The Faces You Know
Classic television depended on performers who could walk into an episode and establish a character almost instantly. Throughout the 1960s, 70s, and early 80s, these actors and actresses played neighbors, bosses, cops, doctors, relatives, crooks, and eccentrics. Their names weren't always famous, but their faces became almost impossible to forget.
Screenshot of Barbara Rhoades in
William Schallert
William Schallert was already a veteran when he became Martin Lane on The Patty Duke Show. Afterward, he seemed to appear everywhere. From Star Trek and The Partridge Family to The Waltons and The Incredible Hulk, Schallert could convincingly become a doctor, father, bureaucrat, professor, or practically anything else producers required.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Alice Ghostley
Alice Ghostley's nervous delivery and wonderfully expressive face made even small roles memorable. Best remembered by many as Esmeralda on Bewitched, she also appeared on Car 54, Where Are You?, The Odd Couple, and numerous other programs. Later, a recurring role on Designing Women introduced her comic talents to another generation.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Richard Deacon
Richard Deacon practically cornered the market on pompous authority figures. His bald head, precise voice, and talent for indignation made him an ideal television straight man. Mel Cooley on The Dick Van Dyke Show became his signature role, but Deacon also appeared on The Beverly Hillbillies, The Munsters, and countless other programs.
Rogers & Cowan (publicity agency), Beverly Hills., Wikimedia Commons
Marjorie Bennett
Australian-born Marjorie Bennett was one of those actresses who could make a maid, landlady, neighbor, or society matron memorable with only a few lines. Her extensive television work included appearances on I Love Lucy, The Beverly Hillbillies, Bewitched, and The Odd Couple. Her distinctive voice and expressive face were difficult to miss.
University of Southern California, Getty Images
James Hong
Few performers better embody the phrase "I know that guy!" than James Hong. During the 1960s and 70s alone, viewers encountered him on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Hawaii Five-O, Kung Fu, and The Rockford Files. Hong's remarkable longevity eventually made his familiar face part of several generations of American entertainment.
Television Programs of America, Inc., Wikimedia Commons
Amzie Strickland
Amzie Strickland accumulated hundreds of appearances while rarely becoming a household name. Her friendly, adaptable screen presence made her perfect for neighbors, nurses, secretaries, mothers, and townspeople. She turned up on The Andy Griffith Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Twilight Zone, Bonanza, and scores of other familiar programs.
Studio Publicity, Wikimedia Commons
Kenneth Mars
Kenneth Mars could turn pomposity into an art form. Mel Brooks memorably used that talent in The Producers (1967) and Young Frankenstein (1974), while television producers kept him equally busy. Mars appeared on Get Smart, McMillan & Wife, The Bob Newhart Show, and other series, frequently playing men magnificently impressed with themselves.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Barbara Rhoades
Tall, striking Barbara Rhoades became one of those wonderfully familiar faces who seemed to appear everywhere in 1970s television. She guest-starred on Columbo, Kojak, Starsky & Hutch, The Odd Couple, The Six Million Dollar Man, Sanford and Son, and Maude, while also becoming a regular on Busting Loose. Moviegoers may remember her opposite Don Knotts in The Shakiest Gun in the West (1968), while game-show fans saw her frequently on Match Game.
M. Emmet Walsh
M. Emmet Walsh possessed the rumpled appearance of a man who had already experienced a very long day. Beginning in the late 1960s, he became extraordinarily prolific. Television credits included All in the Family, The Rockford Files, and Little House on the Prairie, while dozens of movies made his wonderfully distinctive face even more recognizable.
Screenshot of Emmet Walsh in 'The Rockford Files', 1975, NBC
Fritzi Burr
Fritzi Burr was exactly the kind of performer sitcom producers loved. She could arrive as an overbearing customer, nosy neighbor, irritated wife, or eccentric stranger and immediately make the scene funnier. Her credits included The Odd Couple, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Maude, The Love Boat, Sanford and Son, and numerous other 1970s favorites.
Screenshot from Sanford and Son, NBC (1974–1977)
Hamilton Camp
Small in stature but enormous in personality, Hamilton Camp brought eccentric energy to practically everything. After starring in The Good Guys, he became a prolific guest performer on programs including Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, M*A*S*H, and WKRP in Cincinnati. His unusual voice also helped him build an extensive second career in animation.
Screenshot from Rock & Roll, PBS (1995–1996)
Lurene Tuttle
Lurene Tuttle had been a major radio performer before television audiences became accustomed to seeing her as mothers, aunts, neighbors, and society women. She appeared on programs ranging from Perry Mason and Leave It to Beaver to The Mary Tyler Moore Show. Her warm authority made her an especially convincing television relative.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Philip Baker Hall
Before younger audiences discovered Philip Baker Hall through movies and Seinfeld, he spent years accumulating television appearances. His stern features and gravelly delivery made him ideal for judges, doctors, officials, and intimidating professionals. During the 1970s and early 80s, his credits included M*A*S*H, Good Times, and Man from Atlantis.
David Shankbone, Wikimedia Commons
Joyce Jameson
Joyce Jameson could be glamorous, funny, vulnerable, or completely eccentric. She memorably played Skippy, one of the "fun girls" from Mount Pilot, on The Andy Griffith Show, but that was only one small piece of her career. Her other television credits included The Twilight Zone, Perry Mason, McHale's Navy, and The Rockford Files.
unknown (CBS), Wikimedia Commons
David Huddleston
Long before The Big Lebowski (1998), David Huddleston's imposing frame and booming voice were familiar to television viewers. He could play sheriffs, politicians, businessmen, villains, or surprisingly gentle characters. His numerous credits included Gunsmoke, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Rockford Files, and Magnum, P.I.
Trailer to Breakheart Pass (1975), Wikimedia Commons
Severn Darden
Nobody did intellectual weirdness quite like Severn Darden. A veteran of Chicago's Second City, Darden brought wonderfully deadpan absurdity to comedy and drama alike. His television appearances included The Monkees, I Dream of Jeannie, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and Laverne & Shirley, often playing characters operating on a wavelength entirely their own.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
Fran Ryan
Fran Ryan became especially familiar to Western fans when she joined Gunsmoke as saloon owner Hannah. But her booming personality and no-nonsense manner made her useful everywhere. Ryan appeared on The Doris Day Show, The Partridge Family, The Waltons, and numerous other series, often playing women nobody in the room dared underestimate.
Pebble Bay Entertainment, Wikimedia Commons
Alex Rocco
Alex Rocco's unmistakable gravelly voice made him recognizable before viewers even saw his face. After playing Moe Greene in The Godfather (1972), he remained enormously busy on television. Starsky & Hutch, The Facts of Life, and The Rockford Files were among the many shows that benefited from his wonderfully streetwise presence.
Barbara Cason
Barbara Cason's sharp delivery made her ideal for strong-willed wives, mothers, employers, and authority figures. She appeared throughout 1970s television, including roles on The Odd Couple, Maude, Barney Miller, and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. Cason also had a recurring role on Rhoda, becoming one of those faces sitcom audiences simply expected to see.
ABC Television, Wikimedia Commons
John Fiedler
John Fiedler's small frame, high-pitched voice, and nervous demeanor made him instantly identifiable. Adults saw him on The Odd Couple, The Bob Newhart Show, Maude, and many other programs. Children knew him without seeing him at all: beginning in the 1960s, Fiedler provided the unmistakably timid voice of Disney's Piglet.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Alice Nunn
Alice Nunn could look formidable before she even spoke. Her imposing presence led to a steady stream of character parts, particularly during the 1970s and 80s. Television audiences saw her on The Jeffersons, Little House on the Prairie, and Punky Brewster, while movie audiences may remember her particularly memorable appearance in Pee-wee's Big Adventure (1985).
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Alan Oppenheimer
Before becoming famous to children as the voice of Skeletor, Alan Oppenheimer spent years as an extremely busy live-action character actor. He appeared on Get Smart, Hogan's Heroes, The Six Million Dollar Man, Happy Days, and Three's Company. Doctors and officials were specialties, although Oppenheimer could comfortably play comedy or drama.
Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, Wikimedia Commons
Florence Halop
Florence Halop's raspy voice made her practically impossible to confuse with anybody else. She spent years playing outspoken women on programs including Barney Miller, Soap, and The Love Boat. Later, she became especially familiar as bailiff Florence Kleiner on Night Court, taking over after the death of fellow character actress Selma Diamond.
CBS photo by Walt Davis, Wikimedia Commons
Val Bisoglio
Val Bisoglio's gravelly voice and lived-in face made him instantly believable as a father, restaurant owner, or neighborhood working man. He appeared on All in the Family, Barney Miller, The Rockford Files, and Quincy, M.E. Moviegoers also knew him as Frank Manero Sr., John Travolta's frustrated father in Saturday Night Fever (1977).
Screenshot from Saturday Night Fever, Paramount Pictures (1977)
Selma Diamond
Tiny, raspy-voiced Selma Diamond could deliver a sarcastic line like few others. A successful comedy writer before becoming widely recognized as a performer, Diamond appeared on numerous talk and variety programs before landing her best-known role as bailiff Selma Hacker on Night Court. Her unmistakable voice made her seem larger than life.
Screenshot from Night Court, Warner Bros. Television Distribution (1984)
Richard Stahl
Richard Stahl specialized in characters who could make a perfectly normal scene suddenly feel peculiar. His superb deadpan delivery made him especially valuable to sitcoms. During the 1970s and early 80s, Stahl appeared on The Bob Newhart Show, Laverne & Shirley, Happy Days, Barney Miller, and WKRP in Cincinnati.
Screenshot from The Odd Couple, Paramount Pictures (1970–1975)
Peggy Rea
Peggy Rea's warm face made her a natural for mothers, aunts, housekeepers, and friendly neighbors, although she could also deliver comedy with considerable bite. Her long television career included I Love Lucy, The Waltons, and The Dukes of Hazzard. She later became a regular on Grace Under Fire.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Woodrow Parfrey
Woodrow Parfrey could look worried, suspicious, officious, or all three simultaneously. That made him a tremendously useful character actor. He appeared on The Man from U.N.C.L.E., Mission: Impossible, The Waltons, Barney Miller, and The Incredible Hulk. His nervous intensity could turn even an ordinary bureaucrat into somebody worth watching.
CBS Television, Wikimedia Commons
Anne Ramsey
Before The Goonies (1985) and Throw Momma from the Train (1987) made Anne Ramsey's wonderfully intimidating presence famous, she had spent years working in television. Her credits included Little House on the Prairie, Wonder Woman, Three's Company, and CHiPs. Ramsey could make even a brief appearance feel larger than the role.
Screenshot from Throw Momma from the Train, Orion Pictures (1987)
Mills Watson
With his expressive face and unmistakable country delivery, Mills Watson could play lawmen, bullies, loudmouths, and rural eccentrics. He appeared on Gunsmoke, M*A*S*H, and The Rockford Files before becoming especially familiar as Deputy Perkins on B.J. and the Bear and its spinoff The Misadventures of Sheriff Lobo.
NBC Television, Wikimedia Commons
Susan Tolsky
Susan Tolsky's high-pitched voice and quirky comic delivery made her instantly recognizable to 1970s television audiences. After gaining attention on Here Come the Brides, she appeared on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Barney Miller, and other programs. She later became an especially prolific voice actress, extending her career well beyond live-action television.
Robert Donner
Robert Donner's lanky build and wonderfully unusual features made him a natural for prospectors, eccentrics, crooks, and assorted oddballs. He appeared on The Rifleman, Gunsmoke, The Waltons, and Mork & Mindy. No matter how small the role, Donner had the kind of face audiences tended to remember afterward.
unknown (20th Century Fox), Wikimedia Commons
Renée Lippin
Renée Lippin became one of those performers who seemed to turn up whenever a 1970s sitcom needed an attractive, sophisticated, or slightly frazzled guest character. Her television credits included The Bob Newhart Show, All in the Family, The Love Boat, and Barney Miller, helping make her a familiar presence without making her a household name.
Richard Libertini
Richard Libertini possessed a remarkable talent for accents, physical comedy, and characters who seemed to operate according to their own logic. Movie roles eventually brought greater recognition, but television audiences also encountered him throughout the 1970s. His unusual appearance and fearless comic style ensured that even brief parts rarely disappeared into the background.
Randi Oakes
Before becoming a regular as Officer Bonnie Clark on CHiPs, Randi Oakes was one of the familiar young guest actresses who populated 1970s television. She appeared multiple times on The Love Boat and other programs of the era. Her CHiPs role finally gave audiences a name to attach to the familiar face.
Michael J. Pollard
Michael J. Pollard's cherubic face and eccentric manner made him impossible to mistake for anyone else. His Oscar-nominated performance in Bonnie and Clyde (1967) brought considerable attention, but television remained part of his career. He appeared on Star Trek, The Lucy Show, Lost in Space, and later Simon & Simon.
Distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts., Wikimedia Commons
Tracey Walter
Tracey Walter looked like he had an interesting story to tell, although it probably wasn't going to be normal. His distinctive features helped him build a career playing henchmen, mechanics, criminals, and eccentrics. By the late 1970s and early 80s, viewers were already spotting Walter on programs including WKRP in Cincinnati and Taxi.
David Zaugh, Wikimedia Commons
They Made Television Feel Real
These performers rarely received the biggest dressing rooms or saw their names above the title, yet television depended upon them. They could establish an entire personality within minutes and then return the following week playing somebody completely different. We may have forgotten some of their names, but those wonderfully familiar faces never really left us.
Unknown authorUnknown author, Wikimedia Commons
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