# Name some "invisible" TV characters **URL:** \ **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:** 2
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/21 "2005-04-18T18:12:05Z")
The wife of Bob’s patient Emil Peterson did finally appear in a very memorable episode. Mr. Peterson had talked about her for quite a while, describing her as a behemoth weightlifter/wrestler – in other words, a ridiculous mismatch for the wispy Mr. Peterson. When **Doris Peterson** finally appeared, it was pretty hard to live up to the hype. But it was one of my favorite episodes. One of the earliest invisible TV characters, Barney Fife’s mysterious friend **Juanita** on _The Andy Griffith Show_, was as close as you could get to phone sex in those days. > [@tdn](#): > > Mrs. Peterson on The Bob Newhart Show (II) ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/22 "2005-04-18T18:16:28Z")
Arrgh! Coding! The last two paragraphs above should read: When **Doris Peterson** finally appeared, it was pretty hard to live up to the hype. But it was one of my favorite episodes. One of the earliest invisible TV characters, Barney Fife’s mysterious friend **Juanita** on _The Andy Griffith Show_, was as close as you could get to phone sex in those days. ---
**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 18, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/23 "2005-04-18T18:17:06Z")
\*\*M_A_S\*H \*\* - We also saw BJ’s wife and daughter in the episode where they secretly tape his comments to get him through a rough spot over his anniversary. They play the tape along with a home movie that shows Peg and Erin. ---
**Author:** ![mlerose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@mlerose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mlerose)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/24 "2005-04-18T18:19:11Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > 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.” 😉 Salute your Shorts! ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/25 "2005-04-18T18:22:10Z")
Gracie’s brother, on _The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show_. “I got a letter from my brother today, George . . .” “A letter from your brother, Gracie?” ---
**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:** [April 18, 2005, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/26 "2005-04-18T18:24:14Z")
Gladys, Harry Morgan’s wife in **December Bride**. She later showed her face in a spinoff, **Pete and Gladys** Moose, in **[The Hot L Baltimore](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0072512/)**. He was often referred to, but never shown. John Beresford Tipton on **[The Millionaire](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0047758/)**. He gave million-dollar checks out to people at random, but you never saw his face – just his secretary whose job was to hand them out. Paul Frees did the voice. Dr. Peter Brady, lead character, in **[The Invisible Man](http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0051285/)**, for obvious reasons. (No, he couldn’t make himself visible.) ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/27 "2005-04-18T18:32:26Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _Home Improvement:_ > _M_A_S_H\*:\* > > Frank Burn’s wife. Wasn’t there an episode where they showed Frank’s wedding movie with his wife in it? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/28 "2005-04-18T18:35:11Z")
Here’s a good one: Tino, from **My So-Called Life**. Tino was the MAN. What’s happening this weekend? Tino knows a party. You need concert tickets? Get 'em from Tino. Need a fake ID? Tino will hook you up. Need a ride to the hospital? Tino’s already got the engine running. But you never see him… On the same show: the Chase family cat. They buy cat food, and kitty litter, and they ask, “Did you remember to feed the cat?” But the cat never appears. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/29 "2005-04-18T18:40:32Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > The adults in Peanuts, with the added bonus of the “whaw waw whah wha wa wa” speech patterns. And the Little Red-Haired Girl whom Charlie Brown lusted after for years. ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/30 "2005-04-18T18:42:07Z")
Oops… Forgot to add Roy Biggins’ mother on _Wings._ ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/31 "2005-04-18T18:42:57Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > And the Little Red-Haired Girl whom Charlie Brown lusted after for years. Forgive the simulpost, but I just remembered - the cat from the yard next door. He was the bane of Snoopy’s existence for years and years. ---
**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 18, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/32 "2005-04-18T18:44:21Z")
The TCM on **Lost**! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/33 "2005-04-18T18:45:13Z")
Les Nessman’s dog Phil. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/34 "2005-04-18T18:47:44Z")
> [@Balle\_M](#): > > Wasn’t there an episode where they showed Frank’s wedding movie with his wife in it? Sure was. Hawkeye and BJ found it and watched it. Frank’s wife looked unhappy and wanted to get it over with, while Frank was all snaky smiles. Later in the home movie, they see the wife telling Frank to get in the car, as Hawkeye fills in the words. Later on in the episode, Hot Lips is telling Frank to get in the car, and Hawkeye again fills in the words. ---
**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 18, 2005, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/35 "2005-04-18T18:48:58Z")
Sam from **Richard Diamond, Private Detective**. We only saw her fabulous legs. She was originally played by Mary Tyler Moore, in 1959. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/36 "2005-04-18T18:54:07Z")
I remember Vera making a partial appearance on another episode of _Cheers_. She’s meeting Norm at the bar and waiting for him on the steps outside the door leading up to the street. We see her through the window, from the knees down. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2005, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/37 "2005-04-18T18:54:45Z")
Angela Valentine on _Leave It to Beaver_ She had six toes and threw up in class. On the very old DuMont Network program, _Rocky King, Private Detective_ Rocky’s wife was never shown, because they happened to use whatever actress was available at the moment to read her lines. ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/38 "2005-04-18T18:57:30Z")
**Reality Chuck** I was wondering when Mr. Tipton “The Millionaire” was going to be mentioned. (For a moment I thought I’d be the one that would mention him first). In the one season television show [Bracken’s World](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063877/) , Bracken was never seen but his voice was that of Warren Stevens. As the season progressed, Leslie Nielsen portrayed the hitherto unseen Mr Bracken. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/39 "2005-04-18T19:01:39Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > _Home Improvement:_ > > _M_A_S_H\*:\* > > Radar’s mother. Maybe it was a combination of some bad burritos and lack of sleep, but I could have sworn we saw Radar’s mom in some home movies that were sent to him in Korea. Distressingly, it appeared that Walter O’Reilly’s mother looked just like Gary Burghoff in drag. -Joe, not joking ---
**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 18, 2005, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/40 "2005-04-18T19:02:02Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > On the very old DuMont Network program, _Rocky King, Private Detective_ Rocky’s wife was never shown, because they happened to use whatever actress was available at the moment to read her lines. Speaking of Dumont Network shows… **The Continental** ’s conquests were never seen. Yep, Christopher Walken’s recurring SNL character was based on an actual TV show from the 50s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916.md?page=3)