Why Did Some of the Actors Leave the Show?

[dvlvan26]

Does anybody know why certain actors left DS?

[BuzzH]

Does anybody know why certain actors left DS?

Mitch Ryan was actually fired because of his drinking (not gossip, fact) and Anthony George simply had his contract expire.  Guess he didn't want to re-sign another, but don't know why.  Marie Wallace went on to another soap when [spoiler]it became clear she was again going to be killed off--as Megan the vampire[/spoiler]KLS left to get married, Alexandra to have a baby, Bob Gerringer and the guy who played the first Old Caretaker were fired when they wouldn't cross the picket line during a strike.  Both Johnny Karlen and Louie Edmonds would leave for long stretches to do plays as did, eventually, most of the core cast to do HODS.

The interesting thing is, Jonathan's contract w/the show expired during the 1840 plotline and he played w/out one for the remainder of that plotline but when it ended was planning on leaving until they offered him a different part to play-namely Bramwell.  Seems he was tired of playing the same old vampire. 

[Gothick]

It seems from what I have read that most of the actors worked without a contract.  KLS implied in her first book that she had had one (perhaps a 3 year one?) but it had expired at some point in 1969, I think.

Lisa Richards said in a published interview that they suddenly wrote her character out of the script after she had a talk with DC about a raise.  I believe that Robert Rodan had something similar happen to him.

G.

[BuzzH]

It seems from what I have read that most of the actors worked without a contract. 

That makes total sense for ppl who would come and go often (Marie Wallace, Roger Davis, Johnny Karlen etc...) 

[Mysterious Benefactor]

The choices for this poll were a casualty of the problem with the database. 

However, dvlvan26, if you PM me your choices, I'll add them back for you. 

[dvlvan26]

The choices for this poll were a casualty of the problem with the database. 

However, dvlvan26, if you PM me your choices, I'll add them back for you. 

Hello, what's PM?

[Charles_Ellis]

Some other departures and their reasons:

Diana Millay- pregnancy (1967)

Donna MacKechnie- left for B'way musical "Company" (1969-70)

John Karlen (1970PT)- left to film "Daughters of Darkness" in Belgium

Conard Fowkes- left for "Edge of Night" (1967)

Don Briscoe- physical/mental breakdown (1970)

Roger Davis- left for Hollywood and 'pilot season' (1970)

David Selby- was unable to do the last weeks of DS as he was in the hospital with appendicitis (1971)

[Midnite]

Hello, what's PM?

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[Professor1985]

Here's some additions. I remember

Alexandra Moltke- Left due to her pregnancy (1968)

Kathryn Leigh Scott- Left for Eurpoe with her boyfriend (soon to be her former husband) (1970). To me DS wasn't the same without KLS, it's like the flavor of the show disapeared just like Trevor Bannister leaving "Are You Being Served?".

Joel Crothers- Left for "The Secret Storm" (1969)

Marie Wallace- Left for "Somerset" (1970)

Jerry Lacy- Left for "As The World Turns" (1971)

David Henesey- Left to move to the West Coast, I think. (1970)

Denise Nickerson- Left I think to film "Willie Wonka and The Chocolate Factory" which released in 1971. (1970)

David Ford- He was fired I think because he couldn't remember his lines, and his Sam Evans character was killed off. (1968)

Clarice Blackburn- Left for "Somerset" I think. (1970)

Craig Slocum- He didn't show up for a final appearance as Harry Johnson (1969)

[michael c]

it's interesting when mere happenstance changed the set-up and sent the storyline in different directions.

mitch ryan as burke devlin is a good example.he left the show abruptly and was replaced by an actor who only signed on for six months.but as one of the show's original leads he must have had something of a long-term contract.let's say two years.

how would the storyline have differed had ryan fullfilled his contactural obligations and not been replaced by an actor who played the character so differently?ryan's burke was angry and belligerent.anthony george's was quiter,calmer.one can easily imagine ryan hammering a stake through someone's heart but could he have played the good jeremiah?would the 1795 storyline have been told differently and how would burke have fit into the plot post-1795?the departure of both actors made it possible for the vicki/peter romance to blossom and that became the obstacle for barnbas to deal with.

b.t.w. i always heard that once the show went into time travel anthony george wanted out post-haste.

alexandra moltke is another good example.while it is frequently debated whether or not victoria drifted towards "absolencence" as the time passed she too had a contract.i've understood from reputable sources it was for five years.so had "fate" not intervened and she hadn't become pregnant and simply fullfilled the obligations of the contract she would have remained on the show for it's entire run.what are the implications of that?would there have been less time travel?would dan curtis have relented and cast her as another character?at some point it wouldn't have made sense to keep plunking this girl down in differnt time periods.

had alexandra not left there never would have been need for maggie to take over as collinwood governess.so what would have kathryn leigh scott have done?bringing her into collinwood gave maggie some footing at a time when the character was rather adrift.

had "factor x" been "factor y" things could have played out very differently.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

it's interesting when mere happenstance changed the set-up and sent the storyline in different directions.

That's very true. The behind the scenes goings on that influenced the storylines are often just as interesting as what was happening on screen.    That's why I think some of the criticism of the writers is unfair because often what took place on screen was predicated on what was going on behind the scenes.

[joe integlia]

i believe joan bennett had a contract. its been said by ron sproat (way back at the first ds festival) that she had it in her contract to be allowed to leave the show once a year to do plays. this is why we saw her put into a coma in 67 and burried alive in 68 and sent away in 69.

[Julia99]

Couldn't we simply this by saying generally the actors left due to 1) boredom or 2) salary disputes?  

[michael c]

Couldn't we simply this by saying generally the actors left due to 1) boredom or 2) salary disputes?   

because that wouldn't be that much fun.

[Lydia]

one can easily imagine ryan hammering a stake through someone's heart but could he have played the good jeremiah?would the 1795 storyline have been told differently

I've always thought that Jeremiah and Josette were capable of buckling down, gritting their teeth, facing facts, biting the bullet, (I've run out of cliches) and making "a good life together" - Jeremiah's words, I believe.  I don't think I'd have been so sure if it had been Ryan playing Jeremiah.  In that case, with Ryan's contract still alive and kicking, they might cancelled Barnabas's dramatic reaction (and possibly saved Jonathan Frid a few hours of sleep since the scene in question might not have been there to need editing) and opted for some interesting interactions between Jeremiah, Josette, Barnabas, and Vicky.