On March 27th, 1990, with
34 episodes and a string of clashes with its main star under his belt, an exasperated
Jeff Harris announced his resignation as executive producer on
Roseanne by taking out a full-page ad in
Daily Variety. On it was printed the following farewell letter. Breaking point was apparently reached when
Roseanne Barr's new husband,
Tom Arnold, furious that his power to edit scripts had been questioned, allegedly attempted to strangle Harris.
Transcript follows. Image courtesy of Ronan A.
Image: Ronan A.
Transcript
March 27, 1990
To my friends at Carsey-Werner Company, ABC, to the cast, crew and staff of "Roseanne":
My sincere and heartfelt thanks to all of you.
I have chosen not to return to the show next season. Instead, my wife and I have decided to share a vacation in the relative peace and quiet of Beirut.
JEFF HARRIS
Executive Producer
