Was W. K. Stratton in "The B**gieman"?

N

Night Terror

Guest
I was just watching The Halloween Episode today (for like the 1000th time in my life) and there's a part near the end of it where Sam phones the police station to contact the sheriff Ben Masters. Sam tells the person on the other end of the line that he needs to contact the sheriff, to which the voice on the other end replies: "so do we, we've been looking for him for a half an hour ourselves." Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I'd swear that this voice sounds exactly like the one from the great W. K. Stratton, an actor who appeared in a few QL episodes ("Genesis", "Good Night, Dear Heart" and the Trilogy episodes [he was attorney Larry Stanton III in these ones]). If that really was him, he was uncredited, that's why I'm not so sure. Can anyone confirm this?

Even if you don't know, let me know what you think. I may not have the best hearing in the world, so maybe I'm confused, and I'd like to hear your opinions on who you may think the voice was.

On a sidenote: Usually when a person doesn't get credited, it's because the producers want to save some money and they ask a friend to play certan small role. In this case, the voice on the phone (voices, really, including the operator). W. K. Stratton could be considered as a regular on the series and, for the looks of it, he was really familiarized with the story arc, the actors (meaning Scott and Dean themselves) and other things and people related to the series. Perhaps even with Donald P. Bellisario himself, so I think that he may've been asked to play that role. What do you think? I mean, it's only 3 seconds long, but it's worth it.

Whatever excuse to watch Mr. Ruppenboogie's episode again. Yay!
 
Night Terror said:
I was just watching The Halloween Episode today (for like the 1000th time in my life) and there's a part near the end of it where Sam phones the police station to contact the sheriff Ben Masters. Sam tells the person on the other end of the line that he needs to contact the sheriff, to which the voice on the other end replies: "so do we, we've been looking for him for a half an hour ourselves." Now, maybe I'm wrong, but I'd swear that this voice sounds exactly like the one from the great W. K. Stratton, an actor who appeared in a few QL episodes ("Genesis", "Good Night, Dear Heart" and the Trilogy episodes [he was attorney Larry Stanton III in these ones]). If that really was him, he was uncredited, that's why I'm not so sure. Can anyone confirm this?

Yes, that was the voice of W. K. Stratton. I did a count once of the number of times that W. K. Stratton made an appearance in Quantum Leap (either actual appearance or voice appearance only). While I can't recall the exact number, I do know he made more appearances in Quantum Leap than any other actor, besides Scott and Dean. By the way, he was also the voice of the radio dispatcher in the opening scene of "Hurricane").

Eleiece
Click to expand...
 
I wonder why they didn't give credit to him then, if he wasn't acredited in the end of the show. Do people only get acting credit if they are seen phsyically in the show?
 
Ah, okay. Thanks, Angvav. I don't really understand filming too well, but I have learned a fair bit from you and Jassian, and the rest on the forum.
 
Sherdran said:
Yes, that was the voice of W. K. Stratton. I did a count once of the number of times that W. K. Stratton made an appearance in Quantum Leap (either actual appearance or voice appearance only). While I can't recall the exact number, I do know he made more appearances in Quantum Leap than any other actor, besides Scott and Dean. By the way, he was also the voice of the radio dispatcher in the opening scene of "Hurricane").

Eleiece
Click to expand...

Oh, thank you so much for your response, Eleiece! You know, I'm gonna have to watch "Hurricane" again. One of my favorite episodes, too. I've also seen it a hundred times, but I never knew that he had made an appearance there. I couldn't even recognize him, which is kind of weird. Anyway, even if he only provided his voice for certain episodes, that automatically means that there was no season that didn't have him. Looks like they were all very good friends with him, and it shows, especially in "Trilogy: Part II". Now, I know it's just acting, but Scott seems to interact more naturally with him, like they're more close.

ohboy said:
I wonder why they didn't give credit to him then, if he wasn't acredited in the end of the show. Do people only get acting credit if they are seen phsyically in the show?
Click to expand...

Angvav was right about that, ohboy. A very good example of this is the role Kathy Bates played in the mini-series "The Stand", by Stephen King. She's a very good friend of his since she had been in the movie "Misery", also based on one of his books. Her role in "The Stand", which is a 4-episode mini-series, was only like 2 or 3 minutes long. She appeared in the first episode as a radio talk show host, but when the mini-series ended, she wasn't credited, even though she also appeared there physically. That's because she was only doing a favor to Stephen King and the director. Since they were very good friends, she agreed to play that small role for their movie. That way, the producers save money (it all has to do with the budget they have) and King fans are able to recognize her, which, at the same time, attracts more audience.

W. K. Stratton's case may've been the same, only a friend doing them a favor. Now, do uncredited people get paid? I'm not sure. I don't think so, and if they do, not like anyone who gets a credit, obviously.

By the way, Ed Harris (also a friend of King's) was also in "The Stand", but he wasn't credited, either. His role was bigger than Kathy's, but it was still considered as small. Try to see this mini-series if you haven't had the chance yet, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Maybe angvav will tell you that I'm always telling everyone to watch those mini-series, but I can't help it, sorry. It's one of my favorites. (A bit off-topic here... but not so much.)
 
Thanks for the explanation, Night Terror and Angvav. You should be a teacher, Night Terror, because you explained that quite well. I'll take you're movie advice as well.
 
angvav said:
I might add ohboy, if I may, that uncredited roles have been around for years :)
Click to expand...

You're right, and probably since filming itself became an industry and a respected profession. Hollywood isn't the only one, either. French, Spanish and Mexican filmmakers love uncredited roles, too. Even Pier Paolo Pasolini, an Italian art director who died in 1975 after his Marquis de Sade adaptation "Salò...", used some uncredited roles in his films once in a while. I guess every professional filmmaker in the world can say the same.
 
Thats right Night Terror, but also.....

There are different reasons why this is done.

People are either starting in the acting industry or filmmakers try to trick the audience.

For example - Phone Booth.

Spoiler Alert! (highlight to read)
Keifer Sutherland's name is not in the credits at the start of the film - why?

So no one knows who he is!
Guess work is a clever way to deceive an audience you know.

Sorry for the spoiler alert there everyone.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ohboy said:
You should be a teacher, Night Terror, because you explained that quite well.
Click to expand...

Thanks, ohboy, that's very flattering, but the truth is that I don't know as much as I'd like. I'll have to keep working on it, I guess.

angvav said:
Thats right Night Terror, but also.....

There are different reasons why this is done.

People are either starting in the acting industry or filmmakers try to trick the audience.

For example - Phone Booth.

[...]

Guess work is a clever way to deceive an audience you know.
Click to expand...

You're right, angvav, not to mention that sometimes there are directors who choose to roll the full credits until the movie ends. That has to do with how the movie was made (the pacing, the importance of the story - especially the importance of the opening scene - and, as you say, the mystery, if it's needed). It doesn't matter how it's done, the actors will always have to be credited twice (and I think that has something to do with their full payment, if I'm not mistaken).

Anyway, the world of the uncredited is even wider. It's more popular among the actors these days, but sometimes there are screenwriters, and even directors, who step into this territory, whether they're from movies or TV shows. I think that, in both cases, it's because they serve more as an 'inspiration' to the actual people who are working on the film. By inspiration, I mean giving them ideas to improve their work. They're not really scripting or shooting a scene, although there are cases in which they do, but they're nothing big.

Other good examples are book authors. For example, Sir Arthur C. Clarke's book wasn't credited in the Stanley Kubrick film "2001: A Space Odyssey", even though the film was based on it and on the short story "The Sentinel", also by ACK. I think Clarke himself also co-wrote the screenplay, but only Kubrick was credited. Strange land, indeed!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back