Charlie Sheen isn't the first major character to be axed from a hit show ("Two and a Half Men"), and there are others who (sometimes) ill-advisedly killed their own golden goose while their former show, despite dire predictions, went on.
Here are some memorable examples.
Shelly Long on "Cheers"
When Cheers debuted in 1982, one of the main continuing story threads was the love/hate relationship between wannabe-intellectual waitress Diane (Shelley Long) and retired athlete/bar owner Sam (Ted Danson). But behind the scenes, Long's relationship with not only Danson but the rest of the cast and crew of Cheers leaned more toward the "hate" side of the equation. Long was a perfectionist and, among other quirks, often held up taping for 45 minutes or more to have her hair and make-up redone (all the while, the studio audience was sitting and waiting).
After the box office success of her 1987 film Outrageous Fortune, Long decided to leave Cheers to pursue her movie career. Unbeknowst to critics and viewers who predicted certain death for the sitcom with the departure of such a major character, Long's departure actually relieved a good deal of on-set tension and virtually revitalized the cast and writers. Cheers ran for another very successful six seasons until Ted Danson finally decided to call it quits.
Ron Howard on "Happy Days"
Red-haired aw-shucks all-wholesome-American Ron Howard starred as Richie Cunningham on Happy Days for the first seven years of the long-running sitcom's 10 year run. Howard had been acting since the age of four, including a nine-year stint as Opie on The Andy Griffith Show.
Having spent most of his life on studio sets, he developed a serious interest in acting directing, and the respectable box office results of 1977's Grand Theft Auto, his directorial debut, further whetted his creative appetite. He was itching to stop playing a teenager and start pursuing his dream. Since virtually every Happy Days plot revolved around Richie, the producers were panicked when Howard gave his notice, so he agreed to return for a limited number of guest shots after his character joined the Army and was shipped off to Greenland.
Happy Days continued for another four seasons, but the changes wrought by Howard's departure were mind-boggling. Somehow Joanie, Chachi, Fonzie, et al., were magically transported 30 years into the future. Instead of a feel-good slice of 1950s nostalgia, viewers were treated to a barrage of Very Special Episodes (with formerly apolitical Fonzie suddenly solving the problem du jour—be it racism, single parenthood, or alcoholism—in 30 minutes) and featuring cast members who looked like they'd stepped out of an Izod ad rather than the Eisenhower era.
Of course, Howard hasn't done too badly for himself since hanging up his Jefferson High jacket...
Rob Lowe on "The West Wing"
When Rob Lowe first signed on to play Deputy Communications Director Sam Seaborn on The West Wing, he was considered the "box office draw" and was likewise given both top billing and the highest salary. But after the first season, the show started to gain critical acclaim and the supporting cast attracted more attention.
Once The West Wing became a bona fide ratings hit, supporting actors Allison Janney, Bradley Whitford, Richard Schiff, and John Spencer joined forces and demanded a sizable salary increase. The granted pay raise brought the quartet up to the same salary level as original "main" star Rob Lowe.
When Lowe asked for a raise, the producers refused him and, as Lowe later stated in his autobiography, he thought, "You know what? This is not right. It's just not right," so he called it quits in 2003. Despite his bitter departure, Lowe was still appreciative to the series' producers for essentially reviving his career (which had been in a slump after a notorious hotel sex video was made public) and he appeared in two parts of a four-episode story arc that served as the series finale in 2006.
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