The greatest one-off characters in television series history.

[quote] Appearing in only a single episode, but making an indelible impression nonetheless.

Does Jocko the Elephant, the one who killed Chuckles the Clown, count? He didn't actually appear, but he made an indelible impression.

I thought you were SERIOUS

Beamish! It’s all about Beamish!

The mysterious Beamish owns this thread.

Karl, Homer Simpson's gay personal assistant

Margo did get her own show, as Sandra Lee.

Who brought more lasting psychological torment to Kelly Garrett, Margo or Beamish?

I mean by 2020. Is 75-year-old Kelly G plagued by nightmares of one over the other? Or do they team up in her slumbering subconscious?

Dr. Jonathan Newman

Hell fucking lo!

Debí Storm is still making bank at conventions from her Brady Bunch character mousy nerd-überbitch Molly Weber.

I can’t remember the character's name, but I loved that elderly Jewish psychiatrist who told Carmela Soprano in the bluntest terms imaginable that she had to leave Tony.

Steve, the gay ex-football player who beat Archie Bunker at arm wrestling

Hinton Battle’s Sweet, the demon from the musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Roddy McDowall as Satan did battle with Mr. Roarke on a very special Fantasy Island.

Denny Miller gets two one-offs on Gilligan’s Island:

Tongo the fake ape man and Duke Williams the dim surfer boy.

Both characters elicited strange stirrings in gaylings in the 60s and. 70s as they beheld their first sight of a preening muscleman.

Al Dunbar, the bootlegger from [italic]What's Happening!![/italic]

Margo is EVERYTHING!

Kristen Johnston as Lexi Featherston and her classic exit.

Phyllis’s gay brother on Mary Tyler Moore.

Christine Baranski as the vicious "Dr. Nora" on Frasier.

Frieda Claxton

I'd say Gordon Jump's character on Diff'rent Strokes was pretty unforgettable.

I dare say Dudley has never forgotten him.

[quote] I can’t remember the character's name, but I loved that elderly Jewish psychiatrist who told Carmela Soprano in the bluntest terms imaginable that she had to leave Tony.

Season 3, Episode 7, "Second Opinion." Sully Boyar (died in 2001) as Dr. Krakower. Loved that scene. Very powerful. "One thing you can never say is that you haven't been told."

Also refused to take Carmela's money for the session.

The Chiclets from [italic]Punky Brewster[/italic]

Armand Linton, Mary Tyler Moore Show. He was actually on 2X.

Kendall, the gay male designer who died of AIDS on [italic]Designing Women[/italic]

Fuck, I thought I was old but the most modern reference are to an HBO series that ended 13 years ago and the rest are to ancient basic network fare of the most dubious sort.

So you'd rather we only mention modern fare of the most dubious sort?

Wanda's boyfriend, gangsta rapper Krazee-Eyez Killa, from Curb Your Enthusiasm

Madonna as nightmare roommate 'Liz' on W&G.

Team Margo. She was Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year and she knew how to work a crowd. And the fact they put her in a blonde Farrah work makes her all the more special.

Sorry meant WIG.

It worked for me R15. I had to go to my Boy Scouts meeting with my dick strapped under my belt because my hard-on wouldn't go down.

You bitches are slipping. Kate O'Mara - sister to Alexis Carrington AND Patsy Stone.

Khan!

Beverly LaSalle on All in the Family

Barbara Thorndyke, of course, you low-life, illiterate plebes.

The caterer:

I suppose the Soup Nazi on Seinfeld should be mentioned, but the joke is fading with time.

R12, that episode also featured guest star Tony Geary as the guy Archie thought was gay (but who was actually straight)

The hunky cantor and Fran's dream husband on The Nanny. He was played by Philip Cashnoff.

Beverly La Salle was on three episodes of All in the Family. So good they had to bring her back.

Bookman, library cop from Seinfeld, will never cease to be funny to me.

Vince Van Patten as the world's first bionic Boy ,on The Six Million Dollar Man 1976

r44 Photo of The Nanny's cantor played by Philip Casnoff.

The Boulderettes!

Zsa Zsa Gabor as Countess Calvet on "The Facts of Life".

George Glass on the Brady Bunch. He was dreamy,

[quote] Beverly LaSalle on All in the Family

I thought there were three episodes with this character

A newer show for r30, who demands that history bend toward the present.

But a very old actress in the part, and really, it’s more the performance than the character:

Lois Smith in The Americans.

Sure Jan R50.

George Glass is better known in American culture than Beverly La Salle, r53.

R37, nobody’s slipping but somebody’s sloppy.

Kate O’Mara played Jackie Stone in two episodes of AbFan and she appeared in 19 episodes of Dynasty as Caress.

Portia Fitzsimmons, art dealer in one episode of Dark Shadows.

R29

That was Tony Goldwyn. One of his very early acting jobs.

r41 - The Caterer came back for the Golden Girls episode "There Goes The Bride" when Dorothy nearly remarried Stan.

The drag queen in King of the Hill's "The Peggy Horror Picture Show".

Marvin Mitchelson as Stan's lawyer on the Golden Girls

Doris Roberts as the homeless woman on [italic]St. Elsewhere[/italic]

Joan Crawford as the 28-year-old Joan Borman Kane on The Secret Storm.

Demi Moore as aging babysitter 'Sissy' on W&G.

That blob that killed Tasha Yar on TNG.

Kathleen Turner as Cal's awful mother on The Path.

The Tribbles

"I'll wear this one to the pool."

Thanks for the laugh, R67!

John Waters as the gay antique shop owner on The Simpsons.

Another good one, R69. Waters has always spoken highly of his experience doing that show.

Seinfeld had a lot of one off character but nothing, ABSOLUTELY NO ONE was better than "Man-Hands."

Aaron Hill as the closeted gay footballer player on Party Down. They corral Lizzie Caplan to beard for him for the draft to better his chances, and she makes one gaffe after another as the stakes mount. The character is great because they let him be a total dick rather than a sympathy magnet.

Party Down is the most unsung sitcom of the new millennium. It’s on Hulu now. Only 20 episodes and most are gold.

I watched "Something Wild" the other day (dopey movie with a FANTASTIC soundtrack) and totally perked up when John Waters was the used car salesman. (Not TV, I know.)

R71---You are so wrong.

"Angels on the Line" is one of my favorite episodes of Charlie's Angels. I remember being hoodwinked as much as Kelly Garrett into believing that Margo was actually a woman.

Carolyn Seymour as Mirasta Yale on "ST: TNG"--one of the finest guest performances ever on a Star Trek show.

Susan Powell as Marla Aster on ST: TNG, from the episode "The Bonding." The screenplay of the episode is not that great, but Powell's heartbreaking performance is another absolutely first-rate Star Trek guest turn.

As a kid, I watched Angels on the Line in confusion. I assumed Margo’s character was a “female impersonator” as part of her hypnotism act at the club. That the angels didn’t also see this seemed insane. I couldn’t believe it took believe it to till the end of the episode and Cheryl Ladd tearing off his wig to figure it out.

She really did not just one but two episodes as Sherry Faris, the neurotic prostitute turned dress designer, but Barbara Colby was so hilarious in the role on "The MTM Show" that Grant Tinker gave her a regular role on "Phyllis." And then she was killed in a random drive-by shooting.

Who the fuck played Margo?

An Emmy is waiting to be picked up.

r30, why should anyone here cater to your youth? No one is here to entertain you, and DL skews middle-aged.

If you don't like that, fuck off

The episode cast doesn’t include its star, Margo, though Bruce Watson seems the likeliest.

And he killed himself.

Plus he was in some 1975 thriller called Swinging Barmaids, Which appears to be the prototype for Angel on the Line.

James Patrick Stuart as Guy in the Ski Lodge episode of [italic]Frasier[/italic]

Beulah Bondi stops by Walton's mountain.

The gay job applicant on "Wait Til Your Father Gets Home."

The Simpsons has so many of these. Hank Scorpio, Frank Grimes, Rex Banner...

Aunt Jenny deserved her own spinoff.

Oh, and Kay as well.

Keepin jiggling Peggy

R88, they gave her Family.

R85 is dressed very similar to R87

R84 I loved that episode. I found Beulah Bondi both fascinating and intimidating.

[quote][R41] - The Caterer came back for the Golden Girls episode "There Goes The Bride" when Dorothy nearly remarried Stan.

The Caterer is pure embodiment of the DL. Sassy, takes no shit and ready to slap.

Keegan de Lancie as Q2 in star Trek: Voyager. I think the character appeared in only one episode, but I would have watched a spin-off featuring Q2 and Icheb as roommates - and more.

Martha Plimpton on L&O:CI, as the deranged daughter of Bobby Goren's mentor.

Bette Davis as Constant Doyle, lady defense attorney on Perry Mason. She filled in for Raymond Burr while he was hospitalized for "minor corrective surgery."

No... no.

Kathy may have been in more than one episode but she was always still like a rare unicorn sighting.

[quote]The Caterer came back for the Golden Girls episode "There Goes The Bride"

But Coco, the housekeeper never did.

[quote]r55 Kate O’Mara...appeared in 19 episodes of Dynasty as Caress.

I was too polite to mention it.

re: R97

For a rich former actress, Nancy Reagan really didn't know how to order clothes that flattered her!

I'm throwing this slutty pic of Cheryl Ladd and her husband in here, just because it's a TV show thread.

Paul Factor

True that, #101. Looks like she had Driver take her to the Galleria.

R102 Cheryl’s husband has camel toe and she has fat rolls on her flabby thighs. All very 70s.

Teen pop star Lesley Gore as Catwoman’s bench kitten on Batman.

I especially like the maternal mentoring from Julie Newmar before Gore plugs a single.

Police Squad! had a great roster for Tonight’s Special Guest Star.

In a just world, this would have run for years, not six episodes.

[quote] Kathy may have been in more than one episode but she was always still like a rare unicorn sighting.

Remember when Arnold forgot and called her a "cripple" and then covered his mouth in horror, and Kathy responded furiously , "'Cripple'? I'm handi-capable, turkey!"?

Whatever happened to that actress? She was like a teeny-tiny Tootsie.

Ann Margrock

R108, she's running for Senate. (She ran unsuccessfully in 2017, and now she's gearing up for another run.)

This article from her 2017 gives her brief bio.

Michael Lipton as avant-garde interior designer Helasco (just Helasco), on "I Dream Of Jeannie," when Mrs. Bellows offered to redecorate Tony's house as a wedding present.

Hugh, Third of Five, on Star Trek Next Generation. So cute and adorable, for a Borg.

Steve Landsberg as Dr. Halperin (well, he was on twice, but he’s my favorite GG guest star so ...)

Lucas Hollingsworth in his 2-episode arc on The Golden Girls.

Not only did he manage to break through Dorothy's defenses, give her sex so good they named it and propose within 5 days of meeting her; he was also willing to let that vicious raisin-in-sneakers Sophia come and live in Hollingsworth Manor.

Finally, showing heroism not seen since he played Frank Drebin, he actually married a woman wearing the ugliest Wedding dress in TV history!

What a guy!

That was a nice article at r111. Thanks for posting.

Amanda Plummer as the Oracle of New Caprica in Battlestar Galactica.

Nobody does bananas with quite the same panache.

As a child I loved when guest stars turned up on Scooby Doo.

I think I felt an air of sophistication watching those episodes, especially the one with Cass Elliot in a fucking caftan.

^.

Emma Thompson as Nanny Gee on Cheers. One of my favorite episodes. They brought the character back on Frasier once or twice but not with Emma Thompson.

I'm still going with Dr Nora.

The fantabulous Miss Julie Brown as Buffy Denver on Newhart. Okay, technically she was on twice.

Greedy Gretchen on THREE'S COMPANY

"It's not a garden, it's a kitchen. A dirty...ol'...kitchen."

Abigail Mitchell played by Ruth Gordon on Columbo. Locked her hottie nephew-in-law in her walk-in safe.

Charismatic, charming, sardonic and murderous!

Ruth Gordon as Kirk’s grandma on Newhart. Also did two episodes, but absolutely stole both.

Eve Plumb as the dying little girl on Family Affair.

For a show with that glamorous and bouncy beginning credits, this show went fucking dark multiple times, this one taking the cake.

I'm dying.....

The late, great Colleen Dewhurst as Avery Brown on [italic]Murphy Brown[/italic]. (Technically she made 3 appearances, the one with the double date over a game of pool was the iconic one.)

Paul Reubens as the hideously inbred Prince Gerhardt on 30 Rock.

The absolute best was Charles Levin as the mohel in the Seinfeld episode "The Bris." He was fantastic.

What the fuck happened to the image for YouTube in Link Previews?

R48 Thank you!!!

Grandma Rue McClanahan on Boy Meets World sticks out. She was a cunt. She rolled into town in her Winnebago, made all kinds of promises and fun plans with the kids, and then she left in the middle of the night. As a kid it seemed so awful for a grandma to do such a thing.

Mrs. White on Malcolm in the Middle....

Cloris Leachman as the Polish grandmother on Malcolm in the Middle.

Honest to God, r66, I was going to post those exact words.

Cynthia, the girl from [italic]the Facts of Life[/italic] who beat Blair for class president then killed herself by downing a bottle of pills

Ann-Margrock

The Dregs of Humanity

On the topic of Star Trek, I’ve always enjoyed Ted Cassidy (Lurch) as in the episode What Little Girls Are Made Of.

He’s played as a hulking, menacing android, but looks like he was costumed by a six-year-old gayling who’s dressing a Ken doll.

George Glass.

R142, see r50.

George Tropicana.

COZI TV is showing the Beamish episode of Charlie's Angels right now. Creepy bitch.

Ruth Gordon as Carleton the doorman's mother on an episode of "Rhoda".

Lil' Vicki

Michael Stipe on The Adventures of Pete and Pete.

Frank Grimes on "The Simpsons"

The best Simpsons guest star was Hank Scorpio.

Emma McGill on Murder, She Wrote

Farrah on The Partridge Family

Alison the medium on the real housewives of Beverly Hills dinner party from hell episode

REY on real housewives of New York City

Brooke Shields on Quantum Leap.

Peter Doyle on X Files.

Charles Nelson Reilly on X Files

Lily Tomlin and Ed Asner...

Characters, not celebrities.

I do think Jose Chung has a good claim to the title for the X Files and Millennium, though.

The celebrities were all playing characters R159.

Grace Foster. She should have sued for defamation.

Carrie Fisher’s Rosemary on 30 Rock.

Never go to a second location with a hippie.

Carrie Fisher’s Rosemary on 30 Rock.

Never go to a second location with a hippie.

[quote]Cloris Leachman as the Polish grandmother on Malcolm in the Middle.

Reread the topic line, r136. She played Ida eleven times on that show.

Victor Garber as Frasier's butler

Danny Devito's stripper on Friends

Brenda Vaccaro as Angela on The Golden Girls

[quote]Wanda's boyfriend, gangsta rapper Krazee-Eyez Killa, from Curb Your Enthusiasm

Fun fact: the actor who played that part is Vanessa Williams' brother. He had a recurring role on "Silicon Valley."

Marla Maples on "The Nanny."

Is it that difficult to name the fictional character in the post, instead of adding just a link to the info?

IS IT??!!

"Frasier": Michael Keaton as "Blaine Sternin."

Jane Leeves in the famous Seinfeld episode, "The Contest". She played a virgin who ended up sleeping with JFK Jr.

"Law and Order": Double win---Michael McKean and (wife) Annette O'Toole as Elias and Valerie Grace.

SPLAT!

I thought Anne Francis played Margo. Who is that in OP’s pic?

[quote] Fuck, I thought I was old but the most modern reference are to an HBO series that ended 13 years ago and the rest are to ancient basic network fare of the most dubious sort.

I just wanted to tell you that you are SO not tedious and that EVERYONE here values so much what you have to say since you sound so intelligent!

Clint Howa4 in Star Trek

I'm watching Bette Davis as attorney Constance Doyle on "Perry Mason" right now!

I left an impression so indelible, to this day the humorless fatties of DL get a Charley Horse whenever they see me.

Lopsided Swedish girl from Little House on the Prarie.

Rapey the clown from Little House on the Prarie.

Detective Lieutenant Mike Rogo as God from Little House on the Prarie.

Mrs. Naugatuck as Crazy British Hag with Crow from Little House on the Prarie.

Tallulah Bankhead as Black Widow on "Batman."

Jim Bailey on Here's Lucy

R94 Keegan De Lancie is gay, out, and when last I heard works in the American diplomatic service.

r181 If you're going to use the word "prairie" four times, you might want to learn how to spell it.

[quote]I'm watching Bette Davis as attorney Constance Doyle on "Perry Mason" right now!

CONSTANT, not Constance. God knows why, but that's what her name was.

Mark Moses as David. His jeans were painted on.

Judy Cohen as Judy Cohen on Good Times

Oh wait, that's the greatest WTF character in television series history

Gregory in Curb Your Enthusiasm. FASHION!

Hilarious R189

At least I'm consistent.

And fuck you Nellie Olsen, aka R185.

R11. One of the greatest scenes ever. (Psychiatrist session with Carmela)

R191 Oleson, Not Olsen.

Man Hands