# Plays (and movies) where an important character never appears **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [February 2, 2024, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022 "2024-02-02T12:51:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/41 "2024-02-02T18:10:21Z")
> [@engineer\_comp\_geek](#): > > It’s a TV series, not a play or a movie, but while we certainly hear a lot about Mrs. Columbo, we never actually see her. I have no idea if the legendary British sitcom Dad’s Army (1968 - 1977, but still regularly repeated on the BBC) was ever shown in the US, but similarly Captain Mainwaring’s wife is a significant, but never seen, character. In my memory Art Delgado never appears on screen in Hill Street Blues, but I just checked the wiki and apparently he did. Oh well. j ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/42 "2024-02-02T18:13:44Z")
If we’re accepting TV shows, an entire episode of **The Mary Tyler Moore Show** revolves around the death of Chuckles the Clown who AFAIK never appeared on the series. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/43 "2024-02-02T18:22:57Z")
> [@Stephe96](#): > > f we’re accepting TV shows, an entire episode of **The Mary Tyler Moore Show** revolves around the death of Chuckles the Clown who AFAIK never appeared on the series. Good catch. It also made me think of Carlton the Doorman in the spinoff series _Rhoda_, who never appeared on camera. Although they’d tease you with the possibility. In one episode, he was delivering a door or something, and it completely obscured his face. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2024, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/44 "2024-02-02T18:39:21Z")
Another one I only learned about here on the Dope – Carl Reiner’s character on **The Dick van Dyke Show** – the egomaniacal star Alan Brady – was originally only a voice, or seen from behind. This was the case for the first three seasons. For the last two, we got to see his face (which gave us some great shows, like the time Laura accidently let it slip that he wore a toupee). But I only saw the earliest seasons later on, in syndication. By the time I started watching it, you could see Brady’s face. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/45 "2024-02-02T18:43:21Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > What I wanna know is Who was the guy who read the announcements over the speaker system in the TV show **M.A.S.H**? > > I don’t mean Radar or Klinger – we see them sometimes speaking into the microphone, just as we see Blake or Potter or Hawkeye or someone else doing it. > > No, I mean the person who talks over the speaker in practically every episode. It’s someone we never see on camera, and we don’t know his name. Most of the time it was the character Igor (or at least the actor that played him) They never do say within the series who it was. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/46 "2024-02-02T18:45:12Z")
Looking at the Wikipedia page on the Dick van Dyke show, I learned something else – Buddy Sorell’s wife “Pickles” appeared in the first two seasons, but afterwards never did appear onscreen. I hadn’t realized that she was an onscreen presence at one point (although played by two different actresses. It’s the Marilyn Munster syndrome.) ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/47 "2024-02-02T18:55:25Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > But **Rebecca** does. This is the most famous example I can think of. Rebecca dominates the book so much it is named after her and she died before the book starts. It’s such a great book and the Hitchcock movie, which he hated, is a really good adaptation of it even though they wimped out a bit on a few parts. The book is more shocking than the movie. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/48 "2024-02-02T18:57:11Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > aside from his arm (he was always shot from behind, sitting in a [c]hair), you never saw John Beresford Tipton, the titular benefactor of the 1950s TV series _The Millionaire_ Same for Dr Claw in Inspector Gadget. (I only watched the highbrow stuff) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/49 "2024-02-02T19:03:58Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > I didn’t watch **Magnum, PI** much but did Robin Masters ever put in an appearance? Maybe. In a couple of episodes you hear him (voiced by Orson Welles). In one episode, he is seen from behind, and from some distance, and it may or may not be Higgins impersonating him. In another episode, it is revealed that he actually is Higgins, but at the end of the episode, Higgins says that it was a lie. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/50 "2024-02-02T19:12:32Z")
I mentioned _Rebecca_ in a post in the “movies you’ve seen recently” thread – Rebecca is so central to the plot the name is right in the title, but she’s never seen. I loved the movie and it’s astonishing to me that Hitchcock himself didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/51 "2024-02-02T19:18:48Z")
Did they ever show Charlie on Charlie’s Angels? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/52 "2024-02-02T19:18:49Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I mentioned _Rebecca_ in a post in the “movies you’ve seen recently” thread – Rebecca is so central to the plot the name is right in the title, but she’s never seen. I loved the movie and it’s astonishing to me that Hitchcock himself didn’t It’s basically a situation where Zelnick insisted the movie match the book very closely while Hithcock wanted to make his own spin on things. Zelnick visited the set constantly to input his own thoughts and micro-manage/supervise the whole thing. It is a great movie, but another fact is that Olivier was horrible to Joan Fontaine because he had asked for his girlfriend to be in the movie and they refused. So you have him being mean to her offscreen and pretending to be in love with her on screen. And Hitchcock doing a great job, but just producing a very standard movie compared to what he wanted to make. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/53 "2024-02-02T19:19:37Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > I mentioned _Rebecca_ in a post in the “movies you’ve seen recently” thread – Rebecca is so central to the plot the name is right in the title, but she’s never seen. I loved the movie and it’s astonishing to me that Hitchcock himself didn’t. I should also add that in the book, I believe he full-blown killed her or let her drown. No accidental situation at all; she was atrocious, just the worst human out there and he hated her. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/54 "2024-02-02T19:20:14Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Rebecca is so central to the plot the name is right in the title, but she’s never seen. Mitchell & Webb fixed that: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Tr59DKnFKx0/hqdefault.jpg "Mitchell and Webb - Rebecca") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tr59DKnFKx0) ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/55 "2024-02-02T19:33:07Z")
If we can extend this to books, how about Heart of Darkness by Conrad? I don’t think Mr Kurtz is ever directly on stage…? ---
**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:** [February 2, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/56 "2024-02-02T20:41:07Z")
Well, if you extend it to books you can throw in Sauron. He doesn’t appear directly in the trilogy at all (or in _The Hobbit_, for that matter) – only in other characters’ recollections of incidents. (and he’s not a disembodied, flaming slit-pupil eye floating on lightning bolts between the twin horns atop Barad-dur. That’s only in the movies) ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/57 "2024-02-02T20:41:49Z")
Not sure about the film (have not seen it), but in the play _ **Harvey** _ is never seen. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/58 "2024-02-02T20:49:15Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > [Rrr mobile nonfunctionality trying to select links, meant for the Winona Ryder vehicle] > > That wikipedia article has an on-topic error in the 2nd paragraph. The wrong name? Anyway, I realized that _Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael_ doesn’t strictly fit the topic–while Roxy never arrives in the town that is abuzz to see her, the movie does show her in brief interleaved moments of her home alone. Oh, yeah–spoilers for an old movie there is no particular reason for having ever heard of or wanting to see unless you are a Winona Ryder fan. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2024, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/59 "2024-02-02T20:55:54Z")
Directed that one while I was in the U.S.A.F…and appeared on the cast list as the title character. ---
**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:** [February 2, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/60 "2024-02-02T21:07:39Z")
> [@xizor](#): > > Not sure about the film (have not seen it), but in the play _ **Harvey** _ is never seen. Not in the film or the TV remake, but I’ve seen the play, and he doesn’t appear. There was reportedly a rehearsal performance where they DID bring out a guy in a rabbit suit, because they thought the audience wouldn’t accept the play without an actual presence of Harvey. That didn’t go over well, and they didn’t do it again. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022.md?page=4)