# 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:** 3
**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, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/41 "2005-08-13T19:49:27Z")
I found a [review](http://epe.lac-bac.gc.ca/100/202/300/january/2000/00-10-10/groucho.html) of one of those Marx books that mentions a few more real-person-in-fiction books. ---
**Author:** ![tanstaafl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ba8739/32.png) [@tanstaafl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tanstaafl)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/42 "2005-08-13T20:58:14Z")
_The Proteus Operation_ by James Hogan had a group of time travellers who wound up working with people like Albert Einstein and Issac Asimov _Pulptime_ by James Canon featured H.P. Lovecraft and Harry Houdini working with Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watston. ---
**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:** [August 13, 2005, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/43 "2005-08-13T21:41:38Z")
> [@Otto](#): > > 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_. Since you mentioned that appearance, does anyone know if that was a surprise to Mike Myers and the other actors appearing in that sketch? Perhaps they knew she was to appear, but they acted like they didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![dangermom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e274bd/32.png) [@dangermom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dangermom)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/44 "2005-08-13T21:49:50Z")
Once upon a time, there was a show called _Midnight Caller_, about a late-night radio talk guy in San Francisco (played by Gary Cole). After the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, there was a whole show where callers told their experiences. ---
**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, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/45 "2005-08-13T22:02:54Z")
I’d say just about every science fiction time travel book where someone goes into the past, someone famous shows up at some point or another. For TV, **Quantum Leap** did a lot of these (they called them “kisses with history”). Some people Sam met included Woody Allen, Dr. Heimlich, and Michael Jackson. Later, entire plots were built around Lee Harvey Oswald (with an appearance of series producer David Belisario, who knew Oswald), Marilyn Monroe, and Elvis. Philip Jose Farmer’s **Riverworld** series allowed for the appearance of every person who ever lived. Some involved were Sir Richard Francis Burton (the explorer, not the actor), Mark Twain, King John of England, Alice Liddel Hargreaves (the inspiration for “Alice in Wonderland”), Tom Mix, Cyrano de Bergerac (who was a real person\*), Hermann Goering, and Mozart. \*In the play **Cyrano de Bergerac** , you have Cyrano interacting with d’Artagnan, who was fictional. ---
**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, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/46 "2005-08-13T22:06:33Z")
> [@Scott Plaid](#): > > Oh, and can you please elaborate, **Khan**? Why would they not be the same person? (Besides the fact that one is animated) Watching the show and recognizing the voice I always assumed that the Quahog Adam West was supposed to be the same as the actor, but then I read the snippet about him on Wikipedia. The way I remembered, it seemed like they were not meant to be the same person even though they shared the name. But when I went back to find a cite for you just now, it’s a lot more ambiguous. > [@Wikipedia](#): > > Adam West – Mayor of Quahog. He is extremely incompetent, and eccentric, with hints of delusional mental illness. He is married to his own hand. (see Adam West for information on the real life actor, also named Adam West, who does the mayor’s voice). He is a man who loves his taffy, and hates baseball cards. I suppose I just filled in the blanks myself. They just portray him as a lunatic in the show, and don’t make any mention to Batman or his acting career. I always assumed they would have considering how that’s always the butt of so many jokes. Perhaps Adam West is meant to portray himself after all? ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/47 "2005-08-13T22:09:03Z")
> [@Dewey Finn](#): > > Since you mentioned that appearance, does anyone know if that was a surprise to Mike Myers and the other actors appearing in that sketch? Perhaps they knew she was to appear, but they acted like they didn’t. I recall hearing that both Myers and Madonna (it WAS Madonna, right?) were surprised by her appearance. As far as the OP goes, though, I’ll give a mention to the movie _Spaceballs_, which had the Bad Guys[sup]tm[/sup] capture the stunt doubles of the Good Guys[sup]tm[/sup], and the villains looking at a copy of the movie they’re in in order to locate where the heroes are. ---
**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, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/48 "2005-08-13T22:57:19Z")
> [@Khan](#): > > They just portray him as a lunatic in the show, and don’t make any mention to Batman or his acting career. There is the ep in which the Griffins gain super-powers. At the town meeting West says something to the effect of he’s dealt with super-powered types before. Of course this was in a What If-type of episode so that reference may not be considered to count. ---
**Author:** ![monospectacular](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@monospectacular](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monospectacular)\ **Post date:** [August 13, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/49 "2005-08-13T23:42:49Z")
Don’t know if this is what you were thinking about, but **Curb Your Enthusiasm** crossed over into reality when clips of a showed taped at Dodgers Satdium helped free a man accused of murder. [http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?040607ta\_talk\_toobin](http://www.newyorker.com/talk/content/?040607ta_talk_toobin) [http://talkleft.com/new\_archives/006754.html](http://talkleft.com/new_archives/006754.html) ---
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/50 "2005-08-14T00:32:27Z")
I always thought Adam West’s presence in Family Guy was meant to be a reference/spoof on Clint Eastwood’s having been mayor of Carmel. If it’s not the same Adam West, there’s no joke. ---
**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/51 "2005-08-14T10:18:01Z")
Fredrick Forsythe blended fact and fiction with grace and style in his novel [“The Fist of God”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553572423/qid=1124014347/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4651311-0297456?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) . There were several real life characters, such as [Gerald Bull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Bull) and [this mofo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein). Quite an entertaining read. ---
**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 14, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/52 "2005-08-14T11:25:35Z")
> [@pinkfreud](#): > > I think the lowercase poet you’re remembering is ee cummings. You are quite right. What’s more, it seems that it (the lack of capital letters) was [all a hoax](http://www.gvsu.edu/english/cummings/caps.htm), perpetuated by his publishers. Oh yes, and by the way, like many series, Doctor Who was suppose to take place in the real world. One novelist decided to tell of the events of the show from the perspective of an outsider, to show “how the events seen on-screen in Doctor Who would be perceived by the rest of the world.” It has since gone out of print, but is now available on his homepage. Needless to say, it integrates real people into the plot. [Who killed Kennedy](http://nzdwfc.tetrap.com/archive/wkk/) ---
**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 14, 2005, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/53 "2005-08-14T11:47:28Z")
I was just looking for examples of someone [taking the backing track to a song and putting new lyrics over it](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=330036) , and I came across a parody of the poem I referenced in the OP. It is entitled [The Love Song of J. Random Hacker](http://www.duntemann.com/lovesong.htm) by [Jeff Duntemann](http://www.duntemann.com). Very funny! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/54 "2005-08-14T12:02:21Z")
> [@Captain Amazing](#): > > There was an episode of The Honeymooners where Ralph tried to meet Jackie Gleason. The first thing that I thought of on reading the OP. But I recall that the cast did meet Art Carney and Norton saw Jackie Gleason get into an elevator. They also commented on themselves: Norton: “That Jackie Gleason sure is fat.” Kramden: “Well, Art Carney’s putting on a few pounds too.” They also argued about whether Gleason or Carney were the funniest ones on the Jackie Gleason Show. They decided to ask a stranger, who said “I wouldn’t know. I watch Perry Como.” ---
**Author:** ![ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ComeToTheDarkSideWeHaveCookies)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/55 "2005-08-14T14:28:39Z")
In [Ocean’s Twelve](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349903/) Julia Roberts’ Tess Ocean character is used as a decoy during a heist because she looks so much like Julia Roberts. Bruce Willis (playing himself) bumps into the “fake” Julia at a hotel, causing all sorts of complications. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/56 "2005-08-14T14:34:30Z")
On an episode of “Mork and Mindy”, Mindy got an interview with Robin Williams. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [August 14, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/57 "2005-08-14T20:11:54Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > Michael Dukakis had a cameo on _St. Elsewhere_ when he was governor of Massachusetts. > > I can’t believe no one’s brought up _Murphy Brown_’s scolding of Dan Quayle after the vice president scolded the show for featuring an unwed mother. I thought the producers’ response was wonderful. Rather than taking it to the real-world media and public opinion, they chose to frame their response within the context of the “FYI” show, where Murphy Brown the character answered Quayle’s real-world charges. To me, this response was gentler and less polarizing than keeping it in the real world. > > Robin And didn’t Rush Limbaugh appear as himself? ---
**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 16, 2005, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/58 "2005-08-16T13:13:20Z")
> [@DWMarch](#): > > Fredrick Forsythe blended fact and fiction with grace and style in his novel [“The Fist of God”](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0553572423/qid=1124014347/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-4651311-0297456?v=glance&s=books&n=507846) . There were several real life characters, such as [Gerald Bull](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerald_Bull) and [this mofo](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saddam_Hussein). Quite an entertaining read. Forsythe’s “The Phantom of Manhattan” is an absolutely dreadful book that is in no way true to the original, and I would not recommend it to anyone (I paid a quarter for it at the library, and I was overcharged!) BUT it does include some interesting 19th century history, including a visit from Teddy Roosevelt. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/59 "2005-08-16T17:18:50Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Tip O’Neil played himself on _Cheers_. So did Luis Tiant, Dick Cavett, Robert Urich, Wade Boggs, Alex Trebek, Arsenio Hall, Michael Dukakis, John Kerry, Johnny Carson, Mike Ditka, and George “Spanky” McFarland. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2005, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822/60 "2005-08-16T17:35:34Z")
A guy from Cleveland named Drew Carey created and starred as Drew Carey in the fictional _The Drew Carey Show_, about a guy from Cleveland. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/series-that-had-a-cross-over-not-with-another-series-but-with-reality/316822.md?page=4)