KnifeMissile

For some reason, I find it interesting to see which sitcoms star stand-up comedians and what names they choose for their character.

The first issue is a little strange to me. Sure, stand-up comedians are entertainers but they're not actors and they even admit as much, themselves. Yet, they are often the star of sitcoms. So much so that they are often seeked for such starring roles before the concept of the show is even made! What is up with that?

Secondly, for some reason, I find it interesting to see which stand-up comedians use their own name and which ones use another. Sometimes, the show is named after the star instead of the main character, who has a different name. Here are some examples and let me know if you think of any others...


Sitcom stand-ups with completely different names:

• The King of Queens (Doug Heffernan = Kevin James)
• The Cosby Show (Heathcliff Huxtable = Bill Cosby)
• Yes, Dear (Greg Warner = Anthony Clark)
• Newhart (Dick Louden = Bob Newhart)

Sitcom stand-ups with first names:

• Corner Gas (Brent Leroy = Brent Butt)
• Everybody Loves Raymond (Ray Barone = Ray Romano)
• Mad About You (Paul Buchman = Paul Reiser)
• Home Improvement (Tim Taylor = Tim Allen)
• All-American Girl (Margaret Kim = Margaret Cho)
• Roseanne (Roseanne Conner = Roseanne Barr)

Sitcom stand-ups who use their own names:

• The Drew Carey Show (Drew Carey)
• Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld)
• Titus (Christopher Titus)

For brevity, I only mentioned sitcoms with starring stand-up comedians, since there are a lot of sitcoms... I'm tempted to mention Sabrina the Teenage Witch but the show isn't really about Caroline Rhea's character, so I didn't really think it fit.

So, why do you think they choose to use their names? Why wouldn't they?
Have I forgotten any others?

Reese

I've thought about this at length, I mean hours a day for weeks at a time. It's not an exact science I'm sure but I think it's how similar to the character is to the person. Seinfeld is VERY similar to Jerry Seinfeld, at least it seems that way. Tim Allen is similar to Tim Taylor but different. Kevin James... well I just hope he's nothing like Doug Heffernan.. This could explain why no one else plays themselves in , because Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander probably don't have the Chemistry that Jerry and George do. Then again there's Bob Newhart and Bill Cosby which are exceptions to that rule.. Actually I have no idea what I'm blabbering about. It's too late for me to be posting.

Also don't forget Andy Griffith playing Andy Taylor.

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Fremen

Maybe they just can't remember to answer to a different first name. *shrugs*

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captobvious

I think some people are just more comfortable making fun of themselves than others.

Derwood

otherwise known as "The Tony Danza Syndrome"

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