Seth Green

There are some people who pop up on our TV screens who have always seemed to been around in one capacity or another. These people aren’t stars, by any means; they’re usually skulking around the edges of fame by being featured in reality shows, having supporting roles on sitcoms, hosting game shows, and working in commercials.

But at some point, you look up and realize that these people have been around for a long time, much longer than you ever thought their careers would have lasted, whether they were talented or not. Here are five people that fit that profile perfectly:

Kathy Griffin: Can you believe that Kathy has been infecting our conciousness for ten years already? We first saw her playing the sassy red-head on Suddenly Susan, which stayed on the air for an inexplicable four years. Then she’s done everything she can to keep herself on TV, from doing reality shows like Celebrity Mole to describing her eye sugery debacle on ET to doing the E! red carpet shows. In fact, being a D-lister has her niche, as she mentions over and over on her Bravo stand-up specials.

What’s shocking is that she’s built a career for herself while the other "sassy red-head" on NBC in that mid-90’s time period, NewsRadio’s Vicki Lewis, has fallen off the face of the earth.

David Spade: You may need to sit down for this: David Spade has been around for sixteen years. That’s right, I said sixteen. He started as a featured player on SNL in 1990. When he left that show in 1996, he was on Just Shoot Me! for seven years. That’s right, I said seven. Juuuust when you think his career might have been over then and there, he managed to hang on with a series of Capital One commercials and a supporting role on 8 Simple Rules that was created after John Ritter died. That’s right, I said when John RItter died. Now he’s on our screens on Comedy Central’s The Showbiz Show, which for some reason won’t die despite having no premise or seemingly funny jokes.

Seth Green: He’s only 32, but he’s got an impressively long acting career that stretches back to when he was 10. But most people first became aware of Seth when he played Oz on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Considering that show started in 1997, that means Seth’s been a known star for at least nine years. Since then, of course, he or his voice have been in a number of shows, from Family Guy to Greg The Bunny to the lamentable Four Kings. And he writes and produces the popular Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. So, it looks like Seth’s going to be around for a while, which is a good thing for TV fans.

Chuck Woolery: Some people may know Chuck from Lingo, others from Love Connection. Still others may know him from other cult-classic game shows like Scrabble or Greed. But, outside of Bob and myself, I’m sure very few people remember that Chuck was the original host of the daytime Wheel of Fortune, that premiered in 1975. So that means — you guessed it — he’s been telling us to come back in "two and two" for 31 years. Besides Bob Barker, he is the only one of the "classic" game show hosts — my definition being the ones that came to prominence in the ’60s and ’70s — that’s still working, mainly because he’s still relatively young (65 is young compared to Barker!) and he’s a pro’s pro. Take a look at Lingo on GSN and see if you don’t agree.

Christina Applegate: When I recently saw Christina starring in a Hanes commercial, I realized that she’s been on TV for 19 years now, ever since Married... With Children started in 1987. After that show’s 11-year run, she had two years on the crapcom Jesse and various guest turns, including two episodes as Jennifer Aniston’s sister on Friends. She’s stayed with us because she’s been able to grow as a comedic actress, but remember what her talents were when she started on Married: she looked hot in a leather skirt and heels. In fact, through a lot of the early ’90s, she was more known as a pinup than as an actress (I used to have a poster with her in ripped leather clothes and a hawk; let’s just say I wasn’t the only pimply college kid that had that up in his dorm room). But, close to two decades later, she’s still here; heck, she’s close to being a big movie star. Never thought that would happen in 1987.