Biff  See - "Lord of the Idiots" 

Big Bad, The - The nickname of vampire William the Bloody a.k.a. "Spike" (James Marsters) on the occult adventure BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAVER/WB/UPN/1997-2003. During one episode just before Spike is attacked by demon hunters known as the Initiative, Spike who is spying on Buffy mutters to himself "Watch your mouth, little girl. You should know better than to tempt the fates that way. 'Cause the big bad is back, and this time, it's... [Suddenly he's electrocuted by Initiative commandos] Urrgh! Aaaahhh!" After the Initiative implants a violence inhibiting chip into Spikes head, he escapes. When the Scooby Gang discovers Spike's condition Xander says "Your'e not the 'Big Bad' anymore. You're not even the 'kind of naughty'." To which Spike says "I'm bad! It's just I can't bite anymore, thanks to you wankers." On another episode Spike has a robotics expert create an identical, fully functioning replicant of Buffy "The Slayer" Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar) because he is smitten by her charms. Later in the cemetery, the fake Buffy is seen sitting atop Spike writhing in sexual ecstasy and shouting "Oh Spike, you're the Big Bad, You're the Big Bad!" The term "Big Bad" is a reference to the "Big Bad Wolf" in classic children's literature.

Big Guy - The radio station personnel on the sitcom WKRP IN CINCINNATI/CBS/1978-82 referred to their pudgy, station manager, Arthur Carlson (Gordon Jump) as the "Big Guy." His nickname was more of an ego booster reaffirming that he actually was in charge of the rock and roll station rather than just an inept, momma's boy appointed by his strong willed mother, Lillian Carlson (Carol Bruce), the station owner. Once Arthur Carlson ran for city council with the slogan: "A Big Guy For a Big Job." His son, Arthur Jr. (Lightfoot Lewis) known as "Little Big Guy" surfaced on the syndicated revival of the series in 1991. On the sitcom MR BELVEDERE/ABC/1985-90, the portly family servant, Mr. Belvedere (Christopher Hewett) was often called "Big Guy" by George Owens (Bob Uecker), his employer. "Big Guy" was also the term of endearment used by Steve Urkel (Jaleel White) to describe Carl Winslow (Reginald Veljohnson), the portly Chicago police officer on the sitcom FAMILY MATTERS/ABC/1988-98. And "Big Guy" was what Jim Walsh (James Eckhouse) called his teenage son, Brandon (Jason Priestley) on the drama BEVERLY HILLS 90210/FOX/1990-99. See also ROBOTS- "Big Guy & Rusty"

Big Jack - The nickname of bail bonds woman Samantha Jack (Jo Ann Pflug) who sent Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers (Lee Majors) after bail jumpers on the adventure series THE FALL GUY/ABC/1981-86. She was also called "Soapie" because her lifestyle was often that of a soap opera.

Big Ragoo, The - Nickname of short, muscular Italian-American, Carmine Ragusa (Eddie Mekka) on the sitcom LAVERNE & SHIRLEY/ABC/1976-83. Carmine was an aspiring singer and dancer, who worked as a singing messenger. His moniker was stitched onto the back of his blue jacket. See also - Angel-face" 

Big Red Cheese, The  See - "Captain Marvel" 

Bigfoot - The local nickname of a mythical Bigfoot-like creature that roamed the woods outside the town of Cicely, Alaska on the quirky rural drama NORTHERN EXPOSURE/CBS/1990-96. In reality, the "creature" was a woodsman named Adam (Adam Arkin) whose talents included gourmet cooking, writing, and possessing knowledge of covert government operations. While working as an anonymous contributor to the Cicely News and World Telegram Adam wrote articles on talking trees, and botanical espionage by the government. Adam first appeared on the episode "Aurora Borealis" (8/30/90) and later married a woman named Eve on the episode "Our Wedding" (5-11-92). See also - CREATURES: "Bigfoot"

Biggest and Meanest Dog in the USA, The See - DOGS: "White Fang"

Bilko - Comedian Phil Silvers was forever linked to the name of "Bilko" when he starred as the hustler/con artist Sergeant Ernie Bilko on the military comedy THE PHIL SILVER SHOW/CBS/1955-59 based at Fort Baxter in Roseville, Kansas. The Bilko character name was inspired by the name of a minor-league baseball player named Steve Bilko, whose batting streak of some fifty-five home runs caught the attention of Phil Silvers and Nat Hiken while they were developing the series. The choice of Bilko for a last name was perfect scripting considering that his character constantly tried to cheat ("bilk") people out of their money.

Binky - The nickname of Laura Holt (Stephanie Zimbalist), a female private investigator who owned the Remington Steele Detective Agency on the detective drama REMINGTON STEELE/NBC/1982-86. On the sitcom MADMAN OF THE PEOPLE/NBC/1994-95 outspoken columnist Jack Bruckner (Dabney Coleman) was given the nickname Binky by his wife, Delia (Concetta Tomei). When someone said "He doesn't look like a Binky?" His wife retorts "Oh, he's a Binky!" As a child, Katherine Papadopolis (Susan Clark) on the sitcom WEBSTER/ABC/SYN/1983-88 had a horse named Mortimer, but she called it "Binky."

Bird Legs - The childhood nickname of Lucy (MacGillicuddy) Ricardo on the classic situation comedy I LOVE LUCY/CBS/1951-1961. Lucy received her nickname while attending grade school. It was revealed on the 1954 episode "Lucy's Mother-in-Law" when Ricky's Cuban mamacita visits American and Lucy hires a mind reader (who uses an electronic eavesdropping device) to convince her mother-in-law she could speak Spanish. Lucy also revealed that she was born on August 6th. She refused to give the year. We also learn that Fred Mertz's mother lives in Indiana.

Biscuit, The - High school nickname of John Cage (Peter MacNicol), the eccentric senior partner in Cage/Fish & Associates on the legal dramedy ALLY McBEAL/FOX/1997-2002. John's fellow students "poked and prodded" him because he bore a resemblance to the Pillsbury Dough Boy. The lawyers in his firm also called John "The Biscuit" or "The Little Biscuit." When John gets upset or nervous his voice trails up, his lip twitches and he makes funny noises through his nose. See also - FROGS: "Stephan"

Black Falcon, The - Alias of Prince Baccarratti (Bela Kovacs), an evil genius from Planet X who battled Commander Buzz Corry (Ed Kemmer) on the children's sci-fi series SPACE PATROL/ABC/1951-52. The Black Falcon was fond of transporting the Space Patrollers to Earth's past leaving them to face death from wild Indians or atomic bomb explosions. Other villains to challenge Buzz were Mr. Proteus (Marvin Miller), Captain Dagger (Glenn Strange), Raymo (Larry Dobkin), the Wild Men of Procyon, and a mechanical man called Five.

Black Widow, The - On episode No.89/90 (aired 3/15/67 & 3/16/67) of the fantasy series BATMAN/ABC/1966-68, veteran movie actress Tallulah Bankhead starred as Mrs. Max Black, widow (a.k.a. "The Black Widow"), a criminal who arrived in Gotham City to commit a series of bank robberies using a paralyzing spray derived from spider venom. She caught crime fighters Batman and the Boy Wonder in a giant spider web filled with two giant black widow spiders. Black Widow was also the nickname of Pauline Spencer (Ruta Lee), a beautiful woman living in the Dunes Retirement Resort in Arizona on the sitcom COMING OF AGE/CBS/1988-89. She earned the title for having married and then lost (through death) many husbands. See also - AUTOMOBILES:" The Widow Maker"

Blackie See -"Negro"

Bleedin' Gums Murphy  See -MUSIC & MUSICIANS - Solo Performers

Blips  See - "Mundanes"

Blond Blintz - Radio/CB call sign adopted by police detective Ken Hutchinson (David Soul) on the police drama STARSKY AND HUTCH/ABC/1975-79. His partner Dave Starsky (Paul Michael Glaser) CB handle was the "Puce Goose." Both drove in a 1974 red and white Ford Torino. Their police mobile radio code was ZEBRA-3.

Blowfish - Street name of detective Sal "Blowfish" Banducci (Sal Jenco) who appeared during the 1988-90 seasons of the detective drama 21 JUMP STREET/FOX/1987-90.

Blue Light - Code name of a secret group of eighteen WWII Allied counterspies working to infiltrate Germany's "Third Reich" on the spy drama BLUE LIGHT/ABC/1966. David March (Robert Goulet), the group's lone survivor (17 killed by German counterintelligence), continued his mission of passing along vital secrets to the Allies, while posing as a foreign correspondent who had renounced his allegiance to America. The series was filmed in Germany and other European locales.

Blues Brothers, The  See - MUSIC & MUSICIANS - Vocal Groups (Pop & Rock)

Bombastic Bushkin - Real-life investment broker of Johnny Carson who was routinely lampooned on NBC's THE TONIGHT SHOW during the 1970s and 1980s. According to Carson's comic monologues, some of Bushkin's (alleged) investment strategies included, a Club Med in Beirut, tattoo parlor in the Vatican and a doggie-bag factory in Bangladesh. Mr. Bushkin met Carson in the 1960s and followed him to Los Angeles in the early 1970s when THE TONIGHT SHOW moved from New York to Burbank, California. However, Bushkin had a falling out with Johnny Carson in the 1980s over some bad investments including a $500,000 investment in the DeLorean Automobile Corporation (which went bankrupt) and they soon went their separate ways.

Bon Bon - Nickname that California Highway Patrol Officer Frank "Ponch" Poncherello (Erik Estrada) gave fellow Officer Bonnie Clark (Randi Oakes), a member of the Deaf Liaison program on the police drama CHIPS/NBC/1977-83.

Boner - The nickname of Richard Stabone (Josh Andrew Koenig), the best friend of psychiatrist's son Mike Seaver (Kirk Cameron) on the sitcom GROWING PAINS/ABC/1985-92. Boner's character was fun-loving but awkward. He was very fond of the Seaver family especially Mike's sister Carol (Tracey Gold) on whom he had a crush. When Mike Seaver first met Richard at the school bus stop as a child he dubbed him "Boner" (distilled from Stabone). Upon hearing his new name Richard objected saying "But all the name tags in my underwear say "Dicky." When Richard graduated his diploma read "Boner Stabone." His friend Mike quipped "You got Boner on your Diploma?" "Yeah," said Richard, "It cost extra." Soon after leaving high school, Boner joined the Marines and effectively left the series.

Bones - A term used affectionately by Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) when addressing his starship's senior surgeon, Doctor Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) on the sci-fi series STAR TREK/NBC/1966-69. The nickname was short for "sawbones," a traditional title for a doctor who up to the 19th century was noted for "sawing" off limbs.

Bones(2) - Comedy writer Robert Petrie (Dick Van Dyke) from the sitcom THE DICK VAN DYKE SHOW/CBS/1961-66 was also nicknamed "Bones" during his hitch in the US Army. Bones was also what Mary Richard's (Mary Tyler Moore) parents called their daughter on the sitcom THE MARY TYLER MOORE SHOW/CBS/1970-77. See also - "Stringbean"

Bones(3) - On the crime drama BONES/FOX/2005+ Emily Deschanel plays Temperance Brennan, a headstrong forensic anthropologist and part-time crime novelist based in the Washington DC area. Because Temperance works with skeletal remains, she earned the unwanted nickname "Bones" which she hates ("Don't call me Bones!") She also dislikes being called "Squints" - a moniker given to brainy researchers (science geeks) by the FBI Agents. whom Temperance collaborates with during criminal investigations.

Bonny Maid, The - Eighteen year old actress Anne Francis appeared as the Bonny Maid, the commercial spokesperson (1949-50) for Bonny Maid floor cover products on the variety program VERSATILE VARIETIES/NBC/CBS/ABC/1949-51. Miss Francis was assisted by two other Bonny Maids and a team called "Wear & Tear." In 1965, Anne Francis starred in the detective drama HONEY WEST/ABC/1965-66 where she portrayed Honey West, a sexy, karate chopping private eye (TVs first female Dick)).

Booty - The personal nickname of actress Holly Robinson Peete given to her by husband Rodney Peete. When asked "What does the name mean?" Holly just says "I don't want to expand on it." Her nickname was revealed on a 1997 Valentine's Day "Girlfriends" segment of the syndicated talk show THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW/SYN/1986+. Holly Robinson Peete was the costar of the police drama 21 JUMP STREET/FOX/SYN/1987-91 and the sitcom HANGIN' WITH MR. COOPER/ABC/1992-97 Holly and her singer girlfriend Terry Ellis (from the female singing group En Vogue) nicknamed each other Stupid and Dumb. "I'm Stupid. She's Dumb. She's Stupid. I'm Dumb," they laughingly interjected.

Born Again Virgins  See - FRATERNAL ORGANIZATIONS

Boston Blackie - Private eye on the detective drama BOSTON BLACKIE/SYN/1951-53. Boston Blackie (Kent Taylor) was a reformed criminal-turned-private eye living in Los Angeles. His credo: "Enemy to those who make him an enemy, friend to those who have no friend." Blackie's TV sidekick was Mary Wesley (Lois Collier). Their dog was called Whitey. The character was based on the writings of Jack Boyle whose early stories ran in Cosmopolitan and Redbook magazines at the turn-of-the-century.

Boy Wonder, The - Robin, the Boy Wonder (Burt Ward) was the crime fighting partner of Batman on the fantasy adventure BATMAN/ABC/1966-68. When not fighting crime, The Boy Wonder returned to his role of teenage ward Dick Grayson, an orphan under the care of millionaire Bruce Wayne (Adam West) a.k.a. "Batman." Dick's parents (a high-wire circus act billed as "The Flying Graysons") were killed my mobster Bess Zucco. Batman & Robin were based on the comic-strip characters created by Bob Kane in the 1940s. Robin debuted in Detective Comics No.38, June 1940.

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