Things You Probably Didn't Know About "Three's Company"

#1 Three's Company

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. Back in the day, it was considered inappropriate for unmarried men and women to live together, even as platonic friends, so the shtick was that Jack had to pretend to be gay. Much of the comedy centered around Jack overplaying his fake homosexuality to his stodgy landlord, Mr. Roper.

#2 The Show Was Based On 'Man About The House'

Based on the British sitcom Man About the House, which was widely popular for several years before being rebooted for the US audiences. This was popular back in the 70's and 80's as many series were based on British shows including, All In The Family, Sanford And Son, and even Maude.

#3 Billy Crystal Auditioned For The Role Of Jack

Barry Van Dyke (Ritter hero Dick Van Dyke's son), Gary Sandy (later on WKRP) and Michael Lembeck (later a director of sitcoms including Friends) also attempted to win the role. Crystal found employment on another ABC comedy a short time later, as Jodie Dallas in Soap (1977-1981).

#4 Loni Anderson Almost Played Chrissy

Anderson (later Jennifer Marlowe on WKRP in Cincinnati) didn't get the part. Ritter, who claimed she had a great audition, theorized that Anderson wasn't selected because no one would believe she couldn't live in her own apartment. That aside, she was first choice for the role until producers decided to look just a little harder for someone they thought fit perfectly.

#5 Suzanne Somers Was Found By Accident

Desperately searching for the right Chrissy the day before production began, Silverman put in all of the audition tapes they had received and fast-forwarded through them. When he spotted Somers, he stopped the tape and liked what he saw. After never getting a clear answer on why she was passed on in the first place, Somers was summoned to the studio. "We got her in that day and she was on the set tomorrow and she was terrific in that part," the ABC programming chief remembered. "And that was an accident because she never should have gotten the part."

#6 There Were Actually Three Pilot Episodes Filmed

On the first attempt, M*A*S*H writer/producer Larry Gelbart wrote a Three's Company pilot script resembling Man About the House. John Ritter's character was named David Bell and was an aspiring filmmaker. The two female roommates were actresses named Jenny (played by Valerie Curtin) and Samantha (Susanne Zenor). A second unaired pilot was requested by ABC programming head Fred Silverman, written by All in the Family and The Jeffersons writer/producers Don Nicholl, Michael Ross, and Bernard West, and featured Joyce DeWitt and Suze Lanier-Bramlett as Chrissy. The third pilot filmed was the charm deemed worthy for broadcast; it premiered on March 15, 1977.

#7 Norman Fell Created Mr Roper On His Own

Norman Fell was inspired by a real guy for his role as Stanley Roper. "I was thinking of a guy I really know in Philadelphia. The clothes are all wrong He was innocent and a guy who just can't do things right, whether it's being with a woman or fixing something. And yet he thought he was the cat's meow. He thought he was attractive, he liked his clothes. He thought people were looking at him because of how well-preserved he looked. He thought he was all things he's not." The original character was only supposed to be a fidgety old man who rarely spoke, and have very few comedic lines in the script.

Everytime Norman Fell had a funny line, he would look straight into the camera and smile. That was an idea he came up with and made him popular on the show.

#8 Jeffrey Tambor Played Three Different Roles On The Series

After he starred as snobby neighbor Jeffrey P. Brookes III in The Ropers, Tambor found employment again and again and again in late-season episodes of Three's Company. He was a rich man, Winston Cromwell III, who was after Chrissy in "Father of the Bride"; in "Two Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," he played Dr. Tom Miller, a psychiatrist who Jack and Janet confuse for a mental patient; he was also dentist Dr. Phillip Greene, a crazy dentist who was recently dumped by Terri.

#9 John Larroquette Wanted His Face To Be Seen

John Larroquette (later of Night Court fame) had a small role in Three's Company playing a cop who catches Jack trying break in to his own apartment while his roommates were asleep. The shot wasn't supposed to focus on him, so he took matters into his own hands. "So I had to figure out a way to get my hat off. And this is all completely selfish and premeditated. So inside my hat, I've written the Miranda rights. So I take my hat off and tell him, ‘You have the right to remain silent.' So my hat is off for the remainder of the scene, which allows you to see my face and my confidence, as it were. Had I not thought of that, it would have just been this hated cop figure for 30 seconds or whatever, and no one would have really known who he was."

#10 Jason Ritter Made His Acting Debut On The Show

The younger Ritter (later Dipper Pines in Gravity Falls and Mark Cyr on Parenthood) didn't remember the incident that was immortalized in the opening credits for seasons six through eight. "But the story is they were shooting a bunch of things at the zoo and I got away from my mom," Jason told The Huffington Post. "I just walked into the shot and it made Joyce DeWitt laugh so they kept it in the opening credits."

#11 The Girl Who Causes Jack To Fall Off His Bike Was Suzanne Somers

In the first few seasons, where the opening and closing credits were shot on the beach, it was done as a last-minute aspect by the producers at Venice Beach. The first shot where the camera zooms in on 'Jack Tripper' riding his bike was obtained by going on the roof of a Venice shop-owner who took $100 for use of his roof. The bike Jack rides belonged to a producer, and the girl he stares at that makes him fall is actually Suzanne Sommers in a dark wig.

#12 There's An Episode Where Jack Can Be Seen In A Compromising Position

In March 2001, a viewer claimed that a certain part of John Ritter's anatomy was briefly visible in the episode titled "The Charming Stranger." The complaint was taken seriously enough that Nickelodeon edited the short scene out soon thereafter. In response to the controversy, Ritter infamously said, "I've requested that [Nickelodeon] air both versions, edited and unedited, because sometimes you feel like a nut, and sometimes you don't."

#13 You Can Spot Scenes Where Equipment Is Still In The Shot

If you watch carefully there are times that microphones and crew hands fall into the shot and even issues with the walls that make it obvious you're looking at a set as opposed to a real house. It's fun to spot continuity errors on the show, too. Production standards were a little more lax back then and it happened quite often. There's a scene in the Ropers bedroom where a microphone dangles above Mrs. Ropers head for the entire 2 minutes.

#14 Somers Left Because She Wanted To Be Paid As Much As Ritter

Somers asked for an increase from $30,000 to $150,000 per episode, Ritter's salary at the time, as well as 10 percent of the show's profits. ABC was offering a $5000 pay raise. For the fourth season, after Ritter and DeWitt stopped speaking to Somers when she feigned a broken rib injury and the contract negotiations became a distraction, Somers was effectively written off the show. Chrissy was stuck in Fresno caring for her sick mother, calling back home to fill the last minute of episodes. (Jenilee Harrison played Chrissy's cousin, Cindy, that year.) After her contract expired at the end of that season, Somers was not asked to return.

Suzanne Somers' credibility in show business was damaged by this ordeal. She had a few acting roles (She's the Sheriff and Step by Step) but has become a successful author and infomercial queen worth millions remember the Thighmaster?

#15 The Original Cast Didn't Speak For Over Thirty Years

After Suzanne's rocky departure, her friendship with costars Joyce DeWitt and John Ritter faltered. They felt that her greed almost ruined their hit show. Thirty years went by before Joyce and Suzanne buried the hatchet. They had a reunion on Suzanne's web show where they hugged and made up. John Ritter, sadly, passed away in 2003 at the age of 54. According to Somers, they made amends and spoke about a month before his passing.

#16 The Theme Song Initially Had No Words

The show's theme song was written by Joe Raposo who also wrote the theme songs for Sesame Street and The Electric Company. It didn't have any words until the producers decided they wanted something to describe the fun of the show. Initially, they thought they wanted the cast to sing it but that didn't work out and other people were hired. "Come and knock on our door" The three stars did record two different versions, but they were never used, and John Ritter owned the only copies of the tapes.

#17 The Ropers Were Promised A Return But Got Shafted

Audra Lindley and Norman Fell left the show after the second season for a spin-off of their characters. They were promised by the ABC network that if their show didn't make it past its first season - their spots were secure for a permanent return to the series. After The Ropers drew the second highest ratings for a series debut in television history at the time in March of 1979, it moved to Saturdays for the second season and viewership dropped enough for it to get cancelled. Their spin-off failed after a season and a half and they were permanently replaced by Don Knotts. The producers fought to get another network to air the series but ABC would not let it go, and the Roper's became history. When Don Knotts joined Three's Company the rating dropped by 20%.

#18 Pricilla Barnes Nearly Quit After Three Episodes

Barnes portrayed nurse Terri Alden, a replacement for Cindy (who was a replacement for Chrissy) for the final three seasons of the show. "Our bosses were very, very controlling," Barnes told CNN in 2002. "If my hair was too blond, I'd get called up in the office." She told reporters that it was the worst experience of her life.

#19 Heather Locklear Got Laughed At When She Auditioned To Replace Somers

Sweating in her peach silk blouse on her way to her audition, Locklear resorted to putting Kleenex under her arms. Despite performing a funny scene, nobody laughed at her audition. After hearing laughter as soon as she closed the door, the actress noticed the Kleenex had come out of her blouse. "So I guess they thought I stuffed my bra," Locklear recalled.

#20 The Spin-off Was A Flop

After the events of the 1984 series finale to Three's Company, Jack moved in with his new girlfriend, Vicky (Mary Cadorette). The person who made his new digs a "crowd" on the show was Vicky's father, who was also Jack's new landlord (Robert Mandan). The show lasted for one season.