Ad Choices. Allen: One of the first things I did was take everybodys fake nails and hair weaves off to make them a little more natural. Kris Kross, En Vogue, and Josephine Premice (Fales-Hills mother) all guest starred in season six, along with Pinkett Smiths real-life friend, Tupac Shakur. Allen: There were a lot of politics going on behind the scenes, and none of us will ever truly know all of it. We would do all of that stuff. Fales-Hill: It was in our second season with Debbie as our director and executive producer that we really started to find our own voice. Under Allens leadership, A Different World remained comedic, but no topic was off-limits. 2023 Cond Nast. Allen: Jada Pinkett auditioned for the young girl with AIDS in season 4. Kaliardos: Sometimes you'll come flying in the door and we'll have 10 minutes to figure the whole thing out. It wasnt until years later when we did a play together [that] she and I had spent any time together. . In a 2015 interview for Emmy TV Legends, Debbie Allen shared that Bonet came to her with news about the pregnancy wanted to keep it a secret. Chaplin (1992) - 7.6 . We made her a lawyer and [Cree] hated it. They said, Youre one of the central characters on this show. She only had one line in the entire film. In 1987, she was featured in Afterschool Special, Leg Work, and A Different World. If something [unexpected] happened, she would just go with it. That was sort of a clue [that my character wasnt coming back]. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt are in talks to star in a slasher sequel that will reportedly be a passing of the torch from one generation to the next. We worked together, we hung out together, we talked about life together. Season 1 saw Denise make friends with Marisa Tomei's Maggie, Cree Summer's Freddie, and Dawnn Lewis' Jaleesa. Bell: They got me some hockey pads so I could get on my knees and be Rudys size for the camera. I remember Kadeem walked by and I thought, Oh, God, he is so fucking fine. I think Im in love with you. And I was like, What? Lewis: When they wrote the episode of us not getting married, we were like, Whew, we dodged a bullet. But then they had me marry Colonel Taylor. We just hadnt seen that. He expressed disappointment that the show didnt consider putting a pregnant girl on TV who was in school and doing well. Hardison: Patti and I were close because she played my mom. On the other hand, it was nice to go out on a high and not feel like youre a poor imitation of what you once were. Guy: We had so much fun off-camera that I only remember episodes based on what was going on in our lives during that time. Bell: Kadeem got the job but hes a New Yorker, so he [came] to L.A. and moved in with me. Its an adjustment, and one that I wasnt really seeking. She was going to wait for her cue, but I wasnt going to get to it. 'He's a disgusting albatross': Trump congratulates Kellyanne Conway for 'getting rid of unattractive loser' husband of 22 years - after she admitted his criticism of former president was a betrayal During a brief hiatus, former Saturday Night Live writer and Square Pegs creator Anne Beatts replaced Crosby. A Different Worlds enduring impact far outweighs the disappointment. But Im still good. I dont look for those accolades. Fales-Hill: The first time Diahann came to do the show, she gathered everybody, and she said that when she had started on a soundstage in Los Angeles, there was absolutely no one of color except for her. Look aroundyour director is Black, your writers are Black. Guy: I felt like Lisa was diminished in her ability to look natural. But Joanne Curley Kerner, she was one of our producers, and she has the other pair. Then, the Italian-descent parents would take her to watch Broadway shows which eventually triggered her interest in pursuing acting as a future career. Hardison: We were friends at first. She was not on my radar, and clearly, I was not going to her radar at the time. When we got the call for the audition, it was a huge deal. Hardison: I was doing the vows and I messed up and I panicked. Juggling an increasingly demanding stand-up and hosting career and also looking to get into film, Sinbad left in season four. Bowser, Fales-Hill, and fellow writer Thad Mumford went on an HBCU tour, visiting students at Spelman, Morehouse, Howard, and other HBCUs to talk to them about college life, the issues they were passionate about, and what they wanted to see from the show. The actress rarely gets lead roles, but even the episodes with her participation become mini-masterpieces of cinema. It frees you up as an actor when someone is that loose with it. Tomei is godmother to all three of Bonet's children, and was present at the birth of two of them. Its a recipe for self-destruction; its a recipe for taking things for granted. Fales-Hill: There were a lot of Black performers, especially of a certain generation, who wanted to be on the show because they loved what it was saying and what it was doing. WHAT DO I HAVE TO LOSE? I think she had a conversation with Mr. Cosby, and then he had conversations with [producers] Marcy Carsey, Tom Werner, and Caryn Mandabach. Hardison: Two weeks after I went to the taping, I got a call that they were auditioning people for extra characters. She's an Oscar-winning actress, has been in the business for nearly four decades, and at 54, there's no sign of her stopping for anyone or anything. Allen: I used to cook for [the cast and crew] to keep that family feel. Guy: After we did the reading, I said, Are yall going to do that? Advertisement 56-year-old Marisa Tomei reportedly decided marriage and kids were not for her. There was a great affinity for the show. Sinbad: I was doing a tour with Luther Vandross and Anita Baker, I was hosting Showtime at the Apollo, and I was doing A Different World. That is so corny.. But unlike his namesake show, Cosby wasnt a key player on A Different World, and its orbit of the fictional Hillman College, an HBCU in Virginia, evades any shadow in memory, as enjoyable as ever in Amazon Prime syndication. Alison Brie and Dave Franco Bare All in Rom-Com, The real-life couple and creative partners speak to. Ceci: I didnt like them either, quite frankly. Guy: That year NBC changed our time slot and put us up against Martin. Wilbekin: Dwayne Wayne really reminded me of so many of my friends at Hampton. We all grew up together. I felt a plantation mentality dictating to us for the first time, because there was no reason for that, other than we had a Black show and [Fox] had a Black show. Allen wanted to keep the dynamic of having a white girl in a black college, but after one season, Tomei's character disappeared too. We had to look at each other one day and say, Wait a minute, what is happening here? We did everything we could to sabotage it. Bell: [Debbie Allens husband] Norm Nixon was playing for the Clippers during our second season. Clockwise from bottom left: Jasmine Guyhere with Darryl Bell and Kadeem Hardisonstarred as Whitley Gilbert following Lisa Bonets departure; from left to right, Guy, Bell, and Debbie Allen in makeup; left to right, Bonet, Dawnn Lewis, and Marisa Tomei on set in the first season; Hardison, Guy, and Cree Summer behind the scenes; Bonet wraps Lewis in a hug. There were some things that were really beautiful that Whitley wore. I dont think the network wanted us to do it, and advertisers pulled out, but it was just the time. You can see Ron breaking down in tears. A tension-filled live performance featuring exes Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham sparked the best-selling novel and its Prime Video adaptation. Diahann Carroll was my mothers best friend. Hardison: I live for the moments at the gas station when a grandmother tells me her baby wanted to be an engineer because of me. After that appearance, he was cast in A Different World. What is happening?. In 1987, one of televisions most influential shows was born. Debbie was always so ahead of her time. We were under a microscope. She said, You guys are driving onto this lot and walking around like you own the place. Dec 29, 2008. Lena Waithe (writer, producer, and actor): My earliest memory of A Different World is it being used as a punishmentthats how serious it was. Along with The Cosby Show, it laid the groundwork for shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Family Matters, and Living Singleitself created by Bowserand featured numerous Black actors long before they were famous, including Halle Berry, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Keenen Ivory Wayans. Susan Fales-Hill (writer and producer): I cant even remember anyone else who auditioned because [Jasmine] just came in and owned it. His grand gesture of interrupting the wedding stayed in the script, though. Waithe: An episode that I dont think gets talked about enough is when [Jada Pinkett Smiths character] Lenas father comes back into her life. Debbie Allen (director and executive producer): My sister [Phylicia Rashad] was a guest on A Different World, and she observed some problems behind the scenes in terms of the storytelling. I thought @HillmanGrad was cool and a lot of people dug it. Date rape had just been defined in the culture; we had just named it. We got to work for the first table read on Monday, and Jasmine had just finished auditioning 20 minutes beforehand. A post shared by Marisa Tomei (@marisatomei) But a source claimed to Page Six on Saturday that not only had Tomei been paid, but she was handed more than $1 million upfront. But I came back in a few days with Hangin With Mr. Cooper. Sitcoms from the 80s and 90s are resurfacing and strangely, 2020 is exposing backstories for some of the eras most beloved shows. Among them were the nerdy but confident Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison); silly playboy Ronald Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell); bougie Southern belle Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy); and free spirit Freddie Brooks (Cree Summer). Lewis: The supporting actors that came through our show were just insane. And I love that episode so much because of the healthy, platonic relationship between Dwayne and Freddie. Lewis: [The creators] wanted to go in a different direction culturally, which meant Marisa was also gone. Susan Fales-Hill hired Yvette Lee Bowser, who would then go on to create Living Single. Though she and Bell would become a couple four years laterand they remain together todaythere were no sparks during her guest spot. I got the show and had to figure out being in L.A., because I was in New York at the time. Guyhere with Bell and Hardisonstarred as Whitley Gilbert following Bonets departure. Bell: If you watched the last episode, when Whitley and Dwayne are getting ready to walk out of frame, Debbie ends the shot on my face. We have a very special subliminal language. I just cant personally imagine making a choice like that. From comedy classics to underseen dramatic gems, your next binge is waiting. And Debbie [Allen] was therewhich was great. Soon after producers created the role of Ron Johnson but still made Bell audition through a chemistry read with Hardison. On September 24, 1987, A Different World aired its wildly popular pilot, whose ratings surpassed every other program except The Cosby Show. Waithe: When I first joined Instagram, I didnt really want to use my name. The theme song was sung by Phoebe Snow for season one, Aretha Franklin for seasons two through five, and Boyz II Men for season 6. Robinson: We actually had a spinoff in place. In the episode, Rudy Huxtable visits Denise at Hillman and becomes enamored with Whitley. You need to really honor that.. Allen: If theres an episode that was remarkable, it was the AIDS episode. I went to Howard University, and it was everything in my growth and my self-discovery from young teenager to woman. There were a lot of women who came from privilege, who were light skin, and who felt high and mighty. [It examines] the relationship between Black fathers and their daughters, and how sometimes Black fathers have demons that unfortunately, their children have to deal with. He shows up and hes not the guy that she wrote about. It was also where Tomei first met the actor Lisa Bonet, who, after more than three decades together in the entertainment industry, has been a constant source of support and affirmation. That is whack. Lewis and Bowser both left in season five. She had only one line in the film. But I understood Whitley, and I understood why she became what she was and the journey that she had to go on. Tuesday, August 4, 1987, writer and producer Yvette Lee Bowser pulled out her diary and started an entry: Its 2:52 AM. While many reports attributed the reason to creative differences, it appears that the reason was something else. Lisa Bonet became pregnant while filming A Different World No. Award-winning actress Marisa Tomei has never been married nor has kids of her own. Bell: Lisa was on The Cosby Show, so she was accustomed to being in the atmosphere of a juggernaut. Clockwise from left: Courtesy of Darryl Bell; CARSEY-WERNER CO./NBC/ ALAMY; Everett Collection; NNC/Everett Collection. I have nothing for you out here. I showed him some stories that Id written and he chuckled a little bit. Then Kadeem and I bought courtside seats. 'A Different World': Marisa Tomei Was Fired Because Executive Opposed Inter-Racial Dating Story Fred Topel 19 hrs ago Like Comments Oscar winner Marisa Tomei got her start on A. Goes to class. . But the onscreen chemistry between Hardison and Guy was hard-foughtinitially hampered by a little crush Hardison says he had on Guy, and a fear of coming off too aggressive. Her film debut was a minor role in the 1984 comedy film The Flamingo Kid, in which she played Mandy, a waitress. Allen: I had been asked to work on Family Ties, but then I got this call from Bill and he said, You know we need you to come and get out your broom; clean it up and bring reality to it. So thats what I did. It was unpaid. Kadeem went in first and you could hear the laughing outside in the hallway while the rest of us were waiting. Guy: [Ceci] had Whitley down. Wilbekin: In many ways, A Different World helped a lot of us who were in college or just out of college process what was going on in the world. The pilot was picked up and filming began in early 1987 with George Crosby as producer. The amount of press and paparazzi that hounded and followed themthey were 20-year-old kids. Whitley reminded me of a lot of the women that I grew up with in Cincinnati and in Jack and Jill, and women who attended Hampton. Id been accepted to UCLA, and I was like, If I get this, Im not going to be able to go to college full-time. I was kind of torn between [going to school full-time or] having to go part-time and work on A Different World. And Rudy had adopted Whitleys accent, so I spent the entire week playing an eight-year-old girl with a Southern accent, climbing into bed with Jasmine Guy and Lisa Bonet. While A Different World finished its first season rated number two behind The Cosby Show, the writers and cast believed that the story lines lacked the depth and relevance needed to accurately portray student life at an HBCU. CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified the season in which Ceci began working as A Different World's lead costume designer. Hes really cool, but hes really corny; hes so confident, but hes really insecure. Shortly after, Bowser joined the team. I remember wearing moccasins that I brought from home. The audition took place in an office packed with writers, producers, and NBC executives. Today, I begin my first real job as an intern writer with a new NBC sitcom. She didnt want to put on a suit, she didnt want to comb her hair. Originally, this was a Spin-Off of The Cosby Show: Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) goes to college. The show garnered just three Emmy nominations (Carroll and Goldberg, both for outstanding guest actress, and outstanding technical direction) and took home none. And then, I think it was Debbie and Joe who said, This needs to be The Graduate. However, the most successful role in her early career was the picture of Mona Lisa Vito in the comedy film "My Cousin Vinny" (1992) directed by . It was a battle that I had to wage and ultimately we won. In a previous interview, Kadeem Hardison opened up about Lisa's exit from the show, which he said he was not happy about. The Cosby Shows Tempestt Bledsoe guest starred in an episode during season two. The seminal Cosby Show spinoff was developed by Bill Cosbyan indelible fact. Lewis: Sinbad and I have this really great friendship and chemistry. Marisa Tomei's Oscar for her charming, instantly iconic supporting turn in My Cousin Vinny was, for years, whispered to have been a mistake, the . Its not deep, its messy and crazy.. She started crying and shaking and we were like, All right, honey, dont die on us. But she was like, You just dont understandIm a doctor now, Im married to a lawyer. Cosby offered Sinbad the stand-up role anyway, and a guest spot on The Cosby Show. I made that choice. Among the most memorable episodes were two consecutive shows that culminated with Whitley and Dwayne getting married, during what was initially Whitleys wedding to Byron Douglas III, played by Joe Morton. Over the years audiences watched them struggle with schoolwork, form meaningful friendships, fall in and out of love, and grow from capricious teens to responsible young adults. Clockwise from bottom left: NBC/Everett Collection; Courtesy of Yvette-Lee Bowser; NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Images; Gene Trindl/NBC/ Everett Collection. Hardison introduced himself to everyone in the room, one by one, then recited each persons name back to them in reverse order. Loretta Devine (Stevie Rallen): I was in London doing The Colored Museum. Emil Wilbekin (journalist and founder of Native Son, a collective and empowerment platform for Black gay/queer men): A Different World launched when I was a sophomore at Hampton University. *, Fales-Hill: Originally, we had written it in a much more staid way, and everyone had a civilized, polite conversation about Whitley and Byron not working out. Lisa Bonet was fired from A Different World, a spinoff of The Cosby Show, in 1988 after only appearing in one season. Why did Lisa Bonet and Marisa Tomei leave A Different World? Youve read the scripts, you understand the character dynamics. Clockwise from bottom left: Although Bonet appeared for only one season, she left her mark; writers and producers Yvette Lee Bowser, Susan Fales-Hill, and Allen pose together; an off-screen friendship with Bonet was what initially brought Hardison onto the series; Hardison and Bell in a still from the season five The Cats in the Cradle episode. Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson): Through School Daze, Kadeem and I got really close. Riley Keough Is Living Her Rock Star Dreams, Thanks to Lisa Marie Presley, The actor and granddaughter of Elvis Presley joined producer Reese Witherspoon for the Hollywood premiere of, Even as Oscar Nominees, Cate Blanchett, Angela Bassett, and Jamie Lee Curtis Remember What Disappointment Felt Like. She was my first boss on Girlfriends; she was showrunning. And she had a nice-nasty relationship with Jasmine Guy's Whitley. Guy: Some of the writers and producers were coming up to me and going, Are you nervous? I was like, No more nervous than any other time. I wanted to tell people, Im not her, Im not really getting married. I think its disappointing to people that I wasnt as invested, but I would definitely be crazy if I thought I was the characters that Ive portrayed. Bonets time on A Different World came to end. Fales-Hill: We didnt have a character who was from the hood, and wanted to address that experience. While Hardison wasnt a fan of Dwaynes colorful style, early on the wardrobe department gave him free rein to order sneakers from Nike, and he didnt push back on how they styled him from the ankle up. Hardison: I didnt watch the show when it was on air. We did stories about racism, we did stories about the L.A. riotswe were one of the first shows to address AIDS. Few sitcoms were tackling such issues at the time, including The Cosby Show, which largely omitted social and political themes from its story lines. I know that the show never won an Emmy, but it never felt like we were part of that party anyway. Yvette Lee Bowser went on to show run Dear White People, the series, which was the first movie Id ever produced. I asked if I could audition and they told me no for about three months, saying, We love what youre doing in the Broadway show, just keep singing and dancing. The tour ended and I had one more unemployment check left. The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. It was my decision [to leave] because I was working so much, doing too many things. Thats me too.. One of those projects was A Different World, the late-'80s Cosby Show spinoff that helped launch her career. Young people who gain fame, they [can] get carried away. Her sun sign is Sagittarius. Tomei puts a lot of focus into cleansing and starts each morning with hot water and lemon instead of that cup of java that most people reach for. The rest of us, we were not. We were happy that Debbie was taking over but where did Lisa go?
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