Chevy Chase
Left: “Saturday Night Live”
Reason: To Get Married
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
As one of the original cast members on the somehow long-running “Saturday Night Live,” Chase was also the show’s original breakout star. However, it might come as a surprise to many that he was only on the show for a single season, after which he departed in order to begin married life with his second wife, Jacqueline Carlin.
Chase admits it was the wrong decision. He was infatuated with Carlin, but it was the wrong choice to leave a sure gig to marry someone he now clearly sees as the wrong person. “It was all nuts, looking back on it. But I did regret it.”
Christopher Eccleston
Left: “Doctor Who”
Reason: Creative differences
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
One of the biggest advantages of “Doctor Who” is that if a main actor or actress departs, the show can just have them regenerate into a totally different look. Such was the case after Christopher Eccleston left after only one season as the famous Gallifreyan.
He had plenty of creative differences with the show's producers and was swiftly replaced with David Tennant – who would go on to get worldwide fame in the role. Eccleston admits he wanted a second chance at the character, but the direction of the show didn't go the way he wanted, and his relationship with the showrunners broke down.
Jason Priestley
Left: “Beverly Hills, 90210”
Reason: Had Done It All
Est. Salary Loss: $100,000 per episode
The good kid of the sun-bleached hunks and babes from “Beverly Hills, 90210” decided that after nine seasons of squinting over the water, he had done everything his character, Brandon Walsh, could. He had explored every aspect of the character and could no longer play the role.
However, Jason Priestley later went on to express regret at leaving, since the show only went for one more season and he would have liked to finish it out with the rest of the cast. Specifically, he wanted to be able to have Brandon and Kelly end up together, which was where the show pointed before he departed.
Wil Wheaton
Left: “Star Trek: The Next Generation”
Reason: To Pursue More Opportunities
Est. Salary Loss: Unknown
Wil Wheaton, the worst actor on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” played Wesley Crusher, the worst character on “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and yes, we're including Tasha Yar.
He left the show in 1991 to try and pursue more acting opportunities, after years of the cast treating him poorly for being a child, and the audiences treating him poorly for being Wesley. He wasn't happy about the way he left the show, and neither were fans — they would have preferred he leave much sooner.
Suzanne Somers
Left: “Three's Company”
Reason: Contract Disputes
Est. Salary Lost: $120,000 per episode
Contract disputes would be putting it lightly. Somers became a household name but was dismayed to discover that co-star John Ritter was making quite a bit more than her per episode – thirty thousand dollars more. That was even during the eighties. She not only demanded a pay raise but wanted a percentage of the profits, too.
The producers not only denied her request but reduced her screen time per episode to sixty seconds, which was filmed separately from Ritter and Joyce DeWitt. The feud that started then divided the cast and became a very public one as Somers fought the producers.