People who were in one episode and joined the cast later as another character

[firepoint525]

Two more, from Happy Days:
Lynda Goodfriend played Ralph's girlfriend in one episode before becoming Lori Beth, Richie's girlfriend.
Ironically, Linda Purl played Richie's girlfriend Gloria way before becoming Fonzie's girlfriend Ashley.
source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070992/trivia

Once they've dated Fonzie, they never go back to dating Richie, do they? ;D

I'm guessing that both of these earlier examples came from the first season (the "Chuck Cunningham" season!) of the show, right? I remember the earlier appearance of Purl, but not of Goodfriend.

 

[therealjm12]

Just watched an episode of Wagon Train on Encore Westerns. John McIntire played a preacher they picked up on the trail. A couple years later, after Ward bond's death, he joined the cast as Chris Hale, the new wagon master.

 

[ixnay]

In one early episode of Car 54..Where Are You?, Al Lewis played the role of a guy who was in a gang of car thieves. It was the episode where a police car was stolen by "accident".

Later on Lewis would become Officer Leo Schnauser. Lewis even played that role in the infamous Car 54 movie in 1994.

I never saw Car 54 (the series or the flick), but the flick's USA TODAY review generated a headline that made my sides burst: "'Car 54' crashes and burns".

ixnay

 

[MattParker]

Just watched an episode of Wagon Train on Encore Westerns. John McIntire played a preacher they picked up on the trail. A couple years later, after Ward bond's death, he joined the cast as Chris Hale, the new wagon master.

Wagon Train recycled actors a lot - not just supporting players but name guest stars, too. Sometimes more than once in a season.

Robert Fuller also made multiple appearances early on before joining the regular cast (replacing Robert Horton). So did Michael Burns (who even played another character after appearing as Barnaby).

Interestingly, McIntire had the same last name in his early role and his regular role, and played a preacher leading a wagon train of religious settlers in the early role (not unlike Ward Bond's role in the John Ford movie Wagon Master).

In addition to Encore, Netflix has Wagon Train available for viewing on demand.

 

[Markieo]

On "All in the Family" Allan Melvin played a Polish desk sergeant who Archie appears in front of after being arrested at a demonstration. Later he played neighbor Barney Hefne.r

 

[jwk1979]

In the "Andy Griffith Show" pilot which aired on "The Danny
Thomas Show" in February 1960, Frances Bavier played a
Mayberry resident named Henrietta Perkins; she didn't start
playing Aunt Bee until the show became a series in October.

Jack Dodson, who played County Clerk Howard Sprague on TAGS, also played the Taylor's Insurance Agent Ed Jenkins in the episode where Andy puts in a claim on Aunt Bee's lost broach, which she later finds. And the lady who played Emmitt Clark's wife Martha during the final season also played various women in Mayberry during the previous 7 seasons, including Mrs. Lunkens, who ran the Women's shop in Mayberry.

 

[Kurt Toy]

Ted McGinley appeared in the second of a two-part Married...With Children playing a husband and father in a dream involving Al Bundy before taking on the Jefferson D'Arcy role.

 

[firepoint525]

Ted McGinley appeared in the second of a two-part Married...With Children playing a husband and father in a dream involving Al Bundy before taking on the Jefferson D'Arcy role.

So you're saying that Married With Children "jumped the shark" earlier than most of us thought it did? ;D

 

[LKellerIII]

It makes sense that the producers of a TV series would use actors that they're familiar with, and have worked well with. And there's only a finite number of actors available.

I've become a fan of Lights Out - the FX series about the 40 year old prize-fighter making a comeback. Last week, I watched The Good Wife on CBS, and was surprised to see not one, but 2 regular cast members from Lights Out as guest stars. It was particularly disconcerting to see actor Bill Irwin play a lightweight nice-guy character on The Good Wife given that I'm used to him playing a bad-guy shady character on Lights Out.

But that's why they call it 'acting,' I guess.

 

[MattParker]

In early episodes of Season One of Wagon Train, Bill Hawks (Terry Wilson) was just one of the settlers on the train -usually the one who started a mutiny against some unpopular decision of the Major's. Then he was one of the people on the train the Major would ask to do something. About half-way through the first season, he became part of the Major's staff (along with Charlie Wooster). A later back-story showed him as the Major's sergeant during the Civil War and, in another episode, the Major's partner before the war in promoting boxing matches in New York. In Season One he had a wife traveling West with him to California (and few times in Season Two references were made to Bill being married, but his wife was not shown - maybe he left her in California).

Terry Wilson joined Wagon Train as Ward Bond's stunt double, and he continued to double for the Major after Bill Hawks became a regular.

 

[Mark Giardina]

JUST saw this on Green Acres (on CMT). Sid Melton played Ed the plumber and, of course, came back as Alf, 1/2 of the Monroe Brothers the carpenters.

Melton also played Danny Thomas' agent on Make Room for Daddy.

 

[BobbyNBC10]

On I Dream of Jeannie in a B&W ep. Emmaline Henry as Myrt, who was supposedly Jeannie's cousin and in second season in which Jeannie aired in color for the first time, she joined the cast as Amanda Bellows ,in the episode where Jeannie makes Major Healey the WOrld's Greatest Lover.

Vinton Hayworth was in the 1968 ep. where Tony goes on a top secret mission to DC on the same night as Jeannie and Tony's anniversary, as General Watson, and guested in several more 1968-69 eps. as General Schaeffer, before joining the Jeannie cast after the death of Barton MacLane who played General Peterson in January 1969.

 

[jwk1979]

I don't know if this counts since it was 2 "Different" shows but involves the same character. Marqueriite Ray played Fred Sanford's sister in several episodes of "Sanford and Son" during the last two seasons, yet when NBC brought back Redd Foxx as Fred Sanford for "Sanford" a few years later, she played his girlfriend Evelyn.

 

[jwk1979]

Jennifer Bini Taylor played Charlie's fiancee, Chelsea, for a season or two on "Two and A Half Men", but she also played at least a couple of Charlie's old girlfriends during the first couple of seasons on "2 and a Half Men".

 

[Hal Erickson]

A local station has been running the old half-hour Gunsmoke episodes (retitled Marshal Dillon).
I'm amazed at the number of times Ken Curtis appeared on the show as both "good"and "bad" guys before he finally settled down as Festus.

 

[therealjm12]

(Sid) Melton also played Danny Thomas' agent on Make Room for Daddy.

Sheldon Leonard (an S. U. grad BTW) played Danny's agent. Sid Melton played Charlie Harper the owner of the Copa -the nightclub where Danny performed.

That's Harper not Charlie Halper from 2 1/2 Men.

 

[LKellerIII]

(Sid) Melton also played Danny Thomas' agent on Make Room for Daddy.

Sheldon Leonard (an S. U. grad BTW) played Danny's agent. Sid Melton played Charlie Harper the owner of the Copa -the nightclub where Danny performed.

That's Harper not Charlie Halper from 2 1/2 Men.

You're probably right about Sheldon Leonard - he was Thomas's co-producer and showed up often as a guest star in the many TV comedies and dramas he produced - often as gangsters, or intimidating types. He began his career as an actor in the 40s playing heavies.

But the Charlie Sheen character in Two and a Half Men is Charlie Harper, with an "R."

 

[therealjm12]

But the Charlie Sheen character in Two and a Half Men is Charlie Harper, with an "R."

You sir, are correct. The Sid Melton character was Charlie Halper. I just looked it up. Sheen's character is Harper. Excuse my laziness not to verify it before hand. I am temporally using My standby computer (my main one is in the shop) which is very old and slow -like me, but eventually gets the job done.

 

[Kurt Toy]

Ted McGinley appeared in the second of a two-part Married...With Children playing a husband and father in a dream involving Al Bundy before taking on the Jefferson D'Arcy role.

So you're saying that Married With Children "jumped the shark" earlier than most of us thought it did? ;D

Sorry, Ted-bashers, but I think MWC REVERSE-JUMPED once Ted came on board.