Editing Murder, She Wrote (section)

=== Recurring cast ===
* [[Tom Bosley]] as Sheriff Amos Tupper (1984–1988; 19 episodes), Cabot Cove's sheriff at the start of the series. Tupper later retires and goes to live with his sister.
* [[Michael Horton (actor)|Michael Horton]] as Grady Fletcher (12 episodes, 1984–1990, 1995), Jessica's unlucky favorite nephew, who (through no fault of his own) always seems to get in trouble with the law. After some romantic disasters, he eventually marries his girlfriend Donna.
* [[Jerry Orbach]] as Harry McGraw (7 episodes, 1985–1987, 1989, 1991), an old-school [[private investigator]] who becomes friends with Jessica. Orbach was popular enough to garner his own, short-lived spin-off series in 1987, ''[[The Law & Harry McGraw]]'', and returned to ''Murder, She Wrote'' after his show was cancelled. Harry ceased to be a character permanently after Orbach took on the role of [[Lennie Briscoe]] on ''[[Law & Order]]'' in 1992.
* [[Len Cariou]] as Michael Hagarty (7 episodes, 1985–86, 1988–1992), a British former [[MI5]] agent, who often appeared when Jessica least expected him to drag her into a dangerous case. Cariou had previously starred with Lansbury on Broadway in ''[[Sweeney Todd (musical)|Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]]'' as the titular character.
*[[William Windom (actor)|William Windom]] as Dr. Seth Hazlitt (1985–1996; 52 episodes), the local doctor of Cabot Cove and one of Jessica's best friends and most intrepid supporters. Windom previously appeared as another character, a lawyer named Sam Breen, in the season 1 finale, "Funeral at Fifty-Mile". Windom also played a separate character in ''[[Magnum, P.I.|Magnum P.I.]]'', which takes place in the same universe.
* [[Richard Paul]] as Sam Booth (7 episodes, 1986–89, 1991–1992), the genial, ineffectual mayor of Cabot Cove who is elected on his campaign promise to do nothing.
* [[Julie Adams]] as Eve Simpson (10 episodes, 1987–1993), the Cabot Cove realtor with a great love for men, both single and married, and for gossiping.
* [[Keith Michell]] as Dennis Stanton (9 episodes, 1988–1991, 1993), a suave English former jewel thief turned insurance claims investigator, who always solves his cases using unusual methods, and often sends a copy of the story to Jessica afterwards. Many of the episodes starring Dennis do not involve Jessica, and usually begin with her introducing the story to the audience, breaking the [[fourth wall]]. Keith Michell is the only actor other than Angela Lansbury to receive star billing (before the episode titles), on episodes which focus on Dennis.
* [[Ron Masak]] as Sheriff Mort Metzger (1988–1996; 39 episodes), a former [[NYPD]] officer who takes Sheriff Tupper's place as sheriff in the mistaken belief that he would be living in a more peaceful place. His [[unseen character|unseen wife]], Adele, a former Marine capable of prodigious acts of strength, teaches self-defense classes. Masak previously appeared as other characters in earlier episodes: a police officer in the season 1 episode "Footnote to Murder", and a store owner in trouble with the IRS in the season 3 episode "No Accounting for Murder".
* Will Nye as Deputy Floyd (1988–1991, 15 episodes), Sheriff Metzger's original deputy.
* [[Louis Herthum]] as Deputy Andy Broom (1991–1996, 25 episodes), Sheriff Metzger's second deputy.
* [[Herb Edelman]] as Artie Gelber (7 episodes, 1992–1995), a [[NYPD]] Lieutenant and Jessica's friend. Edelman had previously appeared as various characters in the series pilot, the season 2 episode "Murder by Appointment Only", and the season 3 episode "Murder in a Minor Key".