# Actors who have made "in character" cameos after their shows have ended **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2008, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420 "2008-04-22T17:39:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/21 "2008-04-22T19:03:11Z")
[QUOTE=DWMarch] I’d list Shatner and Spader too but they’re the centerpieces of _Boston Legal_, not just cameo characters. [/QUOTE] You just reminded me of something about Shatner! There’s an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where The Big Giant Head (played by Shatner) has to be picked up from the airport by Dick (played by John Lithgow). Dick meets the BJH coming out of the airport terminal. He says something along the lines like, “The flight was terrible. I kept seeing a MONSTER on the plane!!” Dick follows with, “THAT HAPPENED TO ME TOO!!” They both played the same character on different generations of The Twilight Zone episode involving a monster on the wing of the plane. Pretty funny. ---
**Author:** ![BubbaDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bubbadog/32/333_2.png) [@BubbaDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BubbaDog)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/22 "2008-04-22T19:04:03Z")
Somewhat of a tangent but on the show NCIS one of the main characters asks Mark Harmon’s character Jethro Gibbs , “What did Ducky (played by David McCallum) look like when he was younger?” Gibbs matter- of- factly replies,“Illya Kuryakin”. Illya Kuryakin was McCallum’s character over 40 years ago on the TV spy series “Man from U.N.C.L.E” ---
**Author:** ![shy\_guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a6a055/32.png) [@shy\_guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shy_guy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/23 "2008-04-22T19:18:31Z")
There’s the post-Buffy the Vampire Slayer appearance of Andrew in season five of Angel. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/24 "2008-04-22T19:38:23Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] You just reminded me of something about Shatner! There’s an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where The Big Giant Head (played by Shatner) has to be picked up from the airport by Dick (played by John Lithgow). Dick meets the BJH coming out of the airport terminal. He says something along the lines like, “The flight was terrible. I kept seeing a MONSTER on the plane!!” Dick follows with, “THAT HAPPENED TO ME TOO!!” [/QUOTE] I didn’t watch a lot of that show, but that’s my favorite scene from what I did see. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/25 "2008-04-22T19:38:40Z")
**Don Knotts** appeared on _Mayberry RFD_ as **Barney Fife** in one episode (after _The Andy Griffith Show_ had ended, or rather had morphed into _Mayberry RFD_). ---
**Author:** ![jsc1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@jsc1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jsc1953)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/26 "2008-04-22T19:41:01Z")
Helen Hunt (& another actress) made a cameo appearance on \*Friends \*as their _Mad About You_ characters, mistaking Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) for her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), a character on their show. Hilarity ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/27 "2008-04-22T19:47:19Z")
[QUOTE=Flander] You just reminded me of something about Shatner! There’s an episode of 3rd Rock from the Sun where The Big Giant Head (played by Shatner) has to be picked up from the airport by Dick (played by John Lithgow). Dick meets the BJH coming out of the airport terminal. He says something along the lines like, “The flight was terrible. I kept seeing a MONSTER on the plane!!” Dick follows with, “THAT HAPPENED TO ME TOO!!” They both played the same character on different generations of The Twilight Zone episode involving a monster on the wing of the plane. Pretty funny. [/QUOTE] The line was THE SAME THING HAPPENED TO MMMEEEEEEEE! in Lithgow’s unique high pitched squeal. When Tommy joined a band, Lithgow totally reproduced his “rock and roll is dangerous” sermon that he made as the preacher from Footloose, using a stereo speaker as a pulpit. It was incredible. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2008, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/28 "2008-04-22T19:47:29Z")
Lance Henrikson’s character from _Millenium_ showed up on _X-Files_. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/29 "2008-04-22T19:52:13Z")
The Lone Gunmen showed up on The X-Files (from which they originated) after their show was cancelled. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/30 "2008-04-22T20:24:11Z")
[QUOTE=Earl Snake-Hips Tucker] Reuben Kincaid made a guest appearance on “Married With Children.” [/QUOTE] He also did a hysterical reprise on the MTV movie awards one year. It was a parody of _SPEED_ in which Reuben had planted a bomb on the Partridge family bus as Shirley and (I can’t remember if it was David Cassidy or Danny Bonaduce) were trying to steer it while he screamed the aggravation of having to book rock concerts for a Broadway diva and her talentless kids who didn’t play their own instruments. The Sweathogs (sans Travolta) also reprised their roles for a _Pulp Fiction_ parody. Conan O’Brien once tried to get Werner Klemperer to reprise Col. Klink for a skit on his show but Klemperer declined, even when (per Conan) he offered him a serious amount of money for a short cameo. O’Brien said the strangest part was later seeing him on _The Simpsons_ reprising the role, and then passing him on the street when he was filming a segment for his show and Klemperer smiling and saying “Hi Conan! I love your show!” and walking on. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/31 "2008-04-22T20:29:41Z")
[QUOTE=Otto] He also according to Wikipedia played Eliot Carlin on an episode of St. Elsewhere, in which he made a similar crack about his Chicago therapist. [/QUOTE] I’d forgotten that episode. He was in the psych ward and convinced another mental patient (a middle aged male mental patient) that he (the other patient) was Mary Richards from _The Mary Tyler Moore Show_. Betty White was guest starring on the same episode and the patient mistook her for Sue Ann Nivens. Jack Dodson (Howard Sprague from _The Andy Griffith Show_) had a recurring role on St. Elsewhere as one of the hospital’s directors. In one episode he had surgery and while coming out of anesthesia kept calling for people to “call Floyd over for a haircut… and tell Goober my car’s still leaking…”. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/32 "2008-04-22T21:37:19Z")
In _Homicide: The Movie_ Ed Begley Jr appeared as Dr. Victor Ehrlich, the character he played in _St. Elsewhere_, although he was never called that in the movie to avoid legal issues. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/33 "2008-04-22T21:52:42Z")
The actor that played Miles Drentell in **Thirtysomething** reprised the same role on the show **Now and Again**. ---
**Author:** ![ArizonaTeach](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@ArizonaTeach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArizonaTeach)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/34 "2008-04-22T21:53:13Z")
Everything, and I mean **everything** you need to know can be found [here](http://www.poobala.com/crossoverlist.html). ---
**Author:** ![cbawlmer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@cbawlmer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cbawlmer)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/35 "2008-04-22T22:14:34Z")
Cicely Tyson played her character from _St. Elsewhere_ on an episode of Homicide too. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2008, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/36 "2008-04-22T23:14:29Z")
[QUOTE=cbawlmer] Cicely Tyson played her character from _St. Elsewhere_ on an episode of Homicide too. [/QUOTE] Interesting would be if she played Miss Jane Pittman on an episode of _Everybody Loves Raymond_. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/37 "2008-04-23T00:36:18Z")
[QUOTE=jsc1953] Helen Hunt (& another actress) made a cameo appearance on \*Friends \*as their _Mad About You_ characters, mistaking Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) for her twin sister Ursula (Lisa Kudrow), a character on their show. Hilarity ensued. [/QUOTE] The other actress was the underrated [Leila Kenzle](http://www.nypost.com/seven/02062007/photos/tv100.jpg), whom I always thought quite lovely. Anywhistle, she doesn’t count; this was before MAY ended. It was more of a “let’s give this new show a hand” appearance (as it aired before Friends broke out as a hit) than anything else. ---
**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:** [April 23, 2008, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/38 "2008-04-23T01:17:58Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Jay Mohr as the character Peter Dragon from the brilliant but shortlived Fox show (is there any other kind?) _Action!_ had a rather hysterical cameo on another show from what I understand. He showed up on a golf course, began one of his typical rants, and then promptly dropped dead of a heart attack. The doctor on the scene declares him dead and says, “Time of death: Thursdays at nine PM.” which was a jab at the time slot Fox put the show in. 😃 [/QUOTE] That was in **Action** itself – or, rather, the final aired episode did have Dragon die of a heart attack at Thursday at nine. I can’t image they repeated it – and I don’t see Mohr listed as playing Dragon elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/39 "2008-04-23T01:31:15Z")
Peirce Brosnan as Remington Steel on Moonlighting. ---
**Author:** ![Apocalypso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Apocalypso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apocalypso)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2008, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420/40 "2008-04-23T01:56:53Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Jay Mohr as the character Peter Dragon from the brilliant but shortlived Fox show (is there any other kind?) _Action!_ had a rather hysterical cameo on another show from what I understand. He showed up on a golf course, began one of his typical rants, and then promptly dropped dead of a heart attack. The doctor on the scene declares him dead and says, “Time of death: Thursdays at nine PM.” which was a jab at the time slot Fox put the show in. 😃 [/QUOTE] What show was that? I was not a huge Jay Mohr fan but Action! was brilliant, I picked up the dvd as soon as it came out. Why was it canceled after the first season? Married… with Children: Fox came out with another sitcom called Top of the Heap with Joseph Bologna and Matt LeBlanc. Ed O’Neil appeared in several episodes of Top of the Heap playing Al Bundy and Joe and Matt were in 3-4 episodes of MwC. I guess Fox was trying to cash in on the popularity of Married, same type of humor and trashy characters, but Top of the Heap didn’t even last a full season IIRC. It was a terrible show. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-have-made-in-character-cameos-after-their-shows-have-ended/446420.md?page=3)