Not counting the wonderful Cloris Leachman,who was always billed as Special Guest Star,who do you think made the best guest appearances on MTM?
My top three are:
1)Nancy Walker,I never tire of laughing at her first appearance when Mary and Ida have a dance round the cookie dish as Ida wants to give Mary money,for staying in the apartment.
2)Jerry Van Dyke: you feel so much for Mary when Wes bombs as a stand up comic.
3)Paul Sand :Mary meets someone even more shy than her in season 1 episode "1040 or Fight" when she mets Robert C.Brand as her tax auditor.

Nancy Walker hands down, IMO! Just watched (last night) the episode where she visits and insists on being "girlfriends" with Rhoda and Mary - so funny. And that scene you mention with the money abosutely kills me every time I see it! That little woman is a genious.

I also love the season 4 episode "Rhoda's Sister gets Married" with the sister Debbie,never to be seen again!
Every time Ida asks Mary something and she guesses right like the baby picture,being Rhoda,Ida replies sourly:"Yeah,right".
No-one dishes guilt like Ida.

Great topic, Scotsguy! :) I definitely second (or third) the mention of Nancy Walker. She was perfect as Ida. I've always liked the actor who played Eric in "Toulose-Lautrec." Another great choice of actor for a guest role. Oh, and the guy who played the student in "Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcaster's School." I know that was a really short scene, but it's a classic, IMO.

I'm sure I could go on all day if I really tried, but I'll stop now and let some other people name their faves.

- Kristen

^ Eric (aka "Eric Shrimp") was played by actor Hamilton Camp. He also played Del the Stereo Guy in the first season of WKRP, and earlier in his career played a dog-like alien on Bewitched. :cool: :D

You're right about him being on WKRP, Monika. And he was in an episode of MASH as well.

I really think TMTMS did a great job w/ guest actors. They seemed to always get the perfect person for the part. Not all shows do that, so that's another thing that's special about it. :)

- Kristen

Also, not counting Betty White, who was originally billed as "guest star", before she became a regular, I too, have to go with Nancy Walker. Her first appearance as Ida was the best! And second, Eileen Heckart as Aunt Flo.

Oh yes that guy at Ted's night school,cracks me up,his big rambling speech about this brother Robert getting everything then he says "I'll contact my lawyer,Robert" or words to that effect.

Ted Cassidy is great as Ted's brother,having a brother like that,explains a lot about Ted!

Also Pat Carroll as Mrs Clune,the bad tempered room mate Mary has to suffer in "Hi".

Hamilton Camp is great too,I forgot to mention him,that is a very funny episode.

Richard Schaal is at his funniest as the over bearing Howard in "Today I am Ma'am",we've all been in situations when you feel invisible,love Rhoda's line:"Allow me to introduce myself,I'm another person in the room."

Nancy Walker was awesome. Another good guest star was Ted Bessell as Joe. Too bad we ever really saw him twice.

Nancy Walker was awesome. Another good guest star was Ted Bessell as Joe. Too bad we ever really saw him twice.

Yes I agree Leigh Ann,Ted and Mary acted their socks off in their scenes togethor,I like the fact Mary chose the less than smooth Joe over Dan.

Mary kissing Joe in that restuarant with Ted,Murray and Lou looking with open mouths,is one of my favourite scenes from the show!

Can I also add Brett Sommers as Aunt Rose,she wasn't in the episode much("Rhoda's Sister Gets Married") but she was funny,love her making an uncomfortable Mary,give her a hug,also how she can change from friendly to hostile in a hearbeat:
"Mary,shes adorable!;Who is she?"

Yes I agree Leigh Ann,Ted and Mary acted their socks off in their scenes togethor,I like the fact Mary chose the less than smooth Joe over Dan.

Mary kissing Joe in that restuarant with Ted,Murray and Lou looking with open mouths,is one of my favourite scenes from the show!

Can I also add Brett Sommers as Aunt Rose,she wasn't in the episode much("Rhoda's Sister Gets Married") but she was funny,love her making an uncomfortable Mary,give her a hug,also how she can change from friendly to hostile in a hearbeat:
"Mary,shes adorable!;Who is she?"
Its too bad Brett Somer's character, Aunt Rose wasn't carried over to Rhoda, along with Ida and Martin.

Its too bad Brett Somer's character, Aunt Rose wasn't carried over to Rhoda, along with Ida and Martin.

Look out for Eileen Heckart(Aunt Flo) as Lenny's Mother in season 2 of "Rhoda".

I've known quite a few "Howard Arnells" in my time (:eek:), and Richard Schaal played him perfectly (and also played a similar role as Carol's boyfriend on The Bob Newhart Show). So ironic that "Rhoda" and "Howard" were married in real life at the time. :lol:

Another favorite: Barbara Colby as Sherry, the former hooker, the role that lead to part of Julie Erskine, on Phyllis

Another favorite: Barbara Colby as Sherry, the former hooker, the role that lead to part of Julie Erskine, on Phyllis
Oh, yes. She was great. Loved the dress she made for Mary. :eek: :lol:

Not counting the wonderful Cloris Leachman,who was always billed as Special Guest Star,who do you think made the best guest appearances on MTM?
My top three are:
1)Nancy Walker,I never tire of laughing at her first appearance when Mary and Ida have a dance round the cookie dish as Ida wants to give Mary money,for staying in the apartment.
2)Jerry Van Dyke: you feel so much for Mary when Wes bombs as a stand up comic.
3)Paul Sand :Mary meets someone even more shy than her in season 1 episode "1040 or Fight" when she mets Robert C.Brand as her tax auditor.

Johnny Carson?

More Fav's:

Walter Cronkite!!!!

John Ritter as the preacher who married Ted & Georgette.

Henry Winkler as Rhoda's date who lost his job.

Pat Findlay as "Twinks"

I also liked the actors who played Mr. and Mrs. Armand Linton. Priceless. :rofl:

Pat Findlay was hilarious,she was also in the season one episode "Divorce Isn't Everything",unusual for an actor to play two different roles in one season of MTM.
Pat appearently appeared in an episode of "Lou Grant" as "murdered woman",if the murder was at the start of the episode,I guess she wasn't in it for long!

Pat Findlay was hilarious,she was also in the season one episode "Divorce Isn't Everything",unusual for an actor to play two different roles in one season of MTM.
Pat appearently appeared in an episode of "Lou Grant" as "murdered woman",if the murder was at the start of the episode,I guess she wasn't in it for long!
Not to mention Bob Hartley's sister, Ellen on The Bob Newhart Show!

Johnny Carson?
Johnny Carson appeared "in the dark". We didn't actually see him. I don't remember why he was coming, but everybody was excited he was going to make an appearance at one of Mary's parties. Then the power went out, and Johnny arrived, but we only heard his voice, never saw him.
After Mary introduced him to everyone in the room, Johnny asked, "Mary, do you have a dog?" (It turned out to be Sue Ann grabbing at his leg!)

So go Mary's parties!

Have to mention Stuart Margolin as Mary's unwanted suitor Warren Sturges .

Some of it although very funny,is a bit uncomfortable as Warren is a bit of a stalker but I love how Mary loses it with him with the cake.

Stuart directed some MTM too and played the part of Dr Arthur Alborn on Rhoda.(husband of Susie)

Have to mention Stuart Margolin as Mary's unwanted suitor Warren Sturges .

Some of it although very funny,is a bit uncomfortable as Warren is a bit of a stalker but I love how Mary loses it with him with the cake.

Stuart directed some MTM too and played the part of Dr Arthur Alborn on Rhoda.(husband of Susie)
Was that the guy who declared his "love" for Mary on a billboard? He was even worse than Howard Arnell!! :eek: :lol:

Yes,he also says to a horrified Mary,he won't sleep with her after their first date,assuming,she'd be disappointed as if!

Nancy Walker hands down!!!

Yes,he also says to a horrified Mary,he won't sleep with her after their first date,assuming,she'd be disappointed as if!
That's what I thought - thanks for confirming it!

Johnny Carson appeared "in the dark". We didn't actually see him. I don't remember why he was coming, but everybody was excited he was going to make an appearance at one of Mary's parties. Then the power went out, and Johnny arrived, but we only heard his voice, never saw him.
After Mary introduced him to everyone in the room, Johnny asked, "Mary, do you have a dog?" (It turned out to be Sue Ann grabbing at his leg!)

So go Mary's parties!
Carson was coming as a guest of Congresswoman Gettys. She needed to take Johnny out somewhere where he wouldn't be mobbed by fans, and Mary offered to throw a party at her place. Of course, we all know how that went! ;)

- Kristen

Not to mention Bob Hartley's sister, Ellen on The Bob Newhart Show!
It's too bad she was wasted in her role on TBNS. The character of Ellen was not funny, and didn't really serve much of a purpose. I also never for a second bought her with Howard. But on MTM, Pat really had a chance to show off her flair for comedy. :cool:

It's too bad she was wasted in her role on TBNS. The character of Ellen was not funny, and didn't really serve much of a purpose. I also never for a second bought her with Howard. But on MTM, Pat really had a chance to show off her flair for comedy. :cool:

I saw some episodes of the orginal Newhart on The Family Channel UK in the 90s,I never really got into it.

Paul Sand!! He was so cute! I remember seeing the show when I was 10 or 11, and I wanted him to be a regular so bad! The ultimate non-threatening male, and so cute with Mary.

One guest star I haven’t seen mentioned is Barbara Sharma as ‘‘Randi Willner’’, the waitress Mary got ‘fired’ and then got a job as an assistant at WJM...who Mary and Rhoda later call a feeb!
I thought her scenes were hilarious; she certainly nailed that type of scatterbrained/selfish person who can drive us nuts.
When Randi declares she isn’t going to do some task that Mary wants her to do in the office, you can almost see the steam coming out of Mary’s ears...and we all know how hard it was to get our girl that mad!
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Another is the octogenarian Mary mistakenly hooks Lou up with, Martha Dudley, played by Florence Lake. She once had been ‘‘a flower girl at Thomas Edison’s wedding.’’ She was a dear, and had some great lines!
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I started a list of all the guest stars I liked, and it got so long I stopped...and they’ve all been mentioned. Some personal favorites: Mr. and Mrs. Armand Linton, Nancy Walker, Pat Finley, Henry Winkler, and Barbara Colby. I, too, enjoyed the Johnny Carson episode, and how they pulled it off, and I also cracked up at the single student at Ted Baxter’s broadcasting school (Leonard Frey).
But I did want to single out Paul Sand’s role as Robert C. Brand. He was fantastic as the tax auditor who was smitten with Mary. Maybe it’s because I was right there with him on that score and knew I would have been just as nervous upon meeting her. But also the comedy of the situation was so great...physically when he smelled her hair, and when he kept coming up with all those excuses in desperate bids to see her again, including continually checking her exemptions! His character was so sweet, and so funny!

I see Paul Sand mentioned here more than once. Does anybody remember he had his own show, for half a season in 1974, that preceded The Mary Tyler Moore Show on Saturday Night. I vaguely remember it, but he seems to have gone into oblivion since.

Mary Kay Place (Mary Hartman) and Penny Marshall (Laverne & Shirley) came on board as Mary's neighbors in her second apartment. I would have liked to see those characters developed, but they ran out of time!

Nancy Walker was #1 with me. She also stole the show as Mildred on "MacMillan and Wife," and one of the most brilliant pieces of casting ever was placing her as Sophia Petrillo's sister Angela on "The Golden Girls." I laugh just looking at those two mirror-images. :lol:

Yes Barbara Sharma was great as the "feeb" as Rhoda called her.
I liked her as Mryna on "Rhoda" too but she disappeared after season2.
The old lady who becomes Lou's date,by error,was funny too.
I have to add Louise Lasser as the bank employee,Anne Adams in "Mary Richards and The Incredible Plant Lady",the exchange between her and Mary is hilarious,Mary trying to be assertive but failing miserably,lol!

So many great guests have already been mentioned. How about David Ogden Stiers as the stuttering program director, or Vincent Gardenia who plays the PD in the last season.

Mary Kay Place (Mary Hartman) and Penny Marshall (Laverne & Shirley) came on board as Mary's neighbors in her second apartment. I would have liked to see those characters developed, but they ran out of time!

Nancy Walker was #1 with me. She also stole the show as Mildred on "MacMillan and Wife," and one of the most brilliant pieces of casting ever was placing her as Sophia Petrillo's sister Angela on "The Golden Girls." I laugh just looking at those two mirror-images. :lol:
I LOVED Nancy Walker as Sophia's sister on GG. Too bad she was only on that show twice.