# Bit parts when they were not so famous **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2004, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521 "2004-10-27T19:29:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![John\_Corrado](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a88e4f/32.png) [@John\_Corrado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Corrado)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/141 "2004-10-29T19:23:24Z")
> [@Enola Straight](#): > > Anyway, Patrick Swayze had an appearance on M_A_S\*H as a G.I. diagnosed with diabetes. Lots of bit part cameos on M_A_S\*H. From Imdb: “Souvenirs” Episode #5.22: M.P.- Brian Dennehy “Too Many Cooks” Episode #8.1: Pvt. Paul Conway - Ed Begley Jr. “Bottle Fatigue” Episode #8.16: Nurse Mendenhall - Shelley Long “Identity Crisis” Episode #10.2: Gerald Mullen - Joe Pantaliano “Trick or Treatment” Episode #11.2: Injured Soldier - Andrew Dice Clay Pvt. LaRoche - George Wendt (the one who, IIRC, had an 8-ball stuck in his mouth) “Foreign Affairs” Episode #11.3: Reddish - Jeffrey Tambor ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/142 "2004-10-29T19:40:02Z")
> [@John Corrado](#): > > “Foreign Affairs” Episode #11.3: > Reddish - Jeffrey Tambor I recognize all of those but that one. What was the plot? Also, Tambor had been in a lot of stuff before then. I think he’s one of Hollywood’s hardest working actors. Right up there with Bob Balaban. ---
**Author:** ![kidchameleon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@kidchameleon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kidchameleon)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/143 "2004-10-29T20:14:41Z")
Richard Belzer was in Scarface as a comedian at a club. It’s a bit farther back than I go, so I’m not sure what sort of fame he had at that point. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/144 "2004-10-29T20:27:25Z")
And in the category of future musicians in bit parts we have… **Anthony Kiedis** (Red Hot Chili Peppers) as Sylvester Stallone’s kid in **F.I.S.T.** **Leif Garrett** as Sheriff Buford Pusser’s kid in **Walking Tall** (1973 version). ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/145 "2004-10-29T21:31:46Z")
> [@kidchameleon](#): > > Richard Belzer was in Scarface as a comedian at a club. It’s a bit farther back than I go, so I’m not sure what sort of fame he had at that point. He was already pretty famous – as a comedian. He played a comic in _Fame_, too. Way back in the early seventies, he was featured pretty heavily in the low low budget (shot on video) sketch comedy movie _The Groove Tube_, which was a cult favourite. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/146 "2004-10-29T21:54:25Z")
She’s not in the same fame class as Tom Cruise, or even Tom Hulce, but all this talk about Larroquette got me thinking how Elizabeth Berridge played both the adorable Constanze Mozart in “Amadeus” and the homely cop on Larroquette’s sitcom. Either shows what you can do with makeup, facial expressions, and a well-cinched bodice. ---
**Author:** ![detop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bcef8e/32.png) [@detop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/detop)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/147 "2004-10-30T00:10:13Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Hey, **detop** , speaking of John Goodman, does anyone besides me remember his 7-Up commercial (I think it was 7-Up, anyway). He’s sitting at a dining room table, and his wife comes in. He says (so she can hear it), “My wife…I love her.” Sorry, can’t say that I remember. OTOH I remembered another one, Sean Connery, in _The Longest Day_ , where he utters words that he probably regrets to this day : > [@](#): > > “It takes an Irishman to play the pipes properly” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TwoTrouts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a9adbd/32.png) [@TwoTrouts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwoTrouts)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/148 "2004-10-30T00:50:47Z")
Let’s not forget \*Clint Eastwood \* as the jet fighter pilot who drops the bombs on the giant spider at the end of the 1955 Sci-Fi flick **Tarantula**. ---
**Author:** ![Baggins111](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9fc29f/32.png) [@Baggins111](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baggins111)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/149 "2004-10-30T03:38:54Z")
How about future one hit wonders? **Toni Basil** of _Hey Mickey!_ fame was one of the prostitutes Capatin America and Billy picked up in New Orleans right before their acid trip in **Easy Rider** How about \*\*Teri Garr \*\* being on Star Trek, Andy Griffith (being asked out by Goober), and in **PAJAMA PARTY!!!** ---
**Author:** ![Trillionaire](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Trillionaire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trillionaire)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/150 "2004-10-30T05:14:56Z")
> [@](#): > > Nicholas Cage had a bit part in “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”. > > No lines. Can anyone tell me exactly when in the movie he appears? I’ve watched it a couple of times specifically looking for him, and I’ve never spotted him. He is credited, IIRC, as “Brad’s Bud.” ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 6:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/151 "2004-10-30T06:55:33Z")
> [@Trillionaire](#): > > Can anyone tell me exactly when in the movie he appears? I’ve watched it a couple of times specifically looking for him, and I’ve never spotted him. He is credited, IIRC, as “Brad’s Bud.” Watch for him in the gym on the first day of school. Wearing a baseball cap, if I recall. ---
**Author:** ![diku](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4af34b/32.png) [@diku](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/diku)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 7:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/152 "2004-10-30T07:02:13Z")
> [@diku](#): > > Watch for him in the gym on the first day of school. Wearing a baseball cap, if I recall. To narrow it down even more, I think it’s right before Arnold comes up to talk to Brad about a job at All-American Burger. He kinda waves and walks away. He’s on for like a second. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/153 "2004-10-30T07:58:44Z")
Since we’re talking about _Fast Times_, let’s not forget that Forest Whitaker was a football player - with at least a semi-prominent role. He hadn’t really done much before then. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 8:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/154 "2004-10-30T08:15:19Z")
> [@Miss Mapp](#): > > Can anybody watch this scene, and hear the future Dr. McCoy say that line without wanting to add a “Jim!” to the end of it? I saw him as a bad guy in a western. I expected him use a phaser. ---
**Author:** ![Sternvogel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bc79bd/32.png) [@Sternvogel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sternvogel)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2004, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/155 "2004-10-30T21:17:34Z")
Originally Posted by Snooooopy Gellar had a starring role in a Burger King commercial, one that really touched off the burger wars between Burger King and McDonald’s in the 1980s. > [@Dooku](#): > > I thought that was Elizabeth Shue. Nope, it was indeed [Sarah Michelle.](http://www.cinema-stars.com/sarah/) Adam Sandler did sketches on the MTV game show _Remote Control_ before making it big in movies. Sandler also appeared as “Smitty”, one of Theo’s classmates, in several episodes of _The Cosby Show_. ---
**Author:** ![divemaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/divemaster/32/78_2.png) [@divemaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/divemaster)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/156 "2004-10-31T03:58:48Z")
J.R. was one of the poor throat-slit schmucks buried up to his neck in **Motel Hell**. Destined for the sausage grinder. There was a mention of a young Shannon Doherty sighting earlier in this thread. She also played one of the mice children in **The Secret of NIMH**. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 7:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/157 "2004-10-31T07:27:25Z")
> [@TwoTrouts](#): > > Let’s not forget \*Clint Eastwood \* as the jet fighter pilot who drops the bombs on the giant spider at the end of the 1955 Sci-Fi flick **Tarantula**. You’re way behind, **TwoTrouts**. Gwyneth Paltrow played the young Wendy Darling in _Hook_. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2004, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/158 "2004-10-31T09:22:38Z")
A very young Benicio Del Toro, playing a knife-wielding henchman in License To Kill, the last Tim Dalton Bond flick. ---
**Author:** ![Dunderman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecb155/32.png) [@Dunderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dunderman)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/159 "2004-11-01T15:11:26Z")
Thought of another one: Billy Zane is one of Biff’s three cronies in _Back to the Future_. ---
**Author:** ![Agrippina](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8797f3/32.png) [@Agrippina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Agrippina)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2004, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521/160 "2004-11-01T15:30:50Z")
You can very briefly see a young Leonardo DiCaprio sitting near the back of the classroom in the “Roseanne” episode where Roseanne takes Darlene’s class on a field trip to the grocery store. Liam Neeson plays a crew member in “The Bounty”. So does Daniel Day-Lewis, but his isn’t a bit part as much as Neeson’s is. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bit-parts-when-they-were-not-so-famous/271521.md?page=9)