Single Names

Can anyone think of t.v. characters other than "Newman" (Seinfeld) and "Quincy" (Quincy M.D.) who are identified with only one name? "Kramer" was "Kramer" for the first several seasons until the writers named him Cosmo. Anyone else beside Newman and Quincy ?

JG

Spenser, "Spenser for Hire"

McGyver (sp?)

It's actually ANGUS McGyver. I think we found that out in the last episode.

In article ,

Just reminded of another single name . . . "Wilson" . . . the next door neighbor of Tim (the Tool Man) Taylor on Tool Time. BTW, we finally got to see his entire face on the series finale.

JG

Michael Holl wrote in message news:7hp3tn$1hd2$[email]...

episode.

was

Cosmo.

Actually (and please do not misconstrue this to mean I am a fan or endorse the show in any way) Tim Allen's neighbor in "Home Improvement" has a first name. It's Wilson. Wilson Wilson.

Cornball.

Ask me about the difference between Seinfeld and lesser sitcoms, and my answer will include, "Newman's first name is not Newman."

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Although the IMDB have stuck by the theory that it is Norman. They say "Wayne Knight ... Norman Newman".

I think that when that girl did shout out NORMAN to him from the apartment block, she had probably mixed things up.

Think of the messes Jerry, George, K-man & Elaine have gotten into with names. Surely Newman must have got things mixed up with someone once.

I tell you though, just watching The Raincoats last night, it still cracks me up when Jerry does the blank face in front of Rachel's father and then ... newman ... !!!

Incidentally, are there any sad people like me here? Notice Rachel is Tora Ziyal (you'know Dukat's daughter). She was the third actress to play this role.

rob

Am I the only one on the planet that just thinks that farm girl meant to shout "goodbye Norman!" because her character was just supposed to be dumb? That's what I picked up on... I don't buy for a second that it was the actress' slip-up and NBC left it in for the hell of it.. or that they would build up a nine-season character of Newman and only mention his first name once, at the last scene of a single episode (whereas, with Kramer, for instance.. we hear the name Kosmo numerous times).

Disagree at your own risk. Happy Memorial Day to all..

Dustman

Dustin Chapman wrote:

That was the impression I got upon seeing the episode, but then I read an interview with Jerry where he said that the actress slipped up. Now that I think about it, it makes more sense that way. If the character was supposed to be dumb, I think we would have had at least one other joke to that effect. For instance, a previous scene where she mistakenly called him Norman, after he told her his name was Newman.

It wasn't NBC's decision. Jerry and Larry decided what went into the shows, and they left in the Norman bit because they thought it was funny.

And when Kramer's first name was revealed, it was made clear beyond a doubt that Cosmo was indeed his first name. Unlike "Norman", no ambiguity at all. If it had been decided to reveal Newman's first name in "The Bottle Deposit" via the farm girl (which actually would have been quite funny), I'm sure we would have had some confirmation of that fact. For instance, the instant she calls him Norman, Kramer stops and says "Norman?". Newman says "It's my first name, okay?" Kramer says something like "Well, I'll be...". Then the shotgun rings out again, and they run away. And then perhaps, a joke in the tag making further reference to it.

Exactly. I wasn't sure until I saw the interview with Jerry, possibly the same one you saw. It was the same interview where Jerry revealed that the car not starting at the end of "The Parking Garage" was an accident, but they left it in too because it was funnier than the scripted ending.

I agree. If they had finally decided to reveal Newman's first name, something more would have come out of it. Seinfeld was a show known for revisiting jokes as a way to reward its faithful viewers.

Dustin Chapman wrote:

That was the impression I got upon seeing the episode, but then I read an interview with Jerry where he said that the actress slipped up. Now that I think about it, it makes more sense that way. If the character was supposed to be dumb, I think we would have had at least one other joke to that effect. For instance, a previous scene where she mistakenly called him Norman, after he told her his name was Newman.

It wasn't NBC's decision. Jerry and Larry decided what went into the shows, and they left in the Norman bit because they thought it was funny.

And when Kramer's first name was revealed, it was made clear beyond a doubt that Cosmo was indeed his first name. Unlike "Norman", no ambiguity at all. If it had been decided to reveal Newman's first name in "The Bottle Deposit" via the farm girl (which actually would have been quite funny), I'm sure we would have had some confirmation of that fact. For instance, the instant she calls him Norman, Kramer stops and says "Norman?". Newman says "It's my first name, okay?" Kramer says something like "Well, I'll be...". Then the shotgun rings out again, and they run away. And then perhaps, a joke in the tag making further reference to it.

Robert Faulkner wrote:

Some idiot at the IMDB must have seen that one episode, assumed his name was Norman, and had Wayne Knight's listing changed accordingly.

What is this? I thought Melanie Smith played Rachel in all the character's appearances.

She was the third actress to play Tora Ziyal.

Rachel only appeared three times in Seinfeld, and all of them were Melanie Smith.

And then got shot...

Hello there, Mr Jackson!

Yes, it was a shame that she got shot, but Dukat was being silly. And Damar was out of control.

Oh well.

I bet Garak was sad.

Back to Seinfeld...

okay, theory time...is it impossible that his name is Norman Newman, I mean sure, she screams out Norman and we all assume the obvious, as a joke she mispronounced his name. Instead of saying "Newman" she said "Norman" but is it at least possible that she knew what we didn't, she knew his first name, and by George (bye!) it was Norman...

I can imagine him telling her his first name, after all he was having sex with her, and while this was tv, it wasn't cinemax, where people have sex without knowing each other's last names even...

I just thought, is Wilson played by the same person who played the bloke downstairs in Mork & Mindy?

My take on the whole "Newman's first name" business (just an opinion, no more or less valid than anyone else's, with the exception of Larry David, Jerry Seinfeld and the actress who played the farmer's daughter. If any of them care to respond, the floor is theirs....):

Norman may very well be Newman's first name. It would make perfect sense that he would reveal it to a woman he was about to be intimate with (personally, I would have given the plans for D-Day to that honey). It also wouldn't be out of character for Larry David (who was the twisted genius behind Seinfeld IMHO) to have such a revelation handled as a quick throw-away line pinned on the end of an episode, and then never mentioned again. (Other, less creative sit-coms would have built a "very special" episode around the exposition.) I've seen references here to an interview in which Jerry said it was an error the actress made that they decided to leave in. Having never seen/read said interview, I cannot address it specifically. Perhaps someone could post it or if it exists on video, make it available.

A long-winded way of saying "We don't know for sure, we probably never will, and that's OK with me."

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art vandelay wrote:

Actually it has been my experience in those situations to ensure the name given was never real. (Sorry ladies)

:-)

John Gross wrote:

Magnum,

The News Guy(Mike) schrieb in Nachricht ...

was

Thomas ,Magnum

CU

John Gross challenged us thusly:

<<<<<Can anyone think of t.v. characters other than "Newman" (Seinfeld) and "Quincy" (Quincy M.D.) who are identified with only one name?

"Columbo" (Columbo)

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Carlton (the doorman)

John Gross wrote in message ...

DILBERT

<<Carlton (the doorman)

John Gross wrote in message ...

"Puddy"

"K.I.T.T" --hehe--

"Hanibal"

I know there is a lot more.

Phil

Phil R.'s contribution to Single Names was:

<<<"Puddy">>>>

Are you referring to David Puddy?

THREAD NOTE: In the history of television, there are hundreds of supporting and one-shot characters whose full names are not revealed to the audience. For example, there's little doubt Carlton the Doorman had a last name, we just never heard it.

Having said that, I'll submit the following:

Endura (Bewitched) Jeannie (I Dream of...) Mork (...& Mindy) Orson (Mork and Mindy)

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Art Vandelay typed:

>Are you referring to David Puddy?

D'oh!!

Phil

who could ever forget

Elvador (Mork & Mindy) Thing (The Addams Family) Shane (Shane)

+++++++++++ Got bioflavinoids? ++++++++++++

Gilligan (Gilligan's Island)

I guess from "Gilligan's Island" we could also add: Mary Ann, Ginger, the Professor and the Skipper. Also, going w-a-a-a-y-y back to "Get Smart" (with Don Adams as Maxwell Smart), his girlfriend and fellow agent was known only as "99" and Edward Platt was known only as "Chief." There were a couple of minor characters with only one name but I can't remember them.

John Gross wrote:

Ginger's last name was Grant, and this was mentioned fairly often. The pilot also mentioned Mary Ann's last name (Summers), and the Professor and Skipper's real names (Roy Hinckley and Jonas Grumby, respectively). However, we never do find out whether Gilligan is the character's first or last name, or what his other name is.

Keith Davenport wrote in message ...

I think it was Gilligan Newman..

homerr.. [or maybe it was Cosmo Gilligan???]

Chewie