Three’s Company was a ’70s sitcom about a man who pretended to be gay so that he could be a roommate to two beautiful women.
What starts out as an arguably perverted motive turns into a genuine friendship, but best of all, a hilarious group dynamic worthy of a sitcom!
Here are some BTS secrets that fans didn’t know about the iconic show!
1. Not everyone in the cast and crew got along.
Suzanne Somers, who played Chrissy, demanded a higher salary in 1980.
Unfortunately, her request was not fulfilled and she ended up leaving the show just before the show’s final seasons. She was replaced by another actress, but it simply wasn’t the same.
“Her management, better known as her husband, Alan Hamel, played the wrong hand in negotiations,” Richard Kline said after Suzanne was fired by ABC.
“Suzanne was an integral part of the chemistry,” he added to Closer Weekly . “We could barely get across the finish line toward the end.”
2. The male cast members were earning far more than the female ones.
“I want you to pay me what you’re paying the men,” Suzanne said in an interview on _ The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson_ . “Why are all the men, including John Ritter, making 10 times more than me?”
3. John Larroquette pushed for more screen time.
John, who played a marginally less significant role in the show, often insisted on having a more impactful part and requested more screen time.
In an episode called Jack Moves Out , the writers did him a favor and wrote him in for 30 seconds of undivided screen time .
4. Suzanne Somers landed the role of Chrissy by accident.
None of the actresses who auditioned for the role of Chrissy were the right fit according to the casting directors.
They continued their search until the very last day before filming commenced, and when they still couldn’t find anyone, they called up Suzanne and offered her the part — barring she’d be able to learn her lines and start filming the next day.
“We got her in that day and she was on the set tomorrow and she was terrific in that part. And that was an accident because she never should have gotten the part,” one of the producers said to *WGN*.
And the rest is history!
5. Priscilla Barnes, who played nurse Terri Alden, revealed that she was asked to tone down her blonde hair for her role.
“If my hair was too blond, I’d get called up in the office,” she said to People . .
6. Heather Locklear auditioned for the show but didn’t make the cut.
Not only was she not considered for the part, but she also had a rather embarrassing audition!
Her audition was supposedly so bad, she was sweating profusely and was laughed out of the room by the casting directors.
7. The title of the show was a last-minute idea.
The pilot was already written, the actors had already been cast, virtually everything was good-to-go excluding a title of the show, which was added in just in time to start filming .
8. Joyce DeWitt produced her own BTS show about *Three’s Company*.
Back in 2003, Joyce produced a documentary called Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Three’s Company , outlining all the off-screen drama that took place, including Suzanne’s departure from the show.
9. The cast had not met each other before filming started.
Since (as I mentioned), Suzanne wasn’t selected for the role of Chrissy until the day before filming, her first encounter with her costars was on her first day of work!
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10. There was a spin-off of the show called *Three’s a Crowd*, but it wasn’t so well-received by fans as they’d hoped.
It’s not the first time that a spin-off hasn’t been a hit, and it certainly won’t be the last!
After Three’s Company wrapped up their final season, the producers wanted to keep the momentum up by starting a follow-up show . Unfortunately, it wasn’t nearly as successful. It only lasted one season.
11. Stanley Roper, played by Norman Fell, was actually based on a real person.
Normal based his character’s mannerisms off of someone that he had met back in his home town, Philadelphia.
Although, I’m sure uptight landlords are fairly common in most cities!
12. The theme song of *Three’s Company* was composed by a TV legend.
The same man who composed the theme song of Three’s Company , Joe Raposo, also composed another well-known TV theme song: The theme song to Sesame Street !
Small world!
