Famous Bit Players From "the Mary Tyler Moor Show."

Young Bruce Boxleitner is introduced to Murray's other daughter (not Helen Hunt), much to Murray's chagrin.

Do I count? I was unknown as an actress, anyway.

Nancy Walker

Brett Somers as Aunt Rose

That's all you've got OP?

Beth Howland played dual roles.

I think the episode OP references is the one where Beth and Bert Convy are a married couple and Mary's best friends. They announce to Mary that they are separating and Mary begins dating Bert some time later. She starts to feel guilty and visits Beth who says it is NOT okay for her to be dating Bert. (I thought Mary crossed the line as well and that it was a bit slutty for her to date her friend's ex, especially since not much time had passed i.e. it occurred in the same episode!).

Several seasons later, Beth made a re-appearance as a woman who Mary finds in her boyfriend's (played by Ted Bessell) apartment (this time Beth was the slut). Skip to 20:28.

Mary Tyler Moor.

Carole King!

Sheree North was already a name actress, whose stardom had already peaked in the 1950s. She was 20th Century Fox's back up Marilyn. Whenever Monroe was unavailable to do a picture, they'd bring in Sheree. That is, until Jayne Mansfield came along and usurped her position on the Fox lot.

Barbara Sharma. It confused me as a kid, seeing the MTM show where she played the waitress Rhoda called a 'feeb'. Then Rhoda moves to NYC and the feeb is now her friend Myrna.

If you put Barbara Sharma and Edie McClurg in a ring, who would win?

Not sure she would be considered unknown at the time, but Doris Roberts had a small part as employment counselor to Phyllis.

(During their meeting, she came across a fantastic job and ran off to apply for it herself, abandoning Phyllis.)

Barbara Colby, who played the prostitute cellmate when Mary was jailed for refusing to reveal a source. Barbara then went on to co-star on "Phyllis", but is most famous for being murdered after only several episodes were shot. Oh yeah, she was also once Ethel Merman's daughter-in-law.

Stow it, you dingy!! Vic Tayback played a police officer.

R3 Nancy Walker was a movie star in the '40s.

R8 see R2.

Why didn't Dick Van Dyke ever do a guest appearance??

He didn't but Jerry Van Dyke did.

I don't remember any of the other Van Dyke show regulars making guest shots. And interestingly, except for Richard Deacon, Jerry Paris, and Morey Amsterdam, they're all (Carl Reiner, Rose Marie, Ann Guilbert, Larry Mathews) still alive.

Wow. That casting director must have had quite an eye for talent.

Not sure why but prior to Three's Company John Ritter also played a recurring Reverend on The Waltons. He just doesn't scream reverend to me.

No one ever mentions Benjamin Chulay, who was in dozens of episodes as "Pete," the young blond guy who worked at the desk behind Mary in the newsroom. His father, John Chulay, was the assistant director on hundreds of episodes of MTM and earlier, The Dick Van Dyke Show.

R22. THANK YOU! He always caught my young gayling eye. I think they even threw him a line or two each season.

Leonard Frey on the episode titled "Ted Baxter's Famous Broadcaster's School," airing February 22, 1975. Frey played the role of Lawrence

Peter Strauss, the younger man Mary dated; she was self conscious about the age difference. Rhoda was hilarious! It was one of best shows.

Valerie Harper

Eileen Heckart as Mary's aunt

Irene Tedrow as Congresswoamn Geddes in the dinner party episode (same one with Henry Winkler)

Congresswoman

Buck would've never been a bit player on 'MTM'.

Paul Sand played the IRS agent who falls for Mary.

[quote]I don't remember any of the other Van Dyke show regulars making guest shots. And interestingly, except for Richard Deacon, Jerry Paris, and Morey Amsterdam, they're all (Carl Reiner, Rose Marie, Ann Guilbert, Larry Mathews) still alive.

Not anymore.

What are we -- chopped liver?

Johnny Carson in the dark.

[quote]Buck would've never been a bit player on 'MTM'.

Buck never would have done sitcom television.

Ted and Georgette adopted Cousin Oliver.

Benjamin Chulay, as "Pete," the cute blonde guy often in the background at WJM.

Mary Kay Place won an Emmy for writing on of the MTM episodes.

Bernie Kopell had dozens of credits, and was a regular/recurring character on Get Smart, That Girl, and The Doris Day Show prior to appearing as a guest on MTM, and he was currently in the cast of When Things Were Rotten at the time of that guest shot.

SJP played Murray’s Girlfriend

Greg Mullavey

Lee Montgomery as Stevie the Brat.