# 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:** 3
**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, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/41 "2005-04-18T19:05:19Z")
Also… **Howdy Doody**. The familiar image is not the first version of the lovable string puppet. After a contract dispute, the original puppeteer quit and took Howdy with him. While the producers were getting a new Howdy made, Buffalo Bob made like Howdy was stuck in a drawer for a few weeks, until the second, more popular version was ready to debut. ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/42 "2005-04-18T19:05:42Z")
Nina’s friend Binnie was shown just once on **Just Shoot Me** , but not her face, so she would go in category 1. The epsisode where they showed her had Elliot and Finch telling Nina they thought she was made up, since no one ever saw her. ---
**Author:** ![Kaspar\_Hauser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b3f665/32.png) [@Kaspar\_Hauser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kaspar_Hauser)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/43 "2005-04-18T19:12:40Z")
> [@belladonna](#): > > The adults in Peanuts, with the added bonus of the “whaw waw whah wha wa wa” speech patterns. Although they didn’t show adults in any of the TV specials or the series, they did in at least one of the feature-length movies (I think the one where they go to France). Also, The Little Red-Haired Girl was onscreen as far back as [It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076217/). ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/44 "2005-04-18T19:17:26Z")
How about Karen’s husband on **Will & Grace** , Stanley is it? AFAIK, we haven’t seen him, but I stopped watching a couple years ago. Seems like a common occurence in Burrow’s TV shows. ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/45 "2005-04-18T19:20:50Z")
> [@Troy McClure SF](#): > > Bob Sackamano on _Seinfeld_ (II- same question) In addition, there was also Lomez. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/46 "2005-04-18T19:46:51Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > And the Little Red-Haired Girl whom Charlie Brown lusted after for years. Well, I think I will post the fact that I have seen the LRG in the comic strips, and :: **Crash** :: > [@Kaspar Hauser](#): > > Although they didn’t show adults in any of the TV specials or the series, they did in at least one of the feature-length movies (I think the one where they go to France). Also, The Little Red-Haired Girl was onscreen as far back as [It’s Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076217/). **WTF!** I have seen her, ([Peanuts: The Art of Charles M. Schulz](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?isbn=0375420975&itm=2) and this video box harlot looks nothing like her. No wonder. According to the above link, her design was done with no input from Schultz. ---
**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, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/47 "2005-04-18T20:09:09Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > How about Karen’s husband on **Will & Grace** , Stanley is it? > > AFAIK, we haven’t seen him, but I stopped watching a couple years ago. Seems like a common occurence in Burrow’s TV shows. I saw an episode in which Will, Grace, Karen & co. went to Stan’s funeral and will-reading. It was a rerun, so he’s been dead for at least a year or two. Stan had kids though, and (presumably) Karen got custody of them. What happened to them wasn’t mentioned. They, likewise, have never been seen. Not sure about these two, but - On “That 70s Show”: the guys frequently mention the name Pam Macy, implying that she’s the trampy, easy girl in their school. I don’t recall ever seeing her though. On “Frasier”: Martin has a friend “Duke” who he frequently talks about, but I can’t remember ever seeing. ---
**Author:** ![Scuba\_Ben](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Scuba\_Ben](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scuba_Ben)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/48 "2005-04-18T20:13:21Z")
Here’s an old one: Mr. Bloodhound, from “The Bloodhound Gang” shorts on _3-2-1-Contact_, appeared at most as only his shadow. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2005, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/49 "2005-04-18T20:19:08Z")
Fran Fine’s father Morty was never seen on the Nanny till the end. Fran Fine’s Uncle Stanley was played by Fran Drescher’s father Morty. In the last season, her father Morty was played by Steve Lawrence, who had done a guest shot with his wife Edy Gorme in the first season. On One Day at a Time, Schneider was always talking about his friend Moose(?), who was never seen. ---
**Author:** ![YWalker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/6f9a4e/32.png) [@YWalker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YWalker)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/50 "2005-04-18T20:25:25Z")
I never saw this one, so I had to google to find the name of the show: [Mary Tyler Moore’s legs](http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/M/htmlM/mooremaryt/mooremaryt.htm) starred as a character on Richard Diamond, Private Detective ---- but you never saw the rest of her. ---
**Author:** ![Draelin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce73a5/32.png) [@Draelin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Draelin)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/51 "2005-04-18T20:26:21Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > Not sure about these two, but - > On “That 70s Show”: the guys frequently mention the name Pam Macy, implying that she’s the trampy, easy girl in their school. I don’t recall ever seeing her though. I think Kelso took her to the prom at the end of the first season. Since I happened to buy the DVDs this weekend, I’ll check into it. 🙂 ---
**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, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/52 "2005-04-18T20:32:14Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > On “Frasier”: Martin has a friend “Duke” who he frequently talks about, but I can’t remember ever seeing. We met Duke and the rest of the gang in the episode where Niles and Frasier invest in a company that is going to bulldoze their Dad’s hangout to put up a strip mall. They end up drunk and on the floor of “Duke’s” as the wrecking ball hits. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/53 "2005-04-18T21:01:55Z")
Back on the WCW wrestling show in the late '90s, they went with a “metafictional” approach that seemed innovative and edgy at the time, with the wrestlers rebelling against “The Powers That Be,” behind-the-scenes writers and string-pullers who had dictated all the action for a long time. “TPTB” were voiced by infamous booker Vince Russo, who was responsible for the most popular eras in WCW and its competitor WWF, but he/they were never seen. At different points, “TPTB” hired the huge, bald, tattooed Harris Brothers to serve as their enforcers, “Creative Control,” but as wrestler after wrestler burst backstage to contront The Powers That Be, we still never got a look at them/him. ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Carnage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/max_carnage/32/12775_2.png) [@Max\_Carnage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Carnage)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/54 "2005-04-18T21:08:44Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > …“TPTB” were voiced by infamous booker Vince Russo, who was responsible for the most popular eras in WCW … Just gotta interject that when Russo took over the WCW book, the shows started going downhill fast (World Champion David Arquette, anyone?) ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/55 "2005-04-18T21:15:53Z")
Wasn’t he responsible for some good stuff too, like the New Blood vs. the Millionaire’s Club, or was that still the Eric Bischoff era? Late '90s WCW is my favorite era of wrestling, but I was not yet an Internet-savvy smark, so I took everything on TV for granted, and never knew what was going on behind-the-scenes for any of it. Is there any sort of online resource that recaps that era (let’s say 1998 to the end in 2001), and explains who was in charge of writing and booking which angles? ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/56 "2005-04-18T21:42:05Z")
> [@Art Vandelay](#): > > I saw an episode in which Will, Grace, Karen & co. went to Stan’s funeral and will-reading. It was a rerun, so he’s been dead for at least a year or two. Stan had kids though, and (presumably) Karen got custody of them. What happened to them wasn’t mentioned. They, likewise, have never been seen. Stan’s daughter Olivia was on the show earlier this season. Karen was jealous because Olivia and her friends liked Jack more than her. I think that the kids are supposed to be in boarding school. His son still counts as an inivisible character though. ---
**Author:** ![Gilligan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Gilligan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilligan)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/57 "2005-04-18T21:52:14Z")
Peggy’s mom on **Married With Children** ; she wasn’t a long time regular, but she did stay at the house for several episodes, and Al made a lot of comments about her over the years. Never saw her, but we did get to hear her voice when she had a phone sex line as “Butter.” ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/58 "2005-04-18T22:19:11Z")
Arfur Daley’s wife {'er indoors} in **Minder** : frequently referred to as some kind of domestic Xanthippe, but never seen. ---
**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/59 "2005-04-18T22:22:44Z")
In “3rd Rock from the Sun”, the Big Giant Head didn’t make his appearance until the 4th season when William Shatner gave an inspired performance. I don’t think anyone has mentioned the Bubble Boy in Seinfeld. I don’t believe that we ever saw his face, although we can all imagine it from his obnoxiousness. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2005, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916/60 "2005-04-18T22:28:49Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > \*\*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. She also was in the Dreams episode. > [@Knowed Out](#): > > 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. You got Frank and his wife right but not Frank and Hot Lips. Hawkeye just laughed that time. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/name-some-invisible-tv-characters/299916.md?page=4)