List of unseen characters

Television shows and stage plays sometimes include continuing characters who are never seen or heard by the audience, but only described by other characters.

Television shows: Examples

Heard but not seen:

• Carlton, the doorman on Rhoda (although he was seen in a cartoon short unrelated to the show)
• Charlie Townsend, the head of the detective agency on Charlie's Angels
• Robin Masters, the novelist, on Magnum P.I.[?]
• Captain Mainwaring's wife Elizabeth, in Dad's Army (only her footsteps were heard)
• All adults on Charlie Brown cartoons
• John Beresford Tipton in The Millionaire[?]
• White Fang and Black Tooth in The Soupy Sales Show[?]
• The regular PA announcer in M*A*S*H
• The Village PA announcer in The Prisoner (voiced by Fenella Fielding[?])

Neither seen nor heard (may be partially seen on rare occasions):

• Godot in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot
• Reg in Kevin Elyot[?]'s My Night with Reg
• Vera, Norm Peterson[?]'s wife on Cheers
• Maris Crane, ex-wife of Niles Crane, on Frasier
• Karen's husband Stan and her children on Will & Grace[?]
• 'Er Indoors, Arthur Daley[?]'s wife in Minder[?]
• Mrs Axelby, Mrs Slocombe's friend in Are You Being Served?
• Diane, Agent Cooper's secretary, on Twin Peaks
• Sheridan, Mrs Bucket's son in Keeping Up Appearances
• Mrs. Columbo, wife of Inspector Columbo in Columbo
• Marion and Geoff in Marion and Geoff[?] (In the series, the only character who appears is Keith, the pathetically optimistic ex-husband of Marion, and still best friend of Geoff who is now Marion's husband. However, an extended episode was later made in which Marion and Geoff do both appear.)

Heard but never completely seen:

• Wilson, the Taylors' neighbor, in Home Improvement (face always obscured by picket fence or various other props)
• The "lady" in Tom and Jerry cartoons (legs only)
• "Nanny" in Muppet Babies[?] (legs only)
• Big Al in Police Squad[?] and The Naked Gun (he is so tall his face is always cut off by the top of the screen)
• Miss Sara Bellum in The Powerpuff Girls (her face is either above the screen like Big Al's or otherwise obscured)
• Dr. Claw in the Inspector Gadget cartoon series (his hands emerge from behind a large chair)
• Victor Lewis-Smith in Inside Victor Lewis-Smith (possibly the only series whose star is never seen clearly; he or a body double appears wreathed in bandages after a car crash in the opening scene; he is also seen in highly distorted close-ups while making crank phone calls)
• "Troy" the extra-terrestrial father in Out of This World[?] (TV-Series 1987-1991)

Unseen characters who were spoken of for a long time and then eventually seen:

• Frasier's mother, on Frasier
• Number One on the The Prisoner (though even this is debated)

Stage Plays: Examples

• Harvey, the title character of the play Harvey. Elwood P. Dowd, who is the only character in the play who can see him, describes him as a six-foot tall rabbit. (This play has been made into a film several times, most famously with Jimmy Stewart playing the role of Dowd.)
• Godot in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot