Inspired by this thread; and I know, it’s probably much easier to name the TV, movie, Broadway show, etc., casts that actually did get along.
But anyway, to start this thread off, I’ve always heard that Laverne & Shirley had a particularly contentious, fractious cast of actors.
While not a specific show or film, I’ve always heard that Eddie Murphy, Val Kilmer, and Patti LuPone are particularly difficult to work/get along with.
The rivalry between Bruce Willis and Cybill Sepherd on the set of *Moonlighting *was legendary, and ultimately killed the show. It’s hard to film a hit series when the two stars refuse to be in the same room.
Reports are that everyone hated Shelley Long from “Cheers.” Ditto for Shannen Dougherty of “Beverly Hills, 90210.”
Could you (or someone) sum up the legend for me, please? I didn’t own a TV set in the years Moonlighting was on, never saw it, never read about it, but I have heard that the two stars feuded. About what? And what part of “My business partner in a very profitable business seems not to be someone whose company I enjoy–pass the Grey Poupon, please” did one or both not understand?
It’s well known that Vivian Vance and William Frawley (Ethel and Fred on I Love Lucy) loathed each other.
I read an interview where Debra Winger said she couldn’t stand Richard Gere when they were filming An Officer and a Genleman. She said that those scenes that looked so passionate were really her trying not to throw up. (Or something to that effect.)
The fabled Bette Davis/Joan Crawford feud (Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?, Hush . . . Hush, Sweet Charlotte) was blown up for the press and later “biographers.” They didn’t care for each other, but both were professional and polite on-set.
On the other hand, Crawford, Shearer and Russell on the set of *The Women *were all jockeying for attention and the best camera angles.
And Bette Davis was a huge bitch to everyone on the set of The Whales of August, though of course she had numerous health and personal problems at the time.
Jean Harlow and Wallace Beery–who made several films together–hated each other; but then, *everyone *hated Wallace Beery.
Joe E. Ross (Car 54, Where Are You?) was detested by everyone in the cast and crew.
I’ve heard tell that Veronica Lake and Fredric March (I Married a Witch) hated one another’s insides and played nasty practical “jokes” on each other throughout filming.
Lawrence Olivier hated working with Joan Fontaine in Rebecca, partly because he had wanted his wife, Vivian Leigh, to get the part, and whispered obscenities in Fontaine’s ear in the love scenes. Alfred Hitchcock knew what was going on, but liked the effect on Fontaine’s performance.
A very certain example is the antagonism between Helen Mirren and Nicol Williamson. Apparently, they were involved romantically, then broke up during the run of a live Shakespearean play, and Williamson would ad-lib insults against Mirren on stage. John Boorman deliberately cast them opposite each other in his film Excalibur, for added real antagonism. Both were against it – they’re actors after all, they can convincingly portray antagonism.
Tisha Campbell had a restraining order against Martin Lawrence while she played his wife on Martin. I dunno how that worked.
Sorry for double post, but I type too slow.
A less sure example would be between Lucy Liu and Bill Murray. The story goes he insulted her personally on set of Charlie’s Angels, and she basically tried to beat him up on set, and he purportedly tried to use all his strength and ability to fight back. Several crew members were injured trying to keep them from assaulting each other. Now that they no longer have to work together, they’re civil, and downplay the entire incident.
I say purportedly because, well, I’m biased, because I like these two actors. And as I study the story, it sounds more and more implausible to me. Or at least embellished. As the story goes, Murray was insulting everyone that day, He said the Liu was simply a bad actress, Diaz was a good actress, and Barrymore was there for some other reason. But other sources say that Drew Barrymore begged her personal friend Murray to be Bosley in “her” film – she was part owner of the rights to Charlie’s Angels, this was always her pet project. It seems to me, Murray’s criticism is out of place – he would have known the back-story, so why would he rant about it. Murray claims his criticism wasn’t directed against Liu – his story is that he thought she was too good for this lame writing, directing and production.
I think we keep hearing about this rivalry not because it was as bad as we’ve heard, but because someone feels like making constant digs against someone. In this case, the writers of Charlie’s Angels don’t like hearing Bill Murray’s criticism, so they spin it as a personal problem.
One of the most famous cases back in the early Cretaceous Period, was Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. After a string of movie successes they parted ways. Martin felt he was just a straight man for the Lewis, and Lewis felt he was talented enough to make it on his own. After the breakup Lewis’ popularity dropped like a rock, eventually reaching the record low point where his movies were only popular in France, while Martin became an extremely popular entertainer and enjoyed increasing success as a movie and TV star.
Then there was the sordid story of Sonny and Cher. Even after she started cheating on him with Greg Allman they maintained their on-air relationship on their TV show.
Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball finished up their final TV shows together on the Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour while their marriage crumbled and they prepared for divorce.
I read on the boards here that Bea Arthur couldn’t stand Betty White and was pretty rude to her on the set of Golden Girls.
I imagine Charlie Sheen created a few problems on set.
Burt Lancaster and Margot Kidder reportedly got into a fistfight on the set of Little Treasure (1985).
The team of Abbott and Costello had its rocky points, so much so that the two men refused to work with each other in the same scene in some of their films. The Time of Their Lives was shot during those low points, and thus their screen time together was limited (though Costello probably liked the fact that in one of their scenes together, he was required to kick Abbott in the ass a few times).
Frances Bavier (Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith Show) was famously disliked. William Shatner was widely despised on Star Trek, and Tina Louise, on Gilligan’s Island (Her agent demanded that she get fifth and final billing on the opening theme, effectively cutting Russell Johnson and Dawn Wells out of the show credits the first season, among other things).
Jeremy Gelbwaks made no friends on The Partridge Family cast and crew, especially with Danny Bonaduce.
SNL has had rivalries throughout its history; Jan Hooks, Victoria Jackson and Nora Dunn all got on each others’ nerves. Michael O’Donoghue wouldn’t write for the Muppets (“I don’t write for felt”) and lobbied for Don Pardo’s dismissal. Mike Myers and Dana Carvey, apparently best buds on the show, were barely speaking to each other by the time Wayne’s World 2 was filming. Garrett Morris was alienated from the rest of his cast (and writers) mainly because of the circumstances of his hiring (He was pretty much forced on Lorne Michaels by the Union).
Another person Bette Davis hated to work with was Miriam Hopkins, who was always trying to upstage her. A pity, since I enjoy their work in “The Old Maid” and “Old Acquaintance” and wish they’d done more movies together.
I just heard a Terry Gross interview with Ted Danson (a few years old, I think) on NPR and he had some nice things to say about Long. Not saying they got along back then but apparently now he’s willing to give her some credit for the success of Cheers.