# Most appearances by a non-actor **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 22, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387 "2020-04-22T23:42:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/1 "2020-04-22T23:42:57Z")
While lazily surfing TV today, I noticed Tommy Lasorda on an episode of CHIPS. It seems Lasorda was on every LA-based series in the 80s. So what non-actor have you seen the most time in acting roles. Define “non-actor” how you want: I’ll define them as “someone who is not primarily an actor, and who appears only as themselves”. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/2 "2020-04-22T23:45:10Z")
Alfred Hitchcock? ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/3 "2020-04-22T23:50:56Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Alfred Hitchcock? He doesn’t appear as himself. ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/4 "2020-04-22T23:51:25Z")
Stan Lee has to be near the top of the list. (OK, he doesn’t appear as himself.) ---
**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:** [April 22, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/5 "2020-04-22T23:51:54Z")
[Wolf Blitzer](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0088566/) has a lot of credits. Nowhere near the number of [Hitchcock](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/)cameos though. ETA: pointed out above, Hitchcock wasn’t appearing as himself. He was as the host of Alfred Hitchcock Presents though, playing himself, his primary occupation still being producer, director, and writer. But then start looking at Rod Serling, etc. ---
**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:** [April 22, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/6 "2020-04-22T23:53:05Z")
By a strict interpretation of the OP, I’d have to say the winner is [Cal Worthington](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cal_Worthington). And his dog, Spot. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/7 "2020-04-22T23:53:21Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > He doesn’t appear as himself. From the OP: > [@](#): > > Define “non-actor” how you want ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/8 "2020-04-22T23:56:44Z")
AL Roker shows up in a shitload of movies and sitcoms as Al Roker. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/9 "2020-04-23T00:19:15Z")
Same with Larry King. ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/10 "2020-04-23T01:09:48Z")
Trump would have to be somewhere on this list. He was Mr. NYC for awhile there. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/11 "2020-04-23T01:18:23Z")
An example of someone whose job is nothing close to acting and who appeared as himself on a specific TV program while continuing to hold that job is Stephen Hawking, who appeared on _The Big Bang Theory_ seven times. Hawking was the world’s biggest fanboy. This is a list of his appearances in popular culture: > **[Stephen Hawking in popular culture](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking_in_popular_culture)** > > Stephen Hawking (1942–2018), a theoretical physicist, has appeared in many works of popular culture. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/12 "2020-04-23T01:32:49Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > Same with Larry King. I’m not sure Larry King could play Al Roker very convincingly. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/13 "2020-04-23T03:54:12Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > Trump would have to be somewhere on this list. He was Mr. NYC for awhile there. The first person I thought of was Ed Koch, but IMDb only lists about 25 acting roles. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/14 "2020-04-23T04:04:58Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Nowhere near the number of [Hitchcock](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000033/)cameos though. In a couple of his cameos he doesn’t actually appear in person. In _Lifeboat_ he appears in an ad for a weight loss product, and in _Dial M for Murder_ only in a photograph. In a couple of others he appears in silhouette, including _The Wrong Man_, in which he appears as himself (the narrator). ---
**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:** [April 23, 2020, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/15 "2020-04-23T06:35:20Z")
Jay Leno and Bob Uecker have distinguished themselves in this regard. Ron Jeremy has thousands of IMDB credits (though I suspect a lot of them are repeats under different titles). Not my idea of a “thespian.” ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 8:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/16 "2020-04-23T08:38:28Z")
Lady Liberty, the statue. She can’t act for spit but she shows up everywhere. No union card, I bet. Hmmm, I wonder… animals have acted in many productions. I know they need agents. Do they need union cards? ---
**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:** [April 23, 2020, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/17 "2020-04-23T11:44:00Z")
**Dr. Joyce Brothers** has 75 listings on the internet movie database. They list her as “actor”:, but she really wasn’t – she always played DR. Joyce Brothers, in everything from the TV series _Police Squad_ to _The Dean Martin Show_ (where, on one occasion, she “sang” “Big Bad John”) > **[Joyce Brothers - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0112579/)** > > Joyce Brothers. Actress: Loaded Weapon 1. Joyce Brothers was born on 20 October 1927 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), The King of Comedy (1982) and Spy Hard (1996). She was previously... > **[Joyce Brothers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Brothers)** > > Joyce Diane Brothers (October 20, 1927 – May 13, 2013) was an American psychologist, television personality, advice columnist, and writer. > She first became famous in 1955 for winning the top prize on the American game show The $64,000 Question. Her fame from the game show allowed her to go on to host various advice columns and television shows, which established her as a pioneer in the field of "pop (popular) psychology". > Brothers is often credited as the first to normalize psychological conc... ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/18 "2020-04-23T17:58:16Z")
The first person I thought of was Alex Trebek. His IMDb page lists 184 appearances as “self.” The vast majority of them are things like game shows he hosted, interviews he gave, documentaries, or awards ceremonies, which I’m sure the OP didn’t intend. He has appeared on scripted shows and movies as himself on Cheers, The Golden Girls, White Men Can’t Jump, The Bucket List, Seinfeld, Baywatch, Mad About You, Charlie’s Angels (the 2000 film), Saturday Night Live, Ellen (the sitcom), How I Met Your Mother, and probably more. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/19 "2020-04-23T18:05:31Z")
> [@bibliophage](#): > > The first person I thought of was Alex Trebek… He has appeared on scripted shows and movies as himself on Cheers, The Golden Girls, White Men Can’t Jump, The Bucket List, Seinfeld, Baywatch, Mad About You, Charlie’s Angels (the 2000 film), Saturday Night Live, Ellen (the sitcom), How I Met Your Mother, and probably more. Including a memorable appearance on _The X-Files_: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwQEaKVey4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxwQEaKVey4) ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387/20 "2020-04-23T19:18:54Z")
Adolf Hitler ends up with quite an IMDB listing, mostly from archival footage (over a thousand). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-appearances-by-a-non-actor/852387.md?page=2)