50 free Happy Days trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free Happy Days trivia questions with answers. Happy Days ran on ABC for eleven seasons and gave the world the Fonz, Arnold's Drive-In and the phrase "jumping the shark". This quiz covers the whole run: the Cunningham family and the brother who vanished, Fonzie's real name and the jacket ABC would not let him wear, Potsie, Ralph and Chachi, the theme songs, the drive-in, Robin Williams's debut as Mork, and the spin-offs from Laverne & Shirley to Joanie Loves Chachi. It starts with questions any fan can get (which city? what does Mr. C sell?) and works up to the trivia only devotees know: who invented "Sit on it", which Monkee auditioned to play Fonzie, and how Richie got married from Greenland. Difficulty is marked on every question. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the show, on Fonzie and on the spin-offs, and each question shows its citation.
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Q 01Happy Days is set in which Midwestern city?
Milwaukee
The Milky Way Drive-In in suburban Glendale, Wisconsin, was the model for Arnold's.
Q 02On which network did Happy Days air from 1974 to 1984?
ABC
It ran for 255 half-hour episodes across eleven seasons.
Q 03Who created Happy Days?
Garry Marshall
He later put his sister Penny Marshall in the spin-off Laverne & Shirley.
Q 04Happy Days began life as an unsold pilot shown on which ABC anthology series?
Love, American Style
The 1972 segment was called "Love and the Television Set"; George Lucas saw it and cast Ron Howard in American Graffiti.
Q 05Which 1973 George Lucas film, starring Ron Howard, revived ABC's interest in the Happy Days pilot?
American Graffiti
The 1950s-nostalgia boom of the early 1970s made a period sitcom suddenly look like a good bet.
Q 06What business does Richie's father Howard Cunningham own?
A hardware store
Howard and Fonzie are the only two characters to appear in every episode of the series.
Q 07What is Fonzie's real first name?
Arthur
Only Marion Cunningham is allowed to call him by it, and only his grandmother calls him "Skippy".
Q 08Fonzie's put-down catchphrase "Sit on it" was invented by whom?
Producer Bob Brunner
Brunner also came up with the "Fonzie" nickname itself.
Q 09Where does Fonzie live once he becomes part of the Cunningham household?
In the flat over their garage
He hands his old flat over to Grandma Nussbaum, who had raised him.
Q 10In the first season, ABC made Fonzie wear what instead of his black leather jacket?
A green windbreaker
The network thought leather looked criminal; the writers won an exception for scenes with his motorcycle, then put the bike in every scene until ABC gave up.
Q 11Which former Monkee auditioned for the role of Fonzie?
Micky Dolenz
The creators had pictured a blond Hollywood-idol type; Winkler pitched something different and got the part.
Q 12Which museum asked Henry Winkler to donate one of Fonzie's leather jackets in 1980?
The Smithsonian
Winkler received three Emmy nominations and two Golden Globes for the role.
Q 13What is Fonzie riding when he makes the leap that gave us 'jumping the shark'?
Water-skis
Jon Hein coined the term in 1985 for the moment a show starts grasping for attention; the episode was "Hollywood: Part 3".
Q 21Richie marries his girlfriend Lori Beth in season eight by what unusual means?
By telephone
It let her join him at his Army post in Greenland; Fonzie stood in for the groom.
Q 22Ted McGinley joined the cast in 1980 as Roger Phillips, who is related to the Cunninghams how?
He is Marion's nephew
Roger coaches at Jefferson High before becoming principal at Patton High.
Q 23Which school do Richie, Potsie and Ralph attend?
Jefferson High
"Bag" Zombroski, drummer of Richie's band, led a jacket club there called The Demons.
Q 14Robin Williams made his screen debut on Happy Days in 1978 playing which character?
Mork
He won the audition by sitting on his head when asked to take a seat, and got his own show, Mork & Mindy, that year.
Q 15Richie's older brother, who vanished without explanation after season two, was named what?
Chuck
His disappearance gave TV writers the term "Chuck Cunningham Syndrome".
Q 16What is Potsie Weber's real first name?
Warren
Anson Williams played the aspiring singer, Richie's best friend from the pilot onwards.
Q 17Which actor played the original Arnold of Arnold's Drive-In?
Pat Morita
His character's full name was Mitsumo Takahashi; Morita later returned after Al Molinaro left in 1982.
Q 18Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio, is Fonzie's what?
His younger cousin
His catchphrase was "wah wah wah", and he drummed in the boys' band.
Q 19What nickname does Fonzie give Richie's little sister Joanie?
Shortcake
Erin Moran played Joanie for the whole run and later starred in the spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi.
Q 20How was Richie Cunningham written out when Ron Howard left the show in 1980?
He joined the Army
He later marries Lori Beth by telephone from his posting in Greenland, with Fonzie standing in at the ceremony.
Q 24Fonzie's nemesis, the officious lawman forever hunting delinquents and "pinkos", is called what?
Officer Kirk
Ed Peck played him for eight seasons; he becomes acting sheriff when Sheriff Flanaghan dies.
Q 25Fonzie's old flame Pinky Tuscadero has what unusual job?
Demolition derby driver
Her sister Leather Tuscadero, played by a real rock singer, fronted the band Leather and the Suedes.
Q 26Which real-life rock singer played Leather Tuscadero?
Suzi Quatro
Leather was a former juvenile delinquent who formed her own girl group on the show.
Q 27Season one of Happy Days opened with which 1950s Bill Haley classic as its theme?
Rock Around the Clock
Bill Haley & His Comets re-recorded it in 1973 for the show, and the original 1954 record went back into the charts.
Q 28The "Happy Days" theme song, a Top 5 single in 1976, was recorded by which duo?
Pratt & McClain
Charles Fox wrote the music and Norman Gimbel the lyrics; it replaced Rock Around the Clock from season three.
Q 29When Happy Days finished the 1976–77 season at number one, whose five-year run at the top did it end?
All in the Family
That was the season after Garry Marshall retooled the show around Fonzie.
Q 30From season three onwards, whose voice usually announced "Happy Days is filmed before a live audience"?
Tom Bosley's
The first two seasons had been shot single-camera with a laugh track; "Fonzie Gets Married" was the three-camera test run.