# Characters from Wisconsin (in shows not set there) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [December 24, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823 "2020-12-24T15:15:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/1 "2020-12-24T15:15:41Z")
Watching reruns of “Crossing Jordan” ther was an episode where Woody heads back to Kewaunee, Wi (he does not pronounce it the way a person from Wisconsin would). Anyhow, since I am from Wisconsin I make note when characters are from there. Note I am NOT counting shows set in Wisconsin (Happy Days, that 70’s show, etc) So in addition to Woody I know of: Caroline (of Caroline in the City) is from Peshtigo Roz from Frasier is from Bloomer Phillip Coulson for Agents of SHIELD is from Manitowoc Of course there is a wikipedia list, but it is pretty small > **[Category:Fictional characters from Wisconsin](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Fictional_characters_from_Wisconsin)** > > Pages for logged out editors learn more > > This category has the following 4 subcategories, out of 4 total. > The following 32 pages are in this category, out of 32 total. This list may not reflect recent changes. Brian ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/2 "2020-12-24T15:23:24Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > (he does not pronounce it the way a person from Wisconsin would) Did he say “WES-consin”? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/4 "2020-12-24T15:28:41Z")
Dave Nelson, of Newsradio (set in New York), is from Wisconsin (though born in Canada). ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/5 "2020-12-24T16:01:09Z")
Peggy Bundy in _ **Married … with Children** _ has a whole slew of relatives back in Wanker County, WI, though her mom (judging from phone bills) apparently lives in Milwaukee: **[Seven](https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Seven)** - Peggy’s nephew, who lived with the Bundys for a short time after his parents abandoned him, leaving him in their care. During his stay, she treated him much better than her own husband and children, making Al, Kelly, and Bud jealous. **[Peggy’s Mother](https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Peg%27s_Mom)** (Unseen) - often the victim of Al’s abrasive insults **[Ephraim Wanker](https://marriedwithchildren.fandom.com/wiki/Ephraim_Wanker)** - Peggy’s Father **The Wankers** **Uncle** - Ephus, Toppee **Aunt** -Innie **Brothers** - Otto, Sticky and Irwin **(Unseen)Unnamed Sister** -Al loses his Cherry **Cousins** - Possum Boy, Effie, Zemus and Ida May (Zemus’ Wife), Eb, Elmo, Hootie and Harriet **The Wanker Triplets (** Eadie, Elena and Milly) ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/6 "2020-12-24T16:05:28Z")
No, Kewaunee. I can’t remember exactly how he said it, but it definitely sounded wrong. Brian ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/7 "2020-12-24T16:14:31Z")
I think Tony Nelson from I Dream Of Jeannie was from Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/8 "2020-12-24T16:26:17Z")
I’m a little surprised that someone would write characters as being from Wisconsin (let alone a whole show). I mean, there are better states to signify “generic midwest” or “bucolic small town life”. And if you were going for “The Great Frozen North”, Minnesota’s much better… I guess, as a Wisconsin native myself, I don’t have a handle on how the rest of America sees the state… any clues, media mavens? … ETA: Unless… no one in television is actually putting much thought into anything, and they just need a generic state… “Hey, JB, ya want this character to come from Vermont, or Oregon, or Wisconsin?” “Whatever, pick one.” Kinda sad… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/9 "2020-12-24T16:31:53Z")
Being from Minnesota, I’ve always thought of Wisconsin as something you’re forced to drive through to get to Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/10 "2020-12-24T16:52:55Z")
Hey, nobody’s stopping you from taking I-35 down through Iowa instead (a longer, more boring drive, I must say)… Oh, but then you wouldn’t get to stop at [The Norske Nook](https://norskenook.com/) for pie… ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 4:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/11 "2020-12-24T16:55:00Z")
**Q:** When it’s 12:00 noon in New York, what time is it in Iowa? **A.** 1881. ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/12 "2020-12-24T17:01:56Z")
President Andrew Shepard in _The American President_: **President Andrew Shepherd:** Is the view pretty good from the cheap seats? **A.J.:** What? **President Andrew Shepherd:** Because it occurs to me that it twenty five years, why have I never seen YOUR name on a ballot? Why A.J.? Why are you always one step behind ME? **A.J.:** Because if I wasn’t, you’d be the most popular history teacher at the University of Wisconsin! **President Andrew Shepherd:** F\*\*\* you! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/13 "2020-12-24T17:07:50Z")
> [@digs](#): > > Oh, but then you wouldn’t get to stop at [The Norske Nook](https://norskenook.com/) for pie… What, and miss the Majestik Møøse?!? 😮 [![](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/dc/8c/39/wisconsin-deer-park.jpg) ](https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/dc/8c/39/wisconsin-deer-park.jpg) I was once in love with a girl who moved to Rice Lake. Spent the next three years sending her letters she never answered. 😟 ---
**Author:** ![RetroVertigo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@RetroVertigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RetroVertigo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/14 "2020-12-24T17:15:39Z")
Donna Moss - The West Wing. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/15 "2020-12-24T17:52:54Z")
I’m guessing there are not many more characters from Wisconsin than any other Midwest state, but as I mentioned I take notice when they are. Mrs Garrett from The Facts of Life is from Wisconsin, but I’m guessing it was because Charlotte Rae, the actress who played her, is from Milwaukee. Brian ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/16 "2020-12-24T18:26:01Z")
In a thread about Wizgonsin, it’s pronounced **Mi** ’ **waukee.** I still remember our four year old asking “When are we going to a real city again?” “Chicago? Sure, we could go to the Field Museum…” "No, I wanta go to _Mi’waukee!"_ I turned to my wife in horror, “We’ve given our daughter an accent…” … Oh, Rob Lowe’s character in Parks&Rec… at least, he would visit his mother in Wisconsin. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/17 "2020-12-24T18:33:34Z")
Pam Poovey from **Archer**. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/18 "2020-12-24T18:47:42Z")
> [@digs](#): > > I’m a little surprised that someone would write characters as being from Wisconsin (let alone a whole show). I mean, there are better states to signify “generic midwest” or “bucolic small town life”. And if you were going for “The Great Frozen North”, Minnesota’s much better… > > I guess, as a Wisconsin native myself, I don’t have a handle on how the rest of America sees the state… any clues, media mavens? Cheese, beer, Packer fans. I’ve driven through Wisconsin before; lovely state, and Madison is a gem. Also spent a very pleasant day in Milwaukee, so my idea of the state is fairly positive. But if you ask people around here about Wisconsin, that’s the response you’ll get. > [@](#): > > ETA: Unless… no one in television is actually putting much thought into anything, and they just need a generic state… “Hey, JB, ya want this character to come from Vermont, or Oregon, or Wisconsin?” “Whatever, pick one.” > > Kinda sad… Hey, at least your reputation is innocuous. Have a character from Cleveland, and you can count on jokes about the Cuyahoga catching fire, and “The Mistake on the Lake”, and possibly something about the Browns sucking for twenty years. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/19 "2020-12-24T19:27:08Z")
To cheese and beer, I’d add cows. Lots and lots and lots of cows. Driving through Wisconsin is like sharing a tent with a guy who downs a six-pack of brown ale every night before turning in. I’ve always wondered about **this place**. It looks to me like a compound where a cult gathers once a week to pay tribute to a mythical hero and his aurochs: [![](https://www.dells.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Paul-Bunyans-Cook-Shanty-Blog1.png) ](https://www.dells.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Paul-Bunyans-Cook-Shanty-Blog1.png) I lived in Milwaukee for a year and a half. Wisconsin Dells is better. It has dinosaurs: [![](https://storage.googleapis.com/hippostcard/p/cacc3c25113dd2fa2bd37e693183a090.jpg) ](https://storage.googleapis.com/hippostcard/p/cacc3c25113dd2fa2bd37e693183a090.jpg) One weekend, I spent a month in Sawyer. Never ate so much fish in my life! [![](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/08/20/e70820a581aa4307b05b18b39818968f.jpg) ](https://i.pinimg.com/originals/e7/08/20/e70820a581aa4307b05b18b39818968f.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/20 "2020-12-24T19:43:38Z")
I have family in the Sauk Prairie region of Wisconsin. When I was visiting, they kept introducing me as being from “Oregon the state.” I asked about this they mentioned that nearby was a town named Oregon. As it happens, not too far from where I live in Oregon is the town of Milwaukie (that’s how it’s spelled there). ---
**Author:** ![gnarator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gnarator/32/8266_2.png) [@gnarator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnarator)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2020, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823/21 "2020-12-24T19:51:02Z")
IIRC the eponymous Annie Hall is from Wisconsin. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-from-wisconsin-in-shows-not-set-there/928823.md?page=2)