This probably has been covered before but which actor's portrayal of a character do you like best?

Right off I can think of a few.

Burns and Allen- Harry Morton = Larry Keating over Hal March, Fred Clark and John Brown.
Maybe because Keating was the character for so long he just fit the part. March didn't offer much to me. Clark's portrayal was too gimmicky with food obsession. Brown didn't have a chance with being blacklisted.

Bewitched- Darren Stevens = Dick York over Dick Sargent. York's expressions set the tone for the show. His back and forth with Agnes Morehead was classic. Sargent seemed to authoritative.

Bewitched- Gladys Kravitz = Alice Pearce over Sandra Gould. Alice's screeching and yelling "Abner, Abner!" was something that Sandra couldn't replicate.

Munster - Marilyn Munster = Beverly Owen over Pat Priest. Beverly played out as someone needing to be protected by her family. She also truly couldn't figure out why guys ran from her. Pat at first tried to copy Beverly's approach but she ended up very independent and almost an equal to Lily.

There's more I'm working on. What are your choices?

Some much needed recasting came early for Jerry Seinfeld's father Morty and Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H. Barney Martin and William Christopher were miles better in those parts. I agree with your Bewitched picks on Dick York and Alice Pearce. The Munsters was such a seamless transition, I don't have a preference on Marilyns. Carol Burnett as Jamie's mother Theresa was much better than her predecessor Penny Fuller. Paxton Whitehead I preferred as British neighbor Hal Conway to Jim Piddock who was in between Hal's stints. (But I did like Jim as the logic professor in the Disorientation episode.) Last Man Standing I very much preferred Alexandra Krosney and Molly Ephraim to their replacements as 2/3 of the Baxter daughters, sure glad they didn't recast Kaitlyn Dever as well.

Some much needed recasting came early for Jerry Seinfeld's father Morty and Father Mulcahy on M*A*S*H. Barney Martin and William Christopher were a lot better in those parts. I agree with your Bewitched picks on Dick York and Alice Pearce. The Munsters was such a seamless transition, I don't have a preference on Marilyns. Carol Burnett as Jamie's mother Theresa was much better than her predecessor Penny Fuller. Paxton Whitehead I preferred as British neighbor Hal Conway to Jim Piddock who was in between Hal's stints. (But I did like Jim as the logic professor in the Disorientation episode.) Last Man Standing I very much preferred Alexandra Krosney and Molly Ephraim to their replacements as 2/3 of the Baxter daughters, sure glad they didn't recast Kaitlyn Dever as well.

With the Munsters it's interesting to see in the transition episode 14 "Grandpa Leaves Home" Pat was seen at the end of the episode and didn't have a line to speak.

Petticoat Junction: I'll go with the original Pat Woodell as Bobbi Jo over Lori Saunders, though very narrowly. I think Pat was just a little better comedienne. The same re Jeanine Riley over Gunilla Hutton as Billie Jo. I wasn't a fan of Meredith McRae's Billie Joe.

Batman: Eli Wallach over George Sanders and Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze.
Batman: Frank Gorshin over John Astin as Riddler.
Batman: Julie Newmar over Eartha Kitt as Catwoman.
The Waltons: Richard Thomas over Robert Wightman as John-Boy.
Petticoat Junction: Lori Saunders over Pat Woodell as Bobbi Jo.
The Munsters: Pat Priest very slightly over Beverly Owen as Marilyn.
M*A*S*H: William Christopher over George Morgan as Father Mulcahy.
Green Acres: Barbara Pepper over Fran Ryan as Doris Ziffel.
The Jeffersons: Mike Evans over Damon Evans as Lionel.
The Life of Riley: William Bendix over Jackie Gleason as Chester A. Riley

The Waltons: Richard Thomas over Robert Wightman as John-Boy.I forgot about fake John-Boy, doubt anyone would prefer Robert's version. :eek:

I forgot about fake John-Boy, doubt anyone would prefer Robert's version. :eek:

I always call him Non-Boy. :D

Petticoat Junction: I'll go with the original Pat Woodell as Bobbi Jo over Lori Saunders, though very narrowly. I think Pat was just a little better comedienne. The same re Jeanine Riley over Gunilla Hutton as Billie Jo. I wasn't a fan of Meredith McRae's Billie Joe.

I liked Lori Saunders better than Pat Woodell, but then again I had a crush on Lori. And yes, Jeanine Riley was better than Gunilla Hutton. I wasn't a fan of Meredith McRae either. Her entry spelled the end of the show for me.

Batman: Eli Wallach over George Sanders and Otto Preminger as Mr. Freeze.
Batman: Frank Gorshin over John Astin as Riddler.
Batman: Julie Newmar over Eartha Kitt as Catwoman.
The Waltons: Richard Thomas over Robert Wightman as John-Boy.
Petticoat Junction: Lori Saunders over Pat Woodell as Bobbi Jo.
The Munsters: Pat Priest very slightly over Beverly Owen as Marilyn.
M*A*S*H: William Christopher over George Morgan as Father Mulcahy.
Green Acres: Barbara Pepper over Fran Ryan as Doris Ziffel.
The Jeffersons: Mike Evans over Damon Evans as Lionel.
The Life of Riley: William Bendix over Jackie Gleason as Chester A. Riley

Interestingly enough some that you listed many would not have remembered they played the role. Specifically John Astin as Riddler, Robert Wightman as John-boy, George Morgan as Father Mulcahy, and Damon Evans as Lionel. Or at least I forgot them.

Add Lee Meriwether for Batman, even though she was only in the Movie, Newmar was better.

With The Life of Riley I don't think anyone could be Riley besides Bendix. He WAS Riley.

On a side note how many dogs played Lassie, and how many pigs played Arnold Ziffel?

Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) - Sarah Michelle Gellar, not Kristy Swanson

Hawkeye Pierce (M*A*S*H) - Alan Alda, not Donald Sutherland

Darrin Stephens (Bewitched) - Dick York, not Dick Sargent

I think six dogs played Lassie on the original series.

As many as ten collies played Lassie after 1974.

There were at least six piglets who played Arnold. At least one per season

I think six dogs played Lassie on the original series.

As many as ten collies played Lassie after 1974.

All were boys after the original if I'm not mistaken.

All were boys after the original if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, all Lassies were boys.

I think almost all of the Arnold Ziffels were girls, and one boy. There were at least 4 but I've seen it said there were 6 so I'm not sure.

Yes, all Lassies were boys.

I think all Arnold Ziffels were girls.

Imagine the fuss if we're were talking about people instead of animals.

:lol:

Roseanne did the switch thing with the most creativity


bKsUSEmrqJA
https://youtu.be/bKsUSEmrqJA

Riddler - Frank Gorshin
Catwoman - Julie Newmar
Mr. Freeze - George Sanders
Darrin Stephens - Dick York
Gladys Kravitz - Alice Pearce
Louise Tate - Irene Vernon
Frank Stephens - Robert Simon
Aunt Hagatha - Reta Shaw
Gary Ewing - Ted Shackelford
John Boy Walton - Richard Thomas
Marilyn Munster - Beverly Owen
Doris Eiffel - Barbara Pepper
Bobby Jo Bradley - Laurie Saunders
Bille Jo Bradley - Jeannie Riley
Lionel Jefferson - Mike Evans
Captain Marvel - Jackson Bostwick
Lois Lane - Phyllis Coates
Ginger Grant - Tina Louise
Marcia Brady - Maureen McCormick
Jan Brady - Eve Plumb
Cindy Brady - Susan Olsen
Anthony Nelson - Larry Hagman
Kristin Shepard - Mary Crosby
Queen Hyppolyta - Cloris Leachman
Jonathan (Jon) Kent - Jordan Elsass
Chuck Cunningham - Gavin O'Herlihy
Ridge Forrester - Ronn Moss

redd foxx Fred g Sanford

Jackie Gleason Ralph Kramden

Henry Winkler The Fonz

redd foxx Fred g Sanford

Jackie Gleason Ralph Kramden

Henry Winkler The Fonz

Who else played those characters?

I think that there's a lot to be said for just replacing an actor, instead of replacing a character. No need to create a new back story, which often is implausible and drags the story in an unintended direction.

I think six dogs played Lassie on the original series.

As many as ten collies played Lassie after 1974.

nine different dogs
From MGM's first film in 1943 to the last episode of the famous TV series, nine different dogs played Lassie, and they were all male.Sep 18, 2018

https://news.artnet.com/art-world/artist-maurizio-cattelan-nine-lassies-1347353#:~:text=From%20MGM's%20first%20film%20in,and%20they%20were%20all%20male.