“Herbert Leonard, who ‘found’ Maharis and intended to make him a star, was pretty miffed when he later learned Maharis was a tempermental homo, eventually leading to his exit and replacement by Glenn Corbett.”
He left due to health problems , including hepatitis .
Well, Maharis had that hepatitis bout in the latter half of second-season, leading to a spate of Milner-only episodes, then came back for third-season, but then bowed out again mid-season. A buddy of mine who interviewed Stirling Silliphant related to me that Leonard, who had a lot of high hopes wound up in Maharis got really put out with him, and implied it involved some homo shenanigans.
Oddly enough, I tend to rather like the Corbett episodes (and I seem to be in a minority on that), even though it altered the seeming chemistry of the series. Anyway, whenever I’ve met actors who’ve appeared in the show (Elizabeth McCrea, Anne Helm, Veronica Cartwright, etc.), I always have asked about their experiences on it. The on-location work always seems to make them memorable to folks.