Suzanne Somers was an equal pay pioneer

[TMC]

https://www.cracked.com/article_3987...0that%20decade.)

Suzanne Somers Was a Pioneer in Demanding Equal Pay With Male Comedy Costars. Two women in 1977 — living with a man? On the heels of the Sexual Revolution, you'd think this wouldn't be a big deal. (A 1978 study found that cohabitation had increased 117% since the beginning of that decade.)

[BestTVever]

She was. But she went about it all the wrong way. Penny Marshal sort of ruined it for Suzanne. Penny made the same request as Suzanne and was successful. ABC got hurt because Laverne and Shirley tanked in the ratings right after that.
Suzanne was going after equal pay but she also was saying it was justified because she was the star of the show. This is what her husband told her and the network. It just was so arrogant especially when she was faking illness and not showing up.

[thejasoomian]

Yet, another false article that states John Ritter was making $150,000 per episode when in fact he was only making $50,000 per episode. As per Chris Mann's book.

Suzanne didn't want "equal" pay she wanted way more than John and considered herself the star of the show.

[JumpSteady]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

Yet, another false article that states John Ritter was making $150,000 per episode when in fact he was only making $50,000 per episode. As per Chris Mann's book.

Suzanne didn't want "equal" pay she wanted way more than John and considered herself the star of the show.

She wasn’t asking for equal pay. She was asking for triple John Ritter’s pay plus 10% of the profits.

[Duster76]

Suzanne and her husband were smart business people, both realized the show was turning quickly from Three's Company to The John Ritter Show. She wasn't interested in becoming the sitcom equivalent to the round girl at a boxing match. The situation that developed on the series could have been resolved with Suzanne staying but that was not the desire of the series star (Ritter), and the producers went along with it to keep him happy (and he was making them money).

[TMC]

Originally Posted by thejasoomian

Yet, another false article that states John Ritter was making $150,000 per episode when in fact he was only making $50,000 per episode. As per Chris Mann's book.

Suzanne didn't want "equal" pay she wanted way more than John and considered herself the star of the show.

Suzanne was if I'm mistaken, making $30,000 per episode circa 1977. In today's money, that would be about $152,988 per week.

[TMC]

Originally Posted by JumpSteady

She wasn’t asking for equal pay. She was asking for triple John Ritter’s pay plus 10% of the profits.

It's been explained that the Three's Company contracts were for John Ritter (the star and central focus) to make the most. The two actress roommates (Joyce DeWitt and Suzanne Somers) made half of his salary (but the same amount level) and the Ropers (Norman Fell and Audra Lindley) made half of the female roommates (but the same amount level).

• Ropers = $20,000 each episode.
  
• Girl roommates = $40,000 each episode.
  
• Jack = $80,000 each episode.

The contracts had clauses in them that John would be paid double what anyone else made in the cast. Suzanne wanted $200,000 each episode (so they'd have to pay Joyce the exact same amount) and John would end up with $400,000 an episode. The Ropers would've been entitled to $100,000 each as a result. ABC and the powers that be at Three's Company spun the Ropers off into their own show to save money. And they had a good excuse as the UK Ropers were given their own show prior to the US show.

In effect, if ABC gave into Suzanne's demands, then the cast cost per episode would've gone up five times to $1,000,000 per episode without adding up guest stars, writers, and the remaining wardrobe & crew paychecks. 22 episodes would've been well over $33 million a season when you added up everything including the print ads and commercials for publicity.

[BestTVever]

I did not realize John was making THAT much more money than the girls. Suzanne should have focused on her own show to make her point instead of comparing herself to Alan Alda on another network. She had a point that women on top rated shows were paid substantially less. But she should have bonded with Joyce to make that point about her own show. John and Joyce hated when commentators made Suzanne as the star of TC and they were supporting cast. She should have flipped that script on her own show. Her main claim was she was the star of the show and the show would not be successful without her. The equality claim was second fiddle.

[DEH55]

Suzanne deserved a big raise. Along with Laverne and Shirley she was the most popular woman on TV. Her mistake was getting her husband to negotiate for her. And then the producers decided to make a example out of her. Even Richard Kline admitted that what they did to Suzanne in that last season was ridiculous. It was a old boys network so its no surprise.

[BestTVever]

Threes Company producer on her contract negotiations
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ynDbJlOtXE

[ClarenceAlabama]

Why wouldn't they offer Suzanne Somers a spin off series?

Suzanne Somers was one of the most famous women on television at the time. The producer said in the interview the network wouldn't let them fire her during season 5.

The Ropers spin off was just cancelled before Three's Company started season 5 in 1980.

They could have offered her $100,000 an episode to star in her own show and aired it after Three's Company. That seems like a good compromise. John and Joyce wouldn't have to deal with her, and the producers could have used her to make money.

She loved the character of Chrissy Snow, so I'm sure she would have been happy with that.

[DEH55]

I wouldn't believe a lot of the producer's side of the story. They were a bunch of sexist old men.

[PaperClips]

Originally Posted by BestTVever

I did not realize John was making THAT much more money than the girls. Suzanne should have focused on her own show to make her point instead of comparing herself to Alan Alda on another network. She had a point that women on top rated shows were paid substantially less. But she should have bonded with Joyce to make that point about her own show. John and Joyce hated when commentators made Suzanne as the star of TC and they were supporting cast. She should have flipped that script on her own show. Her main claim was she was the star of the show and the show would not be successful without her. The equality claim was second fiddle.

It wouldn't have mattered if she bonded with Joyce - Joyce didn't have the leverage and could have quickly been replaced.

It was crazy to give that contract to Ritter for an unknown. 'He could have easily discarded it and asked equal pay. Didn't happen.

I think the reason DeWitt sided with Ritter was because she knew if she went with Suzanne, they could have easily discarded her, gave Suzanne her salary and hire someone to replace her on the cheap.

Worked out the best for Suzanne in the end money-wise.

[Dianne3]

Suzanne's contract dispute was a blessing.
By that point Chrissy was ruining the show.

[BestTVever]

Originally Posted by ClarenceAlabama

Why wouldn't they offer Suzanne Somers a spin off series?

Suzanne Somers was one of the most famous women on television at the time. The producer said in the interview the network wouldn't let them fire her during season 5.

The Ropers spin off was just cancelled before Three's Company started season 5 in 1980.

They could have offered her $100,000 an episode to star in her own show and aired it after Three's Company. That seems like a good compromise. John and Joyce wouldn't have to deal with her, and the producers could have used her to make money.

She loved the character of Chrissy Snow, so I'm sure she would have been happy with that.

After the stunts she pulled with ABC? If you watch the clip I posted with the producer she ran into him at the courthouse when she was suing them. She wanted to forget everything and come back to the show. His response. NEVER.
She would practice all week and then call in sick and the episode could not be recorded. Worse still is that she would not allow the network doctor to examine her so ABC's insurance policy could not be enacted. They ate so much freaking money because of her stunts. She was acting like a spoiled child. ABC was done with her and they also made sure no other network would hire her as the Chrissy character which she made famous. Her behavior also spooked other networks almost like when Farah Fawcett got blacklisted for her demand to be paid more and trying to void her contract.