Why'd they do that?

[Lost in Space]

Forgive me if this has been covered before but I've recently been re-watching TOS and I'm surprised to see so many actors return in different episodes as different characters. Any speculation as to why, was it to save money?
Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?
-Mark Lenard: Balance of Terror / Journey to Babel
-Lawrence Montaigne: Balance of Terror / Amok Time
-Morgan Woodward: Dagger of the Mind / The Omega Glory
-Diana Muldaur: Is There in Truth no Beauty? / Return to Tomorrow
-Barbara Babcock: A Taste of Armageddon / Plato´s Stepchildren
-William Campbell: The Squire of Gothos / The Trouble With Tribbles
-Barry Russo: The Ultimate Computer / Devil in the Dark
and Ed Mcready with a total of 5 ! Spectre of the Gun/ The Omega Glory / Patterns of Force / Dagger of the Mind / Miri

 

[Michael]

Short answer: Because they are good. Additionally I think casting directors tend to engage the same actors – because they once worked with them and know they are good.

 

[Mallory]

It was also a very common practice in 60's television.

 

[Zeppster]

Cheapness had a little to do with it. Also sometimes casting directors know who is right for certain roles.

 

[Outpost4]

Producers used actors from their troupe, folks that they've worked well with before. Orson Welles had his. So did Roddenberry. Isn't that how both Nimoy and Kelley get their jobs, because they'd worked with him before?

Growing up, I knew Uncle Burt. People from the 60s and 70s will know him as the old guy on Dragnet and All In The Family.

His name was Burt Mustin and he was Uncle Burt for some family friends. He was a salesman and didn't have his first acting job until he was 67, but continued well into his 80s. Back then if you needed an old man who could say, "they went that away", you got Uncle Burt. I'd see him in TV shows and movies all the time.

 

[M'Sharak]

It was also a very common practice in 60's television.

And 70s, 80s, 90s...

It wasn't unique to TOS in the Trek Universe, either. Just think Marc Alaimo, Vaughn Armstrong, Suzy Plakson, Majel Barrett, Jeffrey Combs -- the list goes on and on.

 

[A beaker full of death]

John Ford consistently hired the same actors. They came to be known as the John Ford Rep Company.

Back then people didn't take what they see on the screen so literally.

 

[Dayton3]

It is common today. It is such that Law & Order used to have a website devoted to "repeaters" called "Law & Order: Repeat Offenders"

Tucker Carlson, the conservative commentator put it best when he said that

"television people like to put people on tv that they've already seen on tv".

Get a guest appearance on television, no matter the reason, and your chances of appearing on television again go up dramatically.

 

[Michael]

Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?

• Skip Homeier: Patterns of Force and The Way to Eden
• John Arndt: The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, Dagger of the Mind and Space Seed
• Budd Albright: The Man Trap and What Are Little Girls Made Of?
• Majel Barrett: As Number One (The Cage and The Menagerie) and Nurse Chapel
• William Blackburn: The Naked Time, The Alternative Factor, Space Seed, The Devil in the Dark, A Piece of the Action, By Any Other Name, Spock's Brain, Elaan of Troyius (as crewman Hadley), A Taste of Armageddon (as Eminiar VII guard), Shore Leave (as the White Rabbit) and Patterns of Force (as a Trooper)
• Sean Kenney: The Menagerie (as the injured Christopher Pike), Arena and A Taste of Armageddon (as Lieutenant DePaul)
• Jon Lormer: The Cage, The Menagerie (as Theodore Haskins), The Return of the Archons (as Tamar) and For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (as the Old Man)
• Bruce Mars: Shore Leave (as Finnegan), The Corbomite Maneuver (as a crewman) and Assignment: Earth (as Charley)
• Eddie Paskey: As Leslie, Connors (Mudd's Women), Eminiar VII Guard #1 (A Taste of Armageddon) and as a Trooper (Patterns of Force)
• etc. etc. etc.

 

[Hofner]

Hah, the show "Columbo" certainly had its repeat offenders, with Patrick McGoohan being the biggest repeat offender of them all.

Robert

 

[Nerys Myk]

Now some needs to write an overly complicated, borderline plausible fan fic as to why all these characters look alike. (If you're Peter David, please dont bother)

 

[Mallory]

It's the Preservers!

 

[M'Sharak]

Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?

• Skip Homeier: Patterns of Force and The Way to Eden
• John Arndt: The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, Dagger of the Mind and Space Seed
• Budd Albright: The Man Trap and What Are Little Girls Made Of?
• Majel Barrett: As Number One (The Cage and The Menagerie) and Nurse Chapel
• William Blackburn: The Naked Time, The Alternative Factor, Space Seed, The Devil in the Dark, A Piece of the Action, By Any Other Name, Spock's Brain, Elaan of Troyius (as crewman Hadley), A Taste of Armageddon (as Eminiar VII guard), Shore Leave (as the White Rabbit) and Patterns of Force (as a Trooper)
• Sean Kenney: The Menagerie (as the injured Christopher Pike), Arena and A Taste of Armageddon (as Lieutenant DePaul)
• Jon Lormer: The Cage, The Menagerie (as Theodore Haskins), The Return of the Archons (as Tamar) and For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (as the Old Man)
• Bruce Mars: Shore Leave (as Finnegan), The Corbomite Maneuver (as a crewman) and Assignment: Earth (as Charley)
• Eddie Paskey: As Leslie, Connors (Mudd's Women), Eminiar VII Guard #1 (A Taste of Armageddon) and as a Trooper (Patterns of Force)
• etc. etc. etc.

You forgot Jay Jones.

 

[Mallory]

Shhhhh. I was being modest.

 

[Michael]

Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?

• Skip Homeier: Patterns of Force and The Way to Eden
• John Arndt: The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, Dagger of the Mind and Space Seed
• Budd Albright: The Man Trap and What Are Little Girls Made Of?
• Majel Barrett: As Number One (The Cage and The Menagerie) and Nurse Chapel
• William Blackburn: The Naked Time, The Alternative Factor, Space Seed, The Devil in the Dark, A Piece of the Action, By Any Other Name, Spock's Brain, Elaan of Troyius (as crewman Hadley), A Taste of Armageddon (as Eminiar VII guard), Shore Leave (as the White Rabbit) and Patterns of Force (as a Trooper)
• Sean Kenney: The Menagerie (as the injured Christopher Pike), Arena and A Taste of Armageddon (as Lieutenant DePaul)
• Jon Lormer: The Cage, The Menagerie (as Theodore Haskins), The Return of the Archons (as Tamar) and For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (as the Old Man)
• Bruce Mars: Shore Leave (as Finnegan), The Corbomite Maneuver (as a crewman) and Assignment: Earth (as Charley)
• Eddie Paskey: As Leslie, Connors (Mudd's Women), Eminiar VII Guard #1 (A Taste of Armageddon) and as a Trooper (Patterns of Force)
• etc. etc. etc.

You forgot Jay Jones.

On purpose, M', on purpose.

 

[AstroSmurf]

You also have to remember that back in the 60's, rerun syndication was not the normal route for a television show. Most shows ran an episode maybe two or three times before it was shelved. No one thought about these little continuity glitches since most viewers wouldn't remember an actor from the season before. Why do you think "Bewitched" got away with using old scripts or plots for the new Darren? Not only did the production save money by slightly reworking an old script but they also capitalized on the faulty nature of the viewers collective memory. They might remember they had seen the basic story before but most would not have been able to place it since they had seen it only once.

As for today's television, the very fast paced nature and strict budgetary requirements of the medium usually requires a certain type of actor to pull off a roll. They have to be able to work quickly, learn dialog and blocking within a short amount of time and successfully handle the long hours and stressful environment. An actor who can't do these things can hold up production and cost the show money. So casting agents and directors use the same people over and over again because of their reliability and adaptability to the working conditions. It would be like a surgeon who uses the same support staff over and over again in the OR. Because of the need for stability in an unpredictable environment, they would keep things consistent rather than picking people out of the blue with little knowledge of their abilities and work ethic. You might inadvertently create a situation that could mean life or death for the patient. Of course television is not that important but the idea is the same (even though some would think loosing money on a show is life and death).

 

[Therin of Andor]

Forgive me if this has been covered before but I've recently been re-watching TOS and I'm surprised to see so many actors return in different episodes as different characters. Any speculation as to why, was it to save money?
Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?
-Mark Lenard: Balance of Terror / Journey to Babel
-Lawrence Montaigne: Balance of Terror / Amok Time

Both of these actors were selected for racial resemblance to Leonard Nimoy, and willingness to have their eyebrows half-shaved, but also because new ear molds wouldn't have to be made. Ironically, when Mark Lenard came in for "Journey to Babel", the old molds weren't viable and they had to be made again. So yeah, it was intended to save money, but also because they were trusted actors, whom the casting director knew made good vulcanoids.

I recall reading recently, though, that Lawrence Montaigne did not want to shave his chest to play Stonn in "Amok Time", but his agent had said that he would. He ended up allowed to wear a shirt with the planned costume, but told there'd be consequences for being difficult, and someone on high blackbanned him from Desilu. So, being known to be amenable was an advantage, but it was easy to fall foul.

Had Nimoy quit, as he threatened, Mark Lenard was slated to replace him. His role as a Klingon in TMP was a thank you for many services to fandom over the years.

Barbara Baldavin (Angela Martine/Angela Teller/Angela Baker/Lisa) - was the wife of the casting director.

Morgan Woodward: Dagger of the Mind / The Omega Glory - a strong character actor

Diana Muldaur: Is There in Truth no Beauty? / Return to Tomorrow - a close friend of Gene Roddenberry

Ed Mcready with a total of 5 ! Spectre of the Gun/ The Omega Glory / Patterns of Force / Dagger of the Mind / Miri - a professional stunt man, often unrecognizable - the guy had to work somewhere!

As for actors who did multiple alien roles in TNG/DS9/VOY/ENT - actors willing and able to work under all that latex, are punctual, perform well, and don't bitch about it are often invited back - because the casting directors know the actor won't pull any surprises. The first actress to play Moogie apologised that she'd found the makeup intolerable, and turned down her second Moogie script.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Here are some that I noticed, anyone find any others?

• Skip Homeier: Patterns of Force and The Way to Eden

Trusted character actor.

• John Arndt: The Man Trap, Balance of Terror, Dagger of the Mind and Space Seed
• Budd Albright: The Man Trap and What Are Little Girls Made Of?

Extras who got lucky. Many regular extras are photo doubles for the actors, so they are on set every day, chosen for similar height and colouring of the main actors.

• Majel Barrett: As Number One (The Cage and The Menagerie) and Nurse Chapel

Roddenberry's mistress. D'uh.

• William Blackburn: The Naked Time, The Alternative Factor, Space Seed, The Devil in the Dark, A Piece of the Action, By Any Other Name, Spock's Brain, Elaan of Troyius (as crewman Hadley), A Taste of Armageddon (as Eminiar VII guard), Shore Leave (as the White Rabbit) and Patterns of Force (as a Trooper)

Regular two-line extra/stuntguy who often scored lines.

• Sean Kenney: The Menagerie (as the injured Christopher Pike), Arena and A Taste of Armageddon (as Lieutenant DePaul)

Chosen as Pike due to physical resemblance to original actor. Was in the right place at just the right time

• Jon Lormer: The Cage, The Menagerie (as Theodore Haskins), The Return of the Archons (as Tamar) and For the World is Hollow and I Have Touched the Sky (as the Old Man)

Trusted character actor - not that many reliable "old men" actors on hand in the 60s.

• Eddie Paskey: As Leslie, Connors (Mudd's Women), Eminiar VII Guard #1 (A Taste of Armageddon) and as a Trooper (Patterns of Force)

William Shatner's photo double, given work as an extra because he had to be on set anyway.

 

[Dieks]

One of my favorite shows, Barney Miller, used many actors over and over. Not an uncommon practice. Besides, if you can live with parallel Earth themes, space Nazis, Roman Empire and Chicago gangsters on another planet, etc, etc., it's not that big a leap to spot space doubles showing up now and then. <g>

 

[Basill]

Charles Macaulay played Landru in The Return Of The Archons and Jaris in Wolf In The Fold.