There was a show back in the 50’s where, when one actor was being replaced by the other, the star stopped in mid-scene, introduced the new actor, said goodbye to the old one, and continued on with the show. Can’t remember the name of the show right now, a little help?
I’d never heard this story- could it be when William Bendix replaced Jackie Gleason in Life of Riley?
Foreman’s sister on That Seventies Show, played by two different actresses.
Would Dr. Who count here?
Nope-two different seasons with two different casts.
In the 50s, they stuck with the radio model: when an actor left the part was recast without comment.*The Adventures of Superman[/I swapped Lois Lanes during its run without comment.]
Of course a production company, like any business, has liability and worker’s comp insurance. I don’t think that is what is described here.
Productions will take out an insurance policy on key actors. The insurance is to protect the company from losses due to the actor’s inability to complete the project. For example, if the star of a movie dies during filming (through no fault of the production), the production company can experience significant losses in recasting the part, reshooting scenes, scrapping the whole project, or using some computer trickery to place the dead actor in scenes that haven’t been shot yet. Other reasons that an actor could fail to complete a project would be for sudden illness, disfiguring or disabling injury, or incarceration.
From my understanding, one reason why Lindsey Lohan’s career has struggled is because producers cannot get insurance on her. Insurance carriers believe that the risk of her failing to complete a project is simply too high.
Michael Conrad as Sgt. Phil Esterhaus on Hill Street Blues - he died partway thru the 4th season and his character died on the show.
No, it was on Burns and Allen. George literally stopped the show (freeze-frame) to introduce the new actor who would be playing his next-door neighbor:
Larry Keating, actually, was not in the original cast, with his character of Harry Morton first being portrayed by Hal March (October-December 1950), then John Brown (January-June 1951), and after that, Fred Clark, until 1953. In one famous episode, “Morton Buys Iron Deer/Gracie Thinks George Needs Glasses,” George walks on-stage and stops the scene just before Harry’s entrance and explains that Clark has left the show to perform on Broadway. He introduces Larry Keating, who enters, and then calls over Bea Benaderet to introduce the two saying, “This is Larry Keating and he is going to be your husband now”. The pair greet and chat briefly, complimenting each other on their previous work. George remarks that if they are going to be so nice to each other, no one will believe they are married. He then gives original cue, Blanche resumes her position, and the scene continues where it stopped as if nothing had happened. The new Harry enters and Blanche hits him in the head with a catalogue for spending $200 to buy an iron deer.
It was The Burns and Allen Show.
Fred Clark had been playing the character of Harry Morton. In mid-episode they “froze” the cast and George Burns walked out and explained that Clark was leaving the show to go work in Broadway. (In reality, while Clark did take a role on Broadway, he was leaving the show because he wanted more money and Burns, who was the producer, was unwilling to pay him more.) Burns then brought out Larry Keaton, who he explained was now going to be playing the character of Harry Morton. The two actors switched places, Clark left, and they “unfroze” and finished the scene.
Interestingly, this was not the show’s first switch. Hal March and John Brown had both played the role of Harry before Clark. But those previous switches had just been done without comment.
eta: ninja’d
Will Geer (Grandpa on The Waltons) and Jim Davis (Jock on Dallas) fit the definition of #1.
Diana Hyland played Joan Bradford (the Wife/Mom on Eight is Enough) and died 4 episodes into the series. Also fits definition #1.
All in late 1970’s and early 80’s.
West Wing 2005
The character of Leo McGarry dies of a heart attack when whenJohn Spencer did the same.
Fitting #3 above, the Dallas reboot on TNT, Larry Hagman died halfway through shooting season #2. They gave J.R. Ewing a death scene (sort of) by splicing some previous taped audio into a telephone call he was having with his son, John Ross.
They went beyond giving him a death scene to creating a whole story arc, where his helicopter had crashed in South America and Bobby eventually recovered his gold necklace (but no body) from the bottom of a deep pool.
Opinions vary, but it seemed obvious to me they were trying to resurrect the character with a different actor the next season. The attempt failed miserably, and Jock II was exposed as bogus and vanished into oblivion with little more explanation.
Too recent to be the first, but Nancy Marchand (aka Livia Soprano) may have been the first TV character to appear in a scene filmed after she died.
Never mind - ninja’ed.
Nope, I think it was Kate Bradley on Petticoat Junction, after Bea Benaderet died. A combination of voice work and a double for most (if not all) scenes in the episode where Katie Jo was born.
But there was a death, too. Will Geer (Grandpa) died shortly after Corby returned, and they made that a storyline.
In the second episode of the Batman TV series in 1965, the Riddler’s sidekick, Molly, gets into the Batcave, but falls to her death in Batman’s nuclear reactor. I guess you could call that giving a departing character a death scene.
Nitpick: January 1966.
Speaking of Bea Benaderet didn’t she die during Petticoat Junction to be replaced by June Lockhart? Sorry didn’t see previous post
On *Monk, *his psychologist was played by Stanley Kamel, who died of a heart attack well into the 6th season. The character was also said to have died of a heart attack. With some difficulty, Monk found a new psychiatrist.