Katherine Heigl, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Kelsey Grammer: Stars absent from their shows

TV has a history of stars taking a break from their shows -- to work on other projects, for maternity leave, illness, or contract negotiations -- and some absences have been more graceful than others.

Katherine Heigl's leaves from "Grey's Anatomy" this season -- first to shoot a movie and now for maternity leave -- has caused not a little consternation among "Grey's" fans on both sides. And, admittedly, the way Izzie took off from Seattle Grace/Mercy West, after she made a mistake with a patient and was fired, felt a little abrupt and a little unexplained. We're looking forward to see how the show handles Heigl's full-time return.

Here's a look at some of the other notable TV stars on shore leave.

-- Lisa Todorovich, Zap2it