The Big Bang Theory Used An Unexpected Performer To Bring Mrs. Wolowitz To Life

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"The Big Bang Theory" introduced many memorable characters during its 12-season run, but only one of them remained stubbornly off-screen despite her prominence in Howard Wolowitz's (Simon Helberg) storylines. Howard's domineering mother Debbie Wolowitz (voiced by Carol Ann Susi) is the most prominent parental figure in the series despite never fully appearing onscreen and plays a notable supporting role until her shocking death in "The Big Bang Theory" season 8, episode 15, "The Comic Book Store Regeneration." Real events dictated Mrs. Wolowitz's unexpected death, as Susi died of cancer at the age of 62 in 2014, and the show opted against recasting the character.

In a way, we actually see Mrs. Wolowitz — or, rather, Susi — on the show thanks to a picture of the actor that's on Leonard Hofstadter (Johnny Galecki) and Sheldon's (Jim Parsons) fridge as a homage to Susi and appears as a part of Howard and Bernadette Rostenkowski's (Melissa Rauch) home decor. However, the rare glimpses we actually get of Debbie Wolowitz onscreen are never Susi but another, completely unexpected person. In Jessica Radloff's 2022 book "The Big Bang Theory: The Definitive, Inside Story of the Epic Hit Series," the show's executive producer Steve Molaro and director Mark Cendrowski confirmed that the person wearing Mrs. Wolowitz's dress whenever she needs to partially appear in front of the camera is actually a man named Olaf — the series' security guard.

The unseen character is a surprisingly common storytelling trope that has been played with in genre fare, procedural dramas, and comedies alike. After all, some of the scariest horror villains are ones you never actually see, and characters like Maris Crane from "Frasier" and Charlie from "Charlie's Angels" manage to impact the plot in numerous ways and become famous characters despite never actually appearing on-screen.

Considering the fact that she actually lives under the same roof as Howard for much of the show, Mrs. Wolowitz is a particularly active example of this type of character. She interacts with multiple characters like any other supporting sitcom figure would, with her borderline invisibility the only real thing that sets her apart from every other figure in the show's quirky world. Over time, increasingly exaggerated references to the character's appearance made her borderline impossible to portray onscreen — especially by Susi, who looked dramatically different from the verbal descriptions of the character. As such, recruiting a male security guard to depict the rare glimpses of her that we actually see was both an inspired move and a testament to the show's sheer commitment to the "let's never reveal her" bit.

You can try and catch a glimpse of Mrs. Wolowitz by streaming "The Big Bang Theory" on HBO Max.