Your choice for television's greatest iconic characters

[Auggie]

Mine, in no particular order:

Tony Soprano: the bad guy you could actually root for, played so brilliantly by James Gandolfini. RIP.

Lucy Ricardo: Lucille Ball created the perfect screwball and the perfect sitcom.

Archie Bunker: there was never a better bigot. Ironically, Bunker couldn't be more different than the liberal Carroll O'Connor.

Ted Baxter: the standard for annoying buffoons. Ted Knight won two Emmys and was nominated for four others. No one can come close to topping this performance.

J.R. Ewing: I never watched Dallas, though I understand Larry Hagman created a darn good villian.

Don Draper: Jon Hamm will forever be TV's adman.

Spock: Leonard Nimoy didn't just create a character, he created a race of aliens.

Lt. Columbo: Peter Falk played the most iconic of all the televsion cops, IMO.

There have been a lot of other great characters that come to mind, but none seem to be as iconic nor so ingrained in American entertainment culture than those above.

Who are your choices? I'm sure I left off a few.

[SecularMotion]

1. Homer Simpson

[Auggie]

11. Excellent

[nomorenomore08]

45. The culmination of every lovably stupid sitcom dad ever.

One of the iconic characters of, not just television, but contemporary American storytelling, period.

[Ron Obvious]

2. From Taxi:

The reverend Jim and Louie. The latter proving that someone extremely small could still be a complete bastard.

[AsahinaKimi]

3. I asked my dad who he thought..this was his answer..

George Reeves

[Rhiannon12866]

22. Of course!!! And probably Batman, too!

[sakabatou]

42. "Holy campy 60s TV, Batman!"

[Rhiannon12866]

44. My brother and I watched that every night!

I've seen and liked several of the movies, but the TV show is a classic and I still think of Batman as Adam West...

[Aristus]

4. President Josiah "Jed" Bartlet of 'The West Wing'.

[Sherman A1]

71. Agreed

[pinboy3niner]

5. Perry Mason, Rockford, Magnum, Hawkeye Pierce

Just to add a few.

[840high]

7. Oh yes!

[pinboy3niner]

8. And Dobie Gillis and Gilligan! :)

Maynard G. Krebs rides again!

[Auggie]

12. Yes! Gilligan had to be the ultimate screw-up.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. That was my favorite show for a while.

I was exactly the target demographic.

[pinboy3niner]

6. Davy Crockett, the Lone Ranger, the Cisco Kid, Roy Rogers. nt

[HarveyDarkey]

36. In that vein

Bret Maverick & Matt Dillon

[ConcernedCanuk]

38. The Rifleman! - Chuck Connors

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and I remember James Garner in The Rockford Files also.


Zorro

Have Gun will Travel - Paladin - Richard Boone

Bat Masterson - Gene Barry

Wyatt Earp

Gunsmoke - James Arness - I be so old, I remember listening to it as a Radio show before it hit television!

And I probably left out a few - but I loved them westerns.

CC

[pinboy3niner]

43. Remember Sugarfoot, Cimarron City, Rawhide, and Wanted: Dead or Alive?

Sugarfoot starred Will Hutchins as Tom Brewster

Cimarron City starred George Montgomery as Matt Rockford

Rawhide starred Clint Eastwood as Rowdy Yates

Wanted: Dead or Alive stared Steve McQueen as Josh Randall

[Blue_In_AK]

9. Hawkeye Pierce

[ConcernedCanuk]

25. "MASH" - luved it.

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CC

[pinboy3niner]

10. Mork from Ork, Laverne & Shirley

Nanu nanu!

[oregonjen]

13. Mary Richards

Mary Tyler Moore
This thread needs some women representation!

[pinboy3niner]

14. What'choo talkin' 'bout, Willis?

[First Speaker]

15. Ralph Kramden

[Auggie]

46. Yes!

[Kingofalldems]

16. Bernard P Fife

[Auggie]

47. Another good one

[Initech]

17. Here are my pics:

George Costanza: Perhaps the greatest pathological liar in television (and human) history

Homer Simpson: He's Homer, need I say more?

Dexter Morgan: The greatest, nicest serial killer who could blend into society.
Trinity Killer: Perhaps the greatest psychopath in television history

Tobias Funke: Everybody's favorite deeply closeted psychiatrist actor.

Larry David: OK maybe George Costanza has some competition here.

Jim Dangle: Short shorts!!!

Sterling Archer: Sterling Archer is the world's greatest secret agent. - Sterling Archer

Jesse Pinkman: Yeah bitch!!!!

Bender: Who could forget Futurama's beer guzzling kleptomaniac robot?

[Blue_In_AK]

20. John Lithgow was phenomenal as the Trinity Killer.

[Initech]

21. John Lithgow is one of my favorite actors.

He has such a wide range. He was funny as hell on 3rd Rock From The Sun, and creepy as hell on Dexter. Trinity will be one of the most memorable villains of all time - right up there with Heath Ledger's Joker.

[discntnt_irny_srcsm]

51. If you haven't seen these...

...you're missing out:

An early Twilight Zone:

From 3rd Rock:

IMHO, he made a decent villain in Cliffhanger.

[pinboy3niner]

18. Mr. Ed...

[ConcernedCanuk]

27. I must be gettin' old - I remember

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watching that on our old B&W TV in the early sixties.

CC

[rug]

23. Andy Taylor.

[ConcernedCanuk]

30. Barney Fife

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.
.

Don Knotts was hilarious!

Still vision him fumbling to get his unloaded pistol out of his holster!!

CC

[Rhiannon12866]

37. Absolutely Barney Fife! :)

[ConcernedCanuk]

39. PERFECT PIC!

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.

dat be Barney!

CC

[Rhiannon12866]

40. LOL! He was always one of my favorites, too, the breakout character of that show

I've watched it countless times over the years, was my mother's favorite, and it never gets old...

[Art_from_Ark]

24. Gomer Pyle

McGarrett (original Hawaii Five-O)
Jed and Granny Clampett
Bullwinkle J. Moose

[ConcernedCanuk]

26. Ben Cartwright

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http://userserve-ak.last.fm/serve/_/54784667/Lorne+Greene+lorne3.jpg



CC

[pinboy3niner]

35. Which reminds me of Marshal Matt Dillon on 'Gunsmoke,' another iconic Western series

Played by James Arness.

[Sherman A1]

72. Paladin

Have Gun, Will Travel

[Sherman A1]

73. Sky King

Just one of my favorites.

[lastlib]

77. (shot himself in the foot every Monday night for twenty years......)

(my brother was trying to learn how to do a fast draw, took a videotape of the opening scene of Gunsmoke, and replayed it at slow speed....turns out Matt's gun was going off before it cleared the holster!)

[Mr.Bill]

28. Jed Clampett

[ConcernedCanuk]

34. Beverly Hillbillies with Buddy Ebsen

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.

I can hear the theme song in my head as I type -

and see the forever cooking pot of possum soup!

memories . . .



CC

[R B Garr]

29. Maybe I Dream of Jeannie - Barbara Eden was about the only genie ever

and she's still talked about today. That's pretty iconic.

Good catch on J.R. Ewing! Even if you didn't watch Dallas (which I did and loved), everyone knew J.R. I remember that Who Shot J.R. era when radio stations were taking calls from people guessing which character shot him.

And Archie, etc., you've got a pretty good list there.

[ConcernedCanuk]

31. Reminds me of Elizabeth Montgomery

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.

in "Bewitched"



CC

[AmyStrange]

32. Dr. Sheldon Cooper

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When Nerds go too far...






NUFF Said,

d

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[Rhiannon12866]

33. Perry Mason? And surely Captain Kangaroo!

When I was really little, I had a real Bunny Rabbit puppet, pointy glasses and all! I couldn't have been more excited! My mother must have sent for it...

[Auggie]

56. The Captain, for sure

[Art_from_Ark]

70. There was also Mr. Moose

Maybe he was a long-lost relative of Bullwinkle's?

[sakabatou]

41. The crew of the Bebop: most of all, Spike Spiegel

[nuxvomica]

48. Adrian Monk

A grieving widower nearly paralyzed by OCD who solves one "lock-roomed mystery" after another. Endearing, amazing, annoying and often hilarious, Monk may be TV's most complex and identifiable character.

[rurallib]

49. I'd say Rod Serling as the iconic host or intro person

50+ years later you will hear folks go into a mimic of Serling's intro ending with something like "a trip to the Twilight Zone"

[pinboy3niner]

50. There were several versions of Serling's intro

Here's one...

Both Serling and Alfred Hitchcock were iconic hosts of TV shows back then.

[Neoma]

52. Lois Wilkerson, Willow Rosenberg...

Dana Scully, Lieutenant Ezri Dax, Zoe Washburne, Maggie O'Connell, Piper Halliwell, Lisa Simpson...

[Demo_Chris]

53. Lucy, Fraiser, Hawkeye, Homer, Capt Kirk, Fox Mulder

[Bertha Venation]

54. Hawkeye Pierce, Radar, Klinger, Ferret Face (Frank Burns), Hot Lips Houlihan, Colonel Potter

Hell, the whole damned cast.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

55. Maxwell Smart

[Gidney N Cloyd]

57. Alex P. Keaton

[bigwillq]

58. Roseanne Conner

Is my fave.

[Auggie]

60. Yes ... what a character!

Totally forgot about her.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

59. Fonzie (and Richie Cunningham)

[Tommy_Carcetti]

61. Omar comin'!

Wild West outlaw transposed brilliantly into inner city Baltimore.

[SteveG]

62. Bret Maverick and Jim Rockford

James Garner's two iconic roles.

[GoCubsGo]

63. Arthur Fonzerelli

A.K.A. "The Fonz" and "Fonzi".

[Tom_Foolery]

64. Dr. Richard Kimble...

The Fugitive.

[Callmecrazy]

65. Bill Cosby, Redd Foxx,

[Shrek]

66. Jack Bauer, Jean Luc Picard, Cosmo Kramer, Walter White

[sarge43]

67. Doctor Johnny Fever

Oh yeah fellow babies ...Booger!

[sarge43]

68. Mary Richards. nt

[SidDithers]

69. Herb Tarlek...

The epitome of the too-slick bumbling sales guy.

Sid

[AsahinaKimi]

74. No one has mentioned him, so I guess I will...

The Doctor...

[kwassa]

75. Omar

Omar's comin', yo.

[AmyStrange]

76. (The Saint) Thank you Auggie for starting this very interesting thread...

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surprisingly, no one has yet mentioned one of my favorites, The Saint from the TV series (w/ Roger Moore):

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Not the Val Kilmer movie, although it wasn't entirely bad.

TRIVIA: don't forget that Vincent Price provided the radio voice for the character, and I can't forget to send Kudos out to the author who dreamed Simon Templar up, Leslie Charteris one of the best pulp fiction writers of his time. Erle Stanley Gardner is my other fave (Perry Mason).

Anyway thanx again Auggie,

d

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