Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Making the Leap from Small Screen to Big Screen

Television has long provided both a training ground for would-be film stars and a second life for former film stars. The road from little screen to big screen has been travelled successfully by the likes of Steve McQueen (Wanted: Dead or Alive) and Clint Eastwood (Rawhide). Other TV performers have achieved spotty silver screen success (e.g., Chevy Chase)… and then there were those who never should have given up a good television gig (e.g., David Caruso in NYPD Blue, Hugh O’Brien in Wyatt Earp). Below are three actors who left hit series, at the height of their popularity, to take a crack at movie stardom.
By 1963, George Maharis had played the cool, likable Buz Murdock for almost three seasons on Route 66. During that time, he had earned an Emmy nomination for playing Buz, scored a Top 25 hit record with “Teach Me Tonight,” and was generally regarded as a TV heartthrob. He left Route 66 in the middle of the third season, stating that the constant traveling was causing health problems (the series was shot on location throughout the U.S). The producers claimed it was just an excuse to try his hand at movie stardom. Whatever the reason, it was moot—Maharis’s film career never took off. The Satan Bug, despite being an entertaining thriller about a germ warfare and global blackmail, was a flop. Quick, Before It Melts (1964), The Happening (1967), and other efforts tanked, too. By 1970, Maharis was back as a TV series regular in the short-lived detective series The Most Deadly Game.

James Garner was so popular as easygoing Bret Maverick in the 1957-62 Maverick TV series that he starred in films while concurrently acting in his hit show. Admittedly, Darby’s Rangers (1959) and Cash McCall (1960) weren’t huge successes (though the latter is a fun flick). Still, Garner had greased the proverbial skids by the time he left Maverick in 1960 after a contract dispute with Warner Bros. He quickly racked up impressive performances in The Children’s Hour, The Great Escape, The Americanization of Emily, Support Your Local Sheriff, and many others. NBC lured Garner back to television in 1971 for Nichols, which was basically a reworking of Support Your Local Sheriff. When the show flopped, NBC decided it was because of the offbeat lead character, so the original Nichols was killed off and Garner then played his twin. That didn’t work either and the show was cancelled after a year. Garner rebounded nicely, returning to television three years later as private eye Jim Rockford in The Rockford Files, which ran for six years and earned Garner an Emmy. Post-Rockford, Garner returned to the screen in some of his biggest hits, Victor/Victoria and Murphy’s Romance. Few stars have floated back & forth between the small and big screen so effortlessly.

Pernell Roberts had it made in the early 1960s. As Adam Cartwright, he was arguably the most popular star on TV’s powerhouse Western family drama Bonanza…but Roberts was unhappy. He famously argued that Adam, the eldest Cartwright son and an architect, wouldn’t call his father “Pa”. At the height of his popularity, Roberts left Bonanza in 1966 to focus on the stage, music (he had recorded an album in 1962), and theatrical films. He starred in the famously panned stage musical Gone With the Wind (originally titled Scarlett) with Lesley Ann Warren. He made a couple of forgettable, low-budget foreign films (e.g., Four Rode Out). Mostly, he stayed busy by guest starring on a number of TV series such as Gunsmoke, The Big Valley, Mission: Impossible, and Ironside. Finally, in 1979, he found success again as the title character in the belated M*A*S*H spinoff Trapper John, M.D.

OK, Café patrons, what other TV stars tried to make the leap from TV to film—either successfully or unsuccessfully?

21 comments:

  1. What I remember about the demise of George Maharis was some kind of "morals" arrest in the 60's. In those days anything to do with overtly gay behavior was taboo (case in point, the too-early end of Tommy Kirk's career). So I'm thinking that arrest (and I think there were others) probably played a big part in the stall of his career.

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  2. Rick, it's early and I can't think right now of other similar actors, but I just had to say this is a really good blog. Very entertaining and good idea!

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  3. Off the top of my head, Clint Eastwood. he began acting during the mid 1950s , with small parts in B films. His break came while visiting a friend at the CBS lot when a studio exec thought he looked like a cowboy. He played the part of Rowdy Yates in the TV series Rawhide, which ran from 1959 to 1966. He did not make another film until (1964) FISTFUL OF DOLLARS. Although, he did make several guest appearances on TV, including the western comedy series Maverick in which he fought James Garner in the "Duel at Sundown".

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  4. Eve, George Maharis's first "scandal" (charges were dropped) occurred in 1967 after he had been headlining theatrical films for three years. So I think his lack of big screen success was more a matter of not choosing the right roles (I think he could have played a bad guy persuasively) and being unable to shake his contemporary "cool" persona from ROUTE 66. Hey, Dawn, I did mention Clint...who was smart enough to wait until the cancellation of RAWHIDE to pursue a film career as a leading man. I wonder if "jumping ship" from a hit show makes some producers leery of working with an actor.

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  5. oops, you did.. it was 4:30 AM when i wrote my reply. i will try and think of another one.

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  6. Michael Douglas, first break was one of my favorite TV series "The Streets of San Francisco" (1972) opposite Karl Malden. He left it to produce ONE WHO FLEW OVER THE CUCKOOS"S NEST (1975). In (1984) he did ROMANCING THE STONE .

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  7. Rick ,James Garner was the one who killed off Nichols. The Chevy division of GM was the main sponsor, and when they did not get a Mavrick" they pulled out. The ratings were OK . When James found out what NBC was going to cancel the school, he beat them to the punch and killed Nichols. NBC said you can't do that. James said watch me. Got to love it.

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  8. BTW According to James Nichols was more about the West at the turn of the century. He rode a motorcycle , not a horse, I remember that I really liked the show. And I know every shot of "Sheriff,". Must have seen it in theaters at least 20 plus. times It's a classic and was the first project of James company Cherokee Productions.

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  9. Great article! David Caruso left NYPD Blue after one season in 1994 to do movies. His movies flopped big and he wisely returned to tv in CSI:Miami in 2002. That show is still on the air and restored him to star status. Don Johnson is another good example. He starred for 6 years on Miami Vice. He went back to features and did some so-so movies. Then he returned to series tv and had a hit with Nash Bridges for 5 years.

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  10. George Clooney is the best modern-era example of a TV star successfully making it in movies, a la McQueen and Eastwood. He was a sensation in ER but wisely did not "do a Caruso" (or Farrah Fawcett) and leave too quickly. It took him a moment, but once THREE KINGS and THE PERFECT STORM were hits, he was pretty much on his way and I think the OCEAN'S 11 franchise pretty much sealed it. He's A-List now...

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  11. John Travolta made the leap successfully from Welcome Back, Kotter, as well. I really liked George Maharis. He was underrated as Buz and I thought that he and Martin Milner's Tod had a great rapport. Excellent blog, Rick!

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  12. Travolta, Clooney, Don Johnson, and Michael Douglas are all excellent additions! I also thought of Tom Selleck who didn't make much impact with movies like HIGH ROAD TO CHINA.

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  13. Rick 3 Men and A Baby was a monster hit, somuch so that it lead to 3 Men and a Little Lady. Mt favorite Tom film is MR. Baseball. Runaway is OK too.

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  14. True, Paul, but THREE MEN had an ensemble cast and Tom still has to be accountable for HER ALIBI, LASSITER, FOLKS, and others.

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  15. So Rick tell me, Whats Steve, Ted, and Nancy done lately? Not Much.

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  16. Well, Ted has earned a couple of Emmy noms for the TV series "Damages." Tom hasn't done much either, except for his made-for-TV film series. I saw Tom in the audience at a play in NYC in the 1980s. I could be part of Six Degrees of Tom Selleck!

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  17. Rick Of course you left out the Big one who made the jump from TV...... Tom Hanks.

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  18. i just thought of two more . Robin Williams, After his role as Mork on Mork & Mindy, did'nt he start to do movies?
    Jim Carrey, was'nt he sucessful in movies after SNL ?

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  19. Tom's also doing a lot of 'Voice Over" work. Flordia Orange Juice anyone?

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  20. Jim Carrey's big TV show was "In Living Color" in the early 90's - he made THE MASK on the heels of that show...don't think he was a regular on SNL...BUT...what about the ladies??? Hello!!! Let's start with "Gidget," "Flying Nun" Sally Field - who's won two Oscars for Best Actress?? Mary Tyler Moore had more trouble with transitioning but eventually got an Oscar nod for her role in Ordinary People...Lucille Ball is interesting, she had a B-movie career till she became one of the first TV superstars - then she made some very popular movies, first with Desi Arnaz while "I Love Lucy" was on the air, later with Bob Hope, Henry Fonda and Brian Keith.

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  21. And Demi Moore was on "General Hospital." I'm not forgettin' about the ladies! There are a host of performers who started on TV and later became film stars. This discussion has been a lot of fun--even if it has strayed a wee bit from the blog topic of actors who left while their TV series were still on the air.

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