Marvin Miller, who played Michael Anthony (John Beresford
Tipton's executive secretary) on "The Millionaire" in the
late 1950s, found it difficult to get work after that show
ended; most of his activities from 1960 until his death
in 1985 were off-camera. He narrated "The FBI" and
did voices on animated shows such as "The Famous
Adventures Of Mr. Magoo" and "Fantastic Voyage."
(He did make an on-screen appearance as a radio
announcer in the movie "Evita.")
While he played Michael Anthony, Miller was constantly
besieged with letters from viewers wanting a million-
dollar check. His customary reply was to send each
one a fake check for "a million dollars' worth of good
luck." But things got ugly on one occasion when a
New Jersey couple refused to accept the "check"
and wrote Miller a second letter, demanding a million
dollars. They got a response saying, in effect,
"Get a life." One woman somehow found Miller's house
and went up and rang the doorbell. When Miller came
to the door, he wasn't especially pleased to see her;
he let her know in no uncertain terms that he didn't
have a million dollars to give away (and probably wouldn't
if he had had the money).
Robert Young, in his "Father Knows Best" days, received
letters from viewers asking for parenting advice. He
responded that the show was written by scriptwriters,
and that he was not qualified to answer their questions.
Raymond Burr, when he was playing Perry Mason, decided
to play along with viewers who believed Mason was real;
to try to explain that it was all make-believe might make
some viewers angry and they might not watch the show
again. So when a woman came up to him and asked him
how he won all his cases, he replied, "But madam, you
see just the cases I try on Saturday (which is when
Mason aired at the time)."
And it wasn't always actors who got typecast. Monty
Hall once complained that critics saw him as no different
from the costumed, hyperkinetic contestants on "Let's
Make A Deal." He felt that it kept him from getting more
non-game show work (one assignment he really wanted,
and couldn't get, was the Tournament of Roses Parade).
Not quite as over the top as his rold on Red Green, but it was more or less Harold without the glasses. (Which is not to say I didn't enjoy his portrayal -- those are two of my favorite Stargate episodes...)