Saint, The - On the syndicated mystery adventure THE SAINT/NBC/1967-69 actor Roger Moore starred as the infamous playboy Simon Templar otherwise known as "The Saint." His nickname was derived from his initials (ST) and from the fact that he was always helping people out of binds. His last name "Templar" referred to the "Knights Templar" a member of a military and religious order established among the crusaders early in the 12th century. The Saint was based on the best-selling mystery stories of Leslie Charteris that debuted in the 1928 novel Meet the Tiger which spawned a series of movies and a radio show in the 1930s and 1940s. The vocal talents of Edgar Barrier, Brian Aherne, Vincent Price, Tom Conway and Barry Sullivan were used for the "The Saint" radio programs; and Louis Hayward, George Sanders, and Hugh Sinclair played The Saint in movie adaptations. Actor Ian Ogilvy revived the role of Simon Templar in the RETURN OF THE SAINT/SYN/CBS/1978. The 1987 TV pilot movie The Saint (aired on CBS's SUMMER PLAYHOUSE) featured Andrew Clark as Simon Templar, this time living in the New York City; and Simon Dutton played the role of this dashing playboy in a series of made-for-television movies on THE MYSTERY WHEEL OF ADVENTURE during the 1989-90 season. The Saint's calling card featured a stick figure sporting a halo. 

Sal the Pig Boy - Workplace nickname of Sal (Curtis Armstrong), a half-man, half-pig researcher who worked for The World Chronicle newspaper in New York City on the occult newspaper adventure THE CHRONICLE/SCI/2001-2002. Headquartered in the basement archives of the Chronicle, Sal (who sports the snout of a pig) uses his talents as a  computer hacker to locate archived stories and other pertinent bits of information needed by the newspaper's investigative reporters. Sal aggressively pursued the women on the staff and when rebuked for his behavior, he replied "What' do you expect, I'm a pig!" When criticized for his porcine condition, Sal proudly proclaims "I maybe half-pig, but I'm half-man and that's 1/4 of what I need." At the height of passion, Sal squeals like a pig.

Salami Sam - Loudmouth wrestler who wore a silly looking bathing suit on the live-action children's show THE HOWDY DOODY SHOW/NBC/1947-60. Originally known as Ugly Sam, this wrestler pranced around the stage making all sorts of funny faces. Sometime later, Ugly Sam changed his name to Salami Sam and carried around a huge salami on which he occasionally chewed to give him nourishment and extra strength. See also - FOOD: "Salami" 

Sam - The name used to describe a number of TV characters over the years. On the sitcom LEAVE IT TO BEAVER/CBS/ABC/1957-62 Wally Cleaver (Tony Dow) was jokingly called "Sam" (also Gertrude & Ellwood) by his wisecracking friend Eddie Haskell (Ken Osmond). Sam was the name of unseen telephone answering service girl (voice of Mary Tyler Moore/Roxane Brooks) at Hi-Fi Answering Service on the detective drama RICHARD DIAMOND, PRIVATE DETECTIVE/CBS/NBC/1957-60 (Diamond called her Samuel). Darrin Stephens (Dick York/Dick Sargent), an advertising executive on the sitcom BEWITCHED referred to his witch wife Samantha as "Sam." On the sitcom WHO'S THE BOSS/ABC/1984-92 Tony Micelli (Tony Danza) called his daughter Samantha, "Sam." On the police drama SILK STALKINGS/CBS/USA/1991-99, Florida police detectives Rita Lee Lance (Mitzi Capture) and Chris Lorenzo (Rob Estes) called each other Sam in homage to golfer Slammin' Sammy Sneed ("the greatest golfer who ever lived!"). And on the police drama PROFILER/NBC/1996 Ally Walker played Samantha "Sam" Waters, a forensic psychologist who profiles serial killers. Sam was also what Stephen Crisman (the husband of actress Mariel Hemingway) called his wife. He named a chain of restaurants (Sam's Cafe) in California, Texas, and New York in her honor.   

Sandbaggers - Nickname for an elite cadre of espionage agents on the British spy drama SANDBAGGERS/ITV/1978-80. The Sandbaggers chronicles the story of Neil Burnside (Roy Marsden), Director of Operations (“D-Ops”) in Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service (“SIS”). Burnside is in charge of the Special Section of field operatives led by senior officer Willie Caine (Ray Lonnen) referred to as "Sandbagger One." They supervise the men and women who work with them on the front lines of the Cold War against the K.G.B. and other hostiles. Field Agents included Jake Landy (David Glydner, a.k.a. "Sandbagger Two (episode 1-3); Laura Dickens (Diane Keen) a.k.a. "Sandbagger Two" (episodes 4-7); Tom Elliott (David Beames) a.k.a. "Sandbagger Two" (episode 8); Mike Wallace (Michael Cashman) a.k.a. "Sandbagger Two (episode 9-20); Alan Denson (Steven Grives) a.k.a. Sandbagger Three (episodes 1-3). The Sandbaggers was created by Ian Mackintosh, a former a former lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy with an Intelligence background. TRIVIA NOTE: According to the Random House Dictionary, a "Sandbagger" is one who "deceives...coerces, intimidates or thwarts or causes to fail or be rejected."  In Sports a "Sandbagger" is a would be Pro Player trying to pass as an Amateur or an Amateur passing as a Novice with hope of gaining an advantage or reward.    

Scarecrow - Code name for US espionage agent Lee Stetson (Bruce Boxleitner) who worked for a secret government agency called The Agency on the spy adventure SCARECROW AND MRS. KING/CBS/1983-87. Scarecrow's partner, Amanda King (Kate Jackson) was a bored, divorced Washington D.C. housewife with a penchant for intrigue. They first met when Scarecrow thrust a package into Mrs. King's hands at a train station as a ploy to escape from pursuing Russian spies. Amanda and Lee later married each other but kept it a secret from their employers and family members. On the WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY in the early 1960s (Patrick McGoohan) starred in a multi-part story THE SCARECROW OF ROMNEY MARSH/NBC/1964 about Dr. Syn, a minister who donned the shaggy costume of a scarecrow to battle the cruelty of the Crown along the southern coast of England. According to the program's rousing theme song "Scarecrow, Scarecrow, The soldiers of the King feared his name, Scarecrow." 

Scarlet Pimpernel, The - English nobleman, Sir Percy Blakeney (Marius Goring) pretending to be a brainless fop, donned the guise of the mysterious "Scarlet Pimpernel" on the syndicated adventure THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL/SYN/1956 to battle the injustice of the French Revolution. The Scarlet Pimpernel took his name from the small, red, star-shaped flower that bloomed in the English countryside. In the British movie version of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934), actor Leslie Howard played Lord Blakeney who recited a small poem that described this dashing hero. It read: "They seek him here. They seek him there. Those Frenchies seek him everywhere. Is he from Heaven? Or is he from Hell? That damn'd elusive Pimpernel." The phrase "curs'd elusive Pimpernel" was used for the 1950s TV series. This classic tale later resurfaced in two made-for television movies including the 1982 remake starring Anthony Andrews and the 1999 BBC1/A&E production starring Richard E. Grant. The Scarlet Pimpernel character is based on the 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel written by English writer, Baroness Orczy. 

Schmoopie - Cloying term of endearment ("You're Schmoopie!" "No, you're Schmoopie!") heard on "The Soup Nazi" episode of the sitcom SEINFELD/NBC/1990-1998. When Jerry and his girlfriend Sheila (Alexandra Wentworth) began calling each other "Schmoopie," his friends thought it was just to gooey, especially George Costanza (Jason Alexander), who hated such overt physical displays of affection. But when George next met Jerry at their local hangout, a competition of affection ensued as Jerry and his date were "Schmooping" all over the place. George, not to be shown up in the eyes of his girlfriend, began to talk baby talk ("Ooogie-Woogie," "Baby-waby") to his fiancée. A little later Jerry dropped his girlfriend and the normally reserved George was now stuck with supporting his new persona as a touchy feely sensitive kind of guy. 

Schnickle Fritz - The family nickname of actress Susan Lucci coined by her Austrian husband. Susan Lucci is best known for playing the role of Erica Kane on the soap opera ALL MY CHILDREN/ABC/1970+. On the sitcom SILVER SPOONS/NBC/SYN/1982-88 secretary Kate Sommers (Erin Gray) owns two cats, Fluffy and Snickle Fritz.   

Schnozzola - The showbiz nickname of James "Jimmy" Francis Durante, a popular Italian-American comedian with the big nose ("Schnozzola") who starred on this popular comedy variety program set in a small nightclub called Club Durant. At the end of each weekly performance, Jimmy paused to say "And Good night, Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are" and then slowly exit offstage following a pathway made from overhead spot lights. Mrs. Calabash was Jimmy's first wife. Jimmy Durante also appeared as a regular on the musical/variety shows ALL STAR REVUE/NBC/1950-53; BUICK CIRCUS HOUR/NBC/1952-53; THE COLGATE COMEDY HOUR/NBC/1953-54; TEXACO STAR THEATER/NBC/1954-55; and JIMMY DURANTE PRESENTS THE LENNON SISTERS/ABC/1969-70. He suffered a stroke in 1972 (leaving him wheelchair bound) and died in 1980. 

Scooby Gang, The - In the episode "What's My Line? (Part 1)" on the horror adventure BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER/WB/UPN/1997+ a teenager named Xander  refers to his Sunnydale High School friends as "The Scooby Gang," a reference to the 1960's cartoon series SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU?/CBS/1969-1972, where a group of adolescents investigate supernatural occurrences. The Scooby Gang on Buffy  consists of Buffy Summers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), a vampire hunter (a.k.a. "Slayer"); Willow Rosenberg (Alyson Hannigan), a computer nerd and witch in training; Alexander "Xander" Harris (Nicholas Brendon), a good-natured teen with crush on Buffy; Cordelia Chase (Charisma Carpenter), a snobby preppie; Oz (Seth Green), a rock musician and finally, Rupert Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), a British school librarian who is Buffy's Watcher (who trains the Slayer "The Chosen One" in the skills necessary to defeat the creatures of the night).  

Scooter - The childhood nickname of Sgt. Bosco "B.A." Baracus (Mr. T), the AWOL Army mechanic on the adventure THE A TEAM/NBC/1983-87. When he was a small boy, he had a little truck that he loved very much. Because he always scooted its wheels over the carpets, his mother (Della Reese) called him Scooter. Dick Loudon (Bob Newhart) of the sitcom NEWHART/CBS/1982-90 was called Scooter by his old college girlfriend, Diana Gordon (Shelley Fabares) because he drove around campus on a red motor scooter. Jamie Powell (Nicole Eggert), a beautiful young teenager on the sitcom CHARLES IN CHARGE/SYN/1987-90 was called Little Scooter by her father who still had not realized his daughter was growing up. On the military drama CHINA BEACH/ABC/1988-90, the spit and polish hospital commander Major Lila Garreau (Concetta Tomei) was nicknamed Scooter. And on THE NEW ADVENTURES OF BEANS BAXTER/FOX/1987-88, Benjamin "Beans" Baxter's (Jonathan Ward) brainy younger brother (Scott Bremner) was called Scooter. Terrence "Scooter" (Cress Williams) Khadijah's old boyfriend surfaced during the spring of 1994 on the sitcom LIVING SINGLE/FOX/1993-97. 

Scourge of the West, The - Fearsome title given to bumbling Captain Wilton Parmenter (Ken Berry), a frontier cavalry commander on the military comedy F TROOP/ABC/1965-67. He earned this sobriquet when he accidentally led a troop of Union soldiers in the wrong direction (a sneeze on horseback was taken for the order "Charge!") and smack dab into the middle of a Confederate sneak attack, which the soldiers thwarted. For his supposed bravery, he was given the command of F Troop, an inept bunch of rejects stationed on the Kansas Territory of the late 1860s. 

Screech - Nickname of high school student Samuel "Screech" Powers (Dustin Diamond) a gawky teenage computer nerd who attended Bayside High School in the town of Palisades on the sitcom SAVED BY THE BELL/NBC/1989-93. His character continued in the sequel series SAVED BY THE BELL: THE COLLEGE YEARS/NBC/1993-94 as he enrolled at California University; and later on SAVED BY THE BELL: THE NEW CLASS/NBC/1993-2000 when he returned to Bayside High School as the Principal's administrative assistant. The "Screech" character first appeared in the 1987 sitcom GOOD MORNING, MISS BLISS that was set in a junior high school in Indiana. It's success inspired the SAVED BY THE BELL franchise.

Secret Squadron, The  See - SPY GUYS & SECRET ORGANIZATIONS 

Secret Word Girl, The - At the beginning of the quiz show YOU BET YOUR LIFE/NBC/1950-61, the viewing audience was informed of that night's "Secret Word." As host Groucho Marx would say "It's a common word, something you see every day." If a contestant mentioned the secret word, they won a bonus of $100. delivered by a funny little stuffed duck resembling Groucho that fell from overhead with a $100 bill attached to its dilapidated body. Later, in place of the duck was "The Secret Word Girl" (often Marilyn Burtis), dropping from the ceiling on a swing seat, or dancing across the stage in a ballerina's costume to hand-deliver the $100 prize to the lucky contestant who had spoken the secret word. 

Semi-Wonder Dog, The  See - DOGS: "Arnold the Semi-Wonder Dog"

Serial Bather, The  See - "The Potato Man"

Shannon -  Personal nickname of actress Sharon Lawrence who played attorney Sylvia Costas-Sipowicz on the police drama N.Y.P.D. BLUE/ABC/1993+ and public relations firm employee Gwen Leonard on the sitcom FIRED UP/NBC/1997-98. Lawrence (born in Charlotte, North Carolina in June 29, 1961) reported that when she was little, she talked like journalist Barbara Walters and called herself Shannon Wawence. The Shannon nickname stuck. 

She Who Must Be Obeyed - On the BBC-TV syndicated lawyer mystery series RUMPOLE OF THE BAILEY/SYN/1977-92 the sloppy, overweight Barrister Horace Rumpole (Leo McKern) lovingly referred to his wife, Hilda (Peggy Thorpe Bates) as "She Who Must Be Obeyed." Hilda Rumpole was originally Hilda Wystan, the daughter of C. H. Wystan, the head of Rumpole's chambers when he first began practicing. This same phrase "She Who Must Be Obeyed" was used in the 1887 novel She written by H. Rider Haggard to describe Queen Ayesha, ruler of the Amahaggar people in the mysterious kingdom of Kor. 

Sheriff Without a Gun, The - Andrew "Andy" Jackson Taylor, a laid-back rural sheriff from the town of Mayberry, North Carolina on THE ANDY GRIFFITH SHOW/CBS/1960-68, very rarely used a gun and would rather talk his way out of a situation than resort to violence. An article in The National Sheriff's Magazine called him "the sheriff without a gun." On episode No. 167 "Taylor's in Hollywood" Andy's nickname caught the attention of a Hollywood producer who made a movie based on Andy's life and even flew his family including Aunt Bea (Frances Bavier) and his young son, Opie (Ron Howard) to California to watch the movie being made. Andy's bumbling cousin and town deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts) did carry a gun but could only carry one bullet in his shirt pocket. It could only be loaded in the case of emergency. TRIVIA NOTE: Ralph Bellamy as New York Private Eye Mike Barnett from MAN AGAINST CRIME/CBS/DUM/NBC/1949-56 was the first TV private eye who didn't carry a gun. Runner up: Jim Rockford (James Garner) from the detective drama THE ROCKFORD FILES/NBC/1974-80. See also - CITIES & TOWNS: "Mayberry" 

Shoebootie - On the sitcom ALL IN THE FAMILY/CBS/1971-79, Archie Bunker (Carroll O'Connor) revealed his childhood nickname was "Shoebootie." It seemed that during the Depression his family didn't have enough money to buy him a proper new pair of shoes and consequently, he had to wear one shoe and one bootie as makeshift footwear.

 

Shorty - The nickname given to Eddie Munster (Butch Patrick) by his taunting schoolmates on episode No.19 "Eddie's Nickname" of the sitcom THE MUNSTERS/CBS/1964-66. To help Eddie, Grandpa Munster said "You'll never have to cry again because someone called you Shorty. Your adoring Grandpa is gonna give you a magic potion that will make you grow six inches overnight. Maybe seven. Once I gave it to a pirate friend of mine who was only five feet tall." "Did it work?," asked Eddie. "Ain't ya ever heard of Long John Silver?" TRIVIA NOTE: On episode No. 64 "Big Little Man" on the sitcom THE BRADY BUNCH/ABC/1969-74 Bobby Brady (Michael Lookinland) tries to exercise to make himself taller after Sam the Butcher calls him "Shrimpo." Bobby's self-esteem returns when he puts his "shortness" to positive use. 

Silky Harris - The suave, smooth talking confidence man (played by Roger Moore) residing in the 1890s gold rush town of Skagway, Alaska on the adventure series THE ALASKANS/ABC/1959-60. Silky's philosophy was "Why dig for the gold if there was a better way to get it?" 

Silver Fox - On the sitcom THE ABBOTT AND COSTELLO SHOW/SYN/1951-53 Lou Costello explained to a nurse giving him an insurance physical that his middle initials S. F. stood for "Silver Fox." My mother was expecting a fur coat." 

Sinbad - Childhood nickname of the towering (6'5") black comedian with mustache and flatop hair cut who starred as Walter Oakes, a graduate student and basketball coach on the black sitcom A DIFFERENT WORLD/NBC/1987-93. Sinbad's real name is David Adkins. Being the son of preacher, its ironic that he chose such a same as Sin...Bad? His name was inspired by the character Sinbad the Sailor who wasn't the strongest or the biggest but he was the most clever. Sinbad jokingly called his dad "Too Bad." Sinbad got his start in 1988 when he came to national attention on the syndicated talent show STAR SEARCH and later hosted the syndicated musical variety talent show IT'S SHOWTIME AT THE APOLLO! In 1997 Sinbad wrote the humorous book Sinbad's Guide to Life: Because I Know Everything published by Bantam Books. 

Sir Limps-a-Lot  See - PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED - Physically Impaired: "Friends" 

Siren of the Soaps, The - Webster's Dictionary defines a siren as "an alluring beautiful woman, insidiously or deceptively enticing or seductive to men, a temptress." This ideally described actress Susan Lucci called the "Siren of the Soaps" who played the vixen, Erica Kane on the ABC daytime soap opera ALL MY CHILDREN/ABC/1970+. Lucci's character played a modern day Scarlett O'Hara, who was the most charming woman you could ever want to meet, as long as you didn't get in the way of the things she wanted. Her dirtiest deed was trying to poison an actress who beat her out of a movie role. Susan Lucci has received several Emmy nominations for her role (but no Emmy) as the woman you just love to hate.           

Six - Unusual first name of Six LeMeure (Jenna Von Oy) the fast-talking best friend of teenager Blossom Russo (Mayim Bialik) on the sitcom BLOSSOM/NBC/1991-95. Reportedly her name reflects her birth order in her family, but in the series pilot, there was a joke that it took "six beers" for Six's parents to conceive her. See also - "Number Six"

Sizzle Lips - The pet name for Richard "Richie" Cunningham (Ron Howard) given to him by his high school sweetheart Lori Beth Allen (Lynda Goodfriend) on the 1950s based sitcom HAPPY DAYS/ABC/1974-84. During the 1980 season, Richie joined the Army, shipped off to Greenland and after a lengthy correspondence with Lori Beth, married her via a long distance phone hookup. Before the demise of the series "Sizzle Lips" was the proud father of a baby boy (Richie, Jr.) with one more on the way. Richie called Laurie Beth "Sweet Knees."

Skeeter - Pet nickname of sexy Naomi Harper (Dorothy Lyman) used by her husband Vinton (Ken Berry) on the sitcom MAMA'S FAMILY/NBC/SYN/1983-90. Skeeter worked as a check-out clerk at Food Circus in Raytown, USA. 

Skid  See - "Hardcase"

Skippy - The childhood nickname of Arthur Fonzarelli, a hip mechanic who rode a motorcycle on the sitcom HAPPY DAYS/ABC/1974-84. The sitcom FAMILY TIES/NBC/1982-89 featured actor Marc Price as the nerdy neighbor Irwin "Skippy" Handleman, who had a crush on Mallory, the eldest daughter of the Keaton family. See also - "The Fonz"

Skitch Henderson - The showbusiness sobriquet of the bearded Lyle Russell Cedric Henderson who was the bandleader for THE TONIGHT SHOW starring Steve Allen from 1954-57 and THE TONIGHT SHOW starring Johnny Carson from 1962-66 on the NBC network. Henderson claimed somewhere along the line he was dubbed "Skitch" and it just stuck. Entertainment lore claims that Henderson earned his nickname because of his ability to "sketch" out a score quickly. People soon began to call him "the sketch kid," which singer Bing Crosby urged him to shorten to "Skitch." Born in England, Skitch Henderson died peacefully at his home in America of natural causes on October 31, 2005. He was 87. Henderson was the founder of the New York Pops Orchestra.

Sky King - Kirby Grant starred as aviator Skylar King known as "Sky" who owned a large spread called the Flying Crown Ranch on the adventure series SKY KING/ABC/NBC/1951-54. Called "America's Favorite Flying Cowboy," he flew over his property in an aircraft named the Songbird. The program began with the narration "Out of the clear blue of the western sky comes...SKY KING!" TRIVIA NOTE: Kirby Grant retired in 1970 settling in Winter Springs, Florida with his wife and three children. Tragically, on 10/30/85, Kirby Grant drowned when his car ran off the road while driving to Cape Canaveral to view the launch of the space shuttle Challenger. He had been invited by the mission astronauts who were fans of his 1950s show. 

Sky Marshal of the Universe - The nickname of the outer space crimefighter Jeff King a.k.a. "Commando Cody" (Judd Holdren) on the Saturday morning live-action sci-fi adventure COMMANDO CODY/NBC/1955 (a twelve-episode series). Assisted by Aline Towne as Joan Albright, and William Schallert as Ted Richards, Commando Cody battled evil including Retik the Ruler (Gregory Gay), a villain from the planet Saturn. Commando Cody wore a leather jacket, and flew aided by a special helmet and a rocket pack strapped to his back which sailed him through both atmosphere and outer space in search of the bad guys. The half-hour episodes produced for TV imitated the Saturday matinee movie shorts produced for the motion pictures in the 1930s and 40s. See also - "The King of the B Movies" 

Slider of Death  See - "Mayday Malone"

Slim - When actress Nancy Kulp appeared as Miss Jane Hathaway on the sitcom THE BEVERLY HILLBILLIES/CBS/1962-71 she was nicknamed "Slim" by fellow actor Raymond Bailey who played the Milburn Drysdale, the banker. 

Smartest Dumbbell in the History of Show Business, The - The nickname given to comedienne Gracie Allen for her scatterbrained housewife characterizations performed as part of her stage act in vaudeville, radio and television. She costarred with her husband George Burns on the sitcom THE GEORGE BURNS AND GRACIE ALLEN SHOW/CBS/1950-58. While the audience laughed at her apparent stupidity, Gracie actually believed she was extremely smart.  Examples of her brainpower: 

George:	What's that?
Gracie:	Electric cords. I had them shortened. This one's for the iron, this one's for the floor lamp.
George:	Why did you shorten them?
Gracie:	To save electricity.
[and]
George:	What are you looking for in the Sears catalog?
Gracie:	I'm looking for sweaters for cows.
George:	Sweaters for cows?
Gracie:	Yes, you know they must be very scarce. Fred told me that he had forty Holstein cows and only twenty two jerseys.

In the 1940s she purchased some presents for her brother who was in the Army. Knowing how lazy her brother could be, she bought him a yo-yo. That way when he rode a camel its swaying motion would be able to move it up and down. When asked by her husband, George what she would get in case he goes to the Pacific Islands. She replied "A knife and hatchet." However they weren't to be used for hacking through the jungle. "No!," she continued. "They grow bananas and coconuts there, don't they? Well, he likes banana splits with chopped nuts." Despite her acting stupid, Gracie was very sharp-witted. In 1939, she appeared on NBC's quiz show INFORMATION PLEASE and amazed the audience by answering a series of difficult questions along with her fellow panelists. TRIVIA NOTE: George Burns nicknamed Gracie "Googie." During a 1988 interview on 60 MINUTES the veteran comedian visited his wife's tomb at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles where he remarked "Googie, this is Ed Bradley. We're going to be on 60 MINUTES. We're working together again!"