Photo: The Howard Stern Show

‘Cougar Town’ creator/showrunner Bill Lawrence called in with his wife, ‘Cougar Town’ star Christa Miller, to offer a role to either Ronnie or Eric the Actor. Howard quickly jumped on the idea: “I think whoever it is, they should get a make-out scene with Christa.” Christa balked, pleading with Bill: “I’m not going to do that. Why wouldn’t you do that with Courteney [Cox]?” Howard asked the candidates if they’d play a gay character, and Eric quickly said no. Ronnie didn’t care. Eric said he’d rather play “a new neighbor to the area,” and went on to refuse to play a baby, a parrot and a talking fire hydrant: “I would only play a person, not an animal. … [And] unlike Ronnie, I have actually been on a couple of TV shows.” Bill eventually awarded the role to Ronnie, citing his support for the show and flexible attitude.

How ‘Cougar Town’ Got Such a Horrible Name

Before he hung up, Bill told Howard how ‘Cougar Town’ ended up with such a horrible name: “I thought it was a funny hook to sell the show and then we kind of ditched the whole idea of Courteney chasing–having sex with younger guys within like 3 episodes. But in retrospect, I probably couldn’t get a show on TV called ‘People Drink Wine.'”