# 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:** 7
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2024, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/121 "2024-02-05T01:39:05Z")
It could be argued that in _We’re no Angels_ Albert’s pet viper Adolphe is an important character, since he is instrumental in disposing of the impediments to Felix’ and Isabelle’s happiness. But of course he is never seen, just his cage (which gets its own halo at the end). ---
**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 5, 2024, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/122 "2024-02-05T12:58:56Z")
Speaking of characters not seen at first, but who later appeared, I ought to mention Ernst Stavro Blofeld from the James Bond films. He’s an iconic figure in **From Russia with Love** and **Thunderball** (and his organization, S.P.E.C.T.R.E. is mentioned, although he is not, in **Dr. No** , making him even more distant), and his face is not shown, only his body and that white cat of his (a brilliant addition by the makers of the films – Blofeld has no such cat fetish in the novels). Then, of course, they figured that they had to show him in **You Only Live Twice**. But Donald Pleasance’s interpretation, a short guy with a higher-pitched voice than the magisterial one in the previous films, wasn’t really up to the requirement, even with the addition of a wicked scar. He was too much like Michael Myers’ later _Dr. Evil_. Even following up with Telly Savalas and Charles Gray in the role didn’t help. (nor Max von Sydow in _Never Say Never Again_, even though he still had a cat). ---
**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 5, 2024, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/123 "2024-02-05T13:54:05Z")
Rosaline never appears onstage in **Romeo and Juliet** , but she plays a key role in the plot: Romeo sneaks into the Capulets’ party hoping to see her and ends up falling in love with Juliet instead. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/124 "2024-02-06T03:50:55Z")
I’m going to add to the _Godfather part II_ latter day section missing character list with Peter Clemenza. It’s one of the biggest lost opportunities that they couldn’t cast Richard Castellano in the second movie due to a dispute. They had to invent the Frank Pentangeli to fill the character’s place. He’s excellent, and they made a compelling character, but it really should have been Clemenza to complete the story arc of betraying the family after Tessio in the first movie. We get the flashback Clemenza to set it up, and then lose him for a character that comes out of nowhere. ---
**Author:** ![JacobSwan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@JacobSwan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JacobSwan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2024, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/125 "2024-02-06T12:20:10Z")
Mrs Trellis of North Wales gets her letters read out often enough too. ---
**Author:** ![Hermione1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d07c76/32.png) [@Hermione1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione1)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/126 "2024-02-07T02:08:28Z")
Though there WAS [an animated special](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEdioxUKtCo&ab_channel=mtmepisodes2)–actually a pilot for an animated spinoff that never got picked up–where we got to see Carlton. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/127 "2024-02-08T20:00:56Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Yes, and they find the body. But he is not in any of the many sequels. Much like the Pink Panther movies - the Pink Panther was a large diamond in the first movie. The term became associated with Inspector Clouseau, so they kept using it even though there were no pink diamonds any more. ---
**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 8, 2024, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/128 "2024-02-08T20:21:17Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The term became associated with Inspector Clouseau, so they kept using it even though there were no pink diamonds any more. To my surprise, though, the diamond continues to show up in several of the sequels. I wasn’t aware of that until I started tyhis thread and looked it up. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2024, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/129 "2024-02-08T21:47:27Z")
> [@Hermione1](#): > > Though there WAS [an animated special](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uEdioxUKtCo&ab_channel=mtmepisodes2)–actually a pilot for an animated spinoff that never got picked up–where we got to see Carlton. I wish I’d said that. [Oh wait, I did.](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/88) ---
**Author:** ![Hermione1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d07c76/32.png) [@Hermione1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hermione1)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/130 "2024-02-09T00:00:28Z")
Oops, sorry. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2024, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/131 "2024-02-09T21:07:01Z")
There’s a Spanish film, _Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed_, where a teacher goes on a road trip to try to meet John Lennon while he’s shooting _How I Won The War_. We viewers never do meet Lennon. It’s a “the real treasure is the friend we made along the way” kinda thing. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2024, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/132 "2024-03-23T20:41:07Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > You never saw his mother, but you certainly heard her, and his baby doesn’t appear (thank goodness), In the final episode, we briefly see both Michael and Halley, in the same scene. Bernadette picks Michael (a toddler with hair reminiscent of Howard’s) up out of his crib, and tells him he’d better say his first words soon, or save them until she and Howard get back (from Switzerland). Then Howard comes in with a little, blonde, long-haired girl about a year older than Michael, and says “Guess who just peed in the big girl potty!” Other than the episode where Sheldon convinces Howard to do some experiments with the kids (mostly just tests of their development), and we see some little hands come up from car seats, that’s it for seeing the Wolowitz kids. ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/133 "2024-03-24T19:46:01Z")
> [@Icerigger](#): > > Speaking of MASH, did Sparky, the guy Radar was always calling on the phone ever show up in person? I believe another said so, but he shows up just once in season 1 and then they decided never to show him again. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2024, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/134 "2024-03-24T20:35:40Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Sparky showed up at least once — the Tuttle episode. Google-Fu tells me that he was played by Dennis Fimple. [Dennis Fimple - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_Fimple) ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/135 "2024-03-24T20:47:35Z")
I think this link is to a picture of Sparky: > **["M\*A\*S\*H" Tuttle (TV Episode 1973) ⭐ 8.9 | Comedy, Drama, War](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0638468/)** > > 25m | 13+ ---
**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:** [March 24, 2024, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/136 "2024-03-24T23:23:11Z")
> [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > I think this link is to a picture of Sparky He’s Dennis Fimple, a somewhat regular working actor. He was even in House of 1000 Corpses much later. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/137 "2024-03-25T00:55:43Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Google-Fu tells me that he was played by Dennis Fimple. > [@Mahaloth](#): > > He’s Dennis Fimple, a somewhat regular working actor. Um, 2 posts above yours. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/138 "2024-03-25T03:00:04Z")
It was a gimmick that Duffy, from the old radio show Duffy’s Tavern, never appeared. But other than having the bar named after him, I’m not sure his character was of any importance. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 25, 2024, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/139 "2024-03-25T19:49:50Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > > [@Stratocaster](#): > > > > Rosemary’s Baby. The titular youngster looms large but is never seen (which increases the horror—Farrow’s reaction is brilliant). > > Good one. There is a one second glimpse of amber cat’s type eyes which I guess we’re supposed to believe are Andy’s (2:10 in this clip). > **[Rosemary's Baby - What have you done to its eyes?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kv3p8kIyqLI%2F)** > > Rosemary sees her baby. ---
**Author:** ![Stratocaster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stratocaster/32/16393_2.png) [@Stratocaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stratocaster)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2024, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022/140 "2024-03-26T00:11:02Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > There is a one second glimpse of amber cat’s type eyes which I guess we’re supposed to believe are Andy’s (2:10 in this clip). I think it’s Satan’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/plays-and-movies-where-an-important-character-never-appears/997022.md?page=6)