Great Pods
Three's Company E! True Hollywood Story 12-27-98
Key Points
Three's Company premiered March 15, 1977 and became an instant hit, consistently ranking in the Nielsen top 10
The show was based on the British series "Man About the House" and featured a man living platonically with two female roommates
John Ritter, Suzanne Summers, and Joyce DeWitt became international superstars through the show's success
Suzanne Summers demanded $150,000 per episode and 10% ownership of the program in 1980, leading to a bitter contract dispute
The show faced criticism from religious groups and conservative watchdogs who considered it immoral and indecent
Summers was eventually demoted to brief phone call appearances after missing multiple episodes during contract negotiations
ABC fired Suzanne Summers in April 1981 after she refused to return due to the hostile work environment
The show introduced multiple replacement characters: Jenny Lee Harrison as Cindy Snow and later Priscilla Barnes as Terri Alden
Don Knotts joined the cast as landlord Ralph Furley after Norman Fell and Audra Lindley left for "The Ropers" spin-off
Three's Company reached #1 in ratings in February 1978 and won the People's Choice Award for favorite comedy series
The show's success was built on physical comedy, sexual innuendo, and double entendres, earning it the "jiggle show" label
Behind-the-scenes tensions included Joyce DeWitt feeling ignored by producers and conflicts over creative control
John Ritter won both a Golden Globe and Emmy Award in 1984 for his portrayal of Jack Tripper
The series ended in 1984 after 8 seasons with 174 episodes, spinning off into "Three's a Crowd" which lasted only one season
Summers filed arbitration suits against producers but was awarded only $30,000 for one missed episode
The show's legacy includes being considered an early predecessor to "Seinfeld" as a "show about nothing"
Cast relationships remained strained for decades, with some wounds never fully healing between former co-stars
The series faced ongoing battles with network censors who scrutinized every potentially suggestive line or situation
Full Transcript
Language: en in the age of disco and Swinging singles one risque a sitcom ruled the ratings but behind the scenes of Three's Company these wacky roommates waged a bitter War battle lines were being drawn now in exclusive interviews the original cast breaks the silence I was lied to to my face and reveals what tore apart TV's hippest Trio I wish I didn't have to leave with all these people hating me thre's company tonight at 8 Eastern and Pacific on the E True Hollywood Story me move in here with you too mhm are you serious yeah of course you'll have to share everything gladly in March of 1977 a handsome Bachelor named Jack Tripper moved into an apartment with two gorgeous roommates Janet and Chrissy this simple premise launched the tele series 3's company the show's liberal dose of sexy escapades and wild slapstick made it a runaway smash the network you know come to run throughs like this only till we were a top 10 then they were like hi how can we you a lot of it had to do with sex who was getting it who wasn't getting it why weren't they getting it how could a guy live with two girls and not get it for eight years Three's Company jiggled and stumbled its way to top 10 ratings cast members Suzanne Summer John Ritter and Joyce DT became International Superstars but the show's success created trouble money trouble she was greedy and there was no reason for it at the height of the show's popularity Suzanne Summers bitter contract dispute halted production and threatened to topple the multi-million doll Enterprise he said we $150,000 an episode and 10% ownership of the program in the next 2 hours The E True Hollywood Story takes you back to The Swinging 70s to go behind the scenes of one of the most popular comedies in television history we did a one act show every Friday night they were Little Gems through vintage film clips rare photographs and in-depth interviews you'll learn how The Producers cast and crew created a loving family that was ripped apart in a messy divorce it was really ugly and there were a lot of tears and for the first time in nearly 20 years Suzanne Summers John Ritter Joyce dwit and the entire cast reflect on the show that brought them Fame and Fortune and the wounds that for some have yet to heal it was difficult enough hurtful enough disappointing enough in terms of disrespectful treatment that um I did have to disappear this is the story of how one popular television show spawned a Litany of ego and Excess power and greed this is the story of the meteoric rise and turbulent run of three company The E True Hollywood Story the of being one of her life's ambition was to be [Applause] a long before Jack Tripper ever tumbled over a piece of furniture or Chrissy snow melted Hearts around the world three swinging singles in Britain were stirring up controversy in the mid '70s in a racy comedy called man about the house in 1975 Don taffner was the US Representative for British programming giant Tim's television taffner thought man about the house had tremendous potential as an American Series so he contacted his partner Ted Bergman I then presented man about the house to all three networks ABC CBS and NBC and all the program Department deps love the show they thought it was great but when they took it to their standards practices censors quote unquote uh all three had to turn it down they said you're not having a man living with two girls on our Network within weeks however Fred Silverman became the new programming Chief at ABC immediately after he was hired Silverman called Bergman with a question you still have that uh British show with a guy living with two girls and I said yes he said well I want to develop it I said well your standards and practices people have turned it down he said let me worry about them author Chris man chronicled the history of thre's company in his 1998 book come and knock on our door it was Fred Silverman who really was The Mastermind behind it who knew that this would be the same breakthrough and sexiness as All in the Family was and after one aborted pilot script Silverman ordered Bergman to hire the best comedy writer he could find Larry gelbart who created and wrote and produced mash the TV version was the hottest writer at the time Gilbert began writing what he envisioned would be a sophisticated comedy casting began in January 1976 on what was now being called thre company 28-year-old John Ritter son of famed country musician Tex Ritter was every body's first choice to play lovable Jack Tripper executive producer Donald taffner when we saw him everybody just looked around and said that's the guy it was just it was amazing I don't think I've ever done that before you know that was the guy I didn't even do that when I got married Ritter gained National recognition playing the softs spoken Reverend fordwick on the TV series The Waltons I had this little bit that I did when I was on The Waltons with my friends you know who were some of them actors some of them not but I'd say I can't go in there because I'll be mobbed everyone knows I'm Reverend fordwick from the Waltons of course no one I knew watched The Waltons except for my parents actress Valerie curtain won the role of Jenny the smart and Sassy brunette while relative unknown Suzanne xenor beat out dozens of eager blondes as the intellectually challenged Samantha rounding out the cast were industry veterans Norman Fel and Audra Lindley as the bickering landlords The Ropers I read it and I said uh I haven't played a lot of comedy you know I was playing serious stuff and cops and all kinds of stuff like that so I said I think this might be fun Larry gelbart pilot taped in mid-march of 1976 at the time ABC's West Coast operations were headed by current Disney Chief Michael Eisner I went back to Eisner and Eisner said we don't like the girls you've got in there uh you have to make another pilot and I said you don't have the right to make us make another pilot your only right is to pick up the series for either the fall or for January for midseason Ted Bergman was not willing at first to remake this pilot just so ABC could sit on it for another season and so he took the pilot to his friend um Bud Grant at CBS he wouldn't let me out of the office until we screened it for Bob Daly who was his boss and at that point they said what do you want what Bergman wanted and got was a commitment from CBS to Air 13 episodes of Three's Company if ABC passed on its option Bergman returned to the Beverly Hills Hotel to call his partner Don taffner with the good news Fred Silverman was in the Next Room and overheard this conversation so it was very much like thre's company the next morning I got a phone call which started out with where are you I said I'm in the Beverly Hills Hotel who is this he said this is Freddy Silverman I'm in the Beverly Hills Hotel too I said oh that's interesting he said what's going on with Three's Company I said well your man Eisner is giving us a very difficult time he said well what do you want I said I want a commitment for midseason from ABC for the series ABC and the producers reached to compromise the network promised to air six episodes but only if a second pilot was produced with new female leads since Larry Gilbert's contract only called for him to write one pilot he Departed the project it was at that point that I brought Nichol Ross and West into the show Don nickel Michael Mickey Ross and Bernie West known as nrw first joined forces while riding All in the Family for Norman Lear after creating The Jeffersons they became hot Commodities in in Hollywood Bernie West recalls their first pitch meeting with producer Ted Bergman we sat around and listened to the uh ideas and we we I thought it was a a very u a very good idea you know a young man living with two women and uh it's completely platonic but little uh things come up that uh uh make it uh provocative nrw came on board and made an immediate and drastic change in the style of the show they saw Three's Company as pure bedroom farce loaded with mistaken identities sexual innuendo and double on tonel not tonight Helen I got a they wanted it to be um provocative certainly but I think they also wanted it to have youth appeal and I think that's what nrw brought to it John Ritter certainly had the youth appeal but the writing um became much more Whimsical and silly after altering the format nrw set about recasting the women 27-year-old Joyce dwit was offered the part of Janet Wood without having to audition DT was under contract to ABC and was championed by Network head Fred Silverman Fred wanted John and Fred wanted me and that's what was happening um that's it was his baby casting the role of Chrissy snow the naive blonde proved to be much more challenging the really attractive young ladies didn't didn't most of them had lacked the personality to do comedy a new Chrissy was hired but she was replaced by actress Susan laner just days before the second pilot taped on November 5th 1976 ABC programming Chief Fred Silverman liked everything about the second pilot except Susan lanir a frantic search was launched to find a new blonde to bring Chrissy to life Fred Silverman recommended Suzanne Summers he had seen her on a one of their hour shows 29-year-old Suzanne Summers was best known as the blonde and the teabird in the movie American Graffiti but Summers had caught Fred Silverman's eye in an episode of stari and Hutch I mean to put it all out front the marriage broke up because there was hardly ever a sex scene I mean not that we we couldn't get it together if you know what I mean it's like um he goes for gambling the hores basketball football you know a real Sports freak and then I get this call from my then manager who said um there's this interview they're really interested in you called Threes Company and I said I really don't want to go I had decided that I was leaving the business because I had uh done nine television pilots in the Years prior to thre's company and all of them failed but Summers did attend the audition The Producers were getting desperate without a Chrissy production would have to be postponed yet again Fred Silverman said so that's that's a step in the right direction so rather than we closed down we took Suzanne Ted Bergman was dubious At first she could not do comedy she had never done comedy but Summers had the look and the naive The Producers were searching for and she was hired the third Threes Company pilot was taped on February 11th 1977 the show aired a month later on March 15th the first week the show ranked in like the top 30 the second week it was in the top 10 top top five it was an enormous hit it was number one in its time slot so it was an immediate success and it shocked people because at that time a mid-season replacement uh had never done that well coming up no one can ever be prepared for that kind of Fame it was literally overnight I was one person on Monday and on Tuesday I was a different same dramas dirty frighten paranoid new time The E True Hollywood Story now at its new time 8:00 every night only on E introducing the Acura MDX taking the SUV to a place it's never been before W Abner we're rich we're rich it's our new litter it's got diamonds in it diamonds what's a diamond a diamond is a very valuable you are mistaken my friends the diamonds are crystals in New Tidy Cats crystals blend the clay traps moisture the crystals eliminate odor and that is the only reason I agreed to live here with the likes of you whatever new Tidy Cats crystals blend I still think they're diamonds I want to do more than just fight a few signs of aging I want to stop it in its tracks new Total effects with UV protection fight seven signs of aging and helps prevent UV damage to collagen and elastin total effects from Olay now with UV protection I watch this guy in his bathroom when he's getting ready for work I don't know how old he is 27 28 maybe I want you to want me he's really not my timee he flosses way too much but you can't rule out a guy who knows all the words to one of the greatest songs of all time producing the 10-minute breakthrough get beautiful gentle longlasting hair color in just 10 minutes with revlon's high dimension permanent hair color it'll take you longer to get dressed high dimension hair color only from Revlon make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop wa them for mat Twisted Metal black my name is Forest scum people call me Forest Gump now on DVD The Forest Gump special collector's edition this two dis set contains over two hours of special features Forest Gump now on DVD buy it today the JC Penney Labor Day sale so good nothing will get you down save 20 to 50% storewide plus save an extra 10% using your penny card it's all inside smile on JC Penny sing dramas new time The E True Hollywood Story now at its new time 8:00 every night only I just needed a salad salad bowl right so I took her to this new place called house to home she got the salad bowl oh so fabulous oh and then I found the most beautiful curtains that just pulled her whole apartment together and the most stylish new picture frame for the corner that is just adorable in that place introducing house to home everything for inside and outside your home in one huge store and we found the perfect bik has been hamina Jamina oh whatever house to home the incredible Home Decorating Superstore a lot of colleges offer training programs but few give you the opportunity to earn a good income while you're in school MTI College of Business and Technology offers FastTrack degree programs that can prepare you for a great job in just 12 months better yet you'll be working in your field while you're finishing your degree for over 35 years MTI has provided training for careers in business legal and computer technology for a quicker way to hire pay call click or visit MTI after surviving two sets Riders three pilots and four Chrissy snows thre's company finally debuted on ABC on March 15th 1977 the show was an instant hit and the lives of the cast members changed Forever by 1977 its second season Three's Company was consistently ranking in the neelon top 10 I'll let you in on a little scoop today we found out that the National neelon came in on our first rerun last Thursday and we were number [Applause] National fans Lov the broad physical comedy and racy double on Tundras yeah there's nothing a girl likes more than a little tickle on the [Laughter] tummy actor Paul Angley played the bartender at the show's hip Watering Hole the Regal Beagle a lot of it had to do with sex who was getting it who wasn't getting it why weren't they getting it how could a guy live with two girls and not get it from the two girls ABC paired the show with another Brash news series soap on Tuesday nights critics lambasted the network for eroding the moral standards of prime time television Richard Klein played threes company's swinging Bachelor Larry Dallas the critical response to Threes Company if indeed these people ever saw more than one episode which they hadn't uh was to Pan the show as being a jiggle show jiggle humor was a thinly veiled reference to Suzanne summers's ample assets when I would do the character of Chrissy I would get so within that I would uh lose lose sight of what my body was doing which was just so delicious because nothing was ever planned I remember jumping back and forth and jumping back and forth and when I saw it on screen my breasts were going back and forth and I think that's where Queen of the jiggle started author Chris man I think a lot lot of the critics misunderstood the show I don't think they realized that it was a farce that the show didn't take itself seriously it was a silly farce about three people living together and I think the critics made it their Whipping Boy The public's support helped ease the sting of bad reviews the critics hated this show because it was a show about nothing a show about nothing that the public loved and that eventually you know kicked everybody out of the water but the attacks didn't only come from the outside execs at ABC faced The Dilemma of airing a wildly successful show that was getting publicity for all the wrong reasons our ratings were were enormous and um but in spite of that the network had almost an inferiority complex about the show there was a little bit of embarrassment because th company had problems with some conservative Watchdog groups and was having problems with some advertisers so th's company became ABC's dark secret much like Ellen in the 9s because of the Uproar Network sensors meticulously scrutinized each episode they were definitely uh on our backs all the time and we didn't have very much muscle until the show really began to score at times the scrutiny reached an absurd level writer producer Kim weop the line as written was hey tarzen can I swing from your Vine and the network says no you can absolutely cannot say that we we understood that it was one of those situations where you were probably going to trade it off for something and we said well if we can't say Vine what can we say and in their uh wisdom the the network said tree tree hi Tarson can I swing from your tree fine we'll put that in and uh and that's the way that's the way it was broadcast but the reviews weren't all bad John Ritter's outrageous physical comedy impressed the critics and his co-stars alike he put me away I mean he has he has all the techniques that Milton Burl Jerry Lewis Harold Lloyd Buster Keaton rolled into one Ritter was a natural Joyce dwit was an experienced comedian Suzanne Summers however had never done comedy before I had never been trained as a comedic actress um I mean I never been trained for anything thought she was very raw when she first started out she knew she was raw Suzanne credits executive producer Mickey Ross with helping her develop her comic timing he taught me to hear the music of Comedy producers assistant B Dallas they would like father and daughter and Mentor student and he realized that he could help her and teach her even though I work with her privately for some time she was very fast and she learned leared the comedy role very very fast The Producers may have worked with Suzanne Summers but they weren't as collaborative with Joyce dwit their interpretation of the character was so narrow in terms of her style and and and in opposition to what I believed she had to be to to make this show work that um after we finished the first six I was just sort of praying that you know this would disappear from my life and I would never see them again DT claims The Producers bristled at input from a female actress on the first or second day I would make a suggestion about cutting something or changing something and they were polite enough to stop talking while I talked but that was it that was it then they would just go right on and it would be ignored it was very much uh a class system here with the actors here were the writer producers and you really didn't want to screw around with that too much cuz could find yourself maybe not working on the series anymore I've learned over time that uh that a sitcom set is not a democracy you know not everybody has equal say they didn't listen to her didn't listen to me either nevertheless Joyce devised a clever method of getting her point across I just took John aside one day and I said if I have a suggestion I'm going to tell it to you in secret and private and then I'd say Joyce has a good point and I agree with it I don't know if if it was John's presentation or if it was because John said them and not Joyce there's some dispute over that but when John said them the producer said oh that's a good idea as the ratings skyrocketed stardom quickly overwhelmed the three cast members no one can ever be prepared for that kind of Fame it uh it was literally overnight I was one person on Monday and on Tuesday I was a different person John Ritter realized early on that Fame could be a double-edged sword I was driving over the hill and I heard that uh Freddy Prince had put a bullet in his head and killed himself when those guys were on Hiatus we were doing the pilot of thre company and I was in the the star dressing room that Freddy Prince was so when I walked in there I went well the answer certainly isn't here if I'm looking for fulfillment if I'm looking for satisfaction if I'm looking for a meaning to life it is not being the star of a sitcom Ritter dwit and Summers had drastic different reactions to fame Suzanne wanted to be a star John Ritter I think really just wanted the laughs he wanted to do his craft and joy DeWit was so embarrassed from Fame and shy that she didn't want to do any publicity really at all all of a sudden I was a public figure someone that was recognizable and everything about your life changes then and being a very private person there was a lot of of putting the brakes on for me I was like wait a minute I remember John and Joyce just staying the way they were I mean they were excited but I don't remember hoopla around them as much as around Suzanne thre's company gave Suzanne Summers her first brush with celebrity it's it's an interesting new Hazard you know do you like it um yeah I think well I think that's what you work for all this time for Suzanne there was no turning back Suzanne took the first six weeks pay and went to Jay Bernstein who was representing feros at majors at the time and who was the biggest thing on TV and she said I want you to make me as visible as Farah it wasn't just she was famous she was a phenomena and once I had um a taste of success uh there is a businesswoman that lives inside of me and I thought how far can we go with this Suzanne's former manager Jay Bernstein she had such enthusiasm and when I said let me think about it she didn't give me much time to think about it she was at me every day and she just said I can do it I can do it I can do it Bernstein signed the eager young actress and set about maximizing her exposure I took Suzanne Summer's career to the next level because I didn't care how much money she made on Three's Company I wanted wanted to make certain that she had a foolproof career that if she was going to fail it would take her 5 years to do it Chrissy dolls posters notebooks and memorabilia soon materialized and Suzanne found her life being pulled in new and exciting directions there was so many scripts that came in that I started piling them up on the stairs in terms of priority of what I was going to read next I don't know what I turned away I don't know what I turned down it didn't really matter there's so much coming at us all of us Summer's personal life followed her career upswing during the second season Suzanne's longtime boyfriend Canadian talk show host Alan Hamill proposed marriage the couple was married at their home in Malibu and Hamill joined Bernstein in guiding Suzanne's career I felt in the beginning that I was making all the career decisions and that he was there with Suzanne as part of the team he let me do it until the time came where he felt he could do what I was doing when The E True Hollywood Story continues the happy family breaks up so I said I don't want to do it oh what do you mean everybody wants to do their own show and later the laughter stops was there a renegotiation ploy going on on yeah was there broken ribs yeah it was like a fairy story gone wrong they are the stories that make you look make you wonder make you feel she just didn't have any love they are the stories that shock you move you leave you wanting more he really looked like he was at death store they are the stories that can only be the True Hollywood Story there were no rules experience the greatest True Hollywood stories ever told every night at 8 all September long only on E being a dance teacher really takes a toll on your skin on your body Dove knows beautiful skin is healthy skin after a long day of dancing my skin craves nourishment Dove nutrium replenishes essential nutrients it makes your skin so soft she was engineered by science to be human Perfection but Fridays this fall she'll face s s's newest Creations not perfect and definitely not human from Academy Award winner James camon comes the season premiere of the hit series Dark Angels on its new night followed by the premiere of Pasadena Friday September 21st on Fox the night is low they're ultra low hips have never looked hotter how low can you go the only thing lower is the price you got to get this look only adult Navy lots of places offer upgrades usually you spend a little more you get a little more but in Gateway country it's different you get a lot more and right now it's free when you buy a Gateway essential 950c featuring the Intel Celeron Processor you get an extra llarge monitor plus a CD burner that's two big upgrades all for just $799 now who could beat that who'd even try off foran September 9th so stop by or call today capture the light capture the glow capture a whole new way to brighten your skin introducing Revlon skin lights it offers four tons of hauling capacity has three rows of seating and most amazingly is quite easy to carry announcing 0% financing on every single 2001 Lincoln low lease rates and Lincoln will even make your payment navigator from Lincoln contact lens Solutions have come a long way but you still had to rub well today opif free has a solution so Advanced you don't need to rub it's no rub Express the first multi-purpose that cleans disinfects and even removes protein without rubbing no rub Express is clinically proven to remove more protein without rubbing ring than a leading solution with rubbing yet is gentle enough for sensitive eyes so switch to no rub Express the future of lind's care her charm seduced him I I wish to explain you behave as though you've never seen a naked woman never one quite so naked her passion inspired him he wants to be a musketeer I need your help if anything but it was their love I will kill that which he holds most dear that would save them I'm coming back for you off for [Applause] the musketeer rated PG-13 at theaters Friday kid drinks to go in your favorite flavors they're premixed so you can pour yourself into the party this portion of e is brought to you by Kua drinks to go in party friendly four packs kala anything goes after Three's Company premiered in 1977 public support won out over negative views to create a Smash Hit the co-stars became media Sensations but jealousy and greed began to rip apart all they had built the third season of Three's Company saw a host of changes behind the scenes first veteran television director Dave Powers was brought in to beef up the broad physical comedy I would tell the cast that this is a play it's in a prum it's a play um don't worry about cameras when Dave Powers came in it became more of a physical farce more farce than bedroom we can still have it be provocative and risque but the emphasis is on the relationship of the characters and the physical comedy power's specialty was shooting quickly to preserve the spontaneity co-star Richard Klein we would start the 8:00 taping and be uh at of makeup by 9:15 and in our little you know Toyotas on February 14th 1978 thre's company reached the Pinnacle of success by becoming the number one rated show in America John Ritter noticed a change in Attitude from Network Executives Network you know come to runers like this only till we were at top 10 then they were like hi how can we serve you nice backside the heat on the show was palpable the week the show became number one the cast received an unexpected good honor we get the phone call that um they're going to put us on the cover of Newsweek a sitcom on the cover of Newsweek the cover shoot was a disaster however when the photographer showed up Suzanne was the center focus and John and Joyce were being asked to pose uh around her kind of like as atmosphere the guy kept putting me in the middle and putting Joyce down here and John up and I could there was tension on this shoot like you couldn't believe it became clear that they had an agenda and um it wasn't an agenda that John or I were comfortable with and it was a very uncomfortable experience I called um Don nickel over and I said what is going I took him behind the set I said what is going on I said um it's like they're trying to feature me but uh it's creating this horrible thing here and I'm very uncomfortable and I'm on the verge of tears and joy is is mad at me and John's mad at me and he said they're not trying to feature you they're just getting different configurations nevertheless the shoot was ruined newsweek's cover assembled under the provocative headline sex and TV was eventually pasted together using existing publicity Stills the Newsweek experience exposed a raw nerve who was the real star of Three's Company John was the lead Suzanne became the celebrity and Joyce was the second build actor and when Suzanne became this magazine cover girl I think people perceived some people perceive that she was the star of the show and the way the show was written and build that wasn't the case just six days after the contentious photo shoot thre's company won the 1978 People's Choice Award for favorite comedy series John Ritter and Suzanne Summers captured individual awards for favorite male and favorite female in a new series series most of America loved the show the religious right did not one of the most vocal critics was a southern Minister named Donald Wildman writer producer George Burton oh my God remember the Reverend Wildman he was say oh we can't allow this sort of thing to be on TV I mean we had such problems Donald Wildman uh left his ministry to start the national Federation for decency and as we all know thre company was probably the most indecent show on TV in history Wildman's campaign managed to convince at least one sponsor Sears to cancel its advertising John Ritter decided to fight back when I went on dinos Shore you know Mike Douglas and tonight's show and and I just said you know if those people who like the shows buy two of everything to counteract these guys who hate us for the most part Wildman's protest fell on deaf ears Three's Company was the number one rated show on television so ABC decided to capitalize on that success grece company was so successful that ABC wanted to do what the British people had done with man about the house spin off The Ropers and so they approached Norman and Audra and Adra wanted to go on and be the star of their own show Norman didn't want that so I said I don't want to do it oh what do you mean everybody wants to do their own show you know I said well I don't because this is a big hit and it's going to run for six or eight or year n years or something like that let me run that out Fel reluctantly agreed to do the spin-off on one condition if The Ropers didn't last a full season he could return to Three's Company talented veterans Patty McCormack and Jeffrey Tambour joined Fel and Lindley but The Ropers never found a solid audience I think The Ropers worked wonderfully as a b plot on th's company but to have the whole show Rev rolve around you know that one joke that they weren't uh getting intimate with each other eventually wore a little thin Norman Fel maintains a different perspective they put us in on Sunday and I went up to New York when I found out that it was Sunday and I said what are you doing to us you're killing us after a season and a half of declining ratings The Ropers was cancelled I said okay now I can go back to thre company and the producers an said we don't need you now I said yeah but my deal is that I can go back they said uh no because you went past the guarantee with The Ropers out of the picture The Producers created Ralph Furley a wacky new landlord to stir up trouble the question was who would play him we looked and looked and looked and we wanted a really good comedian to play this we wanted someone like Don knuts we kept saying someone like Don and then boing why don't we get Don nuts as luck would have it the legendary co-star of The Andy Griffith Show was ready to return to series television my manager called and said uh they wanted me to come and take Norman F's place that he was leaving the show to do a spin off and they made an offer I was thrilled knots eagerly slipped into Mr Furley psychedelic wardrobe Mr Furley was a wonderfully fun character to do because you could just go as far out as you wanted this baby will cut those cuffs like a hot knife through butter handling the show's Breakneck shooting Pace was a different matter when I started it was a five-day week and uh so the kids finally said they they only wanted to do four days and that that scared me a little right there I thought geez I don't know if I can do get this together in four four days but but I adjusted to it not wasn't the only newcomer in the fourth season Anne Wedgeworth joined the cast as Lana Shields a sexy divorce a with her eye on Jack Tripper Alana was like um kind of a force of nature I guess unfortunately Lana would have the shortest run of any character in the show's history she's so so beautiful she's so sexually appealing and you've got this guy Jack Tripper who you've already you know portrayed as you know humping lamp posts and uh he's refusing this gorgeous woman it it seemed a little false I mean this is like how many times can we can we do this uh this joke you know so they started to cut me down and cut me down cut me down until finally they cut Wedgeworth out executive producer Bernie West it didn't work as well as we had hoped and we had thought so uh so that was it Three's Company breezed through its fourth season on top of the ratings but Suzanne Summers career outside of the show was beginning to cause problems according to Suzanne her manager Jay Bernstein had a bad relationship with ABC president Fred Silverman I didn't realize that Fred Silverman um had a vendetta against Jay Bernstein and that when Jay pulled Farah from Charlie's Angels that he said relative to Jay Bernstein let's smoke them out let's not let any of his clients do anything at our networks Bernstein alleges that ABC wouldn't hire Summers for anything outside of Three's Company so he came up with a revolutionary idea I went to CBS and I said how would you like to have a su deal with Suzanne Summers all of Suzanne Summers movies for television can be with you CVS all the specials she does she can host with you and then when thre's company's over she can do a series with you so it's announced in the in the trades that I've made this uh unheard of deal with CBS while I'm still an ABC uh star and Fred Silverman called me and screamed at me how could you do this I gave you a start how could you do it and I said I tried to call you and he said well you could have tried harder and he hung up very angrily Suzanne was also making a feature film and that too caused problems and then I did a movie with Donald southernland that ran 2 weeks long and the three company start date was moved one season by 2 weeks and that was another thing that seemed to rub everybody the wrong way Summer's tardiness exacerbated an increasingly tense situation on the Threes Company set script supervisor Carol Summers As Time wore on people just got angry that they felt very manipulated uh by her and uh nobody knew nobody knew what she was doing and and they just started getting angry because they wanted to work Summers made another stunning move in the summer of 1980 she fired her manager Jay Bernstein Jay always said to me I'm going to get you up there where the air is rarified you'll become deified and then I'll become nullified and in essence that's what happened stepping into Bernstein's place was Suzanne's husband Alan Hamill I think by the time Suzanne had become a very big star and Allan took over managing that's when the problem started to come about because the produc producers felt that he had too much of an interest in the business side of things without knowing too much about it when The E True Hollywood Story continues Three's Company becomes a war zone the last show that I did um John and Joyce did not talk the last full show that I did they did not talk to me at all [Applause] are we [Applause] on much look how fabulous Hello Larry long time no se you know me like a book Larry how about a Hebrew national hot dog take credit cards I take credit for everything this is some of my best work Fresh Kosher beef perfectly seasoned nothing artificial just a why thank you now take one over to your wife my wife I wish trust me on this Larry Hebrew National better because we answer to a higher authority I have a hot dog and it's for you need contact lenses you could getting your car drive to your eye doctor wait in line pay twice as much wait a week drive back pick them up or call 1 1800 contacts we deliver you save chairman members of the board your new headquarters all imported hops give nickel light a smooth satisfying taste you won't find in ordinary beer here on niolo L the JC Penney Labor Day sale so good good nothing will get you down save 20 to 50% storewide plus save an extra 10% using your pennies card it's all inside smile on JC Penny I don't know what my mother calls me more often Jimmy or you must be hungry at her table there's always a helping of this a taste of that and you get as much as you want which is how Olive Garden brings you The NeverEnding possible have Alfredo with Penny or how about bolog and meat sauce with fetuccini you pick your homemade saes you pick your pastas you get all you want it's all delicious and it's just $7.95 tonight I'm having it with my brother mom calls him did you eat yet Olive Garden when you're here your family no can no Fork no Grill it's the easiest way to a juicy grilled meal your cat can't resist new from Whiskas I do enjoy the pleasures of the grill I can see that Whiskas what cats there are paper towels that drip and there are Bounty towels that won't Bounty picks up faster absorbs more and traps these spills in better to get the job done the first time Bounty the only quilted quicker picker upper Dy oh [Applause] yes when did job that makes you happy post your resume now monster.com you the monster when I used to take ant acids I always thought of that kid in school who ate weird things like chalk all those other ant acids taste so chalky well things have changed now they's surpass ant acid chewing gum from Wrigley Healthcare it tastes great and keeps working long after to stop chewing my heart burns gone and surpass still tastes great oh honey don't eat that new surpass ant acid great big relief great little gum experience the greatest True Hollywood stories ever told there were no rules every night at 8 all September long only on Irene's Fashions at large specializes in women's apparel sizes 18 to 60 casual in sports wear career Fashions and evening wear sha iring for great selection in a comfy atmosphere Irene's Fashions at large 2939 R andway looking for a real Power Trip Chevy's moving the 2001 metal 3,000 cash back or zero APR on Chevy Silverado half ton extended cab that's right tough guy big cash back or low APR we'll give you the power the question is are are you going to use it make your money count now at your local cheffy dealer Irene's Fashions at large specializes in women's apparel sizes 18 to 60 casual and sports wear career Fashions and evening wear shop Ires for great selection in a comfy atmosphere Irene Fashions at large 2939 art and way whether it was real or perceived Suzanne Summers felt that she was the star of Three's Company and she started to act like it as her ambition grew a showdown on the set became inevitable by 1980 Suzanne Summers John Ritter and Joyce dwit were earning substantial weekly salaries when we saw we had a hit show we tore up their contracts and gave them new contracts with quite a lot more money by the fifth season Suzanne Summers and Joyce DT were to get each $30,000 an episode with 22 Episodes taped each season that meant DT and Summers were earning more than $650,000 each year John Ritter was pulling down close to a million nevertheless in the middle of the Season Suzanne and her manager husband Alan Hamill decided to renegotiate I'm certainly a star of this show so bringing a lot to it um I'd like to be paid um what men comparable in my business were being paid she quoted a number of other actors that were getting top money Alan Alder Carol oconor people like that Alan Alda of mash and Carol oconor Of All in the Family were each making an excess of $200,000 per episode but they were clearly the stars of their respective shows producers assistant B Dallas if you're going to say well who's the star if you want to name somebody it was John Ritter show could not have gone on without John Summers and Hamill strongly disagreed on July 24th 1980 Hamill met with executive producer Ted Bergman and representatives from ABC in that meeting Allan said you know Suzanne's brought a lot to the show and we would like this much money or we would like a piece of the back end I said I'll tell you what I'll do we'll give you $5,000 more per episode and Hamill acted like I had him he said that's crazy that's nothing I said well what is it that you want and he said I shall never forget this as long as I live we won $150,000 an episode and 10% ownership of program and I started to laugh Summers felt the chips were stacked act against her from the very beginning my lawyer had uh some unfinished business with an ABC lawyer who he had my lawyer had just done lever and Shirley's renegotiation that ABC lawyer said to my lawyer you got me before you're not going to get me again Suzanne's husband and manager Alan Hamill they were intent on setting an example ABC because uh they looked at this as an opportunity to save money on renegotiations in the future cuz they had renegotiated with lever and Shirley and now it was Suzanne and they really wanted to stop it others put the blame on Suzanne she was greedy and there was no reason for it I mean Allan Hamill says there were no negotiations there was nothing they just said no you when someone comes in and demands things uh you know everybody got riled up I think they were willing to negotiate but nowhere near what Suzanne and Allen were hoping for executive producer Ted Bergman explains why we have a parody Arrangement between Joyce and Suzanne and if we give her give Suzanne 150,000 we're going to have to give 150,000 and we also have an arrangement with John that he gets more than each of the girls so let's say we have to give 200,000 that adds up to a half a mill million dollar before we even write a script Summers claims she was aware of the parody agreement and that Ritter and DT knew she was planning to renegotiate I had said to them at the last one of the last tapings the season before my contract is up next week and that next year when I come back and um I'm going to I'm going to go for uh big money or a piece of the back end and if I get it you guys get it that might have happened about renegotiation none of that matters I'll go renegotiate you go renegotiate but the the fact is is that and then let's come back to the if you get yes or no we come back and play Joyce dwit denies summers's ever discussed renegotiating I think it's an extraordinary unkindness on her part to um make that up I really do it's a terrible thing to say about somebody when it isn't true Suzanne could afford to play hard ball with her producers because of her deal with CBS former manager Jay Bernstein if I knew I had a deal at CBS to do another uh I think it was three Pilots for a series I would feel a little stronger about walking in and uh renegotiating the contractual blow up was the first in a series of events that eroded the relationship between Suzanne Summers and the Threes Company cast crew director Dave Powers the timing of it is what what really made Things Fall Apart and that was trying to do a midseason negotiation with ABC as The Fifth Season progressed into the summer production was delayed due to an actor's strike when shooting resumed in October Suzanne Summers was a noow I didn't come to work the day after I'd done The Tonight Show because I broke my ribs on The Tonight Show uh doing a dance the facts of this incident remain clouded in controversy Suzanne's appearance on The Tonight Show was September 19th almost 3 weeks before her return to the Threes Company set hospital records indicate Summers was admitted to Cedar Cai Medical Center on September 20th but from September 23rd through October 8th she performed her nightclub act at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas according to arbitration documents Summers claimed she was in so much pain during these shows that she needed a back brace because of the contentious contract negotiations The Producers were suspicious of the injury prompting associate producer Wendy Blair to contact Three's Company costumer Len Marcus Wendy's question to me and there was a lawyer there at that time too was did you ever see Suzanne in a brace and my answer to her was I was never in the room when Suzanne changed so I don't know whether she had a brace on or not and that that was not the truth I mean I I had seen suzan and she did not have a brace on so I lied for Suzanne because Suzanne was that special to me the producers also contacted the costume designer who worked with summers in Vegas the Wardrobe lady said oh no she didn't have a brace on unfortunately I think the story got back to Suzanne differently and she's not spoken to me since that Sunday October 19th Marsha yanchuk Suzanne's assistant called to say that Suzanne had reinjured her rib and wouldn't be in for the taping that day we asked her to go see the doctor that they went to for shots whatever they needed Dr Julie and uh she didn't want to go so she held us up there and HED up and her house and uh you know just said she couldn't come to work the episode was hastily Rewritten with most of Chrissy's lines reassigned to Don knots it turned out to be a sort of a windfall for me in a way because uh the writers had been writing this great stuff for her that was all the goofy stuff and uh then when they didn't have her they started giving me the goofy stuff Summers was due back on the set Tuesday October 21st to tape the next episode but again she was a no-show this time Suzanne's absence forced producers to cancel the taping the question hung in the air was Suzanne's injury real it was obvious to to us at that point that this was a negotiating Ploy that she and Hamill were pulling my lawyer said uh they think you're renegotiating uh let's let them think that was there a renegotiation employ going on yeah was there broken ribs yeah the show's producers decided to take drastic action we told the ABC brass that we wanted to cancel her for breach of contract and ABC said you can't do that uh it might affect the ratings you got to keep her on the show after a week's Hiatus the cast crew and Suzanne returned to the set Friday October 30th relationships were strained Suzanne discussed the tension on a 1981 Donahue appearance you know I talked the last show that I did um John and Joyce did not talk the last full show that I did they did not talk to me at all and I before the show was so upset so I talked to John Ritter and I said you know we are professionals I understand that you're angry with me but there are two sides to every story and he just looked at me and walked away I don't I wish I had a better answer I don't understand understand the anger John defended her for a long time until the missed episodes and things that started to hurt the rest of us the rest of the production then he turned and uh it ended up where you know people were not speaking the problem she was having with the producers and the network spilled over into the rehearsal hall because she wasn't there and we were getting two scripts a blue one with her and a pink one without her writer producer Kim weof now we were starting to have to uh prepare to take her out of scripts to uh to throw out a few scripts where she was crucial uh which was actually most of them Suzanne requested to be excused from rehearsals on Saturday November 1st to attend her son's soccer game she promised to return the next day ready to rehearse but that Saturday Allan Hamill called executive producer Mickey Ross to say Summers would not be returning because of the hostile work environment Hamill was ready to discuss money and points Ross declined Mickey took the stance that I was trying to ruin their show and created an atmosphere of mob fury on the set and um uh it became an impossible situation for me to ever be understood Suzanne summers's third absence proved to be the final straw we were worried that she was going to hold the show hostage again in and not show up for tapings so it was decided to use her in the a way that she could least harm the show coming up Suzanne Summers gets demoted the whole thing was to humiliate to demean to humiliate put me in my get your TV Buzz with totally tube E's ultimate source for The Fall season on TV see new shows behind the scenes and check out all the new lineups online Q&A with Prime Time Fresh Faces or sneak a peek at the big debuts that's totally Tu on TV this Thursday September 6th at 7 then log on to www.online.com and click totally to on TV and online e has television covered hey look a tour should we do it yeah okay do you need film no I'm okay new Max versatility plus is kodak's most versatile film ever it even works in action while other films May blur you get crystal clear pictures more often with versatility plus I should have tried your Kodak film who's grilling America's favorite sirloin steaks well sink your teeth into our perfectly seasoned house sirloin and you'll know it's got to be Applebees they're not just low they're low hips have never looked hotter how low can you go the only thing lower is the price you got to get this look only adult Navy tens of thousands of people continue to buy the Oldsmobile Alero is it because of our special cash offers is it because of the 5year 6 ,000 m GM protection plan or is it because the Alero is so fun to drive yes are you in the market get in an Oldsmobile back by GM and for a limited time qualified buyers can get 0.9% APR financing lots of places offer upgrades usually you spend a little more you get a little more but in Gateway country it's different you get a lot more and right now it's free when you buy a Gateway essential 950c featuring the Intel Celeron processor you get an extra- large monitor plus a CD burner that's two big upgrades all for just $7.99 now who could beat that who'd even try off foran September 9th so stop by or call today capture the light capture the glow capture a whole new way to brighten your skin introducing Revlon skin lights everybody join the club make tuna aan butter stack a tasty scoop cheese or soup tomato soup is kebler club crackers light buttery taste that works magic with dips salads everything life's Tas here when you join the club tast irresistible make it stop make it stop make it stop make it stop rated M for Mature Twisted Metal you have new mail you have new mail please receive your new mail you have Ma you have ma please receive your new ma connect yourself achieve New Balance drop everything for the full money Broadway's musical comedy smash call targe and let yourself [Applause] go in the fall of 1980s Suzanne Summers went to war with ABC and her Threes Company producers Summers wanted more money The Producers wouldn't renegotiate production ground to halt friends became enemies and the executives were faced with the gut-wrenching decision of what to do with their rebellious actress on Monday November 3rd 1980 Summers arrived for rehearsal at the studio after having missed several days of work she was in fact written out of the script production executive George sa I was the one that had to go down and say to U uh uh Suzanne and Allen I'm sorry uh but I have to ask you to leave because John will not perform while you're still in the building and since she wasn't going to perform uh there was no reason for her at this point to u to even be there my feeling was what is the best thing for the show and her feeling was you know what's the best thing for me on November 6th The Producers called new ABC president Tony theopolis to discuss suzan's future executive producer Bernie West the network said don't lose yet keep her on the show the name is very important the decision was made to keep Suzanne on the show but in the smallest way possible Mickey uh was the one I remember came up uh with with the idea she has to go home uh be with her sick mother and it'll be a one minute phone call in the tag ABC agreed to the plan but Three's Company by definition couldn't exist with only two roommates a frantic search went out for a new woman to step into Chrissy's shoes author Chris man they wanted a blond who could absorb some of the scripts that had already been written that included the Chrissy character actress Jenny Lee Harrison was one of many who auditioned for the coveted part my agent calls up and says oh they're looking for a girl to replace Suzanne Summers and they want to see you and I said nah I ain't going what a waste of time me you know replacing Susan suers 21-year-old Jenny Lee an ex- cheerleader for the Los Angeles Rams had almost no previous acting experience but she was young athletic and beautiful I think initially the desire was to create suzan if possible and Jenny Lee seemed to fit that mold on November 7th Jenny Lee Read for executive producers Mickey Ross and Bernie West 5 days later they took Harrison to ABC I found out this months later but when I walked in for the audition I tripped and that's why I got the part Jenny Lee came on board as Chrissy's clumsy but well-meaning cousin Cindy snow Cindy snow was the clutzy Bumpkin cousin of Chrissy snow who just came in uh from the farm to experience City Life Jenny Lee knew almost immediately that she had stepped into a tense situation there a lot a lot of pressure for a young girl big shoes to fill and I was trying to please a lot of people I producers co-stars everything else just staring me down and saying okay you know you're the new show was tough costume designer Len Marcus the world was watching and holding its breath to see what was going to happen with this number one show you know was was very important to everyone making the transition more difficult was the Spectre of Suzanne who still had to report to work each week to tape her one minute tag scenes oh I'm so sorry I can't be there they'd make me come pick up the script the day before um meeting the director in a in a a private office I wasn't allowed to go to the set or to the rehearsal Hall so the whole thing was to humiliate to demean to humiliate put me in my place director Dave Powers was Suzanne's only contact on the show during this time it was really ugly and there were a lot of tears from from her and from the rest of the cast it was not a Happy Time script supervisor Carol summers at that point the actors didn't want to uh to work with her so uh I was taken into uh an announce booth and when Chrissy would be talking on the phone to somebody that person was me I would sometimes break down in tears and what I knew was there was a a a monitor feed to every dressing room and every office in the in the studio there is that's just the way Television Studios are I knew they were all watching all of them it was too compelling not to it just got so strange and so out of hand and there it was all new ground I mean we'd never seen this treatment usually an actor is fired but she was sort of kept around for the end of the season and ABC didn't really want to fire her and it was just really a horrible you know embarrassing time for everyone Suzanne refused to take the humiliation lying down suzan was trying to get her job back she had been reduced to this insignificant part and she went out in the press to air her grievances they have me come in on Thursdays to pick up the script in a private room all I do is walk in they hand it to me and walk out on Tuesdays they have me come in the back door they have a guard placed in the hall they have guards placed in front of my dressing room which they've now given to John Ritter I'm allowed to use it for 20 minutes they sneak me into a set that is built behind the set I'm not allowed to go on the Threes Company set I have to do my one minute and the guards stand there until I'm out of the studio then they bring the other actors in don't ask me why producers assistant B Dallas challenges many of Suzanne's allegations nobody had a permanent dressing room there weren't that many of them and John would always give you his up to the girls to Jo and Suzanne so there no one ever took anything away from her despite the animosity Ritter felt the dispute would ultimately be resolved I assumed it would be over any day I mean it would all take care of itself and then she'd come back but after the Press pounced on the story the war of words escalated and made the possibility of reconciliation unlikely you can't go on Coast to Coast TV and ask your fans to black ball the show as a negotiation ploy to try and force the hand of the other side to give you what you want and think that the other side's going to ask you to keep playing when all the thing hit the Press uh Joyce and I and the rest of us were real quiet when um when they would ask us about Suzanne everything and I really you know love Suzanne I was like heartbroken that this you know the battle lines were being drawn the Suzanne Summers controversy had a noticeable effect on the show's popularity the ratings fell out of the top 10 which had only happened like twice when Suzanne was on the show we got the feeling that the audience missed Suzanne and I think uh something went out of the show when Suzanne left there's no denying that as the relationship between Suzanne and the producers deteriorated the battle lines moved Beyond just the set of Three's Company as part of her Las Vegas act Suzanne used outtakes from the show and performed some of her songs in character as Chrissy when she went to Las Vegas to do her at the MGM Grand a couple of us went up there because we had heard she was going to use the Chrissy character which everyone felt very strongly that she did not have a right to use the Chrissy character was created by nrw uh very definitely and as such it was the property of the show and for her to take it and use it elsewhere was you know like anybody taking a literary property that didn't belong to them the debate raged who created the Chrissy character I'm the one who turned her feet in I'm the one who lifted her shoulders up I'm the one who gave her the stance nobody did that writer producer Kim Weiss cop who created Chrissy Snow Well the character was written and the character developed and uh and everyone participates in it the writer The Producers the actor so you can't really say I or you created a character but the producers threatened legal action if Suzanne continued to portray Chrissy in her act and then all of a sudden I get uh cease and desist intent to sue you cannot do this character on television you cannot do this character on stage you cannot do this character you cannot wear your hair that way Suzanne did remove all references to Chrissy from her act then she responded with litigation of her own in February of 1981 Summers filed an arbitration suit against her producers Suzanne was asking for about $2 million a million dollar for being written out of three different episodes and about a million dollars for damages to her career that she felt that this um disputed caused Suzanne's husband and manager Alan Hamill once we got into it I realized this was an error you know we're sitting here fighting over money and it was a substantial amount of money but it wasn't going to change anyone's lifestyle after two months of testimony the arbitrator awarded Suzanne $30,000 for One Missed episode for which she had not been paid all other rulings favored The Producers when he came down with that ruling that it would cost $330,000 to dispose of this uh arbitration we readily agreed it was worth $30,000 to be through with it which we were on April 2nd 1981 ABC announced that Suzanne Summers would not be returning for the sixth season of Three's Company Suzanne read about her firing in the newspaper she was now free to pursue her series at CBS but the dispute continued to follow her I tried to do the series deal at CBS I kept getting CE and deiss intent to sue lawsuits from the Nichols Ross and West production company um that if I were to do a character that walked like talk like dress like um in any way shape or form warm reminded anyone of Chrissy snow that they would sue me so that made CBS very nervous and they watered down what I was doing and so after two pilots that never went off they paid her for the remaining 11 episodes and not one show ever aired despite her meteoric rise Suzanne Summers effectively disappeared from network television for more than a decade former manager Jay Bernstein that's what she found out when she was off the show that once you're cold you know the only way you get hot is in the shower coming up another roommate Bites the Dust I think we expected too much of Lee same dramas dirty frightened paranoid new time The E True Hollywood Story now at its new time 8 every night only on E is the IRS ruining your life are IRS penalties and interests compounding daily stop the cycle now hello I'm John Harris president of JK Harrison company the nation's largest tax representation firm our former IRS agents have over 500 years of experience inside the IRS they know how to settle your IRS debt for pennies on the dollar call the IRS experts at JK Harris now for your free confidential tax settlement analysis tollfree 86 91945 the 260 horsepower accuracy CL S CA drinks to go in your favorite Kua flavors they're premixed so you can pour yourself into the party the JC Penney Labor Day sale so good nothing will get you down save 20 to 50% storewide plus save an extra 10% using your pennies card it's all inside smile on JC Penny it's very late time is running out the clock is down you have a PDW come to Quest the world's largest online library allows you to access entire books for all your research with new version 2.0 it's faster and easier to use don't get yourself into a cold sweat subscribe now and write better papers faster AOL keyword questia new faster acting Dawn with flash SS it Powers through tough grease at a speed no other brand can touch new faster acting Dawn get grease out of your way sooner now on video take a trip here it comes take a bite I feel funny there's an adventure around every corner he absolutely boners Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory on video cassette and DVD rated G Jared's always been an inspiration now it seems a lot of people are joining the team greatway us Subway has seven delicious sandwiches with just six gram of fat or less including our new tasty honey mustard turkey with cucumber with just four grams of fat the only miss is sheesh hello I'm Joe I'm so excited to be a part of a show like this it look fabulous I always look fabulous yeah we needed an outdoor lamp for the party yeah so we went to this new place called house to home we found the cutest little Moon lamp and a table and a patio table to put the lamp on napkins placements only these darling Tiki lights for atmosphere and a big honk and barbecue for the party tonight this the dance floor here introducing house to home everything for inside and outside inside your home in one huge store now we have the best looking balcony in the building do we have enough chairs oh we're going to need more chairs house to home the incredible Home Decorating Superstore is it fair to say you don't like to be pressured especially from a car dealer then it's fair to say you're going to love the new Jackson Ford Mercury we just don't do pressure every customer is a guest in our home when you buy a car from us it's a big deal not just a sale if you break down on a Sunday can you call your car dealer because you can call us we're here are we really that different let us prove it make one trip to the new Jackson Ford Mercury in Martell chances are you'll be back year after year Suzanne summers's Public Power struggle with the producers of thre's company resulted in her demotion and subsequent firing in 1981 the show continued but the new roommates had problems of Their Own as the Suzanne Summers renegotiation drama played itself out in late 1980 Jenny Lee Harrison stepped in as the new roommate but her character Cindy snow didn't evoke the sexual tension that the show needed to survive writer producer George berett we got to get someone who is sexy let John get back to that layering self of his my character again was not the character to tell sex jokes so there was no sexual innuendo going on the producers were worried about that because I thought you know we need to keep keep this sex thing up director Dave Powers when I looked back on it we were all looking for another Chrissy I think we expected too much of Jenny Lee it was decided that Jenny Lee would stay on in a limited role but for the second time in 2 years the producers embarked on an extensive search for a new blonde roommate we searched around for someone more experienced and and comedic and uh we we came up with Priscilla Barnes 25-year-old Beauty Priscilla Barnes had auditioned for the part of Chrissy's cousin 8 months earlier but the producers deemed her too old she was perfect however as the sophisticated but slightly screwy nurse Terry Alden no way why not thank you we used to giggle because we'd go you know I'm the smart one and yet the show wouldn't work if anybody if any of the main characters had an IQ IQ over 25 Priscilla began to feel the pressure the day she was hired on my answering machine was 44 messages I'll never forget that and they were from Good Morning americ you know CBS and NBC every morning show every evening show every talk show and it was weird that I felt all this acknowledgment was coming to me and I hadn't done anything I mean I had hadn't hadn't put anything in the can I hadn't walked on the S I hadn't met my co-stars or anything so then the anxiety started to build John Ritter and Joyce dwit just wanted to put the Suzanne Summers nightmare behind them by that point we had weathered the storm we weren't off the air we had survived and we were doing well again and uh there was a new kind of energy a new kind of Life blood so when they brought in you had someone with the experience and the knowhow to start doing it right away and um that was wonderful plus Priscilla became one of my dearest friends with the addition of Priscilla the sexual tension returned to the show and the ratings returned to the top 10 on the surface things were back to normal below the surface Priscilla was miserable it was just very nerve-wracking I mean after the third show I think anybody knows this I went to the head of the network Lou Erick and I said I want to be taken off the show I wanted to leave the show because I I wasn't comfortable there because Barnes was under contract the network denied her request handling the sudden Fame was another problem for Priscilla I found out that I didn't particularly you know care for it I mean when you go into a bathroom and people are underneath the stall you know shoving toilet paper for you to sign and ripping off your sunglasses and and it's just because you feel like you're going to dis disappoint them as the ratings rebound bounded Jenny Lee Harrison's role got progressively smaller poor Jenny Lee Not only was she replaced but she had to work with a person that was her replacement it was soon apparent that the sixth season would be Jenny Lee's Last I think that was the arrogance of our producers sorry guys but it was to think that you know they could like mold this person into what they wanted um and instead of like hiring a really good actress to do the job jny Lee accepted the news as gracefully as possible I would have loved to stayed on th's company for the duration of th's company uh when I knew that I was going to be leaving the show uh I didn't take the time to to stop and ponder that I just kept working Priscilla settled into the weekly grind but she found herself repeatedly locking horns with executive producer Mickey Ross he would give me a line reading on like how how we going to pay the rent oh Jack how we going to pay the rent I mean like this one line like who gives line readings on that Priscilla came into this well oiled machine and I don't think that we took the time and when I say we I mean the writers producers myself to realize that she needed guidance as opposed to criticism Priscilla knew that mickeey Ross had a history of trying to shape his actresses I we hear all these stories how you know he had created Suzanne and taken her from wherever he had gotten her and made her and then Jenny Lee Mickey Ross maintains that Priscilla dictated the direction of the Terry Alden character not him what we had to do was right to her personality you know we couldn't just blank say this is you got to play at this we can't so we work with her we saw what she could do best and that's what we did with her two things made Priscilla's situation completely different from the Suzanne Summers controversy first the dispute was a private internal struggle not the public Fiasco that Suzanne's departure had been secondly Barnes had an ally Joyce DT because I found it difficult to work with our producers just in terms of the dictatorial style and their chauvinism which was well I honest to goly I think at that time if you looked in the dictionary under chauvinism there' just be like a little picture of their heads Priscilla may have felt trapped by her role but she was under contract for 3 years they had offered me more money if I do another two years and I had said no and they had said in their usual parental disciplinarian like they were the parents and you're the child uh well if you don't do that that then they're going to give me considerably less money as a penalty and that's what they did despite the visibility thre's company gave her career Priscilla Barnes has mostly negative memories of this chapter in her life to me it's it's a very sad experience you know and there's only a couple of shows that are my favorite that that make me laugh but I honestly this is I mean I hesitate to say this but you know those were the three one of the probably the three worst years of my life ironically those same three years provided the show with some of its greatest critical Acclaim at the end of the sixth season there was a 2hour retrospective of the show's greatest moments the host was none other than legendary comedian Lucille Ball who was one of the show's biggest fans you know what I like about this show it doesn't try to change the world or solve any major problems all it does is make us laugh and forget our own cares that's my kind of Comedy it was a dream through I just remember being sort of days that she endorsed our show the next season thre's company taped its 150th episode and in 1984 John Ritter won both a Golden Globe award and an Emmy Award for his portrayal of Jack Trier and the is John Ritter thank you very much I'm all a quiver uh as Bruce uh as Bruce said my mother thank you and also she'd like to buy everybody up their lunch tomorrow morning but as time passed and thre's Company moved into its seventh and eighth Seasons it became clear the creative spark was beginning to diminish it's very hard to keep doing this because it's feels like you've done everything that it's you say oh God we're going to do that again you know and it's it's frustrating you just run out of of things we have for show runs long enough it uh it becomes harder and harder to uh uh keep up the uh the the newness the the novelty and uh anything else that the show has it became more and more difficult to come up with original storylines on that eighth season and I I've said this before when uh Terry Janet and Jack are trying to hide a kitty from Mr Furley and I remembered in the first season when uh Chrissy Janet and Jack were trying to hide a puppy from Mr rer I went I think you can only take a series so far just like what just happened to uh Seinfeld you know finally can't uh what what else you going to do with them to make matters worse ABC's powerful Tuesday night lineup began to fade and the face of television as a whole was changing TV was starting to get a little violent back then not car Caron violent you know um and the sitcom was in Decline overall NBC in particular took a big chunk out of the ratings for thre's company with two high-powered action series The A Team and Riptide once again thre's company dropped out of the top 10 writer producer George bdit the rating certainly gradually declined and uh it had nothing to do with who is playing what role on the show but the producers and the network weren't ready to throw in the towel just yet it got to the point where we felt that we had run out of Comedy situations and we wanted to try something different eight seasons that's it so we can either all say goodbye or you know do this other thing when The E True Hollywood Story continues a new beginning and a bitter ending it was difficult enough hurtful enough disappointing enough in terms of disrespectful treatment that um I did have to disappear experience the greatest True Hollywood stories ever told it was like a fairy story gone wrong every night at 8 all September long only on E fretta brought us together to make great pizza loose in the kitchen we're always working with fresh ingredients we are the Italians of the group means fresh and Italian you know you guys should try this one fresh mozzarella tomato and basil we like things straightforward and simple make this just a little bit of flavor to give it a little pop give us our the aroma of the sun we want a taste very clear flavor it's one step at a time it smells like a fresh pizza that's the whole key that's beautiful that's what it's all about fresh thinking fresh baking fresa all those things together make a great pizza my new favorite color brown sugar and number 63 from Garnier nutrice of course luxurious lasting color that's soft you just got to touch it soft more than a simple cream it's a conditioning mask Nutri combines fragrant fruit oil with permanent color in a mask then deep treats with nourishing conditioners right down to the heart of your hair for Rich lasting color and gray you're 100% covered Garnier Nutri in 30 try something new shades Garnier trust them they're experts use cor having a pay phone didn't you next time down down the center at800 c l a it's free for you and cheap for them by the way this one's hot save bigs on every call just sty 1800 call at for collect calls ask your doctor about nasan x with moisturizing glycerin taken once a day for nasal allergy relief due to pollin molds dust and pets day or night sleep on it side effects were generally mild and included headache viral infection sore throat nose bleeds and coughing nanex fewer sneezes fewer worries when we first got married she'd wear really sexy underwear like you see an underwear an after a while she started wearing the kind of underwear that I saw on the hamper when I was a kid there's something oddly reassuring about Finn washed out cotton underwear with little yellow flowers experience the allnew xtype at your local Jaguar retailer today can you believe that you can dunk but you can't dip your dip is gone baby what are you talking about no dip introducing new Tostito Scoops let me tell you something bill I put the hip and ship watch this with the bite-sized bow-shaped design for the perfect dip every fre Time new TSO Scoops the dip chip this is my house yes it is no this is my house you guys got to go also great with new queso Supreme dip her charm seduced him I I wish to explain you behave as though you've never seen a naked woman never went quite so naked her passion inspired him he wants to be a musketeer I need your help anything but it was their love I will kill that which she holds most dear that would save them coming back for you all for [Applause] one the musketeer rated PG-13 at Friday say you're in New Jersey and you want to be in Maui hypothetically on travel website a you'd find about 16 flight options website B around 9 but on orbits the DAV a website from the airlines you'd find over a 100 that's the most you can get yet so and Maui you can relax knowing you got the most low fairs that' be a pretty good feeling don't you think visit planet Earth via orbits.com from the world's leading Airlines every specially marked Tic Tac pack is worth a point no that's my raft towards all new Incredible stuff my scooter just peel the points and send them in that's my digital camera get Tic Tacs and get all new Incredible stuff by 1984 after eight seasons of trials and tribulations thre's company began to lose the Creative Energy that propelled the show to number one but instead of ending the series The Producers decided on another option the original British version of Three's Company man about the house spawned not one but two spin-offs Three's Company had spun off The Ropers without much success nevertheless a second spin-off was in the works they were always talking to me about a spin-off um in fact you know around the fifth fourth or fifth season Suzanne was still on the show I said do a spin-off The Ropers would do the spin-off of The Ropers then in a few years a spin-off of of You by 1983 ABC and the show's producers were ready to seriously consider this possibility executive producer Ted Bergman probably in the seventh season we started to drop out of the top 10 and at that point the network expressed the idea that the show was tired and that's when we proposed to do a spin-off in the second spin-off called thre's a crowd Jack Tripper finally settles down with a girlfriend only to buttthe heads with her opinionated father but even before th a crowd was officially announced Joyce dwit noticed some disturbing Chang es the publicity shots that were used in TV Guide or the local TV papers TV sections or it would either be John and both of us or be John and one of us or um 90% of the time that's what would happen all of a sudden there were all these press releases done with John and a guest star a female not one of the girls Joyce asked if the producers were planning any major changes I approached my producers directly and queried them on that directly and was lied to to my face um and of course being the completely trusting soul that I was at the time I bought their explanation and you know after the fact realized that I was so naive The Producers knew that spinning off only one character might be a political mindfield so they developed the new show in secret until they were ready to break the news co-star Priscilla Barnes remembers the meeting we all sat on the floor and they said that they were you know this was this was the last season they were uh spinning off a show it was like a family meeting that was really hard but everybody came through it and then people sort of saw the writing on the wall co-stars Joyce dwit and Richard Klein were upset at how the matter was handled I think the way in which that the secretive furtive deceptive abusive unkind and cruel way in which they chose to treat their company of actors not nice and it broke my heart I think there was a sense of resentment when the the uh spin-off was announced because of the way the uh ladies were treated I don't think they were informed too much ahead of time and you know Bad Business Joyce placed some of the blame on John Ritter I'm assuming that whatever his participation was he did it for reasons that he knows and he feels appropriate about author Chris man I think she felt that he should have told her something and that her her but then again the producers ran the show and they said this is our call and this is what we're going to do Priscilla Barnes on the other hand wasn't surprised yeah I thought it was kind of tacky how they were handling it but see I I thought that they had hand handled me shabby the entire 3 years so it wasn't like I was a queen and then being treated like crap I mean it was pretty much par for the course as far as I was concerned The Producers now had the Dual task of winding up thre's company while looking ahead to th a crowd more than 500 women auditioned for the part of Jack's girlfriend Vicky Bradford Broadway dancer and television novice Mary cateret won the part I had not met John but as soon as I walked in the door and went to shake his hand I mean there was an instant chemistry between the two of that I mean I I really remember that sort of Click we both had producers assistant be Dallas he liked her immediately John just liked Mary immediately and felt she would be perfect for him but did the search for Jack's girlfriend really need to extend outside the show production executive George sa the expectation in some areas was that Jack definitely should fall in love with with the Janet character John Ritter disagrees in order for the show to work you had to have a father who despised Jack and and we had met Joyce's Janet's father and Chrissy's father and mother and every you know in other words that had to be a new character one other bizarre scenario presented itself Alan Hamill allegedly contacted the producers about Suzanne Summers becoming Jack's girlfriend in the spin-off it was a ridiculous suggestion at that point after she sued us after cost us all that money to defend ourselves after we had to pay additional money to settle the thing uh it was obvious that she was out of our lives and we didn't want her back joining the cast as Vicky's abrasive father was veteran star of soap and Private Benjamin Robert Mandan it was really that simple we did the last two shows of Three's uh Three's Company that was the the bridge between the two shows but for the co-stars of Three's Company the transition wasn't that simple they actually told us that they were going to take two weeks off to really polish the last four shows so we go away on this unexpected Hiatus and we come back and in our rehearsal Hall are the cast of John spinoff they've been working these whole two weeks these they they have moved into our house we don't even live here anymore as the eighth season wound to a close it was decided that the final two-part episode of Three's Company would serve as the pilot for th a crowd needless to say it was a tense situation both shows that we did were were painful and Mary and I really kind of stayed out of the way because we weren't really aware of all the feelings that went on I specifically remember Joyce sort of taking me aside and saying you know you might feel a little bit of tension because we sort of feel that this is the ending and we're sort of servicing a new project and it's kind of hard for us because we wish it was being done in a little different way but so if you feel any tension please know that it's not directed to you on September 18th 1984 in a bitter Sweet Hour of Television Jack moved in with his new girlfriend Vicky Terry Alden left for Hawaii and Janet after a whirlwind courtship married her boyfriend Three's Company was no more Joyce dwit took the ending particularly hard it was difficult enough hurtful enough disappointing enough in terms of disrespectful treatment that um I did have to disappear and kind of go this is the way uh the game is played I don't want to play anymore for the cast The Long and windy road had come to a Bitter End for John rder and the crew work continued threes a crowd began production and immediately experienced some controversy of its own Jack and Vicky lived together but they weren't married people had a cow um and it was the funniest thing because people at that time all over America were living together this was uh just the early 80s and and that morality was still the old old morality if you will was still hanging around threes a crowd premiered September 25th 1984 in thre's company's old time slot after one season the show finished 38th in the ratings I just think that there might have been such resistance that the fact that this is not one of our girls that we grew up with in the last eight seasons that that uh by resentment you know people may not have looked at uh the show Joyce dwit for one wasn't surprised I think it was the most succinct example of Instant Karma I've ever seen their show failed instantly and I know that had to have been extremely painful for all of them particularly for John um but they built their house on Sand AB BC had a tough decision to make would threes a crowd return for a second season we were sort of on the fence and and and actually it was picked up and then not picked up and then really picked up and then I think it was picked up for like 13 shows but Network Executives reversed themselves again in the spring of 1985 the decision was made to cancel threes a crowd in favor of one more season of the Gary Coleman sitcom Different Strokes initially when I found out that we were canceled I was very St about it but I think it took a couple years for me to get over it after nine turbulent exhausting painful and exhilarating Seasons Jack Tripper tumbled across our television screens for the final time and Three's Company faded into television history coming up the stars of Three's Company reflect on 20 years gone by in hindsight I would um do I would do handle that renegotiation iation differently it was more than just a zip code it was a lifestyle hi my name is Jason Priestley I play Brandon Walsh on the new Fox show Beverly Hills 90210 a field sobriety test was administered on Mr Priestley people love us we're thinking teenagers when Shannon left the show several people were happier I feel like a beetle we buted heads a bit Shannon and I it's the story you haven't heard it looked like my entire career was over Beverly Hills 90210 tomorrow at 8 on The E True Hollywood Story now on video take a trip here it comes take a bite I feel funny there's adventure around every corner he absolutely Bonkers Wily wona and the Chocolate Factory on video cassette and DVD rated G gentlemen the axium has a 230 horsepower V6 our commercial opens in New York City I love this town then we go to Sweden to show off our dual mode suspension for beauty shots Maui and sunset so what do you think you [Laughter] wish introducing the 10minute Breakthrough get beautiful gentle longlasting hair color in just 10 minutes with revlon's high Dimension permanent hair color it'll take you longer to get dressed high dimension hair color only from Revlon connect with yourself achieve New Balance first one to five [Applause] H out hey can your lip color Outlast this how about this or this new CoverGirl Outlast the Revolutionary lip system that will change the way you think about lip color just apply then glassify and it last 8 hours it even outlasts a leading longwearing lipstick 8 hours that's where I'm out new out in a now this love of mine with the heart of the me pill my heart to your my heart to yours pillsberry they're not just low they're low hips have never looked hotter how low can you go the only thing lower is the price you got it get this look only adult Navy this portion of e is brought to you by Old Navy to shop online or find the nearest store click on oldnavy.com the television Academy has honored The E True Hollywood Story with an Emmy nomination The E True Hollywood Story every 98 only on E it's the 2001 Pontiac summer clearance at your local get Pontiac buying excitement with big cash back or 0% APR financing on all 2001 Pontiac models choose $2500 cash back or Zer APR on 2001 Grand D $2500 cash back or Zer APR on 2001 Grand Prix hurry in now for Best Selection during the 2001 Pontiac summer clearance now at your local Pontiac dealer it's going on right now at the corner of Sunrise and Kirby in Roseville the complete liquidation of all furniture and bedding at the Roseville location of American Furniture Galleries Everything Must Go as we vacate the building forever a giant selection of beautiful arms tons of kids furniture recliners a great selection of dinette sets beautiful bedroom sets all at liquidation prices get in today as time is running out fast there is a giant selection of furniture embedding now but when it's gone it's gone after a highly successful 9-year run two spin-offs and several painful and public cast changes Three's Company bid farewell to the airwaves in 1985 few shows leave behind as Rich a legacy of both entertainment and turmoil throughout its run freze company never pretended to be anything more than it was for the most part I think it will be looked at as very funny show a farce that didn't change set out to change the world but that made people laugh and that was innocent and provocative but harmless we did a one act show every Friday night uh one act play that to me was they were Little Gems some even refer to the sitcom as the original show about nothing I think th company was it perhaps if I can be so bold or arrogant to say that it was an early version of what Seinfeld eventually became Suzanne Summers and Alan Hamill have had many years to reflect on her ugly and public departure from the show I just wish I hadn't had to leave under such adverse conditions I wish I didn't have to leave with all these people hating me I'm almost 20 years older now and 20 years wiser and I I I definitely would have handled it differently um I don't know if I could have changed their minds but my deportment probably would have been different it was a really tough time and I'm glad to see that we all survived in spite of it Suzanne Summers left a hole that the show never completely filled when we lost Chrissy the show was never quite the same but time has managed to heal some of the wounds I saw her a number of years ago and had a really great encounter with her and uh but then I always did have a great time with her you know I mean I she's very special to me just like Joyce you know is still the relationship between Suzanne and Joyce remains strained but I think I think it ran pretty deep with joy that's my feeling if she really now believes that that's how it happened then she isn't going to be able to learn from the situation because her perspective is so skewed until they sit down and talk to each other oneon-one I don't know if they'll ever really be healed for Joyce dwit the show's bitter ending sent her out of Hollywood on a spiritual journey that lasted 9 years I ended up studying the great religions of the world ended up traveling all over working with unbelievable teachers I have had the Good Fortune of studying with unbelievable people who have shared with me the wisdom that years and years of study and life has taught them the cast members have all moved on to other jobs and other roles but to a certain extent they will always be known as The Lovable characters they portrayed so many years ago would never tray the experience for for th company even Suzanne Summers has managed to find a silver lining I learned I I grew I moved on I moved forward and I'm not consumed with uh bitterness or or anything other than uh that was an interesting life experience one that most people will never have sadly time has taken a toll on the show's original cast in 1997 audre Lindley lost a battle with leukemia a year later lindley's TV husband Norman Fel died of bone cancer in 2001 Suzanne Summers revealed she was battling cancer and had a lump removed from her breast the actress also disclosed she was treating herself with iscador an herbal medicine in instead of chemotherapy you know they took the cancer out of me and um the the worry about breast cancer is recurrent so my what I've chosen to do for U my Aftercare is controversial but I feel really good about it and I just feel like uh you know I've licked this despite the problems that at times overshadowed 3's company for 30 minutes each week the comedy warmed our hearts and made us laugh that was golden time days of Television uh it was a rare wonderful experience and I can do it again I was always happy and very very grateful to come back to th company every year whatever challenge we may have occurred or incurred in the process of getting the show ready or doing business um and mushing that all together the actual shooting of the show the actual audience is in lights up curtain up let's do this baby let's give it to him now now that process was never anything but Exquisite we used to get very strange busloads of people to come to our show hey you want to watch a taping what is it thre company never heard of it so one time we came out and in the front row this was early on there were like 17 nuns and it's like Chrissy Chrissy where's my left testicle I Don't Know Jack you had it you know and we're doing jokes like this and the nuns are like Three's Company we thought it would be the Father the Son and the Holy Ghost instead of these teenagers with erections and moisture anyway it was a nightmare and then they said come on where you going to get these people and they brought in literally holy people from India with dots and saffron robes going like this are we getting money for this you know they don't even understand who's finding they said they're the only people that can come you're going to not Berry Farm though they shun us you know
← All Summaries
Watch on YouTube
Great Pods
Great Pods