I finished Kim Field's book <SPOILERS>

[cfr1970]

SPOILERS BELOW.........
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Well it's a quick read at just 200 or so pages and i'm glad I got it for only 5 bucks with shipping. If you're looking for any FOL info, she pretty much glosses over that time and doesn't share much detail on her time with the show. I found that a little odd and surprising.

There's both good and bad here. I still like her, but I honestly think if I ever spent time with this girl, i'd be banging my head against the wall within 30 minutes and then run screaming from the room LOL.

This is the price you pay for reading celebrity autobiographies, you either like what you discover about the person, or you get a little disillusioned when you learn things about them that you wish you never read.

For example, I read MTM's book recently and only loved her even MORE after discovering the kind of person she was in real life. Same with Valerie Harper's book. Both reads only made me like them so much more than I do their characters.

With Kim Fields....I still like her....but I like Tootie so much better.

Ok, here's what I thought was GOOD:

I really like her strong Christian faith and how that faith drives her in life. I wish I had that same kind of faith myself. I too believe in God and all that, but never had the strong faith she has and I really admire it.

Speaking of admirable, her Mom seems like a wonderful person who did a fantastic job raising her children. How Kim describes her in the book makes me really like that woman a lot.

Kim comes off with such an enthusiastic view on life. I loved reading how excited she was when she first went to college and feeling like wanting to toss her hat in the air like MTM. I love that kind of happiness and excitement for things.
She's had her dark times, what she calls her "Dark Ages" where she seems to have holed up in her bedroom for almost a year, but she came out of it and with that same enthusiasm for life still intact. I love her positivity and enduring optimism and how she feels that everything in life is connected.

Now to the BAD

She seems to hate hotels lol.

She shares a story of finding out her boyfriend cheated on her when a woman picks up the phone after calling him. Angry and devastated (naturally), she punches a HOLE in the door of the hotel room in a fit of anger. Yikes! I just can't picture her doing that! But she did!

THEN.....years later on her honeymoon she tells how she was feeling romantic and wrote in eyeliner on the side of the hotel tub "Meet me here tonight" for her new husband to see.
Well when new hubby saw that he asked "Will that come off?!" And Kim is all "Way to kill the romantic mood!"....UM, Kim....defacing hotel property is NOT romantic! It's wrong LOL. I would've had the same reaction! But she honestly thought nothing of her bathroom graffiti, and apparently still doesn't in 2017 when she wrote the book! Yikes!

She still thinks it was HIM who was wrong for killing the romantic mood! Geez, a taped note on the tub would have had the same romantic effect Kim. Why write anything on a hotel bathtub in eyeliner?! Would she have done the same thing at home too?!

AND it gets even better!!....Because she then tells how years later her Mom wrote in lipstick on her bathroom mirror "Welcome back to television!" when she got a part and Kim was all like "What a weird and strange thing to do. Who does that?!".....UM, YOU did Kim, with eyeliner on a tub! Remember?!....It's just so bizarre how she chastises her Mom for doing the same thing she did years before!

Man that family just loves writing in bathrooms with makeup.

Moving on now....About "Living Single" (a show I LOVED!)....she harbors some kind of anger or jealousy that "Friends" was the bigger hit and got more attention from the studio (Warner produced both shows) because it was a "white show". I don't agree.
Friends got more attention because it got huge ratings. Had Living Single got the same massive ratings, you can bet the studio would've been marketing it like crazy.
Remember The Cosby Show in the 80's? MASSIVE hit and a black show. It got all the studio's attention and was marketed tremendously. And I didn't see Kim complaining how that show got more attention than FOL. She just comes off a tad hypocritical there.

Speaking of Living Single, it seems there was some kind of falling out between her and the cast. Towards the end she didn't even want to come out of her trailer and onto the set and even requested she leave the show early, but was forced to stay due to her contract.
It seems there's juicy stuff there but she doesn't divulge anything. Tell Kim, TELL!!

There's name dropping all over this book. UGH. She seems to love dropping famous names and it's really a turnoff. I get it. You're a celebrity and naturally you're going to know famous people. It's just the way she drops the names here that comes off like she's seeking some sort of validation from the reader.

I don't care who you know, just like you probably don't care who I know. I read Melissa Gilbert's bio years ago, and she did the same thing and it only made me like her less.
If you're a nobody like me and drop famous names of people you know, that's exciting, but when a celebrity does it, it's just tacky. And Kim drops so many names in this book, I needed a shovel for all those droppings.

She does make mention of her politics and i'll just say we don't share the same views and will leave it at that. We're all free to believe what we wish, and I commend her for her conviction so this is NOT a slam on her views at all. Just that we don't share the same viewpoints and that's OK!

Her stint on Real Housewives of Atlanta. I don't do reality and stay FAR away from all that crap. All I know about this "Housewives" show is that a camera follows people around in a house and drama ensues. BORING! I was never drawn to that concept at all. I just don't "get" it.

It seems she had a very negative experience on that show and i'm not surprised. It seems like a highly toxic kind of environment to place yourself into and I would NEVER do something like that no matter how fat the paycheck. And I think that's why she did it anyway.

But she seems to have realized what a toxic environment it was and got out quickly so I commend her for that.

Interestingly, she makes absolutely NO mention of the 2001 FOL reunion movie or her time making it. Another thing I found very odd.

Bottom line, it was a very quick read but I felt lacked the depth i've seen in other biographies and felt it could've been longer and more detailed.

['80sSitcoms]

She just glosses over FOL? What a shame. Kim, Lisa, Molly*...what is with these girls not devoting chapters and chapters to the show??

*(though Molly's book wasn't a biography, but a different style altogether)

And yeah, with "Living Single", David Schwimmer got a HUGE backlash from that show on Twitter when he said he'd like to see an Asian or a black version of "Friends". LS was all "Uh, we were the black version of 'Friends', and we were there FIRST." I saw that show some, but never thought of it as "a black 'Friends'."

Originally Posted by cfr1970

Man that family just loves writing in bathrooms with makeup.

[RetroGuy2000]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

Well it's a quick read at just 200 or so pages and i'm glad I got it for only 5 bucks with shipping. If you're looking for any FOL info, she pretty much glosses over that time and doesn't share much detail on her time with the show. I found that a little odd and surprising.

See, I had a completely different perspective, having read, just prior to that, Molly's GTPB book, which was the Second Worst Book Ever (the Worst Book Ever being a three-way tie for all of Lark Voorhies' books). Molly wrote her book exactly how Blair sounds: pretentious, condescending, and somehow with an attitude assuming every person has a $1,000 gourmet cheese slicer in their summer Paris villa, and that the downstairs butler will know right where it is. OMG!

After that nonsense, Kim's book felt refreshing and honest. And actually mentioned her time on FOL... Molly's did not.

There's both good and bad here. I still like her, but I honestly think if I ever spent time with this girl, i'd be banging my head against the wall within 30 minutes and then run screaming from the room LOL.

I strongly believe Kim narrated it via audio, with someone else transcribing it, because it follows Kim's exact speech patterns.

I really like her strong Christian faith and how that faith drives her in life. I wish I had that same kind of faith myself. I too believe in God and all that, but never had the strong faith she has and I really admire it.

I also found myself admiring that, as a non-Christian.

Man that family just loves writing in bathrooms with makeup.

Moving on now....About "Living Single" (a show I LOVED!)....she harbors some kind of anger or jealousy that "Friends" was the bigger hit and got more attention from the studio (Warner produced both shows) because it was a "white show". I don't agree.
Friends got more attention because it got huge ratings. Had Living Single got the same massive ratings, you can bet the studio would've been marketing it like crazy.
Remember The Cosby Show in the 80's? MASSIVE hit and a black show. It got all the studio's attention and was marketed tremendously.

Yeah, I agree with you. Friends was an instant hit; as a measure of how popular Friends was, I was working at Waldenbooks in 1994, when Friends debuted, and the week the calendar went on sale, we were inundated. We sold out of them in hours, and had people asking about them all the rest of the calendar season, but we couldn't even keep them in stock. The same with the Jonathan Taylor Thomas calendar. But if there was a Living Single calendar, it was just not a popular seller. Sure, a popular show, but not a show that millions adored

There's name dropping all over this book. UGH. She seems to love dropping famous names and it's really a turnoff. I get it. You're a celebrity and naturally you're going to know famous people. It's just the way she drops the names here that comes off like she's seeking some sort of validation from the reader.

I don't care who you know, just like you probably don't care who I know. I read Melissa Gilbert's bio years ago, and she did the same thing and it only made me like her less.

I definitely prefer the name-dropping in Melissa Gilbert's book to the stilted scripts and lack of any insight in Melissa Sue Anderson's book.

I also loved that Kim talked about her time with Julie Pie and Felice, and that we got info about her time with "The Girls".

Bottom line, it was a very quick read but I felt lacked the depth i've seen in other biographies and felt it could've been longer and more detailed.

I sure appreciate your insights, CFR! Thanks for writing them!

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

After that nonsense, Kim's book felt refreshing and honest. And actually mentioned her time on FOL... Molly's did not.

Well, you wouldn't expect Molly's too anyway---not because of her former decades-long silence about FOL, but just because her book an agenda; all about "getting the pretty back".

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I also found myself admiring that, as a non-Christian.

I admire the people in "The Secret", who come from different walks of life.

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

See, I had a completely different perspective, having read, just prior to that, Molly's GTPB book, which was the Second Worst Book Ever (the Worst Book Ever being a three-way tie for all of Lark Voorhies' books). Molly wrote her book exactly how Blair sounds: pretentious, condescending, and somehow with an attitude assuming every person has a $1,000 gourmet cheese slicer in their summer Paris villa, and that the downstairs butler will know right where it is. OMG!

After that nonsense, Kim's book felt refreshing and honest. And actually mentioned her time on FOL... Molly's did not.

I honestly don't see me ever wanting to pick up Molly's book. The way you describe it is exactly how I picture her to be.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I strongly believe Kim narrated it via audio, with someone else transcribing it, because it follows Kim's exact speech patterns.

I got the same feeling while reading the book, and it's actually confirmed in the epilogue. She writes "I'm now driving (wherever she was driving)" and goes on in that manner to share her thoughts. So she's definitely speaking her words out loud, at least in that epilogue. So I do believe she could've done that with the whole book, which is great because I "heard" her voice while reading it lol.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

Yeah, I agree with you. Friends was an instant hit; as a measure of how popular Friends was, I was working at Waldenbooks in 1994, when Friends debuted, and the week the calendar went on sale, we were inundated. We sold out of them in hours, and had people asking about them all the rest of the calendar season, but we couldn't even keep them in stock. The same with the Jonathan Taylor Thomas calendar. But if there was a Living Single calendar, it was just not a popular seller. Sure, a popular show, but not a show that millions adored

I remember that time and it was like that show just exploded from the get go. But Living Single was a hit in it's own right and I don't believe the two should be compared the way Kim was doing. I felt she was making a racial issue where there was none and it's disappointing she feels that way.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

I definitely prefer the name-dropping in Melissa Gilbert's book to the stilted scripts and lack of any insight in Melissa Sue Anderson's book.

After reading Gilbert's book I was going to try Anderson's and the reviews scared me away. Seems I made the right decision. But Melissa Gilbert came off to me as pretentious, insecure and just flat out unlikable. But like I said in Kim's review, you're taking a chance reading these autobiographies and finding out the people beneath the characters. And sometimes, it's better to leave them as their characters than finding out more.

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

II sure appreciate your insights, CFR! Thanks for writing them!

Thanks so much! Next up, I wanna get a hold of Charlotte Rae's autobiography so i'll share my thoughts on that when i'm done. And I think Lisa Whelchel wrote one too? If so, that's on my list as well.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

Thanks so much! Next up, I wanna get a hold of Charlotte Rae's autobiography so i'll share my thoughts on that when i'm done.

Oh, you will enjoy that, cfr. You learn so much. And Charlotte talks about FOL for a couple of chapters.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

And I think Lisa Whelchel wrote one too? If so, that's on my list as well.

Yeah, but IIRC, she barely spoke about "Facts" at all in her book. It was mostly like lessons learned throughout her life.

C'mon, girls---we want "FOL" books!!

[80s Dude]

If you want a Facts of Life cast member that talks about FOL in more detail get Geri Jewell's book.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

If you want a Facts of Life cast member that talks about FOL in more detail get Geri Jewell's book.

And Charlotte's.

[80s Dude]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

SPOILERS BELOW.........
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Well it's a quick read at just 200 or so pages and i'm glad I got it for only 5 bucks with shipping. If you're looking for any FOL info, she pretty much glosses over that time and doesn't share much detail on her time with the show. I found that a little odd and surprising.

There's both good and bad here. I still like her, but I honestly think if I ever spent time with this girl, i'd be banging my head against the wall within 30 minutes and then run screaming from the room LOL.

This is the price you pay for reading celebrity autobiographies, you either like what you discover about the person, or you get a little disillusioned when you learn things about them that you wish you never read.

For example, I read MTM's book recently and only loved her even MORE after discovering the kind of person she was in real life. Same with Valerie Harper's book. Both reads only made me like them so much more than I do their characters.

With Kim Fields....I still like her....but I like Tootie so much better.

Ok, here's what I thought was GOOD:

I really like her strong Christian faith and how that faith drives her in life. I wish I had that same kind of faith myself. I too believe in God and all that, but never had the strong faith she has and I really admire it.

Speaking of admirable, her Mom seems like a wonderful person who did a fantastic job raising her children. How Kim describes her in the book makes me really like that woman a lot.

Kim comes off with such an enthusiastic view on life. I loved reading how excited she was when she first went to college and feeling like wanting to toss her hat in the air like MTM. I love that kind of happiness and excitement for things.
She's had her dark times, what she calls her "Dark Ages" where she seems to have holed up in her bedroom for almost a year, but she came out of it and with that same enthusiasm for life still intact. I love her positivity and enduring optimism and how she feels that everything in life is connected.

Now to the BAD

She seems to hate hotels lol.

She shares a story of finding out her boyfriend cheated on her when a woman picks up the phone after calling him. Angry and devastated (naturally), she punches a HOLE in the door of the hotel room in a fit of anger. Yikes! I just can't picture her doing that! But she did!

THEN.....years later on her honeymoon she tells how she was feeling romantic and wrote in eyeliner on the side of the hotel tub "Meet me here tonight" for her new husband to see.
Well when new hubby saw that he asked "Will that come off?!" And Kim is all "Way to kill the romantic mood!"....UM, Kim....defacing hotel property is NOT romantic! It's wrong LOL. I would've had the same reaction! But she honestly thought nothing of her bathroom graffiti, and apparently still doesn't in 2017 when she wrote the book! Yikes!

She still thinks it was HIM who was wrong for killing the romantic mood! Geez, a taped note on the tub would have had the same romantic effect Kim. Why write anything on a hotel bathtub in eyeliner?! Would she have done the same thing at home too?!

AND it gets even better!!....Because she then tells how years later her Mom wrote in lipstick on her bathroom mirror "Welcome back to television!" when she got a part and Kim was all like "What a weird and strange thing to do. Who does that?!".....UM, YOU did Kim, with eyeliner on a tub! Remember?!....It's just so bizarre how she chastises her Mom for doing the same thing she did years before!

Man that family just loves writing in bathrooms with makeup.

Moving on now....About "Living Single" (a show I LOVED!)....she harbors some kind of anger or jealousy that "Friends" was the bigger hit and got more attention from the studio (Warner produced both shows) because it was a "white show". I don't agree.
Friends got more attention because it got huge ratings. Had Living Single got the same massive ratings, you can bet the studio would've been marketing it like crazy.
Remember The Cosby Show in the 80's? MASSIVE hit and a black show. It got all the studio's attention and was marketed tremendously. And I didn't see Kim complaining how that show got more attention than FOL. She just comes off a tad hypocritical there.

Speaking of Living Single, it seems there was some kind of falling out between her and the cast. Towards the end she didn't even want to come out of her trailer and onto the set and even requested she leave the show early, but was forced to stay due to her contract.
It seems there's juicy stuff there but she doesn't divulge anything. Tell Kim, TELL!!

There's name dropping all over this book. UGH. She seems to love dropping famous names and it's really a turnoff. I get it. You're a celebrity and naturally you're going to know famous people. It's just the way she drops the names here that comes off like she's seeking some sort of validation from the reader.

I don't care who you know, just like you probably don't care who I know. I read Melissa Gilbert's bio years ago, and she did the same thing and it only made me like her less.
If you're a nobody like me and drop famous names of people you know, that's exciting, but when a celebrity does it, it's just tacky. And Kim drops so many names in this book, I needed a shovel for all those droppings.

She does make mention of her politics and i'll just say we don't share the same views and will leave it at that. We're all free to believe what we wish, and I commend her for her conviction so this is NOT a slam on her views at all. Just that we don't share the same viewpoints and that's OK!

Her stint on Real Housewives of Atlanta. I don't do reality and stay FAR away from all that crap. All I know about this "Housewives" show is that a camera follows people around in a house and drama ensues. BORING! I was never drawn to that concept at all. I just don't "get" it.

It seems she had a very negative experience on that show and i'm not surprised. It seems like a highly toxic kind of environment to place yourself into and I would NEVER do something like that no matter how fat the paycheck. And I think that's why she did it anyway.

But she seems to have realized what a toxic environment it was and got out quickly so I commend her for that.

Interestingly, she makes absolutely NO mention of the 2001 FOL reunion movie or her time making it. Another thing I found very odd.

Bottom line, it was a very quick read but I felt lacked the depth i've seen in other biographies and felt it could've been longer and more detailed.

Kim does go overboard with the race issues at time. Such as the FOL reunion show on Good Morning America where she tried to bring it up and the interviewer just blew her off.

If you don't agree with Kim's politics, wait until you see Molly in Season 1 or read Molly Ringwald's social media pages. Molly Parker and Molly Ringwald blend their world together in many ways.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Kim does go overboard with the race issues at time. Such as the FOL reunion show on Good Morning America where she tried to bring it up and the interviewer just blew her off.

Well there never should have been a reunion anyway.

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

If you don't agree with Kim's politics, wait until you see Molly in Season 1 or read Molly Ringwald's social media pages. Molly Parker and Molly Ringwald blend their world together in many ways.

Well they may be different politics than Kim's.

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

If you want a Facts of Life cast member that talks about FOL in more detail get Geri Jewell's book.

Thanks! I'll get that one now.

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

Kim does go overboard with the race issues at time. Such as the FOL reunion show on Good Morning America where she tried to bring it up and the interviewer just blew her off.

If you don't agree with Kim's politics, wait until you see Molly in Season 1 or read Molly Ringwald's social media pages. Molly Parker and Molly Ringwald blend their world together in many ways.

Her race issues surprised me throughout the book. Now granted, i've never walked in her shoes so I can't invalidate her feelings because that's how she feels and all feelings are real. I just think that she's been misguided in regard to that and it's disheartening so know she feels the way she does.

As for Molly---i'm well prepared for what i'm going to see in season 1 and bracing myself for it. I already know she's not going to wind up my favorite FOL character by a long shot lol.

As for Ringwald...there's no way in hell i'd ever venture to look at her social media pages. Smoke would be coming out of my ears for sure!

[FOL-FAN-ITA]

My copy arrived last week. I must say that I was disappointed, she talks very little about FOL and she had a "strange" obsession with Todd Bridges. Charlotte's chapters about FOL are very well written, she shared interesting details with us. I recommend you her book!

[cfr1970]

Originally Posted by FOL-FAN-ITA

My copy arrived last week. I must say that I was disappointed, she talks very little about FOL and she had a "strange" obsession with Todd Bridges. Charlotte's chapters about FOL are very well written, she shared interesting details with us. I recommend you her book!

Hi FOL-FAN-ITA! I remember you said you were waiting on your book too so that's why I made sure to put the "SPOILER" in the title so you wouldn't get...spoiled.

I don't recall her mentioning Todd Bridges except for in the beginning where she guested on DS? What strange obsession do you mean? I didn't see that!

I'm definitely getting both Charlotte's and Geri's books now. And Lisa's out of curiosity even if she doesn't talk about FOL. I still like her.

['80sSitcoms]

Originally Posted by cfr1970

As for Molly---i'm well prepared for what i'm going to see in season 1 and bracing myself for it.

Well don't brace yourself, it's only 13 episodes, and she's 1 of many girls.

Originally Posted by cfr1970

I already know she's not going to wind up my favorite FOL character by a long shot lol.

You never know, you might fall in love with her and she'll become your favorite---just look how much you like Natalie now!

Originally Posted by cfr1970

As for Ringwald...there's no way in hell i'd ever venture to look at her social media pages. Smoke would be coming out of my ears for sure!

Well, I would hope not. She cares about some good issues.