# Strange actor cameos **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 16, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411 "2010-12-16T20:01:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/41 "2010-12-17T03:08:48Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > Christian Slater was in Star Trek 6 as a crew member Wow, I can’t believe no one mentioned this before. 😉 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/42 "2010-12-17T03:10:07Z")
George Clooney voicing Sparky the Gay Dog in an early episode of South Park. All he did was pant, growl, and bark. ---
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/43 "2010-12-17T05:14:06Z")
**Gandhi** - Candace Bergen’s photographer character is being driven to meet the famous guru in a jeep by a soldier played by John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin on “Cheers.”) The most jarring part of this cameo is that Ratzenbergers’ lines are clearly overdubbed by another actor. I guess the director thought he would never amount to anything as an actor and therefore nobody would notice that it wasn’t his speaking voice. It’s jarring to say the least. **the King of Kings** - Cecil B. DeMille’s story of Christ. One of the un-credited extras playing an adoring disciples of Christ was none other than Ayn Rand, an avowed athiest. **Sesame Street** - the old “Jazzy Number” animated bits (“One Two Three Four Five SixSevenEight Niiiiiine Tennnn…”), the scat singing was performed by counterculture rock star Grace Slick. **Klute** - Late in the film, sassy streetwalker Bree Daniels (Jane Fonda) drops in on one of her regular Johns’ office. The receptionist at the desk is Jean Stapleton - Edith “Dingbat” Bunker from **All In the Family**. ---
**Author:** ![Obeseus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/bbce88/32.png) [@Obeseus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Obeseus)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/44 "2010-12-17T05:30:26Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > _Airplane!_ is a pretty direct remake/ripoff of _Zero Hour_ (watch it sometime; whole patches of dialog are lifted intact from the original). The makers of Airplane! purchased the film rights to Zero Hour. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/45 "2010-12-17T11:09:30Z")
Pat Nixon (as in Mrs Richard Milhous Nixon) worked as an extra in movies like “Becky Sharp” and “The Great Ziegfield” > **[Pat Nixon | Early life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Nixon#Early_life)** > > Thelma Catherine Ryan was born in 1912 in the small mining town of Ely, Nevada. Her father, William M. Ryan Sr., was a sailor, gold miner, and truck farmer of Irish ancestry; her mother, Katherine Halberstadt, was a German immigrant. The nickname "Pat" was given to her by her father, because of her birth on the day before Saint Patrick's Day and her Irish ancestry. When she enrolled in college in 1931 she started using the name "Pat" (and occasionally "Patricia") instead of "Thelma" but After he... ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/46 "2010-12-17T14:03:05Z")
Robin Williams as John Jacob Jingleheimer Schmidt in _To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar_. A few lines, a couple of moments on screen, and that was it. And Harrison Ford in _Apocalypse Now_, in the dinner scene where Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) gets his orders to terminate with extreme prejudice. At that point, Ford had already made the original _Star Wars_ and _American Graffiti_, and while he had yet to play some of his greatest roles, I’d guess that he was still well-enough known that his two minutes and brief dialog deserve a “huh?” ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/47 "2010-12-17T14:12:14Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > **Gandhi** - Candace Bergen’s photographer character is being driven to meet the famous guru in a jeep by a soldier played by John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin on “Cheers.”) The most jarring part of this cameo is that Ratzenbergers’ lines are clearly overdubbed by another actor. I guess the director thought he would never amount to anything as an actor and therefore nobody would notice that it wasn’t his speaking voice. It’s jarring to say the least. Ratzenberger also appears (and is dubbed by someone else) in _The Empire Strikes Back_ two years earlier (he’s a Rebel officer on Hoth). ---
**Author:** ![Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a88e57/32.png) [@Fried\_Dough\_Ho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fried_Dough_Ho)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/48 "2010-12-17T14:15:43Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > **Gandhi** - Candace Bergen’s photographer character is being driven to meet the famous guru in a jeep by a soldier played by John Ratzenberger (Cliff Clavin on “Cheers.”) The most jarring part of this cameo is that Ratzenbergers’ lines are clearly overdubbed by another actor. I guess the director thought he would never amount to anything as an actor and therefore nobody would notice that it wasn’t his speaking voice. It’s jarring to say the least. That is hardly a cameo. A cameo is a small bit by someone who is already famous. At this point, Ratzenberger was barely a bit actor. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/49 "2010-12-17T14:41:14Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > He wasn’t a famous actor, but Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s role in _Airplane!_ always strikes me as an odd decision for the famously shy, hermit-like basketball player. He was also going to be in Game of Death with Bruce Lee about the time. ---
**Author:** ![HenryGale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b782af/32.png) [@HenryGale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HenryGale)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/50 "2010-12-17T15:13:06Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Cate Blanchett in **Hot Fuzz**. Not only is she uncredited, but you don’t even see her face. In the same movie and also unrecognizable is Peter Jackson, as a deranged Father Christmas who stabs Simon Pegg. Probably 2 seconds of screen time. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/51 "2010-12-17T17:15:28Z")
I always think it’s Shemp Howard driving the elevated train that’s attacked by Kong in the original. I know it isn’t, but it sure looks like him. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/52 "2010-12-17T17:44:05Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > And Harrison Ford in _Apocalypse Now_, in the dinner scene where Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) gets his orders to terminate with extreme prejudice. At that point, Ford had already made the original _Star Wars_ and _American Graffiti_, and while he had yet to play some of his greatest roles, I’d guess that he was still well-enough known that his two minutes and brief dialog deserve a “huh?” Ford probably filmed his scenes for Apocalypse Now before Star Wars came out, and his role in American Graffiti was not that big. Ford also had a small role in The Conversation, another excellent Coppola movie. ---
**Author:** ![realmojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b3f665/32.png) [@realmojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/realmojo)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/53 "2010-12-17T17:48:56Z")
Matt Damon is the cameo king of his generation. My favorite is his off camera appearance on Law and Order: Criminal Intent: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629593/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629593/trivia) ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/54 "2010-12-17T18:25:04Z")
> [@realmojo](#): > > Matt Damon is the cameo king of his generation. My favorite is his off camera appearance on Law and Order: Criminal Intent: [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629593/trivia](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0629593/trivia) Damon and Brad Pitt had non-speaking cameos as _Dating Game_ contestants in _Confessions of a Dangerous Mind_ (which _Ocean’s 11_ co-star George Clooney directed and played a supporting role in). Kurt Vonnegut had a non-speaking “Old man on the street” cameo in the very good film of _Mother Night_ and as a director in the absolutely unwatchable film of _Breakfast of Champions_, though he spoke in a five second cameo in _Back to School_ in which Rodney Dangerfield’s character hires him to write an essay on _Slaughterhouse 5_ (which IIRC gets a C). ---
**Author:** ![Rattlehead02](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rattlehead02/32/3944_2.png) [@Rattlehead02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rattlehead02)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/55 "2010-12-17T19:02:17Z")
Jimmy Fallon was in **Band of Brothers** playing a supply officer or some such. Not sure if he was already in SNL at the time or not though, so it may not count. ---
**Author:** ![Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/intergalactic_gladiator/32/112_2.png) [@Intergalactic\_Gladiator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intergalactic_Gladiator)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/56 "2010-12-17T19:19:11Z")
> [@GildedLily](#): > > Jimmy Fallon was in **Band of Brothers** playing a supply officer or some such. Not sure if he was already in SNL at the time or not though, so it may not count. Simon Pegg was as well. I thought it was funny to see him playing an American First Sergeant but I didn’t see the series until after he became popular from Shaun of the Dead and beyond. I assume he got the role because they were filming in England or somewhere thereabouts. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/57 "2010-12-17T20:02:30Z")
If animation counts, George Clooney was the voice of a gay dog on _South Park_ and Liz Taylor said one word (“Dada”) as the voice of Maggie on _The Simpsons_. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/58 "2010-12-17T20:22:24Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > I always think it’s Shemp Howard driving the elevated train that’s attacked by Kong in the original. I know it isn’t, but it sure looks like him. Curly Howard left the act in 1946 due to his stroke but made a cameo one year later in Hold That Lion. It has two distinctions: it’s the only scene in which all three Howard/Horowitz brothers appeared together and the only one in which Curly had a full head of hair. He was seated in the cameo due to stroke related mobility problems. ([Youtube of cameo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOEaId5hkx4).) ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/59 "2010-12-17T20:51:22Z")
\*\*Kevin Bacon \*\*has a cameo in _ **Planes, Trains, and Automob** _iles as the guy racing \*\*Steve Martin \*\*for a cab at the beginning of the movie. He was already pretty well-known at that point (\*\*\*Footloose \*\*\*was 3 years earlier). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411/60 "2010-12-17T20:53:15Z")
Brad Pitt also played a reformed nerd who hated the Jennifer Aniston (his wife at the time) character Rachel in a single episode of _Friends_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-actor-cameos/564411.md?page=4)