While most actors pray for a hit show, Ted McGinley has had the luxury of starring in several. From his first TV job on “Happy Days” to now enjoying an appearance on Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” McGinley spent multiple seasons on popular ’80s shows like “The Love Boat,” “Dynasty” and “Married.” ..With Children’. But that success had a dark side as he was wrongly labeled ‘the patron saint of Jumping the Shark’ and associated with the death of popular TV shows.
During a lengthy conversation about his career at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, McGinley said the sentence hurt. “At first I thought it was funny,” he says. “And then I realized I started losing jobs.”
The nickname came from Joe Hein, the founder of the website JumptheShark.com. The origin of the phrase refers to an episode in season 5 of “Happy Days” in which Henry Winkler’s character Fonzie literally jumps a shark while on water skis. The term became synonymous with when a show took a turn for the worse and was eventually canceled. It didn’t matter that McGinley actually joined “Happy Days” in Season 8, long after the literal shark jumping had taken place, and stayed for four seasons. It also didn’t matter that the calculations were wrong, as all of those shows continued for several seasons even after McGinley joined.
Although McGinley had a sense of humor about the label, he says “there was a very difficult period” when people publicly ridiculed him and even teased his children. He also admits that for a while he really thought his career was over.
“I tried to make light of it as best I could, but the truth is it was extremely hurtful,” the actor said. “And I have a family to take care of and take care of. I have to raise my children, love my wife and feed us all. He took that away from me, and that was cruel.”
McGinley added that Hein was very friendly to him personally years later when they crossed paths at SiriusXM. “He said, ‘I want to apologize.’ And it was very sweet.”
While McGinley acknowledged that “it was – or was – a bit of the elephant in the room for me,” he also noted that people “seem to have moved on a little bit.”
In the wide-ranging conversation, McGinley discussed other speed bumps in his career — such as being cast for “Happy Days” after Ron Howard left despite not having much experience. McGinley was thrilled as a fan of the show and grateful for the patience of his co-stars as he learned the ropes. But his freshman year, he took his parents to a holiday party where producer and writer Lowell Ganz gave a roast.
“He gets up and starts doing his thing. And he says, ‘Ted McGinley. One word to describe his acting. Shit!’”
McGinley remembered looking around the room as everyone laughed. “It was the most brutal and damaging thing that ever happened, and it took years to get over that because I respected Lowell so much.” McGinley said that “Lowell did everything he could for the next two years” to encourage and guide him. ‘By the way, he told the truth. He wasn’t wrong.”
Currently, McGinley is enjoying starring opposite Harrison Ford and Jason Segal in “Shrinking,” playing Derek, the easy-going husband of Liz (Christa Miller, who happens to be the real-life wife of show co-creator Bill Lawrence.) Derek is has become a fan favorite for his unwavering support of Liz, although the show currently finds their marriage strained after she begins spending time with an ex-boyfriend.
McGinley said that he had actually been Lawrence’s first choice for the role of Dr. Cox in “Scrubs,” which eventually went to another McGinley: John C. McGinley, who won critical acclaim for his portrayal of the acerbic doctor. But he had botched his auditions and meetings so badly that it cost him the part. “I kept fueling up,” he said. But Lawrence called him afterwards and promised that one day they would do something together. “And he’s that guy,” McGinley said. “It came through. He threw me a bone and I am forever grateful.”
Watch the conversation from the SAG-AFTRA Foundation below.
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