Tuesday

Don't bet the
ranch on 'Lucky'

History tells us supporting actors seldom rise

By Ed Robertson

One of TV’s steadiest young character actors rolls the dice in “Lucky,” an offbeat comedy about gambling and addiction that starts tonight at 10 ET/PT on FX.
   John Corbett, the likable DJ in “Northern Exposure” who played the equally amiable groom in “My Big Fat Greek Wedding,” stars as Michael “Lucky” Linkletter, a compulsive gambler who blows his entire fortune playing poker in Las Vegas.
   Hailed as “the best TV show ever about the casino city,” the series follows Lucky’s attempts to pick up the pieces of his life as he struggles to control his addiction.
   No pun intended, but the odds are against Corbett, for reasons that go beyond the fact that there hasn’t been a successful series about a gambler since “Maverick.”
   The history of successful supporting actors on television who then tried to headline their own show is not very good.
   For most working actors, the biggest advantage of being a regular on a hit TV series (other than a steady paycheck, of course) is that it puts them in demand, especially once the show ends. In many cases, actors who played a supporting role on the hit show have attempted to parlay that success into a show of their own.
    Tim Conway tried to make that jump several times after “McHale’s Navy,” as did McLean Stevenson after “M*A*S*H,” Paul Lynde after “Bewitched,” Harvey Korman after “The Carol Burnett Show,” the three principal co-stars of “Seinfeld,” and others too numerous to mention. Even Corbett tried it once before, in the wake of “Northern Exposure.”
   They all failed, for the same two reasons that most other second bananas who tried to make that leap failed. Either the actor overestimates his marquee value or the network that hires him does.
   Both Stevenson and Wayne Rogers left the security of “M*A*S*H” for the lure of stardom, only to fall spectacularly short (in Stevenson’s case, four times in seven years). Lynde flopped twice in one year flying solo, as did Nancy Walker (Rhoda’s mom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show”).
   Fox misfired with Corbett back in 1997, when the network hired him to headline a quirky sci-fi drama called “The Visitor.” The thinking was that Corbett, then two years removed from “Exposure,” was enough of a draw that viewers would follow him onto Fox in droves. But they didn’t, and it wasn't long before “The Visitor” came and went.
   Similarly, ABC and CBS each gave Tim Conway several cracks at his own show on the heels of “McHale’s Navy,” not to mention his hilarious guest stints on “The Carol Burnett Show.” After stumbling every time, Conway finally changed his license plate number to 13 WKS, because that was as long as any of his shows lasted.
    On the other hand, some second bananas fail to strike out on their own because their past success works against them. As is often the case in television, an actor can be so indelibly linked with his previous character that audiences won’t accept him in any other role.
   In recent years, this spelled doom for “The George Wendt Show,” “The John Larroquette Show,” “Pearl” (Rhea Perlman’s solo effort post-“Cheers”), and the two failed vehicles starring “Seinfeld” alumni Michael Richards and Jason Alexander. In the case of Richards and Alexander, suspect writing didn’t help, either.
   Still, while the overall track record is poor, enough second bananas have successfully made the leap to stardom over the years to encourage others to try. Generally speaking, those who managed to pull it off fall under one of two categories:
    (1) Spinoffs. They not only continued to play the same character from their original show, they had the benefit of strong writing, an able production team, and in most cases, the support of the network (meaning, of course, a really good time slot).
    This accounts for Kelsey Grammar's successful transition from co-star on “Cheers” to star of “Frasier,” as well as that of Jim Nabors (“The Andy Griffith Show” to “Gomer Pyle, USMC”), Valerie Harper (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” to “Rhoda”), Ed Asner (“The Mary Tyler Moore Show” to “Lou Grant”), Bea Arthur (“All in the Family” to “Maude”), Esther Rolle (“Maude” to “Good Times”), Sherman Hemsley and Isabel Sanford (“All in the Family” to “The Jeffersons”), and Robert Guillaume (“Soap” to “Benson”).
   (2) Kismet. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good. Gavin MacLeod, for example, had a remarkable 20-year run on TV, starting as Happy on “McHale’s Navy,” moving on to Murray on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” before finally graduating to “star” of “The Love Boat,” without having anything to do with the success of these shows.
   Despite the odds, though, don't bet against Corbett pulling it off with “Lucky.” He's a decent actor with a charming personality, and he has a strong cast to support him: Dan Hedaya (“Cheers”), Ever Carradine (Robert’s daughter, and John’s granddaughter) and Billy Gardell from the Round Table Pizza commercials.
   Plus, by going with FX, Corbett has a guaranteed 13-week run. That means “Lucky” will be given every chance to build an audience — which wouldn’t be the case if it were on any of the major four networks.
   Let’s see how the cards fall this time.

-Ed Robertson is a writer from the San Francisco Bay Area who covers television.

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