Happy Days Trivia
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97 free Happy Days trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
43 free Happy Days trivia questions with answers. Happy Days ran on ABC for eleven seasons and gave the world the Fonz, Arnold's Drive-In and the phrase "jumping the shark". This quiz covers the whole run: the Cunningham family and the brother who vanished, Fonzie's real name and the jacket ABC would not let him wear, Potsie, Ralph and Chachi, the theme songs, the drive-in, Robin Williams's debut as Mork, and the spin-offs from Laverne & Shirley to Joanie Loves Chachi. It starts with questions any fan can get (which city? what does Mr. C sell?) and works up to the trivia only devotees know: who invented "Sit on it", which Monkee auditioned to play Fonzie, and how Richie got married from Greenland. Difficulty is marked on every question. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on the show, on Fonzie and on the spin-offs, and each question shows its citation.
30 of 97 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which actor played Howard Cunningham, Richie's father, on Happy Days?
Tom Bosley
Tom Bosley took over the role from Harold Gould, who had played Howard in the unsold 1972 pilot, and then stayed with the show for all 11 seasons.
Q 02Which put-down became Fonzie's signature comeback on Happy Days?
Sit on it
'Sit on it' was a put-down invented for the show by producer and writer Bob Brunner, who also came up with the nickname Fonzie for the character.
Q 03Who created Happy Days?
Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall, who had adapted The Odd Couple for television, created Happy Days and then spun Laverne & Shirley out of it, with his sister Penny Marshall starring as Laverne.
Q 04Happy Days began life as an unsold pilot shown on which ABC anthology series?
Love, American Style
Love, American Style aired the unsold pilot on February 25, 1972 as a segment called 'Love and the Television Set'; the series was only made after Ron Howard's next film turned 1950s nostalgia into box office.
Q 05Which 1973 George Lucas film, starring Ron Howard, revived ABC's interest in the Happy Days pilot?
American Graffiti
American Graffiti, set over one night in 1962, grossed more than $100 million on a $777,000 budget; its success, and Ron Howard's role as Steve, sent ABC back to the shelved pilot.
Q 06What business does Richie's father Howard Cunningham own?
A hardware store
A hardware store, Cunningham Hardware, supports the family; when a rival starts cutting into business in season three, Howard has to go looking for extra income.
Q 07What is Fonzie's real first name?
Arthur
Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli began as a minor character billed only in the end credits; viewers took to him so strongly that the show was retooled around him and Henry Winkler ended up with sole top billing.
Q 08Where does Fonzie live once he becomes part of the Cunningham household?
In the flat over their garage
In the flat over their garage: Howard wants a tenant to bring in extra money, Richie talks Fonzie into taking the room, and Fonzie's grandmother gets his old apartment instead.
Q 09Which actress played Richie's sister Joanie Cunningham?
Erin Moran
Erin Moran got the part after Susan Neher played Joanie in the 1972 pilot; she stepped away only to lead the spin-off Joanie Loves Chachi and came back for the final season.
Q 10Which former Monkee says the role of Fonzie came down to him and Henry Winkler?
Micky Dolenz
Micky Dolenz, the Monkees' drummer, was the other finalist; he recalls Winkler spotting him in the waiting room and assuming the part was lost, and has since said Winkler deserved it.
Q 11Which museum asked Henry Winkler to donate one of Fonzie's leather jackets in 1980?
The Smithsonian
The Smithsonian put the jacket in its National Museum of American History, a turnaround for a costume the network had at first resisted because it made Fonzie look like a hoodlum.
Q 12What is Fonzie riding when he makes the leap that gave us 'jumping the shark'?
Water-skis
Fonzie jumps the shark on water-skis, leather jacket and all, in 1977's 'Hollywood: Part 3'; the phrase came out of a 1985 college conversation between roommates Sean Connolly and Jon Hein, who later popularised it.
Q 13Robin Williams's breakout role came on Happy Days in 1978 playing which character?
Mork
Q 21Ted McGinley joined the cast in 1980 as Roger Phillips, who is related to the Cunninghams how?
He is Marion's nephew
He is Marion's nephew: Roger arrives in 1980's 'Hello, Roger' to teach and coach basketball at the local high school, filling the gap Richie left, and later becomes a principal.
Q 22Which school do Richie, Potsie and Ralph attend?
Jefferson High
Jefferson High is where Richie, Potsie and Ralph study until they graduate in season four; Fonzie, who dropped out, later comes back to the school as its auto shop teacher.
Q 23Fonzie's nemesis, the officious lawman forever hunting delinquents and "pinkos", is called what?
Officer Kirk
Mork from Ork first appeared in 'My Favorite Orkan' in February 1978; Williams won the audition by sitting on his head when asked to take a seat, and Mork & Mindy premiered that September.
Q 14Richie's older brother, who vanished without explanation after season two, was named what?
Chuck
Chuck, a rarely seen college basketball player, was dropped after season two and never mentioned again; his vanishing gave television the term 'Chuck Cunningham Syndrome'.
Q 15What is Potsie Weber's real first name?
Warren
Warren 'Potsie' Weber explains the nickname himself in season one: as a boy he liked making things with clay, and one day his mother called him Potsie.
Q 16Which actor played Arnold, who ran Arnold's Drive-In before Al took over?
Pat Morita
Pat Morita played Arnold, whose real surname was Takahashi, in season three; when Al Molinaro's Al left for Joanie Loves Chachi in 1982, Morita came back for season ten.
Q 17Chachi Arcola, played by Scott Baio, is Fonzie's what?
His younger cousin
His younger cousin: Chachi arrived in season five (1977) as a teenage protégé who copied Fonzie's swagger, later dating Joanie and marrying her in the 1984 finale 'Passages'.
Q 18What nickname does Fonzie give Richie's little sister Joanie?
Shortcake
Shortcake is first heard in the season-three premiere, when Fonzie moves in with the Cunninghams and starts treating Joanie as a kid sister.
Q 19How was Richie Cunningham written out when Ron Howard left the show in 1980?
He joined the Army
He joined the Army: Ron Howard and Don Most both left in 1980, so Richie and Ralph were sent off to military service together, and Richie came back only as a guest in the final season.
Q 20Richie marries his girlfriend Lori Beth in season eight by what unusual means?
By telephone
By telephone: Richie was far from home, so the 1981 ceremony went ahead over a long-distance line, with Fonzie standing beside Lori Beth as the stand-in groom.
Officer Kirk, played by Ed Peck, turns more dangerous when Sheriff Flanaghan dies and he takes over as acting sheriff, with Fonzie high on his list of troublemakers to run out of town.
Q 24Fonzie's old flame Pinky Tuscadero has what unusual job?
Demolition derby driver
Demolition derby driver: Pinky, played by Roz Kelly, returns in 1976's three-part 'Fonzie Loves Pinky' and bristles when Fonzie objects to a woman driving in his derby against the ruthless Malachi brothers.
Q 25Which real-life rock singer played Leather Tuscadero?
Suzi Quatro
Suzi Quatro, a Detroit-born bassist whose hits had mostly come overseas, played Leather Tuscadero in seasons five and six; her only American top-40 hit, the duet Stumblin' In, came after she took the role.
Q 26Which 1950s hit was the opening theme of Happy Days in its first season?
Rock Around the Clock
'Rock Around the Clock' opened the first two seasons in a version Bill Haley re-recorded for the show, and the exposure sent his original 1954 record back onto the American charts in 1974.
Q 27The "Happy Days" theme song, a Top 5 single in 1976, was recorded by which duo?
Pratt & McClain
Pratt & McClain recorded a full-length version for release once the song had become the show's opening theme; it reached number five in 1976 and was the duo's only hit.
Q 28When Happy Days finished the 1976–77 season at number one, whose five-year run at the top did it end?
All in the Family
All in the Family had led the Nielsens for five straight seasons, 1971-72 through 1975-76; Happy Days, retooled around Fonzie and shot before an audience, took the crown for 1976-77.
Q 29Which of Richie's friends follows his own flopped jokes with "I still got it!"?
Ralph Malph
Ralph Malph is the gang's self-styled comedian, armed with whoopee cushions and Groucho glasses; in the final season he comes home and decides to become an optometrist like his father.
Q 30Which director of The Dick Van Dyke Show helmed nearly every Happy Days episode from season three on?
Jerry Paris
Jerry Paris, who had played dentist neighbour Jerry Helper on The Dick Van Dyke Show and won an Emmy directing it, directed nearly every episode from season three until the series ended in 1984.