# Name some "invisible" TV characters
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 18, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916 "2005-04-18T16:58:17Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/1 "2005-04-18T16:58:17Z")
What _regular_ TV characters have never actually appeared in the TV shows they were in? These generally fall into two categories:
1. Those whose face you never see, but you can see a body part, such as George Steinbrenner on _Seinfeld_.
2. Those who never appear at all, such as Maris (sp?) on _Frasier_.
Feel free to include characters who appeared in later episodes or in spinoffs. Bernice, for example, was never on _Barney Miller_ but was on _Fish_.
And have any of these invisible characters ever been the star of the show? I’d cite Charlie on _Charlie’s Angels_, but let’s face it, the real stars of that show were Farrah’s nipples.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/2 "2005-04-18T17:05:52Z")
Wilson Wilson on _Home Improvement_ (I)
Vera on _Cheers_ (II- she never showed up, did she?)
Bob Sackamano on _Seinfeld_ (II- same question)
Charlie.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/3 "2005-04-18T17:07:41Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> I’d cite Charlie on _Charlie’s Angels_, but let’s face it, the real stars of that show were Farrah’s nipples.
> [@my dumb ass](#):
>
> Charlie.
Wow. That was stupid. Sorry, **tdn**.
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### Author:  [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/4 "2005-04-18T17:09:36Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#):
>
> Vera on _Cheers_ (II- she never showed up, did she?)
She “showed up” for the Thanksgiving food-fight episode by opening the door and promptly getting a pie in the face. 🙂
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### Author:  [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/5 "2005-04-18T17:10:09Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> Feel free to include characters who appeared in later episodes or in spinoffs. Bernice, for example, was never on _Barney Miller_ but was on _Fish_.
Bernice was on _Barney Miller_. They’ve got some old episodes playing on On Demand (Comcast cable), and she was in one I watched a few weeks ago.
We never saw Vera, Norm’s wife on _Cheers._ There was a Thanksgiving episode that took place at Carla’s house, the one with the food fight, and she showed up off-camera and took a pie in the face, and then walked on-camera with her face covered in pie goo.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/6 "2005-04-18T17:11:35Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#):
>
> (II- she never showed up, did she?)
> (II- same question)
Pretty sure they didn’t.
Lars on Mary Tyler Moore/Phyllis (II)
I think Alan Brady on the first few seasons of Dick van Dyke (I)
Various “at-home” wives/lovers on MASH (II)
Mrs. Peterson on The Bob Newhart Show (II)
Ugly Naked Guy on Friends (II)
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### Author:  [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/7 "2005-04-18T17:18:19Z")
> [@tdn](#):
>
> Ugly Naked Guy on Friends (II)
Didn’t he appear when Ross rented his apartment?
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### Author:  [@PoorYorick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoorYorick)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/8 "2005-04-18T17:18:32Z")
Carlton the doorman on _Rhoda_, I believe. Funniest character in an otherwise bleh series.
I always thought that a series was on its last legs when it finally showed an “invisible” character. Maris, for instance, was _much_ funnier on _Frazier_ because your imagination did a much better job of picturing her than any actor could. One of the funniest lines I remember was when Niles said something about her running across the snow and not leaving any footprints. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/9 "2005-04-18T17:26:27Z")
All my good ones have been taken, but I’m going to display my geekness with this one:
Natalie’s boyfriend Snake from the later seasons of _The Facts of Life._
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### Author:  [@peasea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peasea)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/10 "2005-04-18T17:35:12Z")
Doctor Claw on “Inspector Gadget” (#1)?
Richard Stone on the 90s HBO series “Dream On” (#2).
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### Author:  [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/11 "2005-04-18T17:40:13Z")
_Home Improvement:_
The next-door neighbor. You always saw his hat, a piece of his forehead, and his eyes, but the fence always covered the rest of his face. I rarely watched the show, but I think the only time they ever showed his full body, he was facing away from the camera, so all you could see was the back of his head.
_M_A_S_H\*:\*
Col. Blake’s wife.
Col. Potter’s wife.
BJ Honeycutt’s wife.
Frank Burn’s wife.
Winchester’s sister (You did get to hear a recording of her voice, once. She had a serious stutter, which explained Winchester’s uncharacteristic sympathy for another character earlier in the episode.)
Radar’s mother.
Various relatives of Klinger.
_Magnum, P.I. :_
Robin Masters. Maybe he was really Higgins, maybe not.
Icepick. I think he may have appeared in one episode, but in 99% of the show, he was a mysterious offscreen presence.
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### Author:  [@Judith\_Prietht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Judith_Prietht)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/12 "2005-04-18T17:44:10Z")
Diane, from _Twin Peaks_.
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### Author:  [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/13 "2005-04-18T17:46:53Z")
Clarabell from Happy Days.
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### Author:  [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/14 "2005-04-18T17:52:09Z")
> [@peasea](#):
>
> Doctor Claw on “Inspector Gadget” (#1)?
We never saw him, but IIRC, Inspector Gadget did. Of course, he didn’t know who he was talking to…
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### Author:  [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/15 "2005-04-18T17:53:38Z")
> [@42fish](#):
>
> Didn’t he appear when Ross rented his apartment?
Yes, but we only saw a brief shot of the back of his head when he answered the door. So, he’s still invisible in the (I) category.
My contributions -
The Powers That Be (Heavenly powers) or the Senior Partners (Hellish powers) of law firm Wolfram & Hart (otherwise known as “the Wolf, the Ram & the Hart”) on “Angel.”
The Village’s “No. 1” in “the Prisoner.” (The final episode jibberish notwithstanding.)
The news bulletin announcer over the camp loudspeakers on “M.A.S.H.”
“Mr. Hands” from Saturday Night Live’s “Mr. Bill” show sketch.
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### Author:  [@sciguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciguy)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/16 "2005-04-18T17:53:45Z")
> [@mbh](#):
>
> _M_A_S_H\*:\*
> …
> Radar’s mother.
Actually, I specifically remember one episode where Radar’s mother mailed him a home movie of some family get-together (4th of July, maybe?), and everyone commented on the resemblance between Radar and his mother.
Not too surprising given that they were both played by the same actor. 😃
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### Author:  [@belladonna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/belladonna)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/17 "2005-04-18T17:54:34Z")
The adults in Peanuts, with the added bonus of the “whaw waw whah wha wa wa” speech patterns.
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### Author:  [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/18 "2005-04-18T17:56:42Z")
> [@sciguy](#):
>
> Actually, I specifically remember one episode where Radar’s mother mailed him a home movie of some family get-together (4th of July, maybe?), and everyone commented on the resemblance between Radar and his mother.
>
> Not too surprising given that they were both played by the same actor. 😃
We also saw a home video of Lorraine Blake. Sweet Lorraine. (She has a fantastic body!)
The invisible character on Home Improvement was Wilson, I think.
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### Author:  [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/19 "2005-04-18T18:03:56Z")
We did see Ugly Naked Guy’s stomach when the friends decided to poke at him to see if he was still alive.
OK, Dr. Khan was never shown, but we did hear him on the loudspeaker regularly. Five bucks\* to whoever gets the show right. Hint- He was Ug’s boss.
\*-by “five bucks,” I of course mean “nothing.” 😉
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### Author:  [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)
#### Post date: [April 18, 2005, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/20 "2005-04-18T18:05:14Z")
**Lt. Columbo’s wife** , whom he refers to continuously. She was never seen until the spinoff, _Mrs. Columbo_, in which she was played by Captain Janeway. The show was so bad that they tried to distance it from the brilliant _Columbo_ by changing the title to _Kate Loves a Mystery_ and changing Kate Columbo’s name to “Kate Callahan.”
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