"McHale's Navy" Trivia Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lieutenant Commander

Portrayed by Academy Award-winning actor Ernest Borgnine, Lt. Cmdr. McHale was in command of the PT 73 and its crew of scheming seamen who often got McHale in trouble with the base commander, Captain Binghamton. The friction between McHale and Binghamton was the central theme of the series. Borgnine was mainly a movie actor in mostly drama and adventure films and won an Oscar for his "against type" portrayal of a shy, sensitive butcher in "Marty".

Answer: Chagrin Falls, OH

Chagrin Falls, a suburb of Cleveland, was Tim Conway's real hometown. Conway started his show business career there on several radio stations. On "McHale's Navy", Conway played the extremely clumsy and naive Ensign Charles Parker which relied on his talent for physical comedy.

After a few failed TV shows, he hit his stride on "The Carol Burnett Show" where his ad-libbed antics frequently broke up his fellow performers.

Answer: I'm going to lower the boom on McHale.

Captain Binghamton was a "by the book" commander in charge the the Taratupa naval base where McHale and his crew were also stationed. McHale's scheming and lax methods of military discipline were a constant cause of frustration to Binghamton. Most of the series plots involved Binghamton thinking of ways to have McHale and his crew transferred or court-martialed and McHale's clever ways of circumventing the problem.

When the captain's plans were foiled, he had a retinue of laments. Joe Flynn had a brief show business career, passing away at age 49.

After "MHN" ended, he appeared in several Disney movies playing characters not far removed from Captain Binghamton.

Answer: commanding a PT boat

Introduced in the fourth episode of the first season, "One of Our PT Boats is Missing", Carpenter was in command of PT 116. He was only meant to appear in this episode, but played off the other characters so well, he was brought back as Binghamton's sycophantic assistant for the rest of the series. Carpy was played by Bob Hastings, who started in show business as a singer and radio personality.

He appeared in many guest roles in TV sit-coms and dramas and a handful of movies. His later career was doing mainly voice-over work.

Answer: torpedoman

Gruber usually had beer cans stashed in the torpedo tubes rather than actual weapons. He was always flitting from one get-rich-quick scheme to another, usually something that would get the crew in trouble with Binghamton, like brewing moonshine in a homemade still, selling manufactured war "souvenirs", or various gambling enterprises. "Grube" was played by vaudeville veteran Carl Ballantine, who started in show business as a magician.

Answer: Willie Moss

Willie was from Tennessee and spoke with a distinctly southern accent. In one episode, he gets homesick after receiving a 'Dear John' letter, so the crew throws a hillbilly hoedown to help cheer him up. Willie was played by Bobby Wright, who was actually born in West Virginia, but grew up in Louisiana.

After "McHale's Navy" ended, he moved to Nashville, TN and started a successful country music career. He is the last surviving member of the show's regular cast.

Answer: Virgil Edwards

Handsome Edson Stroll played "Virg", an expert marksman with the deck-mounted machine guns. Stroll started his career as a bodybuilder and studied acting and singing with a Fulbright Scholarship. He appeared in guest roles in several TV series and in the Elvis Presley movie "G.I. Blues". After retiring from show business, he operated a men's apparel store in Beverly Hills.

Answer: Billy Sands

"Tinker" was the motor machinist on the PT 73 and kept it running in tip-top shape (most of the time). Sands had a breakout role as Pvt. Dino Papparelli on "The Phil Silvers Show". He also made guest appearances in other TV sit-coms and had the part of a boxing booker in the movie "Rocky". Born in 1911, he was also the oldest regular cast member.

Answer: Joseph

Joseph "Happy" Haines didn't appear to have any assigned duties, he mostly hung around with the other crew members, although the episode "The Happy Sleepwalker" centers on him. He starts sleepwalking due to his frustrations with women, so the crew arranges a date for him with a base nurse. "Happy" disappeared after the second season without explanation.

It's is alleged MacLeod left the series to deal with a personal problem he had at that time and to pursue other roles. He is perhaps best remembered for playing Murray Slaughter on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and Captain Merrill Stubing on "The Love Boat".

Answer: Fuji

Fuji Kobiaji deserted the Japanese navy and was taken in by McHale and his crew. He wasn't treated as a POW, but served as a cook and houseboy. His presence was also another thing to try and keep secret from Binghamton. He was played by Japanese-born actor Yoshio Yoda.

He was spotted by a 20th Century Fox executive who was visiting Tokyo and encouraged Yoda to pursue an acting career. After show business, Yoda became an executive with Toyota.