80s Dude
04-16-2020, 11:59 AM
I saw this posted by Retro in his Vintage FOL Promos thread in which in addition to the cast changes of the girls, said there was going to be two other additional cast members added.
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From: The Paris [Texas] News, Fri., Sept. 9, 1980, pg 13
NBC has little faith in 'Facts of Life'
By DAN LEWIS
Charlotte Rae, a short, chunky divorced chunky divorced [SIC] comedienne, who plays on NBC's "The Facts of Life," is watching her low-rated show become more popular during the summer rerun season.
"I'm hoping the summer sampling will carry over into the fall," she says. Yet, NBC doesn't share her hopes; they've renewed the show and given it a Friday evening sked that Miss Rae doesn't consider ideal.
"The Facts of Life" deals with mischievous adolescent girls at a private school who need Mrs. Garrett's advice and management. It attracts a teen-age audience.
"But," complains Miss Rae, "by Friday night, most teen-agers are out."
Miss Rae, however, is happy to be back on the air. "They (NBC program executives) told us it was the only place they could fit us in," she says.
This means that NBC is not thrilled with the series, and they are giving it another try in a less desirable position. Meanwhile, changes are about to occur in the series. There were too many girls cluttering the stores last season, according to Miss Rae.
"We're going to reduce the cast from seven girls to four," she reveals. Three of the four will be returning: Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie) and Mindy Cohn (Natalie). The fourth girl will be a newcomer, described by Miss Rae as a "street kid" who is enrolled at the school.
"Seven girls created traffic problems," explained Miss Rae. "The audience got confused. The three holdovers were the most popular in the testing of audience reaction."
Miss Rae will also have more responsibilities, so as to make her into a take-charge person. Most of the activity will switch from the house to the all-purpose room over the cafeteria and the cafeteria. Another cast addition will be a young male cook.
"We're looking at standup comics for this role," Miss Rae reported, adding that the search has included the comedy showcase nightclubs in New York and Los Angeles. "We would like a Woody Allen type," she adds.
There will not be any classroom scenes in the new season, which has made the role of the headmaster (John Lawler) expendable. But, another character, a caretaker in his 50s, will be Miss Rae's ally. The series has a new executive producer, Jack Elinson, and three new writers, including Linda Marsh, a moderately successful actress.
Miss Rae first developed Mrs. Garrett on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." NBC executives decided her character could be spun into its own series. Miss Rae, a native of Milwaukee, Wis, attended Northwestern, where she met two drama school classmates, Cloris Leachman and Paul Lynde.
"Cloris and I went to New York together and lived in the same building," she recalls.
She performed in theater and developed a comedy act for appearances ;it supper clubs (Village Vanguard and The Blue Angel). She also played Mammy Yokum in the original cast of "Li'l Abner" on Broadway. Two-time Tony Award nominee as supporting actress for "Pickwick" and "Morning, Noon and Night," she has appeared in the short-lived TV series, ''Hot L Baltimore."
In regards to the cook, we know that Howard the Cook was on a few episodes in season 2, but this article said a young cook. I wonder if they were looking for a George Clooney type of charcter that we saw several seasons later who would be male eye candy for the straight female audience of the show.
The caretaker role sounded like a replacement for Mr. Bradley as being an middle age/older male on the show. While Mr. Bradley was Mrs. Garrett's nemesis on the show, Charlotte Rae referred to John Lawlor as her best friend and adult companion on the show. We found out in the documentary more about this. Perhaps the producers thought Charlotte needed an adult confidant at the time.
Neither of these characters came to see the light of the day. Perhaps they saw that they were increasing the cast so shortly after downsizing it. Perhaps there was budget reasons why these characters never came into being.
RetroGuy2000's Avatar
Join Date: Dec 27, 2013
Posts: 6,919
Default
From: The Paris [Texas] News, Fri., Sept. 9, 1980, pg 13
NBC has little faith in 'Facts of Life'
By DAN LEWIS
Charlotte Rae, a short, chunky divorced chunky divorced [SIC] comedienne, who plays on NBC's "The Facts of Life," is watching her low-rated show become more popular during the summer rerun season.
"I'm hoping the summer sampling will carry over into the fall," she says. Yet, NBC doesn't share her hopes; they've renewed the show and given it a Friday evening sked that Miss Rae doesn't consider ideal.
"The Facts of Life" deals with mischievous adolescent girls at a private school who need Mrs. Garrett's advice and management. It attracts a teen-age audience.
"But," complains Miss Rae, "by Friday night, most teen-agers are out."
Miss Rae, however, is happy to be back on the air. "They (NBC program executives) told us it was the only place they could fit us in," she says.
This means that NBC is not thrilled with the series, and they are giving it another try in a less desirable position. Meanwhile, changes are about to occur in the series. There were too many girls cluttering the stores last season, according to Miss Rae.
"We're going to reduce the cast from seven girls to four," she reveals. Three of the four will be returning: Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie) and Mindy Cohn (Natalie). The fourth girl will be a newcomer, described by Miss Rae as a "street kid" who is enrolled at the school.
"Seven girls created traffic problems," explained Miss Rae. "The audience got confused. The three holdovers were the most popular in the testing of audience reaction."
Miss Rae will also have more responsibilities, so as to make her into a take-charge person. Most of the activity will switch from the house to the all-purpose room over the cafeteria and the cafeteria. Another cast addition will be a young male cook.
"We're looking at standup comics for this role," Miss Rae reported, adding that the search has included the comedy showcase nightclubs in New York and Los Angeles. "We would like a Woody Allen type," she adds.
There will not be any classroom scenes in the new season, which has made the role of the headmaster (John Lawler) expendable. But, another character, a caretaker in his 50s, will be Miss Rae's ally. The series has a new executive producer, Jack Elinson, and three new writers, including Linda Marsh, a moderately successful actress.
Miss Rae first developed Mrs. Garrett on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." NBC executives decided her character could be spun into its own series. Miss Rae, a native of Milwaukee, Wis, attended Northwestern, where she met two drama school classmates, Cloris Leachman and Paul Lynde.
"Cloris and I went to New York together and lived in the same building," she recalls.
She performed in theater and developed a comedy act for appearances ;it supper clubs (Village Vanguard and The Blue Angel). She also played Mammy Yokum in the original cast of "Li'l Abner" on Broadway. Two-time Tony Award nominee as supporting actress for "Pickwick" and "Morning, Noon and Night," she has appeared in the short-lived TV series, ''Hot L Baltimore."
In regards to the cook, we know that Howard the Cook was on a few episodes in season 2, but this article said a young cook. I wonder if they were looking for a George Clooney type of charcter that we saw several seasons later who would be male eye candy for the straight female audience of the show.
The caretaker role sounded like a replacement for Mr. Bradley as being an middle age/older male on the show. While Mr. Bradley was Mrs. Garrett's nemesis on the show, Charlotte Rae referred to John Lawlor as her best friend and adult companion on the show. We found out in the documentary more about this. Perhaps the producers thought Charlotte needed an adult confidant at the time.
Neither of these characters came to see the light of the day. Perhaps they saw that they were increasing the cast so shortly after downsizing it. Perhaps there was budget reasons why these characters never came into being.