If Steve Landesberg was Deitrich, I heartily concur.

Yes, he was.

The whole cast of The Cosby Show.

Oooh, yeah, Lisa Bonet. . .she was kinda deadpan on that show.

Everybody on that show was so good! Particularly little Olivia, has there been a child that funny on TV before or since then?

You mean Rudi? Or did I miss something? Like cousin Oliver on the Brady Bunch?

Wednesday

Robert (Bob Newhart) and Emily Hartley (Suzanne Pleshette) + Howard Borden (Bill Daily) on The Bob Newhart Show.

I also agree with Steve Landesberg on Barney Miller.

No, little Olivia! Denise's stepdaughter!

Wednesday was effing awesome. Also who the heck, the older peeps on the Jeff Van Dyke Show.

Umm, Dick Van Dyke Show.

As a kid, Bob Hartly (Bob Newhrt Show) and Rob Petrie (Dick Van Dyke Show) were the people I wanted to be. They were both very funny, smart, and had a way of carrying themselves that I admired. I wanted to hang out with those two guys so badly. And to a lesser extent, I thought Bob Crane was the posterboy for calm and cool - that is until I discovered Steve McQueen.

But if we're just talking about great characters on sitcoms, the first ones that come to mind are:

Burt Campbell on Soap
Ted Baxter on Mary Tyler Moore
Basil Fawlty - Fawlty Towers
Alex Keaton in Family Ties
Al Floss on the Famous Teddy Z (the show was pretty bad, Alex Rocco was fantastic)
Less Nessman on WKRP
Mr Carlin on the Bob Newhart Show
Hank Kimble on Green Acres
Reverend Jim on Taxi

Looking at that list, I guess most of my faves are the loose cannons that could say or do just about anything, no matter how outrageous (Kramer is a great later example of the same type of character). I know the second I hit POST I'm going to kick myself for forgeting a lifelong fave.

Henry Blake, Maxwell Q. Klinger, Frank Burns, Gomez and Morticia Addams, Barney Rubble, Lou Grant and, Derrrrur Bob Hartly.

Jack Tripper!

Lisa Douglas (Green Acres). I think I share half a brain with her sometimes.

At least when she is using that half, you still have another half to work with. ;-P

What alla youse guys said and a bunch I can't think of...
:-)

I loved Dr. Harry Watson (Richard Mulligan) from "Empty Nest", and all of the previous mentioned above. In fact, while so many had a crush on "Vinnie Barbarino" on "Welcome Back Kotter", I crushed on Juan Epstein.

≡ Click to see image ≡

The Husband as Juan Epstein at a 70's Halloween party. Yeah, I'm a Juan girl. (I'm supposta be Jane Fonda. Check out the Real People dude in the kitchen.)

Heh. That's a note from his mother pinned inside his coat.

It said something like "Please excuse Juan's lack of a costume."

Yomana - Barney Miller
Klinger - M*A*S*H
Michael Evans - Good Times
Epstein - Welcome Back Kotter
Danny Partridge

(also, a gay buddy of mine said that one time he was in a gay bar and the guy who played Horshak would stop hitting on him. I just have this image of the dude going "Oooh! Oooh! You gotta cute beh-oind!")

and of course Johnny Fever was my childhood role model.

WKRP in Cincinnati! Oh, I loved that show! Of course, I identified with Jan, though I wanted to be Loni Anderson's character.

Rainbaby, that's a great picture. Did many people figure out the Husband was Juan?

also:

Jim Ignatowski - Taxi (and not just because I spend my day dealing with hundreds of guys just like him)

redvixen, he had to show them the note and then people got it.