# People who have costarred as different characters in two (or more) successful series **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473 "2009-09-09T20:56:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CT\_Damsel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dfb087/32.png) [@CT\_Damsel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CT_Damsel)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/21 "2009-09-10T09:56:35Z")
Henry Darrow and David Janssen were both in Harry O and the mini-series Centennial. (I have watched way too much TV my entire life :() ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/22 "2009-09-10T12:19:59Z")
Do spinoffs count? Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher were all in _[AfterMASH](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084969/)_, the spinoff of _M_A_S_H\*. The former show lasted 25 episodes, which is way more than I would have guessed. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/23 "2009-09-10T12:37:11Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Henry Winkler and Ron Howard worked together in **Happy Days** and **Arrested Development**. Scott Baio had a recurring role in AD as well, so that makes our first trio. (Though the OP is asking for “costars” rather than supporting characters/narrators…) ---
**Author:** ![eleanorigby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@eleanorigby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eleanorigby)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/24 "2009-09-10T14:04:59Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > Not exactly what I was going for, but this reminds me: > > Bea Arthur and Rue McLanahan were regulars on _Maude_ and then on The Golden Girls. (Rue McLanahan and Betty White were on several episodes of _Mama’s Family_ together but I’m not sure if either would be considered a regular.) How is Bea Arthur not what you were going for? The show’s name was Maude(?) She’s no different than MTM or Bob Newhart. In GG, all three of the women (Bea, Rue and Bett) were considered stars. They weren’t “regulars”–they were the show. 😕 And that reminds me: Vicki Lawrence–a costar on Carol Burnett, a star of Mama’s Family. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/25 "2009-09-10T14:11:05Z")
> [@eleanorigby](#): > > How is Bea Arthur not what you were going for? The show’s name was Maude(?) She’s no different than MTM or Bob Newhart. In GG, all three of the women (Bea, Rue and Bett) were considered stars. They weren’t “regulars”–they were the show. 😕 > > And that reminds me: Vicki Lawrence–a costar on Carol Burnett, a star of Mama’s Family. We’re looking for _pairs_ of people who _both_ starred together on more than one show. ---
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/26 "2009-09-10T14:26:23Z")
**Lee Majors** , Big Valley, Six Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/27 "2009-09-10T15:00:44Z")
> [@twickster](#): > > Do spinoffs count? Harry Morgan, Jamie Farr, and William Christopher were all in _[AfterMASH](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0084969/)_, the spinoff of _M_A_S_H\*. The former show lasted 25 episodes, which is way more than I would have guessed. Umm…they were all playing their original characters from M_A_S\*H though. Read the title of the thread. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/28 "2009-09-10T15:15:47Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > **Lee Majors** , Big Valley, Six Million Dollar Man, The Fall Guy. Lee Majors is one person. The OP is looking for PAIRS of people going to on the star TOGETHER in two or more shows. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/29 "2009-09-10T15:29:49Z")
Tina Fey, Tracey Morgan on **SNL** and **30 Rock**. Brad Whitford, Matthew Perry on **The West Wing** and **Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip**. Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michelle Trachtenberg on **All My Children** and **Buffy the Vampire Slayer**. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/30 "2009-09-10T15:30:41Z")
Johnathon Frakes and Mariana Sirtis were both in ST:Next Generation and Gargoyles togeather, though wikipedia is ambiguous on whether they were listed as regular cast or not on the latter show. Star Trek cast members seem to follow each other around a lot (Gargoyles had almost the entire cast as recurring characters at one point or another, Boston Legal has two ex-Trek regular cast members and has also had several guest stars, Stargate Atlantis has had several, etc. I can’t think of any other case where two from the same Trek spin-off were regular cast members on another show, though.) ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/31 "2009-09-10T15:35:09Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Stargate Atlantis has had several, etc. Weren’t Jewel Staite and Morena Baccharin (from _Firefly_) together on Stargate Atlantis? Or did they split up between SG:SG1 and SG:Atlantis? ---
**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:** [September 10, 2009, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/32 "2009-09-10T15:47:05Z")
Michael Boreanaz, Alexis Denisoff, James Marsters and Charisma Carptnter on **Buffy** and **Angel**. Colm Meany, Michael Dorn and Rosalind Chao on **TNG** and **Deep Space Nine**. Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, **A Bit of Fry and Laurie** and **Wooster and Jeeves**. Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner, **The Tracey Ullman Show** and **The Simpsons**. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2009, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/33 "2009-09-10T16:44:40Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > Michael Boreanaz, Alexis Denisoff, James Marsters and Charisma Carptnter on **Buffy** and **Angel**. > > Colm Meany, Michael Dorn and Rosalind Chao on **TNG** and **Deep Space Nine**. > > Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry, **A Bit of Fry and Laurie** and **Wooster and Jeeves**. > > Dan Castellaneta and Julie Kavner, **The Tracey Ullman Show** and **The Simpsons**. Except for Fry and Laurie, these are all the same characters so they don’t meet the requirements in the OP. And Fry and Laurie were both in several seasons of Blackadder, so they’ve got another show. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2009, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/34 "2009-09-10T16:47:12Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Weren’t Jewel Staite and Morena Baccharin (from _Firefly_) together on Stargate Atlantis? Or did they split up between SG:SG1 and SG:Atlantis? Not that I know of, but Ben Browder and Claudia Black from Farscape both worked on Stargate SG-1. There was a well-known example from the soaps. During the mid-70s, the NBC soap “Another World” featured an enormously popular couple Steve & Alice (perhaps the most popular soap couple up ever until Luke & Laura showed up a few years later), but the head writer took a dislike to the diva-ish actors playing them and had them both written out - the couple broke up, Steve was killed off, and Alice recast with another actress and significantly downplayed in the storyline. Meanwhile, the ABC soap “One Life to Live” (which happened to be airing directly opposite “Another World”) was close to being cancelled at the time. The producers of “Life” immediately hired both actors to play new characters on that show who had been lovers who had broken up, but were now reunited. So, “Life” efffectively just carried on the storyline that their competitors had discontinued. Apparently, the gimmick worked, and a lot of “Another World” fans started watching “One Life to Live” instead. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/35 "2009-09-10T17:07:21Z")
Just to complete the ways the question could be misunderstood: How about my uncle Keith? He he has never appeared in a TV show. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/36 "2009-09-10T17:54:57Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > Weren’t Jewel Staite and Morena Baccharin (from _Firefly_) together on Stargate Atlantis? Or did they split up between SG:SG1 and SG:Atlantis? Morena was only on SG:1 and Jewel Staite was only on SG:Atlantis. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/37 "2009-09-10T18:00:31Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > I can’t think of any other case where two from the same Trek spin-off were regular cast members on another show, though.) I guess if we count Whoopi Goldberg as a co-star of TNG (wikipedia has her listed as a “secondary main character”), then her and Levar Burton were both voice actors on Captain Planet. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/38 "2009-09-10T18:15:34Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Umm…they were all playing their original characters from M_A_S\*H though. Read the title of the thread. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/39 "2009-09-10T18:16:15Z")
Directors sometimes take their stable of actors with them. Someone already mentioned Aaron Sorkin, (West Wing and Studio 60,) and also Chuck Lorre. (Roseanna and Big Bang Theory.) Joss Whedon has had several shows and likes to reuse talent, but the only pair I can think of offhand is Eliza Dushku from Buffy (only guested on Angel) and Amy Ackerman from Angel both being on Dollhouse. So that doesn’t count. Plus, to my knowledge Joss has never had a successful show. (Not that Studio 60 was either.) I’m guessing David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal, The Practice, et al) reuses talent, but I’m not really a fan of his and have never watched any of his shows. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473/40 "2009-09-10T18:31:13Z")
**Krokodil** said: > [@](#): > > _Michael_ Boreanaz, Alexis Denisoff, James Marsters and Charisma Carptnter on **Buffy** and **Angel**. [cough]David[/cough] Sorry, something got caught in my throat. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/people-who-have-costarred-as-different-characters-in-two-or-more-successful-series/509473.md?page=3)