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By Larry Carroll
Special to MSN TV
When we were children, we were all told that it's best to be seen and not
heard. But someone forgot to tell that to some of TV's all-time favorite
characters, many of whom were able to create indelible impressions with nothing
more than a personality and some well-placed stage props.
With apologies
to Peggy's mother on "Married ...
With Children," Orson from "Mork &
Mindy" and a few other notables who didn't make the cut, here's a list of
the best unseen characters in TV history. Because, isn't it about time that
somebody took a closer look at these guys?
Vera Peterson, "Cheers"
The hounding wife of permanent
barstool-dweller Norm, Vera started out as a receptacle for his jokes and a
constant phone call for him to avoid. But as the years went by, the Vera gags
became bigger than a meal at The Hungry Heifer, culminating in an episode that
had her finally walk into frame, only to be hit in the face with a pie before
viewers could make her out. Ironically enough, Vera was played by George Wendt's real-life spouse Bernadette Birkett -- but
most of us don't know what she looks like, either.
Barney's mom, "How I Met
Your Mother"
Not only have "HIMYM" stars Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel gone on the now-defunct "Megan
Mullally Show" to serenade each other with "Les Miserables" tunes, but the
former "Will &
Grace" star has returned the favor by playing Mom to Harris' Barney. Like
her son, Mrs. Stinson has been known to sleep around; unlike him (we hope), one
sexual adventure involved Bob Barker.
Diane, "Twin
Peaks"
Was she his secretary? His lover? Some imaginary friend?
Like so much else on "Peaks," the exact nature of the woman addressed by Special
Agent Dale Cooper while talking into his tape recorder was shrouded in mystery.
In what might be the most one-sided conversation in TV history, Cooper would
reveal his loves, his losses, fears and regrets to Diane, while fans would never
hear her response. Come to think of it, maybe Diane was the name of the recorder
itself? Somewhere, David Lynch is smiling.
Wilson, "Home
Improvement"
Unquestionably the most famous "seen but not heard"
star in television history, Earl Hindman spent eight seasons hidden behind a fence (or
stack of books, or coffee cup), dispensing sage advice to Tim Taylor. As Dr.
Wilson W. Wilson enjoyed his own Fonzie-like breakout, the "Improvement" writers
came up with increasingly clever ways to get him out of his backyard, obscuring
Hindman's face with other actors, camera shots and props as if he were genitalia
in an "Austin Powers" movie. Hindman was finally allowed to show
his face during the show's final episode, a well-deserved bow for the veteran
character actor who passed away in 2003.
Maris, "Frasier"
Inspired by the relationship between
Norm and Vera on "Cheers," the show's spin-off gave Frasier Crane's brother
Niles an equally overbearing, equally invisible ball and chain.
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