Senior Center Nostalgia Jeopardy

Classic films, old radio and TV, big band hits and everyday life from the 40s to the 60s. A nostalgia board to copy free and play with phones or teams.

6 categories · 30 clues · Final Jeopardy · everyone buzzes in from their phone

For game night

Copies all 30 clues into an editor of your own. Free, no account needed.

Every clue on this board

This page is public, so anyone can read the answers — copy the board and swap a few clues before game day.

Classic Hollywood

$200
Judy Garland played Dorothy in this 1939 film.
What is The Wizard of Oz?
$400
Humphrey Bogart ran Rick's Cafe Americain in this 1942 film.
What is Casablanca?
$600
Clark Gable played Rhett Butler opposite Vivien Leigh in this 1939 epic.
What is Gone with the Wind?
$800
Gene Kelly danced with an umbrella around a lamppost in this 1952 musical.
What is Singin' in the Rain?
$1,000
Marilyn Monroe's white dress billowed over a subway grate in this 1955 film.
What is The Seven Year Itch?

Radio and Early TV

$200
Desi Arnaz played bandleader Ricky Ricardo in this 1950s sitcom.
What is I Love Lucy?
$400
This host's Sunday night variety show ran on CBS from 1948 to 1971 and featured the Beatles in February 1964.
Who is Ed Sullivan?
$600
Jackie Gleason played bus driver Ralph Kramden in this sitcom.
What is The Honeymooners?
$800
This masked hero of radio and TV rode Silver alongside his companion Tonto.
Who is the Lone Ranger?
$1,000
This 1938 Orson Welles radio drama of a Martian invasion convinced some listeners the attack was real.
What is The War of the Worlds?

Big Band and Early Rock

$200
This King of Rock and Roll had hits with "Hound Dog" and "Jailhouse Rock."
Who is Elvis Presley?
$400
This bandleader, famous for "In the Mood," disappeared over the English Channel in 1944.
Who is Glenn Miller?
$600
Bill Haley and His Comets' recording of this song became a number one hit after it opened the film Blackboard Jungle.
What is "Rock Around the Clock"?
$800
This clarinetist and bandleader was known as the King of Swing.
Who is Benny Goodman?
$1,000
The 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper came to be remembered by this name.
What is the Day the Music Died?

Famous Events

$200
Japan's surprise attack on this US naval base on December 7, 1941 brought America into World War II.
What is Pearl Harbor?
$400
The Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 is known by this name.
What is D-Day?
$600
In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat in this Alabama city.
What is Montgomery?
$800
Launched by the Soviet Union in 1957, this was the first artificial satellite.
What is Sputnik?
$1,000
In 1959, these two became the 49th and 50th states.
What are Alaska and Hawaii?

Sports Heroes

$200
In 1941, this Yankee Clipper hit safely in 56 consecutive games.
Who is Joe DiMaggio?
$400
Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, this boxer held the heavyweight title from 1937 to 1949.
Who is Joe Louis?
$600
This Yankee first baseman retired in 1939 after being diagnosed with ALS.
Who is Lou Gehrig?
$800
This New York Giants center fielder made an over-the-shoulder grab known as "The Catch" in the 1954 World Series.
Who is Willie Mays?
$1,000
This golfer's devoted fans became known as his "Army."
Who is Arnold Palmer?

The Way We Lived

$200
This deliveryman left fresh glass bottles of milk on the doorstep.
Who is the milkman?
$400
Families watched movies from their parked cars at these outdoor theaters.
What are drive-ins?
$600
Several households sharing a single telephone line was called this.
What is a party line?
$800
Swanson sold these frozen meals on aluminum trays, made to be eaten in front of the television.
What are TV dinners?
$1,000
Before electric refrigerators, food was kept cold in this cabinet, stocked with blocks from the delivery man.
What is an icebox?

Final Jeopardy — Sports Heroes

In 1947, this Brooklyn Dodger broke Major League Baseball's color line, becoming its first Black player of the modern era.

Who is Jackie Robinson?

How to run this board

Nostalgia trivia is a staple of activity calendars for good reason: it gets people talking about their own memories. This board covers classic Hollywood, old radio and early television, big band and early rock and roll, famous events of the era, sports heroes, and everyday life as it used to be.

Not every resident will want to use a phone. A staff member or volunteer can hold one phone per table and buzz in for the team, which keeps the game moving and lets everyone focus on the answers.

Leave time between clues. The best part of this game is often the story someone tells after an answer is revealed, and a relaxed pace makes room for those.

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