# Sitcoms named after the actor but not the character **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416 "2009-02-11T20:07:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**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:** [February 11, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/1 "2009-02-11T20:07:51Z")
The thread about greatest sitcom characters got me thinking about this. Bob Newhart’s character in “The Bob Newhart Show” is Bob Hartley. His character in “Newhart” is Dick Louden. Presumably this is done to use the public’s general familiarity with an actor in order to draw an audience. So the show is named after the actor, but the character has a different name. Other examples off the top of my head: The Andy Griffith Show The Dick Van Dyke Show The Mary Tyler Moore Show Something like “Seinfeld” doesn’t count because he used his real name for his ‘character’ in the show. “Roseanne” doesn’t count because her character’s first name was Roseanne, even though their last names differ. Variety and talk shows don’t count either. Dramas could count, but I can’t think of any that fit. What are some other examples? Was this a trend in the past that has gone away? I can’t think of any more recent examples than Newhart, but I’m sure I’m missing something. ---
**Author:** ![middleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9a140/32.png) [@middleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/middleman)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/2 "2009-02-11T20:20:41Z")
Cosby Show. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Ashtar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ea924/32.png) [@Lord\_Ashtar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Ashtar)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/3 "2009-02-11T20:23:22Z")
Which one? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/4 "2009-02-11T20:23:55Z")
By your “same first names” criteria, _The Mary Tyler Moore_ show doesn’t count, either, since the character was Mary Richards. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2009, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/5 "2009-02-11T20:25:13Z")
Ahh, yes! They were the Huxtables in that show. He also later did “Cosby” with a differently named character. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/6 "2009-02-11T20:27:18Z")
The Danny Thomas Show The Donna Reed Show The Phil Silvers Show Everybody Loves Raymond The Cosby Show ---
**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:** [February 11, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/7 "2009-02-11T20:30:00Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > By your “same first names” criteria, _The Mary Tyler Moore_ show doesn’t count, either, since the character was Mary Richards. No–it’s okay if their first names are the same as long as their full names are not. “Mary Tyler Moore” could not possibly be named after the character Mary Richards, but “Roseanne” could be named after the character Roseanne Conner rather than the actress Roseanne Barr. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/8 "2009-02-11T20:30:50Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > No–it’s okay if their first names are the same as long as their full names are not. > > “Mary Tyler Moore” could not possibly be named after the character Mary Richards, but “Roseanne” could be named after the character Roseanne Conner rather than the actress Roseanne Barr. Ah…understanding dawns. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/9 "2009-02-11T20:32:18Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Everybody Loves Raymond Doesn’t count. Raymond could refer to the character Raymond Barone or the actor Ray Romano. ---
**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:** [February 11, 2009, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/10 "2009-02-11T20:34:18Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Everybody Loves Raymond Not this one, because the “Raymond” in the title could refer to the character Raymond Barone in the show. ---
**Author:** ![h.sapiens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e0b2c6/32.png) [@h.sapiens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/h.sapiens)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/11 "2009-02-11T20:35:04Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Ahh, yes! They were the Huxtables in that show. He also later did “Cosby” with a differently named character. In Bill Cosby’s first self-named show, “The Bill Cosby Show”, he played Chet Kincaid. In “The Cosby Show”, he played Cliff Huxtable. In “Cosby”, he played Hilton Lucas. So he has 3 that qualify. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/12 "2009-02-11T20:36:23Z")
[The Weber Show (aka Cursed)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cursed_(TV_series)) > [@](#): > > The show is notable for having an abrupt title change in the middle of its one season. The initial premise was that its protagonist (Weber) had been cursed by an ex-girlfriend and thus constantly encountered bad luck. The show failed to find an audience, and so midway through the season the entire “bad luck” angle was abruptly dropped. The show was revamped as a more traditional sitcom and renamed The Weber Show. In spite of the change (or perhaps because of it), the show still struggled and was cancelled at the end of the season. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/13 "2009-02-11T20:39:30Z")
The other ones I can think of besides your examples are: _The Danny Thomas Show_ - character name Danny Williams (it was later titled _Make Room for Daddy_ when the plotlines changed) _The Bill Cosby Show_ - character name Chet Kinkaid (not to be confused with _The Cosby Show_ - character name Cliff Huxtable) _The Bill Engvall Show_ - character name Bill Pearson (still airing) I think Jeff Foxworthy’s show meets the criteria you’ve laid out, but I can’t remember offhand. I don’t know why they stopped doing this (or do it so rarely anymore), but it’s probably a marketing thing. You could probably find a bunch Wiki-surfing American sitcoms. ---
**Author:** ![Meltdown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Meltdown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meltdown)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/14 "2009-02-11T20:39:35Z")
[The Michael Richards Show](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0247113/) ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/15 "2009-02-11T20:40:35Z")
Poking around using “The x Show” as the key to find possibilities (got bored after getting through the Bs): _The Ann Southern Show_ (1958-1962). Character name was Katy O’Connor. _The Betty Hutton Show_ (1959-1960). Character name was Goldie Appleby. _The Betty White Show_ (1977-1978). Character name was Joyce Whitman. _The Bill Dana Show_ (1963-1965). Character name was Jose Jimenez. _The Bill Engvall Show_ (2006- ). Character name is Bill Pearson. _The Bob Cummings Show_ (1955-1959). Character name was Bob Collins. _The Bonnie Hunt Show_ (1995-1996). Character name was Bonnie Kelly. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/16 "2009-02-11T20:43:30Z")
\*The Doris Day Show \*(1968-1973). Character name was Doris Martin. \*The Eve Arden Show \*(1957-1958). Character name was Liza Hammond. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/17 "2009-02-11T20:43:33Z")
[_The John Larroquette Show_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_John_Larroquette_Show) – Character name was John Hemingway. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/18 "2009-02-11T20:52:33Z")
\*The Jean Arthur Show \*(1966). Character name was Patricia Marshall. ---
**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 11, 2009, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/19 "2009-02-11T20:59:49Z")
> [@Tangent](#): > > Bob Newhart’s character in “The Bob Newhart Show” is Bob Hartley. > His character in “Newhart” is Dick Louden. And in **Bob** , he was Bob McKay. In **The Gale Storm Show,** Gale Storm played Susanna Pomeroy (the show was renamed **Oh, Susanna!** in syndication. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2009, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416/20 "2009-02-11T21:08:20Z")
Does _The Larry Sanders Show_ count? Edit: no, no it does not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sitcoms-named-after-the-actor-but-not-the-character/485416.md?page=2)