Dixie Carter vs. Mary Ann Mobley
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — Diff'rent Strokes
SataiDelen — 11 years ago(May 17, 2014 03:45 PM)
OK, Dixie originally played Maggie, Phil's girlfriend, and fianc/wife. She then left the show, and Mary Ann Mobley took over the role.
My question is, why did Dixie leave? Was it because of Designing Women? I really liked her as Maggie, and was not crazy about Mary Ann. I just felt that Dixie made Maggie strong, while Mary Ann was just kind of there. The strength was gone.
Incidentally, both women appeared in an episode of Designing Women together. What I found interesting, is that Mobley still comes across as annoying, but seemed a bit strong. So, proof that she could have made the Maggie character stronger emotionally, than she did. -
KoolBlackKat — 11 years ago(June 04, 2014 02:21 PM)
Do we actually have a choice? Since the Maggie character annoyed the hell out of me and I thought Dixie's maggie was a bitch towards Arnold, I am going with mary ann Mobley even though she sucked as Maggie..but that's not saying much. To me, mary ann Mobley had a nicer demeanor with the Maggie role
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milford1018 — 11 years ago(September 11, 2014 09:51 AM)
My thought on Dixie's Maggie towards Arnold is that she was no nonsense which doesn't jive well with a 12 or 13 year old boy who was trying to be up to no good-typical kid stuff. In the wedding episode Maggie talks to Mr. D about trying to connect with Arnold (paraphrase) and how she loved that little fella.
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ItsEddieHaskellBeyotch — 11 years ago(June 10, 2014 05:26 PM)
Dixie was the better Maggie overall but friction behind the scenes with Gary Coleman and the opportunity to play one of the leads in Designing Women lead to her departure from the series. Also, the transition between the final season on NBC and the last minute renewal of the series on ABC had a hand in the switch.
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When there's no more room in Hollywood, remakes shall walk the Earth.
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TMC-4 — 9 years ago(August 18, 2016 08:02 PM)
https://www.datalounge.com/thread/15884920-dixie-carter-leaving-diff-rent-strokes
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TMC-4 — 11 years ago(June 21, 2014 11:14 PM)
https://web.archive.org/web/20070108222250/http://www.jumptheshark.com /d/diffrentstrokes.htm
Though I wasn't fond of Danny Cooksey's Sam character - I did think there was a lot of chemistry between Conrad Bain (Phillip Drummond) and Dixie Carter (Maggie) - and their relationship kept the show interesting. Unfortunately, this relationship went from the show's saving hero to a big fat zero when Mary Ann Mobley assumed the role of Maggie. A few other posts inquired about "what Dixie Carter did to get replaced." It was more of what NBC did: when they cancelled the series, this freed Carter to pursue other interests (namely Designing Women). ABC picked up Diff'rent Strokes for another season, and Carter was no longer available. The producers hastily recast the role with Mobley - who - while having a vague facial resemblance to Carter - unfortunately had poor comedic timing and far less edge than her predecessor. She also had no chemistry whatsoever with Conrad Bain. It didn't help that the show over-domesticated Mobley's version of Maggie - for instance, by dressing her in a variety of knit sweaters (ala Newhart's Joanna) and house pants. As played by Carter, Maggie was a biting, witty, sexy fitness-instructor / television host who typically dressed to the nines - whether it be stunning dresses or power business suits. Carter's Maggie exuded confidence, sex appeal, and feminine strength. All of this seemed thrown out the window with the self-indulgent, home-decorating-crazy, doting-housewife interpretation given by Mobley. Maggie was watered-down by the oceans the minute Mobley assumed the role - and in that, the show's saving grace was lost in the very first episode ABC aired. Even Phillip didn't seem interested in her anymore. Perhaps it would have been more interesting had he pursued a divorce in the show's final season. "Sorry, Maggie - I don't know what happened between this year and last year - but you just don't turn me on anymore." -
BWRocks — 11 years ago(August 09, 2014 12:35 AM)
Personally, I liked Ms. Mobley better in the Maggie role. She was so warm and motherly. I wrote to Ms. Mobley last year and she sent me several autographed photos (included 1 of her and Gary Coleman from DS!).
I liked Ms. Carter as well, she played the character very differently (sort of like the difference between Flo and Belle from Alice).
To answer your original question though, it is possible Ms. Carter asked out of her contract or that her contact was bought out by the producers/owners of the new series. Even though it was way before production of the new series, sometimes producers do not want a star to jump from series to series (often there is a season between) for various reasons. This waiting period was much more common years ago and has not been as common though over the last 15 years. This could be the reason why she left, even though DW was not in production she could have been under contract with the owners of the series. -
jefgg — 11 years ago(January 08, 2015 07:33 PM)
Dixie Carter passed away in 2010 at age 70. Her husband Hal Holbrook stated the cause as complications from endometrial cancer which had been diagnosed earlier that year.
Mary Ann Mobley passed away on December 9, 2014 at age 77 from breast cancer.