All language subtitles for The.Unknown.Story.S01E04.Threes.Company.1080p.PCOK.WEB-DL.AAC2.0.H.264-playWEB_track3_[eng]

It's an
American comedy classic.

When two
girls move in with one guy...

There's bound
to be some surprises.

It was vaudeville.

I would come to the door,
"bing bong".

Eh, it's Larry.

Its stars became
television legends.

People forget what a talented
physical actor John Ritter was.

Suzanne Somers became
the breakout star of the show.

Joyce Dewitt as Janet is
a comedic genius.

Norman Fell was perfect
as Stanley Roper.

Then we got Don Knotts,
that's comedy gold right there.

Three's
Company pushed boundaries,

even in the age of jiggle TV.

You didn't really talk about
gay or gay issues.

So it was one area where
Three's Company

was a little bit edgy.

The landlord didn't actually
care that Jack was gay.

He just didn't want a
gentleman in the house

having pre-marital sex.

But on-screen
comedy gave way

to some off-screen drama.

Suzanne Somers was as
famous as the male lead

on the show, John Ritter.

She went in and she asked
for a huge increase in salary.

She wanted to be earning
exactly the same

as her male co star.

ABC told her to go take
a hike.

They had the idea to
create Three's a Crowd

and they didn't really tell
anybody

other than John Ritter.

I think Joyce felt that the
producers betrayed her.

We'll explore
why Three's Company

stands the test of time.

I don't think my shrink has
asked these kinds of questions.

The chemistry on Three's
Company was unmatched,

unparalleled.
I's just magic.

This did not fit in with
anything else on television.

Suddenly we had these three
young beautiful people

changing the rules.
It was revolutionary.

If any American
sitcom seemed to reflect

the late 1970's and early
1980's,

it was Three's Company.

That whole show, you know
what my favorite episode

of Three's Company was?

The one with the
misunderstanding.

I've only got one thing
worth selling

and I was hoping to save
that till I got married.

It's based on the most
simple element of comedy.

I don't want to give a
treatise on, you know,

the history of comedy, but
it was, it was farce

pure and simple.

Three's Company had some
of the rhythms

and some of the wordplay of
a naughty French stage drama.

They were sophomoric.

They would always mistake
something,

someone who didn't see
what was going on,

would mistake it for
something highly sexual

and it would turn out to be
something else.

And that was basically the
algebra of Three's Company.

There was some sort of
silly misunderstanding,

plus wacky hijinks would
ensue, plus physical comedy,

plus Chrissy Snow in short
shorts bouncing up and down,

equals ratings gold.

In the 1970's on Three's
Company,

you had to talk about sex
without saying sex.

And that's what the show
became known for.

The difference between
Three's Company

and other shows is Three's
Company made it charming.

There's just no way anyone
can be threatened

by Mr. Furly, Mr. Roper, or
Jack Tripper.

No matter how sexist
they are,

no matter how homophobic
they are,

they are so non-threatening

that you end up laughing
alongside them.

The audience immediately
liked Three's Company

because there were three
really good-looking people

living together by the
beach.

Then underneath: the really
incredible timing,

the slapstick comedy.

And then underneath that is
this tiny little bit of energy

about like Jack proceeding
to be gay.

The concept is actually so
incredibly high-concept,

it boggles the mind today.

But the success
of any comedic ensemble

hinges on finding the perfect
on-screen chemistry.

As Three's Company began
casting back in 1976,

that chemistry was hard to find.

The Three's Company that
we know today

is not how this show started.

It took two different pilots
before they figure out

exactly what this show should
be.

Fred Silverman
was already a legendary

TV executive.

He's the mastermind behind
All In The Family, MASH,

and The Jeffersons at CBS.

In 1975 he moves to ABC,
where he greenlights

hit after hit.

Including Soap, Laverne and
Shirley and Donny and Marie.

But he's always looking for
his next success.

Like a lot of great shows,
we have stolen them

from Great Britain, right?

And so Three's Company is
no, is no different.

So, there was a show on the
air in London

that was called Man About
The House

and it was the same exact
set up.

Silverman asks
MASH creator Larry Gelbart

to take a pass at Americanizing
the concept.

And likes the script enough to
film a first pilot

but it doesn't seem to work.

Silverman then brings in the
writers who adapted

the British version of All In
The Family

and shoots a second pilot
with a different

Chrissy and Janet.

The pilot that did
ultimately become

Three's Company,
after several tries

by several writers,

did hue pretty closely to the
British format

of Man About The House.

Even to the extent of the
older landlords downstairs

who are conservative and
don't want a man

living with women.

A young John
Ritter is cast as the lead,

Jack Tripper.

Originally it was going to
be Billy Crystal,

he auditioned for the lead.

John Ritter was the son of
a western star, Tex Ritter,

so he was kind of known to
the American audience

because he had done a lot
of guest spots.

John brought the
vulnerability,

the believability, you know,
and the like, the likability.

I mean, he brought all of
that

and the physical comedy
aspect of it.

People forget what a
talented physical actor

John Ritter was.

The man was a physical
genius.

Talk about a confluence
of the right elements

at the right time.
John Ritter proved to be a

great physical comedian,
which is just what the show

often called for.

There was a lot of hiding in
closets and misunderstanding

and falling over things.

He really raised the game
there.

That certainly wasn't written
on the page

when he got the part, but
he brought it to himself.

And that really helped define
that show.

The producers
bring in a relative unknown

to play Janet.

Before getting cast on
Three's Company,

Joyce Dewitt was a, kind of
a fairly serious theater actor.

She had a Masters in Fine
Arts from UCLA in theater.

This was gonna be her big
shot at network television.

Joyce Dewitt as Janet is
a comedic genius

alongside John Ritter.

You have to have an
incredible amount of talent

to keep up with John Ritter.

I think she had the toughest
job on the show.

She was the classic setup
character.

She would set John up,
she would set me up,

she was the sane one.

Joyce, you know, she really
was the through line

and she was a real balance
for John's character, Jack.

Joyce Dewitt really brought
a roundedness

to that character that helped
the show work.

Because they couldn't all be
idiots all the time.

Someone had to make it
believable for the rest of us.

There were a lot of blondes,
but there was only one

brunette and that was Janet.

There was the third part,
it was Chrissy Snow,

that was really really hard
to cast.

After two pilots
with two different actresses

as Chrissy, a third pilot is
ordered

as the network searches for
that perfect fit.

All In The Family went
through three pilots,

the Love Boat went through
three pilots.

And in this case, Three's
Company went through

three pilots.

ABC had faith that this show
could be something

if they got that all-important
casting just right.

Frank Silverman sat there
for hours and hours

just going through tape after
tape after tape.

And suddenly somebody
popped,

that person was Suzanne
Somers.

Suzanne Somers had that
really memorable film role

in American Graffiti, driving
the car.

And the ultimately American
sex symbol,

a beautiful blonde.
It's the fantasy that you're

on the road
and you'll see Suzanne

Somers driving by like that.

Suzanne Somers was
on the brink of quitting

show business and got a call
from Fred Silverman's office

saying, "audition for Three's
Company."

And soon after
she is on set with Ritter

and Dewitt shooting the third
Three's Company pilot.

Everybody loved her,
you know?

She was goofy in an engaging
way.

Suzanne Somers really
brought another level

of believability to Chrissy.

Because that character was
really a potential cartoon.

She was one-dimensionally
blonde and dumb,

but she had that good heart
to her.

The chemistry that those
three had,

I mean, that was just lightning
in a bottle.

It really was amazing.

A third pilot is
picked up

and ABC sets Three's
Company to premier

as a mid-season replacement.

Expectations for the show
are minimum at best.

It can often be a precarious
position in which to premier.

The network didn't know
what they had,

in terms of having a hit.

THe show
premiers March 15th, 1977.

When Three's Company
finally aired,

after going through three
pilots and really not being,

I think, on the network's
radar as a potential mega-hit,

it really was, in terms of
the ratings,

a hit from the start.

One thing is for
sure,

the chemistry on Three's
Company was unmatched,

unparalleled, it's a once
in a lifetime thing.

It is the highest
rated mid-season show

ever broadcast on television
at the time.

The love from the audience
was astounding.

Then it translated to,
obviously, ratings.

'Cause ratings were, then, everything.

You know, now there's nine
million things to watch

with streaming, whatever.

There was fierce competition
between three networks.

And we were the top.

It was astounding to me
that it caught,

that it caught on so fast.

It becomes the
number three show

and is given a spot on ABC's
fall lineup,

where it will remain for 8
seasons.

We were part of a comedy
block that included

Laverne and Shirley and
Happy Days,

so we were in golden company
right there.

And when we got to the
actual soundstage

and the audience was there,
it just, you know,

elevated everyone's game
even more.

The response, the live
audience, the clapping

and the laughter.

John Ritter
tells Johnny Carson in 1984

that filming in front of a
live audience

keeps the cast on its toes.

It's like doing a one-act
play every week.

So we have to answer to
the audience, you know,

we have to learn our lines.

And it's always been an
ensemble effort.

So we all, like, get together
and it's the idea

of putting a play on as fast
as we can.

And then getting out alive.

I do remember it was
filmed before a live audience

at five o'clock and eight
o'clock.

And I do remember the
audience going nuts.

The atmosphere was kind of
electric

and people were going nuts
and laughing and applauding.

And we're like, "Wow, this
is a great gig."

It was all down to
a science, everything.

I mean, the flipping over
the couches and the tripping,

the falling, the drinking the
water and the fate, all that.

That was all rehearsed
ahead of time

so when the audience came in,

they really saw a show.

They saw a performance.

Richard Kline
appears as Jack's friend,

Larry Dallas, in the first
season.

It is supposed to be a one
time guest role.

Norman Fell came over to
me and said,

"You know, they're gonna
have you back

"because they love you, they
love you and John,

"they love you."

I said, "Okay, well that's
great."

You know, you don't believe
everything you hear,

especially in Hollywood.

So he was only gonna be
like a barely a guest bit

in the third or fourth episode
of Three's Company,

but by season three he was
a regular

because he really drove a
lot of the plot lines.

You know, like Larry always
had, like, a hairbrained scheme

for Jack.
Or Larry had, like, the worst

ideas for Jack.
It also gave them a really

good excuse to be at
the Regal Beagle.

Next thing I know,
they had me back

and I signed a five-year
contract.

Larry was like, kind of like
the devil on Jack's shoulder,

always like steering him in
the complete and total

wrong direction.

I would come to the door,
"bing bong", you know,

knock on the door or
whatever.

"Eh, it's Larry."

And during rehearsal you
can't imagine

what would happen, as far
as what would John be doing

to crack me up.
So he'd open, I'd open the door,

he'd have his pants down.

I'd open the door, he'd
have a clown nose on.

He just stayed shtick.

It was hilarity non-stop.

The show was a hit,
making its three leads stars.

But not everyone is
comfortable with that.

After three
pilots,

Three's Company premiers in
1977

as a mid-season replacement
and is immediately a hit

with audiences who love the
farce and physical comedy

in the show.

But it is still the era of
1970's jiggle TV

with its highly-sexualized
portrayals of women.

This was the age of jiggle
television.

You had two good looking
women living with

one young good-looking guy.

They would go to a bar,
the Regal Beagle,

with another good-looking
guy, Larry.

And the gang all, it was a,
you know...

The show oozed sex.

When you grow up and you
come back to it

you realize just how much
they objectified women,

how sexist it really was.

When our greatest
storytelling medium,

television, is nothing but,
as they called it back then,

jiggle TV, TNA by less polite
publications.

And it is true, Three's
Company was about

two young women and a
young man living together

without benefit of marriage,
they were young

and they were attractive.

But we do ourselves a
disservice to write these shows

all off as being of no value
whatsoever.

I think it was really actually
quite a smart program.

But the
objectification isn't limited

to the ladies of Three's
Company.

Jack Tripper, John Ritter's
character,

used to prance around in
his underthings

every bit as much as the
two women did.

There's an episode in which
he comes out in a,

in speedo underwear.

Morning.

I'm not sure how
to say this politely,

but has a package of sorts.

- How you doing.
- Oh, gee!

Do you have to walk around
the house in your underwear?

This is not underwear, it's
my bathing suit.

I ran out of clean shorts.

Oh, well in that case it's
alright.

And if that's not enough,

he's holding and eating
a banana.

Loans.
Yes, loans!

No, note loans.
Yes, loans.

Yes, loans is the key!
- He's really flipped out.

Should I call a doctor or
get an answer?

Why didn't I think of that
before?

I'm such an idiot!
- Oh!

Jack Tripper's
prat falls

and John Ritter's gift for
physical comedy

keep viewers coming back
for more.

He learned from the great
comedian Milton Burlon

and Terry Lewis, and George
Burns and all these people.

He mastered it.
He could do whatever you

wanted him to do physically,
he could do it.

He really brought a great
sense of physical comedy,

which is hard to do.
It takes athleticism.

John trying to get on to
the hammock

is one of the classic bits
of comedy ever filmed.

John has trouble getting on
to the hammock.

Or John gets on the hammock,
that was it.

And there was like three
to five minutes of him

bunching up the hammock,
putting it on the thing,

trying to get on.

Voo, falling over.

Behind its
bouncy veneer,

Three's Company has
something to say.

As much as there was
jiggle TV

and women being objectified,
there were also two women

who lived with Jack who
would check him

on any kind of sexist comment
he would make.

This did not fit in with
anything else on television.

It was really traditional
families

living traditional lives

and suddenly we had these
three young beautiful people

changing the rules.

It was revolutionary.

Three's
Company's open portrayal

of a gay man, or in the
case of Jack Tripper,

a man pretending to be gay,
pushes social boundaries.

You didn't really talk about
gay or gay issues.

So it was one area where
Three's Company

was a little bit edgy.

Jack Tripper has to
pretend he's gay

because the landlord doesn't
want a man living

with two women because...

I love that the landlord
didn't actually care

that Jack was pretending to
be gay or gay,

he just didn't want a
gentleman in the house

having pre-marital sex.

It demonstrates how
messed up

and kind of confused American
television was back then.

Meanwhile,
the show gains viewers

and becomes a regular
ratings winner.

As it does, members of the
cast of Three's Company

revel in their new fame.

Well, some of them do.

When you're on a hit show
like that,

there's a lot of publicity
involved, doing interviews

for print and for TV.

Joyce kind of shunned
publicity a little bit.

I don't know why.

There was a certain point
where they were on

every magazine cover.

But were we all looking at
John Ritter

or were we looking at
Chrissy Snow?

Legendary
ABC television executive

Fred Silverman, is thrilled
about the show's success.

So thrilled he's already
thinking about spin-offs.

All In The Family spun off
Maude.

All In The Family spun off
The Jeffersons.

ABC wanted to make the
same money.

Like its British
counterpart,

the show's producers turned
to the landlords, the Ropers,

played by Norman Thell
and Audra Linley.

When it came time,
the powers that be

wanted to give Stanley and
Ellen Roper their own show.

Where to look for the format?

Hey, they did that in England
too.

Their marriage was always
a hilarious coupling.

They had, like, a really
dynamic chemistry.

The Ropers.

Hellen was constantly trying
to get Stanley into the rack

and Stanley didn't want to
have anything to do with it.

Here are these two older
veteran character actors

who sometimes steal the
show.

Apart from Suzanne
Somers, the breakout stars

of Three's Company were
the Ropers.

Mr. and Mrs. Roper were
kind of the link

to the older generation, right?

And so Mr. Roper and Mrs.
Roper, especially Mr. Roper,

would be the butt of the
joke even though Mr. Roper

was making most of the
jokes about homosexuality.

He was already the clown
and the butt of the joke.

Norman Fell was
perfect as Stanley Roper.

He had this way of breaking
the fourth wall

and looking into the camera
and giving this wide grin.

And it's not something that
you can pull off easily

in a sitcom, to break the
fourth wall and look at

the audience like that.
But boy, he was great at it.

And in a way, it was
Normal Fell and the show

saying, "Listen, I'm playing
this character,

"he's this old stuffy guy,
he's set in his ways,

"he's so close-minded, he's
an idiot,

"I know that as well."

And that's when we would
break the wall

and the show would allow
him to break the wall

because the show would
break the wall with him.

And say, "Look, we know
this is stupid.

"You know, his Tinkerbell
jokes, his homophobic jokes,

"we know this is stupid too."

And so that was a great
way to communicate that

to the audience.

My favorite character in
Three's Company, by far,

is Mrs. Roper.

She was the emotional
conscience,

she was the Greek chorus, right?

Like telling us all really what
was happening throughout.

She was actually, really,
pulling all the strings.

Hellen Roper, his wife, was
played by Audra Linley,

again a comic actress.

She was let in on the
secret, on the second episode,

that Jack was not gay, and
she figured it out.

But of course, rather than
rat him out to Stanley,

she would much rather live
his adventures vicariously.

Having Mrs. Roper in on
that, uh,

also gave the older generation
a chance to go,

"Hey, you know, not all of
us

"are these close-minded
people."

And I think Mrs. Roper was
like a mother figure

who kind of understood that,
you know, ideas

that Mr. Roper and people
like Mr. Roper held on to

were ridiculous.

And the show revealed that
with his homophobic slurs

and jabs and jokes and all
that.

Just like his
British counterpart,

Silverman thinks the Ropers
are the perfect fit

for a spin off.

But there was one problem.

Norman Fell isn't interested.

It is 1978
and Three's Company

is in its third season.

The network decides to spin
off the landlords,

giving the Ropers their own
series.

But Norman Fell is hesitant
to leave an established hit

for a new spin off with an
uncertain future.

Norman Fell was made a
promise,

they said, "If the show doesn't
work out,

"you can come back to
Three's Company."

They're like, "Just trust us,
the Ropers are gonna be

"a hit, you can come back
to Three's Company."

The network
promises Fell

that if the spin off doesn't
last one year,

the Ropers can return to
Three's Company

and Fell finally agrees.

The Ropers leave Santa
Monica for a plush condo

in Cheviot Hills, making way
for Don Knotts to join the cast

as new building manager,
Mr. Furley.

We got five-time
emmy-award-winning

Don Knotts from the Andy
Griffith Show.

I think I said to myself, "Well,
we'll probably run

"for another five years
because that's comedy gold

"right there."

That was another clear
signal that Three's Company

was a big deal.

Because Don Knotts was
already television royalty.

The Ropers
premiers

as a mid-season replacement
on March 13th, 1979.

The Ropers followed
Three's Company

for its premier show.

The premier show of The
Ropers pulled in a 56 share.

A 56 share is like Superbowl
numbers then.

The show lasts
a season and a half.

Its success is short lived
but because it aired

more than that one year,
Fell and Linley

would not return to Three's
Company.

The show lasted a season
and a half,

it never really caught on.

The writing was already
on the wall

and that was just too bad.

I think there was a
misunderstanding

that they were so popular
they could carry

their own show, but they
really couldn't.

And The Ropers episodes,
if you watch the show,

they're not as strong, there's
no physical comedian

like a John Ritter on the
show.

The Ropers did not work
out and he did not come back

to Three's Company and he's
really heartbroken by that.

He loved the show but he
did not come back.

Don Knotts, of course, came
on as Mr. Furley

and he never left.

It didn't really make sense
for the producers to bring

the Ropers back.

I felt bad for, you know,
you know for them.

And the poor Ropers got
ushered out

of Three's Company land,
but what we got in return

was just as good and some
might say even better,

in Mr. Furley.

It was legend time.

Thanks to
Don Knotts as Mr. Furley,

Three's Company doesn't
miss a beat.

When you bring up Three's
Company with somebody,

the first question they ask,
if they're a fan of this show

talking to another fan is,
"Are you a Ropers guy

"or are you a Furley guy?"

And I always say I'm a
Furley guy.

I loved when Don Knotts
entered the show

as Ralph Furley, the new
landlord.

And the hijinks just went
up a notch.

It was like Barney Fife
grown up and grown grey

and maybe gotten a little
bit more with it

with a 70's wide-collared
shirt and Playboy attitude.

He was a swinging bachelor
himself,

although not a very
successful one.

And the roommates were
able to put one over on him.

Mr. Furley was the 1970's
swinger.

He was a party man hitting
on younger women.

His outfits were flying with
70's colors.

And he was homophobic
like Mr. Roper,

so Jack Tripper had to
pretend he was gay

for Mr. Furley.

And his spit takes on
homosexuality

make me laugh
and they also make me cry,

they really do.

He's a really hysterical
hysterical character.

And he, of course, had an
immense problem

with Jack being gay.

You know, he did not
understand it.

And so all of that was just,
like, you know,

boiled into this incredible
new character.

I think the episode of
"Snow Job" is one of his

greatest moments and it's so
minute you have to catch it.

When Chrissy's trying to
sell her cosmetic products

in the middle of a strip poker
game

and Mr. Furley buys all her
stuff.

For crying out loud, I'll
take it all.

I'll take everything you got.

And it's Don Knotts' reaction
when Don Knotts

just starts going, "Mmhmm,
mmhmm, mmhmm."

Just to shut her up.

Mr. Furley, thank you so
much!

Oh, you've made me so
happy!

Thank you, thank you so
much!

That is one of the greatest
comedic moments.

Don Knotts as Mr. Furley,
to this day, I think,

has the most interesting
face that has ever been

on television.

And there is nobody like him,
nobody who could contort

his expression in the way
that Mr. Furley could.

With Jack Tripper,
and Janet Wood,

and Chrissy Snow, there is
something about

that chemistry that no matter
who came into that sphere,

they would be lifted up as
well.

By 1980, five
seasons into its run,

Three's Company is one of
the most popular

and profitable shows on
television.

It started to take off.

It was half about the physical
comedy of John Ritter

and then it was about the
sex appeal of Chrissy Snow,

played by Suzanne Somers.

This is gonna be the John
Ritter vehicle.

He was gonna be the star of
Three's Company,

this was his show, it was
built around him.

He was Jack Tripper, he was
the guy.

Subsequently, that became
part of the problem

because the breakout star
for Three's Company

became, of course, Suzanne
Somers.

God, I mean, listen,
everybody was talking

about Suzanne Somers.

To the point where it led to
a lot of drama.

John Ritter was paid
substantially more

than Suzanne Somers.

Who was the star?

Was it John Ritter and his
wacky slapstick comedy

or was it Suzanne Somers
who was starting

to grace the covers of all
these magazines?

Suzanne was very much in
demand.

She was constantly doing
interviews,

magazine covers.

She was quote-un-quote the
next blonde after Farah.

Behind the
scenes,

tensions over Somers growing
fame have been brewing

since the show became a hit.

There was this big Newsweek
story with the three stars.

And what happened,
unfortunately,

is that Newsweek decided to
shoot Suzanne Somers

also on her own and then
insert her in front of

her two co stars.

And this just set up an entire,
like, you know,

palace intrigue and backstage
drama

for who was
the bigger star.

I actively, I've said this
many times,

sought the publicity.

It wasn't important in terms
of ego,

it was important of, "Ah,
that's good for this business."

This is my business.

That visibility then allows me
to go to point B.

At her core, Suzanne Somers
is a business woman.

And she knew that she was
really valuable

to the franchise, that the
show was thriving

very largely in part to her
being there.

She is one of
the hottest stars on television.

But Somers is earning less
than her male co star,

John Ritter.

It was not at all uncommon
for men and women

to make this dramatic
difference of money.

Not only does
she want to make as much

as Ritter, she wants to earn
as much as the male stars

of other hit shows.

On MASH, ranked 10th in
the ratings,

Alan Alda is making $200,000
an episode.

Somers is making $30,000
and episode as the star

of Three's Company which is
rated number one.

Long before this was a
topic we talked about,

Suzanne Somers was one of
the first women in TV

to march into the boss'
office and demand equal pay

for equal work.

I applaud her for wanting
to be paid as much

as a male co star.

But unfortunately, and
maybe even more so

for women, the audiences
can turn on you

if they think that they have
built you to who you are,

they have loved you in your
show,

they have made you and
now you're gonna turn around

and get greedy on them
and wanna make more

per week than they'll make
in a year.

The object was more
money.

The main object was profit
participation.

I own nothing of the show
and it, um...

I've been working for 15
years.

So even though I'm called
a flash in the pan,

I may be a flash in the pan
in terms of recent exposure,

but I have worked long and
hard to get where I am.

And my feeling was, the show
is called Three's Company,

and I am one of Three's
Company then it's only right

that I should share in the
ownership.

A very small part, one or
two points

was all I was asking for.

Because the show will be
on for the next 25 years

and I will not receive a
penny.

When they dared to say,
"I'm the star of this show now,

"I'd like to be compensated
accordingly."

The message that was always
sent to them,

which is, "You, as a
beautiful young woman,

"are interchangeable."

Five seasons
into Three's Company,

it is time for the cast to
renegotiate their contracts.

Suzanne Somers is arguably
a breakout star of the series

but is being paid less than
her male co star.

She demands equal pay and
a share of the show's profits.

I feel that I am definitely
in part responsible

for the success of Three's
Company.

And I feel that when the
benefits at the end

are in such enormous figures
that it is not too much to ask

if they want me to continue
to, to give 100%

as I do to the show and to
support the show

and publicize the show, it
is not too much to ask

to have a very very very
small part

of the profit participation.

But when
Somers tries to negotiate

for more money, the network
balks at her demands.

It was framed in a way
that she left

because she was demanding
more money

and she was being difficult,

she was mad she wasn't
getting her way.

And they framed her as the
villain.

All she wanted was equal
pay.

Kind of taints the show's
legacy.

The woman cast as the
beautiful objectified,

usually blonde person, in
that 70's jiggle TV,

many of them met with
that same fate.

The network
won't budge and the show

is impacted.

My preference is to stay
with the show,

that is what I said from the
very beginning.

I never wanted to go.

I love Three's Company,
I love the show,

I love my character.

Suzanne was punished for
asking for more money.

They really really wanted to
make a point

telling everybody at that
show to shut up

and be happy and be
grateful.

Suzanne fought back.

I remember we had to do
one show

where she did not show up
to the taping,

claiming a cracked rib, and
so they distributed her lines

between me and Don Knotts.

Somers is still
under contract

so ABC doesn't fire her
outright.

Instead, Chrissy is given a
sick relative to care for

off camera.

I have been relegated to
60 seconds a week

on the show and sometimes
being written out completely.

Even though she
was under contract,

viewers didn't get to see her
act with her counterparts.

Instead we got Chrissy Snow
in a room on a telephone

and literally phoning it in.

Suzanne was the
reason people were tuning in.

Suzanne was being chased
by paparazzi

while the other two were not.

She knew that and she knew
her worth.

Actors often do get, if not
ruined reputations,

they become infamous.

When you say an actor's
name like Suzanne Somers,

that's one of the first things
people think of, the money.

Those issues can follow an
actor

and really do harm to their
career.

The effect for Suzanne
Somers, unfortunately,

at the time was that she
was beginning to be labeled

difficult.

She was eventually written
off the show

and her contract was not
renewed.

I don't know if the show
fell apart

without Suzanne Somers,
but it definitely changed.

There is an impact
emotionally and career-wise.

You're going, "is the show
going to survive?"

I think what the producers
did to Suzanne

was pretty awful.

You know, having her fulfill
her contract

by doing remote phone calls
on a separate soundstage.

That was uncomfortable
for us.

I was told, they said,
"We can't have Suzanne

"back on the show because
John and Joyce

"have refused to go on the
set with her."

I did not...

I can't believe that John and
Joyce feel that way.

Part of the success of this
show had been the chemistry

and suddenly everything fell
apart.

Three's Company is marked
by the departure

of Suzanne Somers, and of
course Chrissy.

They were never able to
recapture what they had.

The magic ended when
Suzanne

really put her foot down
and said,

"I deserve more money."

The chemistry changed and
I think the viewers

really really felt it.

This is when the
parade of blondes

start coming in.
It's where, some say, the

show started jumping
the shark.

When Suzanne Somers
was fired,

everybody in Hollywood
wanted this part.

Little fun fact, Heather
Lockleer auditioned

to replace Suzanne Somers.

It was kind of unknown
how the show would fair.

I know they were going
after another blonde-haired

actress and they temporarily
brought in Jenilee Harrison.

When Three's
Company returns

for season six in 1981,
Somers is gone.

Ritter and Dewitt stay on
as Jack and Janet

as new roommates step in
to fill Chrissy's shoes.

But the show never quite
reclaims its magic.

Harrison, a former NFL
cheerleader

for the Los Angeles Rams
joins the cast as Cindy Snow,

Chrissy's cousin.

Cindy just didn't have the
magic of Chrissy.

I felt bad for any actor
who was replacing

Suzanne Somers at that
moment.

It's very hard to fill those
shoes.

The audience has spent five
years falling in love

with Chrissy Snow.

And I think the producers
were like,

"Oh, all we need to do is
recast a perky, bouncy,

"hot blonde from California
and we don't need

"Suzanne Somers."

And I think they were really
wrong.

Where Chrissy was
supposed to be dumb,

or slow, the twist on Cindy
was she was a klutz.

There wasn't that much of
a change to the show

and I found it to be redundant.

And it was kind of stagnating
for me as a viewer.

She was a real trooper.

I think she knew, you know,
coming in there wasn't really

sure where her role would
go.

And then I think that's when
they came up

with the idea about bringing
Priscilla's role in

as a nurse to become the
new roommate.

It's too bad for Jeniliee
Harrison

that they couldn't continue
on with her,

but as a fan of the show it
was great

when Priscilla Barnes came in
with Terry.

Harrison is
replaced by Priscilla Barnes,

another blonde who plays
a nurse named Terry Auldin.

Terry was a smart blonde,
she was a nurse.

And she was kind of the
antithesis of Chrissy Snow.

I was glad that they didn't
just try to do a copycat

of Chrissy.

Priscilla Barnes was a great
actress,

but she's definitely a way
different actress

than Suzanne Somers.

In the 70's and even in
the 80's,

you could be one of two
types

if you were a woman on
television.

You could either be the
homemaker

or the secretary getting her
boss coffee

or a superhero like Wonder
Woman.

You couldn't just be a
normal professional.

It was great to have
characters like Terry.

Terry was just on the show
as a professional nurse,

there was no hoopla given
to her.

Just accepted.

And that, in itself, is
groundbreaking.

People say that the
character of Terry Auldin,

"Oh, wow, that's different."

"Now they got it right 'cause
they did something

"so different because she's
a nurse and she's smart."

Is she smart?

No one on that show is
smart.

I think it's giving the show
a little bit too much credit.

And by the
8th season,

the show's ratings are falling
after nearly 7 seasons

as a top-10 show.

John Ritter would say this
later in his life,

"Without a doubt, Suzanne
Somers leaving the show,

"you know, it ultimately,
you know, began its downfall."

There's no replacing Suzanne
Somers,

with all due respect to
Priscilla Barnes.

And she's even talked about
that too,

that she had a really hard
time, you know,

fulfilling that role, fulfilling
the needs of the producers

at the time.

Barnes would
later call her time

on Three's Company, the
worst years of her life.

The show's 8th season
will be its last.

It was actually the show's
most critically-acclaimed

season.
John Ritter won an Emmy

and a Golden Globe
and the show won the

People's Choice award.

John getting an
Emmy, I was there that night

at the theater when he got it.
It was a great moment.

I mean, it really was a
great moment.

As Three's
Company comes to an end,

the network makes plans to
hold on to Jack Tripper.

Unfortunately, no one tells
the rest of the cast.

As Three's
Company finishes

its 8th and final season,
ABC and Ritter

develop a plan to hold on
to Jack Tripper.

The ratings in
the last year of the show

did decline.

And it was John's desire to
stop production

because he didn't wanna go
out at the bottom

of the ratings and I don't
blame him.

The show was sort of
losing its thunder

but John Ritter was an
acting powerhouse.

And they spun the show off
into Three's A Crowd

and everybody else on
Three's Company

got pretty angry that John
Ritter did this.

The idea, midway through
what became

the last season of Three's
Company,

to create Three's A Crowd.

And they didn't really tell
anybody other than

John Ritter.

And they held auditions in
secret for the role

that went to Mary Cadorette.

And so all these other actors
on Three's Company

didn't necessarily know that
their show was ending

and they were gonna be out
of a job.

Dewitt, one
of the last to hear,

feels betrayed.

To say that she wasn't
happy is an understatement.

I think Joyce felt that the
producers betrayed her,

'cause it's the same producers.

She was very upset about
how it played out.

Three's A
Crowd launches

in September, 1984, one
week after the final episode

of Three's Company.

It was a really great show
title,

it was a really bad show.

So, the idea was that they
would take this huge audience

with Three's Company and
move it over to

Three's A Crowd, but no
Chrissy, no Janet, no Terry,

just Jack.
Did not work out.

The show only
lasts one season.

I think it was a combination
of a thin premise

and audience disappointment,
having loved Three's Company,

that kind of doomed it.

Dewitt and
Ritter's friendship

ultimately recovers and she
goes on to do guest roles

on other shows.

But Three's Company remains
her most famous role.

Despite the failure of Three's
A Crowd,

Ritter goes on to have a
prolific career.

John Ritter now was
comedy gold.

He would do other TV series.

It really made him a
bonafide household name.

Ritter's acting
career

takes a serious turn with a
supporting role

in the Oscar-winning
Sling Blade

before he headlines another
ABC hit comedy,

8 Simple Rules for Dating
My Teenage Daughter.

He got sick on the set
and was transported

to a hospital that happened
to be across the street

from the Disney lot, when
he was feeling ill.

John Ritter
dies suddenly

of an aortic dissection at
age 54.

His death was a loss
for the acting community

and the Hollywood community,
not only because

he was a great talent and
a great physical actor,

but he was a nice guy.

Everybody I know who has
met John Ritter

has nothing but nice things
to say about the guy.

This was a TV
icon for sure,

who worked steadily
throughout his entire career

from The Waltons to 8
Simple Rules.

He had reconciled with
Suzanne Somers,

and only recently.

It's really interesting how
fate does that.

The career
of Suzanne Somers

takes years to recover
after her exit

from Three's Company.

She did have a lull in
her career.

It did hurt her for a while
and she did lesser shows,

like infamously she's the
sheriff.

And eventually ABC would
rehire her in the 90's

for a show called Step By
Step.

She became a singer,
she had, like, her own,

like, you know, tour.

She had did a couple of
TV movies.

And then, most notably, she
got into infomercials

and launched her own product.

And this is where, you know,
her brain and her savvy

really came into play.

Because the woman is like
a mega-zillionaire

because of products.

I know Suzanne Somers,
I've spent time with her.

She might have portrayed
a ditzy blonde on the show,

but in real life she's the
smartest person

I've ever met.

You don't get to still be in
the TV business,

still making a ton of money,
still looking fantastic,

if you're not the boss.

Suzanne got the last laugh.

I do think history's gonna
be very kind to her.

Three's
Company was an icon

of 70's television but it has
a new generation

laughing today with its
timeless approach to comedy.

Physical comedy is timeless.

Whether Mrs. Roper is at a
flower arranging course.

Shhh.

Whether Jack
Tripper takes some pills.

These kinds of physical
comedy episodes

and moments, will always
entertain an audience

of any generation.

It's being rediscovered by
different generations.

You'll have people in their
70's,

"I remember back in the day
when I watched..."

And then you'll have like
20 year olds going,

"Oh, I love that show."
I go, "What, seriously?"

It brings us back to a time
when we were all

a little bit more innocent,
where we could fall

for silly slapstick humor
and silly misunderstandings.

It was vaudeville.

You think about what's
going on in the world

in the late 70's, there's a
lot of turmoil,

there's a lot of indecision
and uncertainty

in America and so we were
looking for complete levity,

absurdity, and just laughter.

And that's what Three's
Company really gave America.

The problems were
never all that serious.

I think it just made people
feel better.

The impact of
Three's Company

and its legacy, there are
Three's Company shows

everywhere and they're still
going on today.

Nowadays, when
we see the Friends' reunion

and we see six young adults
living together

and working together and
being friends together,

a lot of people don't realize
Three's Company

was there before any
Friends ever happened.

And that was the proto
Friends of their generation.

It was Jack and
Chrissy and Janet.

And mixing the sexes up
like that

really opened up an entire
new world.

The show was such a hit,
I think everybody in America

looked at relationships in a
very different way.

We looked at friendships,
we looked at love,

we looked at passion.

This show portrayed many
different forms of love.

It was a new way of looking
at a very new world.