.

Bonanza's Cartwright family ranch, the Ponderosa, was near which Nevada mining town by Lake Tahoe?

The title is a miners' term for a rich vein of silver, like the Comstock Lode found there in 1859.

Gunsmoke, which ran through the whole decade, was set in which Kansas town?

James Arness's Matt Dillon lasted 20 seasons and 635 episodes.

The Dating Game, first aired in December 1965, was the first show packaged by which producer?

A bachelorette questioned three hidden bachelors; Jim Lange hosted the whole ABC run.

Which event was broadcast live worldwide in 1969, closing the television decade?

The same year Sesame Street, Scooby-Doo, Monty Python and The Brady Bunch all began.

Which actor played Detective Captain Steve McGarrett in the original Hawaii Five-O, from 1968?

The show ran until 1980 and was the last scripted primetime series that debuted in the 1960s to leave the air.

Irwin Allen's Lost in Space (1965) was inspired by which 1812 novel?

Only the first season was shot in black and white; the 29th episode slipped in a few minutes of colour at the end.

Green Acres was produced by Filmways as a sister show to which other CBS sitcom?

Both were later swept away in CBS's 1971 "rural purge" despite solid ratings.

The talking horse Mister Ed originally appeared in short stories by which author?

The sitcom is one of the few to debut in syndication and then be picked up by a major network for prime time.

The Wild Wild West, pitched as "James Bond on horseback", was set under which president?

Despite high ratings it was cancelled in 1969 as a concession to Congress over television violence.

Which CBS variety show was abruptly pulled in 1969 after clashes with executives over its satire?

It had thrived against NBC's Bonanza with guests like Pete Seeger and the Who, and its removal breached the brothers' contract.

Which recurring Carol Burnett Show sketch series was later spun off into a sitcom starring Vicki Lawrence?

Mama's Family ran from 1983 to 1990; the parent variety show itself won 25 primetime Emmys over its 1967-78 run.

Before its 1968 US national debut, Fred Rogers' show first aired in 1962 on which broadcaster?

That Canadian incarnation was called Misterogers; Rogers moved back to the United States in 1966.