Bonanaza seems to have done fairly well in terms of the numer of years the stars, particualrly Lorne Geene and Michael Landon, spent in front of the camera post-production.
I would have to say Mary Tyler Moore. Cheers has a lot of characters but the others aren’t well as well known. People don’t KNOW Kirstie Alley’s name even? They call her that second girl on Cheers. People KNOW Bebe Newworth but not by name. Woody Harrelson his record is mixed. One hit movie does not a career make.(yes I know he had more than one movie).
In terms of sheer common recognizablity MTM wins hands down.
Once your throw out facts like breakout stars (Mork and Mindy) and flukes (Ron Howard – Remember Happy Days only took off after Fonize was made central. This became a star vehicle for Henry Winkler. It didn’t need Ron he was incidental to the cast. If Henry Winkler wasn’t on the show, Ron never would have had the sucess nor the opportunities that established him today). Lucy would rank up there but SHE was the only one of her cast memebers to achieve sucsess. I can’t think of too many people that had “THE” star role that landed their TV series in the TOP 10 for the year. And she did it with three different shows. Robert Young is the only one I can think of off hand - “Father Knows Best and Marcus Welby MD” (People like Tony Danza don’t count as Taxi was not his star vehicle.) (Bob Newhart shows were never top 10 for the year)
Henry Winkler was a star after Happy Days? I can only remember forgetable movie, Heroes. You see his name as a producer in a lot of shows (can’t think of any of the top of my brain), but not as an actor.
Ummm…
Monty Python’s Flying Circus?
Little Nemo–You forgot Tonys & Grammys.
I have to go with Andy Griffith. Don Knotts made SEVERAL successful Disney films. Andy had Matlock. And I don’t get the rub on Ron Howard. It doesn’t matter if you think Fonz drove the show. Ron Howard was SUCCESSFUL as a result of that. He was a top three billing on a #1 show. He was also in The Shootist, American Graffitti and a few other semi-to-successful films.
Plus there’s that whole Directing thing he has going on the side.
Couple this with Gomer and Goober, and you have a LOT of success.
MTM is close in my book as everyone had some level of success, but Andy and the Gang seem to overwhelm (with SNL excluded. While it has produced MANY superstars, longevity and format aid it. But if you factor in the number of people who HAVEN’T made it big, it suffers a bit).
I think the entire main cast of the Ben Stiller show (a short lived 1 season sketch comedy show that won an emmy)are or were doing well or at least have some name recognition. The show was pretty damn funny in my opinion.
Ben Stiller, Bob Odenkirk, Andy Dick, and Jeanane Garafolo
Buffalo Bill: Joanna Cassidy (“Six Feet Under”), Dabney Coleman (lots of roles), Geena Davis (Oscar winner), John Fiedler (voice of Piglet; his best-known roles came before this, though), Charles Robinson (“Night Court”), Meshach Taylor (“Designing Women”), Max Wright (“Alf”)
*Most notably, Mr. Peterson on “The Bob Newhart Show,” one of the jurors in “12 Angry Men,” and the only White member of the original cast on “Raisin in the Sun” on Broadway, a role he repeated in a revival afterwards.
Look at “Maverick”
There were only two regular cast members; Jack Kelly and James Garner. Kelly worked successfully until he died in his 70’s, Garner is still working.
By the OP’s criteria this is the ‘regular’ cast with the most post show success
RC;
“Bark us all Bow-Wows of folly.”
And don’t forget that British kid they brought in to replace Garner when he left the show. What was his name, oh yeah, Roger Moore…I think he did something after “Maverick”.
Come to think about it, Gunsmoke had a tolerably good track record for a show that ran as long as it did. James Arness had another relatively successful series and Dennis Weaver had a couple and Burt Reynolds has done really well.
Milburn Stone and Ken Curtis were rather long in the tooth when the show was over so they pretty much retired and I understand Amanda Blake was ailing when the show ended and got progressively worse until she died.
TV
This is from memory so I don’t have a cite, but to their credit Garry Marshall, Ron Howard and Henry Winkler knew that while Fonzie was the breakout star character, a little of the Fonz went a long way. They resisted changing the name of the show to “Fonzie’s Happy Days”, which the network suits wanted to do, correctly figuring that it was the interaction of Fonzie with Cunningham and his family and friends that made the show. Ron Howard’s character wasn’t incidental to the show’s success at all because Fonzie needed Cunningham’s straight-laced character to play off of.
Well, if we’re going for percentages:
Wanted Dead or Alive – only one recurring cast member: Steve McQueen