Lisa Whelchel
American actress, author, speaker and singer (b. 1963)
Lisa Diane Whelchel (born May 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, author, and life coach. She is known for her appearances as a Mouseketeer on "The New Mickey Mouse Club" and her nine-year role as the preppy and wealthy Blair Warner on "The Facts of Life". In 1984, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance for her contemporary Christian album "All Because of You". In 2012, Whelchel participated as a contestant on the CBS competitive reality series "" and tied for second place. She was also voted fan favorite and was awarded $100,000.
Early life.
Lisa Whelchel was born on May 29, 1963, in Littlefield, Texas. She is the daughter of Virginia "Genny" (née French), a real estate agent, and James "Jimmy" Whelchel Sr., an electrician. Her parents divorced in 1981, and her mother married Roy Coleman in 1983. Lisa is the elder sister of James "Cody" Whelchel Jr., and the elder half-sister of Casey Justice Coleman. She also has a nephew, Chasin (Cody's son). Lisa and Cody were raised for most of their childhood in Fort Worth, Texas, and she was in the class of 1980.
Acting career.
"The New Mickey Mouse Club".
At age 13, Whelchel was recruited in Texas by talent scouts who were looking for children interested in working with Disney Studios as a Mouseketeer on "The New Mickey Mouse Club". She moved to California the next year and appeared on the show in syndication from 1977 to 1978.
"The Facts of Life".
Whelchel is probably best known for being a main cast member of "The Facts of Life" where she portrayed Blair Warner, an uptight prep student. She also played the character on "Diff'rent Strokes", the show from which "The Facts of Life" spun off. Whelchel once refused a storyline that would have made her character the first among the four main young women on the show to lose her virginity. Having become a Christian when she was ten years old, Whelchel declined due to her religious beliefs, and the storyline was rewritten for the character of Natalie, portrayed by Mindy Cohn. This was the only episode of the series in which Whelchel did not appear.
In 2001, Whelchel reprised her role as Blair Warner for the made-for-television movie, "The Facts of Life Reunion".
On March 7, 2004, Whelchel was reunited with Charlotte Rae to perform "The Facts of Life" theme song at the 2nd Annual TV Land Awards at the Hollywood Palladium in Hollywood. In spring 2006, she appeared with two of her "Facts of Life" co-stars on "The Today Show" to promote the show's DVD releases of the first and second seasons, admitting to being "really bummed out" that Kim Fields was unable to attend. On February 1, 2007, Whelchel was reunited with Fields on WFAA-TV's "Good Morning Texas". Fields was in Dallas to promote her appearance in the production "Issues: We've All Got 'Em'", when Whelchel was introduced as a surprise guest. On April 10, 2011, Whelchel and the cast of "The Facts of Life", including Charlotte Rae, Nancy McKeon, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Geri Jewell, and Cloris Leachman were honored with the Pop Culture Award at the 9th Annual TV Land Awards at the Javits Center in New York City.
In 2021, Whelchel, Fields, and Cohn reunited again on the set of "Live in Front of a Studio Audience"'s reenactment of the show's third season episode "Kids Can Be Cruel". Whelchel also sang the show's theme song that evening.
Cohn has said that before his death, Norman Lear thought about a reboot of the series, however "one of the girls" went behind the others' backs and tried to work out a separate deal for a spinoff of her character. Rumors indicate it was Whelchel.
Music career.
In 1984, Whelchel released a Christian pop album entitled "All Because of You". The album reached No. 17 on the "Billboard" Contemporary Christian music charts. She was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Inspirational Performance and was recognized as the writer of the title song, "All Because of You". Among the songs featured on the album were "All Because of You", "Just Obey", "Cover Me Lord", and "Good Girl". She did not record a second album. While she was appearing on "The Facts of Life", she made a cameo appearance in the music video for contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter Steve Taylor's song "Meltdown (at Madame Tussaud's)". The song was the title track from the album "Meltdown".
Speaking.
For years, Whelchel was a regular inspirational speaker at churches and conferences nationwide. In 2000, she founded Momtime Ministries, a religious network of mothers' groups who met weekly to "equip and refresh and encourage" each other.
In 2021, Whelchel appeared on friend and "The Facts of Life" co-star Mindy Cohn’s podcast, "Mondays with Mindy", on which she talked about how her faith has changed and evolved over time. She explained that her speaking commitments have shifted over the years, as she no longer operates from a "fear-based, punishment-based" mentality. She explained, "Jesus came, ultimately, to bring grace. I can speak that message in any situation, but a lot of churches — when they find out that I believe that there are many ways to experience God, not just Jesus, then the invitations kind of dry up."
Writing.
Whelchel has written ten books on motherhood, child discipline, adult friendships, homeschooling, and finding Jesus through the development of holiday traditions. Additional topics from a spiritual point of view include prayer and wisdom. She is the bestselling author of "So You're Thinking About Homeschooling" and "The Facts of Life (and Other Lessons My Father Taught Me)".
"Survivor".
On August 20, 2012, Whelchel was announced as a contestant in "" as a member of the Tandang tribe. She joined retired Major League Baseball star Jeff Kent as one of the season's two "celebrity" contestants. A former television star, she elected to keep her true identity a secret from the other contestants, many of whom were too young to have watched "The Facts of Life" during its original run and thus did not recognize her. Michael Skupin and Jonathan Penner, who were around Whelchel's age, as well as eventual winner Denise Stapley, were the only ones to recognize her as "Blair Warner".
On November 14, 2012, Whelchel announced via her Twitter account that she was suffering from West Nile fever and had been advised by her doctor that recovery would take approximately one year. She did not specify whether she had contracted the arbovirus while in the Philippines shooting "Survivor".
On December 16, 2012, Whelchel made it to the Final Tribal Council, where fellow contestant and jury member Jonathan Penner revealed to the rest of the jury that she was a former child star. In the end, she received one jury vote from RC Saint-Amour and tied with returning contestant Michael Skupin for runner-up, both losing to eventual winner Denise Stapley. She was also voted the Sprint Player of the Season, winning $100,000 by a margin of about .7 percent against Malcolm Freberg.
Hosting duties.
On January 14, 2013, Whelchel co-hosted several episodes of "The Jeff Probst Show" with "Survivor" host, Jeff Probst.
In April 2019, Whelchel hosted a "The Facts of Life" marathon on the MeTV television network, as a lead-in for a preview of her series "Collector's Call" that debuted later that year and will be in Season 6 slated to begin in 2025.
Personal life.
On July 9, 1988, Whelchel married Steven Cauble, who was an associate pastor at The Church on the Way in Van Nuys, California, which Whelchel attended at the time. The couple, who have three adult children, divorced in March 2012. In 2019, Whelchel married Pete Harris, who is a psychologist based in Nashville, Tennessee.
References.
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The Facts of Life (TV series)
American sitcom
The Facts of Life is an American television sitcom created by Dick Clair and Jenna McMahon and a spin-off of "Diff'rent Strokes" that originally aired on NBC from August 24, 1979, to May 7, 1988, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s. The series focuses on Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), as she becomes a housemother (and from the second season onward, a dietitian as well) at the fictional Eastland School, an all-girls boarding school in Peekskill, New York.
Plot.
Season 1.
A spin-off of "Diff'rent Strokes", the series featured the Drummonds' former housekeeper Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae) working in a new job as the housemother of a dormitory at Eastland School, a private all-girls school in Peekskill, New York. The girls in her care included spoiled rich girl Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel); the youngest, gossipy Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey (Kim Fields), and impressionable Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn).
The backdoor pilot for the show was originally aired as the last episode of the first season of "Diff'rent Strokes" and was called "The Girls' School (a.k.a. Garrett's Girls)." The plot line for the pilot had Kimberly Drummond (Dana Plato) requesting that Mrs. Garrett help her sew costumes for a student play at the East Lake School for Girls, the school Kimberly attended in Upstate New York, as her dorm's housemother had recently quit. Mrs. Garrett agrees to help, puts on a successful play and also solves a problem for the boyfriend-obsessed Nancy Olsen (Felice Schachter) as she also meets Blair; Tootie; Sue Ann Weaver (Julie Piekarski), a small-town girl from Kansas, and the budding social activist Molly Parker (Molly Ringwald). Mrs. Garrett is asked to stay on as the new housemother but says she would rather continue working for the Drummonds at the end of the pilot.
After the backdoor pilot, the name of the school was changed to Eastland and new characters were added with Natalie, athletic tomboy Cindy Webster (Julie Anne Haddock), and Mr. Bradley becoming part of the main group featured. Although Kimberly Drummond is featured as a student at Eastland, her character did not cross over to the spinoff series with Mrs. Garrett. In the show's first season, episodes focus on the issues of seven girls, with the action usually set in a large, wood-paneled common room of a girls' dormitory. Also appearing was the school's headmaster, Mr. Steven Bradley (John Lawlor) and Miss Emily Mahoney (Jenny O'Hara), an Eastland teacher who was dropped after the first four episodes. Early episodes of the show typically revolve around a central morality-based or "lesson teaching" theme. The show's pilot episode plot included a storyline in which Blair Warner insinuates that her schoolmate Cindy Webster is a lesbian, because she is a tomboy and frequently shows affection for other girls. Other season one episodes deal with issues including drug use, sex, eating disorders, parental relationships, and peer pressure.
Seasons 2–8.
The producers felt that there were too many characters given the limitations of the half-hour sitcom format and that the plotlines should be more focused to give the remaining girls more room for character development. Four of the original actresses—Julie Anne Haddock (Cindy), Julie Piekarski (Sue Ann), Felice Schachter (Nancy) and Molly Ringwald (Molly)—were written out of the show, although the four did make periodic guest appearances in the second and third seasons, and all but Molly Ringwald appeared in one "reunion" episode in the eighth season. Mr. Bradley's character was also dropped and replaced by Mr. Charles Parker (Roger Perry). Mr. Parker appeared in episodes through the beginning of season 5. In addition to being housemother to the remaining girls, Mrs. Garrett became the school dietitian as the second season began. Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon), a new student originally from the Bronx, arrived at Eastland on scholarship. A run-in with the law forced the four to be separated from the other girls and work in the cafeteria, living together in a spare room next to Mrs. Garrett's bedroom. The season two premiere of the retooled series saw an immediate ratings increase. By its third season (1981–82), "Facts of Life" had become NBC's No. 1 comedy and No. 2 overall NBC program, beating its predecessor, "Diff'rent Strokes", for the first time.
In 1983, Jo and Blair graduated Eastland Academy in the highly anticipated season four finale "Graduation". To keep the four girls under one roof, in the season five premiere, "Brave New World", Mrs. Garrett went into business for herself and opened a gourmet food shop named Edna's Edibles. The four girls came to live and work with Mrs. Garrett in the new refreshed space. In September 1985, NBC moved the seventh season of the series to its burgeoning Saturday night lineup at 8:30, as a lead-in for the new series "The Golden Girls" at 9 pm. In an attempt to refresh the "ratings work horse" and increase ratings, George Clooney was added to the regular cast and Mrs. Garrett's store was gutted by fire in the season seven premiere "Out of the Fire". The follow-up episodes "Into the Frying Pan" and "Grand Opening" had the girls join together to rebuild the store with a pop culture-influenced gift shop, called Over Our Heads. The changes proved successful as all three episodes placed in the top ten ratings each week. By the end of the season, "TV Guide" reported, ""Facts"' success has been so unexpected that scions of Hollywood are still taken aback by it... "Facts" has in fact been among NBC's top-ranked comedies for the past five years. It finished twenty-seven overall for the 1985–1986 season, handily winning its time slot against its most frequent competitors, "Airwolf" and "Benson". Lisa Whelchel stated, 'We're easily overlooked because we've never been a huge hit; we just sort of snuck in there.'"
Charlotte Rae initially reduced her role in seasons six and seven and later decided to leave the series altogether, believing she had done all she could do with her character and desiring to move on to other projects. In season eight's heavily promoted one-hour premiere, "Out of Peekskill" Mrs. Garrett married the man of her dreams and joined him in Africa while he worked for the Peace Corps. Mrs. Garrett convinces her sister, Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman), to take over the shop and look after the girls. The character of Beverly Ann had a similar personality to Leachman's previous Emmy-winning role as Phyllis Lindstrom on two 1970s CBS sitcoms–"The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Phyllis". Beverly Ann later legally adopted Over Our Heads worker Andy Moffett (Mackenzie Astin) in the episode "A Boy About the House". Describing the new changes to "The Facts of Life", Brandon Tartikoff, the president of NBC Entertainment, said he "was surprised that "The Facts of Life" performed well this season, as, with a major cast change and all, I thought it might not perform as it had in the past. "Facts" has been renewed for next season."
Final season.
In the ninth and final season, the series aired on NBC's Saturday lineup at 8 pm; NBC still had confidence in the series, making it the 8 p.m. anchor, kicking off the network's second-highest rated night (after Thursdays). For the February Nielsen rating sweeps, the writers created a controversial storyline in this season for the episode titled "The First Time". Natalie became the first of the girls to lose her virginity. Lisa Whelchel refused to do this storyline that would have made her character, not Natalie, the first among the four young women in the show to lose her virginity. Having become a Christian when she was 10, Whelchel would not say the lines because of her religious convictions. Whelchel appeared in every episode of the show but asked to be written out of "The First Time". The episode ran a parental advisory before it began and placed 22nd in the ratings for the week. With the show still easily winning its timeslot, NBC had made plans to renew "The Facts of Life" for a 10th season but two castmates–Mindy Cohn and Nancy McKeon–chose to leave at the conclusion of season nine.
Cast.
Recurring characters.
A key recurring character was Geri Tyler (Geri Jewell), Blair's cousin who has cerebral palsy. Jewell's character primarily was created in order to show Blair's more sympathetic side but Cousin Geri eventually inspired many other people with disabilities interested in the entertainment industry. Other recurring characters included the judgment-impaired Miko Wakamatsu (Lauren Tom), the delivery boy Roy (Loren Lester) who was enamored with Jo, the royal princess Alexandra (Heather McAdam) and the snobbish Boots St. Clair (Jami Gertz). Shoplifter Kelly (Pamela Segall) was billed as a regular during the fifth season. Other guest roles included the boyfriends of the girls; Jo's parents, played by Alex Rocco and Claire Malis; Blair's parents, played by Nicolas Coster and Marj Dusay; Tootie's parents, played by Chip Fields (Kim Fields's real-life mother) and Robert Hooks and Natalie's parents, played by Norman Burton and Mitzi Hoag. Characters from "Diff'rent Strokes" also appeared in some episodes of both season one and season two. Other recurring characters included Tootie's boyfriend Jeff Williams (Todd Hollowell), Blair's boyfriend Cliff (Woody Brown), and Charles Parker (Roger Perry), who served as headmaster of Eastland following Lawlor's exit from the show. Also, Robert Romanus appeared in 4 episodes as 'Snake Robinson'.
Production.
Development.
"The Facts of Life" was produced first by T.A.T. Communications Company, later known as Embassy Television (Norman Lear's production companies) and then as Embassy Communications and Columbia Pictures Television (through ELP Communications) on January–May 1988 episodes of the series. Sony Pictures Television currently owns the distribution rights to the sitcom. From 1979 until 1982 the show was produced at Metromedia Square in Los Angeles. In 1982, production moved to Universal City Studios and then to Sunset Gower Studios in 1985.
Theme music.
The show's theme song was composed by Al Burton, Gloria Loring, and her then-husband, Alan Thicke. The first season lyrics began "There's a place you gotta go / For learnin' all you ought to know / About the facts of life," sung partly by the cast.
Later seasons opened with "You take the good, you take the bad / You take them both, and there you have / The facts of life," sung by Loring. The original lyrics shifted to the closing credits before being dropped entirely. Burton, Loring, and Thicke had previously composed the theme to "Diff'rent Strokes", which was sung by Thicke.
Episodes.
Television films.
"The Facts of Life Goes to Paris".
"The Facts of Life Goes to Paris", a two-hour TV movie in which Mrs. Garrett and the girls travel to France, aired September 25, 1982. It ranked 22nd for the week, with an 18.1 rating and a 31 share. The movie was later added to the American syndication package, separated into four half-hour episodes; however, the original cut of the film appears on the Season 4 DVD set in 2010. The TV movie was directed by Asaad Kelada.
"The Facts of Life Down Under".
"The Facts of Life Down Under", another two-hour TV movie, aired Sunday, February 15, 1987 placing a strong No. 13 for the week garnering 21.4/32. This was strategic counterprogramming by NBC, which placed the movie against the conclusion of ABC's highly publicized miniseries "Amerika". The Telemovie was also syndicated as four half-hour episodes in later U.S. airings.
"The Facts of Life Reunion".
"The Facts of Life Reunion", a two-hour TV movie reunion aired on ABC November 18, 2001, in which Mrs. Garrett and the girls are reunited in Peekskill, New York, for the Thanksgiving holiday. It occasionally aired in the United States on ABC Family. Nancy McKeon (Jo) did not appear in the movie due to scheduling conflicts with her then-TV series, "The Division"; her character's absence is explained as being on assignment as a police officer.
Syndication.
NBC aired daytime reruns of "The Facts of Life" from December 13, 1982 until June 28, 1985 at 10 a.m. (and later noon) on the daytime schedule. Episodes aired on television stations nationwide from September 15, 1986 to September 10, 1993, then aired on the USA Network on and off from September 13, 1993 to September 11, 1998. In August 1994, the network celebrated the show's 15th anniversary with a day-long marathon of 14 episodes featuring new interviews with Rae, Weichel and Cohn. Episodes aired on Nick at Nite from September 4, 2000 to June 28, 2001, although the network did not air certain episodes that contained highly mature content during primetime (including the first-season episode "Dope"), instead opting to air episodes with more serious topics at late night/early morning times. TV Land aired 48 hours of "The Facts of Life" episodes on its "Fandemonium Marathon Weekend" on November 17–19, 2001. The Hallmark Channel aired "The Facts of Life" from July 1 to November 1, 2002. Episodes were available on Comcast's Video-On-Demand service from August 8, 2005 to July 31, 2006 and again from the August 6, 2007 until Tube Time's shutdown date on December 31, 2009. On July 16, 2008 full episodes and short "minisodes" of "The Facts of Life" became available online via Hulu. On March 12, 2012, TeenNick added the series to their morning lineup; however, the series' addition to the channel was short-lived, as it left the schedule on April 3, 2012. The series premiered on The Hub on April 2, 2012, where it rerun until March 22, 2013 and later moved to Logo TV, airing it in random timeslots. In 2017, TFOL aired on MeTV, alongside its parent show "Diff'rent Strokes". Antenna TV started airing "The Facts of Life" on January 2, 2020, before it moved to sister station Rewind TV when it launched on September 1, 2021. It later returned to Antenna in January 2024. As of March 2022, the series has also been airing in daily blocks and on Saturdays in day long marathons on the GAC Family (later Great American Family cable network. Also as of March 30, 2023, seasons one through nine are available on Tubi.
Reception.
Ratings.
"The Facts of Life" was originally not a ratings winner on Friday nights in its summer debut in 1979 or in its second tryout in the spring of 1980. It ranked 74th of 79 shows on the air in the year-end Nielsen ratings and was NBC's lowest-rated series. The show was put on hiatus and extensively retooled in preparation for season two. In November 1980, season two of "The Facts of Life" premiered in a Wednesday 9:30 p.m. time slot, where it immediately flourished, peaking in January 1981 with a 27.4 rating and 41 share; it ranked No. 4 for the week. The program became NBC's fourth highest-rated scripted series, after "Little House on the Prairie", "Diff'rent Strokes" and "CHiPs". By the third season, the series moved time slots to 9:00 pm. Wednesdays and soon became NBC's highest-rated comedy series and NBC's No. 2 overall series, after "Real People". For its seventh season, it moved to Saturdays at 8:30 p.m., to bolster the premiering series "The Golden Girls" at 9 p.m. in the newly formed Saturday night comedy block. At the start of the eighth season, the series was moved forward a half-hour to the toughest time slot on television–Saturday at 8 pm, which brought the ratings down from its season seven high. Still, the series easily won its time slot and garnered high numbers in the coveted teen and 18–49 demographics. One of the highest rated season eight episodes saw the original season one cast return for a mini-reunion. Titled "The Little Chill", it placed No. 19 for the week with an 18.2 rating and 31 share. In the article "Ratings Top with Teens" appearing in the January 19, 1988 edition of "USA Today", "The Facts of Life" was ranked as one of the top 10 shows in a survey of 2,200 American teenagers.
Home media.
On April 21 and 22, 2001, Columbia House released "The Facts of Life: The Collector's Edition", a 10-volume "Best of" the series on VHS (40 episodes in all). With the advent shortly thereafter of TV on DVD and Columbia House's eventual move from the direct marketing model of exclusive series, the tapes were discontinued. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first two seasons on DVD in Region 1 on May 9, 2006 with new interviews with most of the cast, including first season regulars Felice Schachter and Julie Anne Haddock. To promote the DVD's release, McKeon, Weichel and Cohn appeared together on various TV shows such as "Entertainment Tonight", "Today", and "CNN Showbiz" to reminisce about their time on the show and talk about their lives presently; unfortunately, Fields was unable to take part due to other commitments. The third season was released on October 24, 2006. This release failed to match the success of the first and second seasons, sales-wise. The first and second seasons were also released in Region 4 on March 7, 2007. In 2010, Shout! Factory acquired the rights to the series and released the fourth season on Region 1 DVD on May 4, 2010. Special features include "The Facts of Life Goes To Paris", a made-for-TV-movie (which originally aired a few days prior to the fourth season debut) and a "Know "The Facts": Trivia Game." They have subsequently released seasons five through nine on DVD. Mill Creek Entertainment re-released the first and second seasons on DVD on May 20, 2014. It is unknown as to whether or not Mill Creek will release any further seasons. On January 13, 2015, Shout! Factory released "The Facts of Life – The Complete Series" on DVD in Region 1. The 26-disc set contains all 201 episodes of the series as well as the two made-for-TV films ("The Facts of Life Goes to Paris" and "The Facts of Life Down Under") and other bonus features including an all-new cast reunion. "The Facts of Life Reunion" film is not included in this collection and has yet to be released on DVD.
Attempted spin-offs.
The various attempts at spin-offs were backdoor pilots, which were shown as episodes of "The Facts of Life".
Cancelled Revival.
After the re-creation of an episode of the series in a 2021 "Live in Front of a Studio Audience" special, Mindy Cohn said Norman Lear suggested a revival because the special was so popular. Cohn claimed in a July 2024 interview on "Jeff Lewis Live" on Sirius XM that the new series was well into the planning stages when one cast member she would not name went behind the other actress’s and tried to secure a separate deal for a spinoff for that actress character. It created an enormous rift between the group and the deal was pulled. Although Cohn suggested she and the unnamed co-star talk again, she said the revival is "very dead."
References.
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List of The Facts of Life episodes
The following is a list of episodes for "The Facts of Life", which ran for nine seasons from 1979 to 1988 on NBC. There were 201 regular episodes and three television movies ("Paris", "Down Under", "Reunion"). Two of the movies, "Paris" and "Down Under", were originally broadcast as TV movies, but in syndication, they were split into four 30-minute episodes, bringing the total number of syndicated episodes to 209.
Series overview.
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Episodes.
Pilot (1979).
The "Diff'rent Strokes" season 1 finale served as the backdoor pilot for "The Facts of Life".
Season 1 (1979–80).
The first season begins with ten main characters: housemother Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), headmaster Steven Bradley (John Lawlor), teacher Emily Mahoney (Jenny O'Hara), and seven students: Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel), Cindy Webster (Julie Anne Haddock), Molly Parker (Molly Ringwald), Nancy Olsen (Felice Schachter), Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn), Sue Ann Weaver (Julie Piekarski), and Tootie Ramsey (Kim Fields). O'Hara's character was dropped after the fourth episode.
Though counted as a single season, the show aired in discrete blocks of episodes. The show aired four weekly episodes on Wednesday nights in August and September, technically before the 1979/80 TV season actually began. Then the show was off the air for six months, returning in March through early May for a run of seven episodes. (The initial episode was a special presentation on Wednesday night after "Diff'rent Strokes"; the show then moved to Fridays.) After a month off, the series moved back to Wednesday nights for the season's two final episodes in June.
Season 2 (1980–81).
The main cast is reduced to five main characters: Mrs. Edna Garrett (Charlotte Rae), Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel), Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn), Tootie Ramsey (Kim Fields), and new girl Jo Polniaczek (Nancy McKeon).
Two more crossovers with "Diff'rent Strokes" gave the show a boost in the fall of 1980: Tootie appeared in the "Diff'rent Strokes" episode "The Bank Job" (Parts 1 and 2) on Nov. 12, 1980, and Arnold from "Diff'rent Strokes" appeared in "The New Girl" (Part 1), the "Facts of Life" season premiere.
There would be two additional crossovers this season in the winter of 1981: Blair and Natalie appeared in the "Diff'rent Strokes" episode "The Older Man," and Willis from "Diff'rent Strokes" appeared in the "Facts of Life" episode "Bought and Sold."
Season 3 (1981–82).
Mr. Parker (Roger Perry) is a recurring character as the school's new headmaster.
Linda Marsh and Margie Peters join Jerry Mayer as producers.
Jack Elison and Jerry Mayer were the executive producers.
Season 5 (1983–84).
Blair and Jo start college, and Mrs. Garrett quits Eastland and opens her own gourmet food shop and catering business. Blair, Jo, Tootie, and Natalie all move in with her. Pamela Segall joins the cast this season, beginning with the episode "Just My Bill". Her final appearance is in the episode "Seems Like Old Times", and her character is dropped following that episode. Blair and Jo have been kicked out of the dorms and placed on probation. Mrs. Garrett offers Jo a place to live and a job in her store. Tootie and Natalie also move into the apartments above the store. Blair is reluctant to move in and decides to pledge a sorority.
Season 6 (1984–85).
Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) was absent from several episodes in season 6 per Rae's request for reduced appearances. Deidre Faye & Stuart Wolpert are now executive producers until season 8.
Season 7 (1985–86).
Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) was again absent from several episodes per Rae's request for reduced appearances. Starting this season, Mackenzie Astin, who plays Andy Moffett, and George Clooney, who plays George Burnett, receive billing in the opening credits.
Season 8 (1986–87).
Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae) remarries and leaves the series after the two part season premiere. Her sister, Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman), moves in to care for the house and business. George Burnett, played by George Clooney, becomes a recurring character. Richard Gurman is the executive producer for this season.
Season 9 (1987–88).
Pippa McKenna, played by Sherrié Austin, is introduced as a recurring character. Irma Kalish is the executive producer for the final season.
Notes.
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References.
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List of The Facts of Life characters
This is a list of characters from the NBC sitcom "The Facts of Life".
Characters table.
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Main characters.
Edna Garrett.
Edna Ann Garrett Gaines, known as Mrs. Garrett or Mrs. G, was played by the actress Charlotte Rae from 1978 to 1986. Garrett was the youngest child in a large family, born and raised on a farm near Appleton, Wisconsin. Her exact age was never disclosed during the series but on several occasions, it was hinted or implied that she was somewhere in her fifties. On "Diff'rent Strokes", she was the housekeeper to the Drummond family in New York City after Willis and Arnold's mom Lucy (the Drummonds' original housekeeper) died. In 1979, she took a job as house mother at the Eastland School for Girls in Peekskill, New York (Kimberly Drummond attended Eastland). Over the years, Mrs. Garrett's role on "The Facts of Life" changed. At first she was merely a live-in supervisor for the girls of Eastland; in the second season she became their in-house dietitian who managed the school's cafeteria. The producers didn’t know that in order to become a registered dietitian, she would have needed a four-year degree in Nutrition, satisfied internship requirements and passed a national exam-impossible to have accomplished in one season. Mrs. Garrett was married twice, divorced (first marriage) and widowed (second marriage); one early episode showed Mr. Garrett coming to town to woo her and reconcile but she was unsuccessful because Edna felt that his gambling addiction would always be an obstacle. She had two sons, a singer/songwriter/carpenter named Alex (Tom Fitzsimmons) (born 1953) and an accountant named Raymond (Joel Brooks). Raymond helped her raise funds and secure commercial space so she could open her own gourmet food shop, "Edna's Edibles", in the fall of 1983. The girls, who had previously lived with Mrs. Garrett at Eastland and worked with her in the kitchen to pay off various restitution-related expenses (see below), moved into the living space attached to "Edna's Edibles" and continued to work for Mrs. Garrett in the shop (this time on the payroll). In the fall of 1985, "Edna's Edibles" was extensively damaged by fire; it was rebuilt as a gift shop called "Over Our Heads." Since the insurance on "Edna's Edibles" was insufficient to rebuild it by the time of the fire, the girls contributed their insurance claim checks to help rebuild, effectively making Mrs. Garrett and the girls equal partners in the business. Edna Garrett was a mentor to the girls at Eastland, functioning "in loco parentis". At times the girls would take her for granted and forget that Edna herself had problems. Many times Edna would lash out at the girls when they got careless with her. In one episode, she actually fires them from "Edna's Edibles" when their irresponsible behavior ends up costing her $500 in fines after a dismal health inspection. She hires them back the next day when the girls promise her that they will be more responsible at their jobs. She also fires George, when he falls behind on his work constructing "Over Our Heads" but they later make up. Mrs. Garrett is a Democrat. She is also against censorship, such as book banning. Mrs. Garrett remarried in 1986. She and her new husband, Dr. Bruce Gaines (Robert Mandan), rejoined the Peace Corps to work in eastern Africa (Charlotte Rae's contract had expired and she did not want to continue with the series). Edna was replaced by her sister, Beverly Ann Stickle (Cloris Leachman). However, in the reunion movie that aired in 2001, Mrs. Garrett reunited with the three girls (Blair, Natalie and Tootie) at a hotel owned by Blair and which was run by Mrs. Garrett's son Raymond. It was also revealed that Mrs. Garrett and Tootie were widows. It's revealed that she was in a romantic relationship with a ship captain. Mrs. Garrett also appears on the "Hello, Larry" episode "The Trip", the first of three crossovers between the shows "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Hello, Larry".
Blair Warner.
Blair Warner was played by Lisa Whelchel. She was 14 in the series' pilot episode; an episode in the 1985–1986 season centered on her 21st birthday.
At the series' beginning in 1979, Blair was portrayed as a very rich and very rebellious girl from a blue blood background. She was seen smoking cigarettes, drinking beer and enjoying great popularity with boys; unlike many of her classmates, she was looking to lose her virginity.
When the show was retooled in 1980, all instances of her rebellion were either dropped or given to the new character of Jo Polniaczek, and Blair was rewritten as an extremely wealthy and unashamedly spoiled "daddy's girl" and socialite from Manhattan.
Blair was vain, arrogant, egotistical, and shallow; but, also funny, kind-hearted, generous, and loving to Mrs. Garrett and her friends, especially Jo Polniaczek.
Blair's chief foil was Jo. At first, the two made no secret of their mutual dislike: They were both completely different. However, over time, Blair began sticking up for and standing by Jo in her time of need (and vice versa). The two eventually developed a close friendship. In the final season episode "Down and Out in Malibu: Part 1", Jo even introduced Blair as her official best friend.
Blair was also intelligent, scoring barely below Jo on the Eastland entrance exam. At Eastland, she won most awards and was seen to be a talented artist. At Langley College, she passed her law school LSATs with only one weekend of studying.
Blair's delusions of grandeur were usually played for laughs when Natalie, Tootie or Jo would make sarcastic remarks about her "beauty," "perfect" personality or "naturally blonde hair."
Initially, Blair felt she was more important than "regular" people because she was the heiress to her father's multimillion-dollar business, Warner Textile Mills. However, Blair eventually developed a more down-to-earth attitude, especially after she suffered a car accident (after falling asleep at the wheel) that left her slightly scarred, spoiling her "perfect" beauty.
In the hospital after her accident, she privately tells Jo a story from her childhood to illustrate how her mother had insisted that she be perfect from a young age.
Any crisis at Eastland would usually prompt a suggested solution from Blair, preceded by her catch phrase: "I just had another one of my "brilliant" ideas!" More often than not, though, her "brilliant ideas" were actually quite the opposite, although on at least two occasions they turned out to actually be good (In the episode "Growing Pains", it was her idea to have Mrs. Garrett punish them after Tootie gets drunk on wine that Blair, Jo and Natalie were responsible for instead of going to the headmaster, which would have resulted in all of them being expelled. In The Four Musketeers, it was her idea to move back into the room and work in the kitchen to pay off the debt incurred when she and the other girls get into a paint fight while painting the room.). She also said this on occasion to be sarcastic, particularly with Jo. For example, she said her catchphrase once while Jo was distractedly mopping the cafeteria floor and followed it up with 'if you move your feet around while mopping, we just might be done by lunchtime'.
Blair's parents (played by Nicolas Coster and Marj Dusay) were divorced on June 14, 1973, and although she didn't usually show it, Blair wished that she had a nuclear family like all of her friends. Later in the series, her mother remarried (for the fourth time) and gave birth to a baby girl (Bailey) fathered by her most recent ex-husband. Blair had misgivings about her mother's pregnancy but fell in love with baby Bailey as soon as she saw her.
A secret Blair originally kept from her friends was that her cousin Geri (played by comedian Geri Jewell) had cerebral palsy. She was not embarrassed by her cousin, but rather jealous of her, since Blair was used to being the center of attention. Mrs. Garrett told Blair not to lash out against Geri because of her jealousy and Blair joined Geri, a successful comedian, onstage at an impromptu comedy show Geri threw at the Eastland Academy.
In other episodes, Blair's former step sister Meg (played by Eve Plumb) visited Eastland to tell her that she was going to become a nun. In “Best Sister Part 1" and “Best Sister Part 2" it's revealed that Blair is an atheist because she asked God to not allow her parents' divorce to become final in 1973 but her parents split up nevertheless.
Blair attended Eastland and upon graduating in 1983, attended nearby Langley College. She worked with Mrs. Garrett at "Edna's Edibles" and later, "Over Our Heads." After graduating from Langley, she enrolled in law school. At one point, she purchases the local community center where Jo is employed as a social worker in order to save the facility.
In the series finale, she purchases the financially troubled Eastland Academy and turns it into a co-educational school.
In the episode "Legacy," Blair, initially enthusiastic about a library being built with her family's funds and named after her late maternal grandfather, Judge Carlton Blair, thus immortalizing the name "Blair," was horrified to learn her grandfather had been a member of the Ku Klux Klan. The revelation devastated Blair and made her question all her assumptions about her supposed "superiority," even though Jo assured her "You're not prejudiced; you're a "snob"." She almost withdrew the library funding to avoid commemorating her grandfather but finally agreed to let it be built so long as it was not given the "Blair" name.
In addition to the "Diff'rent Strokes" episode "The Girls School" that serves as the pilot for "The Facts of Life", Blair appears in "The Older Man".
In the 2001 TV movie "The Facts of Life Reunion", Blair, who became a lawyer, is wealthier than ever and owns a hotel empire (Warner Enterprises) with her husband Tad Warner (no relation), managed by Mrs. Garrett's son Raymond; she and Tad have no children. Jo's daughter calls her “Aunt Blair.” At end of the movie, she and Tad decided to adopt a child.
Note: Actress Geri Reischl ("fake Jan" of "The Brady Bunch Hour") was given the role of Blair Warner in the television pilot "Garrett's Girls" (later renamed "The Facts of Life") but was forced to give it up due to her contract with General Mills.
Tootie Ramsey.
Dorothy "Tootie" Ramsey was played by Kim Fields. She was the youngest of the main characters at the age of 12 until 21 and is the only black girl in the class. She and her family hailed from Washington, D.C., where her parents worked as lawyers. Tootie’s dream was to become an actress. She attended Eastland Academy for most of the show's run. Tootie's most-remembered attributes were her penchant for rollerskates (at first used by "Facts of Life" producers to mask Fields' short stature), her gossipy nature and her braces. In real life, Fields had to wear braces for three years, finally having them removed in 1984, after the show begins the sixth season. A lot of Tootie's gossip landed her and her friends in trouble. She was notable for her catchphrase, "We are in "trou-ble! "" Tootie was involved in all issue-based storylines. For example, Tootie befriended a boy named Fred who insisted that she only associate with black people, in an attempt to realize "her true roots." In another episode, Tootie was chosen by a photographer to model for newspaper advertisements, but was instead lured into a borderline kiddie porn operation and was saved by Mrs. Garrett at the last minute. During a trip to New York, Tootie was almost strong-armed into prostitution before Mrs. Garrett found her and took her home. In another episode, she struggled again with racial issues when her best friend Natalie dated a relative of hers and Tootie intervened, causing conflict between her and Natalie. Tootie's favorite singer is Michael Jackson's older brother Jermaine Jackson. Tootie helped Mrs. Garrett with her own bakery, Edna's Edibles, after-school and then worked full-time at the gift shop, called "Over Our Heads" after she graduated from high school in 1986.
In the 2001 "The Facts of Life Reunion" TV movie, Tootie had attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in the UK city of London to pursue an acting career, was a Hollywood-based talk show host and was the single mother of Tisha, a 10-year-old (fathered by her longtime boyfriend and later deceased husband, Jeff Williams). After her visit, Tootie (who now prefers to be called "Dorothy") decided to quit her talk show "Waking Up with Dorothy" and move to New York to take up the theater, but not until becoming the co-owner of the Peekskill Playhouse. Tisha Williams remained behind to attend Eastland Academy (no longer owned by Blair) and continue the family tradition.
In addition to the "Diff'rent Strokes" episode "The Girls School" that serves as the backdoor pilot for "The Facts of Life", Tootie also appears in "The Slumber Party", "The Bank Job", "First Day Blues" and "The Team".
Natalie Green.
Natalie Green was played by Mindy Cohn. Natalie's best friend was Tootie; they were close in age. Natalie's age was 12 at the series' beginning. Natalie's most defining physical attribute was that she was large-figured but she had a healthy self-image, once quoted as saying, "Who wants to be a skinny pencil? I'd rather be a happy Magic Marker!" Natalie is Jewish, as Mindy Cohn is in real life. Her faith was featured in several episodes. In one, she celebrated Chanukah while the others celebrated Christmas. Her heritage was highlighted when her father, Dr. Green, died unexpectedly; Natalie's bottled-up grief was a continuing storyline. Although she wasn't a mold-fitting "traditional beauty," Natalie was involved in many storylines regarding sex. In an early episode, she dated a boy who spread a rumor that Natalie was easy. In another episode, she was almost sexually assaulted on the way back from a costume party. In the controversial episode "The First Time," toward the series' end, she became the first of the girls to have sex when she slept with her boyfriend Snake on their first anniversary as a couple. A budding writer, she wrote for the Eastland School newspaper. Natalie graduated from Eastland in 1985, in "Bus Stop" (Season 6, Episode 25). She delayed attending college for a year to travel across the country by bus, leaving family and friends dismayed because she was postponing Princeton. At the year's end, she decided to attend Langley College, and she became a reporter for the local newspaper in Peekskill. She went to New York City towards the end of the series and decided to stay and pursue her writing career. The episode in which she inspects the SoHo loft she will eventually call home features Richard Grieco and David Spade as her future roommates. The episode (aired in 1988) was originally set up for Mindy Cohn to transition into a spinoff series, but the plans did not materialize.
In the TV-movie "The Facts of Life Reunion", she is revealed to be a television news producer at CNN and is also involved with two different men; neither of whom knows of the other. Her boyfriends Robert and Harper were willing, for a short time, to compete for her heart. Though her friends deemed Robert the winner, Natalie eventually choose Harper; Robert accepted this and parted with Natalie on good terms. Natalie was the only one of the girls who was adopted. In one episode, Blair successfully tracked down Natalie's birth mother but Natalie—who realized that her adoptive parents were her true parents, even though they weren't biologically related to her—refused to answer the phone and hear the results of the search, instead inviting her friends to taste the cake "my mother made." However, after an argument with her adoptive mother during a 1982 episode, the subject arose again. Her adoptive mother told Natalie who her biological mother was. Natalie located and met her, but as before, Natalie still considered the mother who had reared her to be her mother.
Natalie also appears in two episodes of "Diff'rent Strokes": "The Slumber Party" and "The Older Man."
Jo Polniaczek.
Joanna Marie "Jo" Polniaczek was played by Nancy McKeon. Jo was first introduced in the second season in 1980, at 15 years old, arriving at the Eastland Academy on her motorcycle.
At first, she formed a dislike for fellow schoolmate Blair Warner; the two came from completely different backgrounds and had completely different personalities. However, her relationship with Blair became close as time went on (Jo would even refer to Blair as her best friend by the last season), although the two still argued, traded wisecracks, and made fun of each other from time to time.
In the episode Ain't Miss Beholden, Jo learns that she will lose her scholarship due to budget cuts. She learns that the only scholarship she qualifies for is offered by Blair's family and due to her belief that Blair would hold it over her for the rest of her life she refuses to apply. Blair is at first unconcerned, but Natalie explains that Jo would not be returning the following year due to the cost of attending the school, making Blair realize the seriousness of Jo's situation. Blair secretly sends in an application for Jo and she gets the scholarship. Angry because Blair went behind her back, Jo expects to be in Blair's debt only to have Blair explain that sole reason for her doing it was because she didn't want Jo to leave and expects nothing in return except the cost of the postage for sending it in. She also emphatically states that regardless of how badly they antagonize each other she can admit they were friends regardless of whether Jo could do it. Jo admits they are, marking the first time they express it outright.
Jo was Polish American and from the Bronx. She came from an economically disadvantaged background. Early on, she was rebellious, but also highly intelligent (she and Blair achieved the highest scores on the Eastland entrance exams) and secretly sensitive. Jo's mother sent her to Eastland after she, in response to difficulties between her parents, had joined a gang in her hometown. Over time, she grew less angry and hostile toward others. She was ultimately shown to be extremely protective and loyal toward her new friends, particularly Blair.
When she originally arrived at Eastland on her motorcycle, Jo convinced the girls to steal the school van and use fake IDs to buy drinks at a bar. The van was wrecked and the girls were forced to work in the Eastland cafeteria to make up the repair costs; this was from the second season two-part premiering in November 1980 "The New Girl Part 1".
In the second episode "The New Girl Part 2", the girls were also placed on house probation and were forced to live across the hall from Mrs. Garrett's room above the cafeteria for a year.
When the punishment expired, all four girls found other living arrangements but were responsible for cleaning and painting their former room. While painting, their friendship began to rekindle, culminating into an all-out paint fight. This severely damaged the hardwood floor, which required expensive repairs. The girls decided to move back in together and continued to work in the kitchen to pay off the bill for the damaged floor.
Another problem for Jo came when she shoplifted a blouse for Mrs. Garrett's birthday; Mrs. Garrett was subsequently arrested when she went to exchange the blouse for the smaller size, not knowing the garment was stolen. Jo had to work off the payment of that blouse while Tootie and Natalie did her duties.
Early in the series, Jo's sailor boyfriend, Eddie Brennan (Clark Brandon), came to Eastland and convinced her to marry him. They planned to elope to West Virginia, where the marriage age was lower, but Mrs. Garrett and Blair tracked her down at a nearby motel to stop her. Jo had by that point already begun to change her mind when she realized just how difficult teenage marriage would be. Jo returned to Peekskill without Eddie.
Eddie visited again the following season but things had changed between them. They were moving in different directions and keeping the long-distance relationship going was proving to be very difficult, so they decided to see other people for the time being. Eddie returned late in the fifth season, now an officer in the Navy, but Tootie discovered he was married to a girl in Italy. Clark Brandon's last appearance was in the 5th season's 23rd episode "Seems Like Old Times".
In the 15th episode of the 4th season called "Teacher's Pet", Jo developed a close friendship with her 26-year-old English teacher, Miss Gail Gallagher (played by Deborah Harmon), who was raised in a similar environment to that of Jo. Gail inspired Jo to think about becoming a teacher herself. When Jo learned from Blair that Gail was quitting Eastland, she became very disappointed, believing that the reason was for a higher-paying job. She was crushed when she found out from Mrs. Garrett that it was because of a terminal illness and had a difficult time coming to terms with her emotions and friendship.
Early in the series, many of Jo's stories revolved around her tomboyish ways. Jo got into verbal spars with girls who didn't think she was "feminine enough" and boys (including some of her boyfriends) were threatened by her mechanical aptitude, which she displayed by getting a job at a local garage. In the later seasons, Jo's tomboyish image softened considerably, as she and the girls were growing up and was rarely raised as an issue again.
During one earlier episode, Blair became upset when her boyfriend asked Jo to a country club dance instead of her. Later, Blair nearly attacked him (surprisingly it was Jo who stopped her) after finding out he tried to sexually assault and humiliate Jo due to his views on women (he thinks Blair's the kind of girl men want in their future and Jo is the kind of girl they need in their past. Blair sums it up as 'There are two kinds of women. The kind you marry, and the kind you...don't). A subsequent conversation between Jo and Blair made them suddenly realize that although they have different backgrounds they can still have the same problems. This had the unexpected (for them) consequence of them actually understanding each other and sparking a mutual respect.
Jo and Blair shared many emotional moments throughout the series, showcasing the intensity and complexity of their relationship. When Blair is in a car accident, she is vulnerable only with Jo — who is the first to visit her in the hospital the night of her accident (after hours) — about her fears regarding her looks. In episodes where Jo considers leaving Eastland or where she decides not to get married as a teenager, she openly cries in front of Blair.
Jo graduated from Eastland as valedictorian of her class and attended Langley College with Blair. She worked at the campus radio station and graduated with a degree in education. When the series ended, she was a social worker at a community center owned by Blair. Jo had asked Blair to donate money to keep the facility open for the clients in need.
Regarding her romances, during Season 6, Jo met and was romanced by a young rock singer named Flyman (played by Michael Damian) in the two-part episode, "Gone With the Wind". She was reunited with him in Season 7, where it was revealed he now had a lounge act in Atlantic City.
In the last season, Jo married Rick Bonner, a concert musician. She asked Blair to be her maid of honor. In the reunion special after the series ended, Jo's daughter Jamie referred to Blair as "Aunt Blair".
Jo did not appear at the reunion TV special because it was stated that she was now in the police force and was working; however, Rick and Jamie did attend. This also coincided with Nancy McKeon's role as a police detective in the drama series "The Division" since the reason she couldn't participate in the reunion was a conflict in her working schedule.
Steven Bradley.
Steven Bradley is the headmaster of Eastland Academy and has been nicknamed the "Freud of Sigma Chi". When doing his job, he relied on Emily Mahoney for the first four episodes in order to understand how the academy works as he originally worked in the public school system. In addition to his job, he also taught different classes. He is the authority figure of the series in the first season.
Bradley also looks out for his students, such as when he had to rescue Blair and Tootie in "Flash Flood" and wanting to support Molly when her parents get a divorce in "Molly's Holiday". He was also offended when he found that some of the students were smoking marijuana in "Dope" which led to him having those students expelled which Blair and Sue Ann managed to avoid.
The character was dropped after season one and was replaced by Charles Parker.
Emily Mahoney.
Emily Mahoney is a teacher at Eastland Academy who teaches history and science. She is a stickler for rules where Steven Bradley often undermines her.
The character was dropped after the episode "I.Q."
Nancy Olsen.
Nancy Olsen was portrayed by Felice Schachter. She is an All-American teenager who has the highest I.Q. than any of the girls at Eastland. Nancy has an unseen boyfriend named Roger Butler who she is often talking on the phone with for hours.
The character of Nancy Olsen was gradually written out of the show between summer 1980 and winter 1982, with the character making only a few appearances during seasons two and three. However, she reappeared in the 1986 reunion episode "The Little Chill" where she is engaged to Roger and is three-months pregnant with their first child.
Sue Ann Weaver.
Sue Ann Weaver was portrayed by Julie Piekarski. She is an intelligent and boy-crazy girl from Kansas City who always got good grades in school, though her I.Q. is lower than the other students'. Mrs. Garrett once told Sue Ann that I.Q. has nothing to do with her abilities. When it comes to chasing boys, Sue is often in competition with Blair.
The character of Sue Ann Weaver was gradually written out of the show between summer 1980 and winter 1982, with the character making only a few appearances during seasons two and three. However, she reappeared in the 1986 reunion episode "The Little Chill" where she is now a gofer at a company while claiming that she had other positions. Though Jo found out the truth and kept quiet about it to the other girls.
Cindy Webster.
Cindy Webster was played by Julie Anne Haddock. She was around 14 years old at the beginning of "The Facts of Life". Cindy was an athletic tomboy, who, at the start of the series, was worried she wasn't "normal". The first episode of "The Facts of Life", which aired in August 1979, focused on Cindy, who was concerned that she might like girls, after hearing disparaging remarks from snobby Blair. The episode tackled a sensitive issue during an era when lesbianism was rarely talked about on television, although reaction from modern-day critics has been mixed. Stephen Tropiano, writing in 2002, wrote: "While the episode is not really about homosexuality per se, it seems to deliver a contradictory message. On the one hand, wise Mrs. Garrett dispenses Cindy some good advice when she explains the value of being yourself [...] yet there is a sense of relief that Cindy is heading down the road to heterosexuality because she's fallen for a guy she met at the dance."
On the series, Cindy's best friend and roommate was Sue Ann Weaver and the pair appeared together occasionally in episodes, including in an episode where the two girls fight over a racing competition ("Running", 1980). Cindy also does gymnastics and tries out for Harvest Queen at Eastland. She attends journalism class with Blair, Jo and Sue Ann.
The character of Cindy Webster was gradually written out of the show between summer 1980 and winter 1982, with the character making only a few appearances during seasons two and three. However, she reappeared in the 1986 reunion episode "The Little Chill". It was revealed in that episode that Cindy had become a model and was now known professionally as Cindy Baker.
Molly Parker.
Molly Parker is portrayed by Molly Ringwald. She is a perky, budding social activist at Eastland who enjoys taking photographs and playing the guitar. In "Molly's Holiday," it is revealed that her parents are divorced and that she was reluctant to go home during spring break.
The character of Molly Parker was gradually written out of the show between summer and late fall 1980, with the character making only one appearance in "The New Girl: Part 2" where she apologizes to the girls about getting put on probation. Molly didn't appear in "The Little Chill" because Ringwald was working in movies with the Brat Pack at the time. When the other girls wondered out loud what became of Molly, Natalie said she had no idea. All that was mentioned was that Molly was unable to attend the reunion.
Kelly Affinado.
Kelly Affinado was played by Pamela Segall. She started out as a shoplifter taking things from "Edna's Edibiles" until she got caught by Jo pocketing bread and marinated baby carrots and was sent on her way with Jo preventing Blair from calling the police.
In "Small But Dangerous," Kelly was extorting Mrs. Garrett of the money to pay off the gang that is supposedly causing trouble for "Edna's Edibles." Jo caught on to Kelly's plot and used the phone book to track her down to her apartment. She got the money back from Kelly and told her never to return. Kelly did return and apologized to Mrs. Garrett and the girls...especially Jo.
By her next appearance, Kelly turned herself around and started working for a newspaper vendor selling newspapers on street corners.
The character was dropped after season five.
Andy Moffett.
Andy Moffett was portrayed by Mackenzie Astin. He is a boy from a foster home who comes to work for Edna Garrett at Edna's Edibles, and later Over Our Heads.
Late in the 8th season, Andy's foster parents split, prompting Beverly Ann Stickle to adopt him. He later befriends Pippa McKenna.
George Burnett.
George Burnett was portrayed by George Clooney. When Edna's Edibles was burned down, George Burnett was hired as a handyman for the development of Over Our Heads. He was a lousy handy man, but they become good friends and he visits the girls and the store and become a friend while he runs his family’s hardware store.
In "A Star is Torn," George quit working at the hardware store and became a roadie for a singer named Cinnamon, played by real-life singer, Stacy Q .
The character was dropped after season eight.
Beverly Ann Stickle.
Beverly Ann Stickle was played by Cloris Leachman. Beverly Ann was first seen in the fall of 1986, after Mrs. Garrett married and moved to Africa to serve in the Peace Corps. In reality, actress Charlotte Rae's contract had expired and she did not want to continue with the series.
At the time when "The Facts of Life" was still lucrative for NBC, network president Brandon Tartikoff chose to renew but only with a new mother figure at the helm. Mrs. Garrett's divorced sister, Beverly Ann moved in with the girls as Mrs. Garrett wanted someone to keep an eye on them as she had. She became the property owner for Mrs. Garrett's house and the boutique store, Over Our Heads. Beverly Ann's role expanded from confidante to mother when she legally adopted Over Our Heads worker Andy Moffet, who was being shuffled from foster home to foster home. She mentioned that she was named after her grandfather Boris Ann.
Pippa McKenna.
Pippa McKenna was portrayed by Sherrie Krenn. She is a teenage girl from Eastland's Australian sister school Colunga Academy. She enrolled in Eastland Academy as an exchange student while taking the place of her best friend Frannie Newcomb. Pippa's ruse was exposed around the time when her father Kevin showed up and wanted to bring her home while having mentioned that she ran away from their home, though he eventually relents and allows her to stay.
References.
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The Facts of Life Down Under
1987 television film by Stuart Margolin
The Facts of Life Down Under is a 1987 American made-for-television comedy film based on the sitcom "The Facts of Life" which featured the main characters of that series. This is the second television film made for the series following "The Facts of Life Goes to Paris" (1982). It originally aired on NBC on February 15, 1987, between the 17th and 18th episodes of . The film was later split into four individual half-hour episodes when the series entered syndication.
Synopsis.
"The Facts of Life Down Under" occurred during the continuity of the original series. Beverly Ann, Blair, Jo, Natalie, Tootie and Andy fly together to Sydney, Australia to meet up with Miss Carstairs (Barbara-Jane Cole) and the female students of the Koolunga School, their sister school establishment, where they will participate in a cultural exchange program.
Blair and Jo get involved with jewel thieves and are pursued by two men, both of whom claim to be the police who accuse Jo and Blair to be the criminals. Jo and Blair place the jewel into Natalie's bag who is off exploring with Tootie. Meanwhile, Andy convinces Beverly Ann to take him to a sheep ranch owned by her old boyfriend Roger (Noel Trevarthen). During their stay at the ranch, Roger and Beverly Ann slowly begin to rekindle their old romance and Roger shows Andy the ropes of sheep farming.
Meanwhile, Natalie is exploring the great outback with a cattle rancher named Ren (Andrew McKaige) and Tootie is viewing ancient caves with a handsome American anthropologist (Mario Van Peebles) who lets her think he is an Aborigine. Blair and Jo escape the jewel thieves and arrive at their Australian sister school where they hope to find Natalie with the jewel. Natalie admits that Ren tossed the seemingly-worthless stone out of a helicopter and the thieves are arrested. The girls are all surprised to hear about one another's adventures, and Beverly Ann explains that she is not staying with Roger after all and is remaining with her "new family".
Production.
"The Facts of Life Down Under" was filmed from June to July 1986 at the following locations in Sydney and surrounding areas: Circular Quay ferry wharf, Mosman, New South Wales, Kirribilli, New South Wales, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Bradleys Head, Queen Victoria Building, Strickland House, Vaucluse, Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo and Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park.
Reception.
The movie was both a critical and ratings success as it placed a strong #13 for the week, garnering a 17.8/27 rating (approximately 30 million viewers) and was one of the highest-rated television films of 1987. This was strategic counterprogramming by NBC, which placed the movie against the conclusion of ABC's highly publicized miniseries "Amerika".
DVD release.
The full-length film was released on DVD on January 13, 2015, as part of "The Facts of Life: The Complete Series" 26-disc set.
References.
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The Facts of Life Goes to Paris
1982 television film by Asaad Kelada
The Facts of Life Goes to Paris is a 1982 American made-for-television comedy film based on the sitcom "The Facts of Life" which featured the main characters of that series. It originally aired on NBC on September 25, 1982,
four nights before the start of . The film was later split into four individual half-hour episodes when the series entered syndication.
Synopsis.
"The Facts of Life Goes to Paris" occurred during the continuity of the original series. Mrs. Garrett and the girls—Blair, Jo, Natalie, and Tootie—embark on an overseas vacation to Paris, France during summer recess. Mrs. Garrett attends a prestigious cooking academy and the four girls take part in a program at a French boarding school. While Mrs. Garrett is busy with French cooking lessons, the girls' summer boarding house is oppressive, located kilometers (miles) away outside of Paris, and they are constantly under the watchful eye of their European guardian, a strict woman named Mrs. Southwick (Vivian Brown).
Determined not to let the trip be a total waste, all four girls decide to run away to Paris to enjoy their last few days in France: Blair searches for French romance; while attempting to go to a car race in Le Mans, Jo gets distracted and instead finds it with a young biker named David LeClair (Frédéric Andréi); Natalie and Tootie meet a famous down-on-his-luck American author, Garth "G.K." Kiley (Frank Bonner) and encourage him to try to put down the bottle and pick up the pen again.
DVD release.
The full-length film was released as a bonus feature on "The Facts of Life: The Complete Fourth Season" DVD set on May 4, 2010 and was re-released on January 13, 2015 as part of "The Facts of Life: The Complete Series" 26-disc DVD set.
References.
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