Posted on 11/25/2012 7:06:22 AM PST by PJ-Comix
People in the entertainment business sometimes make horrible career decisions. This is what is known as the "McLean Stevenson Effect." Named after actor McLean Stevenson who played the part of Henry Blake in the hit TV series "M*A*S*H." Stevenson was unhappy with being part of an ensemble so after about 3 seasons left the show to become the lead in the "McLean Stevenson Show" which promptly flopped. His career never recovered.
Another victim of the McLean Stevenson effect was Shelly Long who was in the hit series "Cheers." She left after 5 seasons to become a movie actress but pretty much flopped in that endeavor.
Finally there was Jeff Conaway who starred in my own favorite TV series "Taxi." After 3 seasons he left the show with a one-way ticket to obscurity.
Who else made poor showbiz career decisions to become victims of the "McLean Stevenson Effect."
That sounds suspiciously like integrity. I hope you're not telling me that someone in Hollywood has principles.
Whatever that conflict was killed one of the best-written TV shows I’ve ever seen. That show lived continuity and it showed.
Don Knotts leaving the Andy Griffith Show
Villechaize was in a movie. “The Forbidden Zone”. If you want to see the weirdest movie ever, rent it if you can find it.
Danny Elfman is in it and does some of the music but his Scientoligst brother directed it. It is truly bizarre.
Larry Linville.
From what I’ve read he got tired of playing Frank Burns and thought he had taken the character as far as he could. When the show moved from comedy to more of a drama-based show he saw himself boxed out.
He had numerous guest appearances after leaving MASH on shows like “Murder, She Wrote”, Love Boat, Mission: Impossible, The Rockford Files, Bonanza and Mannix.
I would atttribute it more to career survival instinct than integrity. Then again, Burt made plenty of other pretty lousy career decisions along the way.
Survival counts too. The dead face few moral quandaries. ;^)
Whoever cast Ashton Krutcher to replace Charlie Sheen in Two and a Half Men has big time fail in their future.
They wouldn't have kept him around forever, so he took his shot. It didn't work out, but at least people know his name even today. Joanie, Erin Moran, wasn't anywhere near as fortunate (assuming she wanted to stay in show business).
There may be some spectacular cases of bad choices, but show business is so iffy that some of these people may have left just before they lost their roles. Plus, it can be hard to tell who jumped and who was pushed. Did Shannen Doherty leave 90210 on her own, or was she such a pain that she was eased out?
It seems like Chevy Chase was on Saturday Night Live forever, but he only did about one season before leaving for LA to marry somebody who lived there. The marriage didn't laugh, and I guess he had a typical SNL alumni career, but it's great for the viewing public that he bailed as soon as he did.
Mike Farrell only seems to turn up in ads for the left-wing Nation magazine. A lot of people who "failed" as actors, though, go into producing and do alright. No need to worry about them.
You knew him?
Blake was the best charcter ever on TV IMO.
When I was in college, I sometimes chauffeured visiting speakers in my (very old) car for a few days. Larry Linville was one of them. He was very nice and gracious, and showed a lively interest in my major, which was physics. He seemed like a very sharp guy and was also really quick-witted.
David Krumholtz: Lost his gig as Morrow’s Brainiac brother, Charley and hasn’t done much of note since.
‘Then Came Bronson’ was great! Well produced and directed TV but it only lasted one season iirc, 1969-1970. Around 26/27(??) or so episodes were done and I have the full collection on DVD. (Now I’m gonna have to go find ‘em and watch a few, haven’t seen any of them for a while!)
I thought “Partners” was already canceled?
Yeah, I didn’t realize Partners had already been canceled until my wife just told me.
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