Actors who got booted from their hit TV shows for bad behavior

Suzanne Sommers was the most shocking because, like it or not, she had much to do with the success of the awful Three’s Company and it never really recovered after she left. And wasn’t she just asking to be paid equally with Ritter?

No she was asking to be paid most r1.

Dana Plato

Winning!!!!

Why did Washington hate Knight so much? Is he that homophobic?

Mischa Barton.

A couple of the gals on “Charmed”?

Thomas Gibson on Criminal Minds

Roseanne

Charlie Sheen?

[quote] Why did Washington hate Knight so much? Is he that homophobic?

It wasn't even about Knight, but he got sucked into the middle of it. And Isaiah played gay characters before. He just had a lot of control issues and lashed out at Dempsey. He had a poor choice of words, for sure, but his beef was with Dempsey.

If gossip is to be believed, Eric Dane as well - drugs.

AND Dempsey himself, years later.

Actor Tyler Christopher, booted from not one but two daytime shows for being a drunky drunk.

Oh come one, no one gets thrown off for bad behaviour, it's politics.

I was booted because I was funnier than the rest of the cast

I got booted because Tony Danza was so stupid he kept saying my lines as well as his, then the producers said, "Hey we don't need to pay two actors."

I still don't know why?

R13 He was so pretty back in the day, too. Ah well, send in the next 50 attractive guys from the mid-west.

Lisa Nicole Carson was fired from Ally McBeal because of her raging bitch behavior. Turns out she was bipolar and has now virtually disappeared from showbiz.

I am not a bitch. Besides, I have cancer so you can't make fun of me anymore.

[quote]I have cancer so you can't make fun of me anymore.

Not on the Datalounge

Not to worry, Shannen. Everyone agrees that Rose is much more fucked up than you ever were.

Wasn't it Mandy Patinkin who was booted from Criminal Minds not Gibson?

well howdy!

Bad behavior on set only or off too?

I was being a MARY!! when they fired as Rhoda Morgenstern

Wasn't it Mandy Patinkin who was booted from Criminal Minds not Gibson?

No, R23.

Mandy P left because "the darkness" of the show was hurting his fee-fees. Gibson was a constant jerk and sometimes physical, crew were baffled how he hadn't been let go - then kicking a producer finally got him removed.

[quote] Mandy P left because "the darkness" of the show was hurting his fee-fees.

Certainly hurt my fee-fees to watch this sad, debased shit.

Lauren Tewes was fired from The Love Boat for not having her drug addiction under control. Bad girl.

Hartley Sawyer was fired from ‘The Flash’ after racist, misogynist tweets surfaced.

Brett Butler managed to not only get fired, but for her show, Grace Under Fire, to be canceled, too.

Paz de La Huerta was fired from Boardwalk Empire for being a crazy bitch.

Am I really the first to mention Kevin Spacey getting fired from his House of Cards gig?

My apologies, didn't notice the "—rescue-chick (asking for some guy named Kevin S)" author tag.

[quote]No she was asking to be paid most

Suzanne didn't ask for anything. Her idiot Canadian game show host husband who thought himself a master manager asked and got her fired. And she stayed with him.

Suzanne went along with it and even lied about being sick to get out working. They wanted more than what Ritter and nearly every other other top male TV star at the was getting *and* 10% ownship of a piece of the show. It was never going to happen.

Janet Hubert from Fresh Prince Of Bel Air.

Kate Jackson from "Charlies Angels" Just a fucking bitch that bit the hand that feeds her.

R35 She threated to crush the producer's head with her powerful thighs if she didn't get more money.

Michael Muhney from America's No. 1 Daytime Serial Drama, The Young & the Restless

Aggro asshole on the lethal weapon show

Lisa Nicole Carson was also fired from ER at the same time. Well, sort of....her character was recurring. Carson was so difficult they decided to abruptly knock her off.

Do I count?

Despite all the talk about a ratings bump with 7 Of Swine, if you look at the ratings for her episodes

compared to mine they really weren't any better. I just wasn't sleeping with any of TPTB.

Michael Moriarty says he quit Law & Order, but Dick Wolf and others have always claimed they had to let him go for his erratic behavior.

R29 Addiction was already over but the damage had been done already. Too many days off or late on the set, unprofessional and too stoned to read the lines.

I don't think anyone mentioned Michael Pitt from Boardwalk Empire yet. Though the showrunner said Pitt's character was always going to die, he was killed off very early due to Michael Pitt's horrific behavior on set.

Vintage:

Lawrence Welk fired dancer Cissy King due to her excessive "tardiness".

I will NOT be ignored!

Sorry ... I accidentally posted before signing ...

R45 Pitt was also let go from Hannibal. The arc was cut short and final scenes were not filmed with him.

Does dying count as bad behavior?

Signed,

Nicholas Colasanto, John Ritter, Pete Duel, Joseph Kearns, Alice Pearce, Bea Benaderet, Marion Lorne, George Reeves, Dan Blocker, Barbara Colby, Freddie Prinze, Diana Hyland, Jack Soo, Jim Davis, Michael Conrad, Jon-Erik Hexum, Dolph Sweet, Florence Halop, Ted Knight, Larry Riley, Phil Hartman, Madeline Kahn, Nancy Marchand, John Spencer, Steve Irwin, Cory Monteith, Lee Thompson Young, Luke Perry, Anthony Bourdain, Alex Trebek, et al.

I was a fucking bitch who treated people like crap and I did some sneaky things to Kate Jackson but I didn't get booted because I slept my way up to the top. Ed Lakso was good to me mmmmh!

Valerie Harper

Taylor Momsen got the boot from Gossip Girl.

Julie McCullough got fired from Growing Pains for posing in Playboy.

Lisa Robin Kelly on That 70s Show

DL former frau fave Gale Harold got fired from his big post-QAF show for being a druggie, drunk mess. He later exited Desperate Housewives after a motorcycle accident.

R54 Reminds me that Marcus Patrick feels he got fired from Days of Our Lives for doing full-frontal for Playgirl.

Julie only got fired for posing in Playboy because a certain someone whose name starts with a K made it an issue and demanded she be fired.

I usually don't have much sympathy for actors who get fired for bad behavior, but for some reason, Brett Butler is the exception for me. I don't know why but she's at least very honest about what she did.

She lost everything. I read she’s super broke now too.

It was reported that Lorne Michaels fired Damon Wayans from SNL due to "insubordination."

Brett Butler was too much too soon. I never heard of her and all of a sudden she was being shoved down our throats as someone Very Big. It didn’t happen.

R61 he was fired for playing a character as gay during a skit after Lorne told him no.

Tanya Roberts was booted from The 70s Show for being a drunken mess.

One rumor had it that Donna Wilkes got fired from Hello, Larry due to drugs. The other rumor was that McLean Stevenson got her fired because they didn't get along.

R64 Didn't that turn out to be untrue or just partially true and the real issue was that she was falling apart because someone close to her (husband?) was dying at the time?

Herve Villechaize was booted from Fantasy Island for demanding to be paid as much as the star, Ricardo Montalban.

I always knew having a lot of money was a good thing, but I never thought it could kill me

Totally random, but the original Chris Partridge on the Partridge Family was fired between seasons 1 and 2 because he was a brat:

[quote]At the beginning of the show, Chris Partridge was played by Jeremy Gelbwaks. While the story told by the studio was that the Gelbwaks family moved away, the truth is that every cast and crew member complained about his behavior. The kid was not ready to work. He was replaced in the second season by Forster, who played Chris for the rest of the series. Interestingly, the studio didn't receive even one letter about the switch.

Shelley Hack was booted from Charlie's Angels. A certain costume designer said: "Two weeks, she turned into the bitch of the century, she could get so nasty and so bitchy to everybody that we all hated her within a month, and then we wanted to get rid of her you know... Like, somebody get rid of this bitch, so she didn’t last long and we were all happy.“

One of the Partridge Family kids got booted and replaced because he was hard to control and kept fighting with Bonaduce. The guy the played Ruben told the story in some interview and also said they let him save face by saying he was moving.

Lisa Robin Kelly, THAT '70S SHOW

She spun out of control with booze & drugs mid-third season, to the point that she failed to show up at the studio on a tape-day (w/ live audience). After repeated attempts to contact her, a couple of the show's producers went to her house and found her wasted/zonked out. She was given an ultimatum -- enter rehab immediately (which the show paid for), stay clean, and the door would remain open for a return someday.

The episode she went AWOL/MIA was "Hyde's Christmas Rager". As some may recall, the b-plot had Jackie & Donna (who wanted no part of the guys' juvenile, beer-bong, keg party) going to a bar, where they met a pair of hunky older firemen. If it seemed like those scenes fell flat, there's a good reason -- Laurie was supposed to be with them! That was part of the joke/humor/funny of the situation. Jackie & Donna were so bored sitting at the Forman's, they were willing to hang out with bitchy, slutty Laurie instead of going to Hyde's kegger.

I was in the studio audience that night. One of the exec producers announced that LRK had "the flu", so there were a few scenes with Jackie & Donna that the audience wouldn't see filmed due to her absence. Kunis & Prepon filmed that first scene with the guys at the beginning (when they announce that they aren't staying for the kegger), and then sat around the rest of the night watching everyone else. Their scenes were rewritten to remove Laurie and then shot a few days later (at no small expense).

Lisa Robin Kelly, part two.

Lisa (clean & sober) was invited back for a few episodes at the end of 5th season. After hooking up with Fez one night, Laurie agreed to marry him, so he wouldn't be deported. That's how the fifth season ended -- Red had a heart-attack when Laurie announced that she'd married Fez. All was good with LRK (apparently), she was back in the fold, and expected figure prominently in Season Six.

And then SOMETHING happened during that first week of filming, season six. I don't know if she failed a drug test or what, but she FILMED the first episode of S6. Again, I was there in the studio audience. There was a distinct chill from the younger cast toward LRK. No one talked to her off-camera except Debra Jo Rupp & Kurtwood Smith. Wilmer Valderamma seemed to be particularly upset, storming back & forth between marks during the filming of the Fez-Laurie scenes in the kitchen. He wouldn't even look at her. I didn't think she looked high, then & there; she wasn't flubbing her lines. But she looked sad & defeated....like she knew she was done.

She was promptly fired & they cast Christina Moore as Laurie, on the fly. Reshot all the scenes with Laurie within the next week.

It was too bad about Lisa Robin Kelly. She was so good as Laurie. She aged quite after the first few seasons, I guess from her addiction issues. I'd heard that some cast members treated her coldly after returning, but never any specifics. Debra Jo Rupp seemed to have a lot of sympathy for her, and said how she thought LRK was so good at playing Laurie.

Christina Moore was absolutely terrible as Laurie and was probably just cast because she was on MAD TV. Thankfully she was gone in pretty quick order.

The following season, they pushed another Josh Meyers, another MAD TV alum on the show and viewers hated him too.

[quote] Tanya Roberts was booted from The 70s Show for being a drunken mess.

Yeah, she was. She said she left to care for her sick husband, but that was bullshit. T7S was already dealing with Lisa Robin Kelly issues when Tanya was a no-show for the episode in which Bob & Midge renewed their vows, with Bond-girls as her bridesmaids. Lots of visual trickery -- she wasn't never appeared in frame with any of them.

[quote]she wasn't never appeared in frame with any of them.

Someone else is hitting the bottle as well it seems.

After he was arrested on a drugs charge, Robert Downey, Jr. was fired from Ally McBeal.

Rusty Stevens (Larry Mondello) on "Leave It to Beaver."

From Wikipedia:

[quote]Stevens was reported to have left the show in 1960 because his family moved from Burbank to Philadelphia. Barbara Billingsley, who played "June Cleaver" on the series, said in a TV Archive interview that Stevens was fired because his overbearing stage mother caused grief for the producers of the series.

Kate thought she would have been Oscar winner if Spelling gave f her time off to fiilm "Kramer vs Kramer" Honestly, Kate wold never have even been nominated. "Charlies Angels" really was never the show that she thought she signed up for - Kate WAS jealous of Cheryl Ladd. Farrah decides to leave, and instead of being upset at Farrah, Kate had misplaced anger toward the new kid on the show who SAVED it from cancellation - Cheryl Ladd. I wonder where Kate is now? She's has lived a reclusive existence since making that now famous reunion with her fellow Charlies Angels stars at the 2006 Emmy's. - Doesn't really stay in touch with anyone. .

If Suzanne Somers had just asked to be paid the same salary as Ritter, things probably could've been worked out. But demanding 10% ownership of the show was ridiculous, no actor or actress in Hollywood would've been given that no matter who they were.

She wasn’t gonna be paid the same as the lead male. That’s just the truth.

[quote]she had much to do with the success of the awful Three’s Company and it never really recovered after she left.

Three's Company went from number 2 to 8 the season that she was fired, but it went up to number 4 the following season with the addition of Priscilla Barnes.

Suzanne greatly overestimated thinking that she was as indispensable as John Ritter.

Helloooo? 82 replies and no trace of me!

r83 Perhaps you had trouble finding yourself because you don't know how to spell your own name, dear.

R80 R82 Three's Company was John Ritter's show. He was hired as the main character and they then hired the others around him. There was no way they were going to consider Sommers as important as Ritter let alone more important.

But Sommers was a huge part of why the show was a hit. Maybe they would've negotiated to give her a salary comparable to Ritter's if she'd played it right.

If this happened today, there would be a lot of charges of sexism etc. and the producers would be forced to do it.

Dad Brady

Snap, snap, R76! You "got" me. Feel better now?

I've never been clear about what happened to January Jones on Mad Men.

Nothing happened, r89. She was on the series until it finished.

She was never fired but her role was significantly reduced post season 3.

It was reported, she was very difficult.

[quote]But Sommers was a huge part of why the show was a hit

Perhaps, but the show was not that affected by her absence. Now, had John Ritter left, it would have been a different story.

The boys who played her sons all said January Jones was a mean lady lol.

Mackenzie Phillips

Gary Dourdan, CSI

R86 she had an aggressive publicist so she got the most magazine covers, tv appearances and overall hype. But Ritter was the anchor of the show (as was proven later when the show survived and thrived without her). That said, had she was just asking for equal pay, and better yet had she and Joyce agreed to negotiate together a la Friends, it would have happened. But she was a greedy bitch who asked for 150k plus 10% of the profits. And then tried to play it as a “feminist” move.

That set and it’s producers were known for being sexist. We are speaking about the 70s and 80s. Not the 00s. Stop looking at the past with modern lenses on. Almost every producer and crew member on all those shows were men. All the studio execs? Men. No woman was getting paid the same as Ritter. None.

Priscilla Barnes has spoken about how sexist and toxic that set was.

PS she was a part of the shows success. It was a #1 #2 show with her. Men watched for her. They intentionally had her not wear bras, which pushed boundaries with the censors at the time, for their male audience.

It did well once another hot blonde joined, but still not as good as it did while Chrissy was present.

R98 she was getting 35k and Ritter was only getting 50k. It would have taken some hardball negotiators but she was a part of the shows success and I think it would have happened. But what she was asking for anyone - male or female - would have been laughed out of the building.

As for its ratings, that’s basically as good as it got for a show in its last couple of seasons. Look at its contemporaries like Happy Days that were hanging on by a thread. Had Suzanne stayed the show would have inevitably dipped slightly too - maybe even more so.

Catherine Oxenburg reportedly got shitcanned from "Dynasty" over a salary dispute.

Too bad, I had a fondness for her in that role, even though everybody else seemed to find her obnoxious. I loved how she would say "oh Deddy!".

She got replaced with somebody else, who sucked so bad that they just Chuck Cunningham'ed the entire character of Amanda. Gone, never to be seen or mentioned again.

[quote]She got replaced with somebody else

Somebody else???

SOMEBODY ELSE?!?!?!?

You are speaking of DL ICON KAREN CELLINI.

A Different World: Lisa Bonet because she was pregnant. Marisa Tomei because she was white. (Although neither of those are actually bad behavior, are they?)

Most people felt Tomei was out of place on the show. A different white actress may have been able to blend in more and feel like part of the cast but she just didn’t. Most people I knew, white or black, didn’t like her on the show.

White? But according to Datalounge, Italians are not white. In fact, they're practically African!

Tomei is only part Italian.

[quote] Most people felt Tomei was out of place on the show. A different white actress may have been able to blend in more and feel like part of the cast but she just didn’t. Most people I knew, white or black, didn’t like her on the show.

She's supposed to be incredibly rude

January Jones' screen time was greatly reduced because Don Draper divorced Betty. That was always Matthew Weiner's plan. If anything, it was kind of clever how they kept her character on canvas as she wasn't really necessary, but Weiner has claimed in interviews that he always intended on keeping Betty thru the end. He claims he knew from the beginning how he'd write off her character.

Debbie Allen discusses why Lisa Bonet was let go from A Different World (basically Bill Cosby didn't want Denise Huxtable to be pregnant.)

Despite being fired, Suzanne got the last laugh. She is worth well over $100 million dollars, starred in another hit sitcom after TC, and is still more famous than DeWitt or Ritter. Not too bad for a “dumb blonde”.

Shannen Doherty did it thrice.

Though the third time had nothing to do with bad behavior.

Suzanne got that money selling questionable health advice and products to desperate, fat fraus. Such an achievement.

What was the third time, R111?

Joss Whedon has insinuated that Robia LaMorte got killed off of Buffy due to on-set bitchiness. But consider the source.

He also fired Charisma Carpenter for the sin of being pregnant and not wanting to get an abortion.

R112 Hey Joyce!

How’s life in the RV been treating you?

R114 I thought it was because Robia became religious? And she did come back for an appearance in season 3.

Pretty, dark-haired women who didn't suck up (or just suck) Joss Whedon always got treated like shit. The only reason Charisma Carpenter lasted as long as she did was because she was protected by (gay) David Greenwalt, who adored her. Once he left Angel, Joss got rid of her quickly. Being pregnant might have hastened her departure, but he probably would have found another reason if she hadn't gotten knocked up. He has real issues with women, especially those who fit his physical type but won't stroke his ego (and other things).

When they replaced her in Love,inc. after one episode R113.

Such a shame, the show probably wouldn't have flopped if they had kept her, she was still popular at the time.

She then went on to host her own show called 'Breaking up with Shannen Doherty' which I used to watch in 2007.

R37 R79 <<< loves gossip FACT: Kate Jackson was NOT booted from Charlie’s Angels! Here are some facts for a change. Kate had signed a seven-year contract with Spelling/Goldberg. She did The Rookies for four years and when it got canceled Spelling wanted Kate on his new show. So she had a three contract for CA. The new show of course was Charlie’s Angels and Kate was there when they created it. Spelling/Goldberg wanted to call it The Alley Cats but the ABC boss said it was worst idea he’d ever heard. Then Kate joined them and her contributions were the crucial ones!! The show’s name: „Charlie’s Angels", the unseen Charlie etc. Without Kate Jackson, this show would not exist. Kate made the show because even though there was phenomenon Farrah who also became one of Kate’s best friends along with Jaclyn. But when Farrah left, they managed to replace her. Cheryl was no Farrah but she was blond and willing to don a bikini and she knew how to kiss butt. The show still worked. Until Ms. Jackson left because they had done her dirty. She was denied to do „Kramer vs. Kramer“. And no, Kate never said she would have won an Academy award. She said that role would have led to other roles. So that’s that. Kate had absolutely no reason to be jealous of tacky Cheryl. But Kate had known Cheryl from a movie they had done. She knew Cheryl’s tactics, her dalliances, her sneaky ways, her lack of work ethics. That’s why she couldn’t stand her. Cheryl being a rightwinger who would want to talk politics behind the scenes didn’t help either. Kate finished season 3 but she was certainly not going to come back for season 4 after they had done her dirty. Kate also wanted better scripts. They didn’t listen and they hated her for wanting to better the show. A woman should be grateful to be on the show and do as she was told. Don that bikini and STFU. But Kate didn't take shit from these men. They were not aware how important she was to the show. They later had to learn the hard way. So Kate fulfilled her contract and told them she wanted to do other things. Leonard Goldberg said that they tried to talk her into staying. And Aaron Spelling is on record saying "hell what next!“. They were desperate. Because they knew no one could replace the amazing Kate Jackson. The show went downhill and Cheryl was not able to save the show. The show was nothing without Kate Jackson. And by season 4 CA had turned into the Kris Munroe show and people quickly grew tired of her. Kate’s birthday is October 29. She posted an audio thank you message for her fans, which was very nice. She likes to keep a low profile. She’s retired. Nothing wrong with that! And yes, Kate and Jaclyn have always kept in touch!

[Quote] He has real issues with women, especially those who fit his physical type but won't stroke his ego (and other things).

Like SMG?? Or Amber?

What no one has said before is 3's co. had a 3 tier salary contract system at the time.

John's contract had a clause that as the lead he'd earn pay twice the female roommates so that is why he didn't want to endorse SS's ego driven salary ideas or do a Friends type demand. Also the Ropers made half of what the 2 female roommates salary.

John made $200,000 at one point. The girls made 100,000 each (Joyce's & Suzanne's contracts gave them equal roommate pay & twice the amount as The Ropers & later Mr. Furley & Lana many forget was a brief opening cast member until the 2 female roommates got her sent packing according to the actress herself). The Ropers made 50,000 each (& whenever 1 got a raise the other 1 did too. Also it was for the same exact amount like the female roommates) . SS's demands would've set off a chain reaction thru the cast that required Joyce ending up with her same high salary & the Ropers would've had their salaries doubled as well.

The above $500,000 an episode for the 5 leads would've resulted in the cast costing $1,000,000 an episode. It was never going to happen where she got paid the same amount as Ritter (or even Archie Bunker LOL!) due to the existing contract clauses. The greedy trio (herself, hubby & manager) were in denial about these facts.

But I was a movie star before Three's Company. Didn't anyone see American Graffiti? I *made* that movie! And what was John Ritter? The preacher on The Waltons.

[quote]Lisa Bonet was let go from A Different World (basically Bill Cosby didn't want Denise Huxtable to be pregnant.)

That BS, because lots of other stars have hidden their pregnancy...Susan Saint James, Shelly Long and so on.

r69

That's not what happened to the original Chris. Danny Bonaduce made it up for his movie.

Bob Claver and Associate Producer Mel Swope (and, I might add, neither of whom have any personal axes to grind). Who knows what impels Danny to make up stories (except maybe to cover his own misbehavior on the set), but the fact that he was a mixed-up kid with a physically abusive father who got too much fame too early speaks for itself.

Bob Claver and Mel Swope have given extensive interviews about the Partridge Family (including Jeremy's departure), and it's pretty clear that they didn't have any major problems with him...but that they had big-time problems with his mother! Her name was Haley Cynthia Gelbwaks (everyone called her Cyndi) and she was the worst "stage mother" they ever saw -- overbearing, obnoxious, pushy. She was not only hard on poor Jeremy, but rubbed people the wrong way, nitpicked the producers and directors mercilessly, and generally butted into everyone's business.

Apparently she'd been an aspiring actress who's career had gone nowhere, then she took up writing, and did television screenplays. She must have felt that made her some kind of "expert" on tv production, and consequently she was a real pain in the ass on the set.

According to Claver and Swope, it got to the point where no one could stand her, and by season's end they were looking to jettison her, even if it meant losing Jeremy. Cyndi & her husband Anthony Gelbwaks provided just such an opportunity when he got a lucrative job offer from his employer to relocate to Virginia.

Mel Swope is particularly enlightening on this issue, cause he personally had to deal with the Gelbwaks' attorney. This was at a time when ABC hadn't picked-up the show for a 2nd season, though the producers were confident they would.

So this lawyer tells Mel that Jeremy's dad is considering relocating back East, but maybe won't if the Partridge Family gets renewed & they need Jeremy. Seeing his opportunity to be rid of Jeremy's troublesome mom, Mel gives him absolutely no encouragement, and this lawyer goes back to the Gelbwaks, advising them to take the Virginia job.

Bob Claver and Mel Swope are insistent that they never "fired" Jeremy, or even sought to, and that their sole motivation for withholding the info that ABC did intend to renew the Partridge Family was the hope of being rid of Cyndi Gelbwaks. (And interestingly enough, neither ever mentions anything about Jeremy biting David Cassidy, yet they would have been the very guys David would have gone to demanding Jeremy get fired. I can't see any motivation for these men to stay silent on such an issue, while speaking so openly about Cyndi Gelbwaks).

Yet people who weren't even involved assumed that the Virginia move was just a Screen Gems "cover story" to hide the reported "problems on the set", and that since Jeremy didn't return for season two, then HE must have been the problem.

Neither Bob Claver nor Mel Swope have ever tried to hide the fact that there WERE "problems on the set", but both make it clear that the cause wasn't Jeremy, but his mother. Maybe Jeremy wasn't a "perfect angel" (like Danny Bonaduce was?) but he certainly wasn't the little monster he's been portrayed as by Danny or in that movie.

[quote]Three's Company went from number 2 to 8 the season that she was fired, but it went up to number 4 the following season with the addition of Priscilla Barnes...Suzanne greatly overestimated thinking that she was as indispensable as John Ritter.

And when Vivian Vance left "The Lucy Show," and they retooled it, the ratings shot up too. In fact, in its last year, "The Lucy Show," finished #2 for the entire year.

But the show was awful in California, just like "Three's Company" was bad enough without the Ropers but unbearable without Suzanne.

r15

Pretty much true.

Like Delta Burke, Louise Lasser got booted from "Mary Hartman," for being too funny and scene stealing. They said it was drugs but that is just the cover story.

r119 you don't get an odd number 7 year contract. It's standard 5 years for a TV show - 5 years for the Rookies and 5 years for Charlies Angels. Kate was a fucking bitch,, bad mouthed the show and got fired. She ended up in a life of squalor! She lost her fortune, along with her beauty, her health, and a $2 million home as she battled substance-abuse demons!

I'm not sure when it changed but 7 years was absolutely the maximum length of a contract per California law.

[quote]Like Delta Burke, Louise Lasser got booted from "Mary Hartman," for being too funny and scene stealing. They said it was drugs but that is just the cover story.

I always gave Louise Lasser a break. Anyone married to Woody Allen needed all the help they could get.

[quote]That BS, because lots of other stars have hidden their pregnancy...Susan Saint James, Shelly Long and so on.

It's obvious to me that Cosby meant it to punish Bonet by taking her from her series and sticking her back on THE COSBY SHOW as a secondary character.

While Debbie Allen presented a good argument about why Bonet's pregnancy should be written into ADW she knew full well that the purpose of THE COSBY SHOW was to fight stereotypes about Black familes so why would she think making Denise an unmarried young Black woman fly with Bill Cosby?

One can understand why MacKenzie Phillips had to be let go, but they did the Julie character dirty by having her just up and abandon her husband and daughter. As flighty as Julie Cooper was, she never would have done something like that. By then they knew they weren't coming back for another year, and they only had ten episodes left. They could have just had her at a job training somewhere and Max join her in the last episode.

That episode "Dear Max" is interesting to watch, because it seems like the actors were really taking their actual frustrations out through their characters. Valerie seems oddly detached at times, while Bonnie overacts.

What about DL Icon Susan Dey, fired from "Love & War" and replaced by Annie Potts after one season?

[quote]while Bonnie overacts.

When doesn't she?

More - this is a fun topic.

This is an interesting Suzanne Somers interview. She does leave out the part that after they said no to the $, she purposely started not showing up to shoot, claimed injury, etc.

I love DL for behind-the-scenes dirt like r72/r73!

Plus we have a Kate Jackson troll and a Cheryl Ladd troll in eternal battle!

Are you kidding, R120? Amber Benson was treated so badly she refused to come back during Season 7. SMG had multiplied issues with Joss over the years, which is one of several reasons she didn't renew her contract after Season 7. For such a 'feminist,' Joss hates women he can't fuck and/or control. When he can, he can't do enough for them, like making his mistress Amy Acker the lead on Angel once he booted Charisma, and even creating that ridiculous supernatural character for her when she got bored playing Fred.

Thanks for the detailed summary of the facts, R119!

I guess when Kate Jackson signed her 7 year-contract with Spelling she may have thought it was a wonderful thing. And I bet it was. But then she must have realized how much it restricted her from doing movie projects. K vs K was not the only movie she was offered and then forced to decline. And Charlie’s Angels didn’t turn out the show she had co-created. The scripts could have been better and Kate knew that. But she had no choice but to finish S3 to honor her contract knowing how they had treated Farrah. Good for Kate to leave at the right time. Not so good for CA. No more magic, no more charisma. It tanked big time without Kate.

People badmouthing her should be ashamed. It's repetitive gossip and as cheap as it gets. But you can't change people. I'm glad that Kate is enjoying her freedom. I know that she traveled Down Under three years ago. How cool is that.

Yeah, I heard her recent voicemail message, too. It was lovely to hear her voice!

There was reportedly trouble with him on set, but Sasha Mitchell (Cody Lambert) was eventually fired from "Step-by-Step" after being arrested for domestic violence at home.

Thanks R129!

R137, you seem to know the whole scoop. What other interesting things happened on the set of Buffy and Angel that we haven’t heard about.

Gina Carano was fired from The Mandalorian.

[Quote] and even creating that ridiculous supernatural character for her when she got bored playing Fred.

I actually liked Illyria and preferred her to Fred lol.

Louise Lasser got fired from Mary Hartman for scene stealing? She was the star of the show and title character.

Did the show continue on without her?

Jim Parrack from True Blood.

Locked himself in his trailer a lot and refused to rehearse. They got sick of him. I think he was unhappy his character didn't take off like other guys on the show.

They brought him back at the end but had to pay a lot since he kind of had the upper hand since they wanted the show to end with his character and Jessica back together. I think he got some big checks at the end to return.

Heard ASkars wasn't happy about Eric's ending either and refused to shoot scenes. They had to reuse old footage. I guess Stephen got alot of leeway since he was dating Anna.

Anyone have a link to Kate's VM message? Love her and would love to hear it.

R146 Paquin and Moyer married IRL around Season 3.

R147 You can find it on youtube: A Special Thank You Message from Kate Jackson

Charles Rocket from the second cast of Saturday Night Live after he said "fuck" live on air.

"January Jones' screen time was greatly reduced because Don Draper divorced Betty. That was always Matthew Weiner's plan"

I can believe that, how could Dan Draper, the Hollow Man, possibly have a successful marriage? Of course he'd get divorced! No mid-century careerist straight white man could hold up his head among his peers, if he didn't have an ulcer and a failed marriage or two! They were proof of how dedicated he was to his career!

January Jones is reputed to be a bitch, and that may have something to do with why her career failed to take off after "Mad Men" gave her time to pursue other projects. But her arc on the show was totally believable, even inevitable.

[quote]Kate thought she would have been Oscar winner if Spelling gave f her time off to fiilm

Ha, did she tell you that herself?

Jeff Garlin

Ruby Rose from Batwoman

Columbus Short from Scandal

January Jones is also a terrible actress. She was so bad that when she was relatively unknown and dating Ashton Kutcher, he told her she didn't have much chance of success.

She perfectly fit the part of Betty Draper, an ice-cold Grace Kelly lookalike. She didn't have to emote because Betty wouldn't, and make-up/wardrobe did all the heavy lifting. I'd argue that John Hamm also lucked out with the Don Draper role. He's a serviceable actor at best. They've both floundered since Mad Men because perfect parts don't come along very often.

John Hamm was perfect for the role of Don Draper, because there never seems to be anything going on behind his eyes, and as I said he was playing a hollow man.

Needless to say, this lack of depth has been a handicap when it comes to finding other roles.

Don’t most actors who get that perfect role on TV struggle to find that again after?

But January Jones is a known bitch and most people don’t wanna work with her. They even killed her off of X-Men because they didn’t want her back.

Wasn't she mean to every child actor who played Bobby Draper? I've never heard of her being a bitch to Kiernan Shipka, but maybe once they realized what a great little actress Shipka is, she couldn't get away with bullying her.

She was a bitch in general. I loved when Seth Rogen spoke about what a cunt she was.

R159 what did Seth say?