# Same (regular) actor in two different series running concurrently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 22, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660 "2006-02-22T18:33:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/1 "2006-02-22T18:33:09Z")
Currie Graham is Mark on House and Lynnette’s boss on Desperate Housewives. It causes a bit of a disconnect seeing the same guy on two shows at the same time. It’s like he’s leading separate lives or something. In one show he’s healthy and in the other he’s in a wheelchair. Is this unusual? Actors being regulars on concurrent shows? I can’t think of any others, and if I was in charge of casting, I’d want to avoid it. What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/2 "2006-02-22T18:45:24Z")
**The Closer** ’s Chief Pope looks awfully similar to Dr. Emil Skoda in New York, in the **Law and Order** franchise shows. And he was in that role when he played Vern Schillinger in **Oz**. Actually, **Oz** had a number of Law and Order:SVU vets: Chris Meloni and B.D. Wong were doing their time in Oz, so to speak, while simultaneously fighting crime at SVU. ---
**Author:** ![ddgryphon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8c91f0/32.png) [@ddgryphon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ddgryphon)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/3 "2006-02-22T18:46:40Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Currie Graham is Mark on House and Lynnette’s boss on Desperate Housewives. It causes a bit of a disconnect seeing the same guy on two shows at the same time. It’s like he’s leading separate lives or something. In one show he’s healthy and in the other he’s in a wheelchair. > > Is this unusual? Actors being regulars on concurrent shows? I can’t think of any others, and if I was in charge of casting, I’d want to avoid it. What do you think? Heather Locklear was the first to do it as a regular cast member of two series: She was on “Dynasty” and “TJ Hooker” simultaneously. I remember reading how unusual it was thought at the time. If schedules allow, I don’t see how it isn’t doable from an acting standpoint (if both roles aren’t major). Lisa Kudrow was of course her twin sister Ursella on “Mad About You” as well as Phoebe on “Friends.” I’m sure there are a few other examples, but they don’t come immediately to mind. ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/4 "2006-02-22T18:49:59Z")
IIRC, William Daniels was Dr. Craig on _St. Elsewhere_ and the voice of KITT on _Knightrider_ at the same time. Would that count even if the one role was strictly voice-work? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/5 "2006-02-22T19:12:56Z")
Mark Valley plays one of the lawyers on _Boston Legal_ and I’ve seen promos for another series he’s either already in or will be once the series starts. Can’t remember the name of the new series. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/6 "2006-02-22T19:24:08Z")
Wayne Knight was on Seinfeld and Third Rock at the same time, but he wasn’t a regular cast member on either show. ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/7 "2006-02-22T19:35:31Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Currie Graham is Mark on House and Lynnette’s boss on Desperate Housewives. It causes a bit of a disconnect seeing the same guy on two shows at the same time. It’s like he’s leading separate lives or something. In one show he’s healthy and in the other he’s in a wheelchair. > > Is this unusual? Actors being regulars on concurrent shows? I can’t think of any others, and if I was in charge of casting, I’d want to avoid it. What do you think? What’s probably as troubling to me is to see an actor I’ve associated with a particular character show up as an almost similar character in other shows (or movies). The most disturbing instance I can think of involves Tony Sirico who plays Paulie Walnuts on _The Sopranos_. Years (it seems) before I saw the first episode of _The Sopranos_ I saw a movie called (I think) _The Big Bang_ which was presented as though it were a documentary. Sirico was identified as “The Gangster” and his “character” was presented as a real life hoodlum, mobbed-up and having served some prison time. When I recognized Sirico in _The Sopranos_ I did enough searching first to be sure it was the same guy and that Sirico had actually done some time. So that movie wasn’t a total sham, but the character he “played” in the movie was obviously more scripted than just having Sirico tell yarns from his own life. That’s beyond “type casting” I should think. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/8 "2006-02-22T19:36:31Z")
I’d say Wayne Knight would qualify as a “regular”, just not a star, of both shows. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/9 "2006-02-22T20:02:03Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I’d say Wayne Knight would qualify as a “regular”, just not a star, of both shows. He was in 46 of about 216 episodes of Seinfeld. Does that qualify as regular? Technically, I suppose it depends on his contract, which I know nothing about. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/10 "2006-02-22T20:02:12Z")
[My previous thread on this topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=330061) ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/11 "2006-02-22T20:57:35Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > He was in 46 of about 216 episodes of Seinfeld. Does that qualify as regular? Technically, I suppose it depends on his contract, which I know nothing about. I guess it depends on the definition of regular. I always thought of regular as someone who appears on a regular basis, but not every episode. I would say in the last few seasons, while he was on Third Rock, he went from being a recurring character to a regular. In the final season, he was in 10 of the 22 episodes. The the penultimate season, he was in 7 of 22. Same as the season before that. ---
**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 22, 2006, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/12 "2006-02-22T21:31:33Z")
I think **Nancy Walker** on “Rhoda” and “Blansky’s Beauties” (both overlapping in 1977) predates Heather Locklear as having two simultaneous roles. > **[Nancy Walker - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908055/)** > > Nancy Walker, Actress: Rhoda. They say big things often come in small packages, and never was that saying more true than when sizing up the talents of that diminutive dynamo Nancy Walker. Born Anna Myrtle Swoyer in Philadelphia on May 10, 1922, she... ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/13 "2006-02-22T21:42:18Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > [My previous thread on this topic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=330061) And it wasn’t that long ago. I should have remembered. :wally me. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/14 "2006-02-22T21:42:23Z")
> [@middleman](#): > > I guess it depends on the definition of regular. I always thought of regular as someone who appears on a regular basis, but not every episode. Personally, I think of a regular as someone who is in every episode, with rare exceptions. In this, Seinfeld has only four. But I wonder if there’s some legal or industry definition for it. It would be interesting to know the difference between Knight’s contract and, say, Jason Alexander’s. And Danny Woodburn’s. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/15 "2006-02-22T21:57:35Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > I think **Nancy Walker** on “Rhoda” and “Blansky’s Beauties” (both overlapping in 1977) predates Heather Locklear as having two simultaneous roles. > > [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908055/](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0908055/) And Richard Anderson beat 'em both by doing double duty on “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” as early as 1976. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/16 "2006-02-22T22:03:20Z")
If you go to **Otto** ’s thread, you’ll see that it has been going on since around 1950, so Heather, Nancy and Richard are really late-comers to doing double duty. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![Odinoneeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/97f17d/32.png) [@Odinoneeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odinoneeye)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/17 "2006-02-22T23:28:51Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > And Richard Anderson beat 'em both by doing double duty on “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” as early as 1976. > > Sir Rhosis The interesting thing about this one is that he played the same character, but on two different networks. (Six Million Dollar Man on ABC and Bionic Woman on NBC) ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/18 "2006-02-22T23:52:01Z")
^^^If memory serves, Bionic Woman started on ABC, then went to NBC for seasons two and three, or was it the other way 'round. Sir Rhosis ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/19 "2006-02-23T00:00:16Z")
> [@Sir Rhosis](#): > > And Richard Anderson beat 'em both by doing double duty on “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “The Bionic Woman” as early as 1976. > > Sir Rhosis And he was beaten by Jim Backus (“Gilligan’s Island” and “The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo,” both in 1964-65, and for part of the season, both in the same time slot), and Goldie Hawn (“Good Morning World” and “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” for a time in early 1968). Bea Benederet was in “The Flintstones” and “Petticoat Junction” for a year in 1963. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2006, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660/20 "2006-02-23T00:39:36Z")
The bald black dude that was on Spin City and Arliss. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/same-regular-actor-in-two-different-series-running-concurrently/345660.md?page=2)