# Series that had a cross-over, not with another series, but with reality. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 13, 2005, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822 "2005-08-13T03:32:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [August 13, 2005, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/21 "2005-08-13T14:30:52Z")
It goes way back. Dave Fleischer’s “Out of the Inkwell” cartoons had the cartoon characters interacting with reality all the time (no celebrities, though). This was in 1918, You can also credit “Gertie the Dinosaur,” usually considered the first animated cartoon. Creator Windsor McKay used to show it in his lectures, and toss a ball to Gertie. In “You Ought to Be in Pictures” (1940), Porky Pig goes to his boss Leon Schlesinger to quit his job. Schlesinger (the producer of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies) appeared live in the short. In on of **Annie Hall’s** best gags, Woody Allen pulls Marshall McLuhan out of nowhere to tell a bore that he had gotten McLuhan’s philosophy completely wrong. Allen also had Howard Cosell playing himself in **Bananas**. In a **Dr. Who** episode, “The Chase,” the Beatles are shown performing “Ticket to Ride,” which is called “classical music” by Vicki, who came from Earth’s future. Other historical figures are also shown (Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth I). H. G. Wells shows up in another episode of the series (to say which one would be a spoiler). Daniel J. Travanti once showed up as a guest of the Inn on **Newhart** as himself. Jennifer Grey played herself in **It’s Like, You Know** in a regular role. The Simpsons was filled with real people showing up in Springfield. These included Leonard Nimoy, The Who, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Spinal Tap, Paul and Linda McCartney, George Harrison, and George Bush. Similarly, Adam West has a recurring part in **Family Guy** as the mayor. Nancy Reagan showed up on **Webster**. Donald Trump shows up all over the place ( **The Little Rascals, Drew Carrey, 54, Celebrity** , etc.). Ivana Trump showed up in **The First Wives Club**. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/22 "2005-08-13T14:49:20Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > WKRP in Cincinatti aired a show about the real Who concert in Cincinatti where 16(?) people were crushed to death because the venue featured “stadium seating.” I checked in to mention that episode, but you beat me to it. I remember how devastated the characters were, since their station had helped promote the concert. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/23 "2005-08-13T15:06:13Z")
Ira Levin wrote “Rosemary’s Baby” within a certain time frame, and brought snippets of the real world into it, including the conception that took place during the Pope’s visit to New York City. The Nanny did a good job of covering “real Broadway” with several guest stars, including Elton John and his partner David. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/24 "2005-08-13T15:14:29Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Rudy Guiliani appeared in a couple episodes of _Seinfeld_ playing himself. Perhaps the best example would be _Curb Your Enthusiasm_, which has dozens of celebrities playing themselves as complete assholes. Rudy also appeared in an episode of Law and Order, playing himself. He was introducing the new DA, played by Dianne Weist, to Jack and Abby. Michael Bloomberg has also appeared on the show, but I think only in a press conference on camera. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/25 "2005-08-13T15:16:32Z")
I will also mention Stephen King writing himself into the final _Dark Tower_ book. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/26 "2005-08-13T15:25:41Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > The [Jane Austen Mysteries](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/listmania/list-browse/-/OHC5P1WZL1F6/102-4829995-8512119) feature British novelist Jane Austen as a “lady detective.” Fun stuff. Mystery stories centered on famous people seem to be quite the subgenre these days. Offhand, I know of books that feature Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Eleanor Roosevelt in the role of the detective (and with other famous historical figures making at least cameo appearances). ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/27 "2005-08-13T15:46:43Z")
> [@](#): > > Btw, Mary-Sue fan fiction counts, but I hope people would show restraint and only post example of deftly written stories, not the usual “Girl from the real world does everything perfect and seduces the leading man” crap. I once read a _Star Trek_ fan fiction story where, due to a transporter malfunction, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly were beamed off the Desilu set on to the starhip Enterprise. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/28 "2005-08-13T15:49:09Z")
There was a _Mary Tyler Moore Show_ episode where first lady Betty Ford appeared as herself. And a _Dynasty_ episode with Henry Kissinger in it. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/29 "2005-08-13T16:43:51Z")
> [@Little Nemo](#): > > I once read a _Star Trek_ fan fiction story where, due to a transporter malfunction, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelly were beamed off the Desilu set on to the starhip Enterprise. Well, it was fanfiction, but it was also offical. It was called “visit to a weird planet revisited”, and was in what I believe was one of the first authorized and licensed collection of original prose stories, “Star Trek: The New Voyages” I just read the whole thing a while ago. However, unlike me, you don’t need to track down the book. Here is a [Link](http://rec.horus.at/trek/fun/Weird.Planet.txt) to the first story in that series, and [here](http://www.nf.au.dk/~startrek/visit2) is the one you are talking about, the sequel. Also, in the same vein, [here](http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Studio/7624/alltext/Express.html) are some more stories > [@](#): > > "which feature real-life actors, directors, and other cinema personalities (if any) as characters. ". ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/30 "2005-08-13T16:50:42Z")
There was once a TV show about a governor(state unnamed) and his daughter, called “The Governor and J.J.” Several episodes featured the actual governors of state visiting the title character, long enough to walk on and shake his hand. Our Kansas governor, Robert Docking, put in a brief appearance. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/31 "2005-08-13T17:26:25Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Nancy Reagan showed up on **Webster**. That was _Diff’rent Strokes_. I guess I might be unclear on the concept of the OP. I took the question not to mean celebrity cameos. ---
**Author:** ![Khan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3ab097/32.png) [@Khan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khan)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/32 "2005-08-13T18:02:22Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Similarly, Adam West has a recurring part in **Family Guy** as the mayor. Apparently the Adam West of Quahog isn’t supposed to be the same Adam West that got typecast as Batman. ---
**Author:** ![Garfield226](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/33 "2005-08-13T18:09:21Z")
Roseanne did this a lot. They commented on the OJ trial and did several spoofs of other sitcoms (Gilligan’s Island made for a notable half-episode, with Roseanne’s stars playing parts of the Gilligan’s Island characters…then at the end of the show, over the credits, there was a scene back in Roseanne’s kitchen with the Gilligan’s Island actors portraying the corresponding characters on Roseanne. There was also a few episodes with Traci Lords playing a seductive waitress (and starring in a “porno” over the credits of one show) and one starring June Lockhart, Alley Mills, Barbara Billingsley, Pat Crowley, and Isabel Sanford as themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/34 "2005-08-13T18:14:43Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > I guess I might be unclear on the concept of the OP. I took the question not to mean celebrity cameos. Thank you for the great entries, but this is one of my pet peeves, presented here in two parts. Part the first. I love it when people post comments to my threads that are along the same vein as my OP, but not quite along the rules I asked about (Or, in your example, what you perceived me to be saying) That might not be what I thought of when I started the thread, but they are relevant, and they keep the thread going. However, I hate it when they say thing like “I am sorry if this is not in the spirit of the thread” or “I don’t know if this counts.” Part the second, it doesn’t matter how short the appearance is, if it implies that the character exist in the world of the show, or vice versa, I would think that would count as messing around with reality. For example, in one episode of The Muppet Show, Mark Hamel played himself. However, jokes abounded which assumed that he was actually Luke Skywalker. Why the confusion? Because people, Muppets included, often confuse actors for their roles? No, it was because Mark’s (Time traveling?) cousin Luke was there the same day. 😃 Oh, and can you please elaborate, **Khan**? Why would they not be the same person? (Besides the fact that one is animated) ---
**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:** [August 13, 2005, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/35 "2005-08-13T18:18:19Z")
The Last Action Hero (BTW, who is Alfred Prufrock, anyway?) ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/36 "2005-08-13T18:28:57Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > (BTW, who is Alfred Prufrock, anyway?) J. Alfred Prufrock. When I posted his name, I really had no idea. I just remembered that he was some literary character, and that his name sounded like Hitchcock. I thought it would be slightly funny to strikeout his name, and insert Hitchcock’s name, as if I confused the two when writing the OP. Now that I search, I see he was a fictional character, the protagonist of a poem entitled [The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Alfred_Prufrock) by t. s. eliot. (Sp? I seem to recall his writing his own name in lowercase.) ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/37 "2005-08-13T18:29:06Z")
Airforce chief of staff General Michael Ryan played himself on an episode of _Stargate SG1_. ---
**Author:** ![rjk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ed655f/32.png) [@rjk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjk)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/38 "2005-08-13T18:51:01Z")
> [@Thudlow Boink](#): > > Mystery stories centered on famous people seem to be quite the subgenre these days. Offhand, I know of books that feature Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Eleanor Roosevelt in the role of the detective (and with other famous historical figures making at least cameo appearances). I’m always doubtful about books starring real people, since the character has to be constrained by real life. Most of those I’ve noticed don’t work. On the other hand, I’ve read one or two of the Mark Twain ones, and they’re not bad. There are also [Humphrey Bogart](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0333647475/qid=1123958289/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-7792279-3608166?v=glance&s=books) mysteries, by his son. (I’ve seen at least two, though Amazon seems to only have the one I linked.) I’ve also seen a series by Ron Goulart featuring [Groucho Marx](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/ref=s_sf_b_as/102-7792279-3608166). He writes (and plots) much better than Junior Bogart. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/39 "2005-08-13T19:24:14Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Now that I search, I see he was a fictional character, the protagonist of a poem entitled [The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._Alfred_Prufrock) by t. s. eliot. (Sp? I seem to recall his writing his own name in lowercase.) I think the lowercase poet you’re remembering is ee cummings. ---
**Author:** ![Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otto)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/40 "2005-08-13T19:26:55Z")
OK, well, if celebrity cameos are in… Cher appeared as herself in two episodes of _Will and Grace_, once in a dream sequence and once in a bit where Jack was convinced she was a drag queen doing Cher (a view some have held since approximately 1971), leading to a Cher-off between them. _Will and Grace_ also had an ep featuring Sandra Bernhardt playing herself; she was selling her apartment and W&G were looky-loos who ended up hanging out with her. If you want to stretch this further, Barbra Streisand once appeared as herself in a “Coffee Talk with Linda Richman” segment on _Saturday Night Live_. Leslie Epstein, nephew and son of _Casablanca_ screenwriters Philip and Julius Epstein, wrote a book called “Pandaemonium.” Narrated by Peter Lorre, it features appearances from everyone from Louella Parsons to Joseph Goebels. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822.md?page=3)