Designing Women guest stars
86 actors have guest-starred in Designing Women across 163 episodes and 7 seasons. The most-credited is Richard Gilliland, J.D. Shackelford in 7 episodes. 46 of them have also guest-starred in five or more of the other shows in this catalogue.
Who came back most
| Actor | Character | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| Richard Gilliland | J.D. Shackelford | 7 |
| Brian Lando | Quinton Shively | 5 |
| Lexi Randall | Randa Oliver | 5 |
| Priscilla Weems | Claudia Shively | 5 |
| Scott Bakula | Dr. Ted Shively | 5 |
| Arlen Dean Snyder | Ray Don Simpson | 3 |
| George Newbern | Payne McIlroy | 2 |
| Hal Holbrook | Reese Watson | 2 |
| John Petlock | Dr. Mitchell, Jansen | 2 |
| Julie Cobb | Janet Shackelford | 2 |
| Michael Griswold | Burton Riffel | 2 |
| Michael Jeter | Calvin Klein | 2 |
| Andre Rosey Brown | Wendell Mack | 1 |
| Ann Walker | Rosalind Shelton | 1 |
| Arsenio Trinidad | Stedman | 1 |
| Beah Richards | Mrs. Bouvier | 1 |
| Bobbie Ferguson | Monette "Monica" Marlin | 1 |
| Brandis Kemp | Mrs. Boeving | 1 |
| Brian Moore | Announcer | 1 |
| Brian Taylor | Harrison | 1 |
| Bruce Davison | Reverend Eugene Chapman | 1 |
| Christian Clemenson | Jack Henry | 1 |
| Connie Lew | Li Sing | 1 |
| Constance Towers | Louise Pollard | 1 |
| Craig Marks | Waiter | 1 |
Designing Women guest stars by season
| Season | Guests | Who |
|---|---|---|
| Season 1 | 69 | Richard Gilliland, Brian Lando, Priscilla Weems, Scott Bakula, Arlen Dean Snyder, Hal Holbrook, Julie Cobb, Michael Griswold, Michael Jeter, Andre Rosey Brown, Ann Walker, Bobbie Ferguson and 57 more |
| Season 2 | 6 | Scott Bakula, Arlen Dean Snyder, Brian Lando, George Newbern, John Apicella, Priscilla Weems |
| Season 3 | 0 | — |
| Season 4 | 4 | Bruce Davison, Constance Towers, Leann Hunley, Lloyd Bochner |
| Season 5 | 2 | Lexi Randall, Kathryn Spitz |
| Season 6 | 4 | Christian Clemenson, Gary Pagett, M.C. Gainey, William Morgan Sheppard |
| Season 7 | 7 | Arsenio Trinidad, Beah Richards, Della Reese, John Petlock, Marius Weyers, Sherman Hemsley, Sheryl Lee Ralph |
Guest stars you know from somewhere else
The hardest-working character actors in this show's guest cast, ranked by how many other shows in this catalogue they have also guest-starred in. Not the most famous names, the most prolific ones.
| Actor | In Designing Women | Other shows |
|---|---|---|
| Bruce Davison | Reverend Eugene Chapman | 31 |
| Gregg Henry | Jack Dent | 28 |
| M.C. Gainey | T. Tommy Reed | 26 |
| Madison Mason | Ed Boeving | 26 |
| Natalija Nogulich | Professor Primrose "Primmie" Horton | 24 |
| Christian Clemenson | Jack Henry | 23 |
| Stephen Tobolowsky | Boyd | 21 |
| George Newbern | Payne McIlroy | 20 |
| Geoffrey Lewis | Dr. Davis Jackson | 19 |
| Richard Gilliland | J.D. Shackelford | 18 |
| Troy Evans | Man | 18 |
| Lloyd Bochner | Ansel Pollard | 17 |
| William Morgan Sheppard | Prof. Burton | 17 |
| Julie Cobb | Janet Shackelford | 16 |
| Janet Carroll | Sissy Tate | 16 |
Played more than one character
| Actor | Characters | Eps |
|---|---|---|
| John Petlock | Dr. Mitchell, Jansen | 2 |
Shares a cast with
- L.A. Law — 27 shared actors
- Matlock — 27 shared actors
- Murder, She Wrote — 27 shared actors
- ER — 20 shared actors
- Hunter — 20 shared actors
- MacGyver — 14 shared actors
- Highway to Heaven — 13 shared actors
- Criminal Minds — 12 shared actors
Cast data from TVmaze, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.