Remembering Ann Wedgeworth – Lana from TV’s ‘Three’s Company’

This is an open letter to Lana Shields, the character that Ann Wedgeworth played on the television sitcom, Three’s Company, which ran on the ABC television network from 1977 to 1984.

Lana. Lana, Lana. It feels like we hardly knew you. That said, while your time on Three’s Company was brief, I still feel like it’s worth talking about. Let me state for the record that I think the producers of Three’s Company were wrong to let Ann Wedgeworth, the actress who played you, walk away from the series. And even though I’m a huge John Ritter fan, I think he was wrong as well. I don’t think it would’ve been out of character for Jack Tripper to have been attracted to you.

As a fan of classic TV sitcoms, and Three’s Company in particular, I must admit that I was disappointed that Ann wasn’t at least given a full season to flesh out your character before she was asked to part ways. From everything that I’ve read, it seems like Ann really had her heart set on making the show work. Heck, she even moved from New York to California to make this thing happen, and why wouldn’t she?

Three’s Company was at the top of its game. Sure, the Ropers, they’d moved on. But Don Knotts, Mr. Furley, was a fun replacement, and the show still had the magical combination of Jack, Janet, and Chrissy as roommates. What could go wrong, Lana? It really seemed like a sure thing.

Everett Collection

Way back then, I remember reading a TV Guide article where Ann discussed taking chances. In that article, she talked about the disappointment that she’d felt when she didn’t get the part that had made her famous on Broadway. In the movie version of Neil Simon‘s Chapter Two, I believe the role went to Valerie Harper, and Ann talked about the gut-wrenching feedback she’d been given: she wasn’t a household name. Ann was hoping that you, Lana, would help make her more familiar with TV audiences and that that would translate into more film roles.

I mean, it’s not like Ann hadn’t been in movies. In fact, she’d been in major motion pictures like Scarecrow and Bang the Drum Slowly. Still, for whatever reason, the producers of Chapter Two didn’t feel like she was well-known enough to take her Tony Award-winning performance to the silver screen, which is just too darn bad because Ann was something else in that play.

Here’s what Time Magazine had to say about her performance in Chapter Two, “Wedgeworth is a lispy, New Yorky clown with Valentine’s Day on the brain, and her performance is as impeccable as her body is scannable.”

But getting back to Three’s Company, nine episodes is all we got of you, Lana, and it’s not like you weren’t funny. In fact, I’d say Ann’s comedic chops were right up there with the rest of the cast. The problem was that they just didn’t know what to do with you.

Here’s what Ann’s daughter, Dianna, told The Hollywood Reporter in 2017, “They didn’t let her part evolve into something groovier.”

Everett Collection

Lana, I think it’s fair to say that your character wasn’t given the chance to appropriately develop and connect with their intended audience. Although I did miss you when you suddenly disappeared, I must admit it wasn’t a deep sense of loss. You just weren’t around long enough for that. It has only been after repeated viewings of those episodes in which you appeared that I’ve realized how truly tragic it was that Ann wasn’t allowed more time.

Fortunately, there were other opportunities for Ann to demonstrate just how wonderful she could be on the tiny screen. Burt Reynolds‘ show Evening Shade on CBS would finally give her the chance to show everyone that you, Lana, if you’d been given the appropriate amount of time, could have been every bit as wonderful as Marlene.

Ann had a way of taking smaller roles and turning them into something very special. She was fearless, really, at least onscreen. Offscreen, however, it was a very different story. From everything that I’ve read, I understand that there were times when Ann would get really down, and she’d have to muster every bit of positivity from within to shake herself out of her funk. I don’t think you would’ve been like that at all, Lana, but you know what? We’ll never truly know.

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Classic Comedy Duos

March 2021

Chuckle at television & films funniest comic duos.

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