70 Fun Facts About 70s TV

All in the Family, which premiered on CBS in January 1971, was based on which British sitcom?

Producer Norman Lear moved the bigoted patriarch from London's East End to Queens.

All in the Family became the first series to top the yearly Nielsen ratings for how many consecutive years?

It held the number-one spot from 1971 to 1976, and its final season spun into Archie Bunker's Place.

What was the Bunkers' address in Astoria, Queens?

Archie's son-in-law Michael Stivic, played by Rob Reiner, was better known as 'Meathead'.

Which 1972 NBC sitcom was based on the British show Steptoe and Son?

Redd Foxx played junk dealer Fred G. Sanford, forever faking heart attacks for his late wife Elizabeth.

The Jeffersons, who moved 'on up' to Manhattan, made their money from what business?

It was the second and longest-running spin-off of All in the Family, lasting eleven seasons.

Good Times was a spin-off of which show, itself a spin-off of All in the Family?

Florida Evans had been Maude Findlay's housekeeper in Tuckahoe, New York.

The Evans family in Good Times lived in a project implied to be which Chicago development?

Jimmie Walker, who played 17-year-old J.J., was actually 26 and only seven and a half years younger than his TV father.

Bea Arthur's Maude Findlay lived in which New York suburb?

The show tackled abortion, alcoholism and domestic violence, and one episode featured Arthur alone on screen.

The final episode of M*A*S*H aired in February of which year?

The 4077th's Korean War lasted eleven TV seasons, nearly four times the length of the real conflict.

How much did CBS charge for a 30-second ad during the M*A*S*H finale, more than that year's Super Bowl?

About 106 million people watched, a record for any broadcast until 2010.

Which four M*A*S*H characters appeared in all eleven seasons?

Trapper, Henry Blake, Frank Burns and Radar all left along the way.

The instrumental theme of M*A*S*H is a version of which song from the 1970 film?

Creators Larry Gelbart and Gene Reynolds wanted the show aired without a laugh track; CBS insisted.

Mary Richards worked as an associate producer at which fictional Minneapolis TV station?

The show won 29 Emmys and launched Rhoda, Phyllis and Lou Grant.

How many Primetime Emmy Awards did The Mary Tyler Moore Show win?

It took Outstanding Comedy Series three years running from 1975 to 1977.

Rhoda Morgenstern's rarely seen doorman Carlton was voiced by which Mary Tyler Moore Show writer?

Julie Kavner, later the voice of Marge Simpson, played Rhoda's sister Brenda.

Bob Newhart's character in The Bob Newhart Show had what profession?

Suzanne Pleshette played his wife Emily; his neighbour Howard was an airline navigator.

Happy Days began life as an unsold pilot shown on which ABC anthology series in 1972?

The segment was called 'Love and the Television Set' and already starred Ron Howard.

In which city was Happy Days set?

The original Arnold's Drive-In was inspired by the Milky Way in suburban Glendale, Wisconsin.

Which two hit sitcoms were spun off from Happy Days?

Joanie Loves Chachi, Blansky's Beauties and Out of the Blue were the three that flopped.

Laverne and Shirley worked as bottle-cappers at which fictional brewery?

Cindy Williams initially refused the role, and a screen test was shot with an unrelated actress called Liberty Williams.

Robin Williams first appeared as Mork in a 1978 episode of Happy Days that riffed on which 1960s sitcom?

Mork tries to take Richie to Ork as a specimen and is foiled by Fonzie.

Which producer created both The Brady Bunch and Gilligan's Island?

The show never revealed whether Carol was divorced or widowed, and it was never a ratings hit in its original run.

What was the name of the Brady boys' dog?

A cat called Fluffy appeared in the pilot and was never seen again.

The Partridge Family was loosely based on which real-life family band?

Their tour bus was a 1957 Chevrolet school bus painted in Mondrian-style blocks.

Who provided the voice of the never-seen Charlie Townsend on Charlie's Angels?

He gave his instructions over a speakerphone; David Doyle's Bosley did the legwork.

Who replaced Farrah Fawcett on Charlie's Angels after she left at the end of season one?

Shelley Hack and Tanya Roberts followed as Kate Jackson left; the show was dismissed by critics as 'jiggle television'.

Three's Company was adapted from which British sitcom?

Its spin-offs The Ropers and Three's a Crowd mirrored the British George and Mildred and Robin's Nest.

Which former Andy Griffith Show star joined Three's Company in 1979 as building manager Ralph Furley?

He replaced the Ropers, who left for their own spin-off.

The Six Million Dollar Man was based on the 1972 novel Cyborg by which author?

Steve Austin, a former astronaut, was rebuilt with bionic implants after a NASA test-flight crash.

Before her skydiving accident, what was Jaime Sommers' profession in The Bionic Woman?

Lindsay Wagner's spin-off ran on ABC and then NBC from 1976 to 1978.

Telly Savalas's Kojak took up lollipops as a substitute for what?

He only said the full 'Who loves ya, baby?' three times in 118 episodes.

Which battered French car did Peter Falk's Columbo drive?

His other trademarks were a rumpled raincoat, a cigar, chili and a frequently mentioned but never seen wife.

Columbo popularised which whodunit format, in which the audience sees the crime first?

Fans call it a 'howcatchem'; Falk won four Emmys in the role.

Starsky and Hutch patrolled which fictional Southern California locale?

Their radio call sign was Zebra Three.

Where did James Garner's Jim Rockford live and work?

For most of the run the trailer sat at Paradise Cove, next to a pier and a restaurant.

The Waltons was created by Earl Hamner Jr., based on which of his books?

The 1961 book had already become a 1963 film before the 1971 TV special The Homecoming launched the series.

Who hosted the very first episode of NBC's Saturday Night, later Saturday Night Live, on 11 October 1975?

Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd and Gilda Radner were among the original 'Not Ready for Prime Time Players'.

The Love Boat's Captain Merrill Stubing was played by which former Mary Tyler Moore Show cast member?

He had been newswriter Murray Slaughter at WJM.

On Fantasy Island, Ricardo Montalbán's Mr. Roarke was assisted by Tattoo, played by whom?

He left before the final season, after two TV movies had introduced the island in 1977 and 1978.

What was the Dallas episode revealing who shot J.R. called?

Only the M*A*S*H finale outdrew it.

The Taxi drivers worked the night shift at which fictional New York cab company?

Danny DeVito's dispatcher Louie De Palma tormented them from his cage; the show won 18 Emmys.

Which British TV mogul agreed to co-produce The Muppet Show after US networks turned Jim Henson down?

It was recorded at ATV's Elstree Studios in Hertfordshire and premiered in the UK in September 1976.

The miniseries Roots aired on ABC in January 1977 over how many consecutive nights?

It won nine Emmys and its finale is still the third-most-watched series finale in US history.

Erik Estrada's CHiPs character 'Ponch' had what full first name?

He and Larry Wilcox's Jon Baker rode motorcycles for the California Highway Patrol from 1977 to 1983.

The Duke boys' car, the General Lee, was a customised model of what?

On probation and banned from guns, the cousins used bows and arrows, sometimes tipped with dynamite.

The Dukes of Hazzard was inspired by which 1975 film about a bootlegging family?

Creator Gy Waldron wrote and directed the film, reusing many character names.

The 1977 sitcom Soap opened each episode with which line?

Jessica Tate and Mary Campbell were the sisters; Billy Crystal played Jodie, one of TV's first openly gay characters.

Barney Miller was set in which fictional Greenwich Village police precinct?

Its spin-off Fish followed Abe Vigoda's detective for two seasons.

Welcome Back, Kotter's Sweathogs attended James Buchanan High in which Brooklyn neighbourhood?

It gave John Travolta his breakthrough as Vinnie Barbarino.

Freddie Prinze's Chico worked in a run-down garage in which part of LA on Chico and the Man?

Jack Albertson played the cantankerous owner; Prinze died by suicide during the third season.

The Carol Burnett Show ran from 1967 to 1978 and won how many primetime Emmys?

Tim Conway became a regular in 1975 after Lyle Waggoner left.

On Diff'rent Strokes, Arnold and Willis were taken in by a widower living on which Manhattan street?

Housekeeper Edna Garrett spun off into The Facts of Life.

The Gong Show, launched in 1976, was created and hosted by whom?

Three celebrity judges could gong an act off the stage.

'Three Is a Magic Number' was written to help an ad executive's son learn what?

The boy could memorise Rolling Stones lyrics but not his times tables; Bob Dorough wrote the song.

The first season of Wonder Woman, starring Lynda Carter, was set in which period?

When it moved from ABC to CBS it jumped to the present day as The New Adventures of Wonder Woman.

In the 1978 Battlestar Galactica, humanity flees which robot enemy?

Lorne Greene led the survivors of the Twelve Colonies in a single-season series.

Which 1970s NBC show made a star of Freddie Prinze after a Tonight Show appearance?

James Komack cast him on the strength of that December 1973 appearance.

Which tabloid reporter obsessively pursues David Banner in The Incredible Hulk (1977)?

Jack Colvin played him; Bill Bixby was Banner and Lou Ferrigno the green-skinned Hulk.

Baretta (1975-78) was a retooled version of which short-lived ABC series about a real New Jersey cop?

Tony Musante left Toma after one season, so the concept was revised for Robert Blake, complete with Fred the cockatoo.

Who sang Baretta's theme, 'Keep Your Eye on the Sparrow'?

Dave Grusin and Morgan Ames wrote it, and it was a chart hit for two other artists as well.

How many seasons did Hawaii Five-O run on CBS before ending in April 1980?

At its finale it was the longest-running police drama in US TV history and the last 1960s prime-time debut still on air.

In Emergency!, Squad 51's paramedics work with the staff of which fictional hospital?

Robert Fuller, Julie London and Bobby Troup played the medical staff; Jack Webb produced the series.

Eight Is Enough was modelled on the life of which syndicated newspaper columnist?

Braden really had eight children and wrote a book with the same title; Dick Van Patten played his fictional counterpart.

In which California city was Eight Is Enough set?

Tom Bradford wrote a column for the fictional Sacramento Register.

Land of the Lost (1974) was produced by which sibling team known for Saturday-morning fantasy?

David Gerrold created it uncredited; the Marshall family faced stop-motion dinosaurs and lizard-like Sleestak.

In Kung Fu, Kwai Chang Caine roams the Old West searching for whom?

David Carradine's Shaolin monk relied on training and aphorisms drawn from the Tao Te Ching.

WKRP in Cincinnati creator Hugh Wilson based the station on which real Atlanta Top 40 outlet?

Many characters were modelled on its staff, and Wilson said the call sign WKRP was chosen to stand for C-R-A-P.

Which 1976-85 CBS sitcom set at Mel's Diner was based on a Martin Scorsese film?

Linda Lavin's widow waits tables at Mel's Diner in Phoenix; the show ran more than 200 episodes over nine seasons.

How many Primetime Emmys did the drama Lou Grant win during its 1977-82 run?

Ed Asner became the first person to win Emmys for lead drama actor and supporting comedy actor playing the same character.

Who replaced Michael Douglas for the final season of The Streets of San Francisco?

Karl Malden stayed on; the Quinn Martin series was shot on location and ran 119 episodes over five seasons.