I was reading something on Facebook of the actor William Shallart, who was what we would call a "character actor", one of these actors who we see on numerous television programs, usually only in one appearance.

I was wondering who owns the record for being on the most TV shows, not as a regular character, but as someone who did at least one episode of a show, but not a regular player. Gregory Sierra for example who played Julio and Chano would be disqualified for having been a cast member of two shows, but he did a one episode role on Star Trek DS9 so that would count.

Alvin Melvin has been in a LOT of character actor roles in the 1960's and 1970's. He even played, how many different roles on The Andy Griffith Show alone? Melvin played one of the jerk vegetable sellers, An Army Sargeant, an FBI (State Police), several roles.

If you include actors who are playing themselves, then Sammy Davis Jr. could be in the running. Seemed like he appeared on tons of sitcoms in the 60s/70s/80s.

There are a lot of character actors who were on a lot of shows in the 50s/60s. Amzie Strickland and Burt Mustin come to mind.

I was reading something on Facebook of the actor William Shallart, who was what we would call a "character actor", one of these actors who we see on numerous television programs, usually only in one appearance.William Schallert wasn't just a character actor. He played Patty Duke's father and uncle on The Patty Duke Show, which ran for three seasons and 104 episodes.

William Schallert and Burt Mustin are all good choices since they seemed to have been everywhere in the 50s/60s but if you want another top pick, it has to be Charles Lane. Best known as Homer Bedloe from "Petticoat Junction", he specialized in playing old, cranky, miserable characters. His career went back to the 1930s and he continued working in movies and TV up until he turned 100.

Ken Lynch, usually playing cops, was probably way up there. And Denver Pyle was sure on a lot of shows of every type and always gave a good performance too.

Bernie Kopell
Eleanor Audley
Charles Lane
Gale Gordon
Dick Wilson
J. Pat O'Malley
Paul Lynde
Cloris Leachman
Mary Wickes
Sterling Holloway
Alan Melvin
Rheta Shaw
Bernard Fox
Don Rickles
Jesse White
Richard Anderson
Henry Jones
Bea Benederet
Burgess Meredith
Burt Mustin
Hal Smith
Vito Scotti
Mary Treen
Madge Blake
Richard Deacon
William Schallert
Ross Martin
Nancy Walker
Harvey Lembeck
Alice Ghostley
Howard Morris
Hermione Baddely
Mary Grace Canfield
Doodles Weaver
Kaye Ballard
Hans Conreid

just to start...

William Schallert and Burt Mustin are all good choices since they seemed to have been everywhere in the 50s/60s but if you want another top pick, it has to be Charles Lane. Best known as Homer Bedloe from "Petticoat Junction", he specialized in playing old, cranky, miserable characters. His career went back to the 1930s and he continued working in movies and TV up until he turned 100.

Lucy got irritated by Lane when he kept forgetting his lines in the Lucy Show. He only lasted a season, and then Gale Gordon became available after Dennis the Menace ended.

Jane Dulo appeared on a LOT of different series, and in many cases made multiple guest spots as the shows continued over years.

Bernie Kopell
Eleanor Audley
Charles Lane
Gale Gordon
Dick Wilson
J. Pat O'Malley
Paul Lynde
Cloris Leachman
Mary Wickes
Sterling Holloway
Alan Melvin
Rheta Shaw
Bernard Fox
Don Rickles
Jesse White
Richard Anderson
Henry Jones
Bea Benederet
Burgess Meredith
Burt Mustin
Hal Smith
Vito Scotti
Mary Treen
Madge Blake
Richard Deacon
William Schallert
Ross Martin
Nancy Walker
Harvey Lembeck
Alice Ghostley
Howard Morris
Hermione Baddely
Mary Grace Canfield
Doodles Weaver
Kaye Ballard
Hans Conreid

just to start...


That's an excellent list! Nice job!


This is a great topic to talk about if you are a Classic TV fan that remembers the fine work that these people did in the 50s and 60 and yet became sadly forgotten as they aged. I remember writing about them on here a few years ago and you can read that post here:

Sitcoms Online - TV's Great Character Actors - June 15, 2002 (https://www.sitcomsonline.com/boards/showpost.php?p=277063&postcount=1)

Some of my favorites:

Richard Stahl
Herb Edelman
Hector Elizondo

William Schallert wasn't just a character actor. He played Patty Duke's father and uncle on The Patty Duke Show, which ran for three seasons and 104 episodes.

Yes, it seems like "character actor" is too general a word, and we need more specific terminology to subdivide into certain levels of success. The long list of actors that was posted also seems to have actors who were way too prominent to fit what the O.P. was looking for. Bernie Kopell was a supporting co-star on a hit that lasted about a decade, Gale Gordon was a regular on many long-running shows, Paul Lynde had a show named after him (though it only lasted one season), and Cloris Leachman was the star of one show and replaced the star on another show (although those had relatively short runs during her tenure). But that list is valid if you consider "character actor" to include anyone who never was the main star of a hit show.

When I think of a character actor, I consider it someone who portrays a particular characteristic or eccentricity that puts them in demand by a number of comedies but not for much more than a single episode. Two more recent examples are Fred Stoller and Matty Cardarople, who typically play hapless dimwits.

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Another actor was Terry Kiser, who played two characters on individual shots on Three's Company, portraying intimidating mobster types.

It seemed as if Arte Johnson was in tons of stuff in the 1970s.

Wayne Knight wasn't on a lot of shows but he was one of the few actors on TV to appear on two individual sitcoms at the exact same time (Third Rock from the Son, Seinfeld).

Yes, it seems like "character actor" is too general a word, and we need more specific terminology to subdivide into certain levels of success.

No, I don't think so. A character actor has always referred to an actor that plays quirky roles. It's true that some of the actors that an earlier poster mentioned wound up having prominent roles or starring in their own shows, but that has nothing much to do with what separates a character actor from a regular one.

To me a “character actor” is simply someone who has been in a lot of movies and TV shows but most of us don’t know their names, even if we like that particular performer. I think in some ways it is a pretty good gig for a lot of these people, the good ones are versatile, stay busy, get to play different characters, have the opportunity to play comedy or drama and get paid well for being a “free agent”. They are mostly free agents because the good ones can pick roles and work a couple of weeks.

In the end they aren’t too famous but famous enough that if they go to a public place people will come up to them and go “Hey, I know who you from somewhere....”

What interest me are what I might call E-List actors, not even a D-List, people who are complete unknowns but do shows, like someone who has two speaking lines of a 1970’s Kojak episode. I am sure these people show up on a lot of shows in a limited capacity to fill a space, and no one knows who they are but made a career of it.

James Gregory
Strother Martin
John Fiedler

I think a lot of character actors play a type.

Police/Soldiers/Authority figures.
Old people.
People with a certain personality trait.
People of a certain minority ethnicity.

I was just noticing that Steve Franken (1932-2012) is listed at IMDb with 180 acting credits, and most of those were one-time appearances ("one-shots") on different TV series. (He's perhaps best remembered as Chatsworth on Dobie Gillis.)

Zach Woods in current time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zach_Woods

He has a lanky built. I think that he plays a similar meek character in
The Office
Silicon Valley
Veep
Avenue 5 (not sure though of his role, as I've only seen a few episodes)

He appears on all of those shows, but likely nobody knows the actor's name or can easily recall his character's name in these shows.

Robert Mandan seems to turn up on just about every 80s show.