Before NBC’s medical drama “ER” eventually skyrocketed him to superstardom in 1994, George Clooney started out by making a string of guest appearances on popular ’80s TV shows, like “The Facts of Life” and “The Golden Girls.” But he also helped launch one of ABC’s best TV shows of all time.
Fans of “Roseanne” likely remember him as Booker Brooks, the smooth-talking Wellman Plastics factory foreman who shared an on-again, off-again romance with Roseanne’s sister, Jackie Harris (Laurie Metcalf). While his screen presence loomed large over the show’s early days, his time in Lanford was still somewhat brief: Clooney appeared in 11 episodes total. The bulk of those were during Season 1, but he also made a final return in the Halloween episode of “Roseanne” Season 4, “Trick Me Up, Trick Me Down,” where he showed up at a party wearing a moose costume.
While he was a hit with viewers, Clooney recalled that his early sex-symbol status came with some less-than-professional on-set behavior. As he recounted to The Washington Post, he often felt objectified by those around him. “Quite honestly, I was objectified,” Clooney told the outlet. “I remember doing scenes on ‘Roseanne’ and I’d drop a clipboard and bend over, and they’d all slap me on the ass.”
George Clooney’s photo prank got Roseanne in trouble with ABC
It seems George Clooney was also a bit of an instigator behind the scenes. During an appearance on “The Howard Stern Show” (via The Wrap), series star Roseanne Barr recalled how Clooney’s prankster energy often got her into hot water with the network higher-ups. When “Roseanne” secured the No. 1 spot in the TV ratings, ABC celebrated by sending Barr a giant chocolate bar shaped like a number one. According to Barr, Clooney suggested they smash the measly gift with a baseball bat and send a picture to the network’s president because other network stars received much better perks. Barr took the bait. “That caused a lot of problems for me,” she said. “I should not have sent that picture.”
Clooney’s onscreen partner, Laurie Metcalf, has nothing but fond memories about their time together. During an episode of “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” , Metcalf was asked about the highs and lows of working with Clooney. “The best was the scenes that we got to do together that were alluding to us having a romantic relationship,” Metcalf shared. “It was the best; that was fun. The worst was when for some reason he didn’t come back after Season 1.”
Decades later, the creative team behind the revival “The Conners” did attempt to lure the superstar back to Lanford, but he ultimately declined. Bruce Helford, executive producer of “The Conners,” opened up to TVLine about trying to secure the A-lister: “We did reach out to him numerous times, and he said, ‘You know that I would, but if I do it for you guys, I gotta do it for everybody I’ve ever worked with who has a TV show because it would be wrong for me not to,’ so that was his out on that.”
