Ray Romano! All he needs to do is proclaim “It’s my turn!”
Can’t say I’m sorry to see 'em go, though.
I like everybody on that cast except for Ray Romano. Maybe they’ll let his character get killed by a pit bull over the hiatus, change the name to “Everybody Loved Raymond”, and the show will improve (as long as they don’t bring in Sandy Duncan to replace him).
Nice to see someone leaving before their show is dragged in the mud. Too bad i don’t really care for him or his show.
He’s leaving right after gorgeous Patricia Heaton gets a facelift, tummy tuck and boob job?
What an idiot.
I always thought Denise Crosby should be in the running here, for leaving STNG so she could pursue her career as a serious actress. All the other cast members who stuck with the show have solid-gold careers now; her career seems to have tanked pretty seriously…
Solid gold? Doing what? A movie every two years or so and Celebrity Poker with Jonathan Frakes?
I guess the point was that they stuck with the show and made more money off it, while Crosby basically did Pet Sematary and sucked. 
Well, obviously Denise Crosby is a past award winner. Others include:
Gary Burghoff
Shelley Long
David Caruso
Jimmy Smits
David Duchovny
Any others?
And Lego: a movie every two years and Celebrity Poker is more than she’s got now, right?
Heck they should name the trophy after **David Caruso **. How much butt did he have to kiss to get the CSI: Miami job?
As long as we’re ridiculing TV “stars” who got swelled heads and abandoned successful shows to pursue movie careers, why not give some polite applause (subdued is fine) for people who were HUGE TV stars with ambitions of their own, but who were level-headed enough to know they shouldn’t be in a hurry to abandon a good thing and a steady paycheck.
Think of:
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Henry Winkler. When “Happy Days” was at its peak, he was just about the biggest star in the USA. He made several movies (a few good, a few bad, none very successful), but he stayed to the end with the show that made him a star.
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Michael J. Fox. Even after “Back to the Future” became a smash hit, he stayed to the end with “Family Ties,” the show that made him a star.
Neither man was a saint, and both had healthy egos- but congratulate them for this: both were sane enough not to jump ship at the first opportunity or to burn bridges with people who’d given them their first big breaks.
Any other intelligent, loyal TV stars come to mind?
Some have them have gone on to stuff “behind the scenes” (producing, directing, theatre and whatnot) and it seems at one point practically the entire cast was doing the voices on the Gargoyles cartoon (not really, but it sometimes felt that way).
Plus they got a big raise each year they stayed with the show.
Denise Crosby went on to be in the failed TV series Key West (think Northern Exposure but tropical.) And a couple episodes of The Red Shoe Diaries.
George Clooney stayed with his “E/R” contract to the very end (not to mention coming back for an unbilled cameo when the Julianna Marguiles character left), even as his movie career was taking off, and when any halfway competent entertainment attorney could have gotten him out of his final year. Whether or not you care for Clooney as an actor, you’ve got to respect this.
I’m reminded of the old Simpson gag:
Critic: Rainer Wolfcastle, your last movie was garbage! How do you sleep at night?
Rainier Wolfcastle: On a big pile of money, with many beautiful ladies.
Ray Romano is set for life. Even if every other project he ever works on tanks, he’ll still get a nice, fat, regular paycheck from residuals. It’s a lot easier to be “stupid” with your career when you’re in that position.
Gotta add some names to the idiot list;
Andre Braugher (ruined the last season of Homicide by walking)
Harry Hamlin (after LA Law, what’s he done besides knock up Lisa Rinna?)
Cindy Williams (How do you have Laverne & Shirley sans Shirley?)
Sara Gilbert & Lecy Goranson (Off to college… and the ebbtide of their careers)
Henry Winkler built a solid post-Happy Days career behind the camera as a TV producer and director as well as a few films. MacGyver and that new revamping of the Hollywood Squares among lots of other projects. So he came out good either way.
Rob Morrow shot himself in the foot careerwise, when he left Northern Exposure. He’s mostly been doing character parts in features and lead roles in cable and TV movies since then. Quiz Show being the odd exception.
Joe Piscopo pops to mind, his post-SNL career has been pathetic.
David Cassidy walking away from and killing The Partridge Family and his pop star career as a result.
Gabe Kaplan killed his performing career when he left Welcome Back, Kotter. But that may have been a good thing for all of us, the show and his stand-up act have not aged well. TBS still shows his horrid movies Nobody’s Perfekt and Fast Break from time to time. Professional poker followed, so he didn’t starve, however
How about Claudia Christian? tho the way season 5 went, one could argue she left at the peak of the show…
Brian
I hadn’t realized ‘jumping the shark’ had become a mainstream expression. Neat.
**
Heh. But really, isn’t that enough? 
I’m surprised no one has mentioned Rob Lowe yet. He’ll be doing commercial voice-overs in hell for walking away from the show that put him back on the map.
There’s a difference between saying “I’m going to Yale” and saying “I’m going to be a big star and make movies, you’ll see.” How many sitcom kids actually have adult careers even if they don’t leave the show?