The Julies: Did their similar names hurt them ?

[RetroGuy2000]

Julie Ann Piekarski (Sue Ann) and Julie Anne Haddock (Cindy) both appeared as series regulars during the first season of The Facts of Life. Both young blondes with blue eyes, and both have the same first and middle names. Did this similarity harm their careers on FOL?

Julie Pie was among the first of the girls to be cast: she appears in the Diff'rent Strokes episode "The Girls' School", used as the back-door pilot for FOL. She appears alongside Nancy, Blair, Tootie, Kimberly, and three girls who seem to be simply named after the actresses who play them: Jennifer, Laura, and Molly.

Natalie and Cindy do not appear in the backdoor pilot. They appear later that year, after Charlotte and the producers met with girls at Westlake School. We know Charlotte hand-picked Mindy to play Natalie, a character she named after a girl she once knew as a kid. We've never heard the full story of how Julie Anne was brought on board, except that she was a professional acting child brought on board by Eve Brandstein, the casting director. There is no on-air explanation of how Cindy and Natalie got placed in the dorm once occupied by Laura and Jennifer.

On the show, it's mentioned that Cindy and Sue Ann are best friends. They share the same room at one point, they both run track together, they're both used as a foil for Blair. Although Cindy is shown to be more of a jock, Sue Ann also runs and seems to be a cheerleader. In later seasons, they share the same dorm room, still, and attend the same classes (they're seen together in Journalism class).

After the first season, we never once see Sue Ann and Cindy separately: they are connected at the hips. They mock Natalie together, they gossip about Mrs Garrett together, and they both attend the same school dance.

When Eve Brandstein is asked about one of the Julies in the 2006 interviews, she brings them both up. I have also seen on this board some FOL fans confuse Julie and Julie Anne. Did their similar names and similar blonde hair, and the fact that the writers decided they would be close, doom them when the producers/network execs decided there were "too many girls", claiming there were "ten, twelve girls"?

['80sSitcoms]

There could be credibility to that; I don't know if that's true, but it is a definite theory. One of the FOL documentaries says that I think 4 of the 7 were brought on as "the pretty girls", or something like that (and Lisa scoffs, saying "We were all pretty").

Perhaps Blair being the "queen blond" helped squeeze them out?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

There could be credibility to that; I don't know if that's true, but it is a definite theory. One of the FOL documentaries says that I think 4 of the 7 were brought on as "the pretty girls", or something like that (and Lisa scoffs, saying "We were all pretty").

Perhaps Blair being the "queen blond" helped squeeze them out?

You raise a good point about Blair also being a blonde. If NBC decided having no more than four schoolgirls in a girls' school was important (weird!), how many could be pretty blondes? The cast was pared down to the bare minimum, with no possible way of confusing a blonde girl with a Bronx thug, or a black girl, or a chubby brunette.

Would things have worked differently if Julie Anne had been a sporty redhead? If Julie had sported an updo? If Molly had shaved her head?

[RetroGuy2000]

Never heard from Lorimar on this, and I would like his take as well, if possible.

And, naturally, any other folks that want to chime in as well.

[Lorimar Television]

I think there’s a bit of credence to this idea. The facts of facts even say they barely could tell the Julie’s apart. Maybe they should’ve had Julie Anne go by J.A. Or something.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

The facts of facts even say they barely could tell the Julie’s apart.

Well then they weren't watching. How could anyone not tell them apart? I mean, even if you forget which name is which, their appearances and characters are obviously different (blondness notwithstanding).

Now, if Julie Anne Haddock had been a brunette, that would have been interesting to see...

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

Well then they weren't watching. How could anyone not tell them apart? I mean, even if you forget which name is which, their appearances and characters are obviously different (blondness notwithstanding).

Now, if Julie Anne Haddock had been a brunette, that would have been interesting to see...

They said both blonds who were bad “pre-Disney Channel style” actors

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

I think there’s a bit of credence to this idea. The facts of facts even say they barely could tell the Julie’s apart. Maybe they should’ve had Julie Anne go by J.A. Or something.

Yeah, I was somewhat mystified by FOF Podcast's comments about not being able to tell Julie Anne and Julie Pie apart. Sure, they have similar names, and are both blonde, but Cindy is a tomboy, while Sue Ann is not. Sue Ann is taller, with her hair not braided. Sue Ann hangs out with Blair, while Cindy usually does not. Sue Ann smokes pot while Cindy gets a high by jumping rope. While Sue Ann's parents would never get a divorce, Cindy comes from a broken home.

Sue Ann gets plenty of lines, while Cindy usually does not. Sue Ann is from Kansas City, Kansas, while we have no idea where Cindy is from.

[RetroGuy2000]

After listening to the latest Facts of Facts Podcast, where even self-proclaimed Facts of Life uber-fan Dominick confuses Julie Anne Haddock and Julie Piekarski (he was talking about "The Girls' School", where only Julie Pie appears, and mentioned "Julie Anne Haddock"), I am even more convinced that their name similarities very much harmed them.

Network executives aren't known for their attention to detail when it comes to the people starring on their shows: Fred Silverman infamously referred to the original ladies in the pilot of Three's Company as "a couple of Bea Arthurs", and Warren Littlefield thought there were "ten, twelve girls" on the first season of The Facts of Life. People like that were clearly easily confused already, and having three pretty blondes, two named Julie, would have blown their minds.

[Lorimar Television]

To be fair I think he's more a fan of seasons 2 and on. Idk if many people love every season, with us we lean more towards the early seasons. Its funny that they added Julie Anne when they already had a Julie in the backdoor pilot. Don't get me wrong, she was very pretty and talented but you would think they'd say "we have one Julie who's a blond, should we get someone with a different name?"

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

To be fair I think he's more a fan of seasons 2 and on. Idk if many people love every season, with us we lean more towards the early seasons. Its funny that they added Julie Anne when they already had a Julie in the backdoor pilot. Don't get me wrong, she was very pretty and talented but you would think they'd say "we have one Julie who's a blond, should we get someone with a different name?"

Weirdly, I don't think anyone considered that when casting back in the 1970s. I say that because on Little House on the Prairie (also 1970s-1980s TV), the producers hired Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson to play the oldest two daughters, and then years later they hired Melissa Francis to play the last daughter. Now that must have been one confusing set! "Melissa!" "Yeah?" (To make matters worse, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson hated each other).

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Weirdly, I don't think anyone considered that when casting back in the 1970s. I say that because on Little House on the Prairie (also 1970s-1980s TV), the producers hired Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson to play the oldest two daughters, and then years later they hired Melissa Francis to play the last daughter. Now that must have been one confusing set! "Melissa!" "Yeah?" (To make matters worse, Melissa Gilbert and Melissa Sue Anderson hated each other).

Hmm so then why was it a problem with the Julies?

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by Lorimar Television

Hmm so then why was it a problem with the Julies?

The Julies were both pretty blondes.

The army of Melissas looked nothing alike.

[Lorimar Television]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

The Julies were both pretty blondes.

The army of Melissas looked nothing alike.

Makes sense then

[Impressions]

I don't think their names really hurt them, I think it was just that they were both blonde. I think producers saw that they looked and acted too alike that they both got cut.