I have been watching a lot of old shows from the 60’s and 70’s lately. There are guest stars and bit players that routinely crop up in many of these different shows and episodes. Some of my favorites so far are (I’m too lazy to research actor names):

In Rockford Files there is a tough goon that Rockford, of course, takes out with one tricky punch. It’s the same actor that played the boyfriend in Greenhouse Jungle. The guy whose only job is working on a suntan (“whatever that means”).

Eddie Kane in Publish or Perish has the perfect creepy look to play a mafia enforcer. He’s does just that in an episode of Cannon, only he’s really classy as he intimidates and brutalizes.

In Etude In Black, the jazz player who was the murdered pianists ex-boyfriend and is eventually suspended but “defended” by Alex Benedict; He plays a gambling junkie in an episode of Mannix.

There are too many to mention, but those are some of my favorites so far. Has anybody else come across any of the smaller actors in other shows and noticed any interesting performances?

If you want to know, the three actors are William Smith, John Davis Chandler and James Olson.

There's one case of what you mean that it took me forever to know about.
In PRESCRIPTION: MURDER there's the "Tommy" character, who makes the false confession. He's played by an actor named Anthony James, who's evidently made a career out of playing "spooky" characters. For one thing, he's the comical assassin in NAKED GUN 2 1/2. But maybe his most famous role is the chauffeur in those dream sequences of the movie BURNT OFFERINGS, the one with the dark glasses and the really scary smile.