# Actors who left hit shows for "better opportunities" and disappeared **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 18, 2013, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693 "2013-02-18T14:27:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [February 20, 2013, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/161 "2013-02-20T23:53:20Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > Claudia Christian left Babylon 5 after she didn’t get her demand to appear less (to do movies) and get paid the same (JMS was willing let her appear less for less pay, and did so for Vir). A quite acrimonious dispute, and from what little I’ve heard she had some grounds for complaint. The problem with these sort of negotiations is that if you call the show’s bluff and walk, sometimes they’re not bluffing. > [@NitroPress](#): > > The poster gal, IMHO, is Andrea Thompson, who was convinced she was the real star of B5 and huffed her way into getting erased. Ho yes. But her loss was Patricia Tallman’s gain when instead of bringing back Talia they brought back Lyta. Always have a reserve telepath. > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > If memory serves, that’s kind of how Jeff Conaway left Taxi. He had some other TV show set up where he would be the star instead of part of an ensemble. Problem was, it stunk and it tanked. Wizards and Warriors? I really liked that. I may well have been the only one though. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/162 "2013-02-21T00:41:06Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You do the smart thing. You make movies - but you hang on to your TV series. That requires the studio to work with you, and it seems that they often won’t. Pierce Brosnan was picked to play 007 while on **Remington Steele** , but the studio wouldn’t accomodate the schedule, so Dalton got the role. The only incentive the studio has to work with someone is to keep them on the show, and they won’t worry about that unless some percentage of actors leave. Seeing their movie career tank is small consolation when your show is tanking as well because they left. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/163 "2013-02-21T00:57:45Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > Harry Morgan is probably remembered by how old you are. For the 1970-80s it’s “MASH” > For the late 1960s it’s “Dragnet 19xx”. For the late 1950s/early 1960s it’s “December bride/Pete and Gladys”. For the 1940s some films, most notably 1943’s “The Ox-bow Incident”. It is easier to be remembered for playing the same part in hundreds of episodes of the same show than for a wide variety of individual character roles in movies. Morgan could have ended his career before starting on MASH and he’d be well remembered for all his earlier work. It’s a bit different than the many actors who would never have been heard of at all if not for a breakout television series. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/164 "2013-02-21T00:59:22Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > That requires the studio to work with you, and it seems that they often won’t. Pierce Brosnan was picked to play 007 while on **Remington Steele** , but the studio wouldn’t accomodate the schedule, so Dalton got the role. See also: Tom Selleck as Magnum PI instead of Indiana Jones. ---
**Author:** ![epbrown01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@epbrown01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/epbrown01)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/165 "2013-02-21T02:02:49Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > See also: Tom Selleck as Magnum PI instead of Indiana Jones. I never heard that. I can sort of see it, but that’s weird to picture at this point. ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/166 "2013-02-21T02:45:38Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Wil Wheaton related the story about how he requested permission to take a role in movie, which would have required his being off the TNG set for a time. The producers denied him, explaining that Wesley Crusher was going to play an important role in the first couple episodes of the next season and so they needed him on-set. So Wheaton turned down the offered movie role, only to find himself written out of the first episode of the season. He described it as the producers’ way of letting him know who was in charge. > > OTOH, Roddenberry was still alive and involved when Crosby left the show, while Wheaton’s situation happened after Gene’s death, and Wheaton didn’t seem to think Gene would have pulled that kind of crap. If I recall correctly (from reading Wheaton’s book last year), the film was _Valmont_. Henry Thomas ended up playing the role Wheaton would have had. It wasn’t a very big role, but that’s still a dickish move by the ST producers. ---
**Author:** ![crypto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b3f665/32.png) [@crypto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crypto)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/167 "2013-02-21T02:57:11Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Disagree. I think Chase’s best-remembered work is the Vacation series. (As evidenced by last year’s [Old Navy parody ads](http://youtu.be/CBmvluvhNG8).) I believe they are coming out with a new Vacation movie this year or next, so that franchise has had a life of its own. It’s a shame they had to change the kids in the first two. I saw one of those VH1 programs about Vacation, and Anthony Michael Hall who played Rusty started the filming shorter than Chase but when they wrapped he was taller. He hit a major growth spurt during the filming of the first Vacation. I’ve never been a huge fan of Chevy Chase, but I can watch his movies. Well, most of them. And his speech about his boss on Christmas Eve still makes me laugh “…brainless, worthless, dickless…” And of course, the punching of Marty Moose in the nose. Stupid little snippets that don’t even require a lot of skill, but since he did them, he gets credit for them. But boy, did his late night show stink. I don’t know if anyone remembers this, but either Beverly DiAngelo or Goldie Hawn (I can’t remember which, but both were blonde leads in his movies, Vacation and Foul Play, respectively) sang him a song accapella during one of the shows and it was so bad, I thought they were going to end the show that night. He is nothing without a script. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/168 "2013-02-21T14:18:08Z")
> [@epbrown01](#): > > I never heard that. I can sort of see it, but that’s weird to picture at this point. You don’t have to picture it; you can see a bit of his [screen test](http://www.toplessrobot.com/2011/06/tom_sellecks_one_shining_moment_as_indiana_jones.php), right down to George Lucas saying it _“turned out really well,”_ sure as the guy was a _“terrific actor”_. Leather jacket? Check. Hat? Check. Growling at Marion? Check. Signature mustache? Check. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/169 "2013-02-21T15:19:25Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > A quite acrimonious dispute, and from what little I’ve heard she had some grounds for complaint. The problem with these sort of negotiations is that if you call the show’s bluff and walk, sometimes they’re not bluffing. Especially on a show run by an iron-hearted bastard who sat down to every script asking, “who can I get away with killing off this time?” - and often did so. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/170 "2013-02-21T17:45:34Z")
It’s not exactly an actor and I don’t remember the guys name but this one might fit OP criteria: A while ago (maybe half a year) the Daily Show had a guy on that they interviewed who was once one of their correspondents. I forget the guys name but basically they brought him back for a one-time correspondent gig mostly riffing on the fact that his move away from the Daily Show had not worked out for him very well. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/171 "2013-02-21T17:56:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Leather jacket? Check. Hat? Check. Growling at Marion? Check. Signature mustache? Check. I think Selleck would have been a more genial Indiana Jones, but in the end a far more interesting one. Imagine most Jones-triumphant scenes ending a bit more on an “Oops!” note than an “Aha!” one and you’d have it. ---
**Author:** ![Simplicio](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c37758/32.png) [@Simplicio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Simplicio)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/172 "2013-02-21T18:09:04Z")
> [@Svejk\_1](#): > > It’s not exactly an actor and I don’t remember the guys name but this one might fit OP criteria: > > A while ago (maybe half a year) the Daily Show had a guy on that they interviewed who was once one of their correspondents. I forget the guys name but basically they brought him back for a one-time correspondent gig mostly riffing on the fact that his move away from the Daily Show had not worked out for him very well. Rob Corddry. He left to star in The Winner, which was quickly cancelled. He still gets a decent amount of work, though, so his comedic self-effacement aside, I don’t think he’s really an example of someone that disappears. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/173 "2013-02-21T18:50:34Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > Rob Corddry. He left to star in The Winner, which was quickly cancelled. > > He still gets a decent amount of work, though, so his comedic self-effacement aside, I don’t think he’s really an example of someone that disappears. I believe this is the interview – [Comedy Central The Daily Show Fan Page](http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-august-16-2012/rob-corddry) ---
**Author:** ![jali](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecae2f/32.png) [@jali](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jali)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/174 "2013-02-21T19:37:49Z")
> [@Stink Fish Pot](#): > > I’ve never been a huge fan of Chevy Chase, but I can watch his movies. I snipped quite a bit of the quote. My favorite Chevy Chase and Bill Murray film is _Caddyshack_. This is the first film I think of when I think of either of them. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/175 "2013-02-21T19:53:53Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > Disagree. I think Chase’s best-remembered work is the Vacation series. (As evidenced by last year’s [Old Navy parody ads](http://youtu.be/CBmvluvhNG8).) Is that redhead the same actual actress who played the daughter in the movies? Because …whoa! ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/176 "2013-02-21T20:24:06Z")
> [@Mister\_Rik](#): > > Is that redhead the same actual actress who played the daughter in the movies? Because …whoa! You don’t know who [Juliette Lewis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000496/) is? ---
**Author:** ![tullsterx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9bcb4/32.png) [@tullsterx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tullsterx)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/177 "2013-02-21T20:32:07Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > You don’t know who [Juliette Lewis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000496/) is? I wonder how her music career is going? [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFacIRsY\_F0](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFacIRsY_F0) ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/178 "2013-02-21T20:42:00Z")
> [@Morbo](#): > > You don’t know who [Juliette Lewis](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000496/) is? Huh, is that who it was? I know the name, but looking at her filmography I haven’t actually seen anything she’s been in since Cape Fear in 1991 (which I do remember her being very good in). So no wonder I didn’t recognize her. ---
**Author:** ![Ibn\_Warraq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e19b73/32.png) [@Ibn\_Warraq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ibn_Warraq)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2013, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693/179 "2013-02-21T20:48:00Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It is easier to be remembered for playing the same part in hundreds of episodes of the same show than for a wide variety of individual character roles in movies. Morgan could have ended his career before starting on MASH and he’d be well remembered for all his earlier work. It’s a bit different than the many actors who would never have been heard of at all if not for a breakout television series. True. The same is true for Martin Sheen regarding The West Wing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/actors-who-left-hit-shows-for-better-opportunities-and-disappeared/650693.md?page=8)