# Oldest continuous movie character? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 17, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684 "2015-12-17T13:21:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/1 "2015-12-17T13:21:44Z")
…portrayed by the same actor, I mean? I was thinking about the new Star Wars and Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford, all playing characters we first saw in 1977 - 381/2 years ago. Was that the record? Then, my thinking still running in a sci-fi direction, I realized that Leonard Nimoy had played Spock from 1966 to 2013 - a forty-seven year span (yes, I’m willing to fudge the original TV series). Is that the record? Has anyone else portrayed the same character over a greater span of time? Just for clarity - I’m not talking about someone who played “himself”, i.e. a Groucho Marx or a George Burns. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/2 "2015-12-17T13:38:04Z")
Forty-seven might be the record with Nimoy. My mind went to Buster Crabbe. Crabbe played a lot of serials in the 1930s including Flash Gordon in 1936. In 1979 he reprised the role shortly in Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. That’s 43 years but that’s all I can think of. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/3 "2015-12-17T13:38:42Z")
Not quite what you’re looking for, but Clayton Moore started playing the Lone Ranger in 1949 and was closely associated with the character up until his death in 1999. He is the only actor listed along with a role on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His last official appearance as the Lone Ranger in a movie was in 1958 but he continued to represent himself as the Lone Ranger until he was sued in 1979 by the producers of a new Lone Ranger movie. Moore continued to appear publicly, wearing sunglasses instead of his trademark mask without actually using the name Lone Ranger up until his death. ---
**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 17, 2015, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/4 "2015-12-17T13:40:56Z")
If you count documentaries, the group of kids in the “[Up](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Series)” series have been appearing every seven years for 49 years. It started in 1964; the most recent installment was in 2012, and there will probably be one in 2019, extending this. Elisha Cook, Jr. and Lee Patrick reprised their roles from **The Maltese Falcon** in **The Black Bird** – 34 years apart. Andy Clyde played the same character in short subject for 32 years – 1924-1956 ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/5 "2015-12-17T13:46:14Z")
Edgar Bergan & Charlie McCarthy: 1938 to 1979 in films, so that’s 41 years. If you add radio, that pushes it back to 1936, for 43 years. Adam West & Burt Ward played Batman & Robin on TV (and one movie) starting in 1966 and they still do promotions/conventions in costume (well, Burt still does, not sure about Adam). So that’s 49 years. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/6 "2015-12-17T13:52:00Z")
> [@Totenfeier](#): > > …portrayed by the same actor, I mean? > > I was thinking about the new Star Wars and Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, and Harrison Ford, all playing characters we first saw in 1977 - 381/2 years ago. Was that the record? Then, my thinking still running in a sci-fi direction, I realized that Leonard Nimoy had played Spock from 1966 to 2013 - a forty-seven year span (yes, I’m willing to fudge the original TV series). Actually, Nimoy portrayed the role of Mr. Spock as early as 1964 as he appeared in the rejected pilot “The Cage” which would raise the bar to 49 years! ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/7 "2015-12-17T14:00:48Z")
Sylvester Stallone has done OK with Rocky, 1976-2015 (…so far!) ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/8 "2015-12-17T14:03:32Z")
Since you’re counting TV along with movies, Carroll Spinney deserves mention. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/9 "2015-12-17T14:07:03Z")
Frank Welker has been the voice of Fred Jones and Scooby Doo since 1969 and counting. 46+ years. ---
**Author:** ![Totenfeier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4bbf92/32.png) [@Totenfeier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Totenfeier)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/10 "2015-12-17T14:07:41Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Actually, Nimoy portrayed the role of Mr. Spock as early as 1964 as he appeared in the rejected pilot “The Cage” which would raise the bar to 49 years! Good point. ---
**Author:** ![Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a8b319/32.png) [@Fuzzy\_wuzzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fuzzy_wuzzy)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/11 "2015-12-17T14:10:46Z")
I was going to suggest Bela Lugosi as Dracula, but I doubt he competes with some of the actors and charcters mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/12 "2015-12-17T14:12:42Z")
> [@Sparky812](#): > > Frank Welker has been the voice of Fred Jones and Scooby Doo since 1969 and counting. > > 46+ years. Well, he’s been the voice of Fred for that long. Scooby’s original voice was Don Messick. Welker took over after Messick’s death. ---
**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 17, 2015, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/13 "2015-12-17T14:14:59Z")
We’ve done this before. Most of the best ones are taken, but William Daniels played John Quincy Adams in _A Woman for the Ages_ in 1952 and in _The Adams Chronicles_ in 1976. And that first appearance was years before he played John Adams in _1776_ on stage and on the screen (1972), and later in _The Rebels_ (1979). He also played Sam Adams in _The Bastard_ in 1978. He had a lock on the historical Adams family. He was also the voice of K.I.T.T. from _Knight Rider_ in 1982-6, but played the role at various other times until 2006. Actor Kevin McArthy played Dr. Miles Bennell in the first _Invasion of the Body Snatchers_ in 1956, and essentially reprised the role in the 1978 remake and in \*Looney Tunes: Back in Action \* in 2003. Jerry Lewis was Dr. Julius Kelp in _The Nutty Professor_ in 1963, and re-voiced the role in the animated _The Nutty Professor_ in 2003. James Best was hero Thorne Sherman in _The Killer Shrews_ (1959) and reprised the role in _Return of the Killer Shrews_ (which he also produced) in 2012, a gap of 53 years, beating Nimoy’s record of 49 years. ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/14 "2015-12-17T14:23:18Z")
> [@CandidGamera](#): > > Well, he’s been the voice of Fred for that long. Scooby’s original voice was Don Messick. Welker took over after Messick’s death. Sorry, typo… I meant “on” Scooby Doo. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/15 "2015-12-17T14:37:58Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > William Daniels played John Quincy Adams in _A Woman for the Ages_ in 1952 and in _The Adams Chronicles_ in 1976. And that first appearance was years before he played John Adams in _1776_ on stage and on the screen (1972), and later in _The Rebels_ (1979). He also played Sam Adams in _The Bastard_ in 1978. He had a lock on the historical Adams family. He was also the voice of K.I.T.T. from _Knight Rider_ in 1982-6, but played the role at various other times until 2006. If historic portrayals count, Wikipedia says Hal Holbrook “initially gained notoriety for a one-man stage show he developed while in college in 1954, performing as Mark Twain.” He developed this portrayal into _[Mark Twain Tonight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Twain_Tonight)_, which premiered on Broadway in 1966 and he performed it as late as 2014, for at least sixty years of the same role. ---
**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 17, 2015, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/16 "2015-12-17T14:39:36Z")
June Foray voiced Rocky the Flying Squirrel (and Natasha Fatale) starting in 1959, and in the movie in 2000 – 41 years. And it looks like there was an animated short film in 2014, so that goes to 55. On stage, Hal Holbrook has been playing Mark Twain for over 60 years. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/17 "2015-12-17T14:52:17Z")
In TV, the longest-running character is Christine Barford, played by Lesley Saweard, in the British soap opera _The Archers_ since 1953: > **[List of longest-serving soap opera actors](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-serving_soap_opera_actors)** > > Soap operas, a serialised drama produced for radio, television and internet streaming, are specifically and uniquely known for their ensemble casts and long-running characters. Many of these characters have stayed in their respective series for decades, often played by the same actor. The following is a list of the longest-serving actors from soap operas all over the world. It details those actors with ten or more years spent on one year-round or stripped soap opera, despite itinerant breaks a... ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/18 "2015-12-17T15:05:50Z")
Moe Howard and Larry Fine played their Stooges characters from 1933 to their last appearance in 1970, for a span of 37 years. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/19 "2015-12-17T16:19:14Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > In TV, the longest-running character is Christine Barford, played by Lesley Saweard, in the British soap opera _The Archers_ since 1953: > > [List of longest-serving soap opera actors - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_longest-serving_soap_opera_actors) Nitpick: That’s a radio soap, not TV. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2015, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684/20 "2015-12-17T16:32:22Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Moe Howard and Larry Fine played their Stooges characters from 1933 to their last appearance in 1970, for a span of 37 years. Would that count as "playing ‘himself’ " which the OP excluded? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/oldest-continuous-movie-character/740684.md?page=2)