Just to add … two of those guest roles were on Alfred Hitchcock Presents, a classic old series I’m rather fond of. The first was “The Glass Eye” (1957) and the second was “Mother, May I Go Out to Swim?” (1960). Despite criticism of his quirky acting in later years, I thought he was pretty good in these.
A screenshot from the first one – a very young William Shatner in 1957. Looks much closer to Captain Kirk than he does today. He first became Captain Kirk in 1966, the original series running until 1969:
I’m wondering if Ice-T has appeared in the most the most primetime episodes during the 2000’s (not counting animated shows).
He started in Law and Order SVU in 2000. Mariska Hargitay wasn’t in some episodes (I believe maternity leave).
If we consider local television superstars, then Traynor Ora Halftown must top the list. He hosted the very popular Chief Halftown Show in Philadelphia for nearly 50 years (1950 to 1999) making it “the world’s longest-running local TV children’s show.” It was a great show, and Traynor was a great guy.
Larry Ferrari, the organist on the show, lived in my neighborhood growing up. We kids loved to trick or treat at his house. It was a blast seeing him open his solid marble front door, and he handed out the best candy! Larry also had his own long-running weekly show for grownups, The Larry Ferrari Show. It ran for 43 years (from 1954 to 1997).
Sorry for the hijack, but there are just some things everyone needs to know.
Mariska Hartigay has appeared in 24 seasons (and counting) of Law & Order SVU, with 535 episodes to date.
James Arness, who played Matt Dillon in Gunsmoke, 1955-1975, appeared in 635 episodes over 20 seasons. Second place is costar Milburn Stone, who played Doc, with 605 episodes.
If the OP hadn’t specified live action, the far-and-away winners of these categories would have been the main cast of The Simpsons, with 34 seasons and counting and 749 episodes to date each for Dan Castellaneta and Harry Shearer, and a few less for the others, Nancy Cartwright, Julie Kavner, Yeardley Smith, and Hank Azaria.
BTW, here is a Wikipedia page that may help answer some of the OP’s questions.
He really has had a terrific television career. I guess he is supposed to be a pain to work with, but he must be reliable and get the job done. I mean, if everyone hated Bill Shatner, he’d never be able to find work. And yet, he has a huge amount of TV appearances.
We needs to have a special category for character actors, like Frank Cady, who played the merchant Sam Drucker in 142 episodes of Green Acres and 168 episodes of Petticoat Junction, and rounded out the trifecta with 91 episodes of The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet.
Gavin McLeod, though hardly what anyone would think of as a superstar, can claim the starring role in Love Boat, and major roles in Mary Tyler Moore and McHale’s Navy.
