She was apparently (https://youtu.be/g7aNXUi92R8?t=640), almost cast (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090060/trivia?ref_=tttr_ql_trv_1) to play (https://books.google.com/books?id=NxgaVJzdFc8C&pg=PA93&lpg=PA93&dq=st.+elmo%27s+fire+mindy+cohn&source=bl&ots=qZ_UzNkVWk&sig=ACfU3U07Cl_YM89LupgeWQtrM8ozy21qrA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiDwpz_ncf1AhVblGoFHcPTAHAQ6AF6BAgOEAM) Mare Winningham's role (https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mindy-cohn_n_4790804) but she couldn't get out of her commitments to The Facts of Life. There's a mild language warning in the linked video.

Mindy will use male locker room language and does so often.

With Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe, Andrew McCarthy, and Ally Sheedy in that movie, Mindy would have been a member of the Brat Pack. It really is a shame the producers wouldn't let her do the film; it not only would have increased Mindy's star power, it would have ended up bringing a lot of attention to The Facts of Life.

They let Lisa appear in low-budget direct-to-video exercise videos, but wouldn't let Mindy appear in a major motion picture. I can see why that really upset her.

And then maybe Mindy could have hung out with fellow Brat Packer Molly Ringwald, and maybe convinced her to come back for The Little Chill.

They let Michael J. Fox to do movies while he was on a TV Show, but none of the Core 4.

They probably feared the girls would have left their roles, had they found better acting opportunities

They probably feared the girls would have left their roles, had they found better acting opportunities

Yeah, a role like that, as a Brat Packer, could have changed Mindy's career trajectory significantly. She certainly could have renegotiated her salary after achieving Brat Pack status, and we already know the producers balked to pay what the girls demanded.

Yeah, a role like that, as a Brat Packer, could have changed Mindy's career trajectory significantly. She certainly could have renegotiated her salary after achieving Brat Pack status, and we already know the producers balked to pay what the girls demanded.

And I'm sure they would have never allowed Mindy/Natalie out of the show. She had a huge fanbase

And I'm sure they would have never allowed Mindy/Natalie out of the show. She had a huge fanbase

I don't think Mindy would have wanted out of the show. She just wanted to do some films, as well.

And then maybe Mindy could have hung out with fellow Brat Packer Molly Ringwald, and maybe convinced her to come back for The Little Chill.

Well, not so, because, sadly, Molly wasn't a part of this film. I mean it's not a great film, but at least having Molly there would have been great for having Molly there.

Well, not so, because, sadly, Molly wasn't a part of this film. I mean it's not a great film, but at least having Molly there would have been great for having Molly there.

No, I mean the Brat Packers were famous for hanging out together in Hollywood. If Mindy had been in the film, she would have been a Brat Packer.

No, I mean the Brat Packers were famous for hanging out together in Hollywood. If Mindy had been in the film, she would have been a Brat Packer.

Ah, you meant in that way.

If Molly had some kind of conflict with Mindy back then as she (Molly) alluded to, would they be hanging out together?

If Molly had some kind of conflict with Mindy back then as she (Molly) alluded to, would they be hanging out together?

You don't have to get along to hang out together, as Blair and Jo discovered.

I figure Mindy Cohn would've missed a lot more than one episode of The Facts of Life if that happened, and the fans would not have wanted that. Ms. Cohn already had to miss one episode because of filming "The Boy Who Could Fly", and I think TFoL's fans would've hated her if she left the series for a feature-film career, thereby forcing a ratings decline for TFoL.

If Molly had some kind of conflict with Mindy back then as she (Molly) alluded to, would they be hanging out together?

Any kind of conflict was seemingly on Molly's part alone, as she just said she felt intimidated by Mindy.

But since Molly had burst onto the American pop culture scene as a skyrocketing movie star, she probably wouldn't have felt intimidated any longer.

Unless she thought Mindy was after her stardom! lol

Any kind of conflict was seemingly on Molly's part alone, as she just said she felt intimidated by Mindy.

But since Molly had burst onto the American pop culture scene as a skyrocketing movie star, she probably wouldn't have felt intimidated any longer.

Unless she thought Mindy was after her stardom! lol

Plus Molly would have grown so much taller than Mindy (she was by the end of the first season), I don't see that she would be intimidate by Mindy for very long.

They let Michael J. Fox to do movies while he was on a TV Show, but none of the Core 4.

In MJF's case, he had Spielberg personally pleading to the Family Ties people and NBC to let him do Back To The Future and working out an arrangement where Michael would have commitments to both but not slack on either, you don't tell Spielberg no. I'm sure someone like that in Mindy's corner would've helped her as well

In MJF's case, he had Spielberg personally pleading to the Family Ties people and NBC to let him do Back To The Future and working out an arrangement where Michael would have commitments to both but not slack on either, you don't tell Spielberg no. I'm sure someone like that in Mindy's corner would've helped her as well

You know, that's a really good point. Too bad Mindy didn't have a Spielberg-level advocate for her film career.

You know, that's a really good point. Too bad Mindy didn't have a Spielberg-level advocate for her film career.

I think the issue with the movies in question is that BTTF was filmed about a half hour away from where Family Ties was taping so it wasn't too hard to loan him to Spielberg and Zemeckis. MJF talked about how he would take power naps in the limo ride between sets because he was working 20 hour days for a few months there. On the other hand, St Elmos Fire was being filmed on the other side of the country from where FOL was taped. But they could've found a way to write Natalie out of a few episodes (after all by season 6 and 7, Charlotte was missing half the seasons) while she did the film, or even just taped a few scenes with her beforehand to sprinkle into the episodes while she was away.

I think the FOL gravy train would have been permanently derailed because the other 3 actresses would have been demanding to do films as well. It wouldn't have been good for the production of the show.

And an unpopular opinion about MJF. I think any person working 20 hours a day to make movies and TV series puts a terrible strain on one's health. He did that 3 times for the Back to the Future series and then later suffered a terrible illness that he has curtailed the type of work that he can perform. I strongly suspect that his overall health declined during this time.

I think the FOL gravy train would have been permanently derailed because the other 3 actresses would have been demanding to do films as well. It wouldn't have been good for the production of the show.

And an unpopular opinion about MJF. I think any person working 20 hours a day to make movies and TV series puts a terrible strain on one's health. He did that 3 times for the Back to the Future series and then later suffered a terrible illness that he has curtailed the type of work that he can perform. I strongly suspect that his overall health declined during this time.

We also have to keep in mind that well before Family Ties, Michael J. Fox starred in this show for Canadian TV called Leo and Me (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_and_Me). In 2002 (https://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/Michael-J-Fox-part-of-B-C-Parkinson-s-cluster-1083793.php), it was concluded that at least four (https://www.quora.com/Conspiracy-Theories-Why-have-at-least-4-members-of-the-cast-and-crew-of-LEO-AND-ME-1981-including-Michael-J-Fox-developed-Parkinsons-disease) people who worked (https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/was-tv-stars-disease-born-of-bc-virus/article4132682/) on that show, including MJF, later came down with Parkinson's disease

I think the FOL gravy train would have been permanently derailed because the other 3 actresses would have been demanding to do films as well. It wouldn't have been good for the production of the show.

Lisa did five TV movies and four episodes of The Love Boat while on The Facts of Life; Nancy did seven TV movies and also did guest spots on TV, as well as voiceover work. Kim did three TV movies and guest spots on other shows while on FOL. Mindy actually did do another film, The Boy Who Could Fly, during FOL's run, as well as a TV movie and guest spots on TV series. So everyone was already working on many other projects.



And an unpopular opinion about MJF. I think any person working 20 hours a day to make movies and TV series puts a terrible strain on one's health. He did that 3 times for the Back to the Future series and then later suffered a terrible illness that he has curtailed the type of work that he can perform. I strongly suspect that his overall health declined during this time.

Maybe so. TMC has mentioned the weird coincidence of Parkinson's among the cast of that Canadian show. A site I read says head injuries and pesticides can increase the risk of Parkinson's Disease (https://www.parkinson.org/Understanding-Parkinsons/Causes). Nothing about overwork causing Parkinson's, but I think we all know that level of working can't be good.

I think the FOL gravy train would have been permanently derailed because the other 3 actresses would have been demanding to do films as well. It wouldn't have been good for the production of the show.

And an unpopular opinion about MJF. I think any person working 20 hours a day to make movies and TV series puts a terrible strain on one's health. He did that 3 times for the Back to the Future series and then later suffered a terrible illness that he has curtailed the type of work that he can perform. I strongly suspect that his overall health declined during this time.

With MJF, it was only the first BTTF in 1985. The second movie started production around the time Family Ties wrapped in spring 1989 (I think part of the wait was that they knew for over a year in advance that FT was ending in 1989 to even start on the sequels) and FT was already off the air before pt. 3 even began.

Eddie Murphy was balancing his early movie career with making movies and having to do SNL at the same time in 1982-1984 (Trading Places was very obviously shot in the winter months) and I've never heard any health problems on his end

Eddie Murphy was balancing his early movie career with making movies and having to do SNL at the same time in 1982-1984 (Trading Places was very obviously shot in the winter months) and I've never heard any health problems on his end

According to Retro's links above, the issue with that particular circumstance is thought to have maybe been a virus, why four people ended up diagnosed.