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Famous tv actors in small, one off roles

6K views 64 replies 32 participants last post by  Steveknj 
#1 ·
I was watching some old Mannix episodes from MeTV last week. Tina Louise had a relatively small part in one episode and I would never have known it was her without having seen the guest star credits before watching. Definitely not Gilligan's Ginger in this episode. Two or three episodes later, William Shatner had a role as the episode's bad guy. I recognized him instantaneously. William Shatner William Shatners in every acting role he's had.
 
#14 ·
The Mannix episodes I saw Tina Louise and William Shatner in them were from 1973 - a number of years after the shows/roles that made them famous went off the air.

I was surprised to see that there were only three seasons of Gilligan's Island. With syndication, it seems like that show was on forever.
 
#2 ·
I always check the credits of old Seinfeld episodes to see all the guest stars on there. Obviously the guy who played Whatley is the Breaking Bad dude. Teri Hatcher was the 'real and they're spectacular" woman. There were others who have become famous or kinda famous now.
 
#3 ·
Yeah Shatner plays Shatner, now matter what he's in. Just like Nicholson. I can't think of any right now, but cameos of now famous people pop up on Law & Order SVU all the time. As I type this I remember the woman that later played on Heroes and later Nashville had a part in L&O.
 
#6 ·
Samuel L Jackson in Coming to America for a small, early film role.

Jane Leeves is another from Seinfeld (went on to Fraser and is now a regular on The Resident on Fox).

Rainn Wilson also had a recurring role on Six Feet Under before The Office.
 
#18 ·
The Mannix episodes I saw Tina Louise and William Shatner in them were from 1973 - a number of years after the shows/roles that made them famous went off the air.
Shatner was really in the dumps for a bunch of the 70s. I seem to remember (probably from one of his books) that he was doing dinner theater and basically (maybe literally?) living in his truck.
 
#19 ·
I'm binge watching The Paper Chase which ran for 4 seasons between 1978-86. A lot of pre and post fame actors.

Maggie Wheeler (Janice from Friends)
Kurtwood Smith (That 70's show, among others)
William Schallert
John Goodman
Patrick Warburton (first credited role on IMDB)
David Ogden Stiers (MASH)
Timothy Busfield
Alan Napier (Alfred from Batman TV series)
Marilu Henner (Taxi - she was in the pilot episode for both shows in 1978. She chose wisely)
Kim Cattrall
Jayne Meadows
Robert Reed
Leigh McCloskey (Dallas & Santa Barbara)
Jon Lovitz (2 episodes, first credited role, except for "additional voices" on 2 episodes of Alvin & the Chipmunks)
 
#34 ·
This is a fun thread. My memory is all but gone, so I recall little, but it's fun to hear/see some of these. The Dating Game video was interesting.

Sometimes I watch old sitcoms, particularly on the SD channels that play the REALLY old ones, and see somebody here and there who ended up being pretty famous.
 
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