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"Amy, a reporter for the Los Angeles Courier, hired the A-Team in the first episode to find her reporter friend Al Massey in Mexico. She ended up, in effect, "blackmailing" the Team into taking her on as a member by stating that she would write an expose on them if they didn't. In 1984 (during the 2nd season) she left the Team to become foreign corespondent."
This extract was taken from the F.A.Q.
Article From January 1984 Issue Of People Magazine Regarding Melinda Culea's Departure From The A-Team:
Not quite all. Recently, the show aired its dirty linen following the
firing of former model Melinda Culea, 28, the token woman on the Team.
She was dumped after she taped the first 10 shows of the Team's second
season and was replaced this month by Maria Heasley, 25. "Melinda was
very unhappy about the size and importance of her role," says Peppard.
"She came on the set frustrated, angry, a terribly discontented
woman." He said she wanted more time on camera and wanted to join in
the fight scenes with a few karate chops. T says she wanted more
money, Culea reportedly made $15,000 per show at first and later about
$20,000 (versus T's $40,000 or so--which, though not as much as the
veteran Peppard's salary, still adds up to about $1 million a year).
Peppard denies reports that he and the other stars turned on Culea
like a vigilante force. "We just put up with [her discountent] and
said nothing," he contends. But when the producers found out about the
tension, he says, "they were furious. . . . They felt that she was
harassing the team." Nobody harasses the team and gets away with it.
After a warning, Cannell fired her.
Mr. T backs up Peppard. "The show was not designed for a lady," he
says. "It's a story about Vietnam veterans. She wasn't in Vietnam. I
told her to her face: 'You was blessed and didn't realize it. You was
a sore winner.' She says that she wanted more work, more time on
camera. Can you believe that? How stupid can you get? . . . Melinda,
she came in griping every day. We don't need that."
Benedict seems more willing than T to admit a woman to the club.
"Because we are four guys, we want a girl around," he says. "It's a
dream job for an actress--God! All you have to do is show up, smile
and look good."
To some, Culea may not have looked good enough. Peppard reportedly
believed that the show needed "more of a bimbo." When asked about that
now, all he'll say is: "If those were our needs, they were already
eminently satisfied."
Culea, who has since made a Fantasy Island, reportedly found out she
had been dumped from the Team when she read a script with no lines for
her character. Her story is that Peppard disliked her from the start
and was cruel to her, telling her she could not act. She told the
producers that the part was not worthy of her. "If you can't write the
role better," she said, "you don't need me." She also complained that
T and Peppard grabbed all the attention, which "left me out in the
cold."
- Article Submitted To The A-Team Newsgroup By comte_ory@yahoo.com
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» Melinda Culea Information:
Date of birth: 5th May 1955 in Western Springs, Illinois, USA
Filmography:
-Dying On the Edge (2001) .... Anna
-Target Earth (1998) (TV) .... Allison
-"C-16: FBI" (1997) TV Series
-Buried Secrets (1996) (TV) .... Annalisse's Mom
-Down, Out & Dangerous (1995) (TV) .... CeCe Dryer
-"Brotherly Love" (1995) TV Series .... Claire Roman
-Moment of Truth: Murder or Memory? (1994) (TV)
-Wagons East (1994) .... Constance Taylor
-Through the Eyes of a Killer (1992) (TV) .... Alison Rivers
... aka Master Builder, The
-"Likely Suspects" (1992) TV Series .... Capt. Wendy Hewitt
-Fisher King, The (1991) .... Sitcom Wife
-"Knots Landing" (1979) TV Series .... Paula Vertosick (1988-1990)
-"Glitter" (1984) TV Series .... Terry Randolph
-"A-Team, The" (1983) TV Series .... Amy Amanda 'Triple A Allen (1983)
-Rules of Marriage, The (1982) (TV) .... Holly
Television Guest Appearances:
"Family Law" (1999) playing "Det. Cadden" in episode: "Film at Eleven" (episode # 2.12) 01/15/2001
"X Files, The" (1993) in episode: "Alpha" (episode # 6.16) 3/28/1999
"Chicago Hope" (1994) in episode: "Food Chains" (episode # 1.2) 9/29/1994
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) in episode: "Mole, The" (episode # 9.3) 10/4/1992
"Star Trek: The Next Generation" (1987) in episode: "Outcast, The" (episode # 5.17) 3/14/1992
"Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) in episode: "It's Only a Test" (episode # 1.17) 3/28/1991
"Civil Wars" (1991)
"Murder, She Wrote" (1984) in episode: "Murder in F Sharp" (episode # 7.10) 12/16/1990
"St. Elsewhere" (1982) in episode: "Slip Sliding Away" (episode # 5.22) 5/20/1987
"Family Ties" (1982) in episode: "Tale of Two Cities, A: Part 2" (episode # 5.16) 1/29/1987
"Family Ties" (1982) in episode: "Tale of Two Cities, A: Part 1" (episode # 5.15) 1/22/1987
"St. Elsewhere" (1982) in episode: "Lost Weekend" episode # 5.11) 12/10/1986
"St. Elsewhere" (1982) in episode: "Once Upon a Mattress" (episode # 5.10) 12/3/1986
"St. Elsewhere" (1982) in episode: "Nothing Up My Sleeve" (episode # 5.8) 11/19/1986
"Family Ties" (1982) in episode: "Beauty And The Bank" (episode # 5.6) 10/29/1986
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