Do You Think David Groh Was Unjustly Fired From 'Rhoda?' - Page 3 - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Duster76 · 12-04-2022, 10:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OOliver

I wonder if after auditioning for 'Rhoda', MTM saw something in him and offered him his own show, rather than playing second fiddle to Harper ?

I don't know, but if I had to guess I would say no. Sand seemed to turn into the Robert Morse of the early 70's. The people in the business thought more of him than the public. He won a Tony in 70-71 for a production I never heard of called "Paul Sills' Story Theatre". This production really connected with the MTM people, in addition to Sand, Valerie Harper, Richard Schaal and Peter Bonerz appeared in this show which had toured beginning the summer of 68. Sand also appeared on the Carol Burnett Show, and he was in an early episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. It was one thing to give him his own show but exactly who was he, how does he rate a series where his name goes in the title of the show, the series official title was "Paul Sand in Friends and Lovers". With respect to the series itself:

There was a feeling at the network level and at the production end that the show didn't work. Penny Marshall who was in the cast had the wrong part, she knew and James Brooks came to realize that Penny should have been the female lead. There was also a sense that the talents of Sand did not match the series structure, in other words he was not well positioned talentwise to be a straight man, that wasn't his skill set.

OOliver · 12-09-2022, 01:22 PM

I think Hirsch would have made the ideal 'Joe'. Unfortunately, from what I had read, hey took a while auditioning actors and by the time they offered him the role, he had committed to a Broadway show - and he had no desire to back out of his commitment.

CJMD03 · 09-04-2023, 01:43 AM

Paul Sand is one of the most boring actors ever.

biffbronson · 09-04-2023, 10:02 AM

I liked Sand's 1970 episode of TMTMS as an IRS auditor, I found it memorable. That remains the main thing I remember him from. I was aware of his series though I'm sure I never saw it back then.

Regarding his short-lived series, in fact incorporating his name into the title made it stand out among other sitcoms in its own way.

CJMD03 · 09-07-2023, 03:19 AM

I think the actor was miscast, but the writers totally made him a jerk in S3 and that wasn’t the actor’s fault.

rusty spike · 09-07-2023, 11:02 AM

It must have been a money issue, with Valerie demanding a bigger raise for being the star of a top 10 show for 2 years in a row. I think it came down to Valerie making an ultimatum of finding more dough or walking away. I think that situation best describes the sudden departure of Groh. They probably paid a severance fee to break his contract and Groh did his best not to feed the tabloid monsters.

This happened on other shows every time the star demanded a pay increase, other characters were let go or had the screen time/episodes reduced.

Alan Brady's Hair · 09-07-2023, 12:30 PM

Creator Allan Burns on the situation:

https://youtu.be/XYRFoRdjwDc?si=VxoqtS_S770f_Y73

Creator James Brooks, beginning around 4:00:

https://interviews.televisionacademy...oks?clip=49344

It seems like they think that they went to a wedding too quickly, and that once they decided to do it the husband should have been a true co-lead.

12-09-2022, 01:22 PM	#32
OOliver Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jan 28, 2009 Location: Providence RI Posts: 569	I think Hirsch would have made the ideal 'Joe'. Unfortunately, from what I had read, hey took a while auditioning actors and by the time they offered him the role, he had committed to a Broadway show - and he had no desire to back out of his commitment.

09-04-2023, 01:43 AM	#33
CJMD03 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 18, 2018 Posts: 412	Paul Sand is one of the most boring actors ever.

09-04-2023, 10:02 AM	#34
biffbronson Sentimental Fool Forum Star Join Date: Aug 22, 2009 Location: Near Notre Dame Posts: 10,281	I liked Sand's 1970 episode of TMTMS as an IRS auditor, I found it memorable. That remains the main thing I remember him from. I was aware of his series though I'm sure I never saw it back then. Regarding his short-lived series, in fact incorporating his name into the title made it stand out among other sitcoms in its own way.

09-07-2023, 03:19 AM	#35
CJMD03 Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Mar 18, 2018 Posts: 412	I think the actor was miscast, but the writers totally made him a jerk in S3 and that wasn’t the actor’s fault.

09-07-2023, 11:02 AM	#36
rusty spike Member Senior Member Join Date: Mar 08, 2015 Location: Southwest Posts: 1,124	It must have been a money issue, with Valerie demanding a bigger raise for being the star of a top 10 show for 2 years in a row. I think it came down to Valerie making an ultimatum of finding more dough or walking away. I think that situation best describes the sudden departure of Groh. They probably paid a severance fee to break his contract and Groh did his best not to feed the tabloid monsters. This happened on other shows every time the star demanded a pay increase, other characters were let go or had the screen time/episodes reduced.

09-07-2023, 12:30 PM	#37
Alan Brady's Hair Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 30, 2014 Posts: 1,822	Creator Allan Burns on the situation: https://youtu.be/XYRFoRdjwDc?si=VxoqtS_S770f_Y73 Creator James Brooks, beginning around 4:00: https://interviews.televisionacademy...oks?clip=49344 It seems like they think that they went to a wedding too quickly, and that once they decided to do it the husband should have been a true co-lead.