50 Fun Facts About TV Characters

Which Sesame Street character, owner of a pet worm named Slimey, had orange fur in his earliest episodes?

Oscar the Grouch turned green after the first season and stayed that way. Puppeteer Caroll Spinney found the voice in a New York taxi driver who drove him to the studio.

Which cartoon dad works as a nuclear power plant safety inspector in a section called Sector 7-G?

Homer Simpson was named after creator Matt Groening's own father, though Groening said the only thing the two had in common was a love of donuts.

Which Friends character is a masseuse whose twin sister Ursula began on the sitcom Mad About You?

Phoebe Buffay and waitress Ursula were both played by Lisa Kudrow, who won a Primetime Emmy for the part.

Which Star Trek science officer was born to a father named Sarek and a human mother, Amanda Grayson?

Spock introduced the Vulcan nerve pinch when he had to knock out an evil double of Captain Kirk in the episode The Enemy Within.

Which character in The Office runs a beet farm and a bed and breakfast with his cousin Mose?

Dwight Schrute shares the farmhouse with Mose, who was played by Michael Schur, one of the sitcom's own writers and producers.

Which Breaking Bad chemistry teacher builds a drug empire in Albuquerque under the alias Heisenberg?

Walter White was played by Bryan Cranston, whom AMC hesitated to cast because viewers knew him as the goofy dad in Malcolm in the Middle.

Which Game of Thrones character names her slender sword Needle, a parting gift from Jon Snow?

Arya Stark chose the name as a jab at the needlework lessons she dreaded. The part was Maisie Williams's first acting role.

Which Pokémon does Ash Ketchum get from Professor Oak after waking up late on his tenth birthday?

Pikachu starts out rebellious, and the pair only bond after it steps in to stop an angry flock of Spearow chasing them both.

Which Seinfeld character's first name stayed a secret until his long-estranged mother Babs let it slip?

Cosmo Kramer was called Kessler in the pilot, because the real neighbor who inspired him had not yet agreed to lend his name.

Which SpongeBob SquarePants character is a karate-loving squirrel from Texas with a Southern drawl?

Sandy Cheeks wears an astronaut-like diving suit outside her treedome, while her sea-dwelling visitors need helmets filled with water to come inside.

Which Big Bang Theory theoretical physicist was born at a Kmart in Galveston, Texas?

Sheldon Cooper was cast after an audition so startlingly good that co-creator Chuck Lorre asked for a second one, to be sure the actor had not just got lucky.

Which Stranger Things character is the hard-drinking Vietnam veteran who heads the Hawkins police?

Jim Hopper starts out reclusive after the death of his daughter, then becomes the adoptive father of Eleven, the girl with telekinetic powers.

Which Scooby-Doo character, real first name Norville, was made a vegetarian at his voice actor's urging?

Shaggy Rogers was first voiced by radio host Casey Kasem, who convinced the producers that the character should share his own meat-free diet.

Which South Park character's speech is muffled by the hood of his orange parka?

Kenny McCormick is voiced by co-creator Matt Stone. In season five the creators tried killing him off for good, having found him too much of a prop to develop.

Which Family Guy character is a football-headed baby who speaks in an upper-class British accent?

Stewie Griffin began as a megalomaniac obsessed with world domination, a side the writers toned down as he grew friendlier and more flamboyant.

Which Happy Days character is the motorcycle-riding greaser played by Henry Winkler?

Fonzie mostly wore a green windbreaker in the first season, because ABC thought the black leather jacket the writers wanted suggested criminality.

Which M*A*S*H company clerk from Ottumwa, Iowa can hear incoming helicopters before anyone else in camp?

Radar O'Reilly was played by Gary Burghoff in both the film and the sitcom, the only regular character to keep the same actor.

Which Golden Girls character tells peculiar stories about growing up in St. Olaf, Minnesota?

Rose Nylund finds work at a grief counseling center, then switches careers to assist a consumer reporter at a local TV station.

Which Fresh Prince of Bel-Air cousin is known for an exaggerated dance devised by actor Alfonso Ribeiro?

Carlton Banks was Ribeiro's breakout role, though he later said the part left him pigeon-holed as an actor for many years.

Which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle fights with twin sai and alone kept his original mask color?

Raphael still wears red, the color all four turtles started with before the other three adopted different ones.

Which Cheers character is a former Boston Red Sox relief pitcher who owns and tends the bar?

Sam Malone went to Ted Danson mainly because of his chemistry with Shelley Long, who played the waitress Diane.

Which Frasier character is the Manchester-born physical therapist who thinks she is a bit psychic?

Daphne Moon grew up as the only daughter in a family of nine children, and her odd hobbies back in England included raising show rats.

Which X-Files agent chases the paranormal because of the childhood abduction of his sister Samantha?

Fox Mulder did not get his first name from the network that aired the drama, as fans often assume. Creator Chris Carter had a childhood friend with that name.

Which Parks and Recreation character secretly plays jazz saxophone under the stage name Duke Silver?

Ron Swanson was inspired by a real libertarian official, and NBC needed five months to agree to Nick Offerman playing him.

Which How I Met Your Mother character loves expensive suits, laser tag and Scotch whisky?

Barney Stinson was imagined as a large, John Belushi type until Neil Patrick Harris auditioned with a laser tag scene and slammed into a wall attempting a dive roll.

Which Dallas oil baron was shot by an unknown assailant in a cliffhanger that became a 1980 phenomenon?

J.R. Ewing was played by Larry Hagman, the only actor to appear in all 357 episodes of the original run.

Which A-Team member, played by Mr. T, is a gifted mechanic with an intense fear of flying?

B. A. Baracus has to be drugged, knocked unconscious or, in one episode, hypnotized by his teammates before they can get him onto a plane.

Which TV housekeeper lives in with the blended family of six children on The Brady Bunch?

Alice Nelson went to Ann B. Davis, who was judged more than wacky enough, so the producers cast a more down-to-earth actress as the mother for balance.

Which Addams Family butler is summoned by a bell pull shaped like a hangman's noose?

Lurch was played by Ted Cassidy in the original sitcom, where one episode has him record a song on his harpsichord and become a pop sensation.

Which Futurama robot was built in Tijuana, Mexico at a factory owned by Mom's Friendly Robot Company?

Bender is powered by alcohol-based fuels, so when he stops drinking he starts to malfunction and grows a red beard of rust.

Which Walking Dead tracker, living in the shadow of older brother Merle, never appeared in the comics?

Daryl Dixon was written specifically for actor Norman Reedus, who was upgraded from the recurring cast to a series regular after one season.

Which Grey's Anatomy intern, played by Sandra Oh, becomes a cardiothoracic surgical fellow?

Cristina Yang says goodbye to Seattle at the end of season ten and leaves to run a research hospital in Zurich, Switzerland.

Which ER pediatrician, played by George Clooney, chose the job partly from guilt over an estranged son?

Doug Ross is employed by the pediatric service but works in the emergency room. Clooney came back for guest appearances in seasons six and fifteen.

Which oncologist on House is the equivalent of Doctor Watson in the drama's Sherlock Holmes parallels?

James Wilson is the head of oncology and House's one close friend, the sounding board for his cases just as Watson is for Holmes.

Which West Wing president is a Nobel laureate in economics from New Hampshire?

Jed Bartlet was planned as an occasional figure, with Martin Sheen signed for four episodes, until his first footage impressed the producers into making him a regular.

Which Mad Men ad man took the name of his commanding officer, killed beside him in the Korean War?

Don Draper was born Dick Whitman, and was partly inspired by a real Chicago creative director who worked on the Marlboro Man campaign.

Which Lost survivor won a record lottery jackpot with numbers he came to believe were cursed?

Hugo Reyes, better known as Hurley, first heard the six numbers from a fellow patient who kept mumbling them in a mental institution.

Which Sex and the City character is the career-focused, Harvard-educated lawyer played by Cynthia Nixon?

Miranda Hobbes is the first of the four friends to buy her own Manhattan apartment, and she later marries a bartender after an unplanned pregnancy.

Which Modern Family realtor and former college cheerleader sees himself as the cool dad?

Phil Dunphy has a severe fear of clowns, and the part won Ty Burrell two Primetime Emmys for supporting actor in a comedy.

Which Brooklyn Nine-Nine character commands the 99th Precinct and owns a corgi named Cheddar?

Raymond Holt was played by Andre Braugher, and his strict style clashes with detective Jake Peralta, who slowly comes to see him as a father figure.

Which Sopranos character is the psychiatrist who treats a New Jersey mob boss after his panic attack?

Jennifer Melfi, played by Lorraine Bracco, has to hide out in a roadside motel once her patient's enemies learn about the therapy sessions.

Which Baltimore stick-up man on The Wire robs drug dealers yet keeps a strict moral code?

Omar Little was raised by his grandmother Josephine, the source of that code, and was based on a real Baltimore robber named Donnie Andrews.

Which Twin Peaks homecoming queen is found murdered, setting off an FBI investigation into her past?

Laura Palmer was played by Sheryl Lee, who came back to play the dead girl's cousin, Maddy Ferguson.

Which Buffy the Vampire Slayer Watcher dropped out of Oxford to dabble in dark magic?

Rupert Giles was played by Anthony Head, and a BBC spin-off about him called Ripper was planned but stalled over rights issues.

Which Doctor Who renegade Time Lord was first played by Roger Delgado in Terror of the Autons?

The Master was cast with only one man in mind: Delgado had a long history of playing villains and had already tried three times to get into the series.

Which Downton Abbey character is the Dowager Countess of Grantham, played by Maggie Smith?

Violet Crawley was largely inspired by creator Julian Fellowes's own great-aunt Isie, who also inspired a dowager countess in his film Gosford Park.

Which Fawlty Towers character, played by Andrew Sachs, is the well-meaning but confused waiter?

Manuel comes from Barcelona, which hotel owner Basil offers as the excuse for everything the waiter gets wrong.

Which Peaky Blinders gang leader is a First World War veteran with Romani ancestry?

Tommy Shelby went to Cillian Murphy, who admitted he had never heard of the real Peaky Blinders when the script first reached him.

Which Miami Vice detective lives on a sailing yacht with a pet alligator and drives a Ferrari?

Sonny Crockett loses his first sports car, a black Daytona Spyder, to a Stinger missile and replaces it with a Testarossa.

Which Avatar: The Last Airbender prince is scarred and banished by his own father?

Zuko starts out as the main antagonist, hunting the Avatar to win back his honor and his place in line for the Fire Nation throne.