# 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:** 2
**Author:** ![Leviosaurus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/439d5e/32.png) [@Leviosaurus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leviosaurus)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/21 "2005-07-13T00:06:24Z")
Not really a recurring character, in that he was only in two episodes I know of, but I nominate John Cleese on _Third Rock_. I wonder why no one has cast Cleese and Lithgow in a production together since then (or before, for that matter.) They have amazing natural chemistry, and the alien characters were a perfect showcase for both of them. The main episode, ending with Cleese melting Lithgow’s human brain, was absolutely hysterical. I can never walk on to a golf course without thinking of bringing an air horn with me. ---
**Author:** ![kevja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@kevja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kevja)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/22 "2005-07-13T00:13:30Z")
Marsha Mason as Martin’s girlfriend on Frasier. ---
**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:** [July 13, 2005, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/23 "2005-07-13T00:15:55Z")
The champion, of course, is Martin Landau as Rollin Hand in **Mission: Impossible**. He made the show. (Yes, I know he was in every episode for several years. But due to contractual issues, he was always billed as “Special Guest Star.”) How about Bernard Fox as Dr. Bombay in **Bewitched**? ---
**Author:** ![Gail](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Gail](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gail)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/24 "2005-07-13T00:25:27Z")
Ernest T. Bass on _The Andy Griffith Show_ I also enjoyed the two or so episodes with Charlene Darling and her family. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/25 "2005-07-13T01:12:49Z")
Frank Middlemass as Rocky (Lionel’s father) on _As Time Goes By_. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/26 "2005-07-13T01:25:54Z")
Despite the fact that she appears as much, or almost as much, as most of the other regulars, Marsha Wallace always gets mentioned as a guest star for her role as Mrs. Krapbabbel on the Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/27 "2005-07-13T01:37:49Z")
Brian Stokes Mitchell as Cam Winston, the upstairs neighbor, on _Frasier_. One of my favorite sitcom scenes of all time: he and Frasier were feuding over their parking spaces, which led to Cam draping an enormous American flag from his balcony and obscuring the view from Frasier’s. Cam gives an impassioned speech on national pride and ends up leading the apartment board in a round of “America the Beautiful”; Frasier tries the same thing and an old geezer hollers from the back, “Sit down, Crane!” Not to mention the episode where their parents start dating. Golden, all of them! ---
**Author:** ![belladonna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/28 "2005-07-13T01:42:48Z")
I always loved the Q episodes of TNG. And I’ll second Adam from Northern Exposure. I’m surprised it was only 11 episodes, actually. Just goes to show how well he played the character, that so little screen time made such an impact. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/29 "2005-07-13T01:47:38Z")
As long as we’re not restricting ourselves to just sitcoms, there’s only been one recurring character who made me giddy with excitement whenever her name would show up in the opening credits, and that was **Emily Procter** as “Ainsley Hayes”, the blonde republican sex kitten, on _The West Wing_. Oh Ainsley, I miss her so. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/30 "2005-07-13T01:50:35Z")
Who played Frasier’s agent? She was great. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/31 "2005-07-13T02:18:32Z")
The show itself was borderline—or perhaps over-the-line—wretched, but I rather enjoyed Robert Donner as Exidor on **Mork & Mindy**. May have something to do with the fact that I worked rather closely with someone who exhibited many of the same behaviors. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/32 "2005-07-13T02:20:27Z")
Miguel Ferrer as the cranky-ass FBI agent (Albert?) on “Twin Peaks”. ---
**Author:** ![supervenusfreak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@supervenusfreak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/supervenusfreak)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/33 "2005-07-13T02:53:14Z")
There are two that I haven’t seen mentioned yet, that are personal favorites of mine : _Colleen Dewhurst_ on **Murphy Brown** as Murphy’s mother Avery. When you saw Avery, you saw why Murphy was Murphy. Avery was a force of nature, a combination of Eleanor Roosevelt and Mame Dennis, with a little Gypsy Rose Lee thrown in. Colleen did a great job of bringing her to life. _Shelley Winters_ as Nana Mary on **Roseanne**. I love the show. Great cast, excellent writers (except for most of the last season), and a nice roster of great guest stars, including Shelley, wonderfully cast as Roseanne’s smart free spirited Nana Mary. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/34 "2005-07-13T03:38:36Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Who played Frasier’s agent? She was great. Harriet Sansom Harris. I’ve liked her in everything I’ve ever seen her in. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/35 "2005-07-13T03:52:22Z")
> [@dwyr](#): > > Harriet Sansom Harris. > > I’ve liked her in everything I’ve ever seen her in. My favorite episode was when she and Frasier hosted a local morning show and she became a {local} celebrity for the first time. She was also great in a two episode role as the battered wife of the deceased in _Six Feet Under_. ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/36 "2005-07-13T04:30:25Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Miguel Ferrer as the cranky-ass FBI agent (Albert?) on “Twin Peaks”. Not a sitcom, though. ---
**Author:** ![JimOfAllTrades](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@JimOfAllTrades](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimOfAllTrades)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/37 "2005-07-13T04:57:15Z")
I came in to mention _John Astin_ as Buddy in Night Court., but **Kat** beat me to it. So instead I’ll toss out _Allan Arbus_as Sidney Freeman on M_A_S\*H. (huh? Wha?) Ok, dammit, **Mr. Blue Sky** beat me to that one! You people all suck! And type too fast. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hometownboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5e9695/32.png) [@Hometownboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hometownboy)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 6:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/38 "2005-07-13T06:30:08Z")
Going way, way back for this one, but Hans Conried as **Uncle Tonoose** on “The Danny Thomas Show,” in the late 1950s and early 1960s always brought an extra level of excitement to the episode. And where are all the other shows about Lebanese performers these days? Or Cuban performers, a la Desi Arnez, for that matter? ---
**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:** [July 13, 2005, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/39 "2005-07-13T14:16:58Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The champion, of course, is Martin Landau as Rollin Hand in **Mission: Impossible**. He made the show. > > (Yes, I know he was in every episode for several years. But due to contractual issues, he was always billed as “Special Guest Star.”) Along the same lines, Ann Morgan Guilbert (Millie, the wacky neighbor on _The Dick Van Dyke Show_) never signed a contract because she figured out she could get better billing and a better paycheck as a guest star than she could as the 6th-billed featured player. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2005, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220/40 "2005-07-13T15:41:09Z")
Whoever played Daphne’s brother on Frazier was very funny. Is Harriet Sansom Harris on Desperate Housewives now? I could swear she’s one of the main supporting characters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-recurring-sitcom-guest-star-that-never-became-a-regular-cast-member/312220.md?page=3)