49 Fun Facts About The Flintstones

On which US network did The Flintstones originally air from 1960 to 1966?

ABC gave it a Friday prime-time slot, and its high first-season ratings established animation as a viable prime-time format.

Which cartoon family crossed over with the Flintstones in a two-hour 1987 TV movie?

The Jetsons cross paths with the Flintstones after young Elroy's time machine goes wrong, in a special made for syndication.

Which live-action sitcom was a key inspiration for The Flintstones?

Jackie Gleason considered suing but was warned he would be the man who took Fred Flintstone off the air.

What was The Flintstones' original working title?

The Flagstones was the name on the demo film made to sell a 'modern stone-age family' to sponsors, before the family was renamed the Flintstones.

What is the name of the Stone Age town where the Flintstones live?

Bedrock went on to lend its name to real Flintstones theme parks called Bedrock City, near Custer, South Dakota, and in Valle, Arizona.

Where does Fred Flintstone work?

Slate Rock and Gravel Company is where his hot-tempered boss fires Fred again and again, only to give him his job back.

Fred and Barney belong to which men-only lodge?

The Loyal Order of Water Buffaloes spoofs real men-only lodges, its name echoing the Loyal Order of Moose, and in early episodes Fred and Barney belonged to the Loyal Order of Dinosaurs.

What is Wilma Flintstone's shopping catchphrase?

Charge it! goes with her spending habit, and when the wives win a sweepstakes, Fred and Barney rush to spend some of the winnings on themselves.

Dino, the Flintstones' pet dinosaur, behaves like which kind of household pet?

A dog: Dino barks and bowls Fred over at the door, yet in one first-season episode he talked, in a voice modelled on comedian Phil Silvers.

What is the name of the Flintstones' saber-toothed cat who throws Fred out during the closing credits?

Baby Puss is famous from those closing credits, where Fred tries to put the cat out, yet the saber-toothed pet is rarely seen in the episodes themselves.

What is the name of the Rubbles' pet, a kangaroo-like dinosaur?

Hoppy arrived in season five, and Fred and Dino first mistook the new pet for a giant mouse and were frightened.

What holds baby Pebbles Flintstone's ponytail in place?

A bone keeps her ponytail up, and the baby who wears it grows up to marry her childhood best friend, Bamm-Bamm, in later TV movies.

Why was the Flintstones' planned son changed to a daughter?

Marketing said girl dolls sell better, and when Wilma revealed she was pregnant, an overjoyed Fred broke the fourth wall to share the news.

How do the Rubbles come to have Bamm-Bamm?

They adopt a foundling left on their doorstep, then lose a custody case to a wealthy tycoon, who lets them keep the boy on learning his own wife is pregnant.

What is Bamm-Bamm's defining trait?

He was adopted during the fourth season and gets his name from the only phrase he says.

What is the name of Wilma's disapproving mother?

Pearl Slaghoople is played by Joan Collins in the 2000 prequel film, where she pushes Wilma toward a rich suitor who is really after the family fortune.

What oddity follows Fred Flintstone's boss from episode to episode?

His constantly changing first name, from Sylvester to George, may be a gag or a continuity slip, and in the earliest episodes the boss was even called Mr. Rockhead.

Which spooky family moves in next door to the Flintstones in season five?

The Gruesomes, a spoof of TV's ghoul comedies of the day, are friendlier than they look, and their pet is a giant octopus named Occy.

The Great Gazoo comes from which planet?

Zetox is the Great Gazoo's home planet, and he is dismayed to realise his exile has dropped him into the Stone Age.

Why was the Great Gazoo exiled to Earth?

For inventing a Doomsday Device, a button that could destroy the universe, Gazoo was exiled, and Fred and Barney found him when his flying saucer crashed.

Who voiced the Great Gazoo?

Harvey Korman voiced Gazoo in the show's final season, then returned nearly three decades later as the voice of the Dictabird in the 1994 live-action film.

Who provided the voice of Fred Flintstone throughout the original series?

Alan Reed voiced Fred from 1960 until his death in 1977, when Henry Corden, who had supplied Fred's singing voice in the 1966 film, took over.

Fred Flintstone's 'Yabba dabba doo!' replaced which plainer cheer in the original script?

Yahoo! was the scripted word, but Fred's voice actor asked to change it or ad-libbed, and the phrase's roots are disputed, from a hair-cream jingle to a candy bar.

Which legendary voice actor played Barney Rubble and Dino?

Mel Blanc was back as Barney sooner than expected after a near-fatal 1961 car crash, because a temporary recording studio was set up at his bedside.

How do the Flintstones' cars usually get moving?

Foot power: the riders run inside the car, though some episodes give cars engines and even ignition keys.

Who voiced both Wilma and Pebbles?

Jean Vander Pyl voiced both, and three decades later made an on-screen cameo as Mrs. Feldspar in the 1994 live-action film.

What was the show's theme during its first two seasons, before 'Meet the Flintstones'?

'Meet the Flintstones' took over in season three, sung by the Randy Van Horne Singers with a 22-piece big band.

'Meet the Flintstones' is thought to draw part of its melody from a piano sonata by which composer?

Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 17 is believed to have inspired part of the tune, which was later dubbed onto reruns of the first two seasons until their original theme was restored in the 1990s.

Which product co-sponsored the first two seasons, with the characters appearing in its commercials?

Winston cigarettes sponsored the first two seasons, with Fred and Barney pitching smokes, but by season three the ads turned toward children and Welch's replaced Winston.

In 1961 The Flintstones became the first animated show nominated for which award?

The Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series went to The Jack Benny Program, but The Flintstones lived on through dozens of spin-offs, specials and remakes.

At the gas station, which animal pumps Ethel into Fred Flintstone's car?

A woolly mammoth pumps the fuel through its trunk, and the gas it dispenses, Ethel, is a joke on Ethyl gasoline.

Which Some Like It Hot star voiced a Stone Age caricature of himself on The Flintstones?

Tony Curtis voiced Stony Curtis, a Hollyrock movie star whom Wilma wins for a day in a contest.

Which sitcom's magical heroine and her husband guest-starred on The Flintstones in 1965?

Bewitched's Samantha guest-starred in a Stone Age episode, helping the wives follow Fred and Barney on their camping trip.

In 2013, TV Guide ranked The Flintstones the second-greatest TV cartoon ever, behind which show?

The Simpsons took the top spot, and it once opened an episode with a tribute to The Flintstones as Homer drives home from work.

Who played Fred Flintstone in the 1994 live-action film?

John Goodman felt pressured into the part after Steven Spielberg announced him as his Fred Flintstone at a table read for Always.

Who played Barney Rubble in the 1994 live-action Flintstones film?

Rick Moranis didn't return for the 2000 prequel, where Stephen Baldwin took over as Barney.

Which screen legend made her final theatrical film appearance as Wilma's mother in 1994's The Flintstones?

Elizabeth Taylor's farewell film role earned her a Golden Raspberry nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Which band performed the theme song in 1994's The Flintstones as cavemen versions of themselves?

The B-52's, billed as the BC-52's, echoed the original cartoon, where 1960s band the Beau Brummels had guest-starred as the Beau Brummelstones.

In 1994's live-action Flintstones film, Halle Berry plays a secretary with what punning name?

Sharon Stone the secretary was written for the real Sharon Stone, who backed out, so the part went to Halle Berry instead.

Which fast-food chain ran a tie-in promotion for 1994's live-action Flintstones film?

McDonald's became 'RocDonald's' for the promotion, and critics' scorn didn't stop the film becoming a box-office hit.

What is the title of the 2000 prequel to the live-action film The Flintstones?

The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas recast all the leads and grossed about $59 million on an $83 million budget.

What was the title of the 1966 animated Flintstones feature film?

The Man Called Flintstone spoofed James Bond: Fred is recruited to stand in for Rock Slag, a secret agent who looks exactly like him.

Flintstones Chewable Vitamins, launched in 1968, omitted which character for over 20 years?

Betty Rubble was left out for over twenty years, until a grassroots campaign and a Bayer telephone poll got her added to the lineup.

Which company launched Pebbles cereal in October 1971?

Post built the cereal around the Flintstones, and its long-running ads showed Barney scheming to steal Fred's bowl of Pebbles.

Which actress voiced teenage Pebbles in the 1971 spin-off The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show?

Sally Struthers voiced her while playing Gloria on All in the Family, and Mickey Stevens later took over as Pebbles in newer episodes.

Which comedian won the part of Barney's wife in 1994's live-action Flintstones film?

Rosie O'Donnell went on to win the Golden Raspberry for Worst Supporting Actress, awarded in part for this role.

What machine does Fred Flintstone operate at the quarry?

A bronto-crane is Fred's rig, and in the 1994 live-action film he leaves it for an executive job after Barney secretly swaps their aptitude tests.

Which Marvel superhero shared a 1979 Saturday-morning cartoon show with Fred and Barney?

The Thing got billing beside Fred and Barney, yet their cartoons never crossed over, sharing only the opening titles and brief bumpers.

In the very first Flintstones episode, which outing does Fred fake illness to escape?

The opera was the family plan, but Fred feigns being unwell and slips away in Barney's new flying machine, which Fred dubs the Flintstone Flyer.