# TV Characters With Non-TV-Character Jobs? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2003, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648 "2003-03-02T21:57:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2003, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/41 "2003-03-03T23:50:01Z")
Roc on the fox show Roc (played bvy Charles Dutton) was a garbage man in the inner city Mr Cunningham on Happy Days ran a plumbing/hardware store Wasn’t Paul Riser a documentary film maker on Mad About You? The cast of Alice - a Diner owner/cook and 3 waitresses, plus the regulars all had every day jobs (phone company, etc) Small Wonder - Wasn’t the Dad an inventor? It’s a Living - A show about waitresses and a piano player at a fern bar atop a skyscraper. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7feea3/32.png) [@PatrickM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickM)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/42 "2003-03-04T00:21:11Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by StGermain \* > \*\* \ > > Coach on Coach was a coach. 🙂 > > \*\* That’s right! So were Luther VanDam and Dobber on that same program, which also featured some guy named Howard who was the college’s athletic director, and various other people as college deans, etc. Dick Solomon on “Third Rock from the Sun” was a college physics professor. His girlfriend Mary Albright was an anthropology professor. Lou Grant started out as a TV news executive but eventually became a newspaper editor. Mr. Drysdale from “The Beverly Hillbillies” was a banker, and so was Marcy D’Arcy from “Married With Children.” Marcy’s first husband, Steve, was a banker as well before he quit to become a forest ranger. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/43 "2003-03-04T00:32:32Z")
I believe Chanandler Bong is a Transponster. ---
**Author:** ![widdershins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f0a364/32.png) [@widdershins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/widdershins)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/44 "2003-03-04T01:28:30Z")
John Hemingway and crew (_The John Larroquette Show_) worked in a bus terminal in Middle America (Kansas City?). Tony Soprano is in the maf-…uh,…“waste management”, that show revolves around his job. George Lopez is low-level management in some kind of factory where his mom also works. Donal Logue on _Grounded For Life_ was a garbageman (later a bar owner), his wife was a hostess in an upscale restuarant. His brother seemed to be a professional mooch and sometimes conman/petty thief. What about people with meta-jobs, they are employed but their jobs were usually undefined? Barney Rubble Ozzie Nelson - some kind of office What does Damon Wayans character do for a living on his show? ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/45 "2003-03-04T03:21:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by widdershins \* > \*\*John Hemingway and crew (_The John Larroquette Show_) worked in a bus terminal in Middle America (Kansas City?). > \*\* St. Louis. One of the drivers once broke into the song “Kansas City” but when asked he said he was going to Chicago. He was singing “Kansas City” because he hates going to Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/46 "2003-03-04T03:27:16Z")
Larry Dallas (“Three’s Company”) was a salesman. Used cars mainly but I seem to recall him trying to sell caskets in an episode. ---
**Author:** ![Ms2001](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ms2001/32/18463_2.png) [@Ms2001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ms2001)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/47 "2003-03-04T04:24:11Z")
Most of the cast of _Sealab 2021_ are scientists. _Futurama_’s cast includes a pilot (Leela), a delivery boy (Fry), and a bureaucrat (Hermes). Peter Griffin on _Family Guy_ worked on the assembly line in a toy factory. His wife Lois gave private piano lessons. ---
**Author:** ![xizor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xizor/32/102_2.png) [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/48 "2003-03-04T05:14:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PatrickM \* > \*\*Alyse Keaton (sp) (Alex P. Keaton’s mother). > \*\* I think it was Elise, but am too lazy to look it up. The neighbor on the **Jeffersons** was a translator at the UN ---
**Author:** ![KeithT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e47774/32.png) [@KeithT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KeithT)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2003, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/49 "2003-03-04T05:47:28Z")
Many of the characters mentioned in this thread have mundane jobs, but what they do plays at least a somewhat significant role in the show. I’m talking about your Homer Simpsons, Hank Hills, George Jetsons, and so forth. Sure, not _every_ show revolves around the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant or Strickland Propane, but it’s not rare for the workplace to serve as a plot device. I can’t believe that nobody’s mentioned Ward Cleaver. He was as generic as middle-class businessman get, and I can’t recall him ever discussing exactly what he did at the office, or even where he worked. ---
**Author:** ![Blackeyes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@Blackeyes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackeyes)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2003, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/50 "2003-03-05T00:45:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KeithT \* > \*\*I can’t believe that nobody’s mentioned Ward Cleaver. He was as generic as middle-class businessman get, and I can’t recall him ever discussing exactly what he did at the office, or even where he worked. \*\* I did. Look up a ways. The staff of _Fantasy Island_. That show revolved around their particular line of work. ---
**Author:** ![Torgo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@Torgo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Torgo)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/51 "2003-03-06T02:48:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by KeithT \* > \*\*I can’t believe that nobody’s mentioned Ward Cleaver. He was as generic as middle-class businessman get, and I can’t recall him ever discussing exactly what he did at the office, or even where he worked. \*\* The same became a running joke of sorts on The Ozzie and Harriet Show; Ozzie’s mysterious “job” that he never seemed to go to or talk about. ---
**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/52 "2003-03-06T03:28:47Z")
Seventh Heaven: Eric Camden is a minister, and his daughter Mary was, for a short time, a flight attendent. The Proud Family (A Disney Cartoon that the kids I babysit made me watch): Oscar Proud is the owner of a company that makes terrible snacks. Charmed: Paige is a social worker for a time, Phoebe is an advice columnist. Boy Meets World: Chet is a truckdriver. ---
**Author:** ![elmwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmwood/32/3060_2.png) [@elmwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elmwood)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/53 "2003-03-06T05:11:15Z")
What about occupations that are _never_ represented in television? I’ve never seen a show featuring the following: Urban planner Computer programmer Civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/54 "2003-03-06T08:19:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*What about occupations that are _never_ represented in television? I’ve never seen a show featuring the following: > > … > Civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer \*\* Dilbert. ---
**Author:** ![blowero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/41988e/32.png) [@blowero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blowero)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/55 "2003-03-06T08:27:59Z")
Oh, yeah - and Scotty was an engineer on Star Trek, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/56 "2003-03-06T15:39:19Z")
Didn’t Joe Morton play a partner in a construction company in [Under One Roof](http://us.imdb.com/Details?0112205)? ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/57 "2003-03-06T16:56:43Z")
The husband on _Valerie’s Family_/_Valerie_ was an airline pilot until he was killed. (I think he was killed, anyway; he quit appearing on the show. Maybe they got a divorce.) The band members and singers on _The Lawrence Welk Show_ were all test subjects for Valium. Floyd Lawson on _The Andy Griffith Show_ was a barber. Howard Sprague was a county clerk, I think. Goober and Gomer Pyle were auto mechanics, as was Arthur Fonzarelli on _Happy Days_. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/58 "2003-03-06T18:43:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by elmwood \* > \*\*What about occupations that are _never_ represented in television? I’ve never seen a show featuring the following: > > Urban planner > Computer programmer > Civil, electrical, or mechanical engineer \*\* On Thirtysomething, Ellen’s job was poorly defined, but it was clear that she worked in some sort of planning position for city government. Her boyfriend was an urban planner. Steve Douglas on My Three Sons worked for an aircraft manufacturer, had both a desk and a drafting table in his office (this was pre-computers). Does that count as an engineer? ---
**Author:** ![Intaglio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/71e660/32.png) [@Intaglio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Intaglio)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2003, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/59 "2003-03-06T20:21:53Z")
Major Anthony Nelson, Major Roger Healey - were Air Force officers assigned to NASA as Astronauts. ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2003, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648/60 "2003-03-10T07:19:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Sauron \* > \*\*Goober and Gomer Pyle were auto mechanics, as was Arthur Fonzarelli on _Happy Days_. \*\* Fonzie also taught auto shop at the high school in the later seasons. On **King of the Hill** , Bill is an army barber. Luann never got her beautician’s license; she’s currently a student at the junior college. But what does Boomhauer do? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-characters-with-non-tv-character-jobs/158648.md?page=4)