Why Did David Garrison (Steve) Leave "MWC"?

[JamesG]

I've been recently going through my MWC complete series DVD set and just finished Season 4.

Why did David Garrison leave the show? Marcy just randomly announced that Steve up and left her. I know he came back a couple of more times later on. The show wasn't the same without him.

[TMC]

I seem to recall that he wanted to focus on his theater career and he was worried that he was inevitably going to be typecast as Steve Rhodes if he said around too long.

Why David Garrison left the series Married With Children

I've read from people elsewhere that they actually preferred the show with Ted McGinley came onboard as Jefferson D’Arcy. Jefferson added an element Steve never had, in that he was Al’s foil and friend. Jefferson also changed the dynamic with Marcy. Jefferson basically was a male version of Peggy. Marcy became a more successful version of Al. And Marcy you can say, was a better antagonist to Al than Steve. This was perhaps due to the real life behind the scenes animosity between Ed and Amanda.

[TMC]

Somebody in the comments section of this YouTube video about Ed O'Neill's real life feud with Amanda Bearse said that David Garrison actually left because he didn't get along with Amanda. They did preface the comment by saying that it was a rumor at best so take that if you will.

[TVFactFan]

I want to know why he came back twice

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

I want to know why he came back twice

I'm sure that David was still on good terms with the producers. I think that he was still under contract, but they freed him anyway when he first expressed his desire to leave. I naturally thought that (and I could've sworn that David Garrison tried to explain it on the E! True Hollywood Story episode on MWC) he left out of fear of being typecast as Steve Rhodes if he stayed around too long.

On the same token however, why would you abruptly leave the relative security and visibility of being on a hit show like Married..with Children. It wasn't like David Garrison's career was going to get any bigger than it already was. MWC was for all intents and purposes, the height of his career. It isn't like he was getting a "second act" among the adult actors like Ed O'Neill would get with Modern Family or Katey Sagel with 8 Simple Rules, Futurama, and Sons of Anarchy.

If you look at the stuff that David did post-MWC, he outside of his theater career, primarily did walk-on guest roles on TV shows, but never stuff where he's a part of the main cast.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by TMC

I'm sure that David was still on good terms with the producers. I think that he was still under contract, but they freed him anyway when he first expressed his desire to leave. I naturally thought that (and I could've sworn that David Garrison tried to explain it on the E! True Hollywood Story episode on MWC) he left out of fear of being typecast as Steve Rhodes if he stayed around too long.

On the same token however, why would you abruptly leave the relative security and visibility of being on a hit show like Married..with Children. It wasn't like David Garrison's career was going to get any bigger than it already was. MWC was for all intents and purposes, the height of his career. It isn't like he was getting a "second act" among the adult actors like Ed O'Neill would get with Modern Family or Katey Sagel with 8 Simple Rules, Futurama, and Sons of Anarchy.

If you look at the stuff that David did post-MWC, he outside of his theater career, primarily did walk-on guest roles on TV shows, but never stuff where he's apart of the main cast.

What was so wrong with the steve rhodes character? Working man who was married who was a homeowner. Not sure why that was bad

[TMC]

Originally Posted by TVFactFan

What was so wrong with the steve rhodes character? Working man who was married who was a homeowner. Not sure why that was bad

True, I've said before that Steve was arguably, the most "normal" or straight laced person on the show. But we have to keep in mind that MWC was at the time, seen (rightly or wrongly) as this trashy, low-brow sitcom on a small network like Fox. It wasn't exactly "high art" given David Garrison's extensive theater background.

[TMC]

Quitting Married With Children Changed David Garrison’s Career Forever, Here's What He's Really Doing Now

Garrison said, "I was basically commuting from New York to shoot the show in Los Angeles, and I missed my life in Manhattan, as well as my theatre career. The first rule of show business is “leave them wanting more,” so after four seasons I felt it was time to exercise some other muscles. I left on good terms, and returned as a guest on the show in subsequent seasons."