Lisa Bonet - What went wrong?

[TMC]

She seemed to be on the cusp of big stardom, but it never quite happened. Did Bill Cosby squash her chances at superstardom (especially in light of the Angel Heart controversy)? Or was it Lenny Kravitz? Or drugs?

Or was it simply and purely that at the end of the day, despite being beautiful, Lisa didn't have enough acting talent to fall back on. To be brutally honest, Lisa Bonet often projected absolutely no energy on the screen--she was lifeless (i.e. no emotion/delivery), deadpan and flat.

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by TMC

She seemed to be on the cusp of big stardom, but it never quite happened. Did Bill Cosby squash her chances at superstardom (especially in light of the Angel Heart controversy)? Or was it Lenny Kravitz? Or drugs?

Or was it simply and purely that at the end of the day, despite being beautiful, Lisa didn't have enough acting talent to fall back on. To be brutally honest, Lisa Bonet often projected absolutely no energy on the screen--she was lifeless (i.e. no emotion/delivery), deadpan and flat.

I think it was a combination of any and/or all of the above.

[gidgetgrape]

I think ultimately Lisa did what she wanted to do. She's a very laid back hippie wife/mother and I think she's cool with that. She's never given off the thirsty vibes like other actresses so maybe acting was meant to be more of a part-time thing for her.

[Angeleen109]

Forgive me, as the following is purely just speculation, but I personally always got the vibe that something went down between Bill Cosby & Lisa Bonet i.e. along the lines of recent allegations. I'm not saying she had a full-on "experience" like the other women had that have come forward, but I've always strongly suspected that maybe Cosby was at the least trying to make unwanted/unsolicited/unwelcome advances toward Lisa Bonet & that's why she really has no loyalty to the show & doesn't take part in any retrospectives.

[Mace Dolex]

I always saw Lisa on the show as a regular average teenage actress I never saw her as a break-out rising star working her way into movies and such that in fact I don't even know how she spun off into 'A Different World'.

[Anna Karenina]

Originally Posted by Angeleen109

Forgive me, as the following is just pure speculation, but I personally always got the vibe that something went down between Bill Cosby & Lisa Bonet i.e. along the lines of recent allegations. I'm not saying she had a fill-in experience like the other women that have come forward, but I've ways strongly suspected that maybe Cosby was at least trying to make unwanted/unsolicited/unwelcome advances toward Lisa Bonet & that's why she really has no loyalty to the show & doesn't take part in any retrospectives.

Yes.

Her sudden exit was very suspicious to me.

[gidgetgrape]

Originally Posted by Anna Karenina

Yes.

Her sudden exit was very suspicious to me.

Not to me. She was heavily involved with Lenny Kravitz (then known as Romeo Blue) at the time. Before they eloped and had a baby, I remember a lot of talk about her throwing away her career because of him.

[Anna Karenina]

Originally Posted by gidgetgrape

Not to me. She was heavily involved with Lenny Kravitz (then known as Romeo Blue) at the time. Before they eloped and had a baby, I remember a lot of talk about her throwing away her career because of him.

Yes, that is true. She seemed to be in her own different world.

However, I still think Cosby was pervy to her like he was with so many of the women on that show.

The trial is in June.

We will see what happens.

[glickmam]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I always saw Lisa on the show as a regular average teenage actress I never saw her as a break-out rising star working her way into movies and such that in fact I don't even know how she spun off into 'A Different World'.

If you're wondering what went on, after Lisa Bonet appeared in Angel Heart, Bill Cosby tried to have her fired for breach of contract. However, Bonet then threatened to sue for wrongful termination, and executive producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, perhaps remembering the legal troubles Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar-Telepictures were having when they ousted Valerie Harper from The Hogan Family, vetoed her dismissal and asked Cosby to create a spin off to placate Bonet.

[Mace Dolex]

Originally Posted by glickmam

If you're wondering what went on, after Lisa Bonet appeared in Angel Heart, Bill Cosby tried to have her fired for breach of contract. However, Bonet then threatened to sue for wrongful termination, and executive producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, perhaps remembering the legal troubles Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar-Telepictures were having when they ousted Valerie Harper from The Hogan Family, vetoed her dismissal and asked Cosby to create a spin off to placate Bonet.

Oohh I guess that was one way for Bill to "rid" away of the Denise character, I've heard of the controversy of her part in Angel Heart I just didn't know the full story behind it.

I guess somewhere in the interim Bill and Lisa had patched things up for to have her come back in later seasons.

[Couch Potato 05]

Originally Posted by glickmam

If you're wondering what went on, after Lisa Bonet appeared in Angel Heart, Bill Cosby tried to have her fired for breach of contract. However, Bonet then threatened to sue for wrongful termination, and executive producers Marcy Carsey and Tom Werner, perhaps remembering the legal troubles Miller-Boyett Productions and Lorimar-Telepictures were having when they ousted Valerie Harper from The Hogan Family, vetoed her dismissal and asked Cosby to create a spin off to placate Bonet.

Right, long ago, I had heard this is what happened. As far as sexual advances, he may have...who really knows. I'd think he'd do the sexual advances more towards guest stars & not really regulars on the show because he knows he'll have to work with the regulars on a regular basis, so the actress who played Sondra, for example, was his oldest daughter. As much as he may have wanted to do sexual advances to her, he probably didn't because it would make thing awkward on the set & all this stuff coming to the light would have happened much, much sooner.