Friends is the kind of show that people will likely be talking about for as long as people can still talk, and there are certain details and theories that some fans just can’t let go of. While I would personally like a half-size model of that closet in Monica’s apartment, along with an itemized list of everything therein, some are focused on other things, such as the true identity of Ugly Naked Guy. Take down your bulletin board web-of-information, because this long-lasting mystery has finally been solved, although this is one of those cases where the exploration is more interesting than the actual discovery.
Ugly Naked Guy, the adeptly described man in the neighboring apartment building whose window faced Monica’s, was played by a man named Jon Haugen who had basically kept the secret to himself all of this time. Why would he do a thing like that, at a point where our culture seems hellbent on sharing too much information? Here’s how he put it.
The reason I never came forward was because I was just keeping it mellow because Warner Bros. was keeping it mellow. They wanted everybody to have a guess who I was.
That’s as brilliant an answer as one could hope for. The best mysteries are often the silliest ones where there are zero consequences. But let it be known that solving this case did not happen without a ton of effort from Huffington Post writer Todd Van Luling, who started looking into Ugly Naked Guy’s identity over a year ago.
It all mostly began with the erroneous attribution of Ugly Naked Guy’s portrayal to actor Michael Hagerty, who played superintendent Mr. Treeger. The search then branched out as Friends casting directors were contacted, as was the casting agency that was used to find the actor, and even co-creator David Crane did not remember who played the part. One supervising producer recalled the process that went into hiring the extra, but not the actor’s name itself. (Something tells me Matthew Perry wouldn’t remember either.) The answer finally came earlier this month, after Central Casting recontacted the journalist and put Van Luling in touch with Jon Haugen.
As you might imagine, Haugen loved his time on the show, and he would be all about getting back into the role for a reunion, where he would hopefully have a curtain around his lower side at least. Personally, I’m very much into a Friends spinoff about Ugly Naked Guy and Jon Favreau’s MMA fighter traveling across the country together to save an ancient artifact or something.
Here’s hoping our summer is filled with more TV mysteries getting solved. In the meantime, there’s no question what this summer will have to offer in terms of TV shows, as you can find all of that info in our TV premiere schedule.
