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January 5 Information
Who are the gods and goddesses of television actors?
I don't think CSI qualifies. The article states he was a regular for only four seasons (12-15), plus in a large ensemble cast, was he one of the big stars? It's not a show I watched much, but I thought that distinction belonged to William Petersen. Close though.
Clarityfiend (
talk)
09:50, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Another 3-fer:
Betty White for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland. Plus, if you count non-acting roles, she was a regular on many of the highly popular panel shows of the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, if you asked me, given her LONG career in the medium in various roles, which beside her acting and non-acting screen roles also include producer and writer and others, she'd be my first shot for "Queen of Television". --
Jayron3212:35, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
I'm okay with her as POTUS, but she had only a recurring role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and O'Connor's Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons.
Clarityfiend (
talk)
08:45, 7 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Harry Morgan should get an honorable mention. He was on TV pretty much continuously for 4 decades, playing Pete Porter on a series of CBS sitcoms in the 1950s and 1960s including December Bride and Pete and Gladys, plus Bill Gannon on the 1967 revival of Dragnet and Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H. In between all of those, he also played in a number of less successful series. --
Jayron3212:47, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
I searched the out-of-date IMDB raw data files that are still available at ftp.fu-berlin.de, and looked for TV series where the same actor or actress appeared 50 or more times, excluding appearances as himself or herself. The greatest number of different TV series with 50+ credits each for one actor or actress was
27 different series for
Frank Welker, including 198 credits on The Smurfs, 140 on The Real Ghostbusters, and 118 on Garfield and Friends, and so on down. If I excluded voice performances, then the champion was
Hilda Bernard, with 50+ credits on
21 different series, all apparently in Spanish, including 311 credits on Chiquititas, 272 on Malevo, 255 on Se dice amor, and so on down. Most other people with large numbers of credits on large numbers of different series also have names that appear to be Spanish. --
174.95.161.129 (
talk)
08:15, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Part of that is the organization of Spanish language TV series (especially in Latin America) is different than English Language. The
Telenovela format doesn't usually run for more than a season, though a single season may run nightly for 150-200 episodes, so it would be common for an actor to appear in a different series every year, and to rack up hundreds of such credits. It would be similar to U.S.
daytime soap operas, if instead of a continuing storyline, every 6 months or so the show just ended and a new show started in its place. --
Jayron3211:57, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply
IMHO this question is misplaced. It is entirely opinion-based, additionally with arbitrary, personally chosen criteria, which makes any possible answer arbitrary, too. --
CiaPan (
talk)
12:09, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Welcome to the Wikipedia Entertainment Reference Desk Archives
The page you are currently viewing is a
transcluded archive page. While you can leave answers for any questions shown below, please ask new questions on one of the
current reference desk pages.
January 5 Information
Who are the gods and goddesses of television actors?
I don't think CSI qualifies. The article states he was a regular for only four seasons (12-15), plus in a large ensemble cast, was he one of the big stars? It's not a show I watched much, but I thought that distinction belonged to William Petersen. Close though.
Clarityfiend (
talk)
09:50, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Another 3-fer:
Betty White for The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Golden Girls, and Hot in Cleveland. Plus, if you count non-acting roles, she was a regular on many of the highly popular panel shows of the 1950s and 1960s. In fact, if you asked me, given her LONG career in the medium in various roles, which beside her acting and non-acting screen roles also include producer and writer and others, she'd be my first shot for "Queen of Television". --
Jayron3212:35, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
I'm okay with her as POTUS, but she had only a recurring role in The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and O'Connor's Archie Bunker's Place lasted four seasons.
Clarityfiend (
talk)
08:45, 7 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Harry Morgan should get an honorable mention. He was on TV pretty much continuously for 4 decades, playing Pete Porter on a series of CBS sitcoms in the 1950s and 1960s including December Bride and Pete and Gladys, plus Bill Gannon on the 1967 revival of Dragnet and Sherman Potter on M*A*S*H. In between all of those, he also played in a number of less successful series. --
Jayron3212:47, 5 January 2021 (UTC)reply
I searched the out-of-date IMDB raw data files that are still available at ftp.fu-berlin.de, and looked for TV series where the same actor or actress appeared 50 or more times, excluding appearances as himself or herself. The greatest number of different TV series with 50+ credits each for one actor or actress was
27 different series for
Frank Welker, including 198 credits on The Smurfs, 140 on The Real Ghostbusters, and 118 on Garfield and Friends, and so on down. If I excluded voice performances, then the champion was
Hilda Bernard, with 50+ credits on
21 different series, all apparently in Spanish, including 311 credits on Chiquititas, 272 on Malevo, 255 on Se dice amor, and so on down. Most other people with large numbers of credits on large numbers of different series also have names that appear to be Spanish. --
174.95.161.129 (
talk)
08:15, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply
Part of that is the organization of Spanish language TV series (especially in Latin America) is different than English Language. The
Telenovela format doesn't usually run for more than a season, though a single season may run nightly for 150-200 episodes, so it would be common for an actor to appear in a different series every year, and to rack up hundreds of such credits. It would be similar to U.S.
daytime soap operas, if instead of a continuing storyline, every 6 months or so the show just ended and a new show started in its place. --
Jayron3211:57, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply
IMHO this question is misplaced. It is entirely opinion-based, additionally with arbitrary, personally chosen criteria, which makes any possible answer arbitrary, too. --
CiaPan (
talk)
12:09, 6 January 2021 (UTC)reply