I'm trying to recall how many episodes Beth Grant was in. Does anyone know the exact count? You know who I'm talking about, right? She's the strange lady that appears as different characters in a handful of episodes, and Hayden always wonders if he's seen her somewhere before.

As far as I can recall, she was a food server at Kelly's wedding, she was the bartender at the bar in Fergus Falls, she was Mrs. Rizzendough's housekeeper, and she was the maid at Christine's friend Sarah's apartment in New York. Are there any others? Just curious.

I don't know about this woman. It was a running gag of sorts? That's hilarious. I'll keep my eyes open for her. Does Hayden ask if he's seen her somewhere before?
I've seen character actors play different bit parts on Barney Miller, but it's never acknowledged that it's the same actor. They'll be a burglar on one show, a nut on the next, and a cop on another episode...that sort of thing.

I think you just about covered it.. Ill let you know if I can think of any others..

Thanks Big Coach Fan. Let me know if there are any other episodes I've overlooked.

Janice, you haven't seen the lady I'm talking about? It is a great running gag. She always plays different roles, but is always the same strange woman with the same monotone voice, and she always looks familiar to Hayden. And yes, on several occasions, he even questions her about it. If you've seen any of the episodes she's been in, maybe this'll jog your memory a bit:

When Hayden and Luther go to Fergus Falls on a recruiting trip, they wind up at a bar. Hayden sees her there working as a bartender and asks, "Have I seen you somewhere before?" She replies, "I don't know. Have you ever been to Rio at Carnival Time?"

Also, in New York at Sarah's apartment, she's the maid. Again Hayden asks, "Haven't I seen you somewhere before?" She sighs and then, sounding somewhat irritated, asks, "Have you seen 'Superman'?" Hayden says, "Yeah." She says, "Alot of people think I look like Margot Kidder." Hayden shakes his head and moves on. It's a great gag. Does any of that sound familiar?

Originally posted by highloon
Janice, you haven't seen the lady I'm talking about? It is a great running gag....
Does any of that sound familiar?
I've seen the bar scene--the tough bar...where Hayden's late for Christine's award ceremony? If that's the one, I didn't pay attention to the exchange between the bartender and Hayden.
I saw Kelley's wedding, but don't remember any servers. I don't know Sarah in NY, unless it was where Christine stayed when she got that national magazine show, yet I remember a funny guy in charge of the house. I don't recall any Superman references so I don't think that's the show.
I vaguely recall an odd exchange in the dream sequence episode when Hayden goes to Mrs. Rizzendough's and is greeted by the maid. I forget what he said to her, but she said to him, "We didn't spend last night together, did we?" I'm paraphasing here. He may have told her that she looked familiar.
So, highloon, it looks like this clever gag flew over my head, swoosh, like a 747.
You can bet I'll be on the lookout for it now. Maybe because it's my first time watching the show...but I'm usually an observant person. Boy, I feel dumb, but thanks guys for filling me in.
Truth is, I can't get my eyes off that cutie Craig T. Nelson whenever he's in a scene. ;)

If you saw Part 2 of Kelly's wedding, there's a woman who says she's from the caterer, and asks how many bottles of wine they're going to need for the reception. That's her.

You're right about the bar being from the Ted Koppel award episode. The bartender is Beth Grant.

Regarding the exchange at Mrs. Rizzendough's, you're right. She was the maid. But it was the dog show episode. Hayden shows up with a bouquet of flowers and tells the maid that the flowers are to make up for "last night." The maid asks, "Were we together last night?" Hayden irritatedly responds, "No." She leaves. Later when she appears again, she tells Hayden and Luther,"If anybody needs me, I'll be on the rifle range."

Regarding Sarah's apartment in New York, you're right again. That's the apartment that Christine stayed in during her short lived "Magazine America" gig. The bellman was an odd middle-eastern guy named Remy. But Sarah's housekeeper was Beth Grant, again. We see her in the episode where Hayden flies to New York to put an end to the long-distance madness with Christine. He walks in and she's vaccuuming. He shuts the vaccuum cleaner off to get her attention, and this scares her. She looks at him and says, "Are you going to force me to take all my clothes off and have sex with you?" He says, "No." She responds, "Oh,...well then would you mind turning the vaccuum cleaner back on?" That's when the Superman exchange comes in.

Does that help at all?

Yes, it helps a great deal. Thanks for taking the time to describe them. I remember these scenes, with the exception of Kelly's wedding. The thing is, I didn't recognize the woman as a recurring character. You can be sure I won't miss any of her cameos in the future.
I still can't place her in my mind. I recall the few scenes, but not the actress herself.
I'm on the lookout now. :)

For what it's worth, Beth Grant has done some dramatic acting in movies, too. Probably her most famous role is when she played one of the bus passengers in the movie, "Speed." She's the one that tries to step off of the bus and ends up getting blown up by the bomber and then run over by the bus.

Also, in "Time to Kill", she was the mother of one of the rapists. She appears in the scene where Samuel L. Jackson shows up at the police station and shoots both of the rapists, himself.

I don't know if that helps you put together a face with the name, but I figured it couldn't hurt to mention it.

I looked up Beth Grant on the web and finally saw what she looks like, and I recognized her. It's gotta be from Coach and the movies that I've seen her in. I take it she's a character actress of sorts.

I was watching the episode when Hayden and Christine try to get married in the little chapel that's falling apart. I forgot that Beth is in that one, too! She's the wife of the forest ranger played by Alan Young. She plays a really lousy organ, hooked up to a generator when the electricity goes out. Very funny!

Originally posted by highloon
I was watching the episode when Hayden and Christine try to get married in the little chapel that's falling apart. I forgot that Beth is in that one, too! She's the wife of the forest ranger played by Alan Young. She plays a really lousy organ, hooked up to a generator when the electricity goes out. Very funny!
I missed this episode. I hate how they just jumped ahead with Hayden and Christine already married. I never saw them get married. It was going along in chronological order until a few weeks ago, and then I heard it's going back to season one. grrrrrrr.

Yeah.. the church starts to fall apart.. I remember that one too.


I would actually have Tivo record the whole series if they actually played them in order, so I can convert them to tapes.

I'll likely watch the old ones again when they restart just because I like the old ones the best

Beth Grant

I tend to agree with you on the old episodes. They were the best. Before Hayden was tamed by Christine, before Stewart left, before the Eagles were champs, and of course, before the baby. Aaahh!!

It's tough to top eps like the grape juice stain, the Loons, the love letter, and the ski trip. That's the creme de la creme in my opinion. There are many others, of course, but those are the ones that immediately come to mind as faves.

Way to go, Janice. What site did you get that from? She looks a lot livelier than her Coach characters, that's for sure. BTW, my wife and I rented an awful movie last night called Donnie Darko and guess who was one of the leads? Yep, Beth Grant. They had a dvd link to her past credits. For fun, we selected it. Wow! She has been working non-stop since Coach! What a resume!
Anyway, thanks again for the pic.

I pulled Beth Grant's photo off the web somewhere, darned if I can remember where, lol. She looks very familiar to me. I know I've seen her in many roles.
My husband and I are serious movie buffs. We've got the 53" big screen tv with the surround sound. I make popcorn, and we rent every movie that was a box office success. I usually go to the movies only once or twice a month. I've seen them all. I was thinking of renting Donnie Darko, but now I'm not so sure.

If you and your husband are such big movie buffs, then I'm not surprised that you think you've seen Beth in many roles. Considering her background, you probably have.

Regarding your thought of possibly renting Donnie Darko, I recommend following Hayden's wise words, "Bury it! Bury it with a shovel and then bury the shovel!":D

Originally posted by highloon
I recommend following Hayden's wise words, "Bury it! Bury it with a shovel and then bury the shovel!":D
LOL, that was one of his funniest quotes ever. :lol:

I'm glad you love that moment as much as I do. I remember when I first saw that episode, and Christine had just finished telling Dauber that Judy would understand his romantic blunder with Charlie's mom. When Hayden said, "Here's another perspective...", I about died. His delivery was priceless. I was laughing and clapping, as I often do during Coach. Then when he followed that up with the shovel line, I was laughing so hard my face hurt! I miss having that episode on tape. I lost it several years ago. It was so good, and just another testament to Bill's awesome character development of Dauber. He carried that episode wonderfully!

I loved the retrospective show with Mary Hart the other night. They played the clip with the 'Bury the shovel' quote. I could watch that endlessly and laugh every time.
I also finally caught a glimpse of Beth Grant as the maid.
This 2-part episode was wonderful. The ending montage, set to the song, Jump (think that's the name) was great.
I enjoyed seeing clips of shows I've seen and a glimpse of what's to come. It was emotional to me for some reason.
Man, I just love this show. I ask myself, "How did I live my life happily before Coach?"
Lol, I'm exaggerating of course, but the show does add a lot of humor to my life. I tape it, and when I put the tape in and settle in to watch it with the hubby, I have such a feeling of anticipation. That's one benefit of being a first time viewer.

I loved the retrospective, too. When I saw it, I was having fun seeing clips from the first season, because I completely missed it. I was on the floor with the clip from the ep where Hayden and Luther attend the sports convention in Memphis. When Hayden came out in those Elvis pajamas, I thought I would die laughing. I couldn't stop. I had tears running down my cheeks. I'm dying to see that whole ep. Maybe some day I will.

Thankfully, Universal released the video of that retrospective and added about 15 minutes of outtakes, to boot! I highly recommend getting it if you can. I believe our friend with his own Coach site sells it. What's cool about having that video is that, a few months ago, Pam Stone was here in Vegas doing stand-up comedy, and after the show, I had her sign my video cover. It's got a big picture of Hayden and she drew an arrow pointing to his face and wrote the words, "Ham-headed Cretin", with her signature. That was fun.

One final note on the retropspective: The song at the end is "Shout." How important is it that you know the correct song? It couldn't be more unimportant. But just in case you're ever on Jeopardy and the subject comes up, I would hate for you to lose a thousand dollars by answering "Jump".:crazy:

You're right, it was of course, "Shout". I had the song in my head, but for some reason Jump was coming to mind. Too much eggnog, lol.
The scene with Hayden in the Elvis PJs was dead hilarious, especially with 'Love Me Tender' written on the back. As he rounds the corner of the bed, and we see the bellbottoms, it's funny beyond words. I saw this episode, and it's wonderful. It has a touching moment or two in it.
I just found out that Pam Stone is a stand-up comedienne. There's a few websites about her. She's won quite a few awards for her comedy.
Funny stuff about the Ham-headed Cretin. :lol:

Janice, I've only seen that one clip with the Elvis PJ's. What is the whole ep about? Also, what are the touching moments you referred to? Seeing as how it will probably be months or longer before I'm able to see it, I'd love to know the details. Fill me in, would you? Thanks!

I'll do my best highloon, but please bear in mind that I saw this episode once, months ago.
Hayden attends what I believe is a Coach's Conference. Luther tags along but promises to stay out of his way. The problems arise immediately when Hayden's reservation at the hotel is lost and he's forced to bunk with Luther in cramped quarters. I think Luther finds some friends (off camera) to hang out with...and discovers an Elvis activity which could be Graceland for all I remember.
Full of confidence, Hayden meets three real-life coaches sitting at a table in the hotel lobby. I'll be darned if I know who these famous guys are but the hubby told me this. I ask him a lot while watching Coach and a sport's figure comes on, "Is he a real guy?", lol.
Hayden approaches these men but is so intimidated that he says silly things, none of which I can recall of course. The men are summoned away leaving Hayden feeling alone and inadequate.
Meanwhile, Luther's having a ball while Hayden feels lost. It's obvious he's thinking he's a big fish in a small pond back in Minnesota. There may have been another incident to illustrate this. I recall some attendees didn't know who he was.
His ego deflated, Hayden decides to leave the Conference and go home. There's a scene where Hayden's at the hotel elevator and one of the three famous coachs from the earlier scene approaches Hayden and tells him how much he admires him, how fortunate he is to coach in such a nice city at a nice college. He tells Hayden how his own job is a grind and a pressurecooker.
This bolsters Hayden's spirits. I think he leaves anyway, and I also think that Luther stays behind.
The episode was funny of course as evidenced by that hilarious Elvis pajama scene, yet the tone of the show was sad. Hayden was or clearly felt out of his league. I like the character of Hayden a great deal so it was distressing to see him feeling so down.
Of course, when this episode airs, we can find all the discrepancies in this recollection. It'll be like a Where's Waldo game, lol.
I hope I filled in the blanks for you. It was a good show with Luther providing the comedy and Hayden having us feel sorry for him, but it had a happy ending.
It had that, "There's no place like home" feel to it. :)

Thanks Janice. Now I want to see that ep all the more! Some of my favorite Coach eps are the ones that blend great comedy with touching moments or character development. This certainly sounds like one of them. Someday soon! :(

Originally posted by Janice
I'll do my best highloon, but please bear in mind that I saw this episode once, months ago.
Hayden attends what I believe is a Coach's Conference. Luther tags along but promises to stay out of his way. The problems arise immediately when Hayden's reservation at the hotel is lost and he's forced to bunk with Luther in cramped quarters. I think Luther finds some friends (off camera) to hang out with...and discovers an Elvis activity which could be Graceland for all I remember.
Full of confidence, Hayden meets three real-life coaches sitting at a table in the hotel lobby. I'll be darned if I know who these famous guys are but the hubby told me this. I ask him a lot while watching Coach and a sport's figure comes on, "Is he a real guy?", lol.
Hayden approaches these men but is so intimidated that he says silly things, none of which I can recall of course. The men are summoned away leaving Hayden feeling alone and inadequate.
Meanwhile, Luther's having a ball while Hayden feels lost. It's obvious he's thinking he's a big fish in a small pond back in Minnesota. There may have been another incident to illustrate this. I recall some attendees didn't know who he was.
His ego deflated, Hayden decides to leave the Conference and go home. There's a scene where Hayden's at the hotel elevator and one of the three famous coachs from the earlier scene approaches Hayden and tells him how much he admires him, how fortunate he is to coach in such a nice city at a nice college. He tells Hayden how his own job is a grind and a pressurecooker.
This bolsters Hayden's spirits. I think he leaves anyway, and I also think that Luther stays behind.
The episode was funny of course as evidenced by that hilarious Elvis pajama scene, yet the tone of the show was sad. Hayden was or clearly felt out of his league. I like the character of Hayden a great deal so it was distressing to see him feeling so down.
Of course, when this episode airs, we can find all the discrepancies in this recollection. It'll be like a Where's Waldo game, lol.
I hope I filled in the blanks for you. It was a good show with Luther providing the comedy and Hayden having us feel sorry for him, but it had a happy ending.
It had that, "There's no place like home" feel to it. :)
This episode was on this week, and I'm sort of proud of myself on how accurate I was recalling the details. I had only seen the episode once.
Highloon, did you happen to catch it? That Elvis pajama scene will kill me one of these days I swear. :lol:

Hi Janice. Unfortunately, I still don't have cable, so I didn't see it. But some day soon, I will start getting the Columbia House tapes. In the mean time, I'm glad that I at least have the pajama scene on tape from the Mary Hart special. Oh well...

Beth Grant is on Facebook, and what a delightful lady she is. She described Coach as a great gig. All those moments listed are indeed hilarious. The Margot Kidder moment was probably my favorite. :lol: Beth Grant was great at deadpan. How she could say those lines with that stone face and bored voice without losing it is beyond me. :lol:

Oh, whenever Beth Grant's characters are referred to by name, the name is always the same - Martha. :D