The premise of the 1977 sitcom “Three’s Company” — adapted from the 1973 British series “Man About the House” — would likely never fly in 2024. Roommates Janet (Joyce DeWitt) and Chrissy (Suzanne Somers) require a third roommate to pay rent in their expensive Santa Monica apartment. They stumble across Jack Tripper (John Ritter), an aspiring culinary student whom they get along with. It so happens, though, that the building’s landlord, Mr. Roper (Normal Fell), is ultra-conservative and refuses to let unmarried men and women share his apartments. To get around this contrived contingency, Janet and Chrissy tell Mr. Roper that Jack is gay. This satisfies the landlord but opens Jack up to homophobic jibes.
Fell eventually left the series and was replaced by the high-strung Mr. Furley, played by Don Knotts. Mr. Furley, it seems, required the charade to continue. Somers also left the show in its last two seasons and was replaced by actor Jenilee Harrison playing Chrissy’s sister Cindy.
“Three’s Company” was a runaway hit, ultimately spanning eight seasons and 172 episodes. It lived in aggressive syndication and children of the ’80s likely remember encountering reruns frequently. It helped that its theme song was so bloody catchy. “Three’s Company” eventually spawned multiple spinoffs, including “The Ropers,” starring Norman Fell and Audra Lindley, and “Three’s a Crowd,” about what happened to Jack after the events of the original show.
Sadly, some of the best-known actors from “Three’s Company” are no longer with us, but much of the cast is still working to this day. Let’s catch up with them.
Joyce DeWitt (Janet Wood)
ABC
Joyce DeWitt became immensely famous from starring in “Three’s Company,” and is the only actor other than John Ritter to appear in almost every episode of the series (she was in 170 of the 172 episodes). DeWitt had only appeared in the 1975 TV series “Baretta” and in the 1976 TV movie “Most Wanted” before her sitcom stint, and immediately became a household name because of it. During its run, DeWitt also landed multiple other acting gigs, including appearances on “Supertrain,” “The Love Boat,” and “Finder of Lost Loves.”
After “Three’s Company,” however, DeWitt semi-retired from acting, happy to take a break. It also seemed that she and Somers began to resent each other on the series thanks to a hotly contested salary dispute. Somers and DeWitt parted on bad terms and weren’t seen on screen together for decades. They wouldn’t reconcile until a 2012 episode of the talk show “Suzanne Somers: Breaking Through,” where Somers apologized. The two talked about working with Ritter, who had passed away in 2003 and left on good terms. They remained on good terms until Somers died in 2023.
From 1984 to 1991, DeWitt lived far out of the public eye, only returning to acting for a stage production of “Noises Off!” Since 1995, DeWitt has made occasional appearances on a few notable TV shows, often playing herself. Her most recent role was in the 2022 indie film “Ask Me to Dance.” DeWitt, now 74, will likely continue to work.
Richard Kline (Larry Dallas)
ABC
On “Three’s Company,” Richard Kline played Larry, Jack’s close friend. Larry tolerated a lot of abuse from Jack but was resilient and lascivious in his own right. Larry was a slimy used car salesman — but, y’know, charming — who lied about his identity to pick up women, often saying that he was a photographer for Playboy Magazine, or merely that he was rich. Larry’s presence added to the overall sexual tension that permeated the show.
Kline was only a semi-regular on the series for its first three seasons, becoming a regular in its fourth. All told, he appeared in 110 episodes of the show. “Three’s Company” was only one part of a vast acting career for Kline, however. He had already appeared on shows like “Eight is Enough,” “Maude,” and “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” before “Three’s Company,” and would go on to invade television in perpetuity, appearing on the “Company” spin-offs, “Murder, She Wrote,” “Hill Street Blues,” “Silver Spoons,” “Matlock,” “St. Elsewhere,” “L.A. Law,” “Columbo,” “Married… with Children,” and dozens of others. Kline was one of those reliable character actors who supported any show he was on. Hollywood is built on the backs of actors like him.
As a lead actor, Kline appeared in the 2000 series “Noah Knows Best” and “Inside Schwartz.” He most recently appeared in the 2023 indie film “180 Days.”
Jenilee Harrison (Cindy Snow)
ABC
As mentioned above, Suzanne Somers was engaged in a salary dispute on “Three’s Company” and left the show at the end of its fourth season. In order to retain the show’s character dynamic, however, Somers was replaced by a very Chrissy-like character in the form of Chrissy’s cousin Cindy, played by former Playboy Playmate Jenilee Harrison. Although Cindy was a lot like Chrissy in terms of her feckless innocence, she was also a lot more energetic and eager to help her friends. Some fans of the show felt she was more like a “kid sister” to Janet and Jack than Chrissy was. Cindy was only on the series for its fifth and sixth seasons when she was replaced by a character named Terri (Priscilla Barnes). Terri remained through to the end of the series.
Harrison started her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Rams before breaking into acting. She, like her co-stars, cycled through many of the era’s more popular shows (including “CHiPs,” “The Love Boat,” and “Fantasy Island”) before landing the “Three’s Company” gig. After her tenure, Harrison would land one of the main roles on “Dallas,” appearing in 69 episodes. She also appeared in the films “Tank,” “Curse III: Blood Sacrifice,” and “Illicit Behavior.”
Harrison seems to have retired from acting in 2002, with her last credit being the TV movie “The Power.” One can assume she’s happy at home.
Priscilla Barnes (Terri Alden)
ABC
Priscilla Barnes played Terri Alden in the final two seasons of “Three’s Company” and she was clearly meant to serve as a Chrissy/Cindy stand-in. In order to buck the trends, however, Terri wasn’t just another “shallow blonde” character, working as a nurse during the day and devoting herself to art at night.
Priscilla Barnes has an extensive filmography which began in the late 1970s with films like “Tintorera” and Telly Savalas’ “Beyond Reason,” as well as TV shows like “The Rockford Files,” “Starsky & Hutch,” and “Kojak.” She appeared in 72 episodes of “Three’s Company” before landing the high-profile Bond Girl gig in “Licence to Kill.” She also appeared in “Stepfather III,” “Erotique,” and “Mallrats” (as an insightful three-nippled fortune teller), in addition to Sean Penn’s “The Crossing Guard” and Lawrence Kasdan’s “Mumford.” She additionally showed up in Rob Zombie’s “The Devil’s Rejects,” the TV shows “Time Trax” and “She Spies,” and just about every exciting genre show from the 1990s. More recently, she had a recurring role on “Jane the Virgin,” appearing in 41 episodes.
