Here’s All the Petty Drama That Happened on the Set of Our Favorite Nostalgic TV Shows
Star Trek
William Shatner wasn’t exactly the most popular guy on the set of Star Trek, but he did have the most power among the actors. Shatner had a clause in his contract allowing him to choose which photographers (if any) could be on set.
When he got jealous of Leonard Nimoy for receiving more fanmail than him, William vetoed Leonard’s on-set photoshoot, kicking the photographer out. The two actors began to argue, with Nimoy ultimately finishing his photo session, but the ordeal cost half a day of filming.
Moonlighting
You may think you’re petty, but are you so petty that you’re unwilling to walk even one step further than your colleague? That’s how childish Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd were on the set of Moonlighting.
The pair hated each other so much that the crew had to measure the distance between their trailers and the stage and make adjustments to ensure that each actor would be walking the same amount. Although, according to Shepherd, the heat between her and Willis is what made the show “great.”
Growing Pains
Kirk Cameron became a pain on the set of Growing Pains after his religious beliefs shifted, making him uncomfortable with the show’s material.
Cameron distanced himself from his colleagues (he didn’t even invite any of them to his wedding) and waited not-so-quietly for his contract to run out. The actor was furious about anything too secular in the script and even accused the show — which features children — of being comparable to adult films.
I Love Lucy
Despite the name of the show I Love Lucy, there wasn’t exactly a whole lot of love between Vivian Vance and William Frawley. Vance was offended that audiences found the script— in which her character is married to Frawley — to be believable as she didn’t think she’d look like she should be with “that old man.”
In retaliation, William asked the writers to put insults about Vivian in the script. For example, his line about his wife having “a figure like a sack full of doorknobs” was added.
When actors have feuds on set, we know all about it and have already taken sides within seconds of the argument — thanks to social media. However, there was once a time when behind-the-scenes drama stayed, well, behind the scenes. See which TV show casts from back in the day had the biggest and pettiest arguments that we’re just finding out about now.