Can you name example of stars who went from a hit sitcom to a hit drama or vice versa?

I'll start--Carrol O' Connor--All in the Family to In the Heat of the Night.

Well I don't know how "hit" it was but Maura Tierney was on a sitcom (NewsRadio) then went on to do a drama (ER).

^I'd say lasting six seasons, was it?, is considered to be a hit.

Andy Griffith went from TAGS to Matlock.

Great thread!

Mark Paul Glossear went from Saved By the Bell to NYPD Blue. Quite a switch!
Rick Shroeder went from Silver Spoons to NYPD Blue (Not sure if he was in anything in between)
John Stamos went from General Hospital to You Again?
Tony Shalhoub went from Wings to Monk

Monk is hilarious but I wouldn't call it a comedy. It's more like a dramady, which is why I loved it!

Larry Hagman went from "I DREAM OF JEANNIE" to "DALLAS".

Larry Hagman went from I Dream of Jeannie to Dallas

Dick Van Dyke went from The Dick Van Dyke Show to Diagnosis Murder

Susan Dey went from The Partridge Family to L.A. Law

John Ritter from The Waltons to Three's Company

Patrick Duffy from Dallas to Step By Step

Robert Young from Father Knows Best to Marcus Welby M.D.

Jack Klugman from The Odd Couple to Quincy M.E.

Robert Reed went from The Defenders to The Brady Bunch

Buddy Ebson went from The Beverley Hillbillies to Barnaby Jones

Andy Griffith went from The Andy Griffith Show to Matlock

Ray Walston from My Favorite Martian to Picket Fences

Bill Bixby from The Courtship of Eddie's Father to The Incredible Hulk

John Forsythe from Bachelor Father to Dynasty (I wasn't sure if Charlies Angels would count since he was never seen.)

Edward Asner from The Mary Tyler Moore Show to Lou Grant.

Hal Linden went from sitcom Barney Miller to drama Blacke's Magic
and later appeared in two more short-lived shows, one a comedy-drama
(Jack's Place), the other a sitcom (The Boys Are Back).

Mickey Braddock starred in the dramatic adventures of Circus Boy and,
a decade later using his real name Micky Dolenz, starred in the sitcom The
Monkees.

Bill Cosby starred in both dramas (I Spy, The Cosby Mysteries and
sitcoms (The Bill Cosby Show, The Cosby Show and Cosby. (He
also hosted variety shows, a Saturday morning cartoon show, a new version
of the classic game show You Bet Your Life and Kids Say the
Darndest Things (based on a popular segment of Art Linkletter's House
Party.))

Burt Reynolds starred in dramas (including Riverboat, Gunsmoke, Hawk,
B.J. Stryker) and the sitcom Evening Shade.

Walter Brennan starred in the sitcom The Real McCoys and the
western The Guns of Will Sonnett.

John Stamos went from Full House to ER

Alyson Hannigan - Buffy the Vampire Slayer to How I Met Your Mother
Gavin MacLeod - The Mary Tyler Moore Show to The Love Boat
Robert Hegyes - Welcome Back, Kotter to Cagney and Lacey
Harry Morgan - Dragnet to M*A*S*H

Tom Bosley from Happy Days to The Father Dowling Mysteries

Richard Long from The Big Valley to Nanny and the Professor

Donna Reed from The Donna Reed Show to Dallas

Judd Hirsch from Dear John to Numb3rs.

^I'd say lasting six seasons, was it?, is considered to be a hit.

Four and a half seasons (97 episodes) to be exact. ;)

Even though it wasn't a ratings hit, the critics loved it and it seems to have sold well enough on DVD to release all the seasons.

Here's an obvious one I missed:

Ed Asner from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" to "Lou Grant" :doh:
someone else mentioned that already.

Scott Bacula went from "QUANTUM LEAP" and "STAR TREK: ENTERPRISE" to "MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE" (although I don't know if that really counts since it's a comedy-drama)
Ray Romano went from "EVERYBODY LOVES RAYMOND" to "MEN OF A CERTAIN AGE"
Courtney Cox-Arcette went from "FRIENDS" to "DIRT"

Ron Howard went from Andy Griffith Show to The Smith Family, which was more dramatic than funny. (Also had good ratings and I never understood why it wasn't renewed).

Kristy McNichol from Family to Empty Nest.

Wow, I didn't realize there were so many I had forgotten!

Loni Anderson from WKRP to that detective show with Lynda Carter (so memorable I forgot the title LOL).

it was called "PARTNERS IN CRIME" and aired on ABC sometime in the mid 80s. You're right about it being memorable; as I recall it was pretty stupid.

Eddie Albert from Green Acres to Switch
Barbara Eden from I Dream Of Jeannie to Harper Valley PTA

Barbara Eden from I Dream Of Jeannie to Harper Valley PTA

Harper Valley PTA was a sitcom. Even the movie it was based on was a comedy.

Hal Linden was also in Designing Women (husband of Suzanne wasnt it?)
Gerald McRaney (sp?) from Simon and Simon, to Major Dad, to Designing Women, to Promised Land.
Heh, reason I was going to post, then forgot!
Kirk Cameron from Growing Pains to being a minister and doing all those religious based shows and movies.

^No, Hal Linden wasn't in DW......you're thinking of Hal Holbrook (who was Julia's b/f and Dixie Carter's real life spouse)

Craig T. Nelson--from Call to Glory....to Coach........to The District.

Harper Valley PTA was a sitcom. Even the movie it was based on was a comedy.
I was going to say the same thing.

Barbara Eden did do "Brand New Life", which is arguably a dramedy--so that was more of a drama than she ever did on series TV before.

^No, Hal Linden wasn't in DW......you're thinking of Hal Holbrook (who was Julia's b/f and Dixie Carter's real life spouse)

Craig T. Nelson--from Call to Glory....to Coach........to The District.

Dang! Your right! I always have gotten Hal Holbrook and Hal Linden mixed up.....dont ask me why, guess perhaps the name....

David Groh went from "Rhoda" to "General Hospital".

Holly Robinson Peete has appeared both in dramas like "21 Jump Street" and in sitcoms like "Hangin' with Mr Cooper".

Tiffani Amber Thiessin went from Saved by the Bell to BH 90210

Marion Ross - Happy Days to I'll Fly Away Home
Sally Field - Gidget & The Flying Nun to Brothers & Sisters
Rene Auberjonois - Benson to Star Trek: DS9
Thomas Gibson - Chicago Hope to Dharma & Greg to Criminal Minds

The Brady Family went from a sitcom (The Brady Bunch) to a variety show
(The Brady Bunch Variety Hour) to a drama (The Bradys)

Katey Sagal went from Married with Children and 8 simple rules to Sons of Anarchy
Matthew Perry went from FRIENDS to Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Christine Baransky went from Cybill to The Good Wife
Chris Noth went from Law and Order to Sex and the City
Jack Klugman went from the Odd Couple to Quincy
Jason Priestley went from Sister Kate to 90210
Courteney Cox went from FRIENDS to DIRT