13. Shelley Long
She’s not the first and she’s not the last, but Shelley Long is the poster child for actors to never leave a hit TV show. In 1982, Long joined the cast of the new sitcom Cheers as Diane, the put-upon lady in charge and soon starring in one of the biggest hits on TV. She and Ted Danson got along great with chemistry, Long winning an Emmy for her performance and the show a certified smash. She also had some good movie success like The Money Pit and Outrageous Fortune and so Long decided movies were more for her and quit the show. She was offered the lead in Working Girl but turned down a hit film and instead embarked on a series of progressively larger flops that made her star fade. Cheers continued onward withKristie Alley joining and Long would return for the series finale. However, various attempts at comebacks in both movies and TV never worked out. Long claims she doesn’t regret the decision, spending more time with her family and such but it can’t be denied that her career suffered badly from leaving one of the biggest hits on TV for a movie career that faded fast.
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