# Best Recurring Sitcom Guest Star (that never became a regular cast member)? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220 "2005-07-12T19:02:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/1 "2005-07-12T19:02:59Z")
I am watching the final season of _Just Shoot Me_ in syndication, and though the Rena Sofer/“Vicki” character added to the main cast bogged down an otherwise decent sitcom, I am incredibly impressed by the “Simon Leeds” character played by Simon Templeman. He is one of the funniest characters I have ever seen on a sitcom. The setup is that he is an aging British rock legend (I think he is a takeoff of Mick Jagger) who begins dating Nina. But he has done so many drugs and had so much booze that he comes off as an affectionate space-case. Watching him and Nina grow in their first truly mature relationship is kinda funny and sweet at the same time. I wish the show had been renewed so he could have been given a more regular spot on the show. I just find the guy hilarious. I wonder how often after a guest star’s FIRST appearance do they start to dream that they’ll be the next Kelsey Grammer; turning a guest role into a two decade career? There have been some good ones. I always liked Tom Selleck’s “Richard” on Friends. Really, Friends had a lot of decent recurring characters (Paul Rudd, Elliot Gould, and Christina Pickle). Often times, the recurring characters were better than the stars. I’d mention Newman from Seinfeld, but he was more of a “featured” character than a guest star. YMMV. So who else has had a recurring guest role on a sitcom that you just found hilarious or interesting? ---
**Author:** ![AmericanMaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@AmericanMaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AmericanMaid)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/2 "2005-07-12T19:04:33Z")
Brendan Fraser on Scrubs or Michael J. Fox on Scrubs Lauren Graham on Newsradio ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/3 "2005-07-12T19:07:51Z")
“Adam” on Northern Exposure, played by Adam Arkin, appeared in 11 episodes as everyone’s favorite Bigfoot/sociopath/gourmet chef. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/4 "2005-07-12T19:10:50Z")
Not exactly a sitcom, but Hercules and Xena were only really watchable for me when Autolycus or Joxer would show up. ---
**Author:** ![Nonsuch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nonsuch/32/2922_2.png) [@Nonsuch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonsuch)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/5 "2005-07-12T19:12:34Z")
David Putty from _Seinfeld_. That guy could get a 10-second laugh just by saying “Yeah”. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/6 "2005-07-12T19:13:53Z")
> [@Nonsuch](#): > > David Putty from _Seinfeld_. That guy could get a 10-second laugh just by saying “Yeah”. That guy’s alright. High five! ---
**Author:** ![kingpengvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9dc877/32.png) [@kingpengvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kingpengvin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/7 "2005-07-12T19:27:38Z")
Brent Spiner on Night Court… Can’t remember his Characters name but his “Hellooo Judge always broke me up.” Every time he came on it was another improbabale misery story from his family. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/8 "2005-07-12T20:22:53Z")
> [@kingpengvin](#): > > Brent Spiner on Night Court… Can’t remember his Characters name but his “Hellooo Judge always broke me up.” > Every time he came on it was another improbabale misery story from his family. The Wheeler family (hillbillies from West Virginia, though later it was revealed they were European and just said they were from WV because “it was the first exotic place we could think of…”). I’d nominate Maurice (Maurice Evans) and Uncle Arthur (Paul Lynde) from **Bewitched**. Serena was great also, but strangely the actress who played her (Pandora Spocks) never acted much after that show. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/9 "2005-07-12T20:39:23Z")
I’m a pretty big fan of Barry Zuckerkorn, the Bluth Family’s incompetent (and perverted) attorney, played by Henry Winkler on _Arrested Development_. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/10 "2005-07-12T20:42:42Z")
Pretty sure Phil Hartman (RIP) was never inducted as a Simpsons cast member in the way that Hank Azaria was. So for his recurring Troy McClure and Lionel Hutz characters, I nominate him. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/11 "2005-07-12T20:51:32Z")
Col. Flagg & Major Sidney Freeman on M_A_S\*H. Flagg only made 3-4 appearances but they were always memorable. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/12 "2005-07-12T20:57:15Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > I’m a pretty big fan of Barry Zuckerkorn, the Bluth Family’s incompetent (and perverted) attorney, played by Henry Winkler on _Arrested Development_. I have to add Liza Minelli as Lucille 2. I’ve only watched the first season of the show, but she cracks me up every time. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/13 "2005-07-12T20:59:15Z")
Harry The Hat (the confidence trickster) on _Cheers_. The Talkie Toaster on _Red Dwarf_ ---
**Author:** ![Kat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b19c9b/32.png) [@Kat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/14 "2005-07-12T21:01:36Z")
Don’t forget Buddy Ryan from Night Court. “But I feel much better now.” ---
**Author:** ![JasonG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@JasonG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JasonG)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/15 "2005-07-12T21:08:23Z")
Q, baby! “Ah, Worf. Eat any good books lately?” Granted, I never wanted him to be a regular; a little Q goes a long way. And when he showed up _Voyager_ with that awful civil war storyline, he jumped the trans-dimensional shark. ---
**Author:** ![vl\_mungo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/bc8723/32.png) [@vl\_mungo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vl_mungo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/16 "2005-07-12T21:13:50Z")
Yeah, Col. Flagg was great. Not a sitcom, but a comedic character nonetheless… **Lance White** (Tom Selleck) on the Rockford Files. The two shows he’s in are amongst the best in a series that had lots of great episodes. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/17 "2005-07-12T21:16:22Z")
I’ll nominate Busy Phillipps as Kim Kelly on **Freaks and Geeks.** IIRC, there was some sort of legal/contractual brouhaha that prevented her being added as a regular cast member, even though she was in nearly every episode. I seem to recall that had the show made it to a second season ( ☹ ) she would have been listed as a regular. (Too lazy to look it up.) Scarlett, bummed that her schedule doesn’t allow her to go down to Milwaukee to meet Paul Feig tonight ---
**Author:** ![Jayn\_Newell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Jayn\_Newell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jayn_Newell)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/18 "2005-07-12T21:20:50Z")
> [@JasonG](#): > > Q, baby! > > “Ah, Worf. Eat any good books lately?” You beat me to it, though with a different character than I was thinking of. Q was awesome in TNG, but I also rather like Guinan. Again, probably for the best that she never became a main character ---
**Author:** ![zamboniracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e9a140/32.png) [@zamboniracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zamboniracer)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/19 "2005-07-12T23:30:02Z")
There’s been a lot of great suggestions so far! My nominations are Jack Riley as Elliott Carlin on _The Bob Newhart Show_ and Stuart Margolin as Angel Martin on _The Rockford Files_ . ---
**Author:** ![Phish\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9adbd/32.png) [@Phish\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phish_Head)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2005, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/20 "2005-07-12T23:45:37Z")
[Jeff MacKay](http://www.magnum-pi.de/gallery/images/tmmac.jpg) (you know, the guy from Black Sheep Squadron and Tales of the Golden Monkey), on **Magnum P.I.** , as Naval Officer Mac MacReynolds. God, I love that show! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220.md?page=2)