Name some actors who have starred in 3 successful TV series

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
41

Haven’t thought of any of my own yet, so I will comment on the contributions of others:

Lee Majors: In addition to the three series mentioned by bibliophage, Majors had a fourth series make it three seasons, Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law, there were only 70 episodes, however.

Bill Cosby: I Spy barely qualifies Cosby because it only had 82 episodes. The first Bill Cosby Show (1969) likely does not meet the 80 episode requirement, though it lasted around three seasons.

Kate Jackson: In addition to bibliophage’s listing she starred in Dark Shadows, qualifying show; however, she was not on it for three seasons.

William Shatner: If you include the the animated series, William Shatner played Captain Kirk in 101 episodes of something. You do have to include Rescue 911 to get three series as Barbary Coast was his next most successfull series with just 14 episodes.

Harry Morgan: Pete and Gladys only had 70 episodes so it does not qualify on its own, Morgan’s character, however, was a spin-off of December Bride which had 146 episodes.

James Garner: Does not qualify. Maverick had 124 episodes (though Garner was only in 55), and Garner then revived the character in Bret Maverick in 1981 (another 18 episodes). The Rockford Files had 123 episodes (and several TV movies). Unfortunately, none of his other series (Nichols, Man of the People, God, the Devil and Bob) lasted even one season.

Carroll O’Connor: Does not qualify. All in the Family (210 eps.), Archie Bunker’s Place (97 eps.), and In the Heat of the Night are his only successful TV series. As mentioned the first two are the same character. However, with over 450 TV episodes, he must be one of the most successfull in that count.

Betty White: Uncertain. Her first show, Life with Elizabeth, lasted '53-'55 so it may have 80 episodes. None of the THREE The Betty White Shows lasted more than a year. Mama’s Family had 130 episodes, but White was only on for the first two seasons. Her clear qualifications are The Mary Tyler Moore Show (168 eps.) and The Golden Girls (180 eps. with another 24 eps from Golden Palace).

Bob Newhart: Does not qualify. The second The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart both qualify, but none of Newhart’s other shows do.

Bill Bixby: Uncertain. The Courtship of Eddie’s Father only had 75 episodes. My Favorite Martian had 107 episodes and The Incredible Hulk had 85, that give him two. Trying to find a third we have a show he hosted called Once Upon a Classic; I don’t know how many episodes there were, but it ran from 1976-1979 so it may have hit 80. In addition to those named, he starred in another qualifying show (though for only one season), The Joey Bishop Show.

Ted Knight: Does not qualify. Two qualifiers are The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Too Close for Combfort. The closest to a third was voice work on New Adventures of Superman, in which he was the voice of Perry White. Only 70 episodes, though.

Markie Post: Does not qualify. Heart’s Afire had only 54 episodes. The Fall Guy and Night Court do qualify, though.

Howie Mandel: Just barely qualifies as Bobby’s World had exactly 80 episodes. The Howie Mandel Show (talk show) may have made it to 100 episodes considering the higher number of episodes for talk shows.

Don Knotts: Qualifies with not three, but four series. Search for Tomorrow was a soap opera on-air from '51-'86; Knotts was on from '53-'55. Five seasons on both The Andy Griffith Show and Three’s Company are obvious, but Knotts was also the voice of Vice Principal Bone on Doug

Dick Van Dyke: Qualifies with The Dick Van Dyke Show, The New Dick Van Dyke Show (different character), and Diagnosis Murder.

Richard Boone: Does not qualify. Neither The Richard Boone Show or Hec Ramsey reached 80 episodes.

Shelley Fabares: Qualifies with four, Annie Oakley, The Donna Reed Show, One Day at a Time,and Coach.

Elinor Donahue: Father Knows Best and The Odd Couple are the only two shows that qualify.

John Astin: Does not qualify. Gomez Addams is a character with more than 80 episodes, but only if you include the animated series as well.

Yeardley Smith: Does not qualify, but barely. Brothers and The Simpsons are clear winners, but Herman’s Head only had 72 episodes.

Ted McGinley: Does not qualify. Only appeared in two seasons of The Love Boat. Happy Days and Married…with Children qualify though.

Mary Tyler Moore: Does not qualify. Only The Dick Van Dyke Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show qualify.

Tony Danza: Does not qualify. Does not have a third show to join Taxi and Who’s the Boss?. Family Law may change that some day, however.

Robert Urich: Does not qualify. Not one of his shows has made it to even 80 episodes (Spencer: For Hire only had 66).

Mike Farrell: Does not yet qualify.

Pernell Roberts: Does not qualify. FBI: The Untold Stories was only on for two seasons. It is unlikely it reached 80 episodes.

Charles Siebert: Does not qualify. He has only on Search for Tomorrow for two years.

Howard Hesseman: Does not qualify. He was only on One Day at a Time for two seasons.

Ok, to sum up we have:

Gavin McCloud
Michael Landon
Julie Kavner
Harry Morgan
Shelley Fabares
David Hasselhoff
Lucille Ball
Dick Van Dyke
William Daniels
Don Knotts
Howie Mandel
Lee Majors
Heather Locklear
Bill Cosby

Betty White and Bill Bixby are uncertain.

42

Don’t forget, “Mama’s Family” and “The Carol Burnett Show” (though often the character from “Mama’s Family” was the character on “Carol Burnett”–she did have other roles on that variety show). And she was a regular on hte early “Tonight Show” and “Jack Parr Show.”

Don’t forget, “Night Court.”
Kathryn Helmond
“Soap,” “Who’s the Boss?” and “Coach”

Ed Marinaro
“Laverne & Shirley,” “Hill Street Blues,” and “Sisters”

Scott Baio
“Happy Days,” “Charles in Charge,” and “Diagnosis: Murder”

Willie Aames
“Family,” “Eight is Enough,” and Charles in Charge"

Tom Poston
“Mork & Mindy,” “Newhart,” and “Grace Under Fire”

Marion Ross
“Happy Days,” “The Love Boat,” and “The Drew Carey Show”

Barbara Babcock
“Dallas,” “Hill Street Blues,” and “Dr. Quinn”

Crystal Bernard
“Happy Days,” “It’s a Living,” and “Wings”

Gail Edwards
“It’s a Living,” “Full House,” and “Blossom”

43

Jason Bateman
“Little House on the Prairie,” “Silver Spoons,” and “Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family” (same show, three name changes)

44

Where are people finding the exact number of episodes? I’ve only been able to find series length in years and have been guestimating that a show must run for 4 years to qualify for 80 epsidoes.

45

How about Robert Conrad?

“Hawaiian Eye”
“Ba Ba Black Sheep”
“Wild Wild West”

Has anyone mentioned Burt Reynolds?

“Gunsmoke”
“Evening Shade” (may not be the right name)
“Dan August”

Gary Moore had three but all of them were as himself as was Steve Allen’s and Johnny Carson’s.

46

Hmmmm if the Twilight Zone counts…
I’d have to add Jack Klugman

The Odd Couple
Quincy, ME

I am wracking my brain trying to recall any others he was in but drawing a blank…

47

**

Hmmm…does anyone else see a recurring pattern of Peta’s TV habits when she was younger? (She probably watched the Monekees too!) I’m surprised you had time to watch all these and keep up on your reading. :slight_smile:

48

Wasn’t Elinor Donahue also a regular on Andy Griffith?

49

Another almost ran, Goodnight, Beantown, but that was only a year and a half.

Hmmm…if you count cartoon voiceovers, you have to include Journey to the Center of the Earth which lasted 2 years. No idea how many episodes.

Thanks, obfusciatrist, I didn’t feel like paging through Fifty Years of Television by Vincent Terrace (awesome book) all night.

And I don’t think Marion Ross was a “major character” (as per the OP) on Drew Carey for three years.

50

Ya um…I’m gonna have to give myself a big :o here.

See, I thought of Ron Howard and I said “self, you know he’s been in Andy Griffith and Happy Days. Anything else? Nope. Let’s go check IMDB.” So, off I went. I scanned through his bio and I saw The Courtship of Eddie’s Father. Good enough for me! Off I went to post.

Turns out it was the film TCOEF, which was made about 6 years before the tv series. mea culpa. I’ll shut up now.

51

Let me toss in:

Bea Arthur:

•All In The Family
•Maude
•The Golden Girls

Although I’m not sure if she qualifies as a major character in AITF.

Lorne Greene:

•Bonanza
•Battlestar Galactica
•Um… uh… Hi Opal!

(I’m sure he must have a 3rd- can somebody come up with it?)

Leonard Nimoy:

•Star Trek
•Mission Impossible
•Man From U.N.C.L.E.

52

I don’t believe that “The New Dick Van Dyke Show” lasted 80 shows.

Urich also had “The Rookies”

Don Knotts also had the original “Tonight Show”

Burt Reynolds also had “Riverboat”

Martin Milner
“Route 66”
“Adam 12”
“Life of Riley”

Gene Berry
“Name of the Game”
“Bat Masterson”
“Burke’s Law”

Dennis Weaver
“Gunsmoke”
“Gentle Ben”
“Kentucky Jones” (probably didn’t last long enough)

Richard Crenna
“The Real McCoys”
“Our Miss Brooks”
“Slattery’s People”

Darrin McGavin
“Mike Hammer”
“Riverboat”
“Nightstalker”
“Crime Photograher” (OK, OK, only lasted one season)

Peter Graves
“Fury”
“Mission Impossible”
“Biography” (OK, he’s playing himself")

53

Kathryn Helmond: Does not qualify. Soap (93 eps) and Who’s the Boss? (196 eps) qualify. As does Coach (200 eps), but she was only on for two seasons.

Ed Marinaro: Does not qualify. Hill Street Blues (146 eps) and Sisters (127 eps) qualify. Lavern & Shirley (177 eps) does as well, but he was on for only one season.

Scott Baio: Does not qualify. Happy Days (255 eps), Charles in Charge (126 eps), and Diagnosis Murder (167 eps and counting) all qualify, but Baio was only on Diagnosis Murder for two seasons.

Willie Aames: Does not qualify. Eight is Enough (126 eps) and Charles in Charge qualify for him, but he was only on Family (85 eps) for one season.

Tom Poston: Does qualify. Mork & Mindy (95 eps), Newhart (182 eps), Grace Under Fire (112 eps). Also Hawkins Falls, Population 6200 ran for five years, but Poston was on it for only one season.

Marion Ross: Does not qualify. Happy Days is clear. But even if you accept The Drew Carey Show (142 eps) and her very limited recurring character, she was only on The Love Boat for one season.

Barbara Babcock: Does qualify. Dynasty (357 eps), Hill Street Blues (146 eps), Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (147 eps)

Crystal Bernard: Does not qualify. Wings (172 eps) is certainly valid. It’s a Living made it to 91 episodes (counting the syndicated version with Bernard as distinct form the netework version). However, she was on Happy Days for only one season.

Gail Edwards: Does not qualify. She was on It’s a Living through both the network and syndicated run (119 eps) but while Full House (192 eps) and Blossom (116 eps) are good enough, she was on neither for more than two seasons.

Jason Bateman: Does not qualify. Was on Little House on the Prarie (183 eps) for only one season and on Silver Spoons (116 eps) for only two. Valerie/Valerie’s Family/The Hogan Family is his only qualifier with 110 combined episodes.

Robert Conrad: Does not qualify. Hawaiian Eye had 134 episodes and The Wild, Wild West got 104, but Baa Baa Black Sheep only had 37 (which amazes me considering how often I watched this show as a kid).

Burt Reynolds: Qualifies. Gunsmoke (four seasons of a series that had over 600 episodes) and Evening Shade (101 eps) are clear. Less clear is Out of this World (96 eps), for which Reynolds did voice work. Burt Reynolds was on Riverboat but for only one season, and the show only lasted two.

Jack Klugman: Does not qualify. The Odd Couple (114 eps) and Quincy (148 eps) are his only major shows. He did do five episodes of The Twilight Zone but all in 1959 so you can’t get him in on a technicality.

Bea Arthur: Does not qualify. Maude was a spinoff of All in the Family so it only counts as one. The Golden Girls is the only other qualifier.

Lorne Greene: Does not qualify. Bonanza is his only qualifier, though it is a good one with 389 episodes. The two Galactica series total only 34 episodes. No other series of note.

Leonard Nimoy: Does not qualify. Star Trek only qualifies if you combine it with the animated series. He was on Mission: Impossible for only two seasons. He is the host/narrator of In Search Of which ran from '76-'82, however, since that was on PBS, it likely did not reach 80 episodes either.

Dick Van Dyke: Moving to questionable, can not find episode guide for The New Dick Van Dyke show.

Robert Urich: Urich is not listed at IMDb for The Rookies but even if that is an error, he still would not qualify.

Martin Milner: Does qualify. The Life of Riley, Route 66 (116 eps), and Adam-12 (174 eps).

Gene Barry: Does not qualify. Bat Masterson (108 eps) and Burke’s Law are good enough, but Name of the Game only had 69 episodes.

Dennis Weaver: Does not qualify. Gunsmokep is clear. Gentle Ben only lasted two seasons and likely did not make it to 80 episodes. Kentucky Jones only lasted one season. McCloud was on for six years, but only had 47 episodes.

Richard Crenna: Does not qualify. Our Miss Brooks (115 eps) and The Real McCoys (224 eps) make it but Slattery’s People only had one season.

Darren McGavin: Does not qualify. Never had a series that lasted more than two seasons.

Peter Graves: Qualifies. If you count Biography along with Fury and Mission: Impossible
The List is Now
Barbara Babcock
Lucille Ball
Bill Cosby
William Daniels
Shelley Fabares
Peter Graves
David Hasselhoff
Julie Kavner
Don Knotts
Michael Landon
Heather Locklear
Lee Majors
Howie Mandel
Gavin McCloud
Martin Milner
Harry Morgan
Tom Poston
Burt Reynolds
Dick Van Dyke

Betty White, Bill Bixby, and Dick Van Dyke are uncertain.

54

Allan Melvin:
“The Phil Silvers Show” (Sgt. Bilko)
“The Brady Bunch”
“All in the Family” - “Archie Bunker’s Place”

Bernie Kopell:
“Get Smart”
“That Girl”
“The Love Boat”

55

George Clooney was in Facts of Life, Rosanne, and both E/R’s. But he bailed on all of them. STUPID!

Fiona Hughes was in General Hospital, Blossom, and is now on All My Children (or another soap?). But she just started on the third one.

This is a great nostalgic thread!

56

Ofusciatrist, you forgot to add Bea Benaderet to the list. She was on “The Flintstones” for 88 episodes, “Burns and Allen” for 7 years (assuming 26 eps a year, that’s over 180, plus she continued the character on “The
George Burns Show,” and “Pete Loves Mary”), and “Petticoat Junction” for 4 years (108 episodes in the first three years).

As a bonus, she is credited for her voice work on various Bugs Bunny cartoon compilation shows.

57

I nominate the lovely Heather Locklear, for her efforts on Dynasty, T.J. Hooker, Melrose Place and currently on Spin City.

58

Say, Bea Benaderet was a regular on The Beverly Hillbillies – but I think it was only the first season, so that may not count.

59

Alvin Melvin: Qualifies with four. The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C., The Brady Bunch, and All in the Family/Archie Bunker’s Place. He came very close to having a fifth in his voicework for Cattanooga Cats which had 77 episodes.

Bernie Kopell: Qualifies. Get Smart, That Girl, and The Love Boat. The Doris Day Show is a qualifying show but he was on for just one season.

George Clooney: Does not qualify. In addition to ER he has been on three shows that would qualify, just not for long enough, Facts of Life, Roseanne, and Sisters.

Fiona Hughes: Can not find that name at IMDb, and do not find a similar name listed for Blossom.

Bea Benaderet: Qualifies with The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show, The Flintstones, and Petticoat Junction/Green Acres. Her runs with The Beverly Hillbillies was not long enough to qualify.

So the list is now
Barbara Babcock
Lucille Ball
Bea Benaderet
Bill Cosby
William Daniels
Shelley Fabares
Peter Graves
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
Dick Van Dyke

Betty White, Bill Bixby, and Dick Van Dyke are uncertain.

60

Isn’t her name Finola Hughes?
I could be wrong.