Powered by i.TV
February 11, 2012
 
CONNECT    

The Five: Biggest TV drinkers

by Bob Sassone, posted Jan 25th 2007 8:15AM

TateThere are drinkers, and then there are drinkers. The ones that always seem to have a drink in their hand. It's a social thing, it's a private thing, but most of all, it's an everyday thing. Here are five TV characters who drank. A lot.

1. Larry Tate (Bewitched): Sure, it was the 60s and drinking was everyone and not frowned upon like it is in a lot of situations today, but mother of God Larry used to drink a lot. Every single time he came over to the Stephens' home he rushed over to their bar and made himself a drink, or Samantha gave him one. He seems like a prime candidate for alcoholism: a harried advertising guy, always on the go, and an ad exec who works for him that seems to vanish or have odd things happen to him all the time. That couldn't have been easy to deal with. This guy drinks a lot. In fact, if you play the Bewitched drinking game (take a drink every time Larry takes a drink), you probably won't make it past an episode.

2. Patsy and Edina (Absolutely Fabulous): I know, many of you might think this should be number one, but I think that these two women were more open, party drinkers. There was something more insidious about Larry Tate.

3. Otis Campbell (The Andy Griffith Show): Yeah, he was drunk 92% of the time, but you never saw him drinking on the show, just stumbling and slurring.

4. Norm Peterson (Cheers): Drank many beers in every episode. I mean, this guy was seated on that stool for every episode of the series, drinking beer after beer. It would have been sad if it wasn't so funny.

5. Sue Ellen Ewing (Dallas): She was such a drunk that she was arrested for shooting J.R. because she couldn't remember what she was doing when the shooting happened.

Honorable mention: Foster Brooks and Dean Martin. Brooks was acting, and to this day no one can say definitively whether or not Martin had booze in those glasses.

Add a Comment

*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

23 Comments

Filter by:
Scott

I think we're forgetting Brian from Family Guy.

January 26 2007 at 3:06 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gayle

dd,

Believe it or not, I DO know the difference! I'm just a huge "Law & Order" fan, and Jack McCoy has always been my favorite character.

January 26 2007 at 10:29 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Gordy

Joy Hickey, or whatever her name is now that she married Crabman.

January 26 2007 at 10:11 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Harold Love

How about Arthur Harmon, Maude's neighbor?

January 25 2007 at 6:54 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brent McKee

The thing about Foster Brooks is that he had been a heavy drinker, but when he was drinking he played sober roles - you can see him in some of the second series episodes of Dragnet (the 1968 one) - and he was essentially a bit player. When he stopped drinking he developed the drunk character that made him famous.

January 25 2007 at 4:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Cold Chilli

Col. Saul Tigh, even killed his wife on the sauce, but it was for the cause.

January 25 2007 at 2:27 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Bob Sassone

I think I didn't include Barney because I was thinking of live action shows. But Karen Walker should have been up there. Doh!

January 25 2007 at 12:51 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Brad

Don't forget Meredith from "The Office".

January 25 2007 at 12:37 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Regina

The greatest lush of all - Maryann from Cybill. Everything she did revolved around a martini in one hand!

January 25 2007 at 10:56 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
George Myers

The Still on TV M*A*S*H 4077 was drinking.

"Star Trek" (TOS) had its share of odd shaped bottles, and Romulan ale was certainly a fulcrum of the plot of the "Undiscovered Country".

January 25 2007 at 10:33 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply

Follow Us

From Our Partners