# A "Hey it's that guy" moment **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635 "2022-02-16T23:46:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2022, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/1 "2022-02-16T23:46:52Z")
The other week I watched the 1980 movie “Hopscotch” (great movie - Walter Matthau, Ned Beatty (and Sam Waterston with jet-black hair), and noticed in one small scene, this guy > **[Severn Darden - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0201089/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cl_t24)** > > Severn Darden. Actor: Battle for the Planet of the Apes. Severn Darden was born on 9 November 1929 in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973), Real Genius (1985) and Saturday the... who I remembered as the professor from “Real Genius” who likes to “‘get down’ verbally” with the students. A few days later, I caught a bit of “Back to School” and there he was again (as the professor with the monkeys). Any other stories of running into a particular actor in multiple roles by accident? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/2 "2022-02-17T00:11:31Z")
Back in the day, Pete Postlewaite seemed to show up everywhere (best known as Mr. Kobiashi in _The Usual Suspects_). > **[Pete Postlethwaite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Postlethwaite)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > > > Peter William Postlethwaite, OBE (7 February 1946 – 2 January 2011) was an English character actor. > After minor television appearances, including in The Professionals, his first major success arose through the British autobiographical film Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988). He had a transatlantic breakthrough when he portrayed David in Alien 3 (1992), and his international reputation was further solidified when he was nominated for the Academ... Nowadays, Olivia Coleman shows up everywhere. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/3 "2022-02-17T00:46:50Z")
Lately, I’ve been seeing [Eugene Cordero](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3082341/) all over the place, after first noticing him as Pillboi in _The Good Place_. I’ve since noticed him on _Loki_ (“What’s a fish?”) and _Brookyln 99_. Looking at his IMDB page, turns out he’s also the voice of Rutherford on _Star Trek: Lower Decks_! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/4 "2022-02-17T01:05:18Z")
I was watching a first-season episode of _ **The Dick van Dyke Show** _ this afternoon, and thought Mel Cooley’s jewelry-hawking cousin (also bald as a billiard ball) looked familiar. It took me a minute or so before I realized he was a young Gavin MacLeod, of _ **McHale’s Navy** _, _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _, and _ **Love Boat** _ fame. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/5 "2022-02-17T01:16:11Z")
I maintain the Whit Bissel is the king of “that guys,” if only because his name is easier to remember than Olan Soule’s. Charles Lane fans: YMMV. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/6 "2022-02-17T01:30:23Z")
I think Gale Gordon was in every Desilu-affiliated sitcom from the '50s on, each time as a different character. I saw him too in an episode of _ **The Danny Thomas Show** _ today, playing a snobby world-famous artist. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/7 "2022-02-17T01:31:02Z")
Of course, TV Tropes has an entry for this sort of thing: > **[Retroactive Recognition - TV Tropes](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RetroactiveRecognition)** > > A creator's first work is often not the one that makes them famous: actors may start with bit-parts; writers may have minor credits; dancers may spend time in the chorus; and so on. And in these small roles, with no fame to draw attention to them … > [@terentii](#): > > I was watching a first-season episode of _ **The Dick van Dyke Show** _ this afternoon, and thought Mel Cooley’s jewelry-hawking cousin (also bald as a billiard ball) looked familiar. > > It took me a minute or so before I realized he was a young Gavin MacLeod, of _ **McHale’s Navy** _ , _ **Mary Tyler Moore** _ , and _ **Love Boat** _ fame. You should track down some episodes of “Black Sheep Squadron” and see how many faces you recognize. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/8 "2022-02-17T01:38:04Z")
I’ve heard that’s basically the definition of “character actor” – one of those actors you see in something and it makes you go “Hey, it’s that guy. What’s his name? I know I’ve seen him in a bunch of other things.” ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/9 "2022-02-17T01:48:25Z")
I had an episode of Soap on in the backlground, and when I looked up, it was Charles Lane as the judge in Jessica’s trial. Also in that episode were Gordon Jump, Howard Hesseman, Dinah Manoff, Eugene Roche, and Olympic gold medalist Bob Seagren. > **[Charles Lane - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0485272/?ref_=tt_cl_t_14)** > > Charles Lane. Actor: You Can't Take It with You. Mean, miserly and miserable-looking, they didn't come packaged with a more annoying and irksome bow than Charles Lane. Glimpsing even a bent smile from this unending sourpuss was extremely rare, unless... ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/10 "2022-02-17T02:13:40Z")
> [@Slithy\_Tove](#): > > I maintain the Whit Bissel is the king of “that guys,” if only because his name is easier to remember than Olan Soule’s. Fair enough on Bissell’s name; but Soule’s voice lifts him right out of the That Guy tier, because _Oh Wow That Sure Sounds Like A Big Grin On The Face Of Batman._ ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/11 "2022-02-17T02:15:45Z")
I saw every episode of _ **That Girl** _ during its initial run and never paid attention as to who played Leon, Ann Marie’s obstetrician next-door neighbor. I went to the show’s IMDb page when they started running it on weekdays this month and was shocked to find he was none other than a bespectacled young Dabney Coleman. I know he’s been in many other things, but I automatically think of him as the mustachioed murderer in _ **Columbo** _ who got his secretary to wear a mask in order to establish his alibi. Never in a million years would I have recognized him from his role on _ **That Girl** _. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/12 "2022-02-17T02:20:11Z")
Wasn’t one of her other neighbors Bernie Kopell from _Get Smart_ and _Love Boat_? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/13 "2022-02-17T02:27:28Z")
Bernie was “Jerry,” Don Hollinger’s pal at _Newsweek_ magazine. He became more important as the series progressed. Dabney was on only in the first season, when Bonnie Scott played his wife Judy and Ann’s best friend. Bonnie left the series to devote herself to her children, and Leon disappeared. They haven’t gotten to the second season yet, but I think Jerry gets married and his wife more or less takes Judy’s place in the female supporting role. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/14 "2022-02-17T02:36:08Z")
I haven’t watched that show since I was a kid. For some reason most of my memories are of Marlo knocking on doors and the people opening them not inviting her in. I must have assumed they were all her neighbors. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/15 "2022-02-17T02:42:08Z")
Most of the action took place in Ann’s apartment; they came to her. I can’t help wondering how an aspiring actress and occasional waitress or salesgirl could afford such a nice place. There have been a lot of familiar faces in the episodes I’ve watched so far: Sterling Holloway, Bruce Hyde, Billy de Wolf, George Carlin, Ronnie Schell, EJ Peaker, Sally Kellerman, to name a few. ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/16 "2022-02-17T02:46:42Z")
No post ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/17 "2022-02-17T03:41:05Z")
I just looked at the episode guide and saw that Bernie gets married in another four, to Arlene Golonka no less. Don’t remember if she’s in subsequent episodes, though—another actress may take her place. I remember this episode very well. The wedding takes place in Connecticut, and they’re snowed in. Ann’s father calls the hotel in the middle of the night and freaks out when he finds Ann and Don are sharing a room. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/18 "2022-02-17T05:03:41Z")
Harry Dean Stanton played ‘generic bad guy’ in several TV Westerns. ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 9:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/19 "2022-02-17T09:16:43Z")
[**M. Emmet Walsh**](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M._Emmet_Walsh) has a long career in TV and film and is apparently still working at 86 years of age (87 next month). After noticing him as the Governor in The Milagro Beanfield War, I started spotting him in other roles: a bus passenger in Midnight Cowboy, the swim coach in Ordinary People, the out-of-control private detective in Blood Simple, etc. My most recent sighting of him was in Knives Out. Check out his credits at the Wiki link: The Jerk, Blade Runner, Missing in Action, All in the Family, The Rockford Files, The Bob Newhart Show… ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2022, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635/20 "2022-02-17T12:15:12Z")
This guy > **[Patrick Fischler - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/name/nm0279209/?ref_=m_nmfm_nm)** > > Patrick Fischler. Actor: Mad Men. Patrick Fischler was born on 29 December 1969 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Mad Men (2007), Happy! (2017) and Mulholland Drive (2001). He has been married to Lauren Bowles... played an obsessed conspiracy theorist with a JFK assassination museum in _Angel_ in 2003, and a few years later played an obsessed conspiracy theorist with a museum devoted to a Bruce Lee type actor in 2005 on _Monk_ . [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-hey-its-that-guy-moment/959635.md?page=2)