What sitcoms were known for backstage battles?

Supposedly, Bea Arthur and Betty White feuded on "Golden Girls." I'm sure there were other programs that had backstage feuding. Oh, Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence feuded on "Mama's Family" because of several things (a good description can be found in the Mama's Family board) but the two are close again, and have since made up.

I think one of the most known back stage battles, was Robert Reed a.k.a (Mike Brady) because he thought the plots were to easily solved and dull. At one time he even thought of leaving the show.

the Roseanne sitcom, Roseanne didn't like the producer of the show because she felt he was making the writers write her character the wrong way. And she wanted to be in charge of the show. She was well known for firing much of the crew on the show.

Also alot of the actors liked Roseanne, but just couldn't stand her when she was around Tom Arnold. And it was known on the set that John Goodman couldn't stand Tom Arnold.

I Love Lucy- Ethel(Vivian Vance)and Fred(William Frawley) did not get along backstage. Vance was much younger than Frawley in real life and specifically requested that there would be no kissing scenes with her and Frawley. Apparently, Frawley got insulted and the two refused to speak to eachother off camera.

Laverne & Shirley -
Cindy Williams vs. Penny Marshall

Three's Company -
John Ritter & Joyce Dewitt vs. Suzanne Somers

Diff'rent Strokes -
Gary Coleman vs. Dixie Carter

Martin -
Martin Lawrence vs. Tisha Cambell

Cosby Show -
Bill Cosby vs. Lisa Bonet

Originally posted by DJM77


Martin -
Martin Lawrence vs. Tisha Cambell



I heard Tisha accuse Martin of sexual harrassment. And I do beleive her over Martin.

Carroll O' Connor and Norman Lear

Didn't Larry Hagman have a few battles on the set of 'I Dream of Jeannie' too? I think it was on the E! True Hollywood Story or something. I think he was dissatisfied with the scripts.

Originally posted by Will and Grace Fanatic


I heard Tisha accuse Martin of sexual harrassment. And I do beleive her over Martin.


Yeah, last few episodes of Martin, they would film Gina and Martin's scenes separately. And which is why they cancelled the show.

Esther Rolle and John Amos(Good Times)- John Amos had problems with his character creatively and also was looking for more money. That eventually led the show to fire Amos. Esther Rolle had problems with Jimmy Walker becoming the star of the show and eventually quit because of it.

Mabel King(What's Happening)- She had problems with management over the use of her character. She didn't like the fact that her role was getting smaller and smaller, so she quit.

Originally posted by DJM77

Gary Coleman vs. Dixie Carter



What was this about?

Originally posted by Silver Daze


What did they fight over? I thought they had a great friendship.

Cindy and Penny had an intense rivalry throughout the run of the series. I'm not to sure what it was about. I think they get along fine now.

Originally posted by ClassicComedyFan2


What was this about?

Gary didn't like Dixie, so he had her fired.

Yes!! Larry got into a lot of fights backstage. He got director Gene Nelson fired, and fought with Hayden Rorke every now and then. Though Hayden and Larry didn't get into huge fights. Larry fought with executives and the writers mostly. He thought that the scripts weren't well written, so he and Bill Daily changed them a lot on the show giving IDOJ more laughs than it ever would have gotten without the changes by Bill, Larry and Barbara.

Tina Louise and Bob Denver (Gilligan's Island)

Delta Burke and the producers Bloodworth-Thomason of Designing Women

Shelley Long and some members of the Cheers cast (not sure which ones)

Cybill Shepperd and Bruce Willis (Moonlighting)

Sonny and Cher

On Laverne & Shirley, there was a feud about anything and EVERYTHING! They shot right next door to Happy Days and on that set everyone was like a family and they could always hear them screaming on the L&S set. Anyways....here are some feuds from it-
Cindy Williams (Shirley) always argued about the fact that Penny Marshall (Laverne) got the funny lines and jokes and Cindy never got any. It got to the point where Cindy and Penny would actually COUNT their lines to make sure they were equal. They were very competitive and neither one wanted to be left behind. Everyone else on the show said they were like diva's with the arguing between them.
David Lander (Squiggy) and Michael (Lenny) also got upset alot (along with everyone else) with some scripts. David once even drop-kicked it!:eek:
Then, in the end, Cindy got into a fight with the producers when she got pregnant. She stated she wanted less hours so she wouldnt get stressed out and she could rest. It didnt happen, so she left the show.

Shannon Doherty on like, every show she's ever been on. :rolleyes:
And OMG, how can no one not mention the Mother of ALL Backstage Battles- The Brady Bunch! There was more drama behind stage then there was in an episode of Passions!