TV Characters who dressed up like TV characters for Halloween

Over the years, television characters have had a long love affair with Halloween—and sometimes with each others' personas! Check out this rundown of TV characters who’ve dressed up as their favorite TV characters for Halloween.

"Modern Family"

On  ABC’s hit sitcom "Modern Family," Cam (Eric Stonestreet) and his daughter Lily (Aubrey Anderson-Emmons) took on the 1970’s series “Fantasy Island” when they dressed up as Mr. Roarke and his sidekick, Tattoo, for a Halloween costume party. While Cam didn’t originally plan to channel the proprietor of TV’s most mysterious island (the matador costume he ordered to show off his 32.4-pound weight loss arrived as a bull costume instead!), and getting Lily to trade in her princess tiara for Tattoo’s white suit was no easy task either, in the end, this father-daughter duo queued up the cuteness. De plane! De plane!

“Suburgatory”

The “Suburgatory” cast went retro in 2012, when Tessa (Jane Levy) and her friends dressed up as the “Scooby Doo” gang for Halloween. While red-haired Tessa was a natural to dress up as Daphne, and Lisa (Allie Grant) made a groovy Velma, the guys got it all wrong: Malik (Maestro Harrell) and Ryan (Parker Young)  both dressed up as Fred. So where’s Shaggy? In a deleted scene, apparently.

“The Office”

In 2010, the long-running NBC comedy, “The Office,” channeled the TV cartoon “Popeye,” with Jim (John Krasinski) dressing as the spinach-loving sailor and Pam (Jenna Fischer) dressing as Olive Oyl.  (Baby Cece even turned up as Swee’Pea.) But perhaps even more memorable was when Mindy Kaling’s  character, Kelly, dressed up as "Sex and the City"  character Carrie Bradshaw in the series’ 2008 Halloween episode. Let’s just say Kelly needed a little more practice walking in Manolos! You can check out a clip here.

“Freaks and Geeks”

If I were The Bionic Woman, what would I wear?” the character of Bill (Martin Starr) asked himself as he gazed in the mirror on the short-lived sitcom “Freaks and Geeks.” What followed was a hilarious montage detailing his transformation into Lindsay Wagner’s 1970’s TV character, OSI agent Jaime Sommers, as he talked to an imaginary Steve Austin and Oscar Goldman and feigned a bionic ear. The finished costume wasn’t particularly bionic, but you can’t find a character more determined to get into character than this one. Check out Bill’s transformation:

“The New Normal”

Last year on NBC’s “The New Normal,” Bryan (Andrew Rannells) geared up for a "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" Halloween. According to  TV Guide, show creator Ryan Murphy teased that the character Shania (Bebe Wood) “loves that show so they decide to go en masse as that family.” And there was  more TV character costuming to come. Jane (Ellen Barkin) doubled up on the blue eye shadow and zapped herself into “Bewitched” character Endora (check out a  pic here). In fact, there were 15 costume changes in the Halloween-themed episode.

Halloween on TV: Five Freaky TV Witches and Vampires

The freaks come out at night—or at least during primetime! Halloween is on the horizon—and so are some of TV’s most memorable Halloween witches and vampires. But we’re not talking beautiful creatures like the characters on “Bewitched” and “Buffy.” No, these witches and vampires were the real deal: pointy noses, warts, fangs and sometimes even green skin!

Check out this rundown of the freakiest TV witches and vampires of all time.

Witch Hazel- “Looney Tunes”

This Looney Tunes witch made an appearance every Halloween, asking her magic mirror if she was the ugliest of them all in the classic animated short, “Broom-Stick Bunny.” She wasn’t, but she did have a knack for making rabbit stew-- just ask Bugs Bunny!  

Wicked Witch of The West- “The Wizard of Oz”

Although she was originally made for the big screen, this classic witch has been a television staple since 1956. The 1939 movie “The Wizard of Oz”  featured the totally scary Wicked Witch of the West, played by Margaret Hamilton.  With her green skin and flying monkey henchmen, this witch was one mean girl, but  Hamilton was equally terrifying as the character of the bike-riding  Miss Gulch in the same film. 

Witchiepoo- “H.R. Pufnstuf”

She may have been a caricature of sorts, but this Saturday morning witch (played by Billie Hayes) was one ugly broad.  OK, we'll admit "H.R. Pufnstuf's" resident witch was fairly harmless,  although her main mission in life was to swipe the psychedelic Freddy the Flute. (This was the early 1970s, after all.) You can check out Witchiepoo—and her terrible cackle-- here:

Barnabus Collins- “Dark Shadows”

The theme music to this show alone was enough to scare a person!  The gothic soap opera "Dark Shadows" aired from 1965 to 1971 and its lead vampire was light years ahead of “Twilight.” When Barnabus Collins (played by Jonathan Frid), showed his fangs, you knew he meant business! "Dark Shadows" —and Barnabus—was resurrected from the dead in 2012, courtesy of Johnny Depp, but Frid remains the vampire by which all others are measured. Check out Jonathan Frid as Barnabus Collins here:

Grandpa Munster- “The Munsters”

He may have been TV’s funniest Dracula, but when Grandpa Munster got mad—watch out! The quirky character's name was actually Sam Dracula, Count of Transylvania, but fans affectionately referred to him as Grandpa on the 1960’s dark comedy, "The Munsters."  Lewis, who died in 2006, was actually a year younger than his TV daughter, Yvonne Decarlo! Check out  the show's intro: