# Great comedy bad guys from movies and TV **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [November 6, 2023, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696 "2023-11-06T14:46:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/41 "2023-11-07T03:45:21Z")
You’re laughing at them more than with them, but just about every mob character on The Sopranos, particularly Junior and Paulie. That show is really a comedy. ---
**Author:** ![steepone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/977dab/32.png) [@steepone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/steepone)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/42 "2023-11-07T03:47:15Z")
Commandant Klink (Werner Klemperer) from Hogan’s Heroes would be one of my favourite bad guys ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/43 "2023-11-07T11:09:13Z")
I’d add Schultz and Burkhalter. But Hochstetter was the nastiest. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/44 "2023-11-07T12:20:32Z")
No other fans of John Astin as [Evil Roy Slade](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067072/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_5_nm_3_q_evil%2520roy%2520)? “Keep your eyes peeled or I’ll peel 'em for ya!” ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/45 "2023-11-07T13:14:40Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Falk was a Chicago Mob boss opposite Sinatra and the Rat Pack in _ **Robin and the Seven Hoods** _. Huh, another movie Falk was in that I don’t remember. I could swear I have seen that movie, but if so it’s been years and years. Probably worth a rewatch. Sounds like Falk was in danger of being typecast as a mob guy before he became typecast as a rumpled detective. > [@steepone](#): > > Commandant Klink (Werner Klemperer) from Hogan’s Heroes would be one of my favourite bad guys > [@terentii](#): > > I’d add Schultz and Burkhalter. But Hochstetter was the nastiest. My favorite Hogan’s Heroes trivia is that all the actors who played Nazis on that show were actually Jews who were happy to portray Nazis as evil, bumbling, ridiculous characters. Klemperer, who fled Germany with his family in the 30s, only agreed to take on the role if he always played the fool-- Klink was never to be portrayed doing anything good or clever. Robert Clary, who played LeBeau, the French POW, was also a Jew who had spent time in a concentration camp as a child. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/46 "2023-11-07T13:17:55Z")
Hedy Lamarr. That’s **Hedley!!** Of course you also have the 2nd tier/henchmen like Taggart and Lyle, plus the heel/face turns of Mongo and Lily. Anybody who hasn’t seen _The Great Race_ is missing an experience. Jack Lemmon and Peter Falk make a wonderful pair of Baddies. [“Push the button, Max!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xayMD-poO5U) ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/47 "2023-11-07T13:41:31Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > There are several from _The Good Place_, but I hesitate to name names because, at least in some cases, it might constitute spoilers. Good point. I was going to mention specific characters from The Good Place ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/48 "2023-11-07T13:42:02Z")
Les Grossman (Tom Cruise) from Tropic Thunder ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/49 "2023-11-07T13:48:58Z")
Newman from Seinfeld. ---
**Author:** ![Shoeless](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shoeless/32/7099_2.png) [@Shoeless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shoeless)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/50 "2023-11-07T15:23:52Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Newman from Seinfeld And for one-off Seinfeld characters, you can’t beat the Soup Nazi. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/51 "2023-11-07T15:32:09Z")
Squidward on SpongeBob SquarePants. Gary from Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern on Cheers. Dennis Duffy and Colleen Donaghy on 30 Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/52 "2023-11-07T16:00:10Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Squidward on SpongeBob SquarePants. Squidward, IMO, isn’t a villain\*. He’s annoyed with life in general and Spongebob and Patrick specifically. He’s like an old man that hates kids but lives next door to a daycare. I think Plankton makes more sense as a comedic villain. \*But he has Squilliam as his own villain. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/53 "2023-11-07T16:11:33Z")
> [@solost](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > Falk was a Chicago Mob boss opposite Sinatra and the Rat Pack in _ **Robin and the Seven Hoods** _. > > Huh, another movie Falk was in that I don’t remember. I could swear I have seen that movie, but if so it’s been years and years. Probably worth a rewatch. Sounds like Falk was in danger of being typecast as a mob guy before he became typecast as a rumpled detective. Falk played an NYPD detective opposite Natalie Wood in _ **Penelope** _. He got around a lot in the '60s. Has his role as a cabbie in _ **It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World** _ been mentioned yet? A fellow taxi driver in that movie was Eddie “Rochester” Anderson, another great comedic actor. ---
**Author:** ![Alpha\_Twit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alpha_twit/32/265_2.png) [@Alpha\_Twit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alpha_Twit)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/54 "2023-11-07T16:16:01Z")
How on Earth did this thread get this far without a mention of [Arnold Judas Rimmer](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4TLto-nKfU)? ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/55 "2023-11-07T16:24:08Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > He’s like an old man that hates kids but lives next door to a daycare. “_ **Get off of my seaweed!!** _” (Shakes tentacle at Spongebob and Patrick). > [@terentii](#): > > Falk played an NYPD detective opposite Natalie Wood in _ **Penelope** _. He got around a lot in the '60s. Wonder if that helped lead to Falk landing the Columbo role? The first Columbo movie was just a couple years later. Although, I watched a 2:44 clip of ‘Penelope’ on IMDB and it looks like a pretty silly slapstick movie. Columbo had elements of humor for sure, but tonally it was pretty different. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/56 "2023-11-07T16:30:12Z")
Wood feels her banker husband is ignoring her,\* so she embarks on a life of robbery and kleptomania to get attention. Falk suspects her right from the beginning but can’t bring himself to arrest her. Anyway, none of the rich people she robs ever press charges because they don’t want to attract the interest of the tax authorities. \*The man must have been dead from the neck down… 🥺 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/57 "2023-11-07T16:42:44Z")
> [@solost](#): > > Wonder if that helped lead to Falk landing the Columbo role? His first role in a major film that I mentioned above earned him an Oscar nomination. I think his potential was obvious but more oriented toward small screen roles than a movie leading man. Every part he had helped him land the part in Columbo. By the time Columbo started as a pilot for a potential TV movie series he was probably turning down plenty of offers. He was a very serious actor and some of his genius maybe was his ability to recognize the roles he was best suited for. The television audience at the time clearly recognized his talent also. Even though the episodes were infrequent he was more popular than the other ABC Mystery Movie characters and his run lasted longer than the rest. And in checking up on details in the [wiki article](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbo#Development_and_character_profile) I see he wasn’t the person to assume the role. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/58 "2023-11-07T16:44:01Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Gary from Gary’s Olde Towne Tavern on Cheers. Maybe also Harry the Hat. ---
**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:** [November 7, 2023, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/59 "2023-11-07T16:51:09Z")
I’ve always thought Harry ran scams to finance his way through Law school so he could end up as a judge in Night Court. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/60 "2023-11-07T17:00:05Z")
Oh, come on! Two days in and no one has mentioned all 37 Special Guest Villains on TV’s _Batman_ or the 1966 movie that brought together the Joker, Riddler, Penguin, and third-best Catwoman. I rest my case. All the rest of you can argue over the leftovers. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696.md?page=4)