How Many Episodes Of Friends Did Elliott Gould Star In?

The cast of "Friends" falls into two categories. The first consists of the main group of friends, appearing on all 235 episodes across ten seasons. Then, there's everyone else, a truly massive list of guest stars who have popped up during the show's time on the air. Aside from the main characters, Gunther (James Michael Tyler) has the most credited appearances on "Friends,"  appearing in a total of 56 episodes (via IMDb).

What about Elliott Gould, the well-known actor who plays Jack Geller, the father of Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica (Courteney Cox)? The former "M*A*S*H" star appeared on a handful of episodes as the concerned yet oblivious father who always puts Monica on a pedestal while correcting Ross in the same breath. Although he may not be as frequent of a guest star as some others, his presence complements each character who shares a scene with him.

We did the math to figure out how many times Jack appeared on the show.

Although everyone remembers his character exceptionally well, Jack is only featured in 20 episodes of the series, according to the show's IMDb listing. That's a little less than 10% of the entire run of "Friends." The writers decided to bring the parents into the picture once or twice per year, and he is among the huge list of names that will appear in the HBO Max reunion special. "Friends" favored quality over quantity for guest stars, and even big names like Paul Rudd have been featured in only a small selection of episodes.

Still, Gould's character on "Friends" was as memorable as any other guest appearance. Following the end of the show, the actor continued to take on new roles, most notably as con artist Reuben Tishkoff in "Ocean's Eleven," "Ocean's Twelve," and "Ocean's Thirteen." The Brooklyn native is still a regular on sets today, most recently playing a doctor in both "Carrier" and "Grace and Frankie," according to the actor's IMDb. We still remember him fondly for always favoring Monica over Ross.