Really? Not Kelsey Grammer?
And how about The Dick Van Dyke Show?
Most successful was definitely Mary Tyler Moore.
Least successful would be Morey Amsterdam, unless you want to include Larry Mathews (Ritchie).
Fred Grandy - Congress
Is that you Alan? Anyway. You were just such a superstar and hilarious on MASH I just figured that this guy is destined to be a bigger and bigger star. But, after MASH your fame faded instead of brightened. That’s all.
Really? A major role on The West Wing (as an opposing party Senator and presidential candidate)? A middling role on 30 Rock (as the ostensible father of Jack Donoughy).
I think Brendan has some alcohol issues, though he was in a Kitchen show that got canceled quickly.
That’s a very common misconception, but as previously discussed in the thread, Leonardo Di Caprio actually wasn’t a cast member on Growing Pains. The actor you’re thinking of is Tim Reid.
He’s also a recurring character on Criminal Minds.
You may have heard of some movies he’s been in?* I, Robot*? Transformers-DotM? Wreck-it Ralph? Not starring roles (but important ones), but pretty big movies nonetheless.
Yeah, sorry about that. I did look but I missed the posts by you and Morbo that had already made the same point.
He was a regular on Babylon 5 for a few years. Aside from Grease, I can’t think of him in anything else of note.
While none of them got much camera time after LB, Macleod still earned money as a pitch man for Princess Cruise.
Smith was the mini-series queen. Too many appearances to recall.
I’d give David the nod. He’s a lead on Bones, compared to Alyson being at best a member of an ensemble. David also had a bigger role on Buffy than Alyson, at least for three seasons, until he got his own spinoff that lasted 5 seasons of its own.
In regards to American Pie, Alyson gets roughly the same amount of points as Tara Reid. I think David headlining two different network shows that both lasted at least 5 seasons makes him the clear winner.
I dunno, Sarah Michelle Gellar has done OK for herself - 2 movie series and a 2-season TV show, with a new one out soon (with Robin Williams), plus several smaller films too. Also, I see her on magazine covers much more than Hannigan, still. I think it depends on how you rate TV vs movies in terms of success.
No need to apologize, it was funny. I thought you were making a joke. 
He’s also got the most memorable role in 42, neverendlessly hating on Jackie Robinson.
You can’t just wave your hands like that. It most certainly does not trump all the rest. Sure, he’s the lead in a popular series, but other than Firefly and Castle, all he’s really done is “Two Guys and a Girl”, which was Ryan Reynolds’ show anyway.
Go look at IMDB; Adam Baldwin has over 100 acting credits to his name, Nathan Fillion has something like 65, which is the same as Alan Tudyk, and Gina Torres, and Morena Baccarin is somewhere in the 50s.
And all of them have done a lot more than what you mention; Adam Baldwin was one of the big 3 on “Chuck”, Morena Baccarin was the lead villain in a dozen or so Stargate SG-1 episodes and a movie, Gina Torres is one of the top 2-3 on “Suits” and has been in all sorts of stuff.
Like I said, “Success” really needs to be defined; people bring up a good point when they question who is the most successful from “Cheers” - many of the actors have been very successful- Woody Harrelson, Kelsey Grammer and Ted Danson all come to mind, especially if you consider pre-Cheers work. And how does a major supporting role in a big movie compare to regular on a successful TV series? That’s still undefined as well.
I thought the idea was to “measure” however subjectively success after the popular show ended.
I’d pick Baldwin too. If nothing else, sheer name recognition would give him the nod.
My contribution is That 70s Show.
Most? Mila Kunis
Least? Lisa Robin Kelly as Laurie
Does Suzanne Somers not even have a case for most?