# Oddest cameo in a movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2016, 6:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213 "2016-12-20T06:35:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/21 "2016-12-20T15:43:05Z")
Truman Capote in [Annie Hall.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzHrdq_k8Ys) ---
**Author:** ![buddha\_david](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee7513/32.png) [@buddha\_david](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/buddha_david)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/22 "2016-12-20T15:47:10Z")
Lemmy in the sci-fi film [Hardware.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yMs5M5sb6k) ---
**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:** [December 20, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/23 "2016-12-20T16:02:19Z")
[The Greatest Story Ever Told](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059245/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) had John Wayne pop up at the end of the movie as a Roman centurion. Imagine a centurion doing his very best John Wayne imitation saying, “Truly, this man was the son of God.” [The Story of Mankind](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051016/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6) (which was pretty odd by itself, even without celebrity cameos) had Groucho Marks as Peter Minuit (the guy who [DEL]stole[/DEL] bought Manhattan Island from the natives,) Harpo as Sir Isaac Newton:eek: and Chico as a monk. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/24 "2016-12-20T16:11:38Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [The Greatest Story Ever Told](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059245/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) had John Wayne pop up at the end of the movie as a Roman centurion. Imagine a centurion doing his very best John Wayne imitation saying, “Truly, this man was the son of God.” > > [The Story of Mankind](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051016/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_6) (which was pretty odd by itself, even without celebrity cameos) had Groucho Marks as Peter Minuit (the guy who [DEL]stole[/DEL] bought Manhattan Island from the natives,) Harpo as Sir Isaac Newton:eek: and Chico as a monk. The Story of Mankind has some of the weirdest casting and cameos. **Peter Lorre** as Nero **Hedy Lamarr** as Joan of Arc **Virginia Mayo** as Cleopatra **John Carradine** as Khufu **Edward Everett Horton** (!) as Sir Walter Raleigh **Franis X. Bushman** as Moses\* Add the non-cameo roles of **Ronald Colman** as The Spirit of Man and **Vincent Price** as Mr. Scratch (The Devil – OK, this one makes sense), and you’ve got one bizarre film. Chico’s character, by the way, was there to talk to Christopher Columbus. \*well, heck, he’d already been in the silent _Ben Hur_, although as the antagonist. He’s like the proto-Charlton Heston. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/25 "2016-12-20T16:13:05Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > For totally weird how about The Three Stooges in _4 For Texas_? The movie is a lightweight Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin western(?), wherein the Stooges appear for a 2 minutes bit as movers carrying a nude painting of Ursula Andress. > [@CalMeacham](#): > > _It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World_ did, too. It looks as if they were trying to get every comedian in America into that film. …including the Three Stooges as firemen at the airport. Onscreen for about five seconds, with “Three Blind Mice” musical sting. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/26 "2016-12-20T16:15:49Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Kevin McCarthy is arguably most famous as the hero of Don Seigel’s original version of _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_. The film was supposed to end with his character on the California freeway, yelling at all the drivers “You’re next! You’re next!” People treat him like a madman, and there was supposed to be a shot of him taken from inside one of the cars. > > It didn’t end up that way. The studio powers-that-be thought the ending was too much of a downer, so the shot of him from inside looking like he’s crazy is out, and they tacked on a more hopeful scene where people start to believe him. > > When Philip Kaufman remade the film in 1979 they brought McCarthy back at the very beginning to reprise the scene, this time shot from inside the car, as originally intended. It’s arguably a bit longer than a cameo. > > But McCarthy got to reprise it again for the movie _Loonie Tunes: Back in Action_ during the “Area 52” scene. It’s like McCarthy gets to re-do the character every 25 years or so. Maybe they can digitally resurrect him for it in 2028. He also shows up post-closing credits in _Trail of the Screaming Forehead_, having just missed that particular alien invasion. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Kabong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_kabong/32/496_2.png) [@El\_Kabong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Kabong)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/27 "2016-12-20T16:44:07Z")
In the Coen Brothers’ _Miller’s Crossing_, Albert Finney, who plays Leo the mob boss, also turns up, in drag, as a middle-aged matron in the lady’s room fight between Tom Reagan and Verna. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/28 "2016-12-20T16:50:46Z")
The very brief cameos by Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson and Rodney Dangerfield in “Casper” were pretty startling. “Last Action Hero” had very brief cameos by Sharon Stone and Humphrey Bogart. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/29 "2016-12-20T16:52:00Z")
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/30 "2016-12-20T20:24:27Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > The very brief cameos by Clint Eastwood, Mel Gibson and Rodney Dangerfield in “Casper” were pretty startling. > > “Last Action Hero” had very brief cameos by Sharon Stone and Humphrey Bogart. Not to mention Robert Patrick as the T-1000 And Tina Turner as the Mayor of Los Angeles (having played the Mayor of the Apocalyptic Bartertown in Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome) And Joan Plowright (Lawrence Olivier’s widow) as a teacher showing his “Hamlet” to kids, while mentioning that he was in “Clash of the Titans” F. Murray Abraham was in it, too (“Stop him! He Killed Mozart!”), but his part is too big to be called a “cameo” There’s a whole host of cameos in that film ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/31 "2016-12-20T21:15:10Z")
Sam Jaffee (Dr. Zorba in _Ben Casey)_ appears for a moment–as a doctor, of course–in an episode of \*The Donna Reed Show. \* ---
**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:** [December 20, 2016, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/32 "2016-12-20T21:23:19Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > Kurt Vonnegut Jr. In Rodney Dangerfield’s “Back to School.” Vonnegut also appeared in the movie version of his _[Mother Night](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cS8UOq8_L5o#t=1m15s)_, as a man walking toward Nick Nolte. ---
**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:** [December 20, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/33 "2016-12-20T21:39:00Z")
Danny Glover as the masked robber in\* Maverick.\* ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/34 "2016-12-20T21:41:17Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Truman Capote in [Annie Hall.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzHrdq_k8Ys) My favorite in that movie is Marshall McLuhan. (Jeff Goldblum also has a tiny part as a party guest, but that’s more of a “before they were famous” thing. Several like that. But his is the oddest of that ilk, IMHO.) ---
**Author:** ![stegon66](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee59a6/32.png) [@stegon66](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stegon66)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/35 "2016-12-20T21:49:53Z")
Near the end of the Icelandic film Children of Nature, Bruno Ganz shows up as the angel Damiel from the Wim Wenders film Wings of Desire. Totally out of left field though not out of place given the somewhat magical nature of the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/36 "2016-12-20T21:52:34Z")
Johnny Carson did a cameo as a conductor on a train in Eastern Europe in one Max Smart episode. It was just a complete surprise. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/37 "2016-12-20T22:31:02Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > [The Greatest Story Ever Told](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059245/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) had John Wayne pop up at the end of the movie as a Roman centurion. Imagine a centurion doing his very best John Wayne imitation saying, “Truly, this man was the son of God.” Director George Stevens instructed John to “say it with awe!” In the next take, Wayne said “Aw, truly this man was the Son of God.” :smack: In the \*\*\*Batman \*\*\*TV series, photos of producers William Dozier and Howie Horwitz were at the top of the Batcomputer’s Rogues’ Gallery. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/38 "2016-12-20T22:37:34Z")
> [@buddha\_david](#): > > Lemmy in the sci-fi film [Hardware.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yMs5M5sb6k) Also, Lemmy in _Airheads_. “I played D&D too!” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/39 "2016-12-20T22:40:01Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > …including the Three Stooges as firemen at the airport. Onscreen for about five seconds, with “Three Blind Mice” musical sting. Speaking of the Three Stooges, Moe Howard has a cameo as Man in the Audience in the 1973 horror movie **Doctor Death, Seeker of Souls** I’m still amazed that Ron Howard showed up for a cameo in Bruce Kimmel’s **The First Nudie Musical**. Maybe it’s because _Happy Days_ sometime guest Cindy Williams was one of the stars. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2016, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213/40 "2016-12-20T22:55:00Z")
Ooh, do voice actors count? Because Ellen McLain fired up her GLaDOS voice for the (not at all evil) AI in _Pacific Rim_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oddest-cameo-in-a-movie/775213.md?page=3)