 The comic relief roles of Harriet and Cyrus were played by V. Joy Lee and Steven W. Bailey , respectively . Lee had mostly done theater work the in Atlanta and Seattle areas , along with appearing in some industrial films and an episode of Northern Exposure . Bailey had been an actor in Seattle for about three years , doing mostly stage work , as well as some commercials , television episodes , independent films , and industrial films for the United States Navy . Bailey 's character had to taunt the cat with a stick several times in the game . An animal lover , Bailey objected to doing so at first , and only agreed after the animal handlers assure him it would not bother the cats . Malcolm was portrayed by veteran actor Douglas Seale , who had previously appeared in Amadeus ( 1984 ) and performed voice work , including the role of the Sultan in the animated film Aladdin ( 1992 ) . Stella Stevens , a stage actress who also appeared in such films as The Nutty Professor ( 1963 ) with Jerry Lewis , played the antiques store owner Lou Ann , while Geoff Pryser played Bob the realtor , and Carl Neimic played phone technician Mike . Traci Clauson portrayed Marie , Carno 's fifth and final wife . She had previously worked mostly in television , including shows like Baywatch , Evening Shade and Married ... with Children . Harv the storekeeper was played by Hoke Howell , a film , television and theater actor who trained at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City , having appeared in films like Another 48 Hours ( 1990 ) and Far and Away ( 1992 ) , as well as shows like The Wonder Years and Remington Steele . 
