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60 free TV Dads trivia questions with answers — entertainment quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Which TV dad sold shoes, which one sold propane, and which one was an archaeologist who plays keepy-uppy with his daughters? This TV dads trivia quiz has 60 free questions with answers about the fathers of television, from Ward Cleaver and Ben Cartwright through Archie Bunker, Howard Cunningham and Cliff Huxtable to Homer Simpson, Uncle Phil, Red Forman, Phil Dunphy, Jack Pearson and Bandit Heeler. The questions cover jobs, hometowns, catchphrases, the actors behind the roles and the production stories that made these characters, so it works as a Father's Day round, a sitcom night warm-up or a test of how much television you have absorbed across six decades. Some are gimmes for anyone who has watched a rerun; some will make lifelong fans reach for the remote. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on the characters and their shows, and each question links to the page and sentence that supports it.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What is Homer Simpson's job at the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?
Safety inspector
He works in Sector 7-G. His grunt 'D'oh!' has been in the Oxford English Dictionary since 2001.
Q 02Dan Castellaneta originally voiced Homer Simpson as a loose impression of which actor?
Walter Matthau
The voice was later lowered and made more robust. In 2000 Homer and the family got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Q 03Who played Ward Cleaver, father of Wally and the Beaver?
Hugh Beaumont
He also directed several later episodes. The Cleavers lived in the fictional town of Mayfield.
Q 04What was Mike Brady's profession on The Brady Bunch?
Architect
A widower with three sons, he became stepfather to Carol's three daughters. Robert Reed's famous perm was an accident of his own hair-straightening chemicals.
Q 05Cliff Huxtable of The Cosby Show practised which branch of medicine?
Obstetrics
The family lived in a Brooklyn Heights brownstone. Bill Cosby had first proposed making the couple a limo driver and an electrician.
Q 06Where does Al Bundy of Married... with Children work?
A women's shoe store
He was a star fullback at Polk High before Peggy. Ed O'Neill said he based the character on one of his uncles.
Q 07Al Bundy's son Bud is named after what?
A brand of beer
Peggy and Al live in Chicago with Kelly and Bud; the neighborhood once sang 'Ding dong, the shoe man's dead' when they thought Al had died.
Q 08On Full House, what was widower Danny Tanner's job before he became co-host of Wake Up, San Francisco?
Sports anchor
He recruited his brother-in-law Jesse and best friend Joey to help raise three daughters. Bob Saget was the producers' first choice for the part.
Q 09Modern Family's self-styled 'cool dad' Phil Dunphy makes his living how?
As a real estate agent
His arch-rival is fellow Realtor Gil Thorpe. Phil was a college cheerleader at Fresno State and still cannot fix that loose step.
Q 10In which wars did Red Forman of That '70s Show serve as a Navy combat veteran?
World War II and the Korean War
Kurtwood Smith's grouch is forever threatening to put his foot somewhere. He also served as a surrogate father to Hyde.
Q 11What was Uncle Phil's profession on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air?
A judge
Philip Banks went from 1960s activist to Princeton and Harvard Law. James Avery played him from 1990 to 1996.
Q 12Sheriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry first appeared as a character on which other sitcom?
The Danny Thomas Show
The 1960 backdoor pilot was titled 'Danny Meets Andy Griffith'. Griffith and Ron Howard later reprised Andy and Opie in a 2008 campaign ad.
Q 13Archie Bunker of All in the Family was modeled partly on which British sitcom character?
Alf Garnett
Norman Lear also drew on his own father, Herman. Archie lived at 704 Hauser Street in Astoria, Queens.
Q 21Carl Winslow of Family Matters, a Chicago police officer, was first introduced on which other sitcom?
Perfect Strangers
Harriette Winslow debuted there as an elevator operator in 1987, and Reginald VelJohnson's Carl appeared in a 1989 episode before the spin-off.
Q 22What is the name of Tim Taylor's Binford-sponsored show-within-a-show on Home Improvement?
Tool Time
Co-host Al Borland and a succession of 'Tool Time girls', including Pamela Anderson, opened each show by asking if everybody knew what time it was.
Q 23Ray Barone of Everybody Loves Raymond writes about sports for which real newspaper?
Newsday
Q 14What nickname does Archie Bunker use for his son-in-law Mike Stivic?
Meathead
Rob Reiner's liberal college student disagreed with Archie on virtually everything.
Q 15Frank Costanza's holiday Festivus was inspired by a real celebration invented by whose father?
Seinfeld writer Dan O'Keefe's
Author Daniel O'Keefe's family had celebrated it since 1966. The episode was titled 'The Strike', though the writers later wished they had called it 'The Festivus'.
Q 16On what date is Festivus celebrated, according to Seinfeld?
December 23
The rites include an unadorned aluminum pole, the Airing of Grievances and the Feats of Strength.
Q 17What does Hank Hill sell in Arlen, Texas?
Propane and propane accessories
He started as assistant manager at Strickland Propane and ended up its majority owner. Texas Monthly once listed him among the most influential Texans.
Q 18What age had Mike Judge given Hank Hill before Fox told him to make the character younger?
49
The show's creator voices Hank himself. The propane industry came to see the character as a positive image.
Q 19Peter Griffin's first job on Family Guy, before the brewery, was at which workplace?
The Happy-Go-Lucky Toy Factory
His boss Jonathan Weed choked to death on a dinner roll, after which Peter briefly became a fisherman before joining the Pawtucket Patriot brewery.
Q 20What is Bandit Heeler's job on Bluey?
Archaeologist
He has a doctorate and is frequently seen doing housework. Creator Joe Brumm modelled him on a Blue Heeler owned by a friend of his father.
He and Debra have a daughter and twin sons, and his parents Marie and Frank live directly across the street.
Q 24How does Jack Pearson die on This Is Us?
A heart attack during a house fire
His children are 17 at the time. The Pearsons adopted Randall after his birth father left him at a fire station the day the twins were born.
Q 25Frasier and Niles Crane's father Martin retired from which job after being shot in the hip?
Seattle police detective
He was 59 when he was shot in 1991. On Cheers, an estranged Frasier had once claimed his father was a dead research scientist.
Q 26What is Fred Flintstone's job at the Slate Rock and Gravel Company?
Bronto crane operator
His 'yabba dabba doo!' began as his club's cheer before becoming part of the theme song from season three.
Q 27What was the profession of Adam, Ben Cartwright's eldest son on Bonanza?
Architect
Adam built the Ponderosa ranch house. Lorne Greene's thrice-widowed rancher lived on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe.
Q 28What kind of business did Howard Cunningham own on Happy Days?
A hardware store
Tom Bosley played him and voiced the 'filmed before a live audience' announcement. Harold Gould had played the role in the unsold 1971 pilot.
Q 29Fred Sanford of Sanford and Son runs what kind of business out of his home?
A junk and antique dealership
Redd Foxx modeled the character on his real older brother, Fred Glenn Sanford Jr., and Foxx's own real surname was Sanford.
Q 30George Jefferson made his fortune in what line of business?
Dry cleaning
The success let the family move from Queens to a Manhattan high-rise. Sherman Hemsley learned the show was cancelled from a newspaper.