# Sitcom characters based on other characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479 "2009-06-30T14:55:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/1 "2009-06-30T14:55:07Z")
I was watching clips from “The Honeymooners” last night and it struck me that George Costanza (Jason Alexander’s character from “Seinfeld”) has some mannerisms borrowed from Ralph Kramden – mainly, he gets mad kind of like the way Ralph gets mad. So now I’m wondering about other examples of an actor in a sitcom borrowing bits from some other character. I think Alan Alda’s Hawkeye in “M_A_S\*H” had some Groucho Marx in him… any other examples? (Note: I would suggest that we avoid getting into animated characters. Og knows that five-eighths of Hanna-Barbera’s characters were based directly on live actors.) ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/2 "2009-06-30T15:33:33Z")
Jason Alexander supposedly went for a straight up Woody Allen knock-off when auditioning for the part of George (granted Woody is a real person, but I’d argue he’s also a fictional movie character). ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/3 "2009-06-30T15:38:20Z")
Kelsey Grammar has said that a lot of his Fraser mannerisms are steals from Jack Benny. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/4 "2009-06-30T16:01:20Z")
I remember reading an interview with Carroll O’Connor in which he said he had based a lot of his mannerisms on Jackie Gleason. This was many years ago, so I have no cite. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Prize](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d2c977/32.png) [@Sir\_Prize](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Prize)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/5 "2009-06-30T21:04:36Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > I remember reading an interview with Carroll O’Connor in which he said he had based a lot of his mannerisms on Jackie Gleason. This was many years ago, so I have no cite. This made me think of both men waving around a cigar. I can see the connection. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/6 "2009-06-30T21:31:33Z")
> [@Sir\_Prize](#): > > This made me think of both men waving around a cigar. I can see the connection. My dad always said that there were a lot of similarities in their facial expressions. But I didn’t watch the Honeymooners and to be honest, don’t really remember All In The Family that well, so I couldn’t say. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2009, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/7 "2009-06-30T22:05:01Z")
Well, almost every character on “The Dick Van Dyke Show” was based on real people who worked on “Your Show of Shows.” Rob Petrie = Carl Reiner Alan Brady = Sid Caesar Sally Rogers = Selma Diamond Buddy Sorrell = Mel Brooks ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/8 "2009-07-01T00:57:10Z")
**The Closer** isn’t exactly a sitcom (though it certainly has its lighter moments), but it’s pretty rooted in **Barney Miller**. Lt. Provenza seems to channel Abe Vigoda/Fish in a lot of respects, like being the dead weight guy counting the days until retirement. I like how all the **Closer** actors are veterans of other cop shows. Also: Wojo–Sanchez Harris–Gabriel Dietrich–Flynn Yemena–Tao ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/9 "2009-07-01T01:56:26Z")
_whoops, didn’t read the OP carefully enough_ ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/10 "2009-07-01T05:02:36Z")
> [@Krokodil](#): > > **The Closer** isn’t exactly a sitcom (though it certainly has its lighter moments), but it’s pretty rooted in **Barney Miller**. Lt. Provenza seems to channel Abe Vigoda/Fish in a lot of respects, like being the dead weight guy counting the days until retirement. I like how all the **Closer** actors are veterans of other cop shows. Also: > Wojo–Sanchez > Harris–Gabriel > Dietrich–Flynn > Yemena–Tao I think this is an incredible stretch–two of those pairings have nothing in common except ethnicity, and Dietrich (geeky, by-the-book newbie) and Flynn (worldly, rule-breaking veteran) couldn’t be farther apart. Wojo and Sanchez are the closest in that they’re both quasi-lunkheads who act before they think, but Provenze isn’t a tenth of the sad sack Fish was. ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/11 "2009-07-01T05:30:49Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I think this is an incredible stretch–two of those pairings have nothing in common except ethnicity, and Dietrich (geeky, by-the-book newbie) and Flynn (worldly, rule-breaking veteran) couldn’t be farther apart. Wojo and Sanchez are the closest in that they’re both quasi-lunkheads who act before they think, but Provenze isn’t a tenth of the sad sack Fish was. Harris and Gabrial are both the flashy clothes horses of their respective shows. Yemena and Tao are both pretty low-key. I think they’re fair comparisons. I’d love to see a remake of **Barney Miller** , maybe with Dennis Farina in the title role. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/12 "2009-07-01T05:51:25Z")
Gil on the Simpsons originally was a spoof of the Jack Lemmon character in Glengarry Glen Ross, but he ended up being a fairly long running character. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/13 "2009-07-01T06:01:27Z")
Gregory House is kinda-sorta based on Sherlock Holmes. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/14 "2009-07-01T09:07:12Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Jason Alexander supposedly went for a straight up Woody Allen knock-off when auditioning for the part of George (granted Woody is a real person, but I’d argue he’s also a fictional movie character). The actual character, of course, is based on Larry David. ---
**Author:** ![Sr\_Siete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6de8d8/32.png) [@Sr\_Siete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sr_Siete)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/15 "2009-07-01T09:28:52Z")
Barney, from _How I met your mother_ came straight from Neil Patrick Harris’ character (or parody of himself) in _Harold & Kumar_. ---
**Author:** ![Sean\_Factotum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sean\_Factotum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sean_Factotum)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/16 "2009-07-01T12:30:51Z")
> [@Sr\_Siete](#): > > Barney, from _How I met your mother_ came straight from Neil Patrick Harris’ character (or parody of himself) in _Harold & Kumar_. Not according to interviews and DVD extras. Barney’s character is based on someone that Carter Bays and Craig Thomas (the creators of the show) know. Harris might have made it his own after all this time, but not as originally conceived. Harris has even met the guy. ---
**Author:** ![Claire\_Beauchamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ec9cab/32.png) [@Claire\_Beauchamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claire_Beauchamp)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/17 "2009-07-01T15:14:59Z")
> [@ArchiveGuy](#): > > I think this is an incredible stretch–two of those pairings have nothing in common except ethnicity, and Dietrich (geeky, by-the-book newbie) and Flynn (worldly, rule-breaking veteran) couldn’t be farther apart. Wojo and Sanchez are the closest in that they’re both quasi-lunkheads who act before they think, but Provenze isn’t a tenth of the sad sack Fish was. Agree. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/18 "2009-07-01T20:08:56Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Gregory House is kinda-sorta based on Sherlock Holmes. :smack: Except _House_ is not a sitcom. Ok, how about Herman Munster being based on Frankenstein? ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [July 1, 2009, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcom-characters-based-on-other-characters/501479/19 "2009-07-01T20:09:49Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > Gil on the Simpsons originally was a spoof of the Jack Lemmon character in Glengarry Glen Ross, but he ended up being a fairly long running character. Oops, no animated guys. :smack: