# TV Episodes where two actors who later hit it big guest starred **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2016, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973 "2016-02-02T18:43:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**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:** [February 4, 2016, 12:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/81 "2016-02-04T12:23:57Z")
As I remarked in this thread from five years ago ( [The Debt Science Fiction Television Owes to Canadian Howdy Doody - Cafe Society - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=591435) ), James Doohan and William Shatner both appeared in the Canadian incarnation of **Howdy Doody** in the 1950s. They were “Timber Tom” and “Ranger Bob” (Put your Canadian joke here), and they probably didn’t appear together, since one was a fill-in for the other. Even more interesting regarding Canbadian Howdy, though: It’s best to quote from the Wiki article: > [@](#): > > Early in the run, there was a short-lived puppet character called Mr. X (no relation to a puppet of the same name who appeared on the American show) who traveled through time and space in his “Whatsis Box” teaching children about history. However, Mr. X was removed from the show due to parental complaints that he was too scary. It has been suggested that the Mr. X sequence may have inspired the creation of the long-running British science fiction series Doctor Who. In its earliest days, the series was likewise designed to teach children about history and, throughout the series, it has featured an alien known only as the Doctor who travels through time and space in his TARDIS, which is permanently in the shape of a police box. The series’ creator, Sydney Newman, oversaw the production of the Canadian version of Howdy Doody while working as head of programming for the CBC. > **[Howdy Doody](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Howdy_Doody_Show)** > > Howdy Doody is an American children's television program (with circus and Western frontier themes) that was created and produced by Victor F. Campbell and E. Roger Muir. It was broadcast on the NBC television network in the United States from December 27, 1947, until September 24, 1960. It was a pioneer of children's programming and set the pattern for many similar shows. One of the first television series produced at NBC in Rockefeller Center, in Studio 3A, it pioneered color production Buffal... From their page on Sydney Newman: > [@](#): > > During his time in Britain in the 1950s and 60s, he worked first with the Associated British Corporation (ABC) before moving across to the BBC in 1962, holding the role of Head of Drama with both organisations. During this phase of his career he was responsible for initiating two hugely popular fantasy series, The Avengers and Doctor Who, as well as overseeing the production of groundbreaking social realist drama series such as Armchair Theatre and The Wednesday Play. > **[Sydney Newman](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sydney_Newman)** > > Sydney Cecil Newman OC (April 1, 1917 – October 30, 1997) was a Canadian film and television producer, who played a pioneering role in British television drama from the late 1950s to the late 1960s. After his return to Canada in 1970, Newman was appointed acting director of the Broadcast Programs Branch for the Canadian Radio and Television Commission (CRTC) and then head of the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). He also occupied senior positions at the Canadian Film Development Corporation ... I’ve seen specials on the history of Dr. Who and read books about it, but none of them mentioned that the TARDIS might have been inspired by a plot device from the Canadian version of Howdy Doody. ---
**Author:** ![That\_Don\_Guy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/that_don_guy/32/538_2.png) [@That\_Don\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/That_Don_Guy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2016, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/82 "2016-02-04T14:31:21Z")
> [@bobot](#): > > Fry and Laurie were in the Bambi episode of The Young Ones. Are they big? Hugh Laurie starred in _House_, and Emma Thompson (the first, and I think only so far, person to win Oscars for acting and writing) was in that episode as well. I’d say both of them were “big.” I can think of quite a few actors who had one-time roles on _The Phil Silvers Show_ before they became “big” (Alan Alda, Julie Newmar, Tina Louise, Charlotte Rae); the problem is, I can’t think of an episode where two “names” both appeared. ---
**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:** [February 4, 2016, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/83 "2016-02-04T15:56:32Z")
Back when she was billed as “Dianne Cannon”, Dyan Cannon got work on an episode of [Highway Patrol](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0894129/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_73) alongside young Robert Conrad: he went on to star in a bunch of stuff, and she went on to get nominated for a bunch of Oscars. ---
**Author:** ![edwards\_beard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7bcc69/32.png) [@edwards\_beard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/edwards_beard)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/84 "2016-02-05T13:53:29Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > You weren’t impressed by my Barnaby Jones episode, apparently. HA! Sorry, I completely missed that post. I’m gonna see if I can find that one today! ---
**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:** [February 5, 2016, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/85 "2016-02-05T14:13:52Z")
Good luck finding [this](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0656749/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_133) episode of NAKED CITY from '61, but it has Robert Duvall and Ed Asner before they got famous. (And they were already in their thirties even _then_, because it’s physically impossible to picture either of 'em any younger.) ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/86 "2016-02-05T14:14:21Z")
> [@Don\_Draper](#): > > Not too long ago, I happened to see an old “Law & Order” episode (the very first one I recall watching in fact) guest starring Laura Linney as the defendant. Though Linney wasn’t too well-known at the time, I remembered her from the episode when I saw her in other projects (including her break-out performance in the original “Tales of the City” mini-series.) > > But I was surprised when I realized Aida Turturro (best known for playing Janice Soprano on “the Sopranos”) was also in the same episode. When she was young, Aida Turturro played a lot of bubble-heads on L&O. Now she plays a judge on SVU. I never watched _The Sopranos_, but somehow it made Dick Wolf decide that Turturro looked smarter. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/87 "2016-02-05T14:22:11Z")
How about [this episode](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0621290/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast) of _Kojak_ from 1975; early roles for Jerry Orbach, F. Murray Abraham, Jennifer Warren, Charles Kimbrough, and Richard Herd. Orbach had done a lot of theater before that, but not a great deal of TV or movies. If that’s not enough, Eli Wallach is also in it, but he was already quite well known. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2016, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/88 "2016-02-05T14:33:33Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Hugh Laurie starred in _House_, and Emma Thompson (the first, and I think only so far, person to win Oscars for acting and writing) was in that episode as well. I’d say both of them were “big.” The four posh kids were Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Stephen Fry and Ben Elton. Thompson, Fry and Laurie were in the Cambridge Footlights which is why their college on the show was called Footlights College Oxbridge. Ben Elton was a writer on The Young Ones but went on to greater success writing shows like Blackadder and later having his own show. So all four of the posh kids became very famous later with Laurie and Thompson being the most successful at least to American audiences. ---
**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 5, 2016, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/89 "2016-02-05T14:37:51Z")
It’s really not hard to find examples; it happened a lot in the 50s. _The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis_ had Warren Beatty and William Schallert (The Patty Duke Show) in one episode. One episode of _Studio One in Hollywood_ from 1950 has future stars Eva Marie Saint and Anne Bancroft. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2016, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/90 "2016-02-05T14:45:10Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It’s really not hard to find examples; it happened a lot in the 50s. [This](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0648435/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_392) THE MILLIONAIRE episode had young James Hong and younger Robert Vaughn. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2016, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/91 "2016-02-05T15:00:09Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > One episode of _Studio One in Hollywood_ from 1950 has future stars Eva Marie Saint and Anne Bancroft. [Another](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0712216/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_2191) episode, from 1949, had Charlton Heston and Leslie Nielsen. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2016, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/92 "2016-02-05T15:46:44Z")
Heh. So they took _Requiem For A Heavyweight_, which was well-received as a drama presented on live American television, and promptly adapted it into [an episode](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt1117708/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_85) of **BBC Sunday-Night Theatre** – which was kind of a big deal for then-unknown actor Sean Connery, who wasn’t yet the biggest movie star in the world. Anyhow, the BBC version had to be modified; the lack of commercial breaks meant otherwise-unnecessary scenes had to be added – so folks playing named characters could be offstage for quick costume changes – which is, apparently, the only reason why a twentysomething Michael Caine got a bit part in that production. ---
**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:** [February 5, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/93 "2016-02-05T16:01:12Z")
[This](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0655920/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_53) episode of NYPD was apparently the first on-screen role for future two-time Oscar nominee Jill Clayburgh and future Oscar winner Al Pacino. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2016, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/94 "2016-02-06T01:13:19Z")
Long before he got his own TV show, William Katt was in [this](http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0594524/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_115) episode of GUNSMOKE with a similarly not-yet-famous Nick Nolte. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/95 "2016-02-06T01:43:54Z")
“Angels on the Air” an episode of _Touched by an Angel_ that was broadcast in 1995 had Jack Black and James Marsden as guest stars. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2016, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/96 "2016-02-06T03:55:13Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > “Angels on the Air” an episode of _Touched by an Angel_ that was broadcast in 1995 had Jack Black and James Marsden as guest stars. Jack Black also did an episode of X-files with a not very famous Giovanni Ribisi. ---
**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:** [February 6, 2016, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/97 "2016-02-06T05:15:04Z")
Jason Robards and George Peppard, in an episode of [The Alcoa Hour](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0507684/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk). ---
**Author:** ![glowacks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/glowacks/32/5548_2.png) [@glowacks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glowacks)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2016, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/98 "2016-02-06T07:09:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Jack Black also did an episode of X-files with a not very famous Giovanni Ribisi. Are you sure about that? > [@edwards\_beard](#): > > At the time I thought it was funny, but maybe just a rare occurrence. So FFWD to last weekend, and I’m watching the X Files, and an episode comes on and I immediately recognize a young\*\* Jack Black\*\* and **Giovanni Ribisi** , so maybe it isn’t as rare as I first thought? I’ve seen people repeat examples elsewhere in the thread, but one in the OP? ---
**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:** [February 6, 2016, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/99 "2016-02-06T18:27:52Z")
The Twilight Zone episode [It’s A Good Life](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Good_Life_(The_Twilight_Zone)) had Cloris Leachman and a very young Bill Mumy ---
**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:** [February 6, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973/100 "2016-02-06T18:56:14Z")
> [@Mr.Doremro](#): > > Laurence Fishburne as ‘Cowboy Curtis’ in Peewee’s Playhouse…wonder if Morpheus cringes when remembering the good ol’ days… And Phil Hartman and Charlie’s mother from _It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia_, [Lynne Marie Stewart](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynne_Marie_Stewart) were cast members. Hartman was Captain Carl in the 1st season, and Stewart was Miss Yvonne. S. Epatha Merkerson was also in the cast as Reba, the Mail Lady. And, a young Natasha Lyonne was one of the kids that Pee-Wee interacted with in the first season. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tv-episodes-where-two-actors-who-later-hit-it-big-guest-starred/744973.md?page=6)