Trivia Connection - September 2007
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Grandparents That Have Graced Our Televisions
Over the Years
By Paula Green
Grandparents Day is celebrated every year on the first Sunday after Labor
Day. This year it falls on Sept. 9th. The day was founded by a Fayette
County, West Virginia, housewife Marian McQuade. Her primary motivation
was to champion the cause of the lonely elderly in nursing homes. She also
hoped to persuade grandchildren to tap the wisdom and heritage their grandparents
could provide. In 1978, President Jimmy Carter established “National
Grandparents Day.”
Over the years, there have been some wonderful, heart-warming and zany grandparents
that have graced our television sets. Who could forget the nurturing duo
of Grandma Esther and Grandpa Zeb on the television show The
Waltons? Another
program that featured both a grandma and grandpa character every week was Everybody
Loves Raymond. This couple, Marie and Frank Barone, were definitely overbearing
but funny. Another grandparent combo appeared on Malcolm
in the Middle,
which featured Grandma Ida and Grandpa Victor.
In the 50s, there was Grandpa Amos McCoy in The Real
McCoys. In this
series a happy-go-lucking West Virginia mountain family picks up stakes and moves
to a ranch in California’s San Fernando Valley. Then in the 60s,
there was also a family that moved from the mountains to Beverly Hills, California,
after Jed Clampett struck oil and became rich. “Granny” in The
Beverly Hillbillies gave a fiery spark to this zany family. Her wild concoctions
and homemade moonshine added zip to the show.
Another feisty, but fun grandmother was Thelma Harper in Mama’s Family. Vickie
Lawrence portrayed “mama,” a cranky, sharp-tongued widow. Some
other lovable “grandma” characters that made us laugh were Mother
Jefferson of the show The Jeffersons. She always seemed to enjoyed getting
in her digs at daughter-in-law Louise, but she also loved to dote over her grandson
Lionel. Another similar character was Mother Winslow on the program Family
Matters.
There have also been a few monstrous and bewitching grandparents. Endora
on the show Bewitched drove her son-in-law Darrin crazy, but she sure loved her
grandchildren Tabitha and Adam. Grandmama Addams certainly was mysterious
and spooky on The Addams Family, and she enjoyed dabbling in fortune-telling
as well. Don’t forget about Grandpa, Lily’s father on The
Munsters,
who was always working on wild experiments in his creepy dungeon.
A few animated grandfathers have kept viewers laughing with their words of
wisdom. There was Grandpa Lou Pickles on The Rugrats, and Grandpa Abraham
Simpson of The Simpsons.
So since we have reflected back on matriarchs and patriarchs of the television,
we need to now collect our own “grand” thoughts, because it is time
to get a little trivial...
1. Who portrayed Grandpappy
Amos in The Real McCoys?
2. Ellen Corby portrayed Esther
Walton. Who played Grandpa Zeb?
3. Grandpa
Walton enjoyed “The Recipe” from these elderly neighbors.
4. What was Granny’s
given name on The Beverly Hillbillies?
5. Which show did Mama’s
Family spin-off from?
6. What the name of Thelma’s
sister who shared her house in Mama’s Family?
7. Who played Grandma Ida
on Malcom in the Middle?
8. What is Grandpa Munster’s
given name?
9. What were the grandchildren’s
names of Grandmama Addams?
10. Who portrayed Frank Barone on Everybody
Loves Raymond?
11. He was the voice of Grandpa Pickles on The
Rugrats from 1991-1997.
12. On Bewitched, what was the name of Endora’s
brother who was played by Paul Lynde.
13. What was Mother Jefferson’s first
name?
14. What was Mother Winslow’s first name?
15. On The Simpsons, what is Abe Simpson’s
estranged wife’s name?
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