Robert Wagner blamed the president of ABC for Hart to Hart's cancellation
Here's an inside look at the show's cancellation and attempts to revive it.
In so many dramatic situations, details are complicated, and there’s never one specific person to blame. However, in the case of the unfortunate demise of Hart to Hart, there seems to be one person you can confidently point an accusatory finger toward.
Robert Wagner, star of the popular crime series, adored his time working on Hart to Hart. Wagner starred as one half of an aristocratic, crime-solving couple, alongside actor and friend Stefanie Powers.
Despite the joy the series brought to an audience, the series was cancelled in 1979. According to Wagner, the decision wasn’t brought on by a loss in viewers or a dip in quality, but rather the whim of one man: Lewis Erlicht.
“They changed the management,” said Wagner during an interview with the Star-Ledger. “A man named Lew Erlicht became president of ABC, and he wanted to put his own material on. So he cancelled seven hours of primetime, a real slaughter.”
Though Hart to Hart wasn’t saved, it wasn’t for lack of trying.
“After Hart to Hart had been taken off the schedule, I tried, and Stefanie tried, every which way we could, to get it back,” said Wagner. “We flew to New York. We cornered every executive we knew and tried to resurrect it. But we had no possible chance. Since Erlicht had personally made the decision, the rest of the management had to go along with that. He was the president, and that was it.”
Luckily, the series was so well-loved that the actors returned for various television movies years later, giving fans the proper closure they deserved.

