# Name some actors who have starred in 3 successful TV series **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 31, 2001, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539 "2001-01-31T10:39:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [February 1, 2001, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/61 "2001-02-01T18:03:06Z")
How about Phil Hartman? He was certainly a regular on the Simpsons long enough, and he did three seasons on News Radio before he was killed. Does Saturday Night Live count as “prime time?” ---
**Author:** ![craiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@craiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/craiger)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/62 "2001-02-01T19:09:28Z")
did “The Magician” run for enough episodes to qualify Bill Bixby? ---
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/63 "2001-02-01T20:27:42Z")
Vicki Lawrence: “The Carol Burnett Show” - various characters “Laverne and Shirley” - Sgt. Alvinia T. Plout “Mama’s Family” - Thelma Harper “Win, Lose or Draw” - host “Vicki!” - Host ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/64 "2001-02-01T20:34:51Z")
[Note to everybody: I have no idea why this topic has clicked with me and I feel compelled to check all of these out.] **Finola Hughes** : _General Hospital_ is her only qualifier. She hasn’t yet been on _All My Children_ long enough to qualify and she was on _Blossom_ for only one season. **Phil Hartman** : Does qualify. _NewsRadio_ made it to 97 episodes and I think _Saturday Night Live_ and _The Simpsons_ would count for him. **Raymond Burr** : Does not qualify but is noteworthy. He was on TV every season between 1957 and 1977. First with _Perry Mason_ (271 eps) and then with _Ironsides_ (197 eps) for a total 468 hours of television. **Rene Auberjonois** : Does qualify. As mentioned before, qualifies with _Benson_, _The Smurfs_, and _Star Trek: Deep Space Nine_. **Bill Bixby** , redux: _The Magician_ lasted only 22 episodes. The current list is now Rene Auberjonois Barbara Babcock Lucille Ball Bea Benaderet Bill Cosby William Daniels Shelley Fabares Peter Graves Phil Hartman David Hasselhoff Julie Kavner Bernie Kopell Don Knotts Michael Landon Heather Locklear Lee Majors Howie Mandel Gavin McCloud Alvin Melvin Martin Milner Harry Morgan Tom Poston Burt Reynolds Betty White, Bill Bixby, and Dick Van Dyke are uncertain. ---
**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:** [February 1, 2001, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/65 "2001-02-01T20:55:16Z")
If Saturday Night Live qualifies Phil Hartman, then Jane Curtin should be on the list. She did Kate&Allie and Third Rock. ---
**Author:** ![Alzarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@Alzarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alzarian)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/66 "2001-02-01T20:58:04Z")
These may be stretching it a bit… Dolph Sweet: “Dark Shadows” - Ezra Hern “The Edge of Night” - Harry Constable “Another World” - Lt. Gil McGowan “Gimme a Break!” - Chief Carl Kanisky Suzanne Sommers: “High Rollers” - assistant “Three’s Company” - Chrissy Snow “Step by Step” - Carol Lambert Larry Hagman: “The Edge of Night” - Ed Gibson “I Dream of Jeannine” - Capt. Nelson “Dallas” - J.R. Ewing ---
**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:** [February 1, 2001, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/67 "2001-02-01T21:34:10Z")
The easy ones have been exhausted. Now we start getting to the arguables. But with the wise judgment of the great and powerful Ob, I’m sure we can reach consensus. I vote for John Forsythe. Dynasty and Bachelor Father ran long enough, and even though he wasn’t credited as the voice of Charlie Townsend in Charlie’s Angels, he was always acknowledged as doing it. Reaching back into the dark mists of time we have June Lockhart, not even counting Petticoat Junction. In addition to her aluminum-foil wrapped beauty on Lost in Space and playing second-fiddle to a dog on Lassie, she is credited with being a panelist for 3 seasons on the ancient quiz show “Who Said That?” ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/68 "2001-02-01T23:48:00Z")
**Jane Curtin** : Qualifies. I had already looked at her, but somehow she didn’t make it into my comments. **Dolph Sweet** : Qualifies. _Dark Shadows_ (210 eps), _Another World_, and _Gimme a Break!_ (137 eps). He was on _The Edge of the Night_ for only one season. **Suzanne Somers** : Does not qualify. _Step by Step_ (164! eps) and _Three’s Company_ are clear. _She’s the Sheriff_ was her next most successful sitcom and it made only 48 episodes. _High Rollers_ clearly qualifies but I don’t that being one of three assistants on a game show that also has both a host and hostess counts as major role. Also, IMDb lists her as being on the show for four years from '74-'80. However, that would mean that at the height of her _Three’s Company_ fame she was still working as a “stroker” on a game show. I doubt that data [Making bold use of the wisdom bestowed on me by **kunilou**.] **Larry Hagman** : Does not qualify. _I Dream of Jeannie_ had 139 episodes and _Dallas_ had a bazillion. He was on _The Edge of Night_ for only two seasons however. _The Rogues_ and _The Good Life_ only lasted a season each. _Orleans_ barely made 8 episodes (but his eyebrows looked good). **John Forsythe** : Qualifies. I feel _Charlie’s Angels_ was a big enough role. **June Lockhart** : Does not qualify. I’ve been ignoring game show panels (because I have no way of knowing how regular it was) and if I continue that, then Lockhart does not have a third. She was on _Petticoat Junction_ for only two seasons. ```auto The current list is now Rene Auberjonois Barbara Babcock Lucille Ball Bea Benaderet Bill Cosby Jane Curtin William Daniels Shelley Fabares John Forsythe Peter Graves Phil Hartman David Hasselhoff Julie Kavner Bernie Kopell Don Knotts Michael Landon Heather Locklear Lee Majors Howie Mandel Gavin McCloud Alvin Melvin Martin Milner Harry Morgan Tom Poston Burt Reynolds Dolph Sweet Betty White, Bill Bixby, and Dick Van Dyke are uncertain. ``` ---
**Author:** ![psiekier](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psiekier/32/116_2.png) [@psiekier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psiekier)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2001, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/69 "2001-02-01T23:57:34Z")
Darn… I figured Ted McGinley for sure! > [@](#): > > _Originally postd by kunilou_ > **Reaching back into the dark mists of time we have June Lockhart, not even counting Petticoat Junction. In addition to her aluminum-foil wrapped beauty on Lost in Space and playing second-fiddle to a dog on Lassie, she is credited with being a panelist for 3 seasons on the ancient quiz show "Who Said That?"** How about _General Hospital_? That’s certainly a successful show, and IMDb says she was on for several seasons. **Obfusciatrist** , maybe you can help us with the rest:[ul][li]How about Mollie Sudgen, who played Mrs. Slocombe for so many years (seven or eight?) on the Britcom _Are You Being Served?_ She also spent several years on _That’s My Boy_ (I hate that show!), _The Liver Birds_, and _Just Jimmy_, amongst others.[/li][li]Do we know yet about Larry Hagman? We all know about _Dallas_ and _I Dream of Jeannie_, but was he on _The Edge of Night_ long enough to qualify?[/li][li]Were there enough episodes of _Father Dowling Mysteries_ to qualify Tom Bosley along with _Happy Days_ and _Murder, She Wrote_?[/li][li]Wendie Malick, while best known as Judith Stone on _Dream On_ and Nina Van Horn on _Just Shoot Me_, was also on _Baywatch_. Does she qualify?[/li][li]Richard Dean Anderson is most famous for _MacGyver_, but he was also on _General Hospital_ and the awful _Stargate: SG-1_. Do you suppose there have been enough episodes of SG-1 to qualify him? One episode was too many for me…[/li][/ul]— Pete Long time RGWMer and ardent AOLer ---
**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:** [February 2, 2001, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/70 "2001-02-02T00:39:12Z")
\*_Tom Bosley_ Happy Days Murder, She Wrote (4 years) That’s Hollywood (6 years) and possibly Port Charles (only 1 year, but it was a daily soap). **Tim Conway** The Steve Allen Show McHale’s Navy The Carol Burnett Show Two of these were variety shows, but if you’re counting SNL, they should count for him. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/71 "2001-02-02T00:50:19Z")
\*\*Oops! Didn’t pay enough attention to the OP which said “on U.S. primetime network television”. Rather than recalculate, I’ll just expand to “U.S. television”. **June Lockhart** , redux: Qualifies. Good catch and she has _Lassie_, _Lost in Space_ (83 eps), and _General Hospital_ **Mollie Sugden** : Does not qualify. We imperialist Americans have excluded foreign TV. **Tom Bosley** : Does not qualify. _The Father Dowling Mysteries_ only made it to 45 episodes. **Wendie Malick** : Does qualify. Her _Baywatch_ stint was 5 seasons. **Richard Dean Anderson** : Does qualify. _Stargate SG-1_ broadcast its 84th episode last Friday.\*\* ```auto The current list is now Richard Dean Anderson Rene Auberjonois Barbara Babcock Lucille Ball Bea Benaderet Bill Cosby Jane Curtin William Daniels Shelley Fabares John Forsythe Peter Graves Phil Hartman David Hasselhoff Julie Kavner Bernie Kopell Don Knotts Michael Landon Heather Locklear Lee Majors Wendie Malick Howie Mandel Gavin McCloud Alvin Melvin Martin Milner Harry Morgan Tom Poston Burt Reynolds Dolph Sweet Betty White, Bill Bixby, and Dick Van Dyke are uncertain. ``` ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/72 "2001-02-02T03:05:52Z")
Damn you, bibliophage and obfusciatrist! I’ve spent all together too much time paddling through the IMDB because of this thread, _certain_ I remembered any number of actors to have starred in 3 or more series–only to discover that either they didn’t, or they didn’t for long enough. Still, I think I’ve discovered one (I think): Bruce Boxleigtner: Babylon Five Scarecrow & Mrs. King How the West Was Won (also The Macahans, but as a different character) This last, of course, is the one I’m not sure of. Amazing how fast time goes by when you’ve got your teeth sunk in to a toughie. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/73 "2001-02-02T06:00:54Z")
**Bruce Boxleitner** : Does not qualify. _Scarecrow and Mrs. King_ and _Babylon 5_ are good enough, but _How the West was Won_ fails on several counts. First, the show was only a _series_ for one year, 1979. In '77 and '78, it was technically running as a mini-series. Six hours in '77 and twenty in '78. All told, including _The Macahans_, a TV movie, there were only 51 hours of this show, spread over four years. **Tom Bosley** , redux: I had been ignoring voicework on non-fiction shows. But if you include _That’s Hollywood_, Bosley would qualify. I’ll list him under questionable. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/74 "2001-02-02T06:06:21Z")
**Tim Conway** : Qualifies. As said, the three are _The Steve Allen Show_, _McHale’s Navy_, and _The Carol Burnett Show_. ```auto The current list is now Richard Dean Anderson Rene Auberjonois Barbara Babcock Lucille Ball Bea Benaderet Tim Conway Bill Cosby Jane Curtin William Daniels Shelley Fabares John Forsythe Peter Graves Phil Hartman David Hasselhoff Julie Kavner Bernie Kopell Don Knotts Michael Landon Heather Locklear Lee Majors Wendie Malick Howie Mandel Gavin McCloud Alvin Melvin Martin Milner Harry Morgan Tom Poston Burt Reynolds Dolph Sweet Bill Bixby, Tom Bosley, Dick Van Dyke, and Betty White are questionable. ``` ---
**Author:** ![kawliga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@kawliga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kawliga)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/75 "2001-02-02T06:19:47Z")
Abby Dalton: Hennessey The Joey Bishop Show Falcon Crest ---
**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:** [February 2, 2001, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/76 "2001-02-02T15:17:29Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by obfusciatrist \* \*\ ***Oops! Didn’t pay enough attention to the OP which said “on U.S. primetime network television”. Rather than recalculate, I’ll just expand to “U.S. television”.** Let the floodgates open! Under those rules Dick Van Dyke qualifies for his time spent as host of The Morning Show on CBS. I’m not much for soaps, but aren’t there a number of actors like Judith Light who did a lot of soap work and hit it big with a prime time show? And, in the realm of prime time, what about Robert Wagner for Switch, It Takes a Thief and Hart to Hart? ---
**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:** [February 2, 2001, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/77 "2001-02-02T15:19:54Z")
I apologize for the tremendously bad job of cutting and pasting I did on that post. Ob’s quote is only my first paragraph. The rest of it is my own. I’m not trying to put words in anyone’s mouth. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/78 "2001-02-02T16:24:54Z")
I found two, but one was on a soap so I don’t know if that qualifies or not. it’s gonna be close on both though Gerald McRaney Major Dad 89-93 Simon & Simon 81-88 Promised Land 96-99 (aka Home of the Brave 96) Jon Cypher “Hill Street Blues” (1981) TV Series … Chief Fletcher Daniels Major Dad “As the World Turns” (1956) TV Series … Dr. Alex Keith (1977-1979) though only two years how many episodes do they do? ---
**Author:** ![pgmarsha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@pgmarsha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pgmarsha)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/79 "2001-02-02T17:28:58Z")
Jay Thomas: Mork and Mindy Cheers Murphy Brown ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2001, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539/80 "2001-02-02T18:42:55Z")
**Dick Van Dyke** , redux: Was on _The Morning Show_ for less than one year. **Judith Light** : Does not qualify. She has no third show to go with _One Life to Live_ and _Who’s the Boss_. She has only two other TV series and _Phenom_, the more successful of the two, only had 22 episodes. **Robert Wagner** : Does not qualify. _Hart to Hart_ had 111 episodes, but of his four other series, _Switch_ did the best with only 70 episodes. **Gerald McRaney** : Does not qualify. _Promised Land_ only made it to 69 episodes and can’t join _Simon & Simon_ (156 episodes) and _Major Dad_. **Jon Cypher** : Does not qualify. The OP specified three season. For shows that aired year-round (talk shows, soaps, etc.) I have been requiring 3 years. **Jay Thomas** : Does not qualify. He did not fulfill the three season rull on either _Mork & Mindy_ or _Cheers_. That is irrelevant, however, as _Love and War_ only had 64 episodes. **Abby Dalton** : Qualifies. As mentioned, _Hennessey_, _The Joey Bishop Show_, and _Falcon’s Crest_. **David Coulier** : Qualifies. Pains me, but he has four. _Muppet Babies_, _The Real Ghostbusters_, _Full House_, and _America’s Funniest People_. **Vivian Vance** : Qualifies. Missed this way back in the thread, but if _I Love Lucy_, _The Lucille Ball Show_, and _Here’s Lucy_ count for Lucy, they count for Vivian. **Julie Kavner** : Moved to questinable. It occurred to me that her work on the _The Simpsons_ is just a continuation of a character from _The Tracy Ullmann Show_. I know she played other characters for _Ullmann_ as well. Opinions (if anybody cares). ```auto The current list is now: [Note: Starred names indicate they fulfilled the strict "U.S. primetime network television rule" set forth in the OP] Richard Dean Anderson Rene Auberjonois *Barbara Babcock *Lucille Ball *Bea Benaderet *Tim Conway *Bill Cosby David Coulier Jane Curtin *Abby Dalton *William Daniels *Shelley Fabares *John Forsythe Peter Graves Phil Hartman David Hasselhoff *Bernie Kopell *Don Knotts *Michael Landon *Heather Locklear *Lee Majors Wendie Malick Howie Mandel *Gavin McCloud *Alvin Melvin *Martin Milner *Harry Morgan *Tom Poston Burt Reynolds Dolph Sweet *Vivian Vance Bill Bixby, Tom Bosley, Julie Kavner, Dick Van Dyke, and Betty White are questionable. ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-actors-who-have-starred-in-3-successful-tv-series/52539.md?page=5)