Have You Met the Petries? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Westchester

For all those who are not familiar with New York, the Petries lived in Westchester County which is north of Manhattan, in the city of New Rochelle (which happens to be a real place). "The Dick Van Dyke Show" ran from 1961 through 1966 and was originally called "Head of the Family". Rob Petrie was a comedy writer and the plots were often centered around the life of Carl Reiner, who was one of the actual writers of the show, along with Bill Persky and Sam Denoff. Persky and Denoff also wrote "That Girl" (1966-1971) with Marlo Thomas; it was the first major sitcom to feature a single woman as the lead.

Answer: 148 Bonnie Meadow Road

Rob, Laura and Ritchie lived at 148 Bonnie Meadow Road (not to be confused with 48 Bonnie Meadow Road in Scarsdale, NY). Sounds ideal, doesn't it? After marriage, Laura had Ritchie and became a homemaker; that's what married women did in that era (unless they were teachers or nurses). However, before marrying Rob, she had been a USO dancer.
The incorrect addresses include Morning Glory Circle from "Bewitched", Oak Hills Drive from "Who's the Boss?" and, of course, Evergreen Terrace, home to "The Simpsons".

Answer: Carl Reiner

Carl Reiner was one of the writers for "The Dick Van Dyke Show", but he also played Rob's egotistical boss, Alan Brady. As you may know, Carl is Rob Reiner's father. I wonder if Carl Reiner named Rob Petrie after his own son (born in 1948)? Carl Reiner has been an entertainer for almost 70 years, helping to form the comedy of early television.

He was with Sid Caesar on "Your Show of Shows" in the 1950s; he did a wonderful routine with Mel Brooks called the "2000 Year Old Man" in the 1960s, and could be found acting in movies like "The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming".

He has won a Grammy and nine Emmy Awards.

Answer: Morey Amsterdam

It was Morey Amsterdam (1908-1996) who played Rob's co-writer, Buddy Sorrell, on the show. Buddy would often complain about his (rarely seen) wife Pickles. Buddy traded jokes with the third writer on the team, Sally Rogers, played by Rose Marie. Morey started out in vaudeville at 14 years old, playing the 'straight man" for his older brother, and then went on to tell one-liners while playing the cello.

In 1948 he went into TV, which he insisted stood for "tired vaudeville". The pilot for the original show ("Head of the Family") starred Carl Reiner, but the show was recast with Dick, Morey (sans cello) and Rose Marie.

Answer: brothers-in-law

Richard Deacon stoically portrayed Mel Cooley, the butt of jokes by both Alan Brady and Buddy Sorrell. Mel's wife was Mrs. Cooley (her first name was not mentioned), but her maiden name had been Brady, as in Alan's sister. They often used brother-in-law jokes as part of the script for the show, and we were always given the impression that the only reason wimpy Mel had his job was nepotism.
Richard Deacon also starred in "Leave It to Beaver" from 1957 to 1963 as Fred Rutherford, father of Beaver's friend, Clarence "Lumpy" Rutherford.

Answer: Ann Morgan Guilbert

The choices include some of the most important supporting ladies of the day: Frances Bavier was Aunt Bee from "The Andy Griffith Show"; Bea Benederet was on "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show" and "Petticoat Junction"; Natalie Schafer played Lovey Howell on "Gilligan's Island". Ann Morgan Guilbert played the Petrie's whiny neighbor, Millie.

She was married to dentist Jerry Helper, played by Jerry Paris, who also directed many episodes, and won an Emmy for directing in the 1963-1964 season. Guilbert went on to appear on TV in "The Nanny" (1993-1999) and was in the film "Grumpier Old Men" in 1995.

Answer: Stacey

I mentioned that the questions would get progressively more difficult and this is an example. It may be unfair to ask about Jerry Van Dyke's portrayal of Stacey Petrie, Rob's shy brother, but if you've seen the episodes, you might well remember. Stacey had just been decommissioned from the Army, was supposed to open a nightclub in New York (playing the banjo), and marry a girl he had never even met.

In addition, he was a somnambulist who could only play the banjo when he was asleep. As for Jerry Van Dyke, he starred in one of the worst sitcoms ever ("My Mother, the Car") and went on to play a coach on "Coach".

Answer: Larry Mathews

For this question, I think the incorrect choices may be more memorable than the actual answer, which is Larry Mathews (given name Larry Mazzeo). I personally found Ritchie Petrie annoying and somewhat spoiled. BTW, just in case you didn't know, Ritchie's middle name was 'Rosebud', but that's a story for another time. Mathews' only other acting credit (other than playing himself) was in an episode of "The Dick Powell Theater" in 1962. As for the others actors above: Jerry Mathers was "The Beav" on "Leave It to Beaver"; Jay North was "Dennis the Menace", and Paul Peterson was Jeff Stone on "The Donna Reed Show".

Answer: Meehan

When "The Dick Van Dyke Show" began in 1961, Laura (notice she was rarely called Laurie) was Laura Meeker. For some reason, to which I am not privy, in the later years her maiden name was Laura Meehan. So if anyone ever argues the point (and I can't see why they would), both names would be correct.

Mary Tyler Moore played the role of Laura Meeker Meehan Petrie; she was the first TV wife to wear pants, i.e., capris, (as opposed to June Cleaver's dress with pearls), breaking new ground for women everywhere.

Answer: Danny Thomas

Did you get it right? I thought it was a tough question. It was Danny Thomas who played Kolak from the planet Twilo in only one episode, "It May Look Like a Walnut". It begins where Rob and Laura are watching a scary sci-fi movie on TV about Earthlings being taken over by aliens, but the following day, the plot of the movie seems to be coming true. On "Make Room for Daddy" (later known as "The Danny Thomas Show"), he played entertainer Danny Williams from 1953 to 1964. Danny Thomas' daughter is Marlo Thomas from "That Girl". Also, did you know that "The Andy Griffith Show" was actually a spin-off of Thomas' show?