80s TV Ladies

“It’s not just because it’s a masterclass in comedy or because it has one of the greatest television theme songs of all time, I think it’s because it’s about friendship.”Get ready for a brand new season of 80s TV Ladies! In this special sneak peek, hosts Sharon Johnson and Susan Lambert Hatem dish out all the details on what’s coming up in Season Four.What's next for 8TL: Golden Girls, Kate & Allie, and One Day at a Time!From the iconic laughs of The Golden Girls, to the heartfelt journeys of One Day at a Time, and the long-awaited fan favorite Kate & Allie, we’re diving deep into the shows that defined a generation of women living life on their own terms. We’ll share behind-the-scenes stories, spotlight unforgettable characters, and welcome some very special guests and sidebar episodes—including a showdown between Xena and Buffy to kick things off! Plus, we’ve got tips on where to stream or find these classic series, and ways you can help support the show.AUDIOOGRAPHYThe Golden GirlsStreaming: Hulu, Disney+Purchase: Apple TV, YouTube, Walmart, eBayOne Day at a TimeStreaming: Tubi, YouTubePurchase: Shout Factory, eBayKate & AllieStreaming: The Roku ChannelPurchase: Walmart, Best Buy, eBaySo grab your bitchin’ shoulder pads and settle in—Season Four is about to bring you more joy, laughter, and fabulous TV than ever before. Don’t miss it!Guess What? We’re nominated!For TWO People’s Choice PODCAST AWARDS!: Podcastawards.comCONNECTSign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Join the Facebook page discussion at Facebook.com/80sTVLadiesDon’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Join us for more conversations with the people who shaped TV and pop culture.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Welcome to our final Season Three episode of 80s TV Ladies! Hosts Sharon Jonson and Susan Lambert Hatem continue their in-depth conversation with actor Jon Cryer. In this second part, Jon shares behind-the-scenes stories from his television and film career, including his start in 80s television with "The Famous Teddy Z," the ups and downs of sitcom life, and his experiences working with legends like Charlie Sheen, Christopher Reeve, and Gene Hackman.In this episode:Jon’s journey from 80s movies to TV stardomThe making (and unmaking) of "The Famous Teddy Z"Working with one of his idols, Hugh Wilson (WKRP in Cincinnati, Frank’s Place)Lessons learned from sitcoms like "Partners" and "Getting Personal"The inside story of landing "Two and a Half Men" and working with Chuck Lorre and Charlie SheenFavorite guest stars and the casting of Holland Taylor and Conchata FerrellReflections on the show’s humor, its approach to masculinity, and Lorre’s ability to write for womenJon’s Emmy wins and what they meant to himPlaying Lex Luthor in the Arrowverse and being a lifelong comics fanProducing podcasts, including the award-winning "The Man Who Calculated Death"The importance of storytelling, speaking truth, and making art in today’s worldPlus:A special trailer for "The Man Who Calculated Death" podcastFun anecdotes about the joy of making art and how he was involved in the making of the k.d. lang and Roy Orbison duet, “Crying”Links:The Man Who Calculated DeathJon Cryer on IMDbLawyers, Guns and Money PodcastListen to Jon Cryer, Part 1 at 80sTVLadies.comVote for us:Help us get THREE PODCAST AWARDS! GO HERE: Podcastawards.comGive an email and register. It’s easy! CLICK ON: "Sign Up To Vote Now". NOMINATE 80s TV Ladies for: Best Female Hosted, People's Choice and TV & FilmPS: While you're there, also NOMINATE Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf in Religion and Spirituality. Podcastawards.comDon’t forget to subscribe, rate, and review! Follow us for more conversations with the women (and men) who shaped 80s TV and pop culture.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon are thrilled to welcome director, writer and actor Jon Cryer to 80s TV Ladies!Jon Cryer is an Emmy-winning film and television icon, known for starring as “Duckie” in the 1986 John Hughes teen classic Pretty in Pink -- and then going on to star in all twelve seasons of Chuck Lorre’s long-running, award-winning sitcom, Two and A Half Men.Along the way, Jon has starred or appeared in dozens of television shows including The Famous Teddy Z, Partners, Dharma & Greg, Family Guy, The Practice, CSI, NCIS, Will & Grace and The Kominsky Method, and such films as No Small Affair, Hiding Out, Hot Shots!, Holy Man, Dudes and Due Date. For three years, Jon Cryer gave an award-winning performance as the legendary evil genius Lex Luthor on CW’s Supergirl.Jon authored the 2015 autobiography So That Happened and currently executive produces two hit podcasts: The Man Who Calculated Death and Lawyers, Guns & Money (which he also narrates). In Part 1 of a two-part conversation, Jon reflects on growing up in a show biz family and learning acting the hard way. Plus what it’s like playing the romantic lead opposite two of the most famous actresses of our time: Demi Moore and Molly Ringwald…THE CONVERSATIONSusan and Sharon share the crazy story of how they met Jon Cryer and got him on the show!BEING AN ACTOR IS CRAP: First day, first film, Jon is 20 years-old -- and Robert Altman is throwing fake bird shit all over him. That’s showbiz!THE FACTS OF LIFE: Jon was a huge fan of the show -- and then got to work with 8TL alum director Assad Kelada on Two and A Half Men!ACTING FOR TOOTIE: Jon just worked with Kim Fields -- she was his director!No Apology Necessary: Demi Moore recently apologized to Jon in her autobiography Inside Out for not being more sensitive when she “took his virginity” while shooting No Small Affair. But it turns out he wasn’t a virgin: “I just seemed like one.”On opening day of No Small Affair, Jon snuck into a theater just in time to see himself take off his shirt on screen -- and hear someone yell: “Where’s the beef?”When Jon met Andrew McCarthy and Molly Ringwald on the Pretty in Pink set, he thought they didn’t like him. Turns out he was only half-right.The original ending of Pretty in Pink has Molly Ringwald’s Andie politely shutting down Andrew McCarthy’s Blane, and dancing in solidarity with Cryer’s Duckie (to Davie Bowie’s Heroes) -- but test audiences HATED it! So, the ending was changed making sure that Andie ended up with cute and sensitive, rich-boy, Blane.GETTING MOSHED: While filming Dudes, Penelope Spheeris had Jon and castmate Dan Roebuck thrown into the mosh pit at a Vandals concert -- and they barely lived to tell about it!So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Jon -- as they talk Morgan Freeman, Escape From Alcatraz, Richard Gere, Wonder Woman, Al Pacino, Cher, Annie Potts, Mark Hamill, The Bad News Bears -- and getting naked for laughs on Two And A Half Men!AUDIO-OGRAPHYListen to Suzanne Rico’s podcast The Man Who Calculated Death (produced by Jon Cryer and Lisa Joyner) at TheManWhoCalculatedDeath.comAnd Jon's other podcast, Lawyers, Gun & Money at Apple. Watch all 12 seasons of Two And A Half Men on Peacock.Watch Jon Cryer as Lex Luthor on Supergirl on Apple or on Netflix.Buy Jon Cryer’s autobiography, So That Happened at Bookshop.org.Or Listen to So That Happened on Spotify or Audible. Arts Funding is under attack in this country. Find out how to support the arts, locally and nationally at  https://www.artsforla.org/VITAL DEMOCRACY READINGCheck out Democracy Docket here.Learn more about the ACLU here.Let your voice be heard! Call your reps. .Make 5 Calls makes it easy.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Join the Facebook discussion at Facebook.com/80sTVLadiesVOTE FOR USHelp us get THREE PODCAST AWARDS!You can NOMINATE us. Give an email and register, but it's pretty easy!GO HERE: Podcastawards.comCLICK ON: Sign Up To Vote NowNOMINATE 80s TV Ladies for: Best Female Hosted, People's Choice and TV & FilmPS: Whiile you're there, also NOMINATE Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf  in Religion and Spirituality. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“This show makes me feel like I have a blanket around me and I’m eating mac & cheese.” -- Megan Ruble, 90s TV Baby, about The Facts of Life.Susan and Sharon welcome back the notorious “90s TV Babies” to find out what they think about The Facts of Life, which ran August 24, 1979 to May 7, 1988.  Did they “take the good” and “take the bad”?  Did the “World Live Up To Their Dreams”? We’re gonna find out!Megan Ruble and Serita Fontanesi were asked to watch these FOL listener-suggested episodes:The Facts of Life AssignmentS1; EP13: “Dope”S2; EP1: “The New Girl”S3; EP15: “Starstruck”S4; EP22: “Take My Finals, Please”S5; EP6: “The Halloween Show”S7; EP1: “Out of the Fire”Plus, Bonus episodes: S1; EP1: “Rough Housing (The Pilot)”S2; EP2: “The New Girl: Part 2”S2; EP5: “Cousin Geri”S3; EP18: “Runaway”S5; EP10: “Store Games”S5; EP17: “A Death in the Family”S5; EP18: “Big Fish, Little Fish”S7; EP2: “Into the Frying Pan”S7; EP8: “Come Back To The Truck Stop, Natalie Green, Natalie Green”S7; EP14: “Tootie Drives”S9; EP16: “The First Time”THE CONVERSATIONSUMMER UPDATE: Serita’s having a baby!  Little Theodore Fontanesi arrives the first week of August!SUMMER UPDATE: Megan is producing a show for the Hollywood Fringe Festival and acting in “Shakespeare by the Sea”!SIT LONG AND PROSPER: What does it feel like to be put in Vulcan make-up? Megan will tell you!BUFFY ALERT! -- Serita is concerned: Is Megan an “Angel Girl” or a “Spike Girl”?SPOILER ALERT! -- Both Serita and Megan LOVED Facts of Life!“Starstruck (S3; EP15)” -- Megan calls out how rare it is to see a show about “out of control fandom” and Serita calls out how para-social relationships are not a “new thing”.Serita’s favorite characters: Tootie and Jo. Megan’s favorite characters: Edna and Natalie.Why was Tootie always on roller skates?  To make her taller for the camera!S5; EP 17 “A Death in the Family”:  On February 1, 1984, The Facts of Life breaks ground featuring the first ever television portrayal of a “Shiva”.Is The Facts of Life “progressive” and “feminist”? Listen to 90s TV Babies to find out!So join Susan and Sharon -- and Serita and Megan -- as they talk C-sections, fan conventions, The Golden Girls, deep-dish pizza, making babies laugh at your jokes -- and how “Edna’s Edibles” could be its own strain!AUDIO-OGRAPHYLearn more about The Facts of Life at https://www.facebook.com/thefactsoflifesite/ Watch Season 2 & 3 of Facts of Life for FREE on Tubi.com.Look for more episodes on Daily Motion or YouTube.Listen in on Serita’s podcast at NotUglyPod.com.Send Serita diaper money for Little Baby Theo at Venmo.com/seritafonta! Check out Megan’s Hollywood Fringe production “The Visitor” at DayforKnightproductions.com.Get tickets at HollywoodFringe.org.FREE Shakespear in the parks + Megan! See and Go see and support ShakespearebytheSea.org.Arts Funding is under attack in this country. Find out how to support Los Angeles arts at ArtsforLA.org.SHOUTOUTHappy Pride Month! Visit LAPride.org for things to do in Los Angeles.THANK YOU 80s LADIES LISTENERSEspecially those in sent in suggestions including:Christian KeysTee EllJason BrouxLisa Flory MendenhallChristopher Stroker@murphybrownpod@Treasure_ChamberTracyMolya MothmanVITAL DEMOCRACY READINGCheck out Democracy Docket here.Learn more about the ACLU here.Let your voice be heard! Call your reps. .Make 5 Calls makes it easy.CONNECTSign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Join the Facebook page discussion at Facebook.com/80sTVLadiesPLUS -- “80’s TV LADIES” MERCH is available at Fourthwall.com.Or get FREE merch, cool video interviews, ad-free episodes AND support our podcast at Patreon.com/80sTVLadies This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon keep the good times rolling with Part 2 of their conversation with singer, song-writer, actress, author and diabetes advocate Gloria Loring!  Known for her Number One hit “Friends & Lovers”, Gloria is also the legendary co-composer and singer of the impossible to forget Facts of Life theme song!In Part 2 of their conversation, they touch on Gloria’s work for the Juvenile Diabetes Association, her wild career in TV and music and the benefits of living a spiritual and healthy life.THE CONVERSATION“EXPECT A MIRACLE” -- How a mysterious card found in her dressing room led Gloria to finance the Days of Our Lives Celebrity Cookbook -- and raise over $1,000,000.00 for diabetes research!When her son Brennan was diagnosed with diabetes at age four, Gloria was told he would be lucky to make it to 25.  He’s now 50 and doing great!BE BRAVE, LITTLE ONE: What it feels like to forget the first line of the song you’re singing at the Oscars!YOU CAN’T GO HOME AGAIN: Gloria returned to Days of Our Lives for the funeral of Bill Hays’ character Doug -- but was surprised to find that almost everything had changed…The fun of working with Lanna Saunders & Maree Cheatham on Days of Our Lives Writing the Facts of Life theme song with Alan Thicke!  (And she’s still getting residuals…)The benefits of an ayurvedic diet!So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Gloria -- as they talk James Brolin, Days of Our Lives, Jimmy Stewart, Hotel, Bob Hope, Diff’rent Strokes, Ann Jillian, Merv Griffin, Richard Crenna, Murder, She Wrote, Jane & Henry Fonda, Jack Lemmon -- and almost having a Chinese Chicken Salad Heart Attack!  AUDIO-OGRAPHYCatch up with all-things Gloria at her official website: GloriaLoring.comCheck out her Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/glorialoring/ Listen to Gloria’s book “Coincidence is God’s Way of Remaining Anonymous” at Audible or Apple Books. Or buy it at Abe Books.Watch Season 2 and 3 of The Facts of Life for free on Tubi.Buy the complete season on DVD at Ebay.VITAL READINGCheck out Democracy Docket here.Learn more about the ACLU here.Let your voice be heard! Call your reps. Make 5 Calls makes it easy.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Check out Democracy Docket here https://www.democracydocket.com/ Learn more about the ACLU here https://www.aclu.org/  Buy Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org. PLUS -- “80’s TV LADIES” MERCH is available at Fourthwall.com.Or get FREE merch, cool video interviews and ad-free episodes at Patreon.com/80sTVLadies Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“When I sang, I knew who was on the stage. When I got off the stage, I was very shy, couldn’t look people in the eye. But when I was ON the stage I was just filled with my own light.”  - Gloria LoringSusan and Sharon welcome Gloria Loring -- singer, song-writer, actress, author and diabetes advocate.  Known for her Number One hit “Friends & Lovers”, Gloria is also the legendary co-composer and singer of the impossible to forget Facts of Life theme song!THE CONVERSATIONWHERE THE MUSIC COMES FROM: Five generations of musicians -- all the way down to her son Robin Thicke, and grandson.Slamming doors, thrown dishes and late-night fights -- learning that her father, a brilliant musician, was also an alcoholic.ON SINGING: “It was the only thing that made me feel important or valued. When I sang, I was beautiful, I was powerful, people watched me, people listened to me -- every kid wants that."THE GLAMOROUS LIFE: Gloria’s early days as a singer -- living in a cheap motel room and surviving on a quart of milk, a box of cereal and a can of peas!Arranging a “chance” meeting with Ed Sullivan -- and four years later she’s on his show!Future husband Alan Thicke brought something special along on his first date with Gloria: his parents!THE DAYS OF “THE DAYS OF OUR LIVES”: Laughs, pranks, songs, love -- and a steady job for six-and-a-half years!SETTING INTENTIONS: Gloria says out loud to the universe: “I want to record a hit record” -- and a week later she’s recording “Friends & Lovers”.ON COINCIDENCES: “I left ‘Days of our Lives’, my divorce from Alan Thicke became final, my first book was released and “Friends & Lovers” hit number one -- all in the same week.” BECOMING A DIABETES BOOKWRITER: When her son Brennan was diagnosed with diabetes, she (and Alan Thicke) became creative fundraisers, spokespersons and she became an authorCOOKING ON DAYS OF OUR LIVES - Recipes traded by cast members led to the Days of Our Lives Celebrity Cookbook to raise money for Diabetes Research Foundation.So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Gloria -- as they talk Tommy Dorsey, Thicke of the Night, Carol Burnett, advocating for diabetes, Merv Griffin -- and hiding runaway potatoes under lettuce leaves at the White House!AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch Season 2 and 3 of The Facts of Life for free on Tubi.Buy the complete season on DVD at Ebay.Visit the official website for GloriaLoring.comVITAL READINGCheck out Democracy Docket here.Learn more about the ACLU here.Let your voice be heard! Call your reps. Make 5 Calls makes it easy.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

"It is equally treacherous when you are very successful as when you are trying to get your foot in the door in terms of keeping the sense of who you are.”  -- Asaad Kelada, producer/director, The Facts of LifeIn Part 2 of their conversation with Asaad Kelada, Susan and Sharon talk with the director about the gifts and pitfalls of success; his reputation as a director who brings harmony to the most disharmonious sets in Hollywood; and the challenge of breaking into the “Hollywood TV Club” for an Egyptian with “a name with all of these vowels!”.In a career spanning four decades, Asaad Kelada has directed over 340 episodes of television, including Rhoda, Phyllis, The Tony Randall Show, Benson, WKRP in Cincinnati, One Day at a Time, Night Court, Valerie, Who’s the Boss, Family Ties and The Office -- as well as four seasons of The Facts of Life and over five seasons of Who's The Boss?.  THE CONVERSATIONHow directing his first episode of network television -  "Rhonda Questions Her Life and Flies to Paris" - felt like coming home.THE “TIES” THAT BIND: An old friend, Gary David Goldberg, asked Asaad personally to direct the pilot of Family Ties.Michael J. Fox ad-libbed the “P” in “Alex P. Keaton” when picking up a call from his girlfriend -- and it got the biggest laugh of the night. That’s when Asaad knew the show was going to be a hit.Michael J. Fox was actually the SECOND choice to play Alex Keaton. Matthew Broderick was first.ON PERSISTENCE: Observing and learning for five years to direct his first episode of television. “People would wave at me and say hello, but were they looking at an insane man, or were they looking at someone who was just determined? How am I being perceived by persisting and persisting? Was I somebody who was really deluded? When doesn’t he take no for an answer? I think I just outlasted them.” Directing “Les on a Ledge” for WKRP in Cincinnati.DIRECTING WHO’S THE BOSS?: Tony Danza had a photographic memory and hated rehearsal.  Katherine Helmond and Judith Light loved to rehearse. Plus, the kids? Everyone had to be directed differently, but it all had to come together.The “Requiem” episode of Who’s The Boss? is where Tony Danza and Asaad really connected. After that, he was invited to stay -- for four years.WHO REALLY WAS THE BOSS?  “No question -- it was Tony Danza.  Tony was volatile.  He made everybody feel good -- until he didn’t.”GETTING TO KNOW BENSON:  Asaad only directed two episodes of Benson -- but he and Robert Guillaume became lifelong friends.“LOOKOUT FOR CLORIS LEACHMAN!” -- “I was told ‘She may try to take over, she is always changing things -- and she is a flirt.  Maybe you can use that to tame her’.”WELCOME TO THE “TV CLUB”: “Even when you get accepted into the TV club, it is a temporary membership. And it can be revoked at any time.”So join Susan and Sharon -- and Asaad -- as they talk Danny Pintauro, Alyssa Milano, Jan Hooks, The Last Resort, Julie Kavner, Todd Bridges, Designing Women, Justine Bateman, Chuck Lorre -- and getting stuck in the bathroom with Benson!AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Asaad Kelada at IMDB.STILL IN FLUX: Watch Season 2 and 3 of The Facts of Life for free on Tubi.Season 1 and 3 are available for sale on Amazon Prime.Buy the complete season on DVD at Ebay. Check YouTube for other episodes.Watch Asaad Kelada Television Academy interviews on YouTube.VITAL READINGCheck out Democracy Docket here.Learn more about the ACLU here.Check DontGetPurged.org to make sure your name has not been purged from voter rolls!Let your voice be heard! Call your reps. Make 5 Calls makes it easy.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“There was a sense of discovery about what this series was going to be about. It was going to be about young people -- with all of their shenanigans, and the maneuvering, and all the silliness that takes place with that. But it was also going to be about growing up. These five people, and the fabric that holds them together.”  -- Asaad Kelada - producer/director, The Facts of LifeSusan and Sharon welcome legendary Director Asaad Kelada. In a career spanning four decades, Asaad Kelada has directed over 340 episodes of television, including Rhoda, Phyllis, The Tony Randall Show, Benson, WKRP in Cincinnati, One Day at a Time, Night Court, Valerie, Who’s the Boss and The Office -- as well as four seasons of The Facts of Life. In Part 1 of this wide-ranging interview, we touch on Asaad’s relationship to the young actors on Facts of Life; learning to trust them -- and himself; and his beginnings as the lead singer in Egypt’s first ever Rock ‘n’ Roll Boy Band!  THE CONVERSATIONWHAT I REALLY WANT TO DO IS DIRECT! - How getting accepted to the Yale School of Drama taught Asaad which side of the stage he really wanted to be on.THE 5-YEAR DIRECTING SCHOOL: Observing all the MTM shows from the bleachers, for five years, got Asaad ready for his first TV job: Directing Valerie Harper in Rhoda!DAY ONE: On his first day directing The Facts of Life, the only person he recognized that he had worked with before was… Tootie (Kim Fields)!DOUBLE STANDARD: In this early episode of The Facts of Life, Asaad realized the potential of the show: “It was just like being in the theater, like working on a play --  with substance, with humor, with intelligence -- and yet they were young girls. This was television in a new form.RUNAWAY TRAIN: Asaad describes the increasing tension and hi-stakes artistry of a show as it speeds thru its season -- and how he learned to not fall off!ON CHARLOTTE RAE: “She and I were the grownups in the room. She was the centerpiece in a show about four girls.”STORY CONFERENCE -- WITH THE CAST: “After the table read, we’d just talk -- talk about what the episode is dealing with, what it’s about, how it all ties together.”FACTS OF LIFE GOES TO PARIS: “It was a trial by fire. Every single shot, every single frame was filmed on location. We were at Notre Dame, the Champs Elysee… How can this be called a job?”So join Susan and Sharon -- and Asaad -- as they talk George Clooney, The Bob Newhart Show, Grant Tinker, Geri Jewel, speaking French, Bill Haley & the Comets, Nancy McKeon -- and being ready when your opportunity finally comes!GET READY FOR PART 2 -- NEXT EPISODE! Don't miss more Facts of Life stories, plus Family Ties and Who's The Boss!!AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Asaad Kelada at IMDB.STILL IN FLUX: Watch Season 2 and 3 of The Facts of Life for free on Tubi.Season 1 and 3 are available for sale on Amazon Prime.Buy the complete season on DVD at Ebay. Check YouTube for other episodes.VITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon continue their conversation with legendary 80s TV Lady -- and The Facts of Life writer/producer -- Margie Peters! In Part 2, the conversation turns to the challenges of making comedy out of date rape and toxic masculinity; “comedy sparring” in the Different World writer’s room with Debbie Allen, Thad Mumford and Susan Fales-Hill; the creative opportunities for “women of a certain age”; and the lasting impact of the cruel moniker “The FATS of Life”. Margie Peters has written and produced over 140 hours of television, including The Love Boat, Valerie, One Day at a Time and A Different World. But her longest and best-known gig was the six years she spent on The Facts of Life.THE CONVERSATION “YOU’VE GOT SPUNK!” -- How watching The Mary Tyler Moore Show gave Margie the chutzpah to try her hand at TV writing!Margie shows off her 1989 IMAGE Award from Planned Parenthood for the “No Means No” episode of A Different World (S2; EP20): “It’s in the living room next to my television.”The time Debbie Allen explained to Margie that Duane calling a girl “Big Butt Brenda” is a compliment -- not an insult!The joys of working with Valerie Harper on Valerie. And the charm of Jason Bateman.The Facts of Life Go To Paris -- everyone got to spend three heavenly weeks filming in France!Dinner on the Seine River Boat with Tootie, Natalie, Blair and Jo!  (Blair faces down a plateful of fried sardines -- and wins!)When two busloads of French high school girls chased The Facts of Life cast down the streets of Paris! The respect and adoration Margie has for all the girls: Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields and Nancy McKeon.WHAT DO YOU MISS THE MOST? “Sitting down with a team and coming up with something that is way bigger than the sum of its parts.”LEAVING LOS ANGELES: What do you do when you leave behind a life of writing in Hollywood? A lot! Reinvent your life and make it count.So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Margie -- as they talk Bonnie Franklin, A Man on the Inside, Sally Struthers, Fame, Gladys Knight, 13 Queens Blvd, Eileen Brennan, Jerry Van Dyke -- and dressing up as The Flying Nun!  AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind out more about Margie Peters at IMDB.Watch Season 4 of The Facts of Life for free on Roku.Watch A Different World on Netflix.Check out Shawn Peters book: The Unforgettable Logan Foster at Harper Collins. STAY ACTIVEVisit DontGetPurged.org to make sure you are still registered to vote!Check out Americans of Conscience take action checklist.VITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: CONFIDENCE (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

"We're thinking of doing this show with all women. Becasue women are becoming this big thing, ya know. And the leads of the show would all be women!"Susan and Sharon are excited to talk with legendary 80s TV Lady -- and writer/producer of 80 episodes of The Facts of Life -- Margie Peters! Margie Peters has written and produced over 140 hours of television, including The Love Boat, Valerie, One Day at a Time and A Different World. But her best-known gig was the six years she spent on The Facts of Life. From her first meeting to the final day, Margie relates how writing The Facts of Life taught her everything about “the facts” of making Hollywood television in the 80s!THE CONVERSATIONSECRET SITCOM WRITER: How Margie wrote a sitcom pilot "Under One Roof" based on her life at night -- while spending her days being a mother, a housewife, AND a journalist! Hollywood writer/producer Bernie Orenstien (That Girl!, Sanford & Son) reads it and calls her with these magical words: “I think you could have a career out here.”  Two weeks later she’s on a plane to Hollywood!INSTANT CHEMISTRY: Actress Linda Marsh teams with Margie and a writing partnership begins…SPEAK YOUR TRUTH: Their first meeting at Facts of Life: “Why are the girls wearing hot pants and cut-off tops -- in New England? In winter?!? It’s kiddie porn!”  Margie & Linda stay on Facts of Life from Season 2 through Season 6 -- working their way up from Staff Writers to Show Runners!THE ONE THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING:  Margie & Linda write S2:EP3 “Double Standard” -- showrunners Jerry Mayer and Jack Elinson tell them: “You have found the soul of the show”.THE ONE WHERE NATALIE’S FATHER HAS AN AFFAIR: “We loved the actor but we hated the character. So we killed him.”WORKING WITH THE GIRLS: Working with Charlotte Rae, Lisa Whelchel, Mindy Cohn, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon and Geri Jewell.Lisa Whelchel balked when the writers pitched Blair losing her virginity. So Mindy Cohn said: “I’ll do it!”WHAT'S NEXT? The day came when Linda Marsh said, “I’m done.”  But Margie kept going…Then Marcy Carsey called: “We’d like to bring you on ‘A Different World’”!THINKING IN THE CAR: How the award-winning “No Means No” episode came to be -- and almost didn’t happen at all!"MAKE DWAYNE THE HERO" - How to solve the producer notes when tackling a story on campus rape in "No Means No" So join Susan and Sharon -- and Margie -- as they talk Mary Tyler Moore, Terri Hatcher, Jason Bateman, Asaad Kelada, Susan Fales Hill, Neema Barnette, HBCs, Cagney & Lacey, working for diversity…  and saying “No” to Norman Lear! STAY TUNED IN TWO WEEKS FOR THE FACTS OF LIFE WITH MARGIE PETERS - PART 2!  AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch The Facts of Life: IN FLUX! Currently watch Seasons 4, 5, and 6 of The Facts of Life for free on ROKU channel. Season 3 is available on Amazon Prime and for sale on Apple TV. Check YouTube for other episdoes.THE AMBIES AWARDS ARE MARCH 31FINGERS CROSSED! 80s TV Ladies is nominited! We're up for an Ambies Award by The Podcast Academy for Best Indie Podcast Hosts. Visit Ambies.com and watch the Awards show LIVE on Twitch March 31st at 6pm CT.VITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.You can also follow Richardson’s substack.CONNECTGet transcripts and more at 80sTVLadies.comRate and review us at Apple Podcast.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Episode 315: “Everything I Ever Learned About TV Writing, I Learned From ‘The Facts Of Life’ | Anupam Nigam”The Facts of Learning about Television Writing from The Facts of LifeThe Golden Girls of Eastland: TV Writer Anupam Nigam Shares His Lessons from The Facts Of LifeThe Golden Girls of Eastland: Top Lessons TV Writer Anupam Nigam Learned from The Facts Of Life For some people, a childhood spent lounging in front of the television leads to nothing but being sent to bed when Law and Order license plate comes on. But for Anupam Nigam, it led to a lifelong love of television – – and a successful career in TV writing and producing.  And his favorite show of all? The Facts of Life! The Facts of Life was a spin-off of Diff’rent Strokes and aired on NBC from 1979-1988. The show starred Charlotte Rae as Eastland School for Girls housemother Edna Garrett watching over an evolving cast of young female stars including Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Nancy McKeon and a very young Molly Ringwald! It ran for more than 200 episodes, and spawned three TV movies. Anupam Nigam has written and produced episodes of hit TV shows like Psych, Defiance, Cruel Summer, Mech-X4 and Station 19. He is currently writer and co-executive producer of the hit CBS drama Fire Country. Susan and Sharon talk with Anupam about his childhood as an Indian American kid in New Jersey, his early love of television, the insight of The Facts of Life -- and the facts he learned that have stayed with him to this day. THE CONVERSATIONGROWING UP INDIAN -- IN NEW JERSEY: For Anupam, who was raised in an immigrant Indian household, television was a window into the wider world of “American” families - and how they were alike, and different from, his.“I’M NOT A DOCTOR, BUT I WRITE FOR THEM ON TV” -- Anupam was pre-med, a lab researcher, and even a certified EMT -- briefly -- before realizing that TV blood was more his style.Anupam’s first script was a spec episode of Star Trek: Voyager -- and after that he was hooked.Anupam’s “scientist mind” cracked the code on how to write a Law & Order script, and it led to a coveted spot in the Warner Bros Writers Program -- and then a big move to Hollywood!His first job was on The Division -- starring Facts of Life’s Nancy McKeon!YOU TAKE THE GOOD, YOU TAKE THE VERY, VERY BAD: Anupam actually learned about the facts of life from the many “very special” episodes The Facts of Life: Abortion, divorce, drug abuse and death, anyone?Natalie was a natural STAR - When Charlotte Rae toured Westlake School for research, her young tour guide was… Mindy Cohn. Charlotte insisted the producers meet her and the role of Natalie was created for her!Those roller-skates? Tootie had to wear them to make her taller!CHEAPER BY THE… TEN? The original first season cast had TEN main characters - The seven girls, Mrs. Garett (Charlotte Rae), teacher Emily Mahoney (Jenny O’Hara) and Headmaster Stephen Bradley (played by John Lawlor). The OG Eastlake students: Blair Warner (Lisa Whelchel), Nancy Olsen (Felice Schachter), Sue Anne Weaver (Julie Piekarski), Tootie Ramsey (Kim Fields), Molly Parker (Molly Ringwald), Cindy Webster (Julie Anne Haddock) and Natalie Green (Mindy Cohn).…AND THEN THERE WERE FOUR. After season one, the young cast was cut from seven girls down to the “Core Four”: Lisa Whelchel as Blair, Kim Fields as Tootie, Mindy Cohn as Natalie and bringing on newcomer Nancy McKeon as Jo Polniaczek.So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Anupam! -- as they talk Shondaland, The Golden Girls, shoulder pads, tea-time, Jermaine Jackson, Mech x4, Geri Jewel, Entertainment Weekly -- and “Who Shot J.R?”! AUDIO-OGRAPHY Follow Anupam Nigam: Instagram.com/anupamnigam1 and Twitter.com/anupamnigam Watch Season 4 of The Facts of Life for free at Roku.Watch Fire Country on CBS.  Check out CitizensforEthics.org Buy Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org PLUS -- “80’s TV LADIES” MERCH is available at our SHOP!    CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.In Honor of President Carter and to learn more about his presidency: Get Susan’s new play about him and his Crisis of Confidence speech: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. BREAKING NEWS! We're NOMINATED by The Podcast Academy Ambies for Best Indie Hosts!  Podcast Academy members, please VOTE for 80s TV Ladies at The Podcast Acadey voting. The Ambies are LIVE on March 31 at 6pm CTDon’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

What's your favorite childhood show? If you grew up in Canada or watched Nickelodeon in the 80s, you know and loved The Elephant Show & Skinnamarink TV -- and if you didn't, you’re about to find out all about it! Susan and Sharon welcome Sharon Hampson, one of the creators of The Elephant Show and Skinnmarink TV.  As part of the musical trio “Sharon, Lois & Bram” -- featuring Sharon Hampson, Lois Lilienstein, and Bram Morrison -- Sharon rose to fame on these two ground-breaking, award -winning children’s shows. Also joining us is Sharon’s daughter Randi -- who is now her mom’s manager and singing partner! THE CONVERSATIONWATCHING KIDS TV:  Susan LOVED Schoolhouse Rock -- but HATED Mr. Snuffleupagus! Kevin loved the Big Comfy Couch!  Sharon loved Fraggle Rock, but Kids Inc? Not so much…In the 80s, kids TV animation became all about selling toys because THE TOYS WERE THE STARS OF THE SHOWS! Like He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.Once the Skinnamarink song gets in your head -- it will never leave!! For Sharon, Lois & Bram, music has always been a part of their lives -- each one of them learning to sing and play musical instruments from childhood.Sharon Hampson quit high school to sing folk music in coffee houses -- much to her parent’s horror!After 50 years of performing, Sharon says: “Children are just the same. They get up, they sing, they dance…They’re 100% ready to go!”MEMORY UNLOCKED! When Sharon meets grown up fans: “They start to cry, and I tell them, ‘Don’t be embarrassed. You’re having tears because you’re having happy childhood memories! It’s a good thing!’”After the show's Candian production ended, The Elephant Show got picked up in the US by Nickelodeon in1987, and their popularity exploded! “It really changed our career. We played incredible places, huge audiences. We went from playing high school gyms to playing stadiums.” “Sharon, Lois & Bram” have shared the stage with everyone from The Beach Boys, Randy Travis and James Taylor!So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Sharon and Randi -- as they talk Toronto, vinyl love, Andrea Martin, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris, Raffi, The Nylons, Chuck Mangione -- and genderless elephants!AUDIO-OGRAPHYCatch up on all-things “Sharon, Lois & Bram” at SharonLoisandBram.comFollow them on Instagram at Instagram.com/sharonloisbramWatch them on TikTok.Catch The Elephant Show on YouTube.Watch and sing-a-long to the loving and joyful "Talk About Peace" on YouTube. VITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.You can also follow Richardson’s substack.SEE SUSAN AND DONATE TO GOOD CAUSESJoin Susan at Jim and Huck, the reading of her new play! It's a fundraiser for Arts A La Carte and Union Station Homeless Services Fire Relief Fund.ARC PASADENA: March 1, 2025 at 7:30pmMore info and Tix: Tinyurl.com/JimandHuckCONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. In Honor of President Carter and to learn more about his presidency: Get Susan’s new play about him and his Crisis of Confidence speech: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. PLUS -- “80’s TV LADIES” MERCH is available at Fourthwall. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

They’re BAAAACK!It’s 2025 and the world-renowned 90s TV Babies have reconvened around the TV screen to gaze upon 80s classic sitcom, Mama’s Family, starring Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, Betty White, Rue Mclanahan and Carol Burnett. Do they see what Mama's fuss is all about!?Serita Fontanesi, Megan Ruble -- and A BRAND NEW 90s TV Baby, Sailor Franklin -- drop in on “Mama” Harper, take a seat on the floral print couch, and weigh in with their thoughts. What did they watch?  What did they think?THE HOMEWORK:S1: EP1 -- “Vint and the Kids Move In”S1: EP4 -- “The Wedding, Part 2”S1: EP6 -- “Cellmates”S2: EP3 -- “The Country Club”S2: EP21 --“Ask Aunt Fran” EXTRA CREDIT: S1: EP2 -- “Rashomama”S3: EP1 -- “Farewell, Frannie”S3: EP11 -- “Where There’s Smoke” And… the very first “Family” sketch from The Carol Burnett Show! THE CONVERSATIONROOKIE MOVE: Sailor did ALL the homework -- AND the Extra Credit!EVERYBODY’S AWFUL:  How Mama’s Family is just like… It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia???Serita likes how the cast is filled with a variety of female characters who aren’t perfect people: “Women deserve to be bad, too!”BIG HIGH SCHOOL WIG: Vicki Lawrence’s “Mama” looks vastly younger than her own children!Serita likes that the MEN were most often the butt of the joke.SAME AS IT EVER WAS: Megan says: “We really don’t have classic sitcoms anymore where people DON’T grow and change. Mama's Family is comforting!”Serita says “these people act a fool” -- and she’s here for it!ON CELLMATES - Sailor: “If I had a nickel for every time sitcom characters get locked up together in a jail cell, along with a sex worker, and then get mistaken for being a sex worker… I would have... several nickels.”Did Mama’s Family portray sex workers with more equity than most?The shockingly honest way Mama’s Family addresses marriage -- and how it’s not always a romantic dream come true.Sailor was blown away by “Rashomama”: “’Mama’s Family’ is doing a riff on an Akira Kurosawa movie?? Yes!!” IS IT FEMINIST? PROGRESSIVE?Megan: “‘Mama’s Family’ is feminist -- but not progressive.”Serita: “’Mama’s Family is feminist -- AND progressive.”Sailor: “’Mama’s Family is semi-progressive -- and semi-feminist.”AND… The Babies challenge Susan and Sharon to watch It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia! So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Serita and Megan and Sailor -- as they talk Abbott Elementary, Alan Alda, August babies!, Golden Girls, Coors Light, Die Hard, test boobs, Whoopi Goldberg -- and the “Sailor Franklin SitCom Spectrum”! AUDIO-OGRAPHYUPDATE: Find all SIX seasons of Mama’s Family free -- on Pluto TV.Buy the streaming series at Amazon.Buy the DVD set at Amazon.Check DontGetPurged.org to make sure your name has not been purged from voter rolls!Find out more about CREW at CitizensForEthics.orgVITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.You can also follow Richardson’s substack.SUPPORT FOR THE LA FIRESOnline at DisasterAssistance.gov On the FEMA App for mobile devices.More resources at Eaton Canyon Community Relief.Google List of LA County Resources. PLACES TO VOLUNTEERGoogle Doc for Wednesday and ongoing.Volunteer with the Red Cross.TALK TO SOMEONEReach out to friends and family. Take care of yourself:Pro Bono Therapy for LA Wildfires - Google Doc. More mental health resources at LARevive.DONATINGMaster GoFundMe List for LA Fire Victims Google Doc.Displaced Black families in Altadena Google Doc. Gofundme pages for EATON CANYON COMMUNITY RELIEFCONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. In Honor of President Carter and to learn more about his presidency: Get Susan’s new play about him and his Crisis of Confidence speech: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. PLUS -- “80’s TV LADIES” MERCH is available at Fourthwall.  Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“You’re in acting class and you’re studying Chekov or ‘Waiting for Godot’ -- and then you end up doing 80s tits-and-a**… You caught on pretty quick what it was about and where the power lay.” -- Actress Heather ThomasWhat was it like to be an 80s poster icon and sex symbol? Susan and Sharon welcome The Fall Guy star and “80s Poster Lady” Heather Thomas. She’s an actor, writer and activist -- but may be best known for her “Pink Bikini” poster, one of the best-selling pin-up posters of all time. Heather Thomas had leading roles in television shows like BJ and the Bear, The Love Boat and TJ Hooker -- as well as the movie Zapped! with Scott Baio, Willie Aames and Felice Schachter. But her most famous role was playing stuntwoman Jody Banks on the hit 80s television series The Fall Guy. Running for five seasons on ABC, The Fall Guy spawned board games, posters, a video game -- and just last year, a major feature film starring Ryan Gosling and Emily Blunt -- and Heather Thomas! Since her days as a TV star and pin-up queen, Heather Thomas has gone on to an extraordinary career as a novelist, political activist, organizer and fund-raiser.  NOTE: This episode was recorded Dec. 2024, before the LA Fires. Our thoughts are with Heather and her family, and all those impacted by the fires. Stay safe. Be well. THE CONVERSATIONWORKING WITH MONKEYS: Clyde, the orangutan from Every Which Way But Loose, was her co-star once: “He thought it was funny to keep grabbing my boob. I thought he was gonna rip it off!” And a stint on BJ and the Bear led to producer Glen Larsen tapping her for the co-starring role in The Fall Guy. WORKING WITH TV PRODUCERS: “All of them are crazy. You’re not gonna find any normal ones, not in those days. Everyone was nuts. And they still are.”"Smile more": Early on, the ABC network executives were afraid that Heather Thomas wasn’t likable. So they put her in a bikini. “I guess that made up for me not smiling enough.” STUNT WORK: “Lee Majors almost broke my nose once.” "I was good on rollerskates!"In preparation for a Fall Guy episode, Heather trained with the Los Angeles Thunderbirds roller-derby team: “They showed me how to ‘break my back’ on the rail -- it was really fun!”Ted Lange -- Isaac, the bartender on The Love Boat -- was one of Heather’s favorite directors on the Fall Guy.A GOOD DIRECTOR: For Heather, it was someone who brought her into the filmmaking process. For Lee Majors -- it was anyone who got him home by 5:00pm! THE POSTER: Once the show was a hit, a poster was the next big step: “It outsold Farrah Fawcett. I bought a house. I was thrilled.”DIS-LIKENESS: Heather’s image has been hi-jacked and used for everything from lighters, to puzzles, to notebook covers -- to a pillow!ON HAVING A FAMOUS BODY: “My body was my living. That’s how I saw it.  So I had to feed it, exercise it -- I couldn’t have an ounce of cellulite. It was part of the gig. But I didn’t care, I was grateful. I was making more money than I ever had in my life. I was a kid.”ZAPPED! -- Teen sex comedy -- or sexual harassment?  “They tried to get me topless, but my contract said uh-uh!  So, they used a body double. There’s a big disclaimer at the end of the movie saying that it’s not my tits.”Activism: “Ever since they said, ‘You can’t climb the tree, the boys can’ -- I was a feminist.”So join Susan and Sharon -- and Heather -- as they talk fly-fishing, Star Wars, David Letterman,Teen Beat, Shaun Cassidy & Parker Stevenson, “Gabor-lore”, Cliff Robertson’s toupeé, organizing your phone by decade, not complying in advance -- and canoeing with Henry Winkler!AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind Heather Thomas on Twitter at Twitter.com/HeatherThomasAF And find Heather Thomas on BlueSky at HeatherThomasAF.bsky.social Watch Heather Thomas in The Fall Guy on Peacock, Amazon Prime or Flixfling!Check DontGetPurged.org to make sure your name has not been purged from voter rolls!Find out more about CREW at CitizensForEthics.orgVITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.You can also follow Richardson’s substack.SUPPORT FOR THE LA FIRESOnline at DisasterAssistance.gov On the FEMA App for mobile devices or Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362Calls are accepted every day from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. PST.More resources at Eaton Canyon Community Relief.Google List of LA County Resources. AIRBNB is offering temporary free housing for those displaced by the fires. Start here. PLACES TO VOLUNTEERGoogle Doc for Wednesday and ongoing.Volunteer with the Red Cross.TALK TO SOMEONEReach out to friends and family. Take care of yourself:Pro Bono Therapy for LA Wildfires - Google Doc. More mental health resources at LARevive.DONATINGMaster GoFundMe List for LA Fire Victims Google Doc.Displaced Black families in Altadena Google Doc. Gofundme pages for EATON CANYON COMMUNITY RELIEFCONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Join the conversation at Facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. In Honor of President Carter and to learn more about his presidency: Get Susan’s new play about him and his Crisis of Confidence speech: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Just a quick message and some ways to help from Susan and guest Richard Hatem (Richard Hatem's Paranormal Bookshelf) who live in Pasadena, CA. Links below on how to help. Thankfully, the 80s TV Ladies team are all safe - Sharon, Susan, Melissa, Kevin, Sailor, Sergio, Megan and Serita. Rich and I were lucky enough to be in a good spot. We housed evacuees from Altadena and La Canada this week. We know too many people who have lost homes, schools, churches, synagogues and more. Thinking of all of you and hoping we have gotten through the worst. Sending love and healing and recovery to Los Angeles - which is still a city on fire. The fires have decimated two entire communities within Los Angeles County, and destroyed tens of thousands of homes. The recovery will be immense. This disaster and the other recent disasters around the country and world are made worse by a changing climate, a warming earth. There’s no escape. But there are solutions. There is hope. We can help each other. Donate or Volunteer if you can. We send best wishes for you to stay safe and find the light in the dark. TALK TO SOMEONEReach out to friends and family. Take care of yourself:Pro Bono Therapy for LA Wildfires - https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=5c10f09ac5&e=c2a6c4f49f More mental health resources athttps://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=66ca1a18ce&e=c2a6c4f49f.PLACES TO VOLUNTEERhttps://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eaSXTYlLY_spJ-_w43ac55qu6X4YtgApgRGfads3cM4/htmlview for Wednesday and ongoing.Volunteer with the https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=ac8e5b668f&e=c2a6c4f49f.DONATINGPeople we know or friends of friends gofundmes:https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=c949386ee8&e=c2a6c4f49fhttps://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=417fad5f53&e=c2a6c4f49fhttps://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=ee45e76e82&e=c2a6c4f49fhttps://www.gofundme.com/f/restore-hope-for-the-rosascamacho-familyMORE GOFUNDMEDisplaced Black families in Altadena https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=9973a4701e&e=c2a6c4f49f. Gofundme pages for https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=fe63638093&e=c2a6c4f49fTHANK YOU FIREFIGHTERSDONATE to the LAFD at https://supportlafd.kindful.comHELP Incarcerated Firefighters. CA uses incarcerated firefighters.Read more of their story https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/los-angeles-fires-inmates-speak-1235232001/.Donate to those firefighters at https://antirecidivism.org/donateType “firefighter fund” in the payment box. HELP THE ALTADENA GIRLSTeenagers who lost their school started a fund to help girls victimized by the Eaton Fire at https://www.instagram.com/altadenagirls. Donate to their cause at http://pledge.to/altadena-girlshttps://www.pledge.to/altadena-girlsPRICE GOUGING IS ILLEGALIf you see price gouging, you can report it:Call 311 or 213-473-3231.Or download myLA311 app to report illegally hiked rents and prices.Tracking Rental Price Gouging https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1RXWxLqTyWvAuq8A0PgaBuWeEn_G6qTLyTZ8lzfNEaNw/edit.THE SCALE OF ITIt is hard to get a sense of what is lost and the scope of the destruction. “LA has lost more than 20,000 homes and businesses. Its infrastructure has suffered significant damage; over 200,000 residents are without power due to the destruction of high transmission power lines. Water quality in reservoirs has been degraded from smoke particulates, meaning that hundreds of thousands of residents whose homes survived the fires will not have potable water service. Hundreds of thousands more remained locked out of their homes due to evacuation orders.” - https://open.substack.com/pub/roberthubbell/p/los-angeles-firestorms-literal-and?r=u3n9p&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=emailIf you want to understand the scale of destruction in these areas, here are satellite images that can show you a detailed zoomable visual.  EATON - https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=0d3105d0b0&e=c2a6c4f49f.PALISADES - https://mac.us10.list-manage.com/track/click?u=c6955712b931709f7b46b3067&id=677c042027&e=c2a6c4f49f.Damage Destruction maps:- For https://recovery.lacounty.gov/eaton-fire/- For https://recovery.lacounty.gov/palisades-fire/We've heard a lot of blame and finger pointing in this disaster.APPLY FOR FEMA AIDOnline at DisasterAssistance.govor - On the FEMA App for mobile devicesor - Call the FEMA Helpline at 1-800-621-3362Calls are accepted every day from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. PST.You can apply for FEMA even if you have insurance. If you've lost your home and you're not sure where to start:United Policyholders is a nonprofit that can walk you through what to do. From the CA Gov.'s office: Check out Wildfire Debris Removal guide at wildfirerecovery.orgMore resources at Eaton Canyon Community Relief.Google List of LA County Resources. AIRBNB is offering temporary free housing for those displaced by the fires. Start here. We've heard a lot of blame and finger pointing in this disaster.But what we’ve seen on the ground and in the skies, are people going above and aboard to help. Everyone is doing their best to help others.The firefighters and emergency personnel who have worked nonstop to save lives and homes. The neighbors who have saved lives and animals and homes. The city and county of Los Angeles and communities across California, Mexico, Canada and the world have donated and sent love and support. People have opened their homes and businesses to help neighbors, friends and strangers. We are stronger together.We will recover and rebuild and remain a strong, loving and creative city.CONNECTVisit the website for transcripts and more http://80stvladies.comJoin the conversation at http://facebook.com/80sTVLadies.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

On March 16, 1974, a sketch appeared on The Carol Burnett Show featuring Carol Burnett, Vicki Lawrence and Harvey Korman portraying a “normal” American family -- warts and all. This sketch, known as “The Family”, led by a then 25 year-old Vicki Lawrence playing a gray-haired 63 year-old ‘Mama’, spawned 30 more sketches, a TV Movie (Eunice) and finally a spin-off series of its own (Mama’s Family) which ran for 130 episodes over six seasons both on CBS and in syndication (1983-1990).In “The Family”, Carol Burnett played the melodramatic, ambitious, brow-beaten daughter of ‘Mama’. Mama, played by Vicki Lawrence, is an exaggeratedly mean-spirited and insult-spitting widow and mother of five children: three sons played by guest stars Roddy McDowell, Alan Alda and Tom Smothers -- and two daughters: Eunice & Ellen (played by Betty White). Eunice’s husband Ed Higgins was played by Harvey Korman.How did one simple sketch take on such a huge life of its own, creating a sprawling TV empire that some are calling “The Mama-Verse”? Susan and Sharon put on their housecoats and curly gray wigs to find out!THE CONVERSATIONCarol Burnett’s career started with a Broadway role starring as the lead in Once Upon a Mattress and then as a rising star on The Garry Moore Show.The Carol Burnett Show was hugely successful, running eleven seasons, garnering 70 Emmy nominations and winning 25.Carol Burnett was encouraged to “speak up for herself” by another TV comedy legend -- Lucille Ball.A fan letter from then 18 year-old Vicki Lawrence to Carol Burnett led to her actually being cast as a regular on the show!“HARVARD SCHOOL OF COMEDY”: Lawrence cites Harvey Korman and Carol Burnett as her show business mentors during the 11 years she spent on the show.ONE-HIT WONDER: Five years into her run on The Carol Burnett Show, Lawrence had a hit song, recording “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia”!In the TV movie Eunice, Mama suddenly only has three children instead of five -- what happened to the others? And why is one of them suddenly Ken Berry?Vicki Lawrence was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of ‘Mama’ in Eunice.The TV series Mama’s Family was aired first as a prime-time network comedy and later as a nationally syndicated series. It originally ran for two years on CBS, was cancelled in 1984 -- and then revived TWO YEARS LATER in 1986 by Lorimar Syndication to run for additional 100 episodes!NAME SWITCH: The character Ken Berry played started out as “Phillip” in the TV-movie but then became “Vinton” in the TV series.The TV show introduced “Fran” played by future Golden Girl, Rue McClanahan -- playing Betty White’s aunt!The TV show also introduced Vinton’s children Buzz and Sonya played by “80’s TV Ladies” alum, Eric Brown and actress Karin Argoud.Mama’s neighbor, Naomi Oates, was played by “Another World” “The Nanny” and now “80s TV Ladies” alum, Dorothy Lyman!So join Susan and Sharon as they talk Lou Grant, social justice, Julie Andrews and the first Live Televised Cinderella musical, “Raytown, Missouri”, Kamala Harris, Matlock, driving your own story -- and “Miss Fireball of Inglewood”!AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch The Carol Burnett Show and Mama’s Family across many platforms. Not all of them feature all seasons. The Carol Burnett Show can be seen for free on Pluto TV. Mama’s Family can be seen for free on Pluto TV.The Carol Burnett Show “The Family” select episodes:S7, EP23 - Aired 3/16/1974 - Jackson Five and Roddy McDowall.The first of “The Family” sketches. “The Reunion  - Eunice's brother Phil (Roddy McDowall), a Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author, returns home for a visit. On YouTube.S8, EP13 - Aired 12/21/1974 - Alan Alda“Home for the Holidays”Christmas sketch with Alan Alda on YouTube. VITAL READINGGet Handbook for A Post-Roe America by Robin Marty at Bookshop.org.Check out Men In Dark Times by Hannah Ahrendt at Bookshop.org.Read Democracy Awakening by Heather Cox Richardson at Bookshop.org.You can also follow Heather’s substack.SHOPLAST WEEK FOR THE “80’s TV LADIES” HOLIDAY SALE!15% off on all merch at the 8TL Shop. Make sure to use promo code “Festive80s”!CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts and more.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. In Honor of President Carter and to learn more about his presidency: Get Susan’s new play about him and his Crisis of Confidence speech: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

What's the best Christmas episode of The Facts of Life? The Nanny vs Mama's Family? Let's find out!If you grew up in the 80s, tuning in to the special “Holiday” episodes of our favorite shows was a winter ritual. Susan and Sharon bring that tradition home as they dive into the “Best Holiday Episodes” of three favorite 80’s and 90s TV shows -- The Facts of Life, Mama’s Family and The Nanny. Musical numbers, mixed-up gifts, screwed-up travel plans -- and lots of hot cocoa!80’s TV “Holiday” episodes had them all -- and we loved them for it! So grab some eggnog and fruitcake, and listen as Susan and Sharon choose their personal favorite holiday episodes of the some of our favorite 80s TV Ladies shows!THE EPISODESThe Facts of Life:S5, EP12 - “The Christmas Show”S6, EP13 - “Christmas in the Big House”S7, EP13 - “Christmas Baby”S9, EP12 - “It’s A Wonderful Christmas”  Mama’s Family:S3, EP13 - “Santa Mama”S6, EP14 - “Mama Gets Goosed”The Nanny:S1, EP8 - “The Christmas Episode”S3, EP14 - “Oy To The World”S6, EP10 - “The Hannukah Story”  BONUS! The Carol Burnett Show:S2, EP12 - Eileen Farrell, Bob Hope, and Marilyn HorneS8, EP13 - Alan AldaTHE CONVERSATION GO FIGURE -- Not a lot of Hanukkah or Kwanza episodes back in the 80s.Why did it take FIVE SEASONS before Facts of Life finally did a Christmas episode?S5, EP12 “The Christmas Show” - directed by Asaad Kelada.In S6, EP13 “Christmas in the Big House” -- Blair organizes a charity Christmas show for what she thinks is an orphanage -- but it turns out to be a men’s prison!Mickey Mouse Club veteran former Mousketeer Lisa Whelchel shows off her singing skills! Heck, all the ladies get to sing! NO ROOM AT THE INN? In the third Facts of Life Christmas episode, Blair’s mom gives birth -- It’s a Christmas baby episode!IS IT A WONDERFUL SHOW? Cloris Leachman gets center stage in the fourth -- and final -- Facts of Life Christmas episode, S9, EP10 “It’s A Wonderful Christmas”.Mama’s Family S6, EP14 “Mama Gets Goosed” -- The family is horrified when they meet their dinner -- a live goose that Mama plans to kill and cook for Christmas!The Nanny got a jump on Christmas episodes in S1, EP8 -- where complications from a gift Mr. Sheffield gives to Fran ends up fulfilling Gracie’s only Christmas wish!S3, EP14 “Oy To The World” -- The Nanny’s one and only ANIMATED EPISODE!S6, EP 10 “The Hanukkah Story” -- Susan and Sharon BOTH loved this Nanny episode where cultures clash when Fran tries to teach the Sheffields the importance of Hanukkah.PLUS -- BONUS HOLIDAY EPISODES from The Carol Burnett Show! - Alan Alda, star of the M*A*S*H TV show hit, sings with Carol! And plays one of Mama’s sons and Eunice’s brother in “The Family” in a hilarious, homecoming Christmas sketch.But is that a better episode than the Christmas special with incredibly famous opera stars, Eileen Farrell, Marily Horne and a surprise guest star Bob Hope?AND -- A BIG THANK YOU to our PATREON MEMBERS! We’ll tell you about NEW PERKS coming your way in 2025!So, join Susan and Sharon as they talk Ray Charles, Community, dreidels, Alan Alda, vegetarian Christmas dinners, talking dogs, opera, “Big Spender”, Bob Hope -- and confessional confessions!  AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch three of The Facts of Life Christmas Episodes on YouTube. Watch “Mama Gets Goosed” on PlutoTV.And “Santa Mama” on PlutoTV.Watch The Nanny streaming on Peacock.The Carol Burnett ShowS2, EP12 - Aired 12/16/1968 - Eileen Farrell, Bob Home and Marilyn Horne on YouTube.S8, EP13 - Aired 12/21/1974 - Alan Alda Christmas episode clips:- Nobody Does it Like Me with Carol Burnett on YouTube.- “The Family” Christmas sketch with Alan Alda on YouTube. LIGHT READING Read On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder Read the Guardian article “How To Survive The Broligarchy” by Carol Cadwalladr.The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin at Baldwin and Co Books. Orwell’s Roses by Rebecca Solnit at Bookshop.orgSHOPGET IN ON THE “80’s TV LADIES” HOLIDAY SALE!15% off on all merch at the 8TL Shop. Make sure to use promo code “Festive80s”!CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. Get your Carter on: This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“I was the highest paid actor in Hollywood -- if you were counting by the word.”           - actor Eric Brown THE CONVERSATIONTAKING THE PIPPIN BUS: Nine-year-old Eric played the lead in the original touring company of Bob Fosse’s Pippin! “It was 1974. I was the only child in a cast of adults. One-and-two-night stands. In a bus. Thirty states. Six months.”PRIVATE LESSONS: The lead got fired -- so Eric was promoted to star!15 GOING ON 30: In Private Lessons, Fifteen year-old Eric Brown, played a fifteen-year-old -- being seduced by a thirty-year-old woman! “My wife is still mad at my mother for letting me play that role!”KICKED OUT OF SCHOOL: Eric was kicked out of St. Francis Prep School for being in Private Lessons: “They said, “We think you’d do better at another school considering your career goals.” It was a very Franciscan way of saying, “Get out”.”MAMA’S FAMILY: “You know the rumors that Betty White had a dirty streak? All true.”On working with Carol Burnett, Vicki Lawrence, Dorothy Lyman, Betty White, Rue McClanahan and Harvey Korman: “Everyone was so funny -- you were always laughing. They were constantly futzing, because they knew what was funny -- and if it wasn’t, they would fix it."DIRECTOR SPLIT: Mama’s Family had TWO directors: Harvey Korman worked with the actors, while someone else blocked out the camera moves (Roger Beatty).THE METAVERSE OF MAMA'S FAMILY: Vicki Lawrence started playing the at least 63-year-old “Mama” when she was in her late 20’s!THE EPISODE THAT NEVER WAS: Eric pitched an episode where he and Ken Barry -- both tap dancers -- could dance together in a talent show.  But it never happened.TAKE THE TOUPEE: Carol Burnett would do anything for a laugh -- including pulling the hairpiece off a certain co-star during taping -- when no one was expecting it!BAD NEWS, GOOD NEWS, WORSE NEWS -- Mama’s Family gets cancelled.  Then it comes back!  But not with Eric.LOVING LAURA HOLT: After Private Lessons, Eric did a replay on Remington Steele -- playing a kid with a crush on an “older woman”: “I was head over heels in love with Stephanie Zimbalist. In real life!”BE KIND, REWIND: After jobs dried up in Hollywood, Eric moved to Monterey and got a job in a video store: “I was renting movies to people that I WAS IN.”FIRST RULE OF COMMUNICATION: For the MacArthur Foundation or a lost chicken in Queens: Know your goal.WHAT CAN ONE PERSON DO TO HELP THE WORLD? Find what you love and offer that.So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Eric -- as they talk Listerine commercials, the Clinton campaign, Jon de Bont, Sarah Jessica Parker, Howard Hessman, Barry Williams, On Golden Pond, Ian Ziering, curfew “double standards”, working with women directors, Jerry Reed, Emmanuelle, Fred Willard -- and evil twins!  AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch Mama’s Family for free on Pluto TV.Listen to Eric Brown’s podcast about philanthropy, Let’s Hear it. Or on Apple. Check out what Eric Brown is doing now at Brownbridgestrategies.com.Enjoy Eric’s blog about traveling the world with his wife at Eat, Bicker, Love.PLUS -- AN “80’s TV LADIES” HOLIDAY SALE!Get 15% off on all merch at 80s TV Ladies Shop on Fourthwall.Make sure to use promo code “Festive80s”!  CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

“The roles I’ve played on soap operas are infinitely superior to any roles I’ve played anywhere else. They are about women and women’s stories. The men are just there to screw you -- or screw you over.” -- Dorothy LymanJust three chicks sitting around talking...Susan and Sharon clean house -- and air some dirty laundry -- with The Nanny director and Emmy-award winning actress Dorothy Lyman. You may know her as Opal Gardner from the long-running soap opera All My Children or as Naomi Oates Harper from Mama’s Family. But did you know she also directed an astonishing 74-episodes of the classic Fran Drescher comedy, The Nanny?THE CONVERSATIONOne-day of work a month on Search For Tomorrow was enough to keep Dorothy from “serving cheeseburgers.” The pay was $400 -- and rent in NY was only $65!COMING CLEAN ABOUT SOAPS: Soap operas addressed abuse and abortion and mental illness and many other issues long before prime time TV. “I think it helped a lot of women stuck at home feeling the same things.”ON SOAP OPERA FANS: “I couldn’t buy myself a beer anywhere in America the whole time I was on the soaps. The fans are different. They feel like they know you.”WHEN CAROL BURNETT CALLS: “Carol Burnett and Vicki Lawrence would watch me as Opal on ‘All My Children’ during their lunch hour on ‘The Carol Burnett Show’ -- that was their ritual. And that’s how I got the job on ‘Mama’s Family’.”A COUPLA WHITE CHICKS SITTING AROUND TALKING: on directing the long-running, Off-Broadway hit starring Susan Sarandon and Eileen Brennan.TRY AGAIN: Mama’s Family was completely reconceived after the first pilot. “We shot one that was really awful. I think the problem was, it was too mean. And it wasn’t funny at all.” THERE’S THE DOOR: After directing three seasons of The Nanny, Dorothy says, “I never got another job directing a single moment of television. I spent many years thinking I’d done something terribly wrong. But it was because I was over 50 -- and I was a woman.”What do you do when Hollywood directing gigs go away? You buy a chicken farm in upstate New York and start writing plays, of course!ON CHANGE: “Change is where it’s at. Nothing stays the same. And I’ve always been one of those people -- if I wanted to do something, I did it.”ON DIRECTING: “It fits my personality. I’m bossy.”So join Susana and Sharon -- and Dorothy -- as they talk Milton Berle, Edge of Night, Celine Dion, visiting Egypt, Another World, Bette Midler, The Women’s Room, Fran Drescher, baked croutons -- and “Where do you keep your Emmys?”AUDIO-OGRAPHYWatch Mama’s Family for free on Pluto TV.Follow Dorothy Lyman at Instagram.com/dorothy_lymanNative American Heritage Month Find out more at NativeAmericanHeritageMonth.govFor more information about the land you live on go to Native-land.caBLACK FRIDAY DEAL!It's an “80’s TV LADIES” HOLIDAY SALE! - Get 20% off on all merch at tinyurl.com/8TLshopMake sure to use promo code “Festive80s”!  CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON. SUPPORT OTHERSSupport those seeking abortion in states where it is outlawed or restricted. Go to ARC Southeast.This year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing. Credits: 80s TV Ladies™ Episode 308. Produced by 134 West and Susan Lambert Hatem. Hosted by Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson. Guest: Dorothy Lyman. Sound Engineer and Editor: Kevin Ducey. Producers: Melissa Roth. Sharon Johnson. Richard Hatem. Associate Producers: Sergio Perez. Sailor Franklin. Music by Amy Engelhardt. Copyright 2024 134 West, LLC and Susan Lambert. All Rights Reserved.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.

Susan and Sharon are thrilled to sit down with award-winning singer, songwriter, actress -- and stuntwoman -- Marneen Fields. As a gymnast, swimmer and stuntwoman in the 1970s and 80s, Marneen’s career sky-rocketed with roles on Scarecrow & Mrs. King, Lou Grant, Quincy, Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew Mysteries, The Man from Atlantis, The Fall Guy, Murder She Wrote, Dynasty -- as well as the Clint Eastwood film The Gauntlet.But it was only after a devastating car accident ended her career as a stuntwoman that Marneen found her way back into life by finally embracing her childhood dream of writing and singing songs.  Her story is one of resilience, renewal -- and the power of persevering when life’s challenges seem overwhelming.THE CONVERSATIONFIRST BASS: What do you do when you’re the littlest girl in school -- but end up having to playing biggest instrument -- the stringed bass?How a background in gymnastics led Marneen directly into her career as a stuntwoman.IN DEMAND: As an experienced stuntwoman in Hollywood, Marneen’s phone rang off the hook for 15 years.THE FALL GIRL: In 1976-77, Marneen was one of the top stuntwomen in the world.ROSES FROM BRUCE: One of her favorite acting jobs was playing Lee Stetson’s long-lost love “Dorothy” on Scarecrow & Mrs. King.FALLING FOR “QUINCY”: What is it like doing a high-fall off a 76-story building in puffy slippers and a negligee?!?The secret of being a successful stuntwoman? Look like a lot of famous actresses!Getting pushed out of a jet by James Garner!Getting punched off a train by Clint Eastwood!PERFECT PITCH: Marneen’s love for music survives her near total hearing loss in both ears.Just as her acting career was taking off, Marneen was involved in a car accident that nearly took her life -- and led to over a decade of operations and excruciating pain. But on the other end was a whole new life in music…So, join Susan and Sharon -- and Marneen -- as they talk Shirley Jones, Battlestar Galactica, scuba diving, dating stuntmen, mouth-to-mouth with Patrick Duffy -- and “becoming the broken-hearted songwriter I was meant to be!”AUDIO-OGRAPHYFind all of Marneen’s work on Facebook.And Instagram at Instagram.com/HeavenlyWaterfallProductions.Find Marneen’s book The Illusive Craft of Acting at Amazon.Get more info and help support Marneen’s film, Who’s Going To Take Care of Me? at Crowdfundr.CONNECTVisit 80sTVLadies.com for transcripts.Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list.Support us and get ad-free episodes on PATREON.SUPPORT YOUR NEIGHBORSFind help or ways to help at AbortionFunds.orgSupport Democracy at DemocracyDocket.comSupport freedoms at ACLU.orgREMEMBER: Make sure your vote counted. Track your ballot at Vote.orgThis year is the 45th anniversary of President Carter's Crisis of Confidence speech. Get Susan’s new play about it: Confidence (and the Speech) at Broadway Licensing.Don’t miss out. Sign up for the 80s TV Ladies mailing list!Help us make more episodes and get ad-free episodes and exclusive content on PATREON.