When a regular leaves a TV series, the producers are left with three options: (1) write the character out of the show; (2) recast the same character with a new performer; or (3) cast a new performer as a new character. All three options have been tried—some with great success and other with disastrous results. When Dick York left
Bewitched, the role of Darren was recast with Dick Sargent and the show hardly skipped a beat. In contrast,
Dallas viewers never accepted Donna Reed when she replaced Barbara Bel Geddes as Miss Ellie. After a year away from
Dallas, Reed was out and Bel Geddes rejoined the show. Below are the five most successful replacements of a TV series star:
1.
Diana Rigg, The Avengers. British audiences loved Honor Blackman as Dr. Cathy Gale, the high-kicking partner to Patrick Macnee’s dapper gentleman investigator. When she left in 1964 after two seasons, Rigg joined the show as Mrs. Emma Peel and her chemistry with Macnee was even better. The Rigg episodes were the first ones shown in the U.S., so for many years, most American viewers didn’t even know Steed had an earlier partner (actually several…he worked with others before Cathy).
2.
Peter Graves, Mission: Impossible. During the series’ first season, Steven Hill played the Impossible Mission Force’s (IMF) intense leader Dan Briggs. Hill, who was an Orthodox Jew, experienced challenges with the show’s demanding shooting schedule. He left the series and was replaced by Peter Graves, whose Jim Phelps was a more laidback IMF leader. Although the transition from Briggs to Phelps was never explained, audiences accepted Phelps immediately and
Mission: Impossible continued to be a ratings hit. During its initial seven-year run,
Mission: Impossible replaced numerous stars, proving that the format was what appealed most to viewers—a lesson learned later by
Law and Order.
3.
Harry Morgan, M*A*S*H. The role of Henry Blake, the easygoing commander of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, propelled MacLean Stevenson to TV stardom. However, during the third season of
M*A*S*H, he became dissatisfied with his amount of screen time and asked to leave the series. As a result, Henry Blake was shot down in a helicopter and eventually replaced by the much more rigid, but fatherly, Colonel Sherman T. Potter. Viewers embraced Morgan’s character quickly and
M*A*S*H continued for eight more seasons. Stevenson starred in four sitcoms between 1976 and 1983, with none of them lasting longer than a season.
4.
Ken Curtis, Gunsmoke. For nine years, Dennis Weaver played Marshal Matt Dillon’s trusty sidekick, Chester, who walked with a stiff right leg (the reason was never given). Though still very popular, Weaver left his most famous role after the 1964 season to star in his own series,
Kentucky Jones. It only lasted one season, but Weaver had a moderate hit in the 1970s with
McCloud. Ken Curtis first appeared as Festus Haggen in a 1962 episode of
Gunsmoke. He joined the cast as a full-time regular in 1964 and subsequently became Matt’s only official deputy (Chester was never deputized!). He appeared on
Gunsmoke for 11 years.
5.
Dick Sargent, Bewitched. After five years of playing Darrin Stephens, husband to the charming witch Samantha, Dick York had to leave to the show due to a severe back condition. Dick Sargent, who actually bore a slight resemblance to York, stepped in quickly and went on to play Darrin for the final three seasons of
Bewitched.
