# Character nods to the actor's former character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 7, 2009, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657 "2009-03-07T16:13:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/61 "2009-03-08T23:20:06Z")
> [@](#): > > On one of the later incarnations of her shows, Lucille Ball walked by an old man, played by William Frawley. The two looked at each other wordlessly, then Lucy walked off, shaking her head. Appparently this one from 1965 : [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0637473/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0637473/) > [@](#): > > William Frawley’s final TV show. > Last appearance together or “I Love Lucy” regulars William Frawley, Vivian Vance and Lucille Ball. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/62 "2009-03-09T12:11:55Z")
> [@GESancMan](#): > > In an episode of Futurama, Leela meets a one-eyed man who claims they are the last survivors of their race of cyclopes. I think his name was Althazar, but he tells her she can “call him Al.” At one point Leela is shown with a '60s hairdo and clothes, calling “Al…” > > Leela is, of course, voiced by Katey Sagal, who played Peg Bundy. Ed O’Neill also did a guest spot as Kate’s old boyfriend on “8 Simple Rules.” Kate was played by Katy Segal. Speaking of “8 Simple Rules,” they did a show where Paul (played by the late John Ritter) has a dream with the 8 Simple Rules characters spoofing “Three’s Company.” ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/63 "2009-03-09T13:57:58Z")
_Cold Case_ solved the case of a young woman who was found murdered after a midnight viewing of _The Rocky Horror Picture Show_. The now aged (not flashback) killer was played by Barry Bostwick, who played Brad in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/64 "2009-03-09T13:58:20Z")
In an episode of **The Nanny** Ann Morgan Guilbert, who played the Nanny’s grandmother, commented that she looked like Millie Helper, the Petrie’s neighbor on **The Dick Van Dyke Show** , also played by Guilbert. ---
**Author:** ![Hamadryad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6de8d8/32.png) [@Hamadryad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hamadryad)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/65 "2009-03-09T14:07:14Z")
OH HEY, a couple more… “Boston Legal,” starring William Shatner as Denny Crane and James Spader as Alan Shore. In one episode, Alan Shore and Denny Crane end up talking about, I believe, a parasite… Alan says they’re called “Cling-ons” and Denny says, “…excuse me?” In another episode, in which they both end up in Flamingo costumes, Alan mentions to Denny that he looks very pretty in pink. Spader co-starred in “Pretty in Pink” with Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer and Andrew McCarthy way back in the day. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/66 "2009-03-09T14:12:53Z")
The terrible horror movie **Valentine** featured two of the cannon fodder females discussing their boyfriends and the possibility that either could be the murderer. One says to the other: “He’s no angel, but he’s not a killer.” Said boyfriend was played by David Boreanez. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/67 "2009-03-09T14:27:25Z")
In the _Enterprise_ episode “Twilight,” which involves more than a little playing around in time, Captain Archer wakes up one morning and looks in the mirror only to see a face he doesn’t fully recognize looking back at him. That was a really nice reference to _Quantum Leap_. Especially since what surprises Archer the most is that he has gone gray. When Dr. Beckett sees himself in the mirror in the final episode of _Leap_, one of the things he notices is that he has started going gray. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/68 "2009-03-09T14:51:39Z")
On Days of Our Lifes, the young, thin, blond actress Judi Evans played Adrienne Johnson Kirarkis for five years, then returned eight years later older, heavier and brunette to play Bonnie Lockhart. In one scene she was visiting Victor Kirarksis, who was on the phone. He hung up and explained “I was just talking to my nephew’s wife Adrienne.” Bonnie murmured “Adrienne Kirarkis. Why does that name sound so familiar?” ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/69 "2009-03-09T16:39:09Z")
In _Mad About You_, one of Paul (Reiser’s) friends asks him if he ever saw the \*Alien \*movies. His hurried, slightly defensive response: “Only the first one!” ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/70 "2009-03-09T16:48:04Z")
On “Home Improvement” Randy gave more candy to a trick-or-treater dressed as young Simba than to one dressed as Buzz Lightyear as his father watched. ---
**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:** [March 9, 2009, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/71 "2009-03-09T17:21:55Z")
On an episode of _Third Rock from the Sun_–Dick (John Lithgow) cross-dressed to infiltrate Mary’s woman’s book club. Lithgow played the transexual Roberta Muldoon (originally pro football player Robert Muldoon) in the movie _The World According to Garp_ ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/72 "2009-03-09T17:40:48Z")
In an episode of the Simpsons, Lisa is laughing at something and tells her mom that she is remembering a joke from Herman’s Head. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/73 "2009-03-09T17:42:56Z")
On the first episode of the sadly short-lived “Wonderfalls”, Jaye sarcastically refers to her mother as “Mommy dearest!” To which her mother just glares angrily at her in response. Her mother was played by Diana Scarwid, most famous for playing Joan Crawford’s tortured daughter Christina in (you guessed it!) “Mommy Dearest.” ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/74 "2009-03-09T17:58:43Z")
I read somewhere that Shakespeare may have done this at least once: in an early scene from Hamlet, Polonius remenisces about playing Julius Caesar while he was in college. Hamlet makes a sarcastic remark about how cruel it was for Brutus to kill Polonius. It’s possible that the actor who played Polonius also played Caesar, and the actor who played Hamlet was also Brutus. Then consider what happens to Polonius. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/75 "2009-03-09T18:20:04Z")
> [@The New and Improved Superman](#): > > On the first episode of the sadly short-lived “Wonderfalls”, Jaye sarcastically refers to her mother as “Mommy dearest!” To which her mother just glares angrily at her in response. > > Her mother was played by Diana Scarwid, most famous for playing Joan Crawford’s tortured daughter Christina in (you guessed it!) “Mommy Dearest.” Y’know, I was reading this thread with _Wonderfalls_ in mind, knowing they’d probably do something like that, but I never caught it. I only recognized the father from _Roseanne_. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/76 "2009-03-09T21:27:04Z")
On a recent trip I saw Godfathers 1, 2, and 3 in my hotel, then Ocean’s 11, 12, and 13 on the flight home. In Ocean’s 13 we had Al Pacino and Andy Garcia who stared in GF3, plus Scott Caan, son of James Caan. There are lots of references to the GF movies, including some lines spoken almost verbatim. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/77 "2009-03-09T21:48:08Z")
On the recent ER where Dr. Carter showed up again, someone looks at him and says, “Didn’t you get a nurse pregnant and move to Seattle?” Which I assume is more of a shout-out to the sex-driven plots of Grey’s Anatomy than to Dr. Carter. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/78 "2009-03-09T21:55:56Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > On the recent ER where Dr. Carter showed up again, someone looks at him and says, “Didn’t you get a nurse pregnant and move to Seattle?” > > Which I assume is more of a shout-out to the sex-driven plots of Grey’s Anatomy than to Dr. Carter. Or George Clooney’s character Dr Ross getting Julianna Margulies’ Nurse Hathaway pregnant and moving to Seattle. Nope, probably a Grey’s Anatomy reference. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/79 "2009-03-09T22:52:23Z")
In _Tango & Cash_, on of the other cops tells Stallone’s character (I forget which one he was) to stop acting like Rambo. Stallone replies, “Rambo was a pussy!” ---
**Author:** ![Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/13edae/32.png) [@Interconnected\_Series\_of\_Tubes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Interconnected_Series_of_Tubes)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2009, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657/80 "2009-03-09T23:04:21Z")
During my unfortunate watching of **The Marine** in network TV. Roided-up WWE star chasing the Bad Guys in some ridiculous car scene. WWE star drives through a hail of bullets! An explosion rips through the air - but he flexes a bicep and effortlessly produces a negating pressure wave. Weapons have no effect as he draws closer, vrooom! Bad Guy turns to Head Bad Guy, played by [Robert Patrick](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001598/): “He’s like the terminator!” Robert Patrick: :dubious: [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/character-nods-to-the-actors-former-character/488657.md?page=5)