Why no big name guest stars during the shows run?

[TMC]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Surprisingly no one mentioned Jeffrey Tambor or Buffalo’s own
the late Dick Shawn, who played Jack’s dad. Ironically died in San Diego in 1987
Jack’s hometown.

Dick Shawn had the craziest death that you could ever imagine a celebrity could have. He literally dropped dead from a heart attack while performing on stage. The audience initially thought that it was part of the act.

Another Dick, Dick Sargent AKA the second Darrin Stephens on Bewitched, once guest starred if that counts. Joanna Kerns was on Three's Company a couple of times as a love interest for Jack. But that doesn't really count because this came years before Growing Pains really made her a household name. So like with with Loni Anderson's appearance (which came around the same time that WKRP was coming on the air), Joanna Kerns' appearances were more of case of "Retroactive Recognition".

[TMC]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

They did have the biggest name guest star you could possibly hope for -Lucille Ball .

You can also argue that they already had a "big name" in the main cast when they nabbed Don Knotts to replace the Ropers.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVLegend

Wow, I thought Three’s Company was the only sitcom he appeared on.

Also, he appeared on the first couple years of The Young and The Restless.

John McCook was also on an episode of Diff'rent Strokes. While looking up his career, I just found out that his daughter is Molly McCook, who was the "second" Mandy Baxter on Last Man Standing.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by SledgeBarone

I saw the episode with Barry Williams in it (the famous extended dance sequence where Jack is loopy from drinking after taking a sleep or anxiety drug), but I didn't make the connection to Greg from the Brady Bunch until I read about it later.



This is definitely one of the big reasons. If the ratings had been lower throughout its run, the producers might have been compelled to bring in some big names to goose the ratings, though.

John Ritter actually filmed a guest spot of Mannix on the old set of The Brady Bunch:


It's super surreal within itself to see John Ritter of all people, play a bad guy type of character.

[thejasoomian]

Originally Posted by TMC

You can also argue that they already had a "big name" in the main cast when they nabbed Don Knotts to replace the Ropers.

Agreed.

[BestTVever]

The show did not need cameos from big stars. THEY were the big stars. Threes Company always recycled the same B list supporting actors through its entire run. There is another thread I created that shows the same actors appearing for different roles over the years. No other sitcom did that on that level.

[rusty spike]

I agree with others who stated that the show didn't need big time celebrities to do well in ratings. I think the addition of special guest stars was perceived as a gimmick and they most correctly perceived that the show did well enough without the need of bringing Uncle Milton or cousin Raquel onto the show for some convoluted plot twist.

[TMC]

John Larroquette once appeared as a cop, but this was of course, before Night Court officially made him a household name.

James Cromwell, who you may recognize as Farmer Hogget in Babe or as Dr. Zefram Cochrane in the Star Trek franchise, also appeared as a police officer.

[ClarenceAlabama]

Originally Posted by Wawwie

On a few episodes, they also had John McCook who is one of the main characters on The Bold & the Beautiful. He plays "Eric Forrester."

The Bold & the Beautiful is watched by about 35 million viewers every day in more than 100 countries.

John McCook is the star of the show and he's been playing Eric Forrester since 1987 and he's still on the show.

He's more famous Internationally, because the show airs in primetime in other countries. It airs in the daytime in the U.S. and Canada.

[TMC]

Come to think of it, I wonder why Lucille Ball never guest starred. Lucy was a huge fan of Three's Company and even hosted a "Best of..." special in 1982 (at the end of the sixth season). John Ritter himself paid it forward by making a guest appearance on Lucille Ball's ill-fated 1986 sitcom, Life with Lucy.