Comments on: Confessions of a TV-holic: 5 Cases of Unwanted Fame

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 08:55:17 +0000

Yep, then there’s Pernell Roberts who left Bonanza to be a serious actor and vanished for, what, 15 years till Trapper John MD?

While I’m a huge fan of Bonanza, and always feel a pang when the opening ride up comes on, I understand (sort of) why he left. Actually, none of the main cast were all that enchanted with the show.

Dan Blocker really wanted to leave, and go back to being a math teacher. However creator David Dortort and the producers convinced him to stay. Pointing out that his students would always see “Hoss Cartwright”, and never take him seriously.

Lorne Greene tried to tell Roberts to suck it up, and stay for the paychecks, and by the time the show was over he could take any role he wanted.

Michael Landon, an excellent actor, his true passions were working behind the scenes. Producing,directing, and writing. He taught himself while on Bonanza, because being from humble beginnings he always wanted to be assured of having a job. Eventually acting became his least favorite part of his job, but he knew that’s where the true money would lie.

Now Pernell Roberts, he’s been criticized by many (including myself)and handled his departure badly. I’m just trying to point out, that while I LOVE the show, he wasn’t the only one who wasn’t entirely happy. Though the cast had great chemistry,they weren’t always happy.

Pernell wanted minority roles to be played by minority actors, a bit more independence for his character, more rehearsal time, and better story lines. Like I already said, handled BADLY and overly temperamental, but the demands were hardly unreasonable. Actually, he had stated that he would have stayed on the show, if they just allowed him to do some stage acting on the side.

That’s where he was for those fifteen years, by the way. On the stage. And doing a few movies, and the odd appearance. The King and I was one stage role that springs immediately to mind. He didn’t drop out of sight because he couldn’t find work, he dropped out of sight to go back to his first love. He was a classically trained stage actor who loved doing things like Shakespeare. If it were me? I say I’d just stick it out for the paycheck. But I may well be singing a different tune if I were completely frustrated with the job I had, day in and day out… And when he decided to go back to television, he didn’t have any trouble finding a role. Though he admitted he only took Trapper John for the paycheck.

By: pokey

pokey — Fri, 07 May 2010 05:17:07 +0000

DY-NO-MITE !!

By: Christopher Moser

Christopher Moser — Fri, 07 May 2010 01:10:30 +0000

Tina Louise wasn’t that pretty, I think Maryanne out shined her by a million and one light years. They should have kicked Ginger off the island because Maryanne was the catch on that island.
And as far as the dad on “Good Times”, he was too angry to really like as a character. I know being poor blows most of the time, but I’m poor myself and find joy in what I do have, not what I don’t have.
these actors should have at least been thankful that they had an acting job instead of complaining about what they did have.

By: John

John — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 00:37:23 +0000

The only excuse for leaving a show is if the producers change the focus of the show, as in John Amos and “Good Times”. Who wouldn’t be unhappy to learn their show went from exploring the family life of an African-American family to simply, “How do we get J.J. to say his “Dyn-o-mite” catchphrase again this week?”.

By: Stan

Stan — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 01:30:47 +0000

You really missed a big one, Max Baar Jr. He hated being on the Beverly Billbillies. After it was over not only could he not get a job acting, no one wold take him seriously enought to give him a shot behind the camera either. He once stated that he “was born max Baar Jr. but he would die Jethro Bodine”.

By: Fred

Fred — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 21:46:29 +0000

With the money they get paid, it seems to me that the focus *should* be on whether they like the job or not. I have no problem with people who want to work at a job they like.

By: Kim

Kim — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 23:36:09 +0000

As a techy working with actors I would just like to say a lot of them are prissy pre madonna’s, although the better and more well known they get, the nicer they are.,basically they become professional.
And don’t give me that rubbish about their job being so hard. Of course it’s not all fun and games, but it’s not nearly as difficult as other jobs out there. For a start techys there well before and after they arrive, and we are running around with heavy equipment, with equal stress if we make a mistake, and getting paid a lot less, and getting no recognition…and I would still say I have an easy job compared to most people, if only because I love it

oh and people who have out life in their hands are waaayyyy more important than actors

By: Dick Choke

Dick Choke — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:30:56 +0000

Stephen Hill who played Jim Phelps in season 1 of “Mission:Impossible” because he was a devout Jew and wouldn’t work on Saturdays the Jewish Sabbath. Of course he was replaced by Peter Graves and the rest is history. Also, Martin Landau who played Rollin Hand and Barbara Bain who played Cinnamon Carter both left after season 3 as they both wanted big raises and were refused.

By: Dick Choke

Dick Choke — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 04:26:26 +0000

David Carradine left the show “Kung Fu” after only 2.5 seasons (season 1 was only a half season) because his body was worn out, hurt and tired as he did all his own stunts. I don’t know if this fits in with this article but I thought I’d throw that out.

By: Julie

Julie — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 07:01:25 +0000

Don’t you think the actors who left a show successfully like Clooney, did it with class and landed on their feet a little better than say Mike Reid? Does anybody remember him doing an episode of a doctor show like Marcus Welby where he had a sex change? OHMYGAWD! I was just a kid but I was revolted by his appearance as a woman- he was gargantuan. He had some ISSUES apparently. But I digress. I remember when Parnell Roberts left Bonanza – my parents were outraged that he insulted the other actors talents and likened them to the horses if I’m remembering right. David Caruso left his first show under very bad juju as well, and didn’t work for years and years – and so on. I think acting is a lot like any other job – you have to be considerate of your coworkers and well liked to succeed really. You never know ‘who knows what or who’ in LA – everytime you walk into a restaurant you can watch people just watch you too long and the wheels turning in their heads about ‘who’ you might be. It’s a town that works on connections, not filling out applications. When they remember you as a PIA, I doubt they call you again unless they have to. I’ve been promoted several times by people who remembered me from something I did years before – not because I applied for a job I didn’t even know was open. Most actors get called out of the blue by some casting agent who knows somebody who’s brother did the lighting on such and such and really liked working with so and so – ‘Hey! let’s see if he’s available!”