Wow... I’d long forgotten he’d had a stint in acting. He had a strong presence wherever he was, that’s for sure.
Meredith had a taste of acting (just as O.J. Simpson did) and NBC wooed Meredith for a tv series although many felt it was simply a way to sabotage ABC which was dominating Monday night ratings in the fall due to Monday Night Football.
They told Don what a great acting talent he was and offered him a tv show and other paid appearances if he would just switch over to NBC. Meredith supposedly went back to ABC and asked them if they'd match NBC's offer. ABC refused so Meredith went to NBC and Monday Night Football was never the same afterwards as they tried a number of replacements from Simpson to Fred "The Hammer" Williamson to Joe Namath to Alex Karras to Fran Tarkenton all the way to Dennis Miller but could never recapture the magic the chemistry they had with Meredith and Cosell.