Misses, then hits

Inside TV magazine (on sale today) names 10 big stars who auditioned and missed out on the TV roles of a lifetime, only to end up finding fame and fortune in other star-making parts. And away we go:

10. Raquel Welch. Part: Mary Ann on "Gilligan’s Island." Lost to: Dawn Wells. Year: 1964. The ’60s sexpot, who turns 65 this September, auditioned for the part of wholesome Mary Ann rather than the obvious character, Ginger. Legend has it that she had the part until "Gilligan" creator Sherwood Schwartz met Wells.

9. Michael Richards. Part: Al Bundy on "Married...with Children." Lost to: Ed O’Neill. Year: 1987. Three years before he burst into Jerry Seinfeld’s apartment as neighbor Kramer, Richards auditioned to play Bundy.

8. Teri Hatcher. Part: Jamie Buchman on "Mad About You" Lost to: Helen Hunt. Year: 1992. Long before she became a desperate housewife, Hatcher screen-tested to be the woman Paul Reiser was mad about. She made it to the final two, but lost.

7. Lara Flynn Boyle. Part: The lead on "Ally McBeal." Lost to: Calista Flockhart Year: 1997. The battle of the thin.

6. Matthew Perry. Part: Billy Campbell on "Melrose Place." Lost to: Andrew Shue. Year: 1992. Future "Friends" star Perry auditioned but lost the role to Stephen Fanning. Days before shooting began, Fanning was fired, and Shue was hurriedly cast in the role.

5. Patricia Heaton. Part: Elaine on "Seinfeld." Lost to: Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Year: 1990. Louis-Dreyfus bested Heaton, Megan Mullally (Karen Walker on "Will & Grace") and Rosie O’Donnell.

4. Jason Bateman. Part: Alex P. Keaton on "Family Ties" Lost to: Michael J. Fox. Year: 1982. Fox was the second choice for the role — producers wanted Matthew Broderick. But Justine Bateman accompanied her brother, Jason, to the audition, and won the role of Mallory Keaton, even though she had no acting experience.

3. Lisa Kudrow. Part: Roz Doyle on "Frasier." Lost to: Peri Gilpin. Year: 1993. Kudrow won the role but during rehearsals for the pilot, producers decided Lisa wasn’t right for the part, and she was replaced by Gilpin. A few months later, Kudrow was cast as wacky Ursula on "Mad About You," a part that led to her being hired as Ursula’s twin sister, Phoebe, on "Friends."

2. Whitney Houston. Part: Sondra Huxtable on "The Cosby Show." Lost to: Sabrina Le Beauf. Year: 1984. Then a 20-year-old model, Houston auditioned to play Bill Cosby’s daughter Sondra on America’s No. 1 show.

1. Katie Holmes. Part: Buffy Summers on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Lost to: Sarah Michelle Gellar Year: 1997. Tom Cruise’s fiancee was a big contender to play Buffy, but had to be eliminated when the casting director realized she was under 18 and, therefore, could not legally work the hours the role required.