# Primetime American Television Superstars **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 15, 2023, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725 "2023-04-15T21:04:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Author\_Balk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@Author\_Balk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Author_Balk)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/61 "2023-04-17T16:32:38Z")
I’m not claiming a "superstar’ for this one, but I recently realized there is only one actor where I have seen all shows from three different series. Annie Potts was/is in: Dangerous Minds - only one season so it doesn’t fit the OP. Designing Women Young Sheldon ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/62 "2023-04-17T19:35:57Z")
It seems to me that to be a ‘primetime superstar’ it’s really not enough to just have been on a show for a long time. No one would think Mariska Hargitay or Mark Harmon is a ‘superstar’. Tyoically, when I think of TV superstars, the list looks like this: Dick Van Dyke Mary Tyler Moore Lucille Ball Carol Burnett Betty White Tom Selleck Andy Griffith Bob Newhart Jerry Seinfeld Alan Alda None of them are in the running for most TV appearances, but all of them rose to the pinnacle of TV stardom and stayed there for a long time. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/63 "2023-04-17T19:54:40Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > James Garner? Maverick and Rockford and I don’t know what else. [45 episodes as Katey Sagal’s dad.](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312081/?ref_=nm_flmg_c_6_act) ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/64 "2023-04-17T20:13:59Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > James Garner? Maverick and Rockford and I don’t know what else. While not technically a TV series, I think that we might also include the long-running series of television ads which Garner did with Mariette Hartley for Polaroid instant cameras – Wikipeida says that they did 250 commercials over 8 years (1978-85). The ads were very popular, and led many viewers to believe that Garner and Hartley were a couple in real life. An example: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt82z\_GUCKw](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt82z_GUCKw) ---
**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:** [April 17, 2023, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/65 "2023-04-17T20:27:54Z")
Katherine Helmond gets in for Soap and Who’s the Boss, plus her being injected into the last two seasons of Coach. Shelley Fabares has Coach, The Donna Reed Show, and a juicy role as the nemesis in One Day at a Time. Howard Hesseman ended up married to Ann Romano in One Day at a Time, along with starring in WKRP in Cincinnati and Head of the Class. And in one of those “only in Hollywood” type of things, Valerie Harper managed to get fired from her own show, [which nevertheless went on for four more seasons without her](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090540/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_47_act). Oh yeah, she was also in Mary Tyler Moore and Rhoda. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/66 "2023-04-17T22:06:11Z")
Speaking of [Mariette Hartley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mariette_Hartley#Personal_life) (whom I always liked), she’s had quite a productive [show business career](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0366866/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1) herself—very active in TV and film from 1958 to 2022. Hard to believe she’s now 82. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 17, 2023, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/67 "2023-04-17T23:05:12Z")
I’m not sure who the superstar is yet, but _The MTM Show_ has a remarkable number of main cast members who did a lot of seasons and episodes of successful programs (MTM herself, Ted Knight, Ed Asner, Gavin McLeod, Valerie Harper, Betty White) ---
**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:** [April 18, 2023, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/68 "2023-04-18T00:22:45Z")
Bill Bixby gets in for My Favorite Martian, The Courtship of Eddie’s Father, and The Incredible Hulk. Technically Robert Urich doesn’t qualify, having only two long-running shows. But he deserves some mention for having a lead role in (by my count) TEN different series that lasted one season or less. ---
**Author:** ![dirtball](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dirtball/32/18772_2.png) [@dirtball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dirtball)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/69 "2023-04-18T00:43:05Z")
Charlie Sheen racks up a pretty good episode count for _Spin City_, _Two and a Half Men_, and _Anger Management_. I know that technically, _Anger Management_ ran only two seasons, but the second season had **ninety freakin’ episodes** , for syndication reasons, giving the series a grand total of a hundred. I mean, that’s the equivalent of at least four normal seasons, if not more. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/70 "2023-04-18T19:12:01Z")
Since **Sam\_Stone** mentioned Bob Newhart: - The Bob Newhart Show (142 episodes) - Newhart (184 episodes) ---
**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:** [April 18, 2023, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/71 "2023-04-18T20:21:42Z")
A rare instance where someone had two shows named after themselves that both were successful. To be fair, Bill Cosby had a sitcom named after himself before The Cosby Show and it ran 50+ episodes. > **[The Bill Cosby Show](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bill_Cosby_Show)** > > The Bill Cosby Show is an American sitcom television series, that aired for two seasons on NBC's Sunday night schedule from 1969 until 1971, under the sponsorship of Procter & Gamble. There were 52 episodes made in the series. It marked Bill Cosby's first solo foray in television, after his co-starring role with Robert Culp in I Spy. > The series also marked the first time an African American starred in their own eponymous comedy series. > Cosby played the role of Chet Kincaid, a physical education... And then, he had a third one that ran almost 100 episodes that was probably his second most popular TV thing. > **[Cosby (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosby_(TV_series))** > > Cosby is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 16, 1996, to April 28, 2000. The program starred Bill Cosby (in his final series) and Phylicia Rashad, who had previously worked together in the NBC sitcom The Cosby Show (1984–1992). Madeline Kahn portrayed their neighborly friend, Pauline, until her death in 1999. The show was adapted from the British sitcom One Foot in the Grave. > Set at the corner of 33rd Ave and 1539 Blake St. Astoria in Queens, Cosby portrayed grumpy Hi... ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/72 "2023-04-18T20:26:32Z")
> [@JeffB](#): > > Since **Sam\_Stone** mentioned Bob Newhart: > > - The Bob Newhart Show (142 episodes) > - Newhart (184 episodes) Plus: - Bob (33 episodes) - George & Leo (22 episodes) - The Librarian (3 made-for-TV movies) and The Librarians (3 episodes) - The Big Bang Theory (6 episodes) and Young Sheldon (3 episodes) ---
**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:** [April 18, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/73 "2023-04-18T20:58:06Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > - Bob (33 episodes) > - George & Leo (22 episodes) > - The Librarian (3 made-for-TV movies) and The Librarians (3 episodes) > - The Big Bang Theory (6 episodes) and Young Sheldon (3 episodes) I’d call Bob and George & Leo misfires, not successes, though. ---
**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:** [April 18, 2023, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/74 "2023-04-18T21:49:41Z")
I ask for a ruling on John Forsythe. In addition to his long-running roles on Dynasty and Bachelor Father, he was also the uncredited but easily recognized voice of Charlie in 108 episodes of Charlie’s Angels. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [April 18, 2023, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/75 "2023-04-18T22:16:51Z")
I’ll allow it ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/76 "2023-04-19T03:02:49Z")
How about H. Jon Benjamin _Bob’s Burgers_ - 255 episodes _Archer_ - 135 episodes _Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist_ - 81 episodes ---
**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:** [April 19, 2023, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/77 "2023-04-19T03:05:15Z")
Aren’t all of those animated shows? The OP limited the discussion to live-action shows. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/78 "2023-04-19T03:10:54Z")
Oh, sorry, I missed that. Still, I think it’s an interesting adjunct to the discussion. There are lots of actors with two successful series, but it’s hard to find those with three. That’s true of voice actors as well as live-action. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/79 "2023-04-19T12:20:59Z")
Jackie Gleason If you don’t count his variety shows (though they were prime time and included scripted comedy sketches), Gleason may not fit all the criteria, but he was certainly a TV superstar/legend. He was also a fine movie actor (e.g. The Hustler). - Life of Riley – 26 eps - The Honeymooners – 39 eps - The Jackie Gleason Show (1952-58) – 161 eps - The Jackie Gleason Show (1966-70) – 40 eps ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725/80 "2023-04-25T20:58:30Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > He was also a fine movie actor (e.g. The Hustler). He was also a fine pool player. He was recommended for the role by Minnesota Fats, a player who was roughly the prototype for Gleason’s character, because Gleason could already play very well. He had a history as a pool hustler. Paul Newman, on the other hand, had never played a game of pool in his life before being cast. He had a pool table set up in his dining room and practiced constantly for weeks under the tutelage of Willie Mosconi, the best straight pool player ever. By the time they shot the movie, Newman had become a pretty good player. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/primetime-american-television-superstars/982725.md?page=5)