Dick Van Patten's Totally Terrific TV Trivia: Put Your Knowledge of TV Legend, Fact & Myth to the Test (Buzztime Trivia Series) [Mass Market Paperback]

Dick Van Patten (Author)

Book Description

Series: Buzztime Trivia | Publication Date: March 15, 2007

Buzztime Entertainment, the interactive gaming network, is played and enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people at home, in sports bars, and in restaurants. Now this popular game is available in book form--but unlike other trivia books, these are actually fun to play. While other books reveal the answers below the questions or group all of the answers together, the Buzztime format allows you to see only one answer at a time. That way, readers can play along. Besides being packed with challenging questions, the Buzztime Trivia Series provides fascinating facts along with the answers. These are no ordinary trivia books!

The Buzztime Trivia Series is designed to put your knowledge of movies, radio, television, sports, and music to the test, with each celebrity author putting a little of himself in each game. And with dozens of individual games--nearly a thousand intriguing questions!--each book is bound to provide hours of stimulating competition. From cover to cover, the Buzztime Trivia Series is pure entertainment.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Packed with questions on classic and comtemporary sitcoms, talk shows, made-for-TV movies, prime-time soaps, spinoffs, game shows and more." (The Modesto Bee )

About the Author

Success has come in many forms for the actor, producer, director, author, and former tennis player, Vincent Van Patten. The son of actor Dick Van Patten, Vince has thrived in all his endeavors through a winning combination of talent, ambition, and dedication.

As an actor, Vince launched his career at the age of 9, staring in a Colgate commercial. He went on to guest star in over three dozen classic television shows, including “Bonanza,” “High Chaparral,” and “Adam 12.” He also starred in such television specials as “The Bionic Boy, “Gidget’s Summer Reunion,” and “Dirty Dozen III.”

Graduating from television to film, Vince appeared in a number of movies along side such major actors as Kurt Russell and Charles Bronson. Prior to that, he starred in and co-produced the feature film, “The Break,” playing the role of Nick, a washed up tennis pro whose bookie (Martin Sheen) forgives his gambling debts in exchange for coaching his 17-year old son. Vince wrote and directed another feature film, “The Flunky,” starring Farrah Fawcett, Dean Stockwell, and Vince’s brother, James Van Patten.

For his work, he was awarded the prestigious award of Best Director at the Port Hueneme International Film Festival in 2000. Vince and his brother have also written a screenplay about a young poker player entitled, “California Kid”, which is currently with Universal Studios. Vince also co-authored the fictional poker novel, "The Picasso Flop," with Robert Randisi, which hit shelves in February of 2007.

Beyond his achievements in the entertainment industry, Vince is a remarkably talented tennis player who competed professionally through the mid-1980s. At his peak he ranked 25th in the world, scoring wins over almost every major player including John McEnroe.

Vince’s passion for poker started at the young age of 13, when his father taught him how to play poker at the LA Tennis Club. Soon Vince was playing in side games in between tennis matches. By the time he turned 16, Vince had accumulated enough skill to play in his Dad’s poker game. One night on a winning streak, he played until 7AM, when he finally had to throw in the cards to go to school. Vince continues to play poker every week with his buddies in a pot limit game in Beverly Hills. He has tried his hand at the World Series of Poker three times, and brings solid experience hosting televised sports and poker broadcasts to the World Poker Tour.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Square One Publishers (March 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0757002315
• ISBN-13: 978-0757002311
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #724,187 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #15 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Television
  • #89 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Puzzles & Games > Trivia

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You don't know Dick if you don't have this book!, June 11, 2007

By 

John Tabacco (Stony Brook, NY United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick Van Patten's Totally Terrific TV Trivia: Put Your Knowledge of TV Legend, Fact & Myth to the Test (Buzztime Trivia Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

This newest book in the ongoing "Buzztime Trivia" series jams over 900 great questions into one little (and affordable) book. There are all kinds of questions about TV shows from the late '40s to just this past season. And who better than Dick Van Patten to guide the reader along: in addition to his best-known role as father Tom Bradford on ABC's EIGHT IS ENOUGH, this sweet-faced TV legend has been all over episodic television in one way or another for nearly 50 years!

In addition to the sheer volume of information contained in such a teeny little book, my favorite thing was all the weird little factoids that come jumping out at you when you least expect it. I had forgotten, for example, that Commissioner Gordon was Batgirl's father on the BATMAN TV show. And I knew that Ricardo Montalban played a villain named Khan on STAR TREK, but I only just learned from this book that Khan's full name was revealed in the episode to be Khan Noonien Singh. This book also reports that Tiger Woods' first appearance on TV was on "The Mike Douglas Show" when he was only 2 years old, showing off his perfect golf swing to none other than the late, great Bob Hope. Cool!

If you've been alive during the past 50 years and were only paying attention to TV every other week, this book will amuse and entertain you. Imagine how much you'll like it if you've really been watching lots of TV?! Highly recommended.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My parents were wrong, wrong, wrong, August 7, 2007

By 

B. Chamlis "Bonnie's husband Pete" (Tallahassee, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Dick Van Patten's Totally Terrific TV Trivia: Put Your Knowledge of TV Legend, Fact & Myth to the Test (Buzztime Trivia Series) (Mass Market Paperback)

Back when I was a youngster living at home, I constantly heard the parental refrain... "You watch too darned much television! Turn off that set!"

After reading Dick Van Patten's buzztime TV trivia title, it's obvious that mom and dad were wrong, wrong, wrong. I always fancied myself quite the trivia expert, and television/pop culture was one of my specialities. Mr. Van Patten has clearly outed me as a fraud. I rarely could rack up better than 70% on the hundreds of 10-question "games". It shakes me to my baby boomer foundation to learn that I'm not "master of my domain".

Totally Terrific also surprised me in two ways. First, there were areas in which I knew more than I thought. Amazingly, I kept getting lots and lots of Milton Berle-Texaco Theatre-Your Show of Shows era questions correct. And then, there were other areas in which I considered myself intelligentia supremo, only to fall flat on my over-confident face. For example, I missed question after question in the Seinfeld category, "not that it matters". I would have thought that seeing every single issue of "the show about nothing" at least two dozen times would have earned me a few 100% scores. Mr. Van Patten's questions literally gave me "the Jimmy legs". <g>

OK seriously, this is another fun entry in the buzztime trivia series. I loved the Micky Dolenz rock and roll title from last year. I'm rating this five stars based on expectation and delivery. I realize that Totally Terrific TV Trivia isn't Hamlet. But, it's great fun to zip through a game or two when you have a moment. I'd also suggest this title for airplane entertainment, etc.