# Characters you liked that were "Chuck Cunningham"'d **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2017, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960 "2017-05-18T21:34:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/41 "2017-05-19T20:03:20Z")
> [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Also [Lyman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_characters_in_the_Garfield_franchise#Lyman), Odie’s original owner, from the Garfield strip. And Calvin’s [Uncle Max](https://www.google.com/search?q=calvin+hobbes+uncle+max&sa=G&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0ahUKEwiQqOqB4PzTAhUCslQKHSWfCWsQsAQINA&biw=1280&bih=627). ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/42 "2017-05-19T20:09:47Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And Calvin’s [Uncle Max](https://www.google.com/search?q=calvin+hobbes+uncle+max&sa=G&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ved=0ahUKEwiQqOqB4PzTAhUCslQKHSWfCWsQsAQINA&biw=1280&bih=627). Bill Watterson explained why Max was never brought back; he was not about to give Calvin’s parents first (or last) names, and it felt strange that Calvin’s father called his brother “Max” but Max couldn’t use his brother’s name when talking to/about him. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/43 "2017-05-19T20:21:49Z")
Another comic strip one: Joan Caucus’s older son in _Doonesbury_. When the character was first introduced, she had run away from her family: her husband, son, and daughter. The daughter would later appear in the strip (and Trudeau would belatedly address the fact that a character who was supposed to be sympathetic had abandoned her children) but the son was never mentioned. Joan would later go on to have another son. And the disappearance became “official” in a strip where Joan offhandedly described herself as the mother of two children. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/44 "2017-05-19T22:06:34Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > IIRC, he wasn’t Chucked. In his last episode, he had gotten a job in California, and Ann and the girls were making plans to move out there with him, until he told Ann that he wanted to have a child with her, she flat-out refused, and they broke up. I suspected as much, thanks for clearing that up; it’s been a _looooong_ time since I’ve seen that show. Hey, here’s [the theme song in reverse](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdhUKWRyzu4) (with captioning). ---
**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:** [May 19, 2017, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/45 "2017-05-19T23:03:21Z")
Aunt Harriet in Batman. I guess calling her beloved is a stretch but she was an added female dynamic to the Bruce-Dick-Alfred group at Wayne Manor. Always oblivious to the goings on of the Dynamic Duo’s never-ending fight against Gotham City’s devious underbelly of crime. Her role was reduced in season 3 because of Madge Blake’s health. ---
**Author:** ![LH75](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lh75/32/4438_2.png) [@LH75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LH75)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/46 "2017-05-19T23:59:52Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Leonard broke up with her. That’s the explanation. He just rode the “Don’t break up with me - let’s fuck” train a few more stops is all. True, but we did not get to watch it unfold. We just looked up and she was gone… ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/47 "2017-05-20T00:21:21Z")
Lewis J. Stadlen as gubernatorial advisor Taylor on “Benson.” For season 2 he was unceremoniously replaced by Clayton (Rene Auberjonois) and Pete (Ethan Phillips), who would each end up playing regulars on Star Trek series. I much preferred Taylor. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_John_Marcej)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/48 "2017-05-20T00:45:03Z")
> [@Rick\_Kitchen](#): > > And speaking of Bea Benaderet, did they ever mention Jethro’s mother on Beverly Hillbillies after Bea got her own show? They’d refer to her from time to time, sometimes getting a a package of Bugtussle goodies from her in the mail. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/49 "2017-05-20T01:22:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Captain Calvin Spaulding in **MASH**. He was played by Loudon Wainwright III, and his addition to the cast was announced in _TV Guide_. But he only appeared in three episodes (He did perform part of a song in one) He actually sang in all three of his appearances. Two different songs each in There’s Nothing Like a Nurse and Big Mac, and progressively slower reprises of North Korean Blues (‘Oh, Tokyo…’ - actually the only lyrics he sings in the last one) in Rainbow Bridge. ---
**Author:** ![Princess\_Perfume](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/princess_perfume/32/16518_2.png) [@Princess\_Perfume](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princess_Perfume)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/50 "2017-05-20T02:01:06Z")
Chucked is when the characters and show carry on as if the Chucked character never existed or had any impact on the storyline. For example, Chuck Cunningham himself or Stephen Floyd and Ruth Ann Torkelson. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2017, 7:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/51 "2017-05-20T07:37:53Z")
For those who remember _ **Combat!** _, Shecky Greene’s comedy-relief character of Brockmeyer, who actually merited his own episode opposite superior officer Keenan Wynn, disappeared without a trace toward the end of the first season. IIRC, Shecky simply no longer wanted to work in series TV and went back to doing shows in Las Vegas. The first Doc was also replaced with the Southerner Doc after two seasons. We at least saw Billy, Littlejohn’s young buddy, get wounded early in the series. The question of whether he died or was shipped back to the States was left open, though his empty bed in the field hospital strongly implied the former. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2017, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/52 "2017-05-20T12:31:40Z")
> [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](#): > > Aunt Harriet in Batman. I guess calling her beloved is a stretch but she was an added female dynamic to the Bruce-Dick-Alfred group at Wayne Manor. Always oblivious to the goings on of the Dynamic Duo’s never-ending fight against Gotham City’s devious underbelly of crime. > > Her role was reduced in season 3 because of Madge Blake’s health. Plus the budget for the third season was cut drastically. The main reason she was in the cast at all was so Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would look less like gay lovers. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2017, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/53 "2017-05-20T13:30:56Z")
Gomer Pyle, USMC - **Ted Bessel** appeared in only one season as Private Frankie Lombardi and **William Christopher** appeared in two as Private Lester Hummel. Both were solid characters, and both went away with - as far as I can tell - no further mention. mmm ---
**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:** [May 20, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/54 "2017-05-20T14:08:30Z")
In Beverly Cleary’s Ramon the Pest, Mrs. Kemp mentions that Howie’s older sister was sick. Well, she must have died, because in later books the only Kemp children are Howie and his younger sister Willa Jean. ---
**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:** [May 20, 2017, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/55 "2017-05-20T15:48:08Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Gomer Pyle, USMC - **Ted Bessel** appeared in only one season as Private Frankie Lombardi and **William Christopher** appeared in two as Private Lester Hummel. > > Both were solid characters, and both went away with - as far as I can tell - no further mention. Probably shipped out to Vietnam… ☹ ---
**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:** [May 20, 2017, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/56 "2017-05-20T17:13:26Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > Gomer Pyle, USMC - **Ted Bessel** appeared in only one season as Private Frankie Lombardi… Too bad he wasn’t Donald Lombardi. Gomer could’ve done a pouty face like Marlo Thomas and said “Oh, Donaaaaaald…” ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/57 "2017-05-22T01:58:01Z")
Space:1999 Professor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse) was the _Spock_ of this mid-70s Sci-Fi show. > **[Space: 1999](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Bergman)** > > Space: 1999 is a British science-fiction television programme that ran for two series from 1975 to 1977. In the opening episode, set in the year 1999, nuclear waste stored on the Moon's far side explodes, knocking the Moon out of orbit and sending it, as well as the 311 inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha, hurtling uncontrollably into space. Space: 1999 was the last production by the partnership of Gerry and Sylvia Anderson and was the most expensive series produced for British television up to that... All over the place in season 1, inexplicably absent season two. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/58 "2017-05-22T02:35:06Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Plus the budget for the third season was cut drastically. The main reason she was in the cast at all was so Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would look less like gay lovers. To be accurate, the character of Dick’s Aunt Harriet originated in the comics. She was intended as a substitute for Alfred, who was missing and presumed dead in the storyline of that time. Aunt Harriet was carried over to the TV show, along with Alfred, where she picked up her last name of Cooper. I don’t know if this counts as being Chuck’ed, but Heather Young, who played Betty on _Land of the Giants_, was pregnant during the second season of the show. Her character was completely missing from several episodes with no mention made of her absence or an explanation such as, “She stayed behind on the Spindrift to stand watch,” or, “She’s standing guard at one of the outposts.” Or even, “The giants got her.” After the birth of her child, she returned to the show, as if she were never even missing. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/59 "2017-05-22T02:37:01Z")
> [@Enola\_Straight](#): > > Space:1999 > > Professor Victor Bergman (Barry Morse) was the _Spock_ of this mid-70s Sci-Fi show. > [Space: 1999 - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Bergman) > All over the place in season 1, inexplicably absent season two. From your cite\< it seems that his absence was mentioned, then trimmed, from the first episode of the second season: > [@](#): > > The fate of Victor Bergman is alluded to in a trimmed scene from the second series opener “The Metamorph”, when Tony Verdeschi notes ‘I wish Bergman were here,’ and then ‘One lousy spacesuit with a faulty helmet and Victor had to be in it.’ Sandra Benes would then have replied ‘We can’t bring him back, Tony.’ This scene was filmed, but cut from the final print. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2017, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960/60 "2017-05-22T14:14:45Z")
Another comic strip chuckee: Barney Google. Used to be, he was the headline character but now his appearances are about as rare as Cecil sightings here. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/characters-you-liked-that-were-chuck-cunningham-d/786960.md?page=4)