# Invisible Characters on TV Shows **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055 "2003-08-18T21:33:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/41 "2003-08-20T21:05:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mudshark \* > \*\*Peg’s mother on _Married With Children_. > \*\* Interesting story on that: Peg’s mother was scheduled to become a semi-regular played by [Divine](http://imdb.com/Name?Divine) , who died just before shooting was to begin. Rather than replace the irreplaceable Mr. Milstead, they left her as an unseen character (though Tim Conway played her husband; once there was a scene in which she was sitting on the opposite end of the sofa from her husband and he was up in the air and that was as close as it ever came.) ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2003, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/42 "2003-08-20T21:21:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Mangetout \* > \*\*Mrs Columbo. \*\* While never seen in her husband’s show, she eventually got a show of her own, staring Kate Mulgrew. Actually, it wasn’t half bad…but it didn’t last. ---
**Author:** ![Julius\_Henry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8797f3/32.png) [@Julius\_Henry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Julius_Henry)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/43 "2003-08-21T03:32:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PoorYorick \* > \*\*Fish’s wife, Bernice, in _Barney Miller_. \*\* Before the spinoff, Doris Belack played the role of Bernice in one episode, and later Florence Stanley played the part. Also, there was an early episode of **Leave it to Beaver** where Larry is seen talking to his father. The man has no line, so therefore no credit. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/44 "2003-08-21T04:06:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Rabid Child \* > \*\*And I do believe we see Duke, Martin’s friend on _Frasier_, in one episode but I cannot remember which one. It might have been the one where Duke’s bar is going to close down, but I could be wrong. \*\* Yeah, we do. Up until I saw that episode, I had always thought of Duke as one of those unseen characters. I don’t remember seeing him again afterward, but he is there in the bar episode. Hey…my sig line is suddenly really appropriate! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/45 "2003-08-21T12:32:32Z")
Pete’s wife, Gladys, in **December Bride** , though she was shown in the spin-off, **Pete and Gladys**. BTW, Pete was played by Harry Morgan, which means Morgan had invisible wives on two different shows (the other being **M_A_S\*H** ), and both showed up on spin-off ( **AfterM_A_S\*H** ). Mr. Terhorst, Bob Newhart’s boss in **Bob**. ---
**Author:** ![Mehitabel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8797f3/32.png) [@Mehitabel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mehitabel)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/46 "2003-08-21T15:09:50Z")
Another MWC gimmick: Gary, the owner of Gary’s Shoe Store where Al worked, was never really seen in the first few seasons: one time Gary did show up to praise Al, but it turned out to be an actor Al had hired for the occasion. Gary must have sold the store to somebody who also went by Gary but was a woman, played very formidably by Janet Carroll. Gary (woman) even had an affair with Bud! ---
**Author:** ![NoCoolUserName](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5fc32e/32.png) [@NoCoolUserName](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NoCoolUserName)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/47 "2003-08-21T16:47:45Z")
The Control Room in–dang, memory just ain’t what it used to be…that Canadian-produced SF show about the generation ship that was headed into a sun–anyway, as someone said, once they show the invisible character, it’s all over. When Harlan visited the set of the series, they were building the Control Room and he said “What are you doing? If they find the Control Room they can turn the ship and the series is over!” Typical TV series lack of thinking. ---
**Author:** ![Papermache\_Prince](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f05b48/32.png) [@Papermache\_Prince](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Papermache_Prince)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2003, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/48 "2003-08-21T17:17:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by NoCoolUserName \* > \*\*The Control Room in–dang, memory just ain’t what it used to be…that Canadian-produced SF show about the generation ship that was headed into a sun. . . . \*\* That would be [**The Starlost**](http://users.snowcrest.net/fox/star.html). ---
**Author:** ![corndog\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ea666f/32.png) [@corndog\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corndog_man)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/49 "2003-08-23T07:19:29Z")
Chef on Enterprise is a character talked about but never seen. There is one episode where the crew had to sleep in the nacelles (sic?) where Chef’s legs were seen. Why is this, I do not know. ---
**Author:** ![Israfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/87869e/32.png) [@Israfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Israfel)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/50 "2003-08-23T13:57:38Z")
How about Edina’s son Serge on Absolutely Fabulous - or was he eventually shown? ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2003, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055/51 "2003-08-23T19:02:20Z")
God in all those Hebrew National commercials [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/invisible-characters-on-tv-shows/196055.md?page=2)