And, of course, he made that move to replace small-screen-to-big-screen-to-small-screen star Michael J. Fox.
In general, you made less money on TV than in movies. Plus it’s far more work to do a TV show (a half hour sitcom requires about 10 hours of film, a movie is 2 to 2.5 hours).
Charlie Sheen made $2 million an episode, so that’s around $22 million. That’s a lot, but Johnny Depp made $100 million in 2010. And Sheen’s salary was a big jump – Ashton Kutcher is now the highest paid at $700K per episode, or about $16 million.
I remember reading an interview with George Segal about his work on “Just Shoot Me.” He said TV was much easier than movies. He called it “a gentleman’s way to make a living.”
I’m sure it doesn’t pay as well, so it’s probably a sort of semi-retirement for actors who’ve made all the money they could ever need, and just want a more predictable, less hectic way of life.
Gabby Hayes also starred in a western TV series starting in 1950.
If I recall correctly, the western movie genre was losing popularity at the same time the popularity of television was rising. So there were probably other examples of western stars that jumped from movies to TV.
Woo Hoo!!
I get to mention Trek stars.
Jeffery Hunter was King of Kings and then Captain Pike. (Jesus Christ, man!)
William Shatner was a Karamazov brother and then Captain Kirk.
Nemoy (Them), Doohan (36 Hours), and Kelley (Gunfight At OK Corral) all were in movies (not as a big part, mind you, and sometimes serial TV stuff, too) before becoming Spock, Scotty, and Bones.
Of course, they all seem to have just taken whatever was put in front of them, from low budget TV to B movies to bigger silver screen stuff both before and after the TOS jobs.
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There have been many character actors and B-list actors who’ve given up working in movies to work in television. Indeed, nowadays, cable TV offers a lot of interesting roles and original concepts for people who’d normally star in small, indie films or play small, quirky roles in mainstream Hollywood movies. It’s no surprise to see Steve Buscemi, for instance, doing cable television.
And there have been many once-big movie stars who’ve turned to television once they were too old to play leading roles in the movies (Jimmy Stewart in Hawkins, Charlton Heston on The Colbys, Jane Wyman in Falcon Crest). I mean, twenty-five years ago, Harrison Ford would NEVER have taken the lead role in a TV series, but today? He might listen to offers from CBS, if he really wants to work again.
But I can’t think of any big movie stars who jumped to television while they were still in high demand from the movie business.
I realize she was probably the exception but didn’t Doris Day decide to star in a sitcom when she was still in demand as a movie actress? Also, I recall Shirley McLaine did an unsuccessful series in the early 70s but that might’ve been when her movie career was in a lull.
Ronald Reagan was fairly prolific as a movie actor before showing up all the time on TV in the '80s
Not exactly; she had no part in the decision. Her manager, who was also her husband, contracted her to do the show without her knowledge, which she didn’t learn until after his death. She was forced to do it to avoid financial ruin.
Kal Penn was best known as a movie actor before joining House.
$2 million a week for 22 weeks of work, with a 30-week vacation. Damn, I got into the wrong line of work! 
His performances were very uneven, though.