I am constantly seeing familiar faces in real, actual movies of actors that appear in movies I see on MST3K.? Today I watched the 1956 serious movie “Julius Caeser” and one of the Roman senator-type guys was the sort of German scientist from “LOST CONTINENT.”
Oh, yeah, this is happening all the time. It even happens on the show. On several occasions we got riffs like “Oh goody! This guy!” or “Hey, it’s THAT guy!”
According to Daddy-O, there are more than 7,000 credited performances in 200 or so MST3K movies, so you’re bound to run across some of them doing other stuff.
Recently I was watching “The Baroness and the Butler” on TCM and a very familiar face came on the screen.
It was actor Maurice Cass (I learned after looking him up) better known to us as Professor Newton on the “Rocky Jones” episodes.
So, Tim Servo wanted to get into a whole “seven degrees of connection” thing, but I think that’d be too complicated.
But I DID want to get into the “that guy” phenomenon. Have you had a “that guy” (or gal) moment with somebody in an MSTed movie? Who’s your favorite “that guy”?
Me, I’d have to go with George Cisar:
who was in the movie in episode 406- ATTACK OF THE GIANT LEECHES and is best remembered as “the doughy guy” in the movie in episode 522- TEEN-AGE CRIME WAVE.
What about you?
) to help our users cope with "trolls" and other commenters whom they find annoying. Go to our
@90: Speaking of John Allen Relson, he turned up on a series of ’24’ as the double-crossing chief of staff to President Logan a few years back. I seem to remember Jack Bauer threatened to take out his eye with a knife. All I could think was ‘Hey, Deathstalker wouldn’t put up with this crap’!
Yet another one– if anyone has seen “Beverly Hillbillies-the Movie”; near the end, when the hillbilly cousins are being flown in for the wedding, look closely at one of the passengers on the plane– it’s the yucky farm-owner from “Giant Spider Invasion”, who also played the leader of the witch-hunt in “The Touch of Satan”.
The depressing dad from High School Big Shot and I Was A Teenage Werewolf had a scene with Cary Grant in North By Northwest, right before the famous plane scene. The dad from The Space Children was also the knife throwing gardener in North By Northwest. So they at least got to do one great movie.
Oh yeah, I KNEW I recognized the Space Children dad from somewhere!
Regarding Quest Of The Delta Knights, sure David Warner’s been in all sorts of geeky stuff from Star Trek to Tron to Batman: The Animated Series, but I was delighted to find that the lovely Thena (Brigid Branagh) had recurring roles in Kindred: The Embraced and Angel. (And an episode of Roar, Heath Ledger’s first starring role. Anybody else remember that show? I may have been the only one who saw it.) She’s also made numerous appearances on the sort of non-geeky TV shows I would never watch, and is a regular on something called Army Wives. I dunno, I don’t watch TV anymore.)
Okay, I may have a little crush. :blush:
Reading through the posts since yesterday afternoon, I noticed a few recognizing actors and actresses from “Quest of the Delta Knights” in other movies or tv shows, which caused me to remember that the actress who played Thena (“short for Athena!”) in that movie appears in an episode of the tv show Charmed. You can see her dough rise in the season 2 episode “That Old Black Magic”, where she plays the evil witch Tuatha.
Also, I think I remember seeing the sleazy doctor from “The Brain that Wouldn’t Die” in one of the “Planet of the Apes” movies, the one where Cornelius and his wife travel to our planet. He plays an assistant to the scientist who ends up killing the Professor Bobo precursors, I think.
Hey Critter I’m watching the Sopranos and guess who’s directing? Tim Van Pattan AKA Max Keller.
Peggy Weber, the heroine of The Screaming Skull, aside from being in The Space Children, was in The Wrong Man with Henry Fonda and in a multitude of television appearances from Gunsmoke to Dragnet to Bosum Buddies. The guy that played her evil husband in The Screaming Skull also played the evil boyfriend of the 50-foot woman.
I could watch her dough rise all day… *cough*
ANYWAY. I don’t think anyone’s mentioned that John Ashley, the 30-year-old lead teenager form Attack Of The The Eye Creatures also stars in Brides Of Blood and Beast Of Blood, AKA Cinematic Titanic’s Danger On Tiki Island and Blood Of The Vampires. But he’ll always be remembered as the narrator of the opening titles for The A-Team: “In 1972, a crack commando unit was sent to prison by a military court for a crime they didn’t commit…”
Actually, I didn’t know about the A-Team thing but then I wasn’t a fan. John Ashley was also in the Beach Blanket movies (in which I seem to recall he played Frankie Avalon’s rival)and Hud.
Ian Sera,The “It stinks guy” from Pod People, gets his crotch ripped out by a pieced together corpse in the movie, Pieces.
My husband just picked up the Irwin Allen value pack from Costco and we fired up Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea; Robert Easton (late of Giant Spider Invasion and Touch of Satan) is the radio controller. And what does my husband say but, “Hey, it’s that GUY!” True story.
#67 Flying Saucers over Oz:
That’s funny :) Just saw Ssssssss…for the first time a
couple weeks ago and it was driving me crazy who THAT guy,
the bolt-headed jock dude was…it was Big McLargehuge!
#106-Fart Bargo: That’s great! Maybe Tim has finally found his calling. :)
Vivienne Osborne(who played Jimmy’s mom in I Accuse My Parents)is in a movie called Two Seconds with Edward G. Robinson.A great movie,by the way!
I was watching The Red Badge of Courage and was very surprised to see a YOUNG Robert Easton, (AKA JEEEEEED!) from Giant Spider Invasion. Turns out, the guy has been making a living in Hollywood as a dialect coach.
Ironically, in the movie The Loved One, Robert Easton plays a hick actor named Dusty Acres who needs a dialect coach so he can play Richard the Lionhearted (or some such English character). He was also a “Quiz Kid” as a youth, so you can see how, with such a vast intellect, he was the only actor who could have played Kester in Giant Spider Invasion. And the fact that he’s from Wisconsin didn’t hurt, I’m sure.
Hallmark channel shows 3 episodes in a row of Little House on the Prairie a day. One day I noticed that King “Captain Torcha!” Moody from Teenagers from Outer Space had a small part as a swedish farmer, dated mid 70’s.
I totally forgot to mention that Easton was also the Klingon judge in Star Trek VI! Really blew me away.
Probably the one for me was Asa Maynor, who was one of the prostitutes from “Girl in Lovers Lane.” I recognized her as the stewardess in the “Nightmare at 20,000 Feet” episode of “Twilight Zone.”
I had a couple ‘sightings’ recently. First, a two-fer: the great WWII movie “Flying Leathernecks” with John wayne: the young pilot who is tragically lost is the dad from “Space Children” — and they send a letter to his family, and his little sister is the sister from “Date with Your Family.” Smiles all around.
The I was watching the great Cary Grant movie “Mr Blandings builds his Dream House” and Nestor Paiva (The Load from “Mole People”) plays the house inspector; without an accent. Very distracting…
I was watching “A Kiss before Dying” with Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter, and I couldn’t place the lead actress…until I realized she was Jan in the Pan from “Brain that wouldn’t die”! She was very good, in an early film for all of them. BTW, was Jeffery Hunter (Cpn Pike from Star Trek) in any MST movie?
PLus , I do remember that our Adam “HARM” Chance actor also played Suzanne Somers’ minister father in Three’s Company. ruined that whole episode for me.
Joe Turkel I see pop up everywhere lately (Hep milkman from Tormented); most recently I saw him in “The Sand Pebbles” w Steve McQueen; also with Gus Trikonis, from SideHackers (director); bang, two-fer. He is always good; best role: Lloyd from “The Shining.”
Fred Burroughs @119: Nestor Paiva was in a lot of movies- if you are ever watching the original “Mighty Joe Young”, look for him to appear about two-thirds into the movie.
Sharktopus @108: I totally agree. As Tom Servo says about Sally in “The Leech Woman”, she enters a room before she does!
I have a couple in the before I discovered MST department.
Of course to use Joe Don Baker is hardly a “that guy”, but I first saw him in one of my favorite Chevy Chase movies “Fletch.” Then I later saw him in “Mitchel” and “Final Justice” of course.
Also I’ve always enjoyed Micheal J Fox’s film “Teen Wolf” (yes I need help why?) and was suprised to see his dad, James Hampton, as one of the astronauts in Hanger 18.
Leslie McCrae – Girl in Gold Boots – appears in a party scene with Robert Vaughn in a Man from UNCLE episode, looking very attractive and elegant. I kept hoping she’d have a dance number but no luck.
Her co-star Buzz appears in an I Spy episode in which he plays an expendable operative who gets bumped off in the opening segment, presumably for being cheap and crabby.
Also, Encore Westerns is promoting The Virginian and a Clu Gulager alert was the first thing to cross my mind.
Thanks for the topic. All of the comments have been great.
This thread could go on forever! Patricia Pearcy, the not overly-endowed redhead from Squirm=Richard Dreyfus’ student actress friend in The Goodbye Girl.
Oh, and Mitch from Squirm had a role in Cruising with Al Pacino! Wild flick…
Leslie McCrae was also in Coffy with Pam Grier!
I saw the “hero” from Space Mutiny (Reb something) in a werewolf movie. I think it was one of the “howling” movies.
I remember when I first saw Zombie Nightmare (hadn’t seen it before it came to DVD) recognizing Jim from something. Then I finally remembered, a documentry for Night at the Museum I had recently watched. Went to IMDB and was excited to find out he directed it, along with a bunch of other movies. He was also the infomercial dad in the sequel. He’s come a long way.
Also remember seeing Tamara Clatterbuck (Fantazia from Hobgoblins) on Days of our Lives.
Del Moore from Catalina Caper has an appearance in one of the original Addams Family episodes. I recognized him by voice before sight.
The great Joe Don Baker is also in Scorsese’s remake of Cape Fear.
I forget who brought up Tapeheads, sorry great flick, but Clu is also
in Feast…his son directed it. It’s pretty funny.
Michael Pataki and Sid Haig would have to be the ultimate “that guy” duo. It would take far less time to list the television shows they HAVEN’T appeared in than the ones they have.
I remember flipping out when I saw Robert “Hittin’ the BUZE again, Ev” Easton in a small roll in the film Gods and Generals. Another terribly bad, bad movie, but at least a big-budget one.
For me it was when I realized that Joe Don Baker was the gruff, uncaring CEO featured in one of my favorite, yet-to-be-MSTed bad movies CONGO. His whole performance was one big “Buzz off, kid..I SAID BUZZ OFF!”
James Karen, the college president (Wendell J. Rossmore) in “Being From Another Planet” was in “Poltergeist” as the real estate developer/boss of Craig T. Nelson.
Old Perry Mason episodes are a great source for seeing 50’s character actors/actresses. They are too numerous to detail.
George Meeker, who played Charlie Blake in “I accuse my parents” also had a small uncredited role in “Casablanca”
Oh man, I completely forgot about Joe Don Baker in Congo. Bruce Campbell, Tim Curry, Joey Pants… Why haven’t they done that one at RiffTrax yet?
It took me a while to recognize that James Olson from Moon Zero Two is the same guy as in The Andromeda Strain, as well as the crappy Ah-nold vehicle, Commando.
But my favorite time I recognized somebody from another movie is only slightly attached to MST3K. I went out to see Casablanca at an old theatre which had been showing classic movies all summer, as an anniversary event. At the beginning of each film, they showed a serial, Radar Men from the Moon, an unknown show to me at the time (this was 1986, and no MST yet). I had to meet my date and waited outside for her til the film started and then went on in after the opening credits rolled, not knowing she had already come in. So I sat in the back, watching the film, and the door, kinda realizing I knew this one bad guy, but I couldn’t place the face. Then I realized why, it was Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger! I didn’t recognize the face because he always wore a mask, and I didn’t see his name in the opening credits. So moved that I finally figured out who this was, I said out loud, “Hey, that’s Clayton Moore, the Lone Ranger!”
Yeah, I was the first out of the theater.
Also, besides playing the CIA contact in GoldenEye and Tomorrow Never Dies, Joe Don was also made a memorable bad guy in The Living Daylights (the pretty good Dalton 007 movie). He was less memorable as a Babe Ruth type in The Natural. The part he was born to play!
I had a Joe Don “that guy” moment at the laudromat the other day when I spotted him getting covered in mud at the end of some David Spade movie. Mitchell wouldn’t put up with that kind of crap…
Sharktopus – Mitchell would put up with it if he thought it was chocolate sauce. Admit it, he’s kind of a dim bulb. But he makes up for it by being excessively bad-tempered and violent.
Ken Curtis (Fetus of Gunsmoke) not only co-starred in The Killer Shrews, so did James Best, who later went on to play Roscoe P. Coltrane in the Dukes of Hazzard, and a Twilight Zone episode or two.
@ Angie #127: Big McLargeHuge was in THE HOWLING 2: YOUR SISTER’S A WEREWOLF which I saw part of a few weeks ago on the TV, thanks for reminding me Slab was in that.
Also, as mentioned above somewhere, Reb Brown of SPACE MUTINY fame was also in one of my favorite bad movies of all time, YOR, THE HUNTER FROM THE FUTURE, which is amazing and you should all rent it and see it, at least for the theme song. YOR’S WORRRRLD!!!
I always thought Droppo looked real familiar, and it was only recently, here on the message boards that I found out he was on Sesame Street back in the day. So I grew up with Droppo. Weird.
I have “hey, that guy!” moments all the time. Always good with faces, names sometimes come later.
The first time I saw HOBGOBLINS and Road Rash showed up at Club Scum, I looked at him and said, “hey that’s one of the rapists from PULP FICTION!” That guy has had a varied career. And yeah, I just called him “that guy.”
:-D
Love this thread…thanks for the ‘Night at the Musuem’ director reference (Zombie Nightmare actor), that’s pretty cool. I don’t think the Rowsdower/Gettysburg link is valid though. I have to admit, it is entertaining to see stars of B-movies show up in tiny parts in other bigger productions. Makes you feel like you know them already, one big fuzzy family. I saw another one; in LA Confidential. Russell crowe investigates an old lady, but wait, she’s none other than the ouija board lady who gets killed in the opening of “Merlins Shop.” She even had the same horn-rimmed glasses and annoying voice. good casting.
This just happened to me the other night. I was watching Home Improvement and Jack Elam (from ‘The Girl in Lovers’ Lane’) and Ernie Borgnine were giving Tim advice on his marriage!
Oh, and, as others have mentioned, Joe Don in some of the Bond films
Rupann> Is that the episode where they have the Big Stinky sandwich? I didn’t realize that was Borgnine.
To Tom Carberry: James Karen was ALSO the PathMark grocery store spokesman for years – that’s where I recognized him from when I saw Poltergeist. And he has a very funny role in the first Return of the Living Dead movie.
James Karen starred in another movie that should have gotten the MST3K treatment but never did: Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster.
Leonardo DaWetpants (Quest of the Delta Knights) was on an episode of Touched By An Angel.
The headless dude from The Thing that Couldn’t Die, Robert Hughes=The Hooved One hisself in The Howling Man episode of The Twilight Zone. In the Same episode, beloved star of The Unearthly, John Carradine, plays…er…Moses, apparently. The “hero” of The Howling Man is played by H.M. Wynant, who appeared in Hangar 18!
I was channel surfing one day and stumbled upon “Judgment at Nuremberg,” and spotted Maximilian Schell, aka Hamlet, as the German lawyer. I actually blurted out, “Hey, it’s Hamlet!” PS, he won an Oscar for the role … who knew?!
#31: “Ah, have some fairly recent blockbusters for ya. Daniel Bernhardt (“Runaway,” or, “CHA-CHA! Guy” ) from Future War, actually has a not insignificant role in Matrix Reloaded as one of the Agents. He also did some stunt coordinating, I believe. My pick for “Most successful post-MST performance.””
I think there might be a certain lab assistant to John Agar from Revenge of the Creature who might challenge that title. ;-)
It’s amusing how many people are convinced that Bruce J. Mitchell appeared in many, many different films. Apparently lots of actors look a lot like him, because he was only a dinner theater actor in Alberta and as far as he has acknowledged, he didn’t do any films after Final Sacrifice. I recently saw a clip from Hawk The Slayer which had a bandit that looked just like him, mustache and all. The idea that a British film company shooting in England would look to cast an actor from rural Alberta is rather farfetched, however.
The kid who played Troy has shown up in some odd places though; most recently, if the IMDb is to be believed, in the Cate Blanchett film Hanna.
Vandinho from PumaMan was in the Mask of Zorro, with the same haircut. I was also watching an episode of NCIS when I noticed something oddly familiar about a bit part, and sure enough, the actor was Ben Murphy.
One of the poker players in Casino Royale played CABOT! in Outlaw. He was the guy who decided that Bond’s drink order sounded good and wanted one himself.