Narrator: In the mid 70's, NBC was in a programming slump, desperate for ratings, they looked to their few successful comedies for inspiration. They found it in "Diff'rent Strokes."
Charlotte Rae: I was doing "Diff'rent Strokes" and it was a big, big, big hit. I had no idea that they were going to go like this to me [wagging finger toward her] and say "Fred Silverman would like to spin you off as soon as possible."
Narrator: Mrs. Garrett would be the housemother at the prestigious Eastland School for Young Women. "The Facts of Life" debuted on August 24, 1979; the ratings are less than spectacular and the reviews even worse. The Washington Post called the show "worthless and barren," even predicting that it would help finish off the already weak NBC network.
Lisa Whelchel: I guess the producers were kind enough not to just come out and read them out loud to us and broadcast them. So that's the first I've heard of that one.
Mindy Cohn: We didn't really know how bad it was, I guess.
Charlotte Rae: The critics can be wrong; thank God it didn't kill us.
Narrator: "The Facts of Life" was in trouble. Having too many featured girls seemed to be the problem. The solution: the axe.
Charlotte Rae: Well, it was just the lack of focus. You couldn't somehow manage all those stories. It was just too much of a gang of people.
Narrator: Julie Piekarski, Julie Haddock and Lisa Whelchel were all considered the pretty girls. That was two too many. Piekarski and Haddock were fired.
Lisa Whelchel: There were other girls? [laughs]
Narrator : The next decision of who to keep involved the two youngest, Kim Fields and Molly Ringwald.
Kim Fields: I was the black girl and you know the black folks are always the first to go. [laughs]
John Bowab (Director): You know I liked Molly. I think that may be there was a feeling that all of us conspired to let her go.
Al Burton (Producer): It was a sorry choice, but we picked Kim Fields to stay.
Narrator : With the redundant characters removed, the producers felt there was room for a troublemaker. Enter Nancy McKeon.
John Bowab: The main reason for Nancy was somebody to give it to Blair. I feel that that was the turning point in the show.
Narrator: The cast changes proved to be just what "The Facts of Life" needed, turning it into a solid hit. The fact that more people were watching the show also meant that there were more eyes on the young cast. What the audience saw turned the girls into the butt of many cruel jokes.
John Bowab: The "fat" thing I think got out of hand because I think there was too much pressure put on them. I think that there was cruelty at the time.
Charlotte Rae: I heard they were called the "fats of life."
Al Burton: Kim Fields has now got an ample figure, well "What is little Kim Fields doing with an ample figure?" And Lisa was more than comfortably built and Mindy of course was Mindy, but she was supposed to be stout. And Nancy herself was getting to be a "big girl."
Kim Fields: We had a meeting with an executive and he was the executive. And he's like, well, "Are you doing all right? Because, you know, a lot of people eat because they're unhappy. You want to talk about it?" I said, "I ain't crazy. I'm hungry and I eat!"
Lisa Whelchel: There was food all over the place. Well, I was just chowing down and this is fun! You know, unlimited food.
Mindy Cohn: OK girls, take five and go to the trough. You know, it's like, oh my God.
Al Burton: We delicately took away all the Oreo cookies and all of the sweets from the craft services table where the girls would snack and we put in carrot sticks and celery.
Lisa Whelchel: But it was too late at that point. By the time they took all the doughnuts away, they had already done their damage.
Charlotte Rae: The girls would take peanut butter and fill it up in a celery stalk. [laughs]
Lisa Whelchel: I was in the Hollywood Christmas Parade and was going down the street in the float and somebody yelled out, "Blair, you're getting fat!"
Mindy Cohn: In the second season they brought a scale to rehearsal hall. I know I said something, I said it's just not okay to do that here, do it in a dressing room. Please do not bring it in the rehearsal hall because that is not okay.
Charlotte Rae: It was outrageous and kind of a joke because it wasn't going to do any good.
Lisa Whelchel: Everybody was in a panic because, especially the Blair character. You know, they had hired me to be a certain character and I was outgrowing my role. [laughs]
John Bowab: Lisa rebelled that way. I think Lisa probably had Snickers or something under the pillow and said, "OK, I'm getting on the scale. I'm going to put it on."
Lisa Whelchel: They sent me to fat farms and personal trainers, and fitness things and hypnotists and, well, they tried everything.
Narrator: While the rest of the cast's weight was ballooning up, the one girl hired for her ample figure was doing just the opposite.
Mindy Cohn: There is a season where you can tell one season from the next, like "Nat looks kinda good, ya know." And I was told that it would be helpful and beneficial for everyone else if you gained weight and I said absolutely not.
John Bowab: They began putting baggy sweaters and things on her to maintain the chubby.
Narrator: Mindy's weight loss only emphasized a more serious physical problem.
Mindy Cohn: Nothing to do with anything professional, I decided to go have a breast reduction surgery. It wasn't, "I'm so heavy what can I do, should I just lop off my breasts?" I mean, it wasn't like I'm so unhappy, it was . . . this is what did it for me, there was an episode where Natalie had to fall down on a table. And I literally had to put my breasts on the table first and then fall down okay.
Kim Fields: It's funny, one time when I started developing my chest area, one of the producers actually came into the dressing room and wanted to know was there any way to tape Kim down. We were like, "What!? Are you kidding me? This is a show about girls growing up, and this happens when you grow up! No, you can't tape her down!"
Lisa Whelchel: The normal facts of life were not allowed on "The Facts of Life."
Narrator: While most people's memories of "Facts of Life" was of a lighthearted sitcom, the show actually confronted several controversial issues.
[showed "Cousin Geri" clip]
Narrator: Geri Jewell, a comedienne with cerebral palsy, became the first handicapped person to play a regular role in prime time. And while Geri was welcomed by the entire cast with open arms, she felt her presence was also an uncomfortable reminder for one of her fellow actors.
Al Burton: In terms of Charlotte and Geri getting along, there were colors to the relationship that included the fact that Charlotte herself, I think, had a son that was autistic.
Charlotte Rae: I was glad that she was there.
Geri Jewell: I think that in a certain respect, I reminded Charlotte of her son. She would accept me and then she wouldn't accept me and then she would accept me, and then she wouldn't accept me. It was like, come here, go away, come here, go away. [laughs]
Charlotte Rae: She was uncomfortable around me? Then I think it must be her problem.
Narrator: There was no doubt, however, that Geri's presence on "The Facts of Life" caused difficulties for the creative staff.
Al Burton: The writers couldn't figure out what to do with this person.
Geri Jewell: They were afraid to have me on a weekly basis because they felt that every time I entered a room, it would be a cerebral palsy story.
Narrator: Geri's appearances on "The Facts of Life" was severely reduced and an offer made for her to remain on the show was virtually non-existent.
Geri Jewell: They offered me one episode. It was a calculated move that I would probably reject. Instead of firing me per se, I turned it down.
Narrator: Every show has its share of disagreements, but when the cast includes four rapidly-maturing young women, tensions can run a bit higher than normal.
Mindy Cohn: Four teenage girls on a certain cycle shall we say, I mean I had some seriously catty moments.
Kim Fields: Well, you know, I'm the consummate professional so, you know, I did no wrong. [laughs]
John Bowab: When Kim was about 16 or 17, we had a real blowout over a script. It was not a personal thing, it was something she didn't want to do. And it was something that I felt she had to do and there was a real temper.
Kim Fields: I can get pissed off like the next person, and you know when she blows, yo, it's on!
Mindy Cohn: But there are just moments where you walked in the room and you didn't like who you were sitting across from.
John Bowab: One week, you're my best friend. And the next week you're not.
[showed "The First Time" clip]
Mindy Cohn: And so you stirred the pot, and I did that, I plead guilty.
Charlotte Rae: I think she's a drama queen. [laughs]
Narrator: In 1986, Charlotte Rae decided to leave the show feeling that the girls had outgrown their need for Mrs. Garrett's advice. But for her replacement, Emmy and Academy Award winning actress, Cloris Leachman, the transition was not an easy one.
Kim Fields: You've got 8 years of one thing that you're used to and then this gust of this other energy comes in and at the same time you're a little territorial, you know, like, this is our groove, you've got to get used to this, we don't have to get used to you.
Narrator: To make matters worse, the producers decided to add several new characters.
Kim Fields: I do recall getting really pissed off because they were adding these people and it was like, do y'all remember when we started this in ‘79, that y'all cut some folks because there were too many people? You can't do "L.A. Law" in a half-hour, that is why that show is an hour and we are a half-hour show.
Narrator: There was, however, one cast addition that Kim Fields was completely behind.
Kim Fields: Hey, I was happy to see George Clooney. I was mad that they didn't, you know, let Tootie and George hook up, but they weren't doing the interracial thing so I guess I just had to wait on that.
Narrator: By the eighth season, "Facts of Life"'s ratings had hit a steady decline. In an effort to boost the show's popularity, the producers decided on a very controversial move.
Lisa Whelchel: They said Blair was going to lose her virginity this year.
John Bowab: It was one of those things that you knew had to happen, but not to a "Facts of Life" girl.
Lisa Whelchel: So I waited until the end of the meeting and then talked to them and said I couldn't do that.
John Bowab: It was diametrically opposed to everything that Lisa believed in.
Lisa Whelchel: They said it was just a normal part of growing up. But I didn't believe that and I certainly didn't want to have that on my shoulders that some girl that might have been contemplating it say, "Well, you know what, Blair did it, says it's OK, so it's OK."
Mindy Cohn: I mean it is ridiculous -- we have all these boyfriends, we were all these cute, great girls and no one's getting laid. I mean it's ridiculous. It is ridiculous. I volunteered, I totally upped Natalie for the job, I thought she would be perfect.
[showed "The First Time" clip]
Mindy Cohn: And I do feel that there is a way to talk about, even in the 80's, sexuality without someone turning into a slut.
Narrator: In 1987, NBC was once again the No. 1 network. "The Facts of Life" was no longer needed and on September 10, 1988, the show that helped keep the network afloat was unceremoniously cancelled. Memories from the cast and the legacy of "The Facts of Life" are decidedly bittersweet.
Kim Fields: "Facts of Life" may not have been a critical success or have the critical acclaim like "Cheers" or "Cosby" or "Roseanne"; however, people forget nine years on television really is something. It always gets passed over like it never existed.
