If Felice got the role of Kimberly Drummond, do you think we would not be talking about the Different Strokes curse to this day?

Felice had a good head on her shoulders and her mother was a Hollywood agent who knew about pressures of Hollywood and the troubles it can lead to. I doubt that Felice would have gotten Todd Bridges hooked on drugs and have sex with him. That she would not be on the laps of adult men.

But then again, the producers didn't think she was "wholesome enough" and "All-American" enough.

Felice says she actually did get the part of Kimberly, but then the producers changed their minds and went with Dana.

As you say, Dana wasn't stable; Todd says she introduced him to drugs. Without Dana and Todd involved in drugs, the story would just be "Gary acts out on the set of DS." These would be no "Diff'rent Strokes curse".

Why was Dana hired?

Why was Dana hired?

We'll let 80's Sitcoms answer that one ;)

Why was Dana hired?

Well, Conrad Bain was blonde and Dana definitely looked much more like his daughter than Felice would have.

Someone told me that on a recent Reelz documentary it was said that the Little House kids were forbidden from visiting the Different Strokes set because of situations there. I don't know if this is true since I never saw either the documentary or the Dana Plato biopsy special.

This may explain why Kimberly only made one appearance on The Facts of Life, the very first episode. All the girls seem to have frozen her out and ignored her. Charlotte may have put her foot down and said she didn't want Dana hanging around "her girls".

Felice would have been a much better Kimberly. Aside from the drug issue, I never understood how Dana got that role. She was annoyingly peppy and fake.

Felice would have been a much better Kimberly. Aside from the drug issue, I never understood how Dana got that role. She was annoyingly peppy and fake.

Conrad Bain is blonde as was Dana. Show looked more like his daughter than what Felice would have. Besides Felice was deemed not "All Am-eri-can" enough.

So I find it amazing that Diff'rent Strokes promotes a very progressive and diverse agenda, but at the same time, they used a very Arynistic hiring practice when they made decisions about who the daughter was going to be. In my opinion, "All American" is basically a tactful and diplomatic way of saying "blonde hair and blue eyes." I understand eye color and hair styles aren't protected classes in the eyes of the law, but this felt like appearance-based discrimination on the part of the casting manager, producers, and showrunner, and I felt like their hiring decision was racially-motivated. I would've been pissed off about this as Felice was (and still is). You don't have to have "blonde hair and blue eyes" to be an offspring of someone with those characteristics. It's a load of BS, and I would have appealed their decision in court. That decision may have flied in the '70s, but if this happened today, I bet it'd be all over the news and social media.

As far as speculating what the show may have looked like if Felice was the daughter, it's likely that Gary and Jeff may have had the same fate. Felice may have gotten out of it because of her character and upbringing but Gary and Jeff may have not. I just think, overall that the producers just did a very poor job of handling the problems on set. They could have brought in some protections and intervention to alleviate some of the issues that had been going on. That's why I have very little respect for the producers and showrunner of this show.

So I find it amazing that Diff'rent Strokes promotes a very progressive and diverse agenda, but at the same time, they used a very Arynistic hiring practice when they made decisions about who the daughter was going to be. In my opinion, "All American" is basically a tactful and diplomatic way of saying "blonde hair and blue eyes." I understand eye color and hair styles aren't protected classes in the eyes of the law, but this felt like appearance-based discrimination on the part of the casting manager, producers, and showrunner, and I felt like their hiring decision was racially-motivated. I would've been pissed off about this as Felice was (and still is). You don't have to have "blonde hair and blue eyes" to be an offspring of someone with those characteristics. It's a load of BS, and I would have appealed their decision in court. That decision may have flied in the '70s, but if this happened today, I bet it'd be all over the news and social media.

As far as speculating what the show may have looked like if Felice was the daughter, it's likely that Gary and Jeff may have had the same fate. Felice may have gotten out of it because of her character and upbringing but Gary and Jeff may have not. I just think, overall that the producers just did a very poor job of handling the problems on set. They could have brought in some protections and intervention to alleviate some of the issues that had been going on. That's why I have very little respect for the producers and showrunner of this show.

Who is Jeff?

Who is Jeff?

Oops, I meant Todd. I was mixing up Jeff Bridges with Todd Bridges :crazy:

It was Dana who helped take Todd down the dark path. Not saying she was the only influence of him taking the path, but she was a major instigator.

Someone told me that on a recent Reelz documentary it was said that the Little House kids were forbidden from visiting the Different Strokes set because of situations there. I don't know if this is true since I never saw either the documentary or the Dana Plato biopsy special.

It's not the Reelz documentary where it's said the Little House kids were banned from talking to the DS kids. It might have been the Dana Plato biography. PM me for a link to the Reelz documentary, if interested.

So I find it amazing that Diff'rent Strokes promotes a very progressive and diverse agenda, but at the same time, they used a very Arynistic hiring practice when they made decisions about who the daughter was going to be. In my opinion, "All American" is basically a tactful and diplomatic way of saying "blonde hair and blue eyes." I understand eye color and hair styles aren't protected classes in the eyes of the law, but this felt like appearance-based discrimination on the part of the casting manager, producers, and showrunner, and I felt like their hiring decision was racially-motivated. I would've been pissed off about this as Felice was (and still is). You don't have to have "blonde hair and blue eyes" to be an offspring of someone with those characteristics. It's a load of BS, and I would have appealed their decision in court. That decision may have flied in the '70s, but if this happened today, I bet it'd be all over the news and social media.

Times were so very different.

I don't think it had anything to do with the casting director; that was Eve Brandstein, who also cast for FOL and other Tandem/Embassy shows. It seems to have come from above her.

We'll let 80's Sitcoms answer that one ;)

:lol::lol::lol::lol:

No matter how many issues DANA PLATO might have had: she still was great on DS, and frankly i couldn't imagine the show without her (no disrespect towards FELICE)!
Plus, she had a great chemistry with both boys, CONRAD and CHARLOTTE.....

Yes, she was great on screen, but behind-the-scenes, she was the complete opposite, after watching the Reelz documentaries on her and the E! True Hollywood Story. I think they should have chosen someone else.

Yes, she was great on screen, but behind-the-scenes, she was the complete opposite, after watching the Reelz documentaries on her and the E! True Hollywood Story. I think they should have chosen someone else.

I agree. While I absolutely loved Kimberly in front of the camera, behind the scenes, Dana was a hot mess. In fact, if you look up "hot mess" in the dictionary, it's got Dana Plato's picture.

Dana clearly wasn't more "All-American" than Felice, and had Felice been kept on as Kimberly, it seems likely Diff'rent Strokes wouldn't have encountered the "Diff'rent Strokes curse".

I agree. While I absolutely loved Kimberly in front of the camera, behind the scenes, Dana was a hot mess. In fact, if you look up "hot mess" in the dictionary, it's got Dana Plato's picture.

Dana clearly wasn't more "All-American" than Felice, and had Felice been kept on as Kimberly, it seems likely Diff'rent Strokes wouldn't have encountered the "Diff'rent Strokes curse".



Sometimes i really wish they'd be able to build up a time machine so we could all go back to the 1980 s and change things, or just live it again!

:rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon::rockon:

Sometimes i really wish they'd be able to build up a time machine so we could all go back to the 1980 s and change things, or just live it again!



A time machine would be great. We could fix ALL the mistakes!

It would have been a big mistake to cast Felice instead of Dana on Diff'rent Strokes. Dana is a much better actress, regardless of her personal issues. Felice was pretty on season 1 of FOL, but she didn't really add much to it like Sue Ann. Strokes wouldn't have been nearly as good without Dana, it only went down in quality once Maggie and the awful Sam were added.

I have to say that i agree with catsrule to a degree: DANA was definitely perfect for DS, just as FELICE was perfect for FOL (none of these sitcoms would have been the same without them both).

Felice at least wasn't annoying like Molly was.

Felice at least wasn't annoying like Molly was.




I have noticed that MOLLY is not very popular on this site: i found her rather amusing myself! (in fact, i like all the 'Lost girls')

:cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer:

Maybe Todd would have avoided all his problems since it was Dana who introduced him to drugs. Unlike Todd, Dana was already using drugs when she was casted on Strokes. The producers probably realized that they made a mistake and they got rid of her as soon as they could. Let's be honest, you don't get fired because you're pregnant. For example Phylicia Rashad was pregnant during season 3 of The Cosby Show but she didn't get fired. Instead, they fired Lisa Bonet because of her bad attitude on the set. Same with Dana! I believe this is the reason she never crossed over on Facts or other shows (except Hello, Larry). Anyway, I feel sorry for her.

I have noticed that MOLLY is not very popular on this site: i found her rather amusing myself! (in fact, i like all the 'Lost girls')

:cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer::cheer:

I like all the Lost Girls, and wish Molly had stayed.

However, Molly was the least believable of the girls. This is because the writers wanted her to be an activist and a social justice crusader, while at the same time, she was expected to be innocent and cute and a little naive. We see her talking to Sue Ann, naively telling Sue Ann that Sue Ann is the dumbest girl in school; we see her also telling Mrs. Garrett that the media pays nauseating amounts of money to celebrities. The two traits, naive and worldly, don't work well together, being somewhat opposite characteristics.

So what ends up happening is that the character ends up coming off as seeming false. Does she really not know she's insulting Sue Ann when she compares her to a dogcatcher in Paramus, New Jersey? The Molly from the episode where she idolizes Dan Rather would know better.

It's like they ended up coming up with too many traits for Molly, and those traits resulted in the character feeling very uneven. Additionally, Molly's role was laden with clunky dialog.

With a little bit of work, Molly could have been a brilliant character. But instead of refining the character, the producers scrap-heaped her in the Cast Purge, jettisoning so many characters that in a few years' time, they had to start introducing new characters on a mostly empty set.

Maybe Todd would have avoided all his problems since it was Dana who introduced him to drugs. Unlike Todd, Dana was already using drugs when she was casted on Strokes.

Is that really true? I thought I had read that Dana was introduced to drugs while on the set of DS.


The producers probably realized that they made a mistake and they got rid of her as soon as they could. Let's be honest, you don't get fired because you're pregnant.

I strongly believe that the producers fired Dana because of problems on the set, not because she got pregnant. However, the DS producers have always denied this, stating they fired Dana because of her pregnancy, which didn't work with the show. However, after she gave birth, she was only brought back for a handful of episodes, indicating that "pregnancy" wasn't the real reason. If so, she would have been back full-time sometime after giving birth.

For example Phylicia Rashad was pregnant during season 3 of The Cosby Show but she didn't get fired. Instead, they fired Lisa Bonet because of her bad attitude on the set. Same with Dana!

I do believe this.

I have noticed that MOLLY is not very popular on this site: i found her rather amusing myself! (in fact, i like all the 'Lost girls')

Yup, she's the 2nd best Lost Girl, after Cindy. :D (for me, and others who voted that order in the Lost Girls poll)


Does she really not know she's insulting Sue Ann when she compares her to a dogcatcher in Paramus, New Jersey? The Molly from the episode where she idolizes Dan Rather would know better.

Well Dogcatcher Molly was younger. She had time to mature over the hiatus, lol.

Why was Dana hired?

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Hey Eighty. I'm glad you're back!

Is that really true? I thought I had read that Dana was introduced to drugs while on the set of DS.

Todd states in his book that Dana introduced him to drugs and s*x (I don't know if I can use this word here :lol:) during season 2 of DS. Several sites state that Dana was already using drugs when she got the role of Kimberly Drummond. I guess it was the result of her adoptive parents divorce. Charlotte said that Dana was "hungry for a father" and that she was always trying to get attention from the men on set.

Welcome back Eighty!!!! (i see you're in the mood for more ALL AMERI CAN jokes ha ha!)

This board is becoming very intense, and i am learning some interesting facts about DANA that i didn't know....

For better or worse, i still believe DANA was meant to be on DS and FELICE on FOL: where would the 'Lost girls' be without NANCY and her memorable phone calls, over the invisible ROGER?

PS: so DANA was looking for a 'father figure' according to CHARLOTTE?

Yes, Valentina! Charlotte said that in her bio

Hey Eighty. I'm glad you're back!

Ciao amico! :wave::wave::wave:


Welcome back Eighty!!!!

Lol, thanks! :wave:


(i see you're in the mood for more ALL AMERI CAN jokes ha ha!)

I'm ALWAYS in the mood for more ALL AMERI CAN jokes! :rofl: :D


For better or worse, i still believe DANA was meant to be on DS and FELICE on FOL: where would the 'Lost girls' be without NANCY and her memorable phone calls, over the invisible ROGER?

Definitely! :nod:


Todd states in his book that Dana introduced him to drugs and s*x (I don't know if I can use this word here ) during season 2 of DS.

Yes, you can use that word. :lol:

I read his book too! :read: :wave:

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There we go! Welcome back pal! :D

It's not the Reelz documentary where it's said the Little House kids were banned from talking to the DS kids. It might have been the Dana Plato biography. PM me for a link to the Reelz documentary, if interested.

I'm interested!!!

I'm interested!!!

Its a great doc!

I'm interested!!!

I'm so sorry, WriterChick. There's been a misunderstanding.

I don't have the Reelz DS episode in a video link format, only the Reelz FOL episode in a video link format. When I said "the Reelz Documentary", I meant the FOL one, which I know you already have.

Sorry for the confusion! :(

I'm interested!!!




Oh wow! I just realized you've only joined the board at the beginning of 'Lock down' WriterChick78!!!

:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello:hello