Based on the British sitcom Man About the House, Three’s Company starred physical comedy champion John Ritter in his breakout role as Jack Tripper, a culinary student who crashes a party and wakes up in Janet Wood (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy Snow’s (Suzanne Somers) bathtub. Janet and Chrissy and Jack end up becoming roommates, with Jack posing as a gay man in order to keep the coed living situation going. Here are some facts about the classic ABC sitcom that will impress your friends over at the Regal Beagle.
1. ‘Man About The House’
Three’s Company and its respective spinoffs were based on a British sitcom entitled Man About The House.
2. The Series Had an Appropriate Number of Pilots
Creator Larry Gelbart made not one, not two, but three pilots before the series were picked up.
3. Billy Crystal Was Almost Jack Tripper
Crystal auditioned for the part of protagonist Jack Tripper, eventually losing out to John Ritter. Safe to say his career recovered.
4. Loni Anderson Also Auditioned
In addition to Crystal, the future WKRP in Cincinnati star also auditioned for the series.
5. Suzanne Somers Casting Came at the Last Minute
The creators cast Somers after discovering her audition tape the day before filming began.
6. Stanley Roper was Based on a Real Person
Norman Fell based his portrayal of wannabe lothario landlord Stanley Roper on someone he knew in his Philadelphia youth.
7. ‘Three’s Company’ Shares an Interesting Bond With ‘Sesame Street’
Joe Raposo wrote the iconic theme songs for both of the series.
8. Norman Fell Wanted to Come Back
9. Jeffrey Tambor Appeared A lot.
Award-winning actor Jeffrey Tambor appeared on several roles on both Three’s Company and The Ropers, including wealthy man Winston Cromwell III, and – most famously – sadistic dentist Dr. Phillip Greene.
10. John Laroquette Made Sure He Got Face Time
Future star John Laroquette had a bit part as a police officer in one episode. Initially his face wasn’t even going to be shown, but Laroquette successfully lobbied to have the script changed to give his character about half a minute of screen time.
11. Unequal Pay Led to Somers’ Departure
Suzanne Somers was unceremoniously fired from the show at the height of its popularity after demanding that her salary is raised to the same $150,000 that Ritter was making.
12. Heather Locklear Had an Embarrassing Audition
Prior to her big break, Locklear auditioned for the series. She was so nervous that she began sweating. To alleviate the issue, Locklear stuffed napkins under her armpits. However after she left the audition, she realized they’d been visibly sticking out of her shirt the whole time.
13. The Producers Were Control Freaks
Actress Priscilla Barnes has said that she used to frequently get in trouble for something as minor as her hair being “too blonde.”
14. Jack Tripper’s Story Continued in a Spinoff.
Producers segued the end of Three’s Company into a spinoff called Three’s a Crowd, which focused on Tripper and his new girlfriend. Despite the success of the previous series and Ritter’s popularity, the show was cancelled after one season.
15. The Cast Nearly Sang the Theme Song
The cast was originally supposed to sing the theme song, but things fell through. Instead Ray Charles (not that Ray Charles) sang the iconic track.
16. A Fake Endorsement Became Real
During the run of the show, Joyce DeWitt’s character Janet Wood shot a commercial for the brand Leggs. Years later, DeWitt became a spokeswoman for the brand in real life.
17. The Name Was Last Minute
The show wasn’t called Three’s Company until after the final pilot was made.
18. The Cast Didn’t Know Each Other Beforehand
The three leads didn’t meet each other until the day the pilot filmed.
19. Continuity? What’s that?
In a final season episode, Jack says he attended San Diego High. Only problem there? It had been long established that the character went to LA Technical College.
20. Don Knotts Took Over Some of Suzanne Somer’s Lines
By 1980, Somers was so popular she demanded more money, requesting a significant pay bump: from $30,000 an episode to $150,000 to be exact. During negotiations, the actress skipped tapings of the sitcom so the writers would produce alternate scripts that included Chrissy, printed in pink, and ones that omitted her character, printed in blue. In her absence, her lines often went to Knott’s Mr. Furley, as in the episode “And Justice for Jack.”
21. What’s the Address?
The address of the trio’s apartment changed numerous times over the course of the series.
22. Opening Credits Cameo
The beautiful woman who distracts Jack Tripper, leading him to fall off his bike during the opening credits, is none other than Suzanne Somers in a black wig.
23. Larry Dallas Was Supposed to be a One-Off Character
The character was originally supposed to only appear once. However, actor Richard Kline had such chemistry with John Ritter, that the character became a regular on the series.
24. The Show’s Iron Man and Woman
25. The DVDs Were in High Demand for The Saddest Possible Reason
Demand for the series on DVD reached a fever pitch in 2003 following the untimely death of John Ritter. In response, the studio rushed the series out as quickly as possible.
