Shelley Long, for the young’uns out there who don’t remember the 80s was the actress that played Diane Chambers on the sitcom “Cheers.” This show began its run at the very bottom of the network ratings, but found a loyal fan base that gradually grew and grew and grew until it became one of the most popular series on television. That was due in no small part to the will-they/won’t-they tension between Diane and Ted Danson’s character Sam. (“Sam and Diane” were the blueprint for a whole slew of mismatched sparing partners from “Ross and Rachel” all the way to “Mulder and Scully.”) But then, when “Cheers” was at the height of its popularity, Shelley Long decides to quit the show. By all accounts, she was a huge diva who resented “having” to do a sitcom when she’d rather be a BIG MOVIE STAR! Diane was written out, and actress Kirstie Alley took Long’s place as new character Rebecca Howe.
“Cheers” remained one of the most popular series on TV until its final end (amid much fanfare) about six years later. As for Long, she starred in several notorious flops (“Troop Beverly Hills” anybody?), finally earned a few desperately needed paychecks by aping Florence Henderson’s Carol Brady, then went back to slumming on TV in another sitcom called “Kelly Kelly” on UPN. The new show was no “Cheers.” Today, Long makes occasional guest appearances on “Modern Family”, but never became the huge movie star or household name she felt she was destined to be.
Likewise, David Caruso was an unknown actor when he was given the lead role on a series “NYPD Blue.” He became a huge star, and immediately suffered from an inflated ego. Like Long, Caruso assumed he deserved bigger and better things than starring on a huge hit TV show. He abruptly left the show after just one year (Long at least held out for five) and went on to star in some ridiculously bad “thrillers.” Before long, “starring David Caruso” was synonymous with “straight to DVD.”
At least Caruso did better than Long in his descent back into TV land. Caruso snagged the lead role in CSI: Miami. It’s a great gig to have, but Caruso had really nothing to do with its popularity (it’s a spin-off of a mega-blockbuster hit TV show, Caruso was surrounded by a cast of hot actors, etc.) Caruso’ major contribution to the show is the internet meme-worthy ‘button’ in which he puts on / takes off his sunglasses before finishing every line he utters.
I’m curious about what other examples are out there of TV stars who had major hubris and ended up leaving plum gigs for 'bigger & better things;, only to end up dragging themselves back to TV parts. Any suggestions?
Julianna Margulies left ER early. She got work after that, but nothing all that great. Topher Grace thought he was too big an actor for That 70’s Show, I don’t know if he’s returned to TV but he hasn’t had much success in the movies.
I’ve heard Michael Keaton got a big head and became difficult to work with after his early start. He’s making a bit of a comeback with his current movie, but he pretty much disappeared for a long time.
Suzanne Somers left Three’s Company, made a flop movie, and floundered for many years, before returning to TV in ***She’s the Sheriff ***and later in Step by Step.
Not sure she counts as a movie star, but Denise Crosby dropped out of STNG because she felt “Opening hailing frequencies” was not an adequate showcase for her acting skills. She has since then gone on to play small parts in a great many things.
Suzanne Somers and David Caruso left TV to pursue movie careers, then later came back to TV
There are also actors who left minor or supporting roles in successful TV shows in order to take lead roles on other TV shows that just didn’t pan out.
McLean Stevenson left *MASH ***to star in several flop sitcoms (most notabley Hello Larry) For quite some time, he was regarded as Johnny Carson’s heir apparent on ***Tonight ***(don’t ask me why- I never though he had a lick of talent), but his unsuccessful sitcomes helped put an end to that notion, thank God.
Julianna Margulies is the star of The Good Wife, probably the most-critically acclaimed show on network tv. I don’t know if that’s dragging herself back to tv, though, since she didn’t seem to want a movie career. She just wanted to leave ER.
IIRC, she didn’t have much choice in the matter. She was holding out for a lot more money than she was getting, and the producers and/or network refused to cave into her demands. She was gradually written out of the show and replaced with Jennilee Harrison (whom I absolutely adored) as “Cousin Cindy.”
Pernell Roberts left Bonanza because he thought it was a waste of his talents. He seems to have had an inflated estimation of those talents, but I don’t know that he expected to be a big movie star. I think he was more interested in a stage career. He didn’t like Bonanza but seems not to have held television in general in contempt. He later returned to TV to star in Trapper John, MD.
Rogers didn’t leave for a movie career- he starred in a two short-lived TV series: the private eye show ***City of Angels *** (the pilot was based on the alleged coup d’etat exposed by Marine general Smedley Butler) and House Calls (based on the Walter Matthau movie).
In any event, Rogers made a lot of money through other business interests, so he’s not suffering for his miscalculation in leaving MASH.***
Rogers’ business interests was one of the reasons he had left MASH. His character had been getting sidelined by Hawkeye. He basically told the producers that since he was actually losing money working on MASH, the least they could do was make it fun for him.
Indeed, Wayne Rogers has enjoyed a pretty lucrative career as an investment adviser, quite apart from his acting. I think I’ve read somewhere or other that these days, he takes the occasional acting project primarily to generate capital for his investments.
He appears pretty regularly on one of the business news channels as a talking head, discussing financial matters.
Kate Jackson left “Charlie’s Angels” for bigger and better things but went back to TV a few years later to do “Scarecrow and Mrs. King”.
Incidentally, before Jackson left “Charlie’s Angels”, she had been cast as with Dustin Hoffman’s wife in Kramer vs. Kramer. However, a scheduling conflict with the show developed so she had to drop out and was replaced by Meryl Streep who wins an Oscar for her performance and becomes the preeminent actress of her generation. You can’t help but think that probably played a role in Jackson’s decision to leave.
I don’t understand this belittling of people who want to gamble on something bigger than what they currently have.
It’s a fact that movie stars are of higher “caliber” in terms of fame and money than TV stars. It’s a fact that not everyone makes it in the movie business, but a strong positive fan reaction from a TV show is a good indicator that you may have what it takes to be a movie star.
Why do we blame people for shooting for the moon when there are indications that they just might make it? Yes, most people don’t, but why do people make fun of those who don’t?
It’s not hubris to want something bigger and better, especially if there are indications that you could achieve it.
IIRC, George Peppard left the “fairly intellectual for its time and genre” *Banacek *because he felt it wasn’t good enough for him. Time passes, and we see him playing Space Cowboy in Battle Beyond The Stars.
