# Didn't expect to see THAT name in the credits! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2017, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107 "2017-03-01T15:27:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/41 "2017-03-02T10:05:23Z")
I was surprised to see Alyson Hannigan, the host of _Penn & Teller: Fool Us_, receive a Producer credit on the same show. The probable reasoning behind this got discussed in a thread here dedicated to the show, starting around [Post #947](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=730476&page=19#947). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 10:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/42 "2017-03-02T10:46:01Z")
I had seen the Mel Brooks movie High Anxiety many times before I realized the Bellboy (Here’s your paper! Here’s your paper!) is played by academy award winning director Barry Levinson. He was also one of the writers. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/43 "2017-03-02T11:12:57Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > “Christopher Lloyd” pops up in the credits of a lot of sitcoms besides _Taxi_, including _Frasier_, _The Golden Girls_, _Wings_, and _Modern Family_. Turns out that this isn’t the actor but a producer and writer of the same name. This threw me _forever_. ---
**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 2, 2017, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/44 "2017-03-02T12:29:57Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I always get a kick seeing Adam Sandler as producer/director on _The Price Is Right_. But no, it’s a different Adam Sandler, although the actor’s version might be a hoot. The first time I saw it I thought perhaps it was because of his including Bob Barker in _Happy Gilmore_. I get similarly thrown by the fact that the director for _Jeopardy_ is **Kevin McCarthy** , who’s been dead for more than six years. Of course, it’s a different Kevin McCarthy (and not the politician, either) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/45 "2017-03-02T12:51:45Z")
A million years ago I was at a friend’s house and the largely forgettable movie **Cold Feet** played in the background. When the credits came on, I grabbed the remote and rewound, shocked to see _Tom Waits_ co-starred! I rented the movie and watched it again. ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/46 "2017-03-02T13:06:48Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I had seen the Mel Brooks movie High Anxiety many times before I realized the Bellboy (Here’s your paper! Here’s your paper!) is played by academy award winning director Barry Levinson. He was also one of the writers. Speaking of Mel Brooks, he produced the 1980 drama _The Elephant Man_ but chose to go uncredited to avoid misleading (prospective) viewers into thinking the film was a comedy. Had he not done so, he would have been a perfect example for this thread. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/47 "2017-03-02T14:39:10Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I get similarly thrown by the fact that the director for _Jeopardy_ is **Kevin McCarthy** , who’s been dead for more than six years. > > Of course, it’s a different Kevin McCarthy (and not the politician, either) In the same vein, Peter Frampton won an Oscar for the makeup in Braveheart. No, not _ **that** _ Peter Frampton, but [this one.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Frampton_(make-up_artist)) ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/48 "2017-03-02T14:44:44Z")
Some years ago, CBS decided to stick its feet into the world of live televised MMA bouts. One of the names in the credits caught my eye: Executive Producer David Dinkins. It was actually David Dinkins Jr., son of the former NYC mayor. ---
**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 2, 2017, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/49 "2017-03-02T14:55:50Z")
Seeing Chuck Barris as the writer of Freddie Cannon’s hit song set in New Jersey “Palisades Park.” Yes, THAT Chuck Barris. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/50 "2017-03-02T14:56:45Z")
> [@Richard\_John\_Marcej](#): > > Well, for a personal response for this thread. When the animated _ **Transformers: The Movie** _ was made I was working at Hasbro. While they were making it some of those involved making the film came to visit our offices and we talked about Transformers. > > When I saw the film in the theater I was surprised to see my name on the big screen! I did not expect to see my name, along with other co-workers names, in the credits!:eek: A Major Motion Picture was shot partially where I work a while back (in my department). I was upset to see this doofus coworker got an on-screen credit, but that was tempered by the fact the movie sucked big time. I’m GLAD I didn’t get a credit! 🙂 ---
**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:** [March 2, 2017, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/51 "2017-03-02T15:59:11Z")
> [@installLSC](#): > > In the same vein, Peter Frampton won an Oscar for the makeup in Braveheart. No, not _ **that** _ Peter Frampton, but [this one.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Frampton_(make-up_artist)) Ha! I just watched _“Victor, Victoria”_, last night on TCM, for the first time, and noticed the name Peter Frampton on the end credits, and thought, wait a minute, he does makeup for movies too??! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/52 "2017-03-02T16:10:03Z")
I don’t think he actually appears in the credits, unfortunately, but for a few moments in _Monty Python and the Holy Grail_, the Black Knight is played by **Richard Burton**. No, not that Richard Burton. A local blacksmith of the same name, an actual one-legged man, who took over for John Cleese once the Black Knight has had both arms and one of his legs cut off. Rumor has it that Cleese still likes to boast about the time that Richard Burton was his stunt double. ---
**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 2, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/53 "2017-03-02T16:40:38Z")
Not in a movie, but looking at the original cast of the Broadway musical **West Side Story** , I was shocked to see the name of **Elizabeth Taylor** buried well down in the credits. This was years after _National Velvet_ and _Father of the Bride_, so I knew it couldn’t be _that_ Elizabeth Taylor, and it wasn’t. **Francis Elizabeth Taylor** was a dancer and sometime singer in the late fifties. She later married Miles Davis, and so became _Francis E.T. Davis_ > **[Elizabeth Taylor – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB](https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/elizabeth-taylor-81295)** > > The official database for Broadway theatre information ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/54 "2017-03-02T16:44:12Z")
I was surprised by a name _not_ in the credits: in _Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs_ the voiceover artist for the character of Officer Earl was **Mr. T**. When the sequel came out with the same characters, I assumed it was the same cast as well but nope: according to the end credits Officer Earl was voiced by the ever-entertaining **Terry Crews** , doing a very good Mr. T impression. (In a similar vein I watched _Wreck-It Ralph_ and blindly accepted the Ed Wynn-esque voicing of King Candy…which turned out to be by **Alan Tudyk** (of _Firefly_ fame). Wynn’s vocal stylings have become such a cliché that it didn’t even occur to me to wonder about it despite the fact that the man has been dead since 1966.) ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/55 "2017-03-02T16:48:30Z")
> [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](#): > > I was very surprised to see Tom Cruise’s name in the end credits of _Tropic Thunder_. Why? For the beginning of the end credits you’re actually watching Tom Cruise dancing. > [@GuanoLad](#): > > This isn’t quite the same thing, but I am a tad suspicious of the credit for Alan Tudyk playing HeiHei in _Moana_, as it seems clear to me that they used genuine chicken sound effects, not requiring a Frank Welker-esque performance. That’s just how good the man is. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/56 "2017-03-02T16:56:58Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Rumor has it that Cleese still likes to boast about the time that Richard Burton was his stunt double. Rumor confirmed. John mentioned it during his performance with Eric Idle in Pasadena last November. 😃 ---
**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 2, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/57 "2017-03-02T17:15:53Z")
I saw this on Youtube before I saw in on IMDB or listed as credits but Gates McFadden did behind-the-scenes work as a choreographer for Labyrinth (as well as Dark Crystal) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TdiTg-Yg-FU/hqdefault.jpg "Gates McFadden - Behind the Scenes Labyrinth") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdiTg-Yg-FU) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/58 "2017-03-02T17:28:11Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I always get a kick seeing Adam Sandler as producer/director on _The Price Is Right_. But no, it’s a different Adam Sandler, although the actor’s version might be a hoot. > [@installLSC](#): > > In the same vein, Peter Frampton won an Oscar for the makeup in Braveheart. No, not _ **that** _ Peter Frampton, but [this one.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Frampton_(make-up_artist)) > [@CalMeacham](#): > > I get similarly thrown by the fact that the director for _Jeopardy_ is **Kevin McCarthy** , who’s been dead for more than six years. > > Of course, it’s a different Kevin McCarthy (and not the politician, either) I used to get a twinge of sadness seeing the name “Nick Berg” pop up in the credits of music documentaries and similar shows from the 90’s. Later I discovered it was a completely different guy with the same name. Many years ago on an episode of Rockline with Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, a caller mentioned that he’d seen Bruce’s name on a heavy metal compilation CD and wondered how he wound up with that gig. Bruce told the caller that it was a completely different guy named Bruce Dickinson, who was a mid-level manager and “reissue producer” at Columbia Records. This was more than a decade before SNL’s famous “More Cowbell” sketch. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/59 "2017-03-02T19:13:12Z")
Two more that don’t quite fit the definition of the OP. I first heard of Levon Helm as an actor in one of my favorite movies. I didn’t find out until a few years ago that he was well known as a musician before his acting career. So I wasn’t surprised to see his name, but should have been. I was channel surfing and came across a program on Discovery or NatGeo and there was some academic type talking about ancient Rome. I thought “hey, that guy looks kinda like Peter Weller (_Buckaroo Bonsai_, _Robocop_, etc.).” I watched a bit more and the next time he came on they had his name across the bottom of the screen. It was Peter Weller! ---
**Author:** ![MrAtoz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@MrAtoz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrAtoz)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107/60 "2017-03-02T20:35:24Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I was channel surfing and came across a program on Discovery or NatGeo and there was some academic type talking about ancient Rome. I thought “hey, that guy looks kinda like Peter Weller (_Buckaroo Bonsai_, _Robocop_, etc.).” I watched a bit more and the next time he came on they had his name across the bottom of the screen. It was Peter Weller! Peter Weller, surprisingly enough, has a Ph.D. in Art History from UCLA, focusing on the Italian Renaissance. He’s also taught history courses at Syracuse. Imagine taking a history class and having Robocop as your professor! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/didnt-expect-to-see-that-name-in-the-credits/781107.md?page=4)