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Chapter Two Casting WKRP "The Worst Three Weeks of My Life" You have just been transported to the late 1970s, where you are casting a new television show. Perhaps you've dreamed of the opportunity to play the glamorous Hollywood casting director; however, there is more than the glitter and glitz to consider. Not only do your choices influence the success of a $300,000 pilot, but the possible ad revenues-millions of dollars-should your series become a hit. You're not just gambling with your own career, but with the careers of many actors, writers, and producers as well. If your pilot makes it to the fall schedule, $2 million of network money will be tied up in the first thirteen episodes. The success or failure of your show will also have an effect on other shows in the surrounding line-up. Suddenly the glamour turns into pressure-the exact pressure felt by Hugh Wilson and casting director Bob Manahan as they set out to find the perfect cast for WKRP in Cincinnati. It is no wonder that Wilson recalled the period as the "worst three weeks in my life" (Graham). While the success of a sitcom hinges on many factors, casting is key. Of what value is a great script or a great director without a great cast to bring the work to life? Good casting is not simply a search for talented actors; it is a quest to uncover people who will work well together. As an MTM show, casting was crucial; WKRP had a legacy of legendary casts with which to compete. Much of the magic of MTM classics such as The Mary Tyler Moore Show or The Bob Newhart Show was derived from the balletic interplay of the shows' actors. For example, it was not just Mary Richards interacting with Lou Grant, but Mary Tyler Moore as Mary Richards interacting with Ed Asner as Lou Grant. The contributions of both these stars transcended anything that could have been accomplished through writing or directing. That is the magic ofcasting-the magic Wilson was after. 12 Casting WKRP 13 There are a number of qualities casting directors want. In 1978, Arnold Becker, vice president of national research at CBS around the time of WKRP's debut, told Wall Street Journal writer Ellen Graham that "Love is a very important [sitcom] ingredient." Also important is finding a cast that can function as a family (Graham). WKRP was in good hands with Manahan, who had cast the lovable family ensembles of The Bob Newhart Show and The Tony Randall Show. However, no matter how skilled or experienced the casting team is, ingredients such as love and family are never guaranteed. Thus, a great deal of WKRP's magic hinged on luck. According to Frank Bonner, who played Herb Tarlek, casting is a crap shoot: "WKRP was a magic mix of characters that worked. Had it been another blonde, had it been another Herb, had it been another Johnny Fever, it may not have worked out as well. They just get actors together and they hope that they work together. It's kind of a melting pot that you throw [all of the actors] into and stir it up into a nice, wonderful stew and hope it comes out" (Bonner). Wilson began to prepare his "stew." With only three weeks to complete this formidable task, Wilson, casting director Bob Manahan, Mary Tyler Moore, Grant TInker, and other casting executives from CBS set out to find an appealing, lovable family that America would welcome into its homes. "You let these people into your living rooms," said Becker to Graham. "They have to be nice folks or [people] don't want them" (Graham). "It Was the Part ofHis Life" Howard Hesseman It was fate-perhaps destiny-that Howard Hesseman came to play Johnny Fever. Aside from Hesseman's weather-worn, disheveled features being well suited to the role-he looked like a man who had been "packing and unpacking up and down the dial"-consider the chance meetings that had been taking place between him and Wilson: Howard and Hugh first met in Atlanta in 1974, when Hesseman was touring with The Committee, a highly respected improvisational comedy group. An avid fan of the group, Wilson, who was still in advertising at the time, went backstage to talk with Hesseman and the company. One year later, Wilson and Hesseman ran into each other on the set of The Bob Newhart Show...

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