Sitcomboy's ALL-TIME TV ACTRESS COMEDY SERIES EPISODE CHAMPSWelcome to my totally unscientific survey of which female comedians have appeared in the most comedy episodes on television.
How I did it: the methodology behind this list is very simple—but not foolproof; I combined my own store of TV trivia with the IMDB Pro and other sitcom-related websites, and augmented the information using books like the invaluable Total Television (4th Ed.). In cases where actresses appeared on shows for only part of the run and I wasn’t able to verify the actual of episodes they appeared in, I guestimated the number based on the years they appeared in the show based on the total number of episodes produced during those years, always going lower than I might want to just to be fair.
Appearances in dramas or “dramedies” are also not counted. This is strictly a sitcom list.
I believe numbers for major show appearances on classic TV sitcoms are pretty accurate, since they have been culled from books and episode guides that have existed for many years. But keep in mind the list is not complete for those funny ladies who are currently starring on TV (Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Julie Kavner, for example); they are still adding to their episode counts.
Special mention must be made of two other ladies on the list.
Bea Benaderet is perhaps a surprising No. 1, but only if you can’t remember what a staple she was on TV for more than 15 years. The Burns & Allen Show, The Flintstones, The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction: any actor would kill for a résumé like that! And that’s not to mention other voice-over work, cartoon work, and guest-star appearances she made.
Finally, ahem, the Queen of Comedy, and show-biz icon, Lucille Ball, might be expected to top of a list like this. Though technically not #1 (and No. 3 ain’t shabby), in my heart and mind, Lucy is and always will be the #1 comedic talent ever to have graced our TV screens. Indeed, though Lucy's last three sitcoms had her playing characters with different names, i.e., not Lucy Ricardo, pretty much everyone agrees that after I Love Lucy, Ball played the same character in different settings. That makes her No. 1 on the list of funny ladies who played the same character continuously over a long period of time.
Note: A plus after the episode number indicates actress is in an ongoing show as of June 2006.
[For much, more on the funny ladies who starred in your favorite sitcoms, my book Sitcom Queens: Divas of the Small Screen is a good place to start. It features original essays on funny ladies of all categories, augmented by lots of trivia tidbits. Spotlighting all the fabulous funny ladies and wisecracking dames who made us laugh starting in the 1950s, from Gracie Allen to ZaSu Pitts, Sitcom Queens has a Foreword by sitcom legend Gale Storm (My Little Margie, The Gale Storm Show), a gracious and still-vivacious lady when I spoke to her in 2006 (she was 84 then, and passed away in 2009); comments from Larry Storch, who worked with many of these funny ladies; and an introduction by Doris Singleton, who is best known as Carolyn Appleby on I Love Lucy, of course. Click here for more information.]
1. Bea Benaderet: 630 episodes — The Burns & Allen Show, The Jack Benny Show (various roles in seven episodes), The George Burns Show, Peter Loves Mary, The Flintstones (Betty Rubble, original voice, 1960-’66), The Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, Petticoat Junction
2. Julie Kavner: 561+ episodes — Rhoda, The Simpsons (Marge, voice; still running; in 2010, The Simpsons became the longest running sitcom on TV, ever)
3. Lucille Ball: 506 — I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy, Life with Lucy
4. Shelley Fabares: 473 episodes — The Donna Reed Show/1958-’63, The Brian Keith Show, The Practice, Hello Larry, One Day at a Time/1981-’84, Coach
5. Katey Sagal: 420 episodes — Married…With Children, Mary/1985-‘86, Futurama (Leela, voice), That 70s Show, Imagine That, 8 Simple Rules…
6. Harriet Nelson—389 episodes — The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet
7. Betty White: 359 episodes — Date with the Angels, Life with Elizabeth, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Betty White Show/1977, Mama’s Family, That 70s Show, Ladies Man, The Golden Girls, The Golden Palace, Maybe This Time, Bob
8. Mary Tyler Moore: 353 episodes — The Dick van Dyke Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Mary/1985-1986, Annie McGuire
9. Barbara Billingsley: 348 episodes — Professional Father, The Brothers, Leave it to Beaver, The New Leave it to Beaver (Billingsley played the Mrs. Cleaver in both these series)
10. Sally Struthers: 324 episodes — All in the Family, Archie Bunker’s Place, Gloria, Dinosaurs, 9 to 5/1986-‘88, Still Standing (Struthers played Gloria Stivic in the first three series)
11. Julia Louis-Dreyfus: 320+ episodes — Day by Day, Seinfeld, Watching Ellie, The New Adventures of Old Christine, The Simpsons, Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm
12. Rhea Perlman: 303 — Cheers, Pearl
13. Marion Ross: 299 episodes — Happy Days, Joanie Loves Chachi, Brooklyn Bridge, That ’70s Show; The Drew Carey Show
14. Suzanne Somers: 293 episodes — Three’s Company, She’s the Sheriff, Step by Step
15. Phylicia Rashad: 292 episodes — The Cosby Show, Cosby
16. Isabel Sanford: 279 — All in the Family, The Jeffersons (Sanford played Louise Jefferson in both these series)
17. Irene Ryan: 277 episodes — The Beverly Hillbillies, Petticoat Junction, Mr. Ed (Note; Ryan played Granny Clampett in all these shows)
18. Vivian Vance: 277 episodes — I Love Lucy, The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour, The Lucy Show, Here’s Lucy (Vance played Ethel Mertz in the first two series, and though her characters in Lucille Ball's later series were quite different from Ethel Mertz, the relationship between her characters and Ball's characters remained unchanged: loving but argumentative best friends)
18. Donna Reed: 275 episodes — The Donna Reed Show
20. Nancy Kulp: 272 episodes — The Life of Riley, Our Miss Brooks, The Bob Cummings Show, The Beverly Hillbillies, The Brian Keith Show, Sanford & Son)
Copyright 2010 by Michael Karol. All rights reserved.
Come home.