12 Actors Who Screwed Up Their Big TV Chances By Getting Fired

[TMC]

We usually think of television actors and actresses as having it good, especially when they land a role on a successful show. Yet, recent years have seen high profile actors fired from their shows after exhibiting bizarre behavior and often crossing the lines of decency. Whatever the cause, these actors and actresses lose the success they worked so hard to obtain and often find it hard to reestablish themselves in Hollywood. And, to make matters worse, their foibles are broadcast in the tabloids for all the world to see, cementing their reputations for years to come.

It’s happened many, many times over the history of television and it will continue to happen as long as actors and actresses remain imperfect people. These are the top 12 actors and actresses who seriously screwed up a big television gig by being fired. Some of them were fired for personal reasons while others were fired for practical reasons. Yet, what they all have in common is that they were a part of a big-name television show… and blew it.

Read more at http://whatculture.com/tv/12-actors-...YmAq9XULtD7.99

12. Mackenzie Phillips – One Day At A Time

11. Grace Lee Whitney – Star Trek

10. Valerie Harper – Valerie

9. Brett Butler – Grace Under Fire

8. Lisa Bonet – A Different World & The Cosby Show

7. Charlie Sheen – Two And A Half Men

6. Suzanne Somers – Three’s Company

5. Damon Wayans – Saturday Night Live

4. Dana Plato – Diff’rent Strokes

3. Shannen Doherty – Beverly Hills, 90210, Charmed & 90210

2. Janet Hubert-Whitten – The Fresh-Prince Of Bel-Air

1. Isaiah Washington – Grey’s Anatomy

[Sal]

13. Robert Downey Jr - Ally McBeal

The show was never the same after he left.

[noveel]

possibly the guy who played Cochroach on the Cosby Show after Coz demanded he stop using chemicals in his hair

[ThomasE]

Regarding Shannen Doerthy, I checked that link. I think that it is totally false!!! First off, she was not fired after that first episode. She had two scenes in the first episode. It did not seem enough to constitute a firing.

She signed on to do four episodes and was not going to do anymore. Shannon said she did the four eps a "thank you" to her fans. The producers made a deal with her to do another two episodes. Then arranged for her to do another episode for the finale of the first season.

The second season saw changes with the switching of producers. The new producers wanted to take the show in a new direction. They decided not to use Shannon anymore. Then Jennie Garth appeared in fewer episodes and then eventually left.

That is how everything went down.

[factsoflife]

Originally Posted by ThomasE

Regarding Shannen Doerthy, I checked that link. I think that it is totally false!!! First off, she was not fired after that first episode. She had two scenes in the first episode. It did not seem enough to constitute a firing.

She signed on to do four episodes and was not going to do anymore. Shannon said she did the four eps a "thank you" to her fans. The producers made a deal with her to do another two episodes. Then arranged for her to do another episode for the finale of the first season.

The second season saw changes with the switching of producers. The new producers wanted to take the show in a new direction. They decided not to use Shannon anymore. Then Jennie Garth appeared in fewer episodes and then eventually left.

That is how everything went down.

I was going to write the same exact thing... What really happened is basically the producers decided to retool the show to focus more on the new characters and used less and less of the older characters.....

This was one time she was not fired...


ALSO, on Charmed, Shannen maintains that while there were major issues on-set w/her and the cast, the main reason she left that show was due to a need to get sober, she claims she was heavy into drinking and that after getting a DUI she felt the need to leave the show to get sober.

[ThomasE]

Thank you for clearing that rumor up about "Charmed" as well. Someone who understands where I'm coming from. Thanks much.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by factsoflife

ALSO, on Charmed, Shannen maintains that while there were major issues on-set w/her and the cast, the main reason she left that show was due to a need to get sober, she claims she was heavy into drinking and that after getting a DUI she felt the need to leave the show to get sober.

I still think that constitutes "screwing up her chances". She's had many chances to get along with her co-workers, and has never been able to do so. She's difficult to work with, whether she's sober or on substances.

[UMFaninMD]

Lisa Bonet also had a falling out with Bill Cosby over her decision to do the movie Angel Heart. In the film, she has a pretty vivid sex scene with Mickey Rourke. Rumor had it that Cosby wanted his on-screen kids to be just as wholesome off-screen too and Bonet wanted to do more adult material. In her case, I think it wasn't so much bad career moves due to attitude or personal problems, but a moral clash with a conservative group she was working for.

[SitcomsOffline]

Originally Posted by TMC

6. Suzanne Somers – Three’s Company

5. Damon Wayans – Saturday Night Live

Originally Posted by noveel

possibly the guy who played Cochroach on the Cosby Show after Coz demanded he stop using chemicals in his hair

It depends on how you define "Big TV chances" and "screwed."

Carl Anthony Payne II did have a starring role as Cole Brown on "Martin" for the entire show's run, and "Martin" was a fairly successful series.

(as a side bar, I'm not sure if anyone noticed, but Carl Anthony Payne II almost always wore a hat when he played his Cole Brown character on "Martin." I'm not sure if that had anything to do with fall out he had with Bill Cosby).

As far as Suzanne Somers, she had a starring role as Carol Lambert on "Step by Step" for the entire show's run, which was also a fairly successful series.

Finally, Damon Wayans was a lead actor on "In Living Color" and played the lead role on "My Wife and Kids" (both fairly successful series), granted both of these shows were produced by him and his brothers, so there was some nepotism involved naturally.

So the aforementioned folks (I don't think) were ever completely shut out.

[SitcomsOffline]

I'm surprised no one mentioned Shelley Long from "Cheers."

While she wasn't fired per se, her strong personality (apparently, she was typecasted as Diane Chambers) frequently clashed with the rest of the cast members and production staff which made her time on the set of Cheers miserable enough to the point where she left after Season 5.

(see what Bette Midler said about working with Shelley Long)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_djUlyQ8q54

Long leaving Cheers pretty much killed her successful acting career that was beginning to bud, as hollywood realized she was too difficult to work with.

[megamanj2004]

Fred "Rerun" Berry. His behavior in demanding more money also influenced his other cast members (particularly Ernest Thomas) to walk off the set on the original run of What's Happening!!

When he tried to demand more money again during What's Happening Now!!, the producers there did not budge and they showed him the door after the first season.

[FuriosityShell]

Bill Cosby had no problem with Lisa Bonet doing Angel Heart, she said it herself. The only time she was officially fired was in season seven due to her showing up late on set an exhibiting "unprofessional behavior."

[noveel]

Originally Posted by FuriosityShell

Bill Cosby had no problem with Lisa Bonet doing Angel Heart, she said it herself. The only time she was officially fired was in season seven due to her showing up late on set an exhibiting "unprofessional behavior."

he did have a problem with men using chemicals in their hair

[Wawwie]

Michael Muhney - The Young & The Restless: Fired for sexual harassment of another actress on the show.

[king of comedy]

I was sad when Dana Plato was fired from Differant Strokes but shocked when she died.