EW: An Oral History of ‘The Facts of Life’ – (Excerpts from Mayim Bialik and Seth Green) & Link to More

1 Feb 2015 4:19 PM PT

 

Hard to believe any of us have our eyes off of the Superbowl today, but yes, some of us have it playing on our TV’s while we continue to work.   In so doing, I ran across this little gem from Entertainment Weekly for those of us who remember the show The Facts of Life.  They presented a full oral recount of the show.  Impressive!  Only including excerpts from Mayim Bialik from The Big Bang Theory (as well as Seth Green), but will be linking you to the full article below the excerpts.  Enjoy reliving the late 70’s and early 80’s.  This was likely one of Bialik’s first professional gig’s, even before her role in Beaches which brought her critical acclaim.

…

Mayim Bialik (Jennifer Cole): When the audition for The Facts of Life came in, I had just started acting—but I’d watched the show religiously as a child, so it was very exciting. They were looking for a motley crew of kids, so I think a lot of it was, “Let’s see what we get at the audition.” There was, I think, a certain amount of skill to assembling a group of characters with enough variety that in theory could’ve been the foundation of a show.

Seth Green (Adam Brinkerhoff): I grew up on that show, so it was exciting to work with all of those people on those actual stages and sets. They were tremendously generous. I was young and stupid, so I had a lot of people being really nice to me and gently correcting me when the opportunity came up.

I was in drag for my first scene in the episode, though. [Laughs.] A classic rite of passage for male comedians, right? My character was supposed to be kind of a cross between Steve Guttenberg and Harry Anderson. They wanted someone who was wild and silly that wasn’t entirely offensive.

Bialik: I remember in the script that they were always teasing me that I was flat-chested. I was always in a leotard—and I was a very tiny, scrawny little thing—and I carried a trumpet. I was a trumpet player, so they worked that into the show. And I think that Seth Green’s character was always trying to go out with me, but my character thought he was creepy. [Laughs.]

Green: My character was the definitive creep. [Laughs.] But that would’ve been the fun of it as it went on, to see him evolve. Because that’s what that show was about. We got to watch all of those girls grow up, and they were super honest about whatever their flaws were, so you got to see them struggle with those flaws week after week in real situations. That’s what we all hoped our characters would get to do, because we were young and going through the same kind of process.

I feel like it’s okay to tell you this story because I’m pretty sure the statute of limitations has probably passed, and I think the person involved will see it as the compliment I intend it to be. In our first week of putting the show together, we were all gathered in one of the dressing rooms, and Mindy Cohn pops into the doorway. I don’t even remember the conversation. I just remember that everybody else was looking away, because she’d already sort of said goodbye. But she grabbed my attention by saying, “Hey, Seth” or whatever, and she f—ing flashed me! She wasn’t wearing a bra. And nobody else saw it. But then she maniacally laughed and ran off down the hall, and I’m left going, “Did…anyone else just see that?” But, no, it was just me. I thought, “This is a really, really great job.” [Laughs.]

Bialik: I think all of our lives would’ve been different if that show had been picked up. I remember being really disappointed when it wasn’t, because, well, that was what you wanted, you know? To get your pilot picked up. Obviously, that’s the whole ridiculousness of being a child actor. You’re setting yourself up to be rejected, and your parents have to help you through it, right? [Laughs.]

See Full Recount Article