Why Sally Struthers was ''itching to leave'' All in the Family

[TMC]

https://www.metv.com/stories/why-sal...-in-the-family

Struthers had been on the series for seven years and wanted to show that she was more than Gloria.

[BestTVever]

Her career suffered because in the 1970s TV stars were shunned by Hollywood films. I think her timing was right because by 1978 All In The Family was running out of gas.
She was typecasted as Gloria and it was difficult for her to get work. By 1982 rolled around she got her own spin off from Archie Bunkers Place but that was too late.

[rusty spike]

I'm not a Sally hater, but I didn't think she had a broad range of acting abilities. I think she played Gloria reasonably well and she should have counted her stars that she was lucky to be on a hit show for 8 seasons.

[sm95fan]

I think these young actresses that have had a little bit of success have people whispering in their ear, therefore they think they are more marketable than they really are.

Here is an interview with bombshell Danielle Brisebois talking about doing movies and a potential Stephanie spin off series. Keep in mind at the time of this interview, she really wasn't even being used on Archie's Place that much anymore.... movies?? Really....

https://books.google.com/books?id=kM...page&q&f=false

[Dude111]

I think it was stupid,she was excellent as Gloria!!

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by sm95fan

I think these young actresses that have had a little bit of success have people whispering in their ear, therefore they think they are more marketable than they really are.

Here is an interview with bombshell Danielle Brisebois talking about doing movies and a potential Stephanie spin off series. Keep in mind at the time of this interview, she really wasn't even being used on Archie's Place that much anymore.... movies?? Really....

https://books.google.com/books?id=kM...page&q&f=false

I think she was young and talking off the cuff. She was a kid on 2 hit shows after being discovered on Broadway. Being so young with such success I can see how she was in a bubble.
OMG Thank you for posting that link. I am from Pittsburgh and remember the Press. All that local stuff was like a trip down memory lane.
You could see movies for $1.50
See concerts for $12.00

[sm95fan]

Different pretty young actress, same story. Denise was thinking she could parlay her two year 'comeback' on ABP into movies....

https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid...26888614064674

[CJD88]

Im going through season 4 right now of ABP and I’m curious why Danielle was used so much less compared to the first 3 seasons. It’s very noticeable.

[Dude111]

Sadly alot of things are......

[sm95fan]

Originally Posted by CJD88

Im going through season 4 right now of ABP and I’m curious why Danielle was used so much less compared to the first 3 seasons. It’s very noticeable.

Just my personal speculation:
1. they had too many mouths to feed for a 1/2 hour show especially with a superstar like CoC who was gonna eat up a lot of camera time. So CoC decided to focus on Billie and Gary who he was hoping to spin off

2. Danielle mentioned in a 1994 interview she got a nice pay bump the last season. It was already an expensive show to make, CoC was being paid a ton$. So they only used Danielle for whatever her contractual minimum number of episodes were.

As you said her involvement fell off precipitously as the show went on. I counted the episodes that either focused primarily on beautiful Stephanie or she had a major role in. Out of twenty four episodes each year; season 2: fifteen (including the 4 that were held back because of the writers strike and aired the next season). Season 3: seven. Season 4: five. There were a lot of times in the last season & a half she only briefly appeared or wasn't on at all that week.

[TVFactFan]

Originally Posted by CJD88

Im going through season 4 right now of ABP and I’m curious why Danielle was used so much less compared to the first 3 seasons. It’s very noticeable.

This is a ALL in the family board not Archie Bunkers Place

[TMC]

A post shared by on Jan 01, 2022 at 12:00pm PDT

Sally Struthers Blasts “All in the Family”'s Norman Lear, Says She Spent $40K Trying to Leave the Beloved Show

• Sally Struthers, who played Gloria on All in the Family, opened up about her unpleasant memories of creator Norman Lear
  
• Struthers said that Lear never invited her over for dinner and that he told her he only cast her because she had “blue eyes and a fat face”
  
• The actress also said she spent $40,000 in legal fees trying to leave All in the Family after the fifth season, but lost and returned for three more seasons

[BestTVever]

I really admire Sally for coming forward with what she has to say about Norman Lear. She was treated horribly and I think we would all do the same. You realize what $40,000 was in 1975 in today's money?
She has been frequently criticized on this board for having a nothing character on the show. Now she has come forward to explain it. Its sad she was so disrespected by Lear.

[sm95fan]

Originally Posted by TMC

https://www.metv.com/stories/why-sal...-in-the-family

Struthers had been on the series for seven years and wanted to show that she was more than Gloria.

I think these cute young actresses that have had a little bit of success have handlers whispering in their ear, therefore they think they are more marketable than they really are.

The same thing happened to Danielle Brisebois. In this interview she talks about being picky with her next project thinking she'd be able to chose between movies, music, modeling, or a higher profile TV role than she had on the just canceled Archie's Place. Keep in mind at the time of this 1983 interview, she was coming off a couple seasons she really wasn't even being used on Archie much anymore. Of course nothing materialized and by the time she was 17 she was so desperate for work, she went down the exploitation highway in Mama II..

https://books.google.com/books?lr=&i...sebois&f=false

[sm95fan]

Originally Posted by CJD88

Im going through season 4 right now of ABP and I’m curious why Danielle was used so much less compared to the first 3 seasons. It’s very noticeable.

Remember the Stephanie Mills character was only supposed to last one year. She was added to help Archie and Edith wrap up a 9th and final season of AITF.

But when Archie's Place was conceived, there was probably some buyers remorse because a young woman didn't really fit on a show centered at a saloon. They did a good job of incorporating her for the first two seasons but Uncle Arch turned into a soccer mom. By season three they were out of ideas and had to add Denise Miller to appease the honchos. Since CoC was the superstar, it wasn't his role that was gonna be reduced.