TV Trivia
by Michael Karol
& Craig Hamrick

The Case of the Disappearing Darrin — And Others
Originally posted 09.03.06

Show business, and television in particular, is a harsh mistress. It demands that a cast film 22 or more episodes a year (the norm was 39 back in the 1950s, with a 13-week summer vacation), and then, if the show is a hit, they have to stick around for years. What's an aspiring movie star to do? Well, if they're David Caruso, they jump ship during the first season of a hit show (NYPD Blue), strike out in the movies, and come slinking back to TV, joyful for the steady paycheck.
     On an ensemble show like Blue, Caruso's character could simply be killed, and replaced by a totally new character. On a sitcom, that's a bit more difficult to do. And keep in mind that sometimes, replacements can't be helped, when an actor gets sick or even dies during the run of a show. (The sitcom 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter went through the latter, having unexpectedly lost its star, John Ritter, to heart disease after only 13 episodes were filmed. The show soldiered on, dealing with Ritter's character's "death" and bringing on a stern but loving grandfather and a hip cousin to take on the fatherly responsibilities. It lasted three seasons.)
     Let's look at some of TV's best-known switches, and see whether they affected the sitcom's performance in the ratings in a positive or negative way. Each is rated from one to four TVs, depending on whether the switch was a major or minor blip in the show's history. [For more of this list and many others, click on the book cover above.]

Dick Sargent for Dick York on Bewitched After five seasons, Dick York's back was overextended; thanks to an injury years before while filming the western They Came to Cordura (1959) his acting career was effectively ended once he left Bewitched at the end of the 1968-69 season. Since York's chemistry as Darrin with star Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha) was a prime ingredient in the show's initial success, Bewitched suffered in its final three seasons with the stiff, not as goofy, Dick Sargent in the role. A major, unfortunate switch. TV TV TV TV

Sandra Gould for Alice Pearce on Bewitched Earlier, Bewitched had faced a similar dilemma, when Alice Pearce, the Emmy-winning character actress who played nosy neighbor Gladys Kravitz, passed away in March of 1966. Pearce's episodes continued to air through the second season; then Sandra Gould, a friend of the late actress who had done lots of radio and TV, replaced Pearce the following year. The on-screen chemistry with husband Abner (George Tobias) didn't seem as believable without Pearce, but Gould suffered (and screeched) admirably as the only human (it seemed) ever to catch Samantha and her relatives making magic. TV TV TV
* Tidbit extra: Gould and Tobias played the Kravitzes once on the short-lived Bewitched spin-off, Tabitha, some five years after the original series ended.

Fran Ryan for Barbara Pepper on Green Acres Pepper - a former Goldwyn Girl and pal of Lucille Ball's who'd fallen on hard times due to alcoholism - had guested on Lucy's seminal series I Love Lucy eight times; Lucy was nothing if not loyal to friends and family. She also had small roles or bit parts in 100 moives, but she finally struck TV gold with Green Acres, in which she played Doris Ziffel, the take-no-prisoners "mom" to Arnold the Pig (1965-69). The once-pretty Pepper was much heavier and bloated than when she began in movies in 1933, but she was a riot. Unfortunately, she died during the run of the show, and Ryan, a similarly shaped and voiced actress, took over for the final two seasons (1969-1971). TV TV
* Tidbit extra: Pepper played Mrs. Ziffel in three 1964 episodes of Petticoat Junction during the two seasons before Green Acres debuted.

Pat Priest for Beverly Owen on The Munsters Beverly Owen appeared in only the first 13 Munster episodes, airing from September to December 1964. She left to get married and was replaced with perky blonde lookalike Pat Priest. The show was cancelled after two seasons, and depended very little on Priest's character, so the affect of the change was minimal. TV

Sarah Chalke for Lecy Goranson on Roseanne Goranson played Roseanne's older TV daughter for the first five years of the show (1988-1993); then left to attend Vassar College. Chalke replaced her for two seasons (1993-94 and 1994-95), and Roseanne did it with a wink and a nod to earlier replacements, such as Darrin on Bewitched (see above). Goranson returned for one year (1995-96) and left again, so Chalke came back for the final season (1996-97). Confused? Audiences could've cared less. Chalke has fared much better on her current sitcom, Scrubs (2001-present), which allows her to display her ample comic gifts. TV

Christina Moore for Lisa Robin Kelly on That '70s Show Topher Grace's older sister was shipped off to college early on in the series (which began in 1998 and is still running), so we never saw all that much of Kelly, but she was perfectly cast as the snotty, selfish, whorish, bratty sibling. In fact, her character didn't appear as a regular until the show's second season. Kelly lasted for two years (until 2001), then was bumped to recurring status and ultimately fired in 2002-03, reportedly due to substance abuse and resulting behavioral problems on the set. The role was finally recast with Moore for the 2003 season. Big deal; the show remains rooted in its core characters, and the older sister never was one. TV

Donna Reed for Barbara Bel Geddes on Dallas Bel Geddes played the sweet Miss Ellie, patriach to the Ewing clan, on Dallas from the shop's start in 1978 through 1984; she left after the season "for health reasons." Producers replaced her with Classic TV's sleek, sophisticated Donna Reed, who was a far cry from down-home Miss Ellie, and fans didn't like it. Bel Geddes was convinced to return the following year and stayed through the run of the show, when she retired. Reed was summarily dumped after one season and successfully sued the show for $1 million dollars. TV TV TV TV

Roger Davis for Pete Duel on Alias Smith & Jones This lighthearted western series was a real gem, and might have lasted longer than two seasons had not one of its stars, the troubled Duel, committed suicide in 1971. Duel and Murphy were arguable more charming playing a Butch and Sundance-type outlaw duo than Redford and Newman were playing them in the movie. Series narrator Roger Davis took over for Duel in 1971-72, but the magic was gone, and so was the show after that season. TV TV TV

Redd Foxx on The Royal Family (1991) Here's a no-brainer: what happens when the star of your show collapses and dies on-set during production? The show's a goner, right? In this case, The Royal Family brought in Jackée Harry (227)to bump up the laugh quotient, but to no avail: the show was cancelled after one season (1991-92). (John Ritter, who died at the beginning of the second season of his show 8 Simple Rules, has caused a similar problem for the remaining cast; producers decided they couldn't recast and wrote the death into the show; it remains to be seen whether it can last without its original star.) TV TV TV TV