Joyce Dewitt - Physical Comedy - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Jinxey · 09-12-2015, 01:50 PM

I think that in the first four years of the show, Joyce Dewitt performed more physical comedy than Suzanne Somers.

What are your favorite bits with her during the entire series?

One of mine is from the episode "Old Folks At Home". She was hiding Leo in the broom closet and pretended to cough, only to get smacked by the door when Leo came out due to the smoke

There was also a tag scene from a fifth-season episode when Chrissy called Janet late at night and somehow Janet dozed off on the table and hung up the phone. Chrissy called back and Janet flipped off the table onto the rug

JackJanetChrissy · 09-12-2015, 02:48 PM

I agree with you. Many people say that Janet's physical comedy was ramped up when Suzanne left the show (Seasons 5-8), but honestly Janet was always getting thrown around by Jack in early seasons, too. She and Jack had a lot of fun interplay with physical humor--I recall her putting Jack on the floor while doing a karate move in "Janet's Promotion." When she did physical bits, she often seemed quite athletic (like John Ritter).

Chrissy didn't have as much physical humor, but some great instances I can think of are in Handcuffed (when she's handcuffed to Jack) and The Bake-Off (when she's stuffing pie in her mouth and making funny faces). Whenever Chrissy did that kind of thing it was more broad and clumsy rather than the athletic stunts of Janet.

JackJanetChrissy · 09-12-2015, 10:43 PM

Just watched "Coffee, Tea, or Jack?" from Season 2 (with Loni Anderson as guest-star). There's a really funny bit when Jack is telling the girls about how Susan (Anderson) had treated him, and he gets Janet in a headlock and then accidentally throws her through the swinging kitchen door. It's really funny.

JackJanetChrissy · 09-12-2015, 10:45 PM

There's also the really funny scene in "The Kleptomaniac," when Janet and Jack are hiding Mrs. Roper's shawl in the fridge, and Janet stands in front of the fridge door but Mr. Roper opens it anyway, moving Janet along with the door. The way she moves she looks like she's either plastered to the door or on wheels.

JSP · 09-12-2015, 10:59 PM

Thinking about all these instances really makes me wish Joyce further pursued the comedy post-Three's. The way she played Janet as elegant and educated at times and then at other times goofy and emotional just shows her broad ability as an actress. Chrissy, let's face it, was a less-demanding role to play. Personally even though it was Suzanne asking for money, I think Joyce should have always been paid more than Suzanne, simply because she did more. It's a shame she didn't want to continue down that route after Three's Company. It's too bad if her experience on Three's Company really made her disillusioned about the whole thing. Instead of running away, I wish she would have had the attitude of "I'll show them" and try to kick a** on a show of her own. And if Hollywood wasn't offering her said roles after Three's, well then they were idiots. Joyce was high-profile for a while there.

JackJanetChrissy · 09-12-2015, 11:49 PM

I agree, JSP, I wish Joyce would have pursued other stuff right after TC, too. I think she was a great actress and had a lot of talent for physical comedy. I've read that she often wanted to do even more physical comedy on Three's Company, but the producers told her that that was John Ritter's thing, so they couldn't have her doing too much slapstick. She had to fight (and Ritter helped her) to get the physical bits she did.

I understand her decision to back away, though. DeWitt strikes me as a sensitive and private person who feels things deeply, and I'm sure her experience in Three's Company (and instant fame) made her realize she didn't want to be part of the Hollywood/fame machine. She didn't like publicity when the show was a hit and avoided the spotlight. I believe she realized that she was expected to do another "big" show after Three's ended, and if she did smaller and more independent projects she'd be perceived or billed as a failure (which no doubt would be publicized), so she just took a break. There's really no winning in Hollywood unless you enjoy constant attention.

And I think she made the right choice. Look at Priscilla Barnes. She tried to do other stuff after Three's ended but couldn't get hired for serious roles. So she did a complete 180-turn and went the indie horror route, which has kinda ruined the public's perception of her post-Three's career.

JSP · 09-13-2015, 09:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

I agree, JSP, I wish Joyce would have pursued other stuff right after TC, too. I think she was a great actress and had a lot of talent for physical comedy. I've read that she often wanted to do even more physical comedy on Three's Company, but the producers told her that that was John Ritter's thing, so they couldn't have her doing too much slapstick. She had to fight (and Ritter helped her) to get the physical bits she did.

I understand her decision to back away, though. DeWitt strikes me as a sensitive and private person who feels things deeply, and I'm sure her experience in Three's Company (and instant fame) made her realize she didn't want to be part of the Hollywood/fame machine. She didn't like publicity when the show was a hit and avoided the spotlight. I believe she realized that she was expected to do another "big" show after Three's ended, and if she did smaller and more independent projects she'd be perceived or billed as a failure (which no doubt would be publicized), so she just took a break. There's really no winning in Hollywood unless you enjoy constant attention.

And I think she made the right choice. Look at Priscilla Barnes. She tried to do other stuff after Three's ended but couldn't get hired for serious roles. So she did a complete 180-turn and went the indie horror route, which has kinda ruined the public's perception of her post-Three's career.

I just think Joyce had a lot of potential there to be a famous comedian. I mean she was appearing on L'eggs commercials while doing Three's so she couldn't have been that scared of being in the spotlight. She must have gotten a reasonable amount of public attention between 77-84. I still really just don't understand her decision to walk away. Was it really a fear of failure? Heck, most projects in Hollywood are failures. If she didn't want the attention, then why was she pushing for Janet's role to be more challenging? It doesn't make sense to me she wanted to prove herself as a serious comedian/actress while on Three's yet once the show is over, completely walk away. It seems to me after Three's she would have had more chances than ever to have the kind of career she wanted.

JackJanetChrissy · 09-13-2015, 10:48 AM

I think there's a difference between being an actor and being in the spotlight.

For example, Suzanne Somers LOVED being a star---she didn't mind being hounded by paparazzi or coming out with a line of posters, shirts, etc with her face on them, as long as it meant she had money and publicity. Suzanne also has said herself that the work and acting mattered much less to her, since her main goal was money.

Joyce wasn't like that. She saw acting as real art and "work," not as a means to huge money and fame. While she was on Three's Company she wanted to be challenged and took it seriously because it was serious work to her. For her it was more about her feeling satisfied that she did a good job and did good for the show. I don't think the outside attention mattered to her as much, i.e. interviews, promotional photos, magazine covers etc., and that's part and parcel of Hollywood if Dewitt had stayed. Yes, she did the L'eggs commercials, but after Three's Company her doing commercials stopped, too. I think she just wanted out.

JSP · 09-13-2015, 12:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JackJanetChrissy

I think there's a difference between being an actor and being in the spotlight.

Joyce wasn't like that. She saw acting as real art and "work," not as a means to huge money and fame. While she was on Three's Company she wanted to be challenged and took it seriously because it was serious work to her. For her it was more about her feeling satisfied that she did a good job and did good for the show.

I suppose you're right. I guess acting is ultimately no different from other lines of work. It's a job and it doesn't necessarily mean you want to be a social butterfly after your work is done, either. Actors have their own personalities like other people.

Sometimes that's hard for laypeople like myself to understand. Not everybody that goes to Hollywood ends up wanting to stay there.

Jinxey · 09-13-2015, 01:42 PM

One hilarious scene took place in "Case of The Missing Blonde" when Jack & Janet were sleeping on the couch and Jack kicked Janet off the arm. Janet made a 3-point landing on the rug
lmfao

09-12-2015, 01:50 PM	#1
Jinxey Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 27, 2005 Posts: 554	Joyce Dewitt - Physical Comedy I think that in the first four years of the show, Joyce Dewitt performed more physical comedy than Suzanne Somers. What are your favorite bits with her during the entire series? One of mine is from the episode "Old Folks At Home". She was hiding Leo in the broom closet and pretended to cough, only to get smacked by the door when Leo came out due to the smoke There was also a tag scene from a fifth-season episode when Chrissy called Janet late at night and somehow Janet dozed off on the table and hung up the phone. Chrissy called back and Janet flipped off the table onto the rug

09-12-2015, 02:48 PM	#2
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I agree with you. Many people say that Janet's physical comedy was ramped up when Suzanne left the show (Seasons 5-8), but honestly Janet was always getting thrown around by Jack in early seasons, too. She and Jack had a lot of fun interplay with physical humor--I recall her putting Jack on the floor while doing a karate move in "Janet's Promotion." When she did physical bits, she often seemed quite athletic (like John Ritter). Chrissy didn't have as much physical humor, but some great instances I can think of are in Handcuffed (when she's handcuffed to Jack) and The Bake-Off (when she's stuffing pie in her mouth and making funny faces). Whenever Chrissy did that kind of thing it was more broad and clumsy rather than the athletic stunts of Janet.

09-12-2015, 10:43 PM	#3
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	Just watched "Coffee, Tea, or Jack?" from Season 2 (with Loni Anderson as guest-star). There's a really funny bit when Jack is telling the girls about how Susan (Anderson) had treated him, and he gets Janet in a headlock and then accidentally throws her through the swinging kitchen door. It's really funny.

09-12-2015, 10:45 PM	#4
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	There's also the really funny scene in "The Kleptomaniac," when Janet and Jack are hiding Mrs. Roper's shawl in the fridge, and Janet stands in front of the fridge door but Mr. Roper opens it anyway, moving Janet along with the door. The way she moves she looks like she's either plastered to the door or on wheels.

09-12-2015, 10:59 PM	#5
JSP Member Senior Member Join Date: Aug 19, 2003 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 2,735	Thinking about all these instances really makes me wish Joyce further pursued the comedy post-Three's. The way she played Janet as elegant and educated at times and then at other times goofy and emotional just shows her broad ability as an actress. Chrissy, let's face it, was a less-demanding role to play. Personally even though it was Suzanne asking for money, I think Joyce should have always been paid more than Suzanne, simply because she did more. It's a shame she didn't want to continue down that route after Three's Company. It's too bad if her experience on Three's Company really made her disillusioned about the whole thing. Instead of running away, I wish she would have had the attitude of "I'll show them" and try to kick a** on a show of her own. And if Hollywood wasn't offering her said roles after Three's, well then they were idiots. Joyce was high-profile for a while there.

09-12-2015, 11:49 PM	#6
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I agree, JSP, I wish Joyce would have pursued other stuff right after TC, too. I think she was a great actress and had a lot of talent for physical comedy. I've read that she often wanted to do even more physical comedy on Three's Company, but the producers told her that that was John Ritter's thing, so they couldn't have her doing too much slapstick. She had to fight (and Ritter helped her) to get the physical bits she did. I understand her decision to back away, though. DeWitt strikes me as a sensitive and private person who feels things deeply, and I'm sure her experience in Three's Company (and instant fame) made her realize she didn't want to be part of the Hollywood/fame machine. She didn't like publicity when the show was a hit and avoided the spotlight. I believe she realized that she was expected to do another "big" show after Three's ended, and if she did smaller and more independent projects she'd be perceived or billed as a failure (which no doubt would be publicized), so she just took a break. There's really no winning in Hollywood unless you enjoy constant attention. And I think she made the right choice. Look at Priscilla Barnes. She tried to do other stuff after Three's ended but couldn't get hired for serious roles. So she did a complete 180-turn and went the indie horror route, which has kinda ruined the public's perception of her post-Three's career.

09-13-2015, 10:48 AM	#8
JackJanetChrissy Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 18, 2014 Posts: 1,005	I think there's a difference between being an actor and being in the spotlight. For example, Suzanne Somers LOVED being a star---she didn't mind being hounded by paparazzi or coming out with a line of posters, shirts, etc with her face on them, as long as it meant she had money and publicity. Suzanne also has said herself that the work and acting mattered much less to her, since her main goal was money. Joyce wasn't like that. She saw acting as real art and "work," not as a means to huge money and fame. While she was on Three's Company she wanted to be challenged and took it seriously because it was serious work to her. For her it was more about her feeling satisfied that she did a good job and did good for the show. I don't think the outside attention mattered to her as much, i.e. interviews, promotional photos, magazine covers etc., and that's part and parcel of Hollywood if Dewitt had stayed. Yes, she did the L'eggs commercials, but after Three's Company her doing commercials stopped, too. I think she just wanted out.

09-13-2015, 01:42 PM	#10
Jinxey Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 27, 2005 Posts: 554	One hilarious scene took place in "Case of The Missing Blonde" when Jack & Janet were sleeping on the couch and Jack kicked Janet off the arm. Janet made a 3-point landing on the rug lmfao