Friday, September 02, 2011

Fun With Blogger Labels


When I was posting the previous T.I story, when I typed in his name for the label, an interesting name popped up. T.R. Knight. It made me think that it would be a wonderful idea to see what happened to some of the people that were frequently in the limelight but now, you have no idea what they are doing. It was not that long ago when T.R. Knight decided that he should do what his best friend Katherine Heigl told him to do and quit Grey's Anatomy. I mean, he could afford to give up the million bucks a year playing Dr. George O'Malley because there were bigger dollars out there to be had. I still remember when I broke the story about him quitting and his publicist sent me the nastiest e-mails saying I was wrong, and blah blah blah. I used to like US Weekly up until that week. They bought into the the story from the publicist and wrote I was wrong. I enjoyed giving them a big f**k you later in my own special way.


Anyway, when is the last time you saw T.R. hanging with his best friend Katherine Heigl. Never. Have you seen T.R. on television or in a movie since he left the show? Nope. Let me tell you something you may not know if you are not an actor. They go on lots and lots of auditions. Tons. Sometimes they get a call back for a pilot. When they do, they sign a contract even though they don't have the show yet. The contract spells out how much money you will make each week which is usually way more sometimes per week then they made the previous year. You feel like you made it and start spending the money in your head. But, most of the time you don't get the part, and even if you do get the part, the pilot might suck and the show never gets made, or the show gets made and gets canceled after six weeks. So, when you do get all those pieces together and get on a show that is a hit and you are getting nice raises each year and making your million bucks a year, you ride that wave until the very end. I don't care what the networks add or how they try to extend the popularity of the show, you just hang on. How many times over the past two years do you think T.R. has wished he was still making that $1M a year and being on national network television every week. Do you think he and David Caruso and Shelley Long have a weekly luncheon?

42 comments:

mikey said...

Tony Randall once said something like never leave a show until they make you leave.

TR should have stayed until the bitter end.

what do I type here? said...

Very well written! LOL

Patty said...

Tony Randall is very wise. Or was. What is his status these days?

Yup, one player of many on a hit show does not make you a highly saught-after star. Ask Matt whatshisface from Friends how things are going these days.

Aly said...

Two of the most famous examples of idiocy.
McLean Stevenson. M*A*S*H
Pernell Roberts. Bonanaza

Aly said...

He died 7 years ago.

Lelaina Pierce said...

I'm glad you posted about T.R. b/c I've been wondering what the hell happened to him. I think he may have done Broadway after Grey's but what now? And I think he was nuts to leave in the first place. He was great on Grey's and I didn't really think he was established enough to have left to go on to bigger/better things.

Meanwhile, Katherine Heigl continues to get (albeit, usually horrible) movie roles.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

If T.R. is smart, he's glad he jumped that shitshow years ago. Grey's hasn't been tolerable since 2006, IMO.

Lori said...

I really liked him on grey's...was wondering what happenned to him.

RocketQueen said...

Very good post!
Also, I remember being personally upset with Shelley Long when she left Cheers. She and Sam were the best.

Patty said...

@RocketQueen,

I was surprised when George Clooney left Sisters. (Watched that show AND liked it). That's when he went to ER. Then he left ER. However, he established himself quite well in film before leaving. That is the example the rest should follow.

Patty said...

Thanks Aly

timebob said...

I agree RQ and George honored his 5 year contract until the last day.

I never got why TR got all in a tizzy about leaving Grey's. What movie roles was he being offered. At leas Katherine had movies she was doing when she left. OK bad ones, but she was in movies.

I guess he did stage work, but that doesn't really give him the save level as exposure that Grey's gave him.

Worstcompanytoworkfor said...

T.R. Is the reason that show dismantled anyway...He killed that show saying that Isiah Thomas outed him when he really in essence outed himself, and ruined the show in the process.

I'm not saying Isiah was right in what he did, i'm just saying TR acted like a baby and over reacted trying to get gay sympathy name recognition.

Hey played the gay card.

Binky Melnik said...

No, I don't think TR eats lunch with David Caruso every week. Caruso's too busy filming his top-ten show and counting his money to hang out with has-beens.

bluebonnetmom said...

The streets of LA are littered with has beens. I would ride out a show and get that check until the end.

Erin B said...

I just read he's going to be on an episode of "SVU." That's hit first tv gig since "Grey's." Other than that, he was on Broadway with Patrick Stewart last fall. I think he did some nice acting on "Grey's," but I don't know if I see him as a film actor, more tv. Can't Heigl get him into one of her crappy romantic comedies?

timebob said...

@Binky and look how long it took for David Caruso to get back on tv. Doing the exact same type of Detective role he left in the first place to be a "movie star".

Only this time David knows this is the best he is ever going to do and keeps his head down and just works.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

@worst -- "I'm not saying Isiah was right in what he did, i'm just saying TR acted like a baby and over reacted trying to get gay sympathy name recognition.

Hey played the gay card."

So...when his coworker referred to him as a "fag," T.R. really should have ~manned up~ and shrugged it off or whatever?

I'm not gay, but T.R. definitely had MY sympathy. NO one should have to put up with workplace harassment.

Binky Melnik said...

@timebob: You forgot his show "Michael Hayes," didn'tcha? Besides that, Caruso never stopped working between "NYPD Blue" and "CSI: Miami"; he starred in movies for Barbet Schroder, William Friedkin, Taylor Hackford, Brad Anderson ("Session 9" is my all-time favorite psychological terror movie), and others. People laugh at him for leaving "NYPD Blue" when he did but don't stop to consider what he went on to do. Most actors would lop off an arm for a resume like he has.

Little Miss Smoke and Mirrors said...

TR doesn't have and never had enough talent or charisma to abandon a strong paycheck like that. His little friend Heigl already had an established film career when she left, he was a damn fool to follow her lead.

For the record, the problems behind the scenes at Grey's Anatomy begin and end with creator/EP Shonda Rhimes. Bitch is a total nightmare.

cibele said...

I just can't believe you're picking on TR Knight, a guy that left because he didn't feel good in that terrible show with bad environment for him. If he left, it was his choice and you guys don't need to worry or laugh at his face because he's not a millionaire anymore. He made his choice and you guys have no idea if he regrets it or not. Maybe he thinks it's the best thing that ever happened to him. Can you be sure, are you inside his head? What an insensitive post.

callywally said...

t.r. knight is living in new york doing theatre, he was just in a show with patrick stewart. there was a great interview with him in new york magazine and he did not sound to broken up about leaving theatre.

Robert said...

@BinkyM: I was just talking to someone about Session 9 earlier today! What a film. Shot on location at the State Hospital in Danvers, Massachusetts, a real creepfest.

Jeri said...

I liked TR on Grey's. He was one of the best things about the show.
Ketheryn was no big loss but TR was a big hit for Greys.

Rose said...

Binky, you're also forgetting about his hit movie Jade.

I liked TR on Grey's and wish he'd stayed, but I don't begrudge him for leaving. If everyone made choices in Hollywood based on money they would start remaking every classic turning them into shitastic shows & movies. Oh wait.

I haven't seen him in the welfare line or complaining so he can join the rest of us who don't make a million and still manage.

The Black Cat said...

I stopped watching Grey's when he left, it actually started going downhill when Isaiah Washington left and I think it was a bit harsh to fire him considering what a great ensemble they had back then. I'm not saying there should have been consequences but firing was excessive.

trashtalker said...

Yup, he was just filming an episode of SVU. A friend of mine saw him on the street near where the show was filming.

SVU tangent: I'm not happy that Meloni isn't going to be on SVU anymore. I guess I'll watch a few eps to see how it is, but I'm gonna miss that brooding badass.

Back to TR: Grey's turned into a shitfest. I stopped watching after that stupid deer story. Plus, Meredith and Derek acted like insipid high schoolers. I just couldn't take it anymore. So if the devolving storylines and annoying writing factored into TR's decision to leave, I certainly don't blame him. Maybe he cares more about quality than money.

Sometimes we have "friends" whom we later realized weren't all that great. Perhaps that's what happened with TR and Katherine. Maybe the dynamic of their friendship changed after neither one was on a hit TV show anymore.

Caruso side note: He left to become a movie star. He didn't succeed. Now he's back on a popular TV and making good money. I'm not a fan of his, but he made a misjudgment of his popularity and talent, and now he's back where he started, and he's found success again. It helps when you have a realistic perception of yourself. George Clooney obviously has the charisma and looks to be a huge movie star. David Caruso does not.

Geez, I don't usually post this much. Thanks for reading! :)

Binky Melnik said...

@Robert: Yay! Someone else who appreciates "Session 9" (and knows where Danvers is)!

@Rose: "Jade" is the Friedkin movie I mentioned.

Tricia said...

I agree with one of the earlier posters. T.R. played up the incident One.. Isaiah wasn't talking to him, he was in the middle of addressing Patrick. Your acting like a lil F is not the same as calling someone a F. And In fact, even Patrick said that wasn't what happened. And two, it was revenge cooked up by Heigl and T.R. because Burke was the character originally marked for a spinoff and they didn't like him personally. Heigl used the entire matter for her OWN pr purposes, and scored a couple tolerable movies from it. However, many in Hollywood now see right thru her bs and as a result her career is basically in the toilet. As her marriage. And T.R. should have known better.

Kinsey Holley said...

I'm older than most of you, I bet. Parnell Roberts never should've left Bonanza. Adam was way hotter than Little Joe and if he'd stayed, Roberts could've had a real career. Instead he labored in anonymity till Trapper John 30 years later.

T. Randall was right, you don't leave. If you absolutely have to, you do like Clooney and make sure you have some solid movies under you.

Binky Melnik said...

Katherine Heigl's carrer is "in the toilet"? (snort!) Just repeating it won't make it true, folks! The grosses of her last five movies, in millions:

$53.3
$47.0
$89.0
$76.8
$148.8

She has three movies in post-production. In one, she stars with DeNiro; in another (which look genuinely funny) she stars with John Leguizamo; and in the third, it's one of Garry Marshall's holiday movies with a hugungous cast (this one's about New Year's eve). (Any other Til Schweiger fans in the house? He's in it, too!) (Then again, who's NOT in it?) (DeNiro is!)

She then has three more projects coming up after these.

I'll bet a lot of actors *wish* their careers were in toilets like this.

Paisley said...

I'm glad he left Grey's. Working on any TV show is a lot different than doing a movie or theater. You never know what the writers will do with your character from one season to the next. How can we forget the Gizzy storyline. Add into that the on set problems with Isaiah (who not only used the f word on set but also at the Golden Globes during the whole mess). And then in his last season, TR only had 2 lines in many of the episodes (minimum according to his contract), lines that any character could have read off and still had to appear at the table readings.

He made his money and going back to theater must have been a relief after all of that. It's not always about the money.

mooshki said...

I bet T.R. is perfectly happy working in theater. I think he made the right choice - what good is the money if you're miserable?

timebob said...

@Binky you must be a PR agent the way you are going on.

No, I didn't forget about his acting gigs I just don't compare them to the success he had on NYPD Blue and leaving he never got the same marquee value as he did with NYPD Blue which I thought he was great in.

Everybody rolls the dice in their careers sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

But quitting for bigger and better when bigger and better isn't out there isn't the smartest move or you just believe your own hype too much.

cowbulls said...

Very well written. TR is an idiot. The reason a no talent chick like Heigl still gets parts is fairly simple. Some guys still like bleached blond bimbos that will do anything and anybody to get a part.
TR needs to find a gay niche before he ends up as a cook at a Carls Jr.

Murphy Brown 2020 said...

@cowbulls -- "Some guys still like bleached blond bimbos that will do anything and anybody to get a part."

I don't think "guys" are the ones lining up to see Heigl play a frickin' BRIDE for the 798473545345345984th time at the local multiplex. The men who would WILLfully go see Katherine Heigl flounder about and shop for shoes in her latest chick flick are prrrrrobably not *attracted* to her in any way whatsoever.

"TR needs to find a gay niche before he ends up as a cook at a Carls Jr."

Well, if he's acting on Broadway, I'd say he's doing just fine. I know it's not a lot in Burbank, but I'm sure it's fulfilling. And he did a great job fooling us about his sexuality -- until Isiah dropped the f-bomb on set, and he was kind of forced to talk about it -- so I think he could easily play a straight person again. He's a skilled actor. He was one of the best parts about that show, and his departure was a good reason I chose to stop watching it.

Worstcompanytoworkfor said...

T.R. never had to come out of the closet he chose to do it to seek revenge for Isiah calling him the f word plain and simple.

I liked his character on the show, but his decision to come out and blame Isiah ruined the chemistry on that show.

Remember, Isiah was fighting with the arrogant Patrick Dempsey at the time and not T.R.

He makes bad decisions 1st one coming out to get Isiah W. in trouble..2nd one quit the show because psycho K. Heigle told him to.

The dude is dumb.

Monty said...

@Binky & Robert: Session 9! that movie is still haunting me! I can't remember if I watched any of the special features and purposely forgot what I saw or if I just couldn't even watch.

Monty said...

What's going on w my name?? Oh and I admit to watching Heigl movies.

mooshki said...

"he chose to do it to seek revenge"

Congrats, you win this week's prize for Comment That Makes the Least Sense.

Lelaina Pierce said...

I missed the part of the story where TR made the big fuss about Isiah. I thought it was Katherine who made the big stink? And rightly so as he was her best friend. I really liked the character he played but what he said was wrong. Who cares if it wasn't said directly to TR? That was who was referencing!

I think Grey's jumped the shark when Meredith fell in th water. But I still watch it.

CDR18 said...

I knew T.R. quite a while ago well before Grey's. I can't speak to how he may have changed due GA's popularity, but he was a really solid, nice guy when I knew him. He started in theater and genuinely enjoys it, so I'm not surprised he went back to it. From what I remember of him, he's just not a hollywood type guy. Fame can mess with anyone's head though, so who knows.

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