“Sock it to me”: Richard Nixon on “Laugh-In”
While the Romneys slink back to one of their half-dozen mansions, it’s time for the Obama and Biden camp to return to Washington. But a little celebration is in order, and Joe Biden is wasting no time, as it was announced less than 48 hours after the election that he will be making a guest appearance on a forthcoming episode of “Parks and Recreation.”
Biden might be one of the most recent politicians to make a cameo, but he’s far from the first. Many politicians have taken time to pop up on a myriad of television shows and movies.
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Here are 10 notable cameos:
Richard Nixon, “Laugh-In” (1968)
In 1968, Republican candidate Richard Nixon tried to impress upon the American public that he wasn’t as dull and humorless as he was portrayed to be. The pinnacle of his efforts was this appearance on “Laugh-In.” It must have worked: Nixon won the presidency in a landslide, despite the extreme right-wing candidate George Wallace (of the American Independent Party) carrying five southern states on a segregationist platform.
Jesse Jackson, “Saturday Night Live” (1991)
Rev. Jesse Jackson has made several appearances on SNL over the years, but none were quite as memorable as his reading of the Dr. Seuss classic, Green Eggs and Ham, four days after Dr. Seuss died in September of 1991.
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Tip O’Neill, “Cheers” (1983)
During its 11-year run, most episodes of “Cheers” began with a cold open. The opening of the February 17, 1983 episode (entitled “No Contest”) features Speaker of the House and Boston native Tip O’Neill, who stops into the bar to escape Diane — only to run into Norm.
Patrick Leahy, “Batman” (1995), Batman & Robin (1997), The Dark Knight (2008), and The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Does it come as any surprise that film industry would grant this guy not one, but four bit parts in films and shows about his lifelong favorite superhero? Leahy was an author and the introductory sponsor of PIPA, the Senate’s version of the SOPA bill which was nearly passed by the House. His lips must be chapped from kissing so much Hollywood ass.
Condoleezza Rice, “30 Rock” (2011)
In 2011, former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice made a guest appearance on “30 Rock” as a former girlfriend of Alec Baldwin‘s character, Jack Donaghy, with whom he broke up via text message. Did Rice miss her calling as an actress? She certainly holds her own better here than when in front of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks.
