# Unseen TV characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 18, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646 "2001-01-18T05:47:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/61 "2001-01-19T03:18:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Max Torque \* > **Indeed, on _Are You Being Served?_, the initial “young Mr. Grace” was replaced by “old Mr. Grace” (apparently a younger actor in some godawful makeup)** That actor went on to play the Granddad in _Bread._ But I dunno if anyone in America has seen that show. All about a Liverpool family who were a bunch of unemployed dreamers and shuysters. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/62 "2001-01-19T06:00:58Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by caircair \* > \*\*RE: Mildred Potter. Yes, we saw her on “AfterMASH”, but it wasn’t the woman in the photo on Col. Potter’s desk; that was a photo of actress Spring Byington (who I believe had died before the show ever aired.) > > \*\* –If the photo on the desk of Col. Potter (Harry Morgan) is indeed Spring Byington then that was a neat touch. Most of the folks in this thread are bringing up TV shows from the last 30 years or so. Back in the '50’s there was a sitcom called “December Bride” starring Spring Byington. One of the characters in that series was Harry Morgan (Pete Porter) who had a wife (Gladys) who was never seen. In 1960 there was a spin-off from the Byington show called “Pete and Gladys” where Morgan finally got a visible wife. Here’s a link: [http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/epg1/DecemberBride.htm](http://www.geocities.com/TelevisionCity/Stage/2950/epg1/DecemberBride.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/63 "2001-01-19T08:10:37Z")
Sorry to pull this from page one (and lame for not having my own noseeum to post) but: > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SmackFu \* > \*\*Orson, from “Mork & Mindy” > > \*\* I was a wee lad when this show was on (there is a picture (waiting to haunt me when I start a political career) of me in fourth grade with rainbow suspenders. Ugh) but I seem to remember sometime near its death Mork met Orson. I kind of think it had something to do with him asking for permission to have a kid or something. Anyway, I kinda-almost-maybe remember him going back to wherever and meeting Orson. For some strange reason I want to say that the actor was Nick Tortelli. Ring any bells? ---
**Author:** ![RonA](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/73ab20/32.png) [@RonA](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RonA)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/64 "2001-01-19T15:25:44Z")
Karen’s husband and kids, on _Will and Grace_. I was gonna say Ugly Naked Guy on _Friends_ but someone beat me to it. Did we ever see Donald Penobscott (sp?) on _M_A_S_H\*? And what about the guy on the tape recorder who gave Jim Phelps his assignments on _Mission: Impossible_ (“You’re mission, should you choose to accept it…”) Jack’s (now ex-)wife, _Just Shoot Me_. I don’t know if this should really count, but Sarah the operator on _The Andy Griffith Show_. And didn’t Aunt Bea and Opie have some friends they talked about but we never saw? ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 3:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/65 "2001-01-19T15:43:45Z")
Tom & Kim refer to the never seen Delaney(?) sisters on Voyager. ---
**Author:** ![SirRay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@SirRay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirRay)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/66 "2001-01-19T16:05:50Z")
Donald Penobscott: Yes, in the MASH Olympics, where he lost a race to an out-of-shape guy, and lost Margret and him an extra week of honeymoon leave. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNova](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SuperNova](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNova)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/67 "2001-01-19T16:42:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by PRNYouth \* > \*\* > Nanny on “Muppet Babies” 😃 Cheating - I know, since we see her fashionably-striped stockings, just never her face. > \*\* In the very last episode they showed her face. ---
**Author:** ![Fiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e274bd/32.png) [@Fiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fiver)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/68 "2001-01-19T18:28:21Z")
**carnivorousplant** : > [@](#): > > Tom & Kim refer to the never seen Delaney(?) sisters on Voyager. And now that you’ve brought up Star Trek, I’m reminded of the Starfleet captain with the transparent skull who Jadzia spoke of dating once and later encouraged Major Kira to ask out. Nerys: What do you see in that guy? Jadzia: His brain? We never met him onscreen either. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/69 "2001-01-19T21:37:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by SirRay \* > \*\*Donald Penobscott: > Yes, in the MASH Olympics, where he lost a race to an out-of-shape guy, and lost Margret and him an extra week of honeymoon leave. \*\* Is that the same episode where BJ and Hawkeye convinced him that he’d broken some bone or another, and he was in a full body cast for the wedding, and subsequent honeymoon? Hilarious. ---
**Author:** ![Anake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/97f17d/32.png) [@Anake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anake)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/70 "2001-01-19T21:45:37Z")
Louis, Margaret’s husband (in which the two have been having marriage problems), on **Becker**. –Anake ---
**Author:** ![caircair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/91b2a8/32.png) [@caircair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caircair)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/71 "2001-01-19T22:08:41Z")
Doug Bowe, as a matter of fact, that’s exactly WHY Harry Morgan had her picture on Col. Potter’s desk. It was his homage to the actress who gave him a big break in Show Business. ---
**Author:** ![Me\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@Me\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Joe)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/72 "2001-01-19T22:34:12Z")
Well the only ones I could add to this would be from the long-running British show “Dr Who”… Rassilon, the great legendary leader of the Time-Lords who is reverently spoken of by the Doctor and other Time-Lords, but to my knowledge never showed up on screen. Some characters who were never even alluded to throughout the nearly 30 years this show was on the air were the Doctor’s family. The first episode of the series kicks off with the original Doctor coming to Earth with a grand-daughter in tow – Susan, his first “companion”. The Susan character was written out after a year and was replaced by a long run of plucky young female assistants. Conspicuously, no mention was ever made of the Doctor having a wife or children or any familial ties ever again. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/73 "2001-01-19T23:07:53Z")
Ugly Naked Guy on “Friends” was seen at least once, when Ross went to talk UKG into sub-letting the apartment to him. IIRC, you only saw the back of his balding head and a rather hairy shoulder. Jim Dial’s wife on “Murphy Brown” was visible in several episodes, notably the one where Jim wrote a spy novel where the main characters were himself and (unintentionally) Murphy. Mrs. King’s missing husband was a plot device in “The Scarecrow and Mrs. King”. Even the pictures she had of him had the face obscured. Although, I only saw the first season. Things may have changed. Wasn’t there a spy who was always inside file cabinets and things on “Get Smart”? I don’t recall ever seeing him out of camouflage. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/74 "2001-01-19T23:43:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by xtal \* > \*\*Wasn’t there a spy who was always inside file cabinets and things on “Get Smart”? I don’t recall ever seeing him out of camouflage. > \*\* That was Agent 13. Always got the bad luck assignments of course. ---
**Author:** ![Daytona\_Dave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/dfb087/32.png) [@Daytona\_Dave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daytona_Dave)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2001, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/75 "2001-01-19T23:59:47Z")
1. Number One from ‘The Prisoner’. 2. Principal Lazarus from ‘Welcome Back, Kotter’. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Rhosis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@Sir\_Rhosis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Rhosis)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 6:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/76 "2001-01-20T06:07:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Me!! Joe!!! \* > \*\*Well the only ones I could add to this would be from the long-running British show “Dr Who”… > > Rassilon, the great legendary leader of the Time-Lords who is reverently spoken of by the Doctor and other Time-Lords, but to my knowledge never showed up on screen. > > Some characters who were never even alluded to throughout the nearly 30 years this show was on the air were the Doctor’s family. > \*\* IIRC, Rassilon, or at least a hologram of Rassilon, appeared in the 20th anniversary show “The Five Doctors.” The Doctor occasionally mentioned his family–I believe the Second Doctor vaguely mentioned them in “Tombs of the Cybermen,” and the Third Doctor (I think, may have been the Second) once said something like “They live only in my memory.” Finally, in the infamous TV movie, the Eighth Doctor reveals that he was “half-human, on my mother’s side.” So, yes, mentioned, but never seen. Sir ---
**Author:** ![Pismonque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/46a35a/32.png) [@Pismonque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pismonque)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/77 "2001-01-20T08:33:09Z")
Every kid ever named at the end of _Romper Room_. ---
**Author:** ![King\_Rat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7bcc69/32.png) [@King\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/King_Rat)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/78 "2001-01-20T09:05:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daytona Dave \* > \*\* Number One from ‘The Prisoner’. > \*\* Well…we do see Number One. It’s Patrick McGoohan. Whether it’s actually Number Six or a sort of “alter ego” [(McGoohan’s own words)](http://www.soft.net.uk/bethell/PRISONER/mcgoohan.htm) is… ---
**Author:** ![TV\_time](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f17d59/32.png) [@TV\_time](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TV_time)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/79 "2001-01-20T17:10:50Z")
I believe that one of the first uses of this on television was in the mid-1950’s comedy series “December Bride.” Next door neighbor Pete, Harry (Henry) Morgan, was constantly refering to his wife, expecting her to come over, taking phone calls from her, etc, but she was never seen. Her name was Gladys. It is interesting to note, this couple, Pete and Gladys, proved to be the first “spin-off” in early television. The network brass created a new series while the original series was still on called “Pete and Gladys”. Like Mrs. Colombo, they found an actress to play Gladys opposite Morgan and hoping to capitalize on the original’s popularity put it on the air. The show died a quick death. The idea of the never-seen (heard) character was also very popular in radio comedies. For instance, Mr. Peevee’s wife in “Fibber MaGee and Molly.” ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646/80 "2001-01-20T19:02:02Z")
Drat, I think you’ve beaten me. It just occurred to me that the character of Fang (White Fang) on _The Soupy Sales Show_ was never seen but for one hairy paw, but _December Bride_ premiered in 1954, a year before Soupy got on the air. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unseen-tv-characters/50646.md?page=5)