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CBS disputes actor Patinkin on quitting hit show
2007-07-18
The president of CBS Entertainment on Thursday disputed actor Mandy Patinkin's explanation for quitting the hit show "Criminal Minds," insisting "personal issues" not "creative differences" led to his exit. Nina Tassler, the network's chief programmer, declined to elaborate on the veteran performer's reasons for asking to be released from his contract, saying she preferred to let Patinkin speak for himself. But she did indicate CBS executives felt they had little choice when approached by the actor, who also abruptly left his Emmy-winning role as a surgeon on the CBS medical drama "Chicago Hope" in 1995 after one season. "When he approached us and said, 'I want to be released,' and we talked about it internally, we realized that this was the moment in time where we knew we had to address it, and we did and were able to accommodate him," she told a gathering of TV critics in Beverly Hills. The television community was stunned by word on Monday that Patinkin, 54, an accomplished stage actor and singer who won a Tony Award for his Broadway performance in the musical "Evita," had decided to leave "Criminal Minds" after two seasons. In a statement issued on his behalf by the show's producers, Patinkin said his departure was "due to creative differences." The producers added that salary and contract issues were not at issue. Pressed for further details during the network's semiannual presentation to TV critics, Tassler insisted unspecified "personal issues" were behind Patinkin's move. Asked to reconcile her explanation with his, she said, "I think creative differences is a euphemism for personal issues." The one-hour drama, which airs on CBS, has starred Patinkin as the leader of a team of federal agents who use psychology, technology and other tools to investigate strange crimes. Patinkin's character, Special Agent Jason Gideon, will return for at least one episode in the new season, beginning this fall, in which his departure will be explained. Patinkin said in a Los Angeles Times interview years ago he left "Chicago Hope" because he found he had no time to spend with his family. "Criminal Minds" producer Ed Bernero wrote in an Internet blog this week that Patinkin's request came out of the blue after the actor failed to show up for work. "He gave us no advance notice that anything was wrong, no opportunity to make the loss of the character work, no indication that we should be looking for someone else, no warning that we might have to rewrite the first seven scripts," Bernero wrote.
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