The Partridge Family Trivia
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91 free The Partridge Family trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
43 free The Partridge Family trivia questions with answers. The Partridge Family ran on ABC from 1970 to 1974 and left behind a painted school bus, a number-one single and the biggest teen idol of the decade. This quiz covers all of it: the widowed bank teller and her five kids in San Pueblo, the manager Reuben Kincaid, the two theme songs, the Wrecking Crew musicians who actually played on the records, the dog Simone, and the Hanna-Barbera cartoon that sent the family to the year 2200. Easy questions ask who played Keith and what the bus looked like; the hard ones want the songwriter of 'I Think I Love You', which cast member is a Charles Dickens descendant and why the Cowsills turned down the chance to play themselves. Made for people who still know every word of 'C'mon Get Happy'. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the show, its cast and its music, and each question carries the sentence that supports it.
30 of 91 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01On which network did The Partridge Family air from 1970 to 1974?
ABC
ABC aired The Partridge Family for 96 episodes from September 1970 to March 1974, scheduling it on Friday nights after The Brady Bunch.
Q 02Who created The Partridge Family?
Bernard Slade
Bernard Slade created The Partridge Family for Screen Gems in 1970; he later wrote the Broadway hit Same Time, Next Year (1975).
Q 03The show was loosely based on which real-life family band?
The Cowsills
The Cowsills, a Newport, Rhode Island family band, inspired the show; they charted with 'The Rain, the Park & Other Things' (1967) and 'Hair' (1969).
Q 04Why did the real family who inspired the show turn down the chance to play themselves?
Their mother was to be replaced by an actress
The Cowsills declined because their mother was to be replaced by an actress: Screen Gems planned in 1969 to recast Barbara Cowsill with a professional, and the family walked away.
Q 05Who played the family's widowed mother?
Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones, star of the film musicals Oklahoma! and Carousel, played widowed mother Shirley Partridge and was the first cast member hired.
Q 06Who played eldest son Keith Partridge?
David Cassidy
David Cassidy played Keith Partridge and sang lead on the group's records; the role made him the biggest teen idol of the early 1970s.
Q 07What was the real-life relationship between the actors who played Shirley and Keith?
Stepmother and stepson
They were stepmother and stepson: Shirley Jones married David Cassidy's father, Jack Cassidy, in 1956, making her sons Shaun, Patrick and Ryan his half-brothers.
Q 08Who played Laurie Partridge?
Susan Dey
Susan Dey, a 17-year-old model with no acting experience, was cast as Laurie Partridge in 1970 and stayed for all four seasons.
Q 09Danny Bonaduce's wisecracking Danny Partridge played which instrument in the band?
Bass guitar
Danny Partridge, the wisecracking middle son played by Danny Bonaduce, was the family band's bass guitar player.
Q 10Which character was played by two different actors, Jeremy Gelbwaks and then Brian Forster?
Chris
Chris Partridge, the family drummer, was played by Jeremy Gelbwaks in season one and recast with Brian Forster from season two onward.
Q 11Brian Forster, the show's second Chris, is a great-great-great-grandson of which author?
Charles Dickens
Brian Forster is a great-great-great-grandson of Charles Dickens; he is also the stepson of actor Whit Bissell and later raced cars in northern California.
Q 12Suzanne Crough's Tracy, the youngest Partridge, mainly played which instrument?
Tambourine
Tracy Partridge, played by Suzanne Crough, shook a tambourine and sang backup while her older siblings handled the guitars, keyboards and drums.
Q 13What was the name of the family's put-upon manager, played by Dave Madden?
Reuben Kincaid
Reuben Kincaid, the band's harried manager, was played by Dave Madden, who had first gained notice as the confetti-throwing sad sack on Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In.
Q 21Who produced the music for the ongoing series after the pilot?
Wes Farrell
Wes Farrell, a Brill Building songwriter-producer, took over the Partridge Family's music from season one onward and was credited as producer on all eight studio albums.
Q 22What was the show's opening theme song from season two onward?
'Come On Get Happy'
'Come On Get Happy' opened every episode from season two onward; the season-one theme used the same melody with different lyrics.
Q 23What was the title of the season-one theme song?
'When We're Singin''
Q 14Dave Madden was born in which country?
Canada
Dave Madden was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada, in 1931 and raised in Terre Haute, Indiana; he later played coach Earl Hicks on Alice.
Q 15The Partridges lived in which fictional California town?
San Pueblo
The Partridges lived in the fictional San Pueblo, California; in the pilot the kids persuade their widowed mother to join their garage band.
Q 16What was Shirley Partridge's job before joining the band?
Bank teller
Shirley Partridge worked as a bank teller before her five kids talked her into singing with their garage band in the pilot.
Q 17The family's tour bus was painted in patterns inspired by which artist?
Piet Mondrian
The bus's blocks of primary colour were inspired by Piet Mondrian's geometric paintings; the vehicle itself was a repainted 1957 Chevrolet.
Q 18What kind of vehicle was the Partridge Family bus originally?
A school bus
The Partridge bus was a 1957 Chevrolet Series 6800 Superior school bus, bought used and repainted in Mondrian-style colour blocks for the show.
Q 19Unlike The Monkees, how many cast members played instruments on the records or on the show?
None
None of the cast played an instrument on the records, where Los Angeles session players did the work; on screen the family mimed, and only Jones and Cassidy sang.
Q 20Which famous group of Los Angeles session musicians played the instruments on Partridge Family records?
The Wrecking Crew
The Wrecking Crew, the Los Angeles session players behind Phil Spector and Beach Boys hits, played the instruments, while the Ron Hicklin Singers supplied backing vocals.
'When We're Singin'' was the season-one theme; its melody was kept and given new lyrics to become the season-two theme.
Q 24The family's smash debut single, released a month before the show premiered, was what?
'I Think I Love You'
'I Think I Love You' was released in August 1970, a month before the 25 September premiere, and was already climbing the Hot 100 when the pilot aired.
Q 25Who wrote the family's chart-topping debut single?
Tony Romeo
Tony Romeo wrote 'I Think I Love You'; he had earlier written 'Indian Lake' for the Cowsills, the real band that inspired the show.
Q 26How many weeks did the debut single spend at number one on the Billboard Hot 100?
Three
'I Think I Love You' spent three weeks at number one on the Hot 100 in late November and early December 1970, and also topped the Canadian chart.
Q 27Which alternative rock band covered the Partridges' debut single in 1991?
Voice of the Beehive
Voice of the Beehive, an Anglo-American band fronted by sisters Tracey Bryn and Melissa Brooke Belland, cut 'I Think I Love You' for their 1991 second album Honey Lingers.
Q 28The Partridge Family Album, the first LP, peaked at what position on the Billboard 200?
No. 4
The Partridge Family Album peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and went gold in December 1970, driven by 'I Think I Love You'.
Q 29What was the name of the family dog seen in season one?
Simone
Simone, the family dog, appeared in first-season episodes and was written out of the show soon after.
Q 30In season four, four-year-old neighbour Ricky Stevens was added and did what in each episode?
Sang a children's song
Ricky Segall's Ricky Stevens sang a children's song in each season-four episode, an addition often cited as the show's Cousin Oliver moment.