The Mothers-In-Law

The show was only moderately successful during its first season. NBC agreed to renew it on the condition that costs be held to the 1967 level, effectively freezing the talents' salaries. Producer Desi Arnaz obtained agreements from everyone on the cast and crew with the sole exception of Roger C. Carmel who held fast to a contractual point providing him with a raise upon renewal. Arnaz pleaded with him, pointing out that the livelihood of dozens of people were essentially at stake but he wouldn't budge, despite his then-decent $2,000 per week salary and the promise of residuals and was released. Carmel was replaced (by Richard Deacon) and the show sank miserably in the 1968 Neilsen's and was canceled. As a result, Carmel was effectively blackballed from the TV industry for several years.

Referenced in Laugh-In: Guest Starring Eve Arden (1968)