29 Retro Bits of Trivia About Classic TV Shows That Laverne, Shirley, Mork, and Mindy Would All Think Were Good Times

It doesn’t get more classic than these
29 Retro Bits of Trivia About Classic TV Shows That Laverne, Shirley, Mork, and Mindy Would All Think Were Good Times
Add Cracked to Google

We weren’t around for these shows, but the fine people who were loved them, and that’s gotta count for something, bucko! Like, don’t discredit older TV fans simply because their TV wasn’t as epic as it is today, sport! Some epic shows in the late ‘90s made TV as good as movies, but you still gotta respect your elders, sonny boy! 

Oh god, we’re even starting to talk like them now. We really have to learn to not lose ourselves during these trips back in time.

Henry Winkler

Fonzie wasn't even billed in the opening credits. The Fonz was written as a clichéd bully, and Henry Winkler outright refused to play him that way. The producers let him have his way, so Winkler went on to turn a bit part into an uber-cool dude who quickly overshadowed the HAPPY DAYS show's real protagonists. CRACKED.COM

Taxi

Latka Gravas was diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder in Taxi's third season. Comedian Andy Kaufman had grown tired of the role, which had its roots in the Foreign Man persona in his stand-up routine. Giving Latka the disorder appeased Kaufman, allowing him to create new personalities for his character. Among Latka's alters was notorious lounge-lizard Vic Ferrari. GRAGKED.COM

I Love Lucy

The First Birth I Love Lucy would never say the word pregnant, only that Lucy was expecting. But it still featured the first (semi-) on-screen birth, in 1953. CRACKED.COM

My Living Doll

Forgotten sitcoms 1964-1965 MY LIVING DOLL A psychiatrist takes care of a female android and teaches her to be a perfect woman-which means doing what she's told and not talking back. Yikes. We guess this is what chuds mean when they say they want non-political sci-fi. CRACKED.COM

Family Ties

The dad from Family Ties does train stuff. You know him as Michael J. Fox's dad and Burt Gummer in Tremors, but Michael Gross is much better known among railfans. He's been a spokesman for the World's Greatest Hobby campaign and narrates carloads of train-related documentaries. Не also owns part of Santa Fe Southern Railway. CRACKED.COM

The Baileys of Balboa

Forgotten sitcoms LANDING THE BAILEYS OF BALBOA 1964-1965 CF 2122 AW This show tried to jump on the Gilligan bandwagon with only a charter boat at a marina instead of a full island, while also having to compete with Peyton Place. Silly show, nobody can compete with Peyton Place, even if you feature a baby Clint Howard. CRACKED.COM

O.K. Crackerby!

Forgotten sitcoms 1965-1966 O.K. CRACKERBY! An uber-rich but unrefined man hires a tutor for himself and his children, trying to be accepted into high society. It's a tricky concept, and the show simply couldn't pull it off. It lasted for one season. CRACKED.COM

Mickey

Forgotten sitcoms 1964-1965 MICKEY Mickey Rooney had a sitcom just a few years after playing the infamous Japanese neighbor in Breakfast at Tiffany's. But the show couldn't compete with The Dick Van Dyke Show (or survive the suicide of one of its main cast members, actor Sammee Tong). CRACKED.COM

Bachelor Father

Forgotten sitcoms 1957-1962 BACHELOR FATHER This sitcom told the story of, erm, a bachelor father who had to take care of his niece. The man had an Asian manservant, which was progressive representation for the time, but today is, What the hell do you mean he has an Asian manservant?? CRACKED.COM

Doctor Who

In a 1965 Doctor Who episode, the Doctor unintentionally gives Nero the idea to burn Rome. SEASON 2, EPISODE 4 (CLASSIC) SEASON 4, EPISODE 2 Almost half a century later, in Season 4, Episode 2 (broadcast in 2008), the Doctor mentions he visited Rome a long time ago. But he had nothing to do with the Great Fire, he says, then adds, Well, a little bit. CRACKED.COM

Bewitched

Bewitched kept repeating itself. Episode #147 Uncle Arthur summons Napoleon while trying to make French pastries. Episode #172 Esmeralda summons Julius Caesar while trying to make Caesar salad. It's hard for a long-running show to be always fresh and original, but Bewitched was particularly bad at it. Plot points, situations, and even full episodes were often recycled, specially in the final seasons. CRACKED.COM

The Fonz

HAPPY DAYS The Fonz FIRST EPISODE LAST EPISODE STARRING CRACKED.COM Jukebox Silent side- punching, character. shark jumping, Just there nun kissing for flavor. runaway fan favorite.

Three’s Company

THREE'S COMPANY Chrissy Snow CRACKED.COM FIRST EPISODE LAST EPISODE Replaced by her Ditzy near-identical cousin blonde, because no one series wanted to work regular. with Suzanne Sommers.

Lucille Ball

Lucille Ball was actually a very serious and responsible person, despite being famous for playing silly and funny characters. And her natural hair color was brown. CRACKED.COM

The Rural Purge

CRACKED COM In the early 1970s, CBS cancelled all its shows set in the country. Rural shows like Green Acres and The Beverly Hillbillies made up the bulk of CBS's programming - but their audience skewed old, and execs wanted their network to be young and hip. So they cancelled the lot of them-a move that went down in history as the Rural Purge.

The Brady Bunch

IF GREG BRADY seemeD A LITTLe OFF WHILE CHECKING OUT THE GROOVY ROWBOAT MIKE BROUGHT Home in THE BraDy Bunch ePISODE LAW AND DISORDER... BARRY WILLIAMS HAD Been SMOKING POT WHen не WAS CALLeD in unexpectedly TO SHOOT THE scene. не WAS so STONED, не DECIDED THAT THIS WAS HIS OPPORTUNITY TO RECREATE HIS CHARACTER In ITS enTIReTY. CRACKED.COM

I Dream of Jeannie

GRACKED.COM DREAM of JeANNie This is what the inside of Jeannie's bottle looks Ju

Zorro

DELL Western ZORRO DISNEY'S WALT Adventure Zorro gives himself up to save his friends. Zorro, a Disney television series from the '50s starring Guy Williams, is so popular in Latin America that it gets the best ratings in its time slot GRAGKED.COM ... even though it's over half a century old and every episode has been aired hundreds of times.

Gilligan’s Island

Gilligan's Island is based on the seven deadly sins. Each one of the castaways symbolizes a sin: Skipper is Anger, Professor is Pride, Ginger is Lust, and so on. That's not a fan theory or anything, it's how creator Sherwood Schwartz conceived of the characters. CRACKED.COM

Star Trek

Star Trek used The Andy Griffith Show's set (while it was still on air). BARTLETT STABLE REFLE In 1966's Miri, Kirk and Spock beam to an alien planet that just happens to look like a 1960s Earth - and, coincidentally, exactly like the town of Mayberry, where The Andy Griffith Show takes place. CRACKED.COM

The Incredible Hulk

CRACKED.COM Jaws from James Bond was almost the Hulk. Richard Kiel was the first actor to be painted green for the pilot of The Incredible Hulk. Не was replaced by bodybuilder Lou Ferrigno after a few days, as Kiel, big as he was, wasn't bulky enough to make a good Hulk.

The Flintstones

The Flintstones THE PEBBLES AND BAMM-BAMM SHOW CRACKED.COM As you can tell from Pebbles' hair bone and Bamm's turtle fedora, this show was all about putting hats on hats: beloved prehistoric babies, except they're in high school now, and also they're rockstars.

The Brady Bunch

Joe Namath THE BRADY BUNCH CRACKED.COM Bobby hatches an elaborate scheme to bait Joe Namath into his bedroom by faking a terminal illness. Think Make A Wish Foundation meets To Catch A Predator.

Queen for a Day

The First Reality TV Show 1956's Queen for a Day had women take turns talking about their struggles. One was crowned the winner, seated on a throne, and showered with gifts. CRACKED.COM

The First JV Cuss Word

The First JV Cuss Word William Shatner had to fight hard to keep his big line Let's get the hell outta here from being cut in season one of Star Trek. CRACKED.COM

The First Live Studio Audience

The First Live Studio Audience SHARP I Love Lucy beat All In The Family to the punch by 20 years. CRACKED.COM

The First Presidential Debate

The First Presidential Debate The 1960 debate between Nixon and JFK was the first time America collectively decided we want a hot president. CRACKED.COM

M*A*S*H

The First Male Nudity Radar went whole-hog on a 1973 episode of M*A*S*H, when he lost his towel while evading a sniper. CRACKED.COM

Sonny and Cher

The First Belly Button After half a decade being denied Barbara Eden's navel in I Dream of Jeannie, America got to see Cher's, like, all the time, on The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. CRACKED.COM

Tags:

Scroll down for the next article

Must Read

VIRAL ON CRACKED

A WEEKLY
NEWSLETTER OF
JOKES + TRIVIA

Forgot Password?