Why did Denise Crosby leave Star Trek: TNG? (1 Viewer)

[Don Black]

Was there a reason behind her death as to why she left the show?

 

[Richard Travale]

I remember hearing that she left to pursue her "movie" career.
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[Don Black]

I didn't know "Red Shoe Diaries" counted as a movie.

 

[Jason Seaver]

It was a gamble that didn't necessarily pay off. She wasn't getting much to do, it was probably already pretty clear that screen time was going to be hard to come by if you weren't Patrick Stewart or Brent Spiner. She'd probably also seen a good chunk of her screen time siphoned off when Michael Dorn/Worf was added to the cast very late in the process. So, she asked, am I better off getting five minutes of screen time per week on this show, or seeing what else is out there?
Did it work out? Probably not. But then again, I also have to figure she's worked more steadily in her post-Trek career than, say, Gates McFadden or Marina Sirtis. In her position, I might have done the same.

 

[Jeff Kleist]

Yup, to pursue other things. Good thing, the show was better after she left. Ever since she's been surviving from the con circuit. Rule #1 of Hollywood NEVER leave a show that's popular, EVER.
David Duchovony is about to learn this lesson all to well
Jeff Kleist

 

[Jason Seaver]

Rule #1 of Hollywood NEVER leave a show that's popular, EVER.

Unless you're George Clooney, right?
Or Jim Carrey.
And, besides, it's better to do the same thing every week for years than to play a broader range of parts. Because, you know, people get into acting for the steady paycheck, not the artistic gratification.

 

[Jim_C]

I think that as a general rule it hasn't been all that great a move to leave a successful show. Clooney and Carrey are exceptions. I haven't seen Julianne Margulies (mis-spelled?) recently. ER offered her something like 28 million to stay and she said no. She must have been really, REALLY fed up to do that. I wonder if she has second thoughts?
William H. Macy was already making movies before he left ER so I don't know if he counts.
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[Jodee]

Poor Denise Crosby. I knew her career was officially over when I saw in a tiny part playing a nurse or something on the X-Files recently. I saw her name in the opening credits and thought "oh, cool" then it turned out to be just a few lines that could have been said by anybody (or nobody).
Sad.

Speaking of which, does anyone else ever watch The Outer Limits and get amazed at the number of former TV stars they use in those episodes? People that you completely have forgotten about, but yet instantly recognize will show up in an episode. Last week it was Jamie Luner, from Melrose Place. I still remember the Laura Leighton episode.
I always wonder what these semi-"stars" do after their show ends and they are between gigs. How long until they are forced to take a day job, I wonder?

 

[Jason Seaver]

A lot of them, I imagine, do stage work. Doesn't show up in the IMDB or get much press unless it's in NYC or London, but I've seen a fair number of familiar names show up in ads for productions here in Boston, and I imagine it's the same in L.A. and Chicago.

 

[Jeff]

She'd probably also seen a good chunk of her screen time siphoned off when Michael Dorn/Worf was added to the cast very late in the process
Do you mean Dorn was the last one casted for TNG? He was there from the beginning.
IMO, I think she made a mistake. There is NO way the character of Yar would have been ignored. She wasn't a recurring character, she was a part of the cast. Even Quark in DS9 got a lot of screen time. With the exception of the movies, the cast members on all the shows were never ignored.
Anyway, I think the first, and one of the only, movies she was in after TNG was Miracle Mile. If anyone here hasn't seen it, I suggest you check it out. She's doesn't have a huge part though. Unfortunately it's not on DVD.
Jeff

 

[Don Black]

Thanks guys. You confirmed what I suspected.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Do you mean Dorn was the last one casted for TNG? He was there from the beginning.

Um, no. Worf was the last character created, not long before the pilot shot at all. Having a Klingon on the ship was a last minute brainstorm of Roddenberry/Gerrold/Fontana's, and they really had no clear idea of what Worf's purpose on the show would be.

 

[Henry Gale]

Denise appears on tonight's NYPD Blue rerun: "Thumb Enchanted Evening"
Jim

 

[Michael Reuben]

I knew her career was officially over when I saw in a tiny part playing a nurse or something on the X-Files recently.

Jodee, I'm shocked, shocked, that you of all people would succumb to such a sexist assumption.
She played a doctor.
M.

 

[Tom Rhea]

She was also in one of those "big rock gonna hit the earth movies" like Armageddon or something.

 

[JonZ]

She said she was tired of saying the same lines every week.
Roddenbury asked her to be patient and she wasnt. She thought she was wasting her time.I once read Patrick Stewart didnt unpack his bags the first year, because they were all afraid the show would be cancelled, and of course, it took off during its 3rd season.
Jasen,
If I remember correctly, Worf was meant to be background material, but they were forced to rethink about the character after the first season when he became a fan favorite.
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[Edited last by JonZ on August 14, 2001 at 09:37 AM]

 

[Jack Briggs]

Miracle Mile is the only film I've seen Ms. Crosby in--that is, if you don't count the documentary Trekkies.
Talk about bad career moves. Isn't Star Trek just about the only thing that keeps her name in lights?
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[Danny R]

I haven't seen Julianna Margulies recently. ER offered her something like 28 million to stay and she said no. She must have been really, REALLY fed up to do that. I wonder if she has second thoughts?
She was the starring role in the recently released "Mists of Avalon" on TNT. Also she voiced Neera on Dinosaur.
Looks like she's got another movie in production still.

 

[Michael Reuben]

She was also in one of those "big rock gonna hit the earth movies" like Armageddon or something.

Deep Impact. She played Leelee Sobieski's mother.
And let's not forget her role in Pet Sematary.
M.

 

[Jason Seaver]

Talk about bad career moves. Isn't Star Trek just about the only thing that keeps her name in lights?

Not really. Check her IMDB entry; she's worked steadily since she left TNG, and not just in sci-fi "hey, let's appeal to the 'Star Trek' audience" roles. Can't necessarily say that about many other second-tier ST alumni.
She's been a working actress, pretty much the same as she was before TNG, except she can make the occasional quick buck at conventions. Consider that the likes of Marina Sirtis, Nana Visitor, etc., don't necessarily even have that anymore (though, I repeat, they may be doing stage work that flies under our radar, while Beltran and McFadden have both taught at various points), she's doing alright.
(3000 posts. Yay.)