- Katey Sagal, Married With Children, 1987-1997. The Bundys, Al and Peg, were first offered to Sam Kinison and Roseanne. But c’mon, fellas, she’d done all that domestic-comedy-married-to-a-chubby-hubby stuff – for some 221 episodes of Roseanne, 1988-1997. Peg actually lasted longer: 250 shows.
- Pat Carroll, The Little Mermaid, 1989. “An answer to a prayer,” said Carroll on winning her lifetime’s ambition – voicing a Disney character. Ursula had been designed for Bea Arthur – far too busy with The Golden Girls, 1985-1992. Next? Divine (at Disney?!), Charlotte Rae, the Absolutely Fabulous Jennifer Saunders and singer Nancy Wilson. Plus a slew of veteran ladies: Coral Browne, Nancy Marchand, Sylvia Sidney – and Elaine Stritch, who won the gig, then lost it after disputes with lyricist Howard Ashman.
- Kathy Bates, Misery, 1990. “Nobody knows you’re here. And you better hope nothing happens to me. Because if I die… you die.” The vengeful fan Annie Wilkes was the full throttle woman’s role that scared A List guys off the 32nd of Stephen King’s staggering 313 screen credits. His Stand By Me director Rob Reiner considered Anjelica Huston, Jessica Lange, comics Roseanne Barr, Vicki Lawrence, Mary Tyler Moore Rosie O’Donnell, and singers Bette Midler and Barbra Streisand… until scenarist William Goldman picked Bates. And she won the best actress Oscar on March 25, 1991. As if that wasn’t enough, King later wrote Dolores Claibourne and rewrote Ray as Rae in The Stand, for Kathy.
- Maria Vacratsis, Tommy Boy, 1994. An uncredited Rob Lowe nearly had to quit Chris Farley’s comedy. Barr did leave! Just too busy to be Helen the waitress. By 2017, Vacratsis had compeleted 80 screen roles from My Big Fat Greek Wedding, 2001, to the 2017 Running With Violet series.
- Stockard Channing Smoke, 1995. In contention to join Wayne Wang’s New York movie but too big a name (and frame) for such an ensemble. It was among many projects competing for her limited 1994 hiatus…. by which time she had (noisily) split from husband Tom Arnold. He did (slightly) better in movies than she did.
- Caroline Aaron, Joe Dirt, 2001. The titular David Spade searches for the parents who ditched him as a kid at the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona. After shooting a scene with Roseanne and Gary Busey as Ma and Pa, director Dennie Gordon discovered what we all knew – Roseanne had too much baggage for such the cameo. Joe’s folks then became Aaron and Fred Ward. Just as the Grand Canyon was played by the Dead Horse Point State Park in Utah.
- Tracey Ullman, Into The Woods, 2013.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 7