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4 items from 2013

27 February 2013 8:40 AM, PST | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »

Paul Shaffer was offered the role of George Costanza on "Seinfeld."

According to The Week (by way of Shaffer's memoir), Jerry Seinfeld offered Shaffer the role of George with a message on Shaffer's answering machine, but Shaffer never returned the call. It certainly would've made for a very different "Seinfeld."

The Week also reports Ken Howard and Blythe Danner were originally offered the roles in NBC's "McMillan and Wife," but turned them down because they weren't interested in being part of the "wheel" format of NBC's mystery series. The parts went to Rock Hudson and Susan St. James.

Did you know that Matthew Broderick and John Cusack were up for the lead on "Breaking Bad" before Cranston got the job?

Click through the slideshow below to see what other famous faces turned down some pretty big roles.

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- Chris Harnick

9 January 2013 8:45 AM, PST | PEOPLE.com | See recent PEOPLE.com news »

TV has lost one of its most familiar character actors: Ned Wertimer, best known as the tip-hungry Ralph the doorman on The Jeffersons, died Jan. 2 at a nursing facility outside Los Angeles, the result of a fall in his Burbank home last November, his manager announced late Tuesday. He was 89. With more than 100 small-screen credits to his name, as well as Broadway (Bye Bye Birdie) and film (Mame and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End) roles, Wertimer was known to audiences of such shows as Gunsmoke, McMillan and Wife, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Wkrp in Cincinnati and Mork & Mindy, »

- Stephen M. Silverman

8 January 2013 5:59 PM, PST | The Hollywood Reporter | See recent The Hollywood Reporter news »

Ned Wertimer, a prolific character actor who was perhaps best known for playing Ralph the Doorman for 11 seasons on the CBS sitcom The Jeffersons, has died. He was 89. Wertimer died Jan. 2 at the Sherman Village Health Care Center outside of Los Angeles from complications following a fall in his Burbank home in late November, his longtime manager, Brad Lemack, announced Tuesday. Wertimer had more than 100 TV credits in his career as he guest-starred on such series as Gunsmoke, McMillan and Wife, Car 54, Where Are You?, The Debbie Reynolds Show, The Mary Tyler Moore Show,

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- Mike Barnes

8 January 2013 4:43 PM, PST | Huffington Post | See recent Huffington Post news »

Ned Wertimer, who appeared on 11 seasons of "The Jeffersons" as Ralph The Doorman, is dead at age 89. The actor's manager Brad Lemack confirmed to The Huffington Post Tuesday that Wertimer died on Jan. 2 following health complications at the Sherman Village Health Care Center in California.

Wertimer was a veteran television actor who appeared in more than 100 TV shows and movies since the 1950s. Besides his most memorable role as doorman Ralph Hart on the hit CBS sitcom, he took on parts in series like the "Mary Tyler Moore Show," "The Debbie Reynolds Show" and "McMillan & Wife." He last acted in 2007's blockbuster "Pirates of the Carribbean: At World's End," with Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush, as a pirate extra.

He is survived by his wife, his brother's wife and his niece and three nephews. »

- Youyoung Lee

4 items from 2013