Some notable examples of main characters who were originally recurring characters are: Eli Gold on The Good Wife; Leo Chingkwake on That '70s Show; Angel and Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer; Marc St. James on Ugly Betty; Vanessa Abrams on Gossip Girl; Zack Allan on Babylon 5; Steve Urkel on Family Matters; Donna Moss on The West Wing;[2] Steve Harrington on Stranger Things; and Felicity Smoak on Arrow.
[4] Kelsey Grammer, along with fellow recurring actor John Ratzenberger were hired for seven episodes, to play Frasier Crane and Cliff Clavin respectively.
Some notable examples include the Church Lady[6] and Hans and Franz[7] from Saturday Night Live, the Gumbys from Monty Python's Flying Circus, and Bob and Doug McKenzie from SCTV.
[10] Sacha Baron Cohen's character Ali G is another example, originating on the Channel Four series The Eleven O'Clock Show.
In the early 20th century, the Saturday Evening Post frequently had recurring characters in their cover art, such as Baby New Year.
[12] The Sherlock Holmes series of novels by Arthur Conan Doyle featured well-known recurring characters such as Inspector Lestrade and Mrs.