Five Times Sitcom Stunt-Casting Somehow Turned Out Great
One of the most obnoxious sitcom tropes is when a show becomes popular enough that celebrities begin appearing on it as themselves. (I’m looking at you, Dr. Phil on Frasier, Nancy Reagan on Diff’rent Strokes and Bradley Cooper on Abbott Elementary.) Now, some shows have made it work. Insane guest stars are The Simpsons thing, for example. And Curb Your Enthusiasm is about a guy in show business, so celebrities playing themselves makes total sense. But when a show is about ordinary people yet gigantic household names keep showing up on their doorstep the reality of that world is blown apart.
There have, however, been a handful of times when a celebrity played themselves on a sitcom and actually pulled it off. These are the top five…
Marisa Tomei on ‘Seinfeld’
Tomei’s appearance on Seinfeld worked out of sheer absurdity alone. The very idea that the pathetic George Costanza (Jason Alexander) would be exactly her type is funny on its own, but when George and Marisa meet, the comedy is sublime. Not only is Marisa hopelessly charmed by George’s idiotic small talk about manure, but she then asks, with complete sincerity, “So tell me, how is it that a man like you, so bald, so quirky and funny, how is it you’re not taken?” Only for George to respond with, “Well, Marisa, see, the thing is… I’m sort of engaged.”
Johnny Carson on ‘Newhart’
While he was hosting The Tonight Show, Carson almost never did guest spots, but he made an exception in 1989 for his pal Bob Newhart. In an episode of Newhart’s second sitcom, Newhart, the bizarre woodsman Larry (William Sanderson) claims that he and his two even more bizarre brothers (Tony Papenfuss and John Voldstad) are pals with Carson. And, even more randomly, Carson paid their gas bill.
It was just one weird thing for Larry to say on top of the countless other weird things he said throughout the series, so when Carson shows up to defend his buddy Larry, it’s a total surprise. Instead of having Carson star in an episode as a guest at Newhart’s character’s inn — which is likely what a lesser show would have done — they stunt cast one of the biggest stars in the country for the sake of a 30-second joke.
Harpo Marx on ‘I Love Lucy’
I Love Lucy is the perfect example of a show that went way overboard with the number of celebrities who just popped up in Lucy’s life — even with her husband Ricky (Desi Arnaz) being in show business, it stretched credulity. The show found very random reasons to include some of the biggest stars at the time (e.g., John Wayne, Bob Hope and Orson Welles).
But there was one time the show nailed it, and that was when Lucy (Lucille Ball) meets Harpo Marx. Trying to make herself seem important, Lucy claims to her rival Caroline Appleby (Doris Singleton) that the party she’s throwing will be full of celebrities. Throughout the episode, Lucy disguises herself as various celebrities and the ruse works, but when she dresses up as Harpo Marx, she runs into the real Harpo, with hilarious results.
That premise might seem forced, but Ball and Marx were two of the greatest comedic stars of the 20th century, and so, they made it feel seamless. They even recreated the mirror gag from Duck Soup — a precise bit of physical comedy that they executed flawlessly.
Alex Trebek on ‘Cheers’
Putting Cheers’ local know-it-all on Jeopardy! was an irresistibly funny idea. Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger) was in love with factoids — regardless of how true they were — so it figured that he would be a dedicated Jeopardy! fan who imagined himself as an ideal contestant. When Cliff finally made it onto the show, all Trebek had to do was what he did best for 37 seasons: play it straight. The whole thing was comedy gold and easily Cliff’s most memorable episode.
Sammy Davis Jr. on ‘All in the Family’
Davis — one of the most famous people on Earth in the 1970s — ended up visiting the Bunker household because he left his briefcase in Archie Bunker’s cab. That’s exactly the type of contrivance that badly stunt-casted sitcom episodes are built upon, but it works in All in the Family thanks to Carroll O’Connor (aka Archie Bunker). Sure, the episode is well written and Davis plays his regular charming self, but in his scenes with Davis, O’Connor walks a careful tightrope of prejudice and awe. It’s a masterful performance, and the main reason why this is one of the most beloved episodes of one of the most important sitcoms in TV history.