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Television is full of characters known by only a
single name. Perhaps they think this gives them an air of mystery...let's find out!

Happy Days' Fonzie disliked his real first name, Arthur, and only one person dared address him by it--Mrs. Cunningham. Fonzie's father abandoned the family when little Arthur was just a tot, and the only advice he'd ever given his son was "don't wear socks in the rain."

Executive producer Garry Marshall was going to use his real last name (Marsciarelli) and the nickname "Mash," but ABC didn't want to remind viewers of M*A*S*H, which aired on a rival network.

It wasn't revealed until some 30 years after Gilligan's Island originally aired that the title character was given a first name. Producer Sherwood Schwartz had originally intended for the bumbling first mate to be named Willy Gilligan, but this was never mentioned during the series. And that red shirt Gilligan always wore? He'd borrowed it from his older brother without asking. Gilligan befriended the Skipper (Jonas Grumby) in the Navy, when Willy saved his life by pushing him out of the way of a depth charge.

Jazz, best friend of Will Smith on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, was known for his trademark sunglasses and for repeatedly being physically thrown out of the house by Will's Uncle Phil. In real life, Jazz was portrayed by Jeffrey Townes, known in the musical world as Smith's longtime collaborator, DJ Jazzy Jeff. He didn't share his pal's acting ambitions, though, so after the sitcom wrapped, Jazz formed a music production company.

The middle son on Bonanza was christened Eric Cartwright,but to friends, family and TV viewers he was just plain "Hoss." Eric's mother was Swedish, and his nickname (suggested by his Uncle Gunnar) was an old Swedish
mountain word that meant "big, friendly man." Even though his character was written as "loveable, but slow-witted," Dan Blocker (the actor who played Hoss) was the only Bonanza regular with an advanced degree. He held a master's in the dramatic arts.

What family wouldn't love a housekeeper like Alice from The Brady Bunch? She cooked, she cleaned, she cracked jokes, and she participated in backyard potato sack races. Alice's last name-Nelson- was only mentioned four times during the entire run of the series. Alice had kept house for Mike Brady and his first wife, and stayed with him after she passed away. On the show, Ann B. Davis once played dual roles as Alice and a look-alike cousin named Emma. But in real life, Davis has a twin sister too-Harriet.

Star Trek's Spock had a first name, and it wasn't "Mister." He never revealed what his given name was, other than to say it was unpronounceable by humans. And while most of the characters on the show were rarely referred to by their full names, at least those names were more easily enunciated by human tongues, notably Montgomery Scott ("Scotty") and Leonard McCoy ("Bones").

The only-partially-seen next-door neighbor on Home Improvement was named Wilson Wilson, Jr., which is probably why he was always referred to simply as "Wilson." The running gag about always having the lower part of his face concealed came from a childhood memory of series star Tim Allen. As a youngster, he alwayshad to look upwards when chatting over the fence with the man living next door. From his point of view, the neighbor was just a pair of eyes and a nose.

On the final episode of The Nanny, the combative C.C.Babcock and Niles the butler finally admitted their love for one another. But even when they exchanged wedding vows, Niles' last name was never revealed. Interestingly enough, Daniel Davis, the actor who played Niles, was born and raised in Arkansas. His British accent was so realistic that scores of viewers wrote to Charles Shaughnessy (the born and bred British actor who starred as Maxwell Sheffield) and told him that if he was going to "fake" an English accent, he should take lessons from Davis!

Leave It to Beaver fans might remember that Beaver's real name was Theodore Cleaver, named after his uncle. You may also remember Martha, the well-meaning maiden aunt who gave Beaver and his brother umbrellas for Christmas each year. She never referred to her nephew by his nickname, which he'd had since he was a baby, when older brother Wally had trouble pronouncing "Theodore."

Back in the 1960s, syndication was an unknown concept in the world of television. That's probably why producers and writers didn't pay much attention to continuity when it came to certain characters. Take, for instance, Green Acres traveling salesman Mr. Haney. Although his first name was only mentioned in a few episodes, writers alternated between "Eustace" and "Charlton."

Since "chico" is Spanish for "boy," you'd think that the title character of Chico and the Man would have had a more formal first name. But all sources indicate that his name was simply Chico Rodriguez. However, we can report a bit of controversy behind the scenes; on the show, Chico was supposed to be Mexican-American. Freddie Prinze, (who played the role) was of Puerto Rican/Hungarian heritage, which led to some protests from the Mexican-American community, many of whom felt that a true Mexican-American should have played the part.

Kramer's first name wasn't revealed until the sixth season of Seinfeld. The character's first name was Cosmo on the show, but he was based on a real person named Kenny Kramer who lived next door to series creator Larry David. In fact, the character was called "Kessler" in the pilot episode because the producers hadn't yet gotten permission from the real Kramer to use his name.

It was never explained why Theo's best friend was called "Cockroach" on The Cosby Show. Cockroach's full name was eventually revealed in one episode: Walter Bradley.The role was played by Carl Anthony Payne II, and rumor has it that he was quietly cut from the cast in 1987 because he and Bill Cosby had a falling out when Payne refused to cut his hair. The last episode to feature Cockroach was "Dance Mania."

Friends rarely called Samuel Powers anything but "Screech" on Saved by the Bell. Actor Dustin Diamond got his start in show business by working as a live "mannequin" in a department store when he was eight years old. When he was five years old, his father taught him how to play chess. Diamond continued to study the game until he achieved Master strength. He went on to film an instructional chess video in 2001.