http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rm0aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=RSkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4186,3859968&dq=mary+tyler+moore&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=59shAAAAIBAJ&sjid=yaAFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6072,239331&dq=dick+van+dyke+carol+burnett&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=atc0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=6H0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=5379,3663298&dq=dick+van+dyke+carol+burnett&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=BIUsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iYoFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1967,5495943&dq=dick+van+dyke+carol+burnett&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=QwcLAAAAIBAJ&sjid=U1ADAAAAIBAJ&pg=4597,560447&dq=dick+van+dyke+carol+burnett&hl=en

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ve4PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OI0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=4309,6244875&dq=dick+van+dyke+carol+burnett&hl=en

I never knew why Dick left The Carol Burnett Show. I remember reading somewhere that The New Dick Van Dyke Show was filmed in Arizona, at least the first 2 seasons.

I don't know why he joined it in the first place. It's tough going from a top banana to a supporting player.

I don't know why he joined it in the first place. It's tough going from a top banana to a supporting player.

Well, there's the press reason and there's the real reason. Dick Van Dyke already had the experience of commuting from Arizona to Los Angeles for a TV show when production of The New Dick Van Dyke Show moved to Los Angeles in 1973. I think Van Dyke and Company was produced there as well. So that commuting excuse is kind of bogus. The fact is Harvey Korman had left The Carol Burnett Show and Dick Van Dyke was brought on in his place. It simply didn't work; the right chemistry wasn't there. And the show was suddenly and quickly sinking in the ratings after years as a major hit. Van Dyke abruptly left, but the show continued to sink in the ratings and Carol herself quit at the end of that season. Here's a little more on the subject:

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=3bEvAAAAIBAJ&sjid=A_kDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6821,1431347&dq=nielsen+ratings&hl=en

I guess Van Dyke just needed some more time, and another stumble or two, before Diagnosis: Murder fell in his lap.

Just came back from the bookstore where I picked up a copy of Carol Burnett's book, "This Time Together." There is no index in the back of the book, so I couldn't look up Dick Van Dyke's name. The only mention I could find of Dick was in the one chapter describing the last season of "The Carol Burnett Show" and how she felt it was best to leave the party before the host shut the lights. Incorrectly, she says that the show replaced Harvey Korman with a series of guest stars (Dick, Ken Berry, Steve Lawrence, James Garner). Actually, Dick had co-star status to begin with; the show alternated between Berry and Lawrence for the remainder of the season.

I sure hope that Dick will clarify what happened with The Carol Burnett Show in his autobiography, due soon. There was an interview done with Dick that can be viewed only at a museum of television in Manhattan, and I distinctly remember that interview, when asked about the debacle at the Carol Burnett Show, Dick says the fault was with both the producers and with himself, that he should never have joined the cast in the first place.

I loved The Carol Burnett Show but the problem was two-fold with Van Dyke: First, Burnett had been on the air for eleven years and the show was winding down, as any show that has been on that long usually does. Korman's departure was a devastating blow and no one really could take his place. So, Van Dyke was brought in when the show was on its last legs anyway. Maybe they hoped Dick would spark life into it? But it was ready to bow by that time.

Second, You really can never bring another major star onto someone's else show. Van Dyke was a major star and he was brought in to play second banana to Burnett. It was almost like a "demotion" for him, I think.

I also thought I read that it was about this time that Van Dyke was battling alcoholism or about to get over it. This probably wasn't a good time to commit to a series for him.

Dick goes into the Carol Burnett situation a bit here:

hoDLcSzy4dQ

The show was just never the same after Harvey left. As great of a comedian as DVD is, he just didn't fit in.

I know this is a bad example, but it's like Charlotte Rae leaving FOL and Cloris Leachman, a terrific actress/comedienne in her own right, taking over. That's another show that was past its prime when the cast change took place. So, yeah, I can see what you mean.

I read Dick van Dyke's new book and he mentions doing the Carol Burnett Show. He basically admits that it just didn't work out and he wasn't right for the show.

The Burnett Show did sketch comedy with quirky characters. No one could do those characters better than Harvey Korman. imho Dick an Dyke was more of a leading man type. On his sitcom the other characters were the quirky ones and Rob Petrie was the 'normal' one.

I think that replacements CAN work, as long as they are early enough so that the character they are replacing hasn't had a chance to get an indelible hold on the audience, and render anyone trying to replace them as "the outsider".

An exception is MASH, of course, where you had two beloved leads, Stevenson and Rogers, replaced by actors who successfully created their own popular characters. But even there, the two men that left had only been there for three seasons. When you get into the late stages of a show, it's hard to ever generate the kind of popularity that the original star did, because there's just not enough time to do so. I think that Monika's example of the Rae/Leachman thing falls under this category.

What some people may not remember is that Tim Conway was not an original cast member. He became a regular in 1975 after Lyle Waggoner left.

But Conway was such a frequent guest star (and one who mixed in so well with the cast) that when he did come on board, it wasn't jarring. In fact, it seemed like he'd been there all along.

I don't remember Dick Van Dyke's tenure on the show, but he does come off as more of a "straight arrow" than the others and with Korman gone, that chemistry that existed between the group had been changed.

And Tim Conway lost his partner-in-crime. Those two were magic together.

I have never seen "The New Dick Van Dyke Show". What I have read about it was that Dick was living in Arizona and did not want to leave for California, so the show went to him. The show was a moderate hit, but DVD lost interest and the producer Carl Reiner got mad at CBS for nixing a bedroom scene with DVD's character and wife. It seemed like a convenient excuse for everyone, including DVD to get out of the whole enterprise.

Like everyone said, probably DVD did not like or felt comfortable being a supporting player, and he was a much bigger star than Harvey Korman or Tim Conway, and was actually a star before Carol Burnett was (Carol did not break out until the mid 60's)

When they were casting the Mary Tyler Moore show, they wanted Jack Cassidy in the Ted Baxter role, and supposedly he refused it because he did not want to play second banana to a woman. Now Jack was somewhat of an egotistical a-hole, but I think it came down to was men of that generation did not want women bosses.

I'd be willing to bet that Jack Cassidy later regretted not taking the Ted Baxter role.

While Cassidy made several guest appearances on '70s TV shows, I think he was more known for being a Broadway star.

From what I have read about Jack Cassidy in the past, he had an ego the size of Texas and his poop didn't stink. He was a star of some note, but not a huge star, and arguably his two sons eclipsed him, with David and Shaun (Shaun because the dude was on every teen magazine cover in my childhood, that guy was the face of the 1970's!) being the bigger stars.

Coupled with that, he was an alcoholic. Probably would have lasted on the show for a season or two and then written out. Maybe or maybe not.

Ted Knight was a better choice. Knight actually complained to the show several years in that the general public disliked his character and he wanted to change the character to be more lovable, to which they brought in Georgia Engel. Cassidy could have played jerwad because he was one in real life.

From what I have read about Jack Cassidy in the past, he had an ego the size of Texas and his poop didn't stink. He was a star of some note, but not a huge star, and arguably his two sons eclipsed him, with David and Shaun (Shaun because the dude was on every teen magazine cover in my childhood, that guy was the face of the 1970's!) being the bigger stars.

Coupled with that, he was an alcoholic. Probably would have lasted on the show for a season or two and then written out. Maybe or maybe not.

Ted Knight was a better choice. Knight actually complained to the show several years in that the general public disliked his character and he wanted to change the character to be more lovable, to which they brought in Georgia Engel. Cassidy could have played jerwad because he was one in real life.