Two proposed Season 2 characters that never came into being - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

80s Dude · 04-16-2020, 11:59 AM

I saw this posted by Retro in his Vintage FOL Promos thread in which in addition to the cast changes of the girls, said there was going to be two other additional cast members added.

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From: The Paris [Texas] News, Fri., Sept. 9, 1980, pg 13

NBC has little faith in 'Facts of Life'
By DAN LEWIS

Charlotte Rae, a short, chunky divorced chunky divorced [SIC] comedienne, who plays on NBC's "The Facts of Life," is watching her low-rated show become more popular during the summer rerun season.

"I'm hoping the summer sampling will carry over into the fall," she says. Yet, NBC doesn't share her hopes; they've renewed the show and given it a Friday evening sked that Miss Rae doesn't consider ideal.

"The Facts of Life" deals with mischievous adolescent girls at a private school who need Mrs. Garrett's advice and management. It attracts a teen-age audience.

"But," complains Miss Rae, "by Friday night, most teen-agers are out."

Miss Rae, however, is happy to be back on the air. "They (NBC program executives) told us it was the only place they could fit us in," she says.

This means that NBC is not thrilled with the series, and they are giving it another try in a less desirable position. Meanwhile, changes are about to occur in the series. There were too many girls cluttering the stores last season, according to Miss Rae.

"We're going to reduce the cast from seven girls to four," she reveals. Three of the four will be returning: Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie) and Mindy Cohn (Natalie). The fourth girl will be a newcomer, described by Miss Rae as a "street kid" who is enrolled at the school.

"Seven girls created traffic problems," explained Miss Rae. "The audience got confused. The three holdovers were the most popular in the testing of audience reaction."

Miss Rae will also have more responsibilities, so as to make her into a take-charge person. Most of the activity will switch from the house to the all-purpose room over the cafeteria and the cafeteria. Another cast addition will be a young male cook.

"We're looking at standup comics for this role," Miss Rae reported, adding that the search has included the comedy showcase nightclubs in New York and Los Angeles. "We would like a Woody Allen type," she adds.

There will not be any classroom scenes in the new season, which has made the role of the headmaster (John Lawler) expendable. But, another character, a caretaker in his 50s, will be Miss Rae's ally. The series has a new executive producer, Jack Elinson, and three new writers, including Linda Marsh, a moderately successful actress.

Miss Rae first developed Mrs. Garrett on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." NBC executives decided her character could be spun into its own series. Miss Rae, a native of Milwaukee, Wis, attended Northwestern, where she met two drama school classmates, Cloris Leachman and Paul Lynde.

"Cloris and I went to New York together and lived in the same building," she recalls.

She performed in theater and developed a comedy act for appearances ;it supper clubs (Village Vanguard and The Blue Angel). She also played Mammy Yokum in the original cast of "Li'l Abner" on Broadway. Two-time Tony Award nominee as supporting actress for "Pickwick" and "Morning, Noon and Night," she has appeared in the short-lived TV series, ''Hot L Baltimore."

In regards to the cook, we know that Howard the Cook was on a few episodes in season 2, but this article said a young cook. I wonder if they were looking for a George Clooney type of charcter that we saw several seasons later who would be male eye candy for the straight female audience of the show.

The caretaker role sounded like a replacement for Mr. Bradley as being an middle age/older male on the show. While Mr. Bradley was Mrs. Garrett's nemesis on the show, Charlotte Rae referred to John Lawlor as her best friend and adult companion on the show. We found out in the documentary more about this. Perhaps the producers thought Charlotte needed an adult confidant at the time.

Neither of these characters came to see the light of the day. Perhaps they saw that they were increasing the cast so shortly after downsizing it. Perhaps there was budget reasons why these characters never came into being.

Impressions · 04-16-2020, 12:13 PM

I'm glad they didn't add these characters. I think there was no use for a young, comedian cook because they would later find Cousin Geri, which was a better choice. The caretaker role seemed kind of pointless. Mrs. Garrett didn't really need an ally. They had the girls as her ally.

'80sSitcoms · 04-16-2020, 12:32 PM

Well they did add the cook, he was just older. So the caretaker's the only one who never actually materialized.

But the headmaster "expendable" because there were no classroom scenes? Did Linda & Margie think headmasters should only pop up in the classroom? There were only 3 classroom scenes in season 1, yet the found a way to sustain a headmaster throughout the whole season. That seems a pitiful excuse to me (like "too many girls").

Quote:

Originally Posted by Impressions

Mrs. Garrett didn't really need an ally. They had the girls as her ally.

I disagree with that. That's what was missing from the show after season 1: a fellow adult Mrs. Garrett could confide in and share in adult conversation. That always sticks out to me as a major "missing element" when I binge the show from the beginning.

Impressions · 04-16-2020, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

I disagree with that. That's what was missing from the show after season 1: a fellow adult Mrs. Garrett could confide in and share in adult conversation. That always sticks out to me as a major "missing element" when I binge the show from the beginning.

I can definitely see your point. The girls weren't very close to Mrs. Garrett in season 2, and it wasn't until after she left Eastland, that she become more a friend to the girls. But didn't they try Miss Mahoney in season 1 as someone Mrs. Garrett could confide in? That didn't work out very well. I'm not sure if a mentor for Mrs. G. was right or not. I'd have to re-watch some season 2 episodes.

RetroGuy2000 · 04-16-2020, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 80s Dude

In regards to the cook, we know that Howard the Cook was on a few episodes in season 2, but this article said a young cook. I wonder if they were looking for a George Clooney type of charcter that we saw several seasons later who would be male eye candy for the straight female audience of the show.

The caretaker role sounded like a replacement for Mr. Bradley as being an middle age/older male on the show. While Mr. Bradley was Mrs. Garrett's nemesis on the show, Charlotte Rae referred to John Lawlor as her best friend and adult companion on the show. We found out in the documentary more about this. Perhaps the producers thought Charlotte needed an adult confidant at the time.

Neither of these characters came to see the light of the day. Perhaps they saw that they were increasing the cast so shortly after downsizing it. Perhaps there was budget reasons why these characters never came into being.

"Caretaker in his 50s" became "Cook in his 50s" and they scouted for comedic talent and found Geri (Norman Lear actually discovered her). So, the two new characters happened, but they had evolved considerably by the time they appeared on screen.

'80sSitcoms · 04-16-2020, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RetroGuy2000

they scouted for comedic talent and found Geri (Norman Lear actually discovered her).

So was the show actually scouting for stand-up/comedic talent for a new addition? If so, I didn't realize that. I just always thought Geri was a "happy discovery by accident" that just made them decide, hey, let's get a stand-up to appear.

RetroGuy2000 · 04-16-2020, 07:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by '80sSitcoms

So was the show actually scouting for stand-up/comedic talent for a new addition? If so, I didn't realize that. I just always thought Geri was a "happy discovery by accident" that just made them decide, hey, let's get a stand-up to appear.

That's what I previously thought, too, but this article seems to indicate they were scouting. Pretty weird coincidence, if they were scouting for talent AND Norman discovered Geri completely at random.

valentina warner · 04-16-2020, 08:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Impressions

I can definitely see your point. The girls weren't very close to Mrs. Garrett in season 2, and it wasn't until after she left Eastland, that she become more a friend to the girls. But didn't they try Miss Mahoney in season 1 as someone Mrs. Garrett could confide in? That didn't work out very well. I'm not sure if a mentor for Mrs. G. was right or not. I'd have to re-watch some season 2 episodes.

I strongly disagree with you on that one: MRS G and the girls were close right from the very beginning (that's what the show was about lol) but the fact is, that she needed adult companionship too like on season 1.

04-16-2020, 11:59 AM	#1
80s Dude Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Dec 24, 2019 Location: Toronto Posts: 3,811	Two proposed Season 2 characters that never came into being I saw this posted by Retro in his Vintage FOL Promos thread in which in addition to the cast changes of the girls, said there was going to be two other additional cast members added. RetroGuy2000's Avatar Join Date: Dec 27, 2013 Posts: 6,919 Default From: The Paris [Texas] News, Fri., Sept. 9, 1980, pg 13 NBC has little faith in 'Facts of Life' By DAN LEWIS Charlotte Rae, a short, chunky divorced chunky divorced [SIC] comedienne, who plays on NBC's "The Facts of Life," is watching her low-rated show become more popular during the summer rerun season. "I'm hoping the summer sampling will carry over into the fall," she says. Yet, NBC doesn't share her hopes; they've renewed the show and given it a Friday evening sked that Miss Rae doesn't consider ideal. "The Facts of Life" deals with mischievous adolescent girls at a private school who need Mrs. Garrett's advice and management. It attracts a teen-age audience. "But," complains Miss Rae, "by Friday night, most teen-agers are out." Miss Rae, however, is happy to be back on the air. "They (NBC program executives) told us it was the only place they could fit us in," she says. This means that NBC is not thrilled with the series, and they are giving it another try in a less desirable position. Meanwhile, changes are about to occur in the series. There were too many girls cluttering the stores last season, according to Miss Rae. "We're going to reduce the cast from seven girls to four," she reveals. Three of the four will be returning: Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie) and Mindy Cohn (Natalie). The fourth girl will be a newcomer, described by Miss Rae as a "street kid" who is enrolled at the school. "Seven girls created traffic problems," explained Miss Rae. "The audience got confused. The three holdovers were the most popular in the testing of audience reaction." Miss Rae will also have more responsibilities, so as to make her into a take-charge person. Most of the activity will switch from the house to the all-purpose room over the cafeteria and the cafeteria. Another cast addition will be a young male cook. "We're looking at standup comics for this role," Miss Rae reported, adding that the search has included the comedy showcase nightclubs in New York and Los Angeles. "We would like a Woody Allen type," she adds. There will not be any classroom scenes in the new season, which has made the role of the headmaster (John Lawler) expendable. But, another character, a caretaker in his 50s, will be Miss Rae's ally. The series has a new executive producer, Jack Elinson, and three new writers, including Linda Marsh, a moderately successful actress. Miss Rae first developed Mrs. Garrett on NBC's "Diff'rent Strokes." NBC executives decided her character could be spun into its own series. Miss Rae, a native of Milwaukee, Wis, attended Northwestern, where she met two drama school classmates, Cloris Leachman and Paul Lynde. "Cloris and I went to New York together and lived in the same building," she recalls. She performed in theater and developed a comedy act for appearances ;it supper clubs (Village Vanguard and The Blue Angel). She also played Mammy Yokum in the original cast of "Li'l Abner" on Broadway. Two-time Tony Award nominee as supporting actress for "Pickwick" and "Morning, Noon and Night," she has appeared in the short-lived TV series, ''Hot L Baltimore." In regards to the cook, we know that Howard the Cook was on a few episodes in season 2, but this article said a young cook. I wonder if they were looking for a George Clooney type of charcter that we saw several seasons later who would be male eye candy for the straight female audience of the show. The caretaker role sounded like a replacement for Mr. Bradley as being an middle age/older male on the show. While Mr. Bradley was Mrs. Garrett's nemesis on the show, Charlotte Rae referred to John Lawlor as her best friend and adult companion on the show. We found out in the documentary more about this. Perhaps the producers thought Charlotte needed an adult confidant at the time. Neither of these characters came to see the light of the day. Perhaps they saw that they were increasing the cast so shortly after downsizing it. Perhaps there was budget reasons why these characters never came into being.

04-16-2020, 12:13 PM	#2
Impressions She died the way she lived Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: May 08, 2002 Posts: 4,640	I'm glad they didn't add these characters. I think there was no use for a young, comedian cook because they would later find Cousin Geri, which was a better choice. The caretaker role seemed kind of pointless. Mrs. Garrett didn't really need an ally. They had the girls as her ally.