After the premiere of Roseanne, most members of the show's cast became huge stars, and,
understandably, people wanted to know everything they could about the actors behind the entire
extended Conner family.
But there were some stories that the stars didn't want the public to know.
Dan Conner is often seen knocking back a few cold ones on Roseanne.
His drinking was casual and controlled, unlike actor John Goodman's own experience with alcohol.
Goodman battled alcoholism throughout a large chunk of his career.
In April 2018, he told Sunday Today:
"The fact is I was drinking at work.
My speech would be slurred.
I thought I was fooling people.
My cheeks would turn bright red."
But one person he wasn't fooling: Roseanne Barr.
According to Goodman, Barr's experiences dealing with an alcoholic ex-husband made her "scared"
and "confrontational," and she urged the actor to seek help.
He finally did in 2007, a decade after Roseanne went off the air.
"I can't believe you didn't get busted too."
"I was.
I'm in my room right now and when I'm ready to admit I'm wrong, I can come out."
There's a good chance Johnny Galecki will be remembered as a member of two of television's
most memorable sitcom couples.
On Roseanne, he played David opposite Sara Gilbert's Darlene… and on The Big Bang Theory,
he played Leonard opposite Kaley Cuoco's Penny.
Maybe these onscreen couples are so popular because of their very real backstage chemistry.
Galecki dated Gilbert during Roseanne's original run, but they eventually broke up.
He also dated Cuoco for about two years during the first few seasons of The Big Bang Theory.
What's surprising is how Galecki and Cuoco managed to keep their romance a secret.
In 2010, long after the couple split up, Cuoco told CBS Watch:
"It was such a huge part of my life and no one knew about it."
During an appearance on The Talk in 2013, Cuoco got to talk to Gilbert about her former
relationship with Galecki:
"Was it over two years?"
"Two years, yeah.
Aren't you impressed?"
"I knew, I knew."
Galecki explained to CBS Watch why he doesn't like discussing his former relationship with
Cuoco:
"[It's] not because I'm trying to be enigmatic; I just worry that it will conflict with people's
acceptance of Leonard and Penny."
Today, Sara Gilbert is a proud, out lesbian, but that wasn't always the case.
She realized she was gay when she was a teenager... while she was still dating her Roseanne co-star
Johnny Galecki.
In 2010, she opened up about that experience on her show The Talk:
“We started dating, and he would come over, and we would make out, and then I would start
to get depressed."
Fortunately, when she explained what was going on to a slightly hurt Galecki, he totally
got it.
"I eventually told him that I thought it was about my sexuality, and he was super sweet
about it."
Gilbert says they've remained really good friends.
In fact, before Gilbert came out on The Talk, she asked Galecki if she could relay her,
quote, "moment of realization" story.
Gilbert shared how he responded:
"And he was like, ‘Yeah, of course, I love you, and I think it's really important and
I'm so proud of you.’”
Galecki even offered to appear on the show with her and hold her hand.
It's officially time to cry.
These days, comedy icon Fred Willard is probably best known for his roles in Christopher Guest's
A Mighty Wind and Best in Show.
“Why do they have to run away from 'em, and then back up?
What's the point of that?
What are they looking for?"
But he was once best known for starring alongside Martin Mull in the cult '70s show Fernwood
2 Night.
Mull and Willard reunited on Roseanne, portraying Roseanne's boss Leon and Leon's partner Scott.
The onscreen couple even got married in a groundbreaking 1995 episode.
"You may kiss the bride, if there so be one.”
“It doesn’t m…”
In 2012, Willard was arrested for lewd conduct in a seedy Hollywood adult theater.
After completing a diversion program, the actor managed to avoid trial… and then he
went on something of an apology tour.
“Uh, Fred this must be a tough time."
"It is.
It's very embarrassing.
It's embarrassing as hell, you know?"
In May 2018, ABC abruptly canceled the Roseanne reboot.
The decision came after Roseanne Barr made some racially-charged comments on Twitter
about Valerie Jarrett, who'd been an advisor to former President Barack Obama.
Barr suggested Jarrett had ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, and compared her appearance to
an ape.
The comedian profusely apologized and tried to blamed the tweet on Ambien, but the damage
was done.
Barr certainly didn't do herself any favors in the wake of the scandal.
"That's what my tweet was about.”
“I know, you’ve explained this literally 300 times.”
“I thought the bitch was white!"
Barr's tweet wasn't an isolated incident, either, as in 2013, Barr also made racially
charged comments about National Security Advisor Susan Rice.
In June 2018, ABC announced it had picked up a new Fall show called The Conners, which
is essentially Roseanne without Roseanne.
You can probably guess how they explained Barr's absence from the show.
"Well, I'm tired of crying, and laughing inappropriately is what mom taught us to do."
"I still can't believe she OD'd."