Almanac Comedy: Memorable Bit Parts in Comedies

 

It’s been another year of wretched news worldwide and it’s been a long time since a quality film or TV comedy has hit our screens to temporarily remove us from the daily horrors.

 

I was thinking about a few ‘one scene wonders’, individuals whose impact has lasted decades and still brings a smile when I reflect on them.

 

The criteria for this is not actors who had regular appearances over the period of the series or movie, but just one episode if it’s TV, or a ‘flash in the pan’ if it’s a movie.

 

There’s been some incredible supporting characters over the decades such as Laraby, Agent 13, Siegfried and Hymie in Get Smart, Tim Key in the adventures of Alan Partridge, Puddy in Seinfeld, Keith in the UK Office, Nanna in The Royle Family and the Hanson Brothers in Slapshot.

 

So many great comic actors, however for the purposes of this exercise, these are ‘one off’ scenes that have left a legacy of one liners that have been repeated many a time at a BBQ or around the water cooler at work.

 

 

•   John Young as Matthias, Sone of Deuteronomy of Gath – Life Of Brian (1979)
  

 

 

• Kieran Mulroney as Timmy – Seinfeld (1993) 

 

 

• Larry Miller as Max Berman, police negotiator – Best in Show (2000). Larry was also brilliant as The Doorman in a 1995 episode of Seinfeld.

 

 

• Paul Shaffer as Artie Fufkin – This is Spinal Tap (1984). Fans of Seinfeld might recognise the record store owner as Charles Levin who played The Mohel in another memorable character in Seinfeld’s 1993 episode, The Bris.

 

 

• Richard Portnow as Ray the wheelchair salesman – Seinfeld (1993) 

 

 

•  Joan Sanderson as Mrs Alice Richards – Fawlty Towers (1979)

 

 

• Phillip Baker Hall as Lt Joe Bookman – Seinfeld (1991)

 

 

• Matthew Holness as Simon the IT Geek – UK Office (2001)

 

 

• Fred Willard as Lt Bob Hookstratten – This is Spinal Tap (1984)

 

 

• Fred Willard as Buck Laughlin – Best in Show (2000)

 

 

You can read more stories by Ian Wilson Here.

 

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