# 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:** 4
**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, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/61 "2023-11-07T17:03:49Z")
**Trivia Challenge:** I see Richard Boone’s _ **Hec Ramsay** _ (another series in NBC’s “wheel”) is mentioned in that article. Boone is, of course, best remembered for playing Paladin in the TV version of _ **Have Gun, Will Travel** _. Who played Paladin in the radio version? ---
**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, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/62 "2023-11-07T17:04:53Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > I rest my case. All the rest of you can argue over the leftovers. Well, it’s not a contest. There’s plenty of good bad guys in comedy. But if I was to play Devil’s Advocate, I might say, amusing though it was to see a procession of semi has-been actors hamming it up as Batman villains, they weren’t necessarily all that funny as comedic characters. ---
**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, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/63 "2023-11-07T17:05:53Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > 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. **Second** -best Catwoman ever! 😠 ---
**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, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/64 "2023-11-07T17:20:33Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > third-best Catwoman. > [@terentii](#): > > **Second** -best Catwoman ever! 😠 All I know is, Julie Newmar as Catwoman caught my attention as a kid. I have little or no memory of the other two. [![](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGI1ZWQ0ZDUtMGYwNS00YTMzLTlkMzQtNWU5MzAzNDI0NmI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQwMDg0Ng@@._V1_.jpg) ](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMGI1ZWQ0ZDUtMGYwNS00YTMzLTlkMzQtNWU5MzAzNDI0NmI1XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjQwMDg0Ng@@._V1_.jpg) ---
**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, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/65 "2023-11-07T17:22:49Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > **Second** -best Catwoman ever! Julie Newmar Eartha Kitt Then Lee Meriwether 😠 ---
**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, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/66 "2023-11-07T18:04:45Z")
Let’s agree to disagree on this one. > [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4\_MkThxSI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ym4_MkThxSI) So Michelle Pfeiffer would be fourth? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/67 "2023-11-07T18:15:35Z")
The Danby clan, especially Bruce Dern as Joe and Walter Brennan parodying himself as “Pa”, in _Support Your Local Sheriff!_ ---
**Author:** ![Yodalicious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yodalicious/32/8195_2.png) [@Yodalicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yodalicious)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/68 "2023-11-07T18:45:53Z")
[quote=“silenus, post:46, topic:992696”] 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. First one that came to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/69 "2023-11-07T19:55:30Z")
You’re disappointed somebody else didn’t beat you to it? You actually got to make a post and enlighten us with more on-topic treasures. I’d think anybody would cherish that opportunity. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/70 "2023-11-07T20:32:18Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > Oh, come on! Two days in and no one has mentioned all 37 Special Guest Villains on TV’s _Batman_ The one that shined above all the rest was Victor Buono’s King Tut. A scenery-eater extraordinaire. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/71 "2023-11-07T21:06:30Z")
> [@Sam\_Stone](#): > > “Hi, Morty!” > “Muerte! My name is Muerte! It means death!” > "Whatever you say, Morty.’ Dammit, I came here to mention Morty. The movie’s utterly forgettable early nineties cable-filler, but every scene with Tucci is comedy gold. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/72 "2023-11-07T21:14:54Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The one that shined above all the rest was Victor Buono’s King Tut. A scenery-eater extraordinaire. Brief hijack: I’m forcing myself to watch the entire run of the 60s _Batman_ show and finding it horrible and painful in its incompetence. Until yesterday…when I got to “The Unkindest Tut of All” (Season 3, Episode 6) and to my utter surprise, I found myself laughing at clever dialogue (“What’s it all about, Alfred?”) and physical comedy that wasn’t ironic. Makes me feel a bit better about the possibilities for the rest of the season. (end hijack) Also, re: the Catwoman debate. I like Hathaway’s costume the most of all of them, but Julie Newmar’s cheekbones turn me into a puddle every time she shows up onscreen, so she gets the edge as best Catwoman IHMO. ---
**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, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/73 "2023-11-07T21:25:14Z")
As I recall, Season 3 was truncated. I was very disappointed not to see the Joker’s flying saucer after it had been hyped in the tag to what turned out to be the last show in March 1968. The first half-season (it debuted the first week of January 1966) was comic-booky but not egregously so (at least not to 11-year-old me, who took it dead seriously). It got really campy almost immediately in the second season, and by the start of the third I had lost interest in it. The show’s sagging production values mirrored its decline in the Nielsen ratings. ---
**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, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/74 "2023-11-07T21:26:41Z")
I have a huge crush on Hathaway too, but Julie and Lee top them all IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/75 "2023-11-07T21:39:35Z")
74 posts, and no mention of Sideshow Bob? ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2023, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/76 "2023-11-07T21:47:00Z")
What, no mention of Jar Jar Binks!?! > **[Darth Jar Jar The TRUE SITH Lord Explained In 8 Minutes...](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgRddD-rXdY%2F)** > > Darth Jar Jar The True Sith Lord Explained In 8 MinutesVideo Inspired byCipher 9ine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPttuJPNUeo&t=12sThe Original Reddit Pos... ---
**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, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/77 "2023-11-07T22:02:58Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Who played Paladin in the radio version? That would be John Dehner, who played a pretty darn good comic villain in the Dabney Coleman mode in many roles, as well as a straight-up bad guy. Do we count Roger C. Carmel as Harry Mudd in Star Trek as a comedy villain? Only his second appearance? ---
**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, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/78 "2023-11-07T22:05:19Z")
John Dehner is correct. Well done! 👌 Harry Mudd wasn’t exactly kosher in both episodes, or in the animated series either. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2023, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/79 "2023-11-08T00:17:03Z")
> [@veryfrank](#): > > I’m forcing myself to watch the entire run of the 60s _Batman_ show and finding it horrible and painful in its incompetence. Until yesterday…when I got to “The Unkindest Tut of All” (Season 3, Episode 6) and to my utter surprise, I found myself laughing at clever dialogue (“What’s it all about, Alfred?”) and physical comedy that wasn’t ironic. Makes me feel a bit better about the possibilities for the rest of the season. (end hijack) I like the Shame two-parter that’s on its way to you. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2023, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696/80 "2023-11-08T00:31:05Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Crowley, huh? How about David Tennant as Crowley on _Good Omens_? Is he a villain? More of a co-protagonist. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-comedy-bad-guys-from-movies-and-tv/992696.md?page=5)