Did Priscilla Barnes Ever Say This?

[jasonbigley]

I have read a few articles in the past saying that Priscilla said being on Three's Company was the worst 3 years of her life. I also read in these articles that they said she wanted to be let go from the show shortly after joining but do to contract obligations, she couldn't. I was wondering if there is any truth to her actually saying this.

[Mace Dolex]

It could've been mentioned on E!'s THS although I don't know if Priscilla felt outright miserable since her first day on the set, she might've started feeling uncomfortable around season 8.

[DJM77]

I saw her on TV one time saying that it was the worst 3 years of her life.

[TMC]

From my understanding, Priscilla Barnes said that during her time on Three's Company a male producer was really after her and it caused her a lot of stress. I think she was glad when the show finally ended.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

I heard she said it too but she's also appeared at TV conventions for Three's Company so maybe she's OK with the show now?

I don't understand how she could say this was the worst 3 years of her life! Does she realize how LUCKY she was?? Any one of us would LOVE to co-star on a hit show for 3 years!!

[TMC]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

I heard she said it too but she's also appeared at TV conventions for Three's Company so maybe she's OK with the show now?

I don't understand how she could say this was the worst 3 years of her life! Does she realize how LUCKY she was?? Any one of us would LOVE to co-star on a hit show for 3 years!!

She said that misogyny and sexism were rampant behind the scenes with the crew/production/execs and the blonde women in particular were treated as nothing but objects for all the men. She added that sometimes she'd have an idea and make a suggestion to the writers and producers, but they didn't want to even listen to her. So, she'd share her idea with John Ritter and ask him to pitch it to the writers. The writers cared about what John had to say, and they liked Priscilla's ideas when they came from John's mouth. This was very frustrating for her. To add insult to injury, they penalized her the last two years of her contract with Three's Company by giving her less money.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by TMC

She said that misogyny and sexism were rampant behind the scenes with the crew/production/execs and the blonde women in particular were treated as nothing but objects for all the men. She added that sometimes she'd have an idea and make a suggestion to the writers and producers, but they didn't want to even listen to her. So, she'd share her idea with John Ritter and ask him to pitch it to the writers. The writers cared about what John had to say, and they liked Priscilla's ideas when they came from John's mouth. This was very frustrating for her. To add insult to injury, they penalized her the last two years of her contract with Three's Company by giving her less money.

Really?? Why would they give her less money for the last 2 years??

But I never heard Suzanne or Jenilee Harrison say it was such a blonde bimbo culture behind the scenes.

[JackJanetChrissy]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

Really?? Why would they give her less money for the last 2 years??

But I never heard Suzanne or Jenilee Harrison say it was such a blonde bimbo culture behind the scenes.

Yeah pretty much everyone acknowledged that the producers were kind of crappy toward the women at one point or another, even John Ritter.

Suzanne has said in her books that the producers assumed she was a dumb blonde off screen because she played one on-screen, and all of the women (Jenilee and Suzanne included) have said that the producers treated them like children, very dismissive and discriminatory.

I'd never heard about Priscilla getting penalized in her contract the last two years but it doesn't surprise me. After Suzanne's big stink the producers liked to penalize/threaten the actors to keep them in line. They tried similar tactics with Richard Kline. He made a suggestion once and was written out for four episodes.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

If they did it to Richard too then they weren't just mistreating blonde women. Was Joyce mistreated too?

[JackJanetChrissy]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

If they did it to Richard too then they weren't just mistreating blonde women. Was Joyce mistreated too?

Yes, Joyce has been very vocal about it, too. Maybe Priscilla was joking about how sexist the producers were...as in, they were dismissive of women in general but thought blondes were exceptionally dumb because of the old stereotype? I'd have to hear her actual quote. But Joyce has been perhaps the most critical of the producers' misogyny/sexism over the years, so it definitely wasn't just blondes.

On a podcast last year Priscilla talked about a bad experience she had where one of the producers (I can't recall which one) actually propositioned her at a cast party with his wife sitting on the other side of the room. He was pretty crude, so perhaps she attributed being singled out to being blonde? I don't know.

As for Larry, that was the producers exerting tyrannical creative control over all the actors and not related to gender. The producers had a lot of issues going on, that's for sure.

[rcbrad]

Originally Posted by TMC

She said that misogyny and sexism were rampant behind the scenes with the crew/production/execs and the blonde women in particular were treated as nothing but objects for all the men. She added that sometimes she'd have an idea and make a suggestion to the writers and producers, but they didn't want to even listen to her. So, she'd share her idea with John Ritter and ask him to pitch it to the writers. The writers cared about what John had to say, and they liked Priscilla's ideas when they came from John's mouth. This was very frustrating for her. To add insult to injury, they penalized her the last two years of her contract with Three's Company by giving her less money.

I could be wrong but I remember hearing Joyce herself say (in a spoken interview) that she had to give her ideas to John to present to the producers. Maybe they both had to do this to have their voices heard?!

That environment sounds terrible. Such a fun happy show, it does not mix. No wonder Joyce had to embark on a spiritual journey and travel that lasted several years.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by rcbrad

I could be wrong but I remember hearing Joyce herself say (in a spoken interview) that she had to give her ideas to John to present to the producers. Maybe they both had to do this to have their voices heard?!

That environment sounds terrible. Such a fun happy show, it does not mix. No wonder Joyce had to embark on a spiritual journey and travel that lasted several years.

But I remember Joyce saying once they said ACTION! & started the actual taping of Three's Company in front of a live audience it was "COMPLETE and utter JOY"!

So I don't see why Priscilla, Richard, & all the other actors wouldn't feel the same way as far as the actual acting on the show goes right?

[JackJanetChrissy]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

But I remember Joyce saying once they said ACTION! & started the actual taping of Three's Company in front of a live audience it was "COMPLETE and utter JOY"!

So I don't see why Priscilla, Richard, & all the other actors wouldn't feel the same way as far as the actual acting on the show goes right?

To them it's a job. Bottom line. If you've ever had a job then you know that some parts are great and some parts are complete crap. Joyce said that the actual filming was joy. But that was only one day of the week. The rest of the week was dealing with people and the behind-the-scenes stuff, which is the part that was rocky.

And honestly I don't know if Priscilla felt the same way as Joyce about the tapings. I think she didn't like any of it.

[SitcomsHeydayfan]

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

To them it's a job. Bottom line. If you've ever had a job then you know that some parts are great and some parts are complete crap. Joyce said that the actual filming was joy. But that was only one day of the week. The rest of the week was dealing with people and the behind-the-scenes stuff, which is the part that was rocky.

And honestly I don't know if Priscilla felt the same way as Joyce about the tapings. I think she didn't like any of it.

It couldn't have been THAT bad or everyone would've quit. Why get into acting at all then?? As an actor you know from the get go that you may not like some co-stars, a director or producer, etc.

But Priscilla and Joyce have both shown up at Three's Company table at those TV conventions as well as other TC events so they must be OK with the show now. Especially Joyce since she's probably the most active TC alum.

[JackJanetChrissy]

Originally Posted by SitcomsHeydayfan

It couldn't have been THAT bad or everyone would've quit. Why get into acting at all then?? As an actor you know from the get go that you may not like some co-stars, a director or producer, etc.

But Priscilla and Joyce have both shown up at Three's Company table at those TV conventions as well as other TC events so they must be OK with the show now. Especially Joyce since she's probably the most active TC alum.

I think the stuff they dealt with behind the scenes went beyond most actors' reasonable expectations, and even if they had an idea going into it doesn't mean they have to automatically love it or sing its praises. You may disagree but obviously Joyce and Priscilla and others have their own opinions.

As for the TV conventions I think it's easier to forgive and forget when it's 40 years later and the money is rolling in. Also I think despite any personal issues with the show both Joyce and Priscilla appreciate the fans.