I liked this show very much and I'm finally getting to see reruns, (at least of the first season) after quite a few years. Does anyone know why the character of Ralph and the actor who played him were dropped after three seasons? I kept watching after that but I never enjoyed it as much from that point on. Thanks

Hi,

I was a cast member of Dear John for the 4 seasons it aired on NBC TV 1988-92. NBC made some silly decisions during that time and one of them was to have the character of Ralph "graduate" and move up from the club of 1-2-1 ers. It was considered to be politically correct to have the characters "progress" and show improvement.

NBC did not understand that comedy is based on failure and incompetence. Success is never funny.

The good news is it worked out very well for Harry Groener who played Ralph. He was a fabulous singer/dancer and a very nice man who was in demand for his talents. He landed the lead in a Broadway show called Crazy For You. He also worked on Star Trek and Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

He is always busy.

He and his wife Dawn are two of the nicest people you will ever meet.

Tom

Harry Groener(Ralph Drang) left in 1991. did he get fired, quit or retired?