# TV characters who later appeared on a different show **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 16, 2018, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062 "2018-10-16T22:11:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![dorvann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@dorvann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dorvann)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2018, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/81 "2018-10-18T21:06:44Z")
Someone brought up The Muppets. If we started counting all the shows The Muppets appeared “in character” doing interviews, we probably talking about dozens of different talk and news shows. ---
**Author:** ![notfrommensa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/f14d63/32.png) [@notfrommensa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/notfrommensa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/82 "2018-10-19T02:17:26Z")
Seems like I remember TV Characters taking a cruise on the Pacific Princess (The Love Boat), but I can’t remember who they might be. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/83 "2018-10-19T03:25:10Z")
I doubt it qualifies, but Tim Daly appeared as himself on an episode of “Monk.” Several references were made to the show “Wings,” but Adrian Monk couldn’t place the show (both Tim Daly and Tony Shaloub - who plays Monk - were on “Wings” together). ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/84 "2018-10-19T07:08:42Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > Four actors who were doctors on St. Elsewhere played patients who were also doctors on an episode of Scrubs. They were never named so you can hand wave they were all the same characters. > > Also characters from Scrubs appeared on Cougar Town. Several of the St Elsewhere doctors (Craig and Westphal, I think) appeared on an episode of Cheers. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/85 "2018-10-19T12:58:45Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > Several of the St Elsewhere doctors (Craig and Westphal, I think) appeared on an episode of Cheers. Actually, they went to the pub “Cheers” within a _St. Elsewhere_ episode. And this doesn’t qualify for the thread since both shows were on the air. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/86 "2018-10-19T13:01:23Z")
Worf arrived on DS9 several years after TNG went off the air. He was also in the TNG movies. Michael Dorn spent a lot of years wearing the prosthetic makeup. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2018, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/87 "2018-10-19T13:22:05Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > It’s possibly stretching things a bit, but George Lazenby appears as a British secret agent driving an Aston Martin with plates reading “JB” in the TV movie _The Return of the Man from U.N.C.L.E._ > > They don’t explicitly _say_ he’s James Bond, but it’s about as close as they could get. And, besides, it’s not a TV character, but a movie character. At that, a three-part episode of _The Jeffersons_ had George get himself into a contrived need-to-scam-the-scammers scenario, and in guy-who-knows-a-guy fashion lines up help from Jimmy’s cousin: the gag is, saying “Jimmy’s cousin” means a name never has to get mentioned while Greg Morris is doing his Barney Collier act by rigging up an elaborate con involving a faked TV broadcast and et cetera. ---
**Author:** ![icon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c6cbf5/32.png) [@icon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/icon)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 1:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/88 "2018-10-19T13:37:46Z")
I am not sure if this qualifies exactly since the show names are the same but Mark Hamill played the Trickster in both the 1991 Flash series and more recently in the 2015 Flash series. Of course, he has voiced the Joker since first doing so in Batman: The Animated Series in subsequent non-concurrent animated series and films. //i\ ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/89 "2018-10-19T14:20:10Z")
Another crossover from Star Trek OS to TNG: Sarek. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/90 "2018-10-19T15:01:20Z")
Thought of another one. Batman Beyond (Terry McGinnis, the future Batman) appeared in an episode of Justice League Unlimited in an episode named Epilogue that would have made for a great finale for the DCAU. The finale scene is an homage to the very first scene of the first episode of Batman TAS. ---
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2018, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/91 "2018-10-19T16:04:48Z")
Mandy Patinkin made a brief cameo as his _Chicago Hope_ character in an episode of _Homicide:Life on the Streets_ Not the same actor, but the first episode of _704 Hauser_ (spin-off of _All in the Family_ about a black family living in the Bunker house) featured a cameo by Joey Stivic, Gloria and Meathead’s son. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/92 "2018-10-20T17:58:50Z")
The Beatles had their own Saturday morning animated series, and later George, Paul and Ringo would appear in three different episodes of The Simpsons. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/93 "2018-10-20T18:25:23Z")
> [@Annie-Xmas](#): > > The Beatles had their own Saturday morning animated series, and later George, Paul and Ringo would appear in three different episodes of The Simpsons. Although original Beatles recordings were played on the animated series, the Beatles didn’t play themselves. Voice actors did the dialog in the episodes. Paul Frees (famous for playing Boris Badenov in Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons) played John and George. > **[The Beatles (TV series)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(TV_series))** > > The Beatles, also referred to as The Beatles Cartoon, is an animated television series featuring representations of the popular English rock band of the same name. It was originally broadcast from 1965 to 1967 on ABC in the United States, with reruns airing until 1969. > The series debuted on 25 September 1965, with new episodes airing until 21 October 1967. A total of 39 episodes were produced. The series was shown on Saturdays at 10:30 AM EST until the third season in 1967, when it was moved t... ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/94 "2018-10-20T20:36:29Z")
Another one I just remembered. Chi McBride played principal Steven Harper on David E. Kelley’s _Boston Public_, which ended its run in 2004. In 2005, Harper was a defendant in a trial on Davin E. Kelley’s _Boston Legal_. ---
**Author:** ![Oglomott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/oglomott/32/3543_2.png) [@Oglomott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oglomott)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/95 "2018-10-20T21:41:06Z")
Buddy Ebsen played Jed Clampett on “The Beverly Hillbillies”. He later starred in “Barnaby Jones”. When they made the Beverly Hillbillies movie, starring Jim Varney as Jed Clampett, Buddy Ebsen had a cameo in that movie as Barnaby Jones. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2018, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/96 "2018-10-20T22:51:01Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Although original Beatles recordings were played on the animated series, the Beatles didn’t play themselves. Voice actors did the dialog in the episodes. Paul Frees (famous for playing Boris Badenov in Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons) played John and George. > > [The Beatles (TV series) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Beatles_(TV_series)) That was true of _Yellow Submarine_, too, which IIRC was done by the same company. But they did it in a completely different, Peter Max-y style. The Beatles refused to voice themselves (it was a different team of voice actors than the Saturday morning stuff), but when they saw the final result they agreed that it was much better than they’d feared, and they agreed to appear in a brief post-cartoon scene. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/97 "2018-10-21T00:18:01Z")
Ed Asner played smuggler August March on an episode of the original _Hawaii 5-0_. He ended up being caught and sent to prison for thirty years. On the reboot of _Hawaii 5-O_, Asner played August March as an old man, finally getting out of prison, and helping the cops catch a new generation of smugglers. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/98 "2018-10-21T02:39:56Z")
It wasn’t a TV show, but a movie and a TV show. The “The Days Dwindle Down” episode of _Murder, She Wrote_ (broadcast April 19, 1987) featured Jeffry Lynn, Martha Scott, and Harry Morgan (Colonel Potter from _MASH_) reprising the roles they’d played in the 1949 movie _Strange Bargain_, which was used for “flashback” scenes. Katherine Emery had died in the intervening years, so her part was taken by a pre-_Titanic_ Gloria Stuart. ---
**Author:** ![Wheelz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wheelz/32/5718_2.png) [@Wheelz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wheelz)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2018, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/99 "2018-10-21T18:41:32Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Ed Asner played smuggler August March on an episode of the original _Hawaii 5-0_. He ended up being caught and sent to prison for thirty years. > > On the reboot of _Hawaii 5-O_, Asner played August March as an old man, finally getting out of prison, and helping the cops catch a new generation of smugglers. I saw that one. It was a good episode, but weird. Pulling the two versions into the same universe doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [October 22, 2018, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062/100 "2018-10-22T13:11:48Z")
Neil Patrick Harris appeared as [Doogie Howser](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVW0OCtDDbk) on Roseanne [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-who-later-appeared-on-a-different-show/823062.md?page=6)