Fame is an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name and was hugely popular during its first few seasons. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although fictional, it was based heavily on the actual
Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing ArtsFiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, also officially known as "H.S. 485" and informally as "LaGuardia Arts" , is a high school specializing in teaching visual arts and performing arts, located near Martin Luther King, Jr...
in New York. Most interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood, California. In Seasons 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 the show filmed several exterior scenes on location in New York City.
The popularity of the series, particularly in the UK, led to several hit records and live concert tours by the cast. Despite its success, very few of the actors maintained high-profile careers after the series was cancelled. A number of the cast members were seen again briefly in a reunion programme made for UK television in 2008.
Details
The show was produced by MGM Television and was first broadcast on the
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
television network in the US on January 7 1982, producers William Blinn and Mel Swope. The last new episode was broadcast in the US on May 18, 1987. Some seasons of the show were produced by the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
in the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and Channel 7 in Australia where later seasons of the show were more popular than in the domestic market and in order to continue production they financed the later seasons.
Following its cancellation, two versions of the series were syndicated in reruns: the original hour-long episodes, which usually contained a primary plot, a sub plot and two or more musical numbers; and a second version, stripped of the musical numbers and the sub plot and reduced to 30 minutes in length.
The show's
theme song"Fame" is a pop song written by Michael Gore and Dean Pitchford that was released in 1980 and achieved chart success as the theme song to the Fame film and TV series. The song was performed by Irene Cara, who played the role of Coco Hernandez in the original movie...
was a pop hit for singer
Irene CaraIrene Cara is an American singer and actress. Cara won an Academy Award in 1984 in the category of Best Original Song for co-writing "Flashdance... What a Feeling". She is also known for her recording of the song "Fame", and she also starred in the 1980 film Fame.She married Hollywood stuntman...
, having been featured in the motion picture. A re-recorded version of the theme, using similar instrumentation to the 1980 track, was used in the TV series and sung by co-star
Erica GimpelErica F. Gimpel , American television actress, known from the roles on television such as Fame, Profiler, Roswell, ER, JAG, Babylon 5 and Veronica Mars....
, who played Coco Hernandez. Although Gimpel left the series midway through the third season (after the show moved from
NBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices in Burbank,California...
to first-run syndication in 1983), her opening vocals were still heard on the show for two more seasons. An updated version of the song, featuring a modern, synthesized hard-rock flavor, was introduced in the fall of 1985 and performed by new cast member Loretta Chandler (Dusty). This version ran for the final two seasons of
Fame.
"I Still Believe In Me", from an episode of the series entitled "Passing Grade", was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Original Song. It was performed by
Erica GimpelErica F. Gimpel , American television actress, known from the roles on television such as Fame, Profiler, Roswell, ER, JAG, Babylon 5 and Veronica Mars....
and
Debbie AllenDeborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She is probably best known for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1982 TV series Fame...
and co-written by
Gary PortnoyGary Portnoy is a singer/ songwriter from New York, best known for co-writing and singing the theme songs to two U.S. television sitcoms:*Cheers Theme: "Where Everybody Knows Your Name"...
who would go on to co-write and sing the
Theme from Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name)"Where Everybody Knows Your Name" is the theme song from the 1980s television sitcom Cheers. The song was written by Gary Portnoy and Judy Hart Angelo and performed by Portnoy. Shortly after the premiere of Cheers, Gary Portnoy went back into the studio to record a full-length version of the song...
. In the UK, two singles credited to
The Kids from "Fame"The Kids from "Fame" was the group name of several cast members from the TV series Fame who had a number of hit singles and albums at the height of the show's success in the UK. This success culminated in tours of the UK where they performed live in concert...
, "Hi-Fidelity" and "Starmaker", reached the top ten.
Awards
The series won a number of Emmy awards and in 1983 and 1984 was voted the
Golden Globe Awards: Television, Best Series, Musical/Comedy. Actress,
directorA television director directs the activities involved in making a television episode.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or filmed/taped .In both types of productions, the director is responsible for supervising the placement of cameras ,...
and choreographer
Debbie AllenDeborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She is probably best known for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1982 TV series Fame...
, who had a small role in the motion picture but played a major character in the television version, also won several awards.
Faculty
- Debbie Allen
Deborrah Kaye “Debbie” Allen is an American actress, choreographer, television director, television producer, and a member of the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities. She is probably best known for her role as Lydia Grant in the 1982 TV series Fame...
as Lydia Grant
- Albert Hague
Albert Hague was a German-born songwriter and composer.Hague was born as Albert Marcuse to a Jewish family in Berlin, Germany. His father was a psychiatrist and a musical prodigy and his mother a chess champion...
as Benjamin Shorofsky
- Graham Jarvis
Graham Jarvis was a Canadian character actor in US films and TV from the 1960s.Born in Toronto, Jarvis attended Williams College before moving to New York to pursue a career in theater...
as Principal Bob Dyrenforth (episodes 98-136)
- Carol Mayo Jenkins
Carol Mayo Jenkins is an American actress who is most famous for having played Elizabeth Sherwood in seasons 1-5 of the T.V. series Fame. She also appeared in the television shows Models Inc., Matlock, and Max Headroom....
as Elizabeth Sherwood (seasons 1-5)
- Eric Pierpoint
Eric Pierpoint is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as George Francisco on Fox Network's Alien Nation. He has appeared on all of the Star Trek spin-offs. He played five characters in the four series from 1993 to 2005.He is the son of retired CBS news correspondent Robert...
as Paul Seeger (episodes 115-136)
- Morgan Stevens
Morgan Stevens is an American actor, primarily seen on television.He appeared as Paul Northridge in one episode of The Waltons and in three reunion movies. In A Wedding on Walton's Mountain, his character married the character of Erin Walton...
as David Reardon (season 2, recurring seasons 3 & 4)
- Michael Thoma as Greg Crandall (recurring season 1)
- Ken Swofford as Quentin Morloch (episodes 40-97)
- Ann Nelson
This article is for Ann Elizabeth Nelson the physicist, not actress Ann Nelson who played Mrs. Berg on Fame . Ann Nelson is a particle physicist at the University of Washington. She was a student of Howard Georgi and has been a member of the university's Particle Theory Group since 1994...
as Mrs. Gertrude Berg (episode 66-136, recurring previously)
Students
- P.R. Paul
Paul Ray Rosenbaum , known by the stage name P. R. Paul, is an American actor who is best known for playing the role of Montgomery McNeil on the TV series Fame....
as Montgomery MacNeil (season 1)
- Lori Singer
Lori Singer is an American actress and cellist. She is perhaps best known for her role of Ariel Moore, the daughter of Reverend Shaw Moore in the 1984 film Footloose, which also starred Kevin Bacon...
as Julie Miller (seasons 1–2)
- Lee Curreri
Lee Curreri is an American actor and musician. He was born in the Bronx, New York.He played piano with In vitro musical group....
as Bruno Martelli (seasons 1–3)
- Erica Gimpel
Erica F. Gimpel , American television actress, known from the roles on television such as Fame, Profiler, Roswell, ER, JAG, Babylon 5 and Veronica Mars....
as Coco Hernandez (seasons 1–3)
- Valerie Landsburg
Valerie Landsburg is an American actress, television and film director, screenwriter, and singer-songwriter. She is best known for her role as Doris Schwartz in the 1982 series Fame, interpreting, for television, the role that Maureen Teefy had originated in the film. She was also the lead singer...
as Doris Schwartz (seasons 1–4)
- Carlo Imperato
Carlo Imperato is an American actor, best known for his role as student Danny Amatullo in the 1982 Fame TV series. His real name is "Anthony Richard Imperato", but he had to change it to "Carlo" when he was trying to get his SAG card, when he began acting...
as Danny Amatullo
- Gene Anthony Ray
Gene Anthony Ray was an American actor, dancer, and choreographer who is best known for his portrayal of the street smart dancer Leroy in the 1980 film Fame in addition to the television spin-off which aired from 1982 until 1987.-Early life:Born in Harlem, New York, Ray grew up in the neighborhood...
as Leroy Johnson
- Cynthia Gibb
Cynthia Gibb is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television.-Biography:...
as Holly Laird (seasons 3–5)
- Billy Hufsey
Billy Hufsey is an American actor and singer.-Career:Billy Hufsey emerged as a minor television singing sensation in the mid-1980s, playing the role of Christopher Donlon on the syndicated drama Fame. He went on to play the role of another singing hopeful, Emilio Ramirez, on the daytime drama Days...
as Christopher Donlon (seasons 3–6)
- Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Born in Gary, Indiana, and raised in Encino, Los Angeles, California, she is the youngest child of the Jackson family of musicians...
as Cleo Hewitt (season 4)
- Jesse Borrego
Jesse Borrego is an American actor. Better knownfor playing Cruz Candelaria in Blood in, Blood out and later guest starring as George King in Dexter....
as Jesse Velasquez (seasons 4–6)
- Nia Peeples
Virenia Gwendolyn Peeples is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Nicole Chapman on the hit 1980s television series Fame...
as Nicole Chapman (seasons 4–6)
- Page Hannah as Kate Riley (seasons 5)
- Carrie Hamilton
Carrie Hamilton was an American actress, singer, and playwright. She was the daughter of comedienne/actress Carol Burnett and the late producer Joe Hamilton.-Life:...
as Reggie Higgins (seasons 5–6)
- Loretta Chandler as Dusty Tyler (seasons 5–6)
- Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris is an American singer, guitarist and actor.-Early life:Cerveris was raised in Huntington, West Virginia by a professor of music father and a dancer mother who met while students at the Juilliard School...
as Ian Ware (season 6)
- Olivia Barash
Olivia Barash is an American actress. She has appeared in many films, including the cult film Repo Man, as well as television series in her career, including Little House on the Prairie, Fame, and St. Elsewhere...
as Maxie Sharp (season 6)
- Elisa Heinsohn as Jillian Beckett (season 6)
Additional characters
- Dick Miller
Richard "Dick" Miller is an American character actor who has appeared in many films, particularly those produced by Roger Corman, and later in films of directors who started their careers with Corman, including Joe Dante and James Cameron .Miller was born in The Bronx, New York and attended the...
as Lou Mackie (season 6, recurring previously on seasons 4 & 5)
Recurring characters
- Carmine Caridi
Carmine Caridi is an American television and film actor. He has appeared in a wide variety of roles over the past 30 years, most notably playing Albert Volpe in The Godfather Part III and Carmine Rosato in The Godfather Part II...
as Angelo Martelli (seasons 1–2)
- Michael DeLorenzo
Michael DeLorenzo is an American actor and dancer. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of NYPD Detective Eddie Torres on the Fox television series New York Undercover.-Life and career:...
as Michael (seasons 1–3)
- Denny Dillon
Denny Dillon is an American comedian and former cast member of Saturday Night Live. At 4'11" , Dillon is the shortest cast member in the show's history...
as Corky (season 6)
- David Greenlee
David Greenlee is an American voice actor and actor best known for his portrayal of the nerdy hall monitor Dwight in the 1982 television series Fame from season 2 through to season 5 .-Anime Roles:...
as Dwight Mendenhall (seasons 2–5)
- Robert Romanus
Robert Romanus , also billed as Bob Romanus, is an American actor who has starred in film and television. He is best remembered for his role in the 1982 comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High as the ticket scalper Mike Damone, and as Natalie Green's boyfriend Snake on The Facts of Life...
as Miltie Horowitz (seasons 5–6)
- Carolyn J. Silas as Laura Mackie (season 6)
- Sam Slovick
Sam Slovick is an American actor, musician, and writer.As an actor, he appeared in the movies Red Dawn and Home for the Holidays and the TV series Fame....
as Cassidy (season 4)
- Bronwyn Thomas as Michelle (season 1–4)
- Caryn Ward as Tina Johnson (seasons 5–6)
DVD releases
Sony Pictures Home EntertainmentSony Pictures Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation. It was established in 1978 as Columbia Pictures Home Entertainment....
released the first season of
Fame on DVD in Region 1 on November 1, 2005. This is now out of print as the home video rights are now owned by
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and Fox Video. The company also is best known for distributing the world's...
.
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox Home Entertainment is the home video distribution arm of the 20th Century Fox film studio. It was established in 1976 as Magnetic Video Corporation, and later as 20th Century Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video and Fox Video. The company also is best known for distributing the world's...
(under license from (
MGMMGM Home Entertainment is the home video and DVD arm of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.-History:The home video division of MGM started in 1973 as MGM Home Video, releasing all the movies and TV shows by MGM...
) released the complete first and second seasons of
Fame on DVD in Region 1 and Region 2 on September 15, 2009.
http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/news/Fame-Seasons-1-and-2/12033
| DVD Name |
Ep # |
Release Date |
| The Complete First Season (Out of Print) |
16 |
November 1 2005 |
| Seasons 1 & 2 |
38 |
September 15 2009 |
Bring Back...Fame
On 27 December 2008,
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
TV in the UK screened a 90-minute special titled
Bring Back...Bring Back... is a British television series comprising one-off shows where Justin Lee Collins tries to locate people from music, TV or film backgrounds to reunite them for a one-off performance or get-together...
Fame, which sought out and reunited some of the original cast members of the television series.
Presented by
Justin Lee CollinsJustin Lee Collins, often known as JLC, is a British comedian, television and radio presenter from Bristol. His West Country accent, enthusiasm for pop culture and "caveman" image are amongst his trademarks, a trait he claims was inspired by Chewbacca from Star Wars...
, and apparently filmed the previous summer, the show followed the presenter around the United States as he tracked down actors from the series and then staged a reunion. The programme showed Collins appearing to surprise the former cast members in locations including restaurants, a recording studio, a gym, LAX airport and a cinema, before interviewing them and persuading them to take part in the reunion.
The actors featured in the programme were Debbie Allen, Carol Mayo Jenkins, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Valerie Landsburg and Carlo Imperato.
Also interviewed were Irene Cara, who did not appear in the TV series but sang the theme song and played Coco in the original motion picture, and the mother of the late Gene Anthony Ray. It was not stated whether other actors from the series had also been approached but had declined to take part. Excerpts from the TV series were shown throughout the programme. The final scenes of the programme showed the six principal actors and a number of backing dancers taking part in a recreation of the title sequence of the TV programme.
The programme was made for and broadcast on Channel 4, despite
Fame having originally been shown in the UK on the
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
. No explanation was given for the reunion. There appeared to be no promotional purpose; no mention was made of the DVD release of the series or the forthcoming remake of the original motion picture, and the original TV series has never been re-run in the UK.
See also
- The Kids from "Fame"
The Kids from "Fame" was the group name of several cast members from the TV series Fame who had a number of hit singles and albums at the height of the show's success in the UK. This success culminated in tours of the UK where they performed live in concert...
- an article on the recording group.
- Un Paso Adelante (TV series)
Un Paso Adelante is a Spanish version of the American 1980’s TV series Fame. It was originally broadcast on Spanish channel Antena 3 from 2002 to 2005...
(SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
series based on "Fame")
External links