# Serious actors, or non-actors, doing comedy later on… **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 8, 2022, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529 "2022-04-08T16:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**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 9, 2022, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/41 "2022-04-09T01:15:38Z")
Eventually _The Brady Bunch_ begat _The Bradys_ an hour-long drama that lasted just six epsiodes. _Hill Street Blues_ (fondly remembered drama) spun off _Beverly Hills Buntz_ (completely forgotten comedy) ---
**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:** [April 9, 2022, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/42 "2022-04-09T02:10:49Z")
Vince Vaughn started his career playing villains. He’s now moved pretty much entirely to comedy. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/43 "2022-04-09T05:41:31Z")
He was much funnier in “Gun Shy”. ---
**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 9, 2022, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/44 "2022-04-09T11:45:49Z")
McHale’s Navy was a “spinoff” of a dramatic, gritty war drama called “Seven Against the Sea” ---
**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:** [April 9, 2022, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/45 "2022-04-09T12:33:34Z")
Alex Karras would also become known to younger audiences as the dad, George Papadapolous, on the sitcom _Webster_. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/46 "2022-04-09T13:57:43Z")
Another ex-boxer who was successful at comedy was Rocky Graziano. He was frequently on talk shows like Merv Griffin and Mike Douglas in the '60s & '70s, always telling rambling stories/anecdotes. A very young Me always found him funny and my mother laughed too, so I guess he had cross-generational appeal. 🙂 Google tells me that shortly after his retirement from boxing he co-hosted a 15-minute show called The Henny and Rocky Show that followed broadcast boxing matches. Henny was Henny Youngman. I would love to have seen that one. ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/47 "2022-04-09T14:14:29Z")
Speaking of boxers and (unintentional) comedy, the inspiration for the Simpsons’ runner where Bart calls Moe’s Tavern and asks to speak to fake names (Al Caholic, Seymour Butts, etc.) is based on a couple of pranksters from the 70s who did the same thing. They would call up Louis “Red” Deutsch, the proprietor of a bar in New Jersey and (like Moe) an ex-boxer, asking to speak with gag names that Red would call out to the bar. When he caught on, Red would profusely curse out the pranksters. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/48 "2022-04-09T15:27:21Z")
The British actor Edward Woodward was famous for his roles in crime and spy thrillers such as ‘The Equalizer’ and ‘Callan’. Always the dark avenger. In later life he showed his range with a role in a sit-com about garbage collectors. ‘Common as muck’. > **[Common As Muck (TV Series 1994–1997) - IMDb](https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0108729/?ref_=m_nmfmd_act_21)** > > Common As Muck: With Neil Dudgeon, Richard Ridings, Stephen Lord, Edward Woodward. The trials and tribulations of a group of binmen brought together by their common love of their job. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/49 "2022-04-09T15:36:42Z")
Come to think of it, how about Shatner? ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/50 "2022-04-09T15:50:17Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > that was done by George McGovern Thank you for Googling this. It makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/51 "2022-04-09T15:55:18Z")
Right, on Boston Legal, Shatner and James Spader (not, I think known for many comedic roles before that) handled the show’s mix of drama and comedy pretty well. ---
**Author:** ![filmstar-en](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/50afbb/32.png) [@filmstar-en](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmstar-en)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/52 "2022-04-09T15:55:55Z")
William Shatner also had a musical string to his bow. His rendition of the Beatles hit ‘Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds’ was highly original. The listener was challenged to discern the pathos from the bathos through a kaleidoscope of beguiling psychedelia. What was he smoking? Shatner had many talents and some of them were not sufficiently hidden from the public. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/AB3uVARNhmM/hqdefault.jpg "William Shatner - Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB3uVARNhmM) ---
**Author:** ![flurb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@flurb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flurb)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/53 "2022-04-09T16:23:06Z")
Shatner’s turn hosting Saturday Night Live in 1986 was hilarious, including the infamous “get a life” sketch set at a Trek convention. ---
**Author:** ![Jay\_Z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Jay\_Z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jay_Z)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/54 "2022-04-09T16:24:25Z")
Ray Liotta has shown a flair for comedy on SNL and movies when he gets the chance. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/55 "2022-04-09T17:11:40Z")
Terry Crews started as a professional football player in the NFL, and has since gone on to a successful comedic acting and hosting career. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/56 "2022-04-09T19:47:32Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I think I remember watching one episode – it aired during my freshman and sophomore years of college, when I mostly didn’t have a TV set. I watched a little bit of the first episode of afterMASH on YouTube just out of curiosity. I got about 6 minutes in when I saw this cringeworthy exchange- the setup: Potter has a happy reunion with Mrs. Potter, but finds retired life a little boring, so he decides to do some part time practicing as a G.P. A female patient comes in… Dr. Potter: take your clothes off. Patient: can I have a nurse present? Potter (indignantly): I’ve already seen you naked! I cut your umbilical cord! Patient: but I’m a grown woman now. Potter: so what? The parts are all the same, some of them just swelled up a little! Patient: still, I’d feel more comfortable with a nurse present. Potter (shouting now): if you make me call a nurse in, I’m going to make her take her clothes off too! I mean, I know it was a different time, and part of the joke was his attitude was old fashioned even then, but wow. ---
**Author:** ![SunUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea5d25/32.png) [@SunUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SunUp)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/57 "2022-04-10T01:40:23Z")
That was a great episode. Cold open was “The Mute Marine.” They also had the lost ending to “It’s A Wonderful Life” and the Enterprise as a rotating restaurant. Even the TJ Hooker parody’s one joke hit. Plus, Lone Justice was the musical guest! ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/58 "2022-04-10T01:56:31Z")
I’d say Sidney Poitier. Primarily a dramatic actor, in the '70’s he did a number of comedies, often paired with Bill Cosby. StG ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2022, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/59 "2022-04-10T08:17:18Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > _Analyze This_ (1999) actually came before _Meet the Parents_ (2000); I think that the former was probably his first real comedic role in a major film. I think De Niro’s best comedy by a long way is _Midnight Run_ with Charles Grodin. One of my favorite movies of the 80s and one of the best buddy/road movies ever. ---
**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 10, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529/60 "2022-04-10T20:58:45Z")
I submit George C. Scott. It was more mid-career, rather than late, but his over-the-top character, General ‘Buck’ Turgidson, in the black comedy Dr. Strangelove (one of my favorite movies) is one of the funniest characters in film history, IMHO. Scott was pushed hard by Kubrick to over-act the role. The result is a brilliant comedic performance by one of Hollywood’s finest dramatic actors. I get the giggles just thinking about him! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/bZm3qBdECdw/maxresdefault.jpg "My favorite George C. Scott performance ever - Gen. 'Buck' Turgidson from Dr. Strangelove") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZm3qBdECdw) Dramatic actor Sterling Hayden was pretty damned funny as Brig. Gen. Jack D. Ripper in that movie, too. And, of course, Peter Sellers was always a stellar comedian. He played 3 characters in Strangelove (actually planned to do 4, but backed out of the 4th). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/serious-actors-or-non-actors-doing-comedy-later-on/962529.md?page=4)