News

Veteran actor John Lawlor, who starred in the CBS sitcom Phyllis and the NBC comedy The Facts of Life, has died. He was 83. Lawlor’s passing was confirmed by his family in his Syracuse.com obituary, which noted he “passed away peacefully Feb. 13, 2025 at the Albuquerque veterans hospice facility with his daughter, Riel, by his side.” Born on June 5, 1941, in Troy, New York, Lawlor was raised in Boulder, Colorado, where he graduated from the University of Colorado and was a member of the Nomad Players, acting in Sweeney Todd and other stage productions. He went on to serve in the U.S. Army in Vietnam before making his first on-screen appearances on 1975 episodes of The Rockford Files and Ellery Queen. He also played a deputy in Jackson County Jail (1976). Lawlor is best known for playing Supervisor Leonard Marsh on the hit television series Phyllis from 1976 to 1977 and later Headmaster Steven Bradley...

John Lawlor, known for his roles in the sitcoms Phyllis and The Facts of Life, has died at the age of 83.

Lawlor died on Feb. 13 at a veterans’ hospice facility in Albuquerque, N.M., with his daughter Riel by his side, per an obituary posted by his family. A cause of death was not disclosed.

More from TVLineMSNBC Removes Joy Reid and Alex Wagner From Lineup - Who Is Replacing Them?Lynne Marie Stewart, Pee-wee's Playhouse and It's Always Sunny Actress, Dead at 78Peter Jason, Deadwood Actor, Dead at 80 - Read Tributes From Castmates

Born in Troy, N.Y., Lawlor...

John Lawlor, an actor who had made a string of guest shots on various mid-’70s TV series before landing a regular role in 1976 on Cloris Leachman’s The Mary Tyler Moore Show spin-off Phyllis on CBS and just more than a decade later played Headmaster Bradley on NBC’s popular sitcom The Facts of Life, died February 13 at a veterans’ hospice facility in Albuquerque. He was 83.

His death was announced by his family, who write, “John will be remembered for his great love and affection for his family, his work and enjoyment of theater, television, movies, literature, and of course, his beloved horses.”

Born June 5, 1941, in Troy, New York, Lawlor graduated from the University of Colorado, and would perform with the Nomad players, a theater troupe founded in 1951 that would include such actors as Lawlor, Larry Linville and Joan Van Ark.

A U.S. Army veteran with service in Vietman,...

Television's long tradition of spin-offs has yielded some of the most innovative and beloved shows to ever hit the small screen. A spin-off is a new TV show that features a character or characters from a pre-existing series. Often, spin-offs are an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of a breakout character, and they stick closely to the tone of the program they originate from. But this isn't always the case.

Sometimes spin-offs and their progenitors vary wildly in tone, subject matter, or even genre. This is often the case with 'back door spin-offs' or preconceived shows that air their pilot as an episode of a popular show to create the illusion that the shows are connected. Still other times, the spin-off merely evolves to create its own identity.

Law & Order: True Crime Breaks A Classic Formula Original Series: Law & Order

Law & Order is an indisputable titan in the television landscape.

They don’t make ‘em like Love American Style anymore, the ‘70s anthology show that featured out-of-work stars in one-off stories based on the theme of romance. The comedy lasted five seasons but didn’t make much of an impact — unless you count the episode, “Love and the Television Set.” Teenage Ronny Howard, known to viewers as The Andy Griffith Show’s Opie, played a ‘50s kid looking for love. That half-hour episode became the de facto pilot for Happy Days, a show whose 11 seasons more than doubled the run of Love, American Style.

Here are five more sitcoms that began life on another show and outlasted the original…

1 Frasier

Kelsey Grammer’s Frasier Crane seemed an unlikely candidate to lead a spin-off from Cheers. Weren’t Woody and Norm funnier characters? How about Carla and her weird family? But Frasier, with a completely different cast and tone from Cheers,...

The 1980s was truly an era of world-class sitcoms, but many of the decade's brightest series have faded from our cultural memory. While iconic shows like The Golden Girls and Cheers undoubtedly made television history, they're part of a larger wave of comedies that helped propel the sitcom format into new territory.

For decades, sitcoms like I Love Lucy, Good Times, and The Brady Bunch centered on the concept of family. There were some exceptions, but these shows, like Dream of Jeannie or Gilligan's Island, were often built around a gimmick. The 80s changed that, opening windows to a plethora of different environments. The sitcoms of the era explored the relationships between coworkers, neighbors, and friends. On top of this, they eschewed flashy premises, putting faith in sharp writing and well-rounded characters.

The Facts Of Life Shines Thanks to Its Cast It's a Seminal Series on Female Friendships

The Facts of Life...

Mimi Hines, the delightful Canadian-born actress, singer and comedian who stepped in for Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in the original Broadway production of Funny Girl, has died. She was 91.

Hines died Monday of natural causes at her home in Las Vegas, her friend and attorney Mark Sendroff told The Hollywood Reporter.

Hines was married to late actor-comic Phil Ford from 1954 until their 1972 divorce, and as “Ford and Hines,” they had a thriving nightclub act that was featured on variety/talk programs like Jack Paar’s The Tonight Show.

In her Broadway debut, Hines starred in Funny Girl from December 1965 through its final performance in July 1967. When she got the gig, she told The New York Times — who described her as a “mischievous sprite” — that she was not nervous.

“It’s always easier to follow a good actress than a bad one,” she said. “Miss Streisand is wonderful. [And] there is...

One of the Facts of Life stars sabotaged the revival by attempting to set up their own spinoff, according to Mindy Cohn. Cohn did not reveal which co-star was responsible, but hinted at checking her Instagram for clues. The former co-stars now have "no desire to ever work together," effectively killing hopes of a revival.

Facts of Life's Mindy Cohn reveals that a revival of the Emmy-nominated sitcom was sabotaged by one of its stars, calling her a "greedy b---h." A spin-off of Diff'rent Strokes, the NBC sitcom aired from 1979 to 1998 following the Drummond family's former housekeeper, Edna Garrett, who becomes a housemother of a dormitory at the private all-girls Eastland High School. The cast included Charlotte Rae as Mrs. Garrett alongside Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Nancy McKeon, and Cohn playing the girls in her care.

During a recent appearance on SiriusXM's Jeff Lewis Live, Cohn revealed that a Facts...

According to The Facts of Life star Mindy Cohn, a “greedy bitch” on the original cast sabotaged a potential reboot of the beloved ’80s sitcom.

The veteran actress, who is enjoying a bit of a moment thanks to a role on the Emmy-nominated series Palm Royale, dished on the alleged betrayal during an appearance on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live this week. The anecdote began as Cohn reminded hosts Lewis, Michael Hitchcock and Shane Douglas that the show was recently resuscitated as one of the specials for the Norman Lear and Jimmy Kimmel series Live in Front of a Studio Audience.

“They did one of Diff’rent Strokes and Facts of Life and after that, Norman Lear, who is no longer with us, when he was still alive, he called all of us and said, ‘I knew you guys were still popular, but holy hell. The response from the live.’ And...

A potential revival of the classic NBC comedy The Facts of Life was effectively sabotaged by a “greedy” co-star who quietly tried to set up her own spinoff, says Mindy Cohn.

During a recent hit on SiriusXM’s Jeff Lewis Live (watch video above), Cohn shared that in the wake of ABC’s December 2021 Live in Front of a Studio Audience special that re-enacted episodes of Facts as well as Diff’rent Strokes, executive producer and sitcom titan Norman Lear reached out to say, “I knew you guys were still popular, but holy hell. The response from the Live [special]!”

More...

Jeff Harris and Bernie Kukoff's sitcom "Diff'rent Strokes" debuted in 1978 and ran 189 episodes over a whopping eight seasons. The series starred Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges as Arnold and Willis Jackson, two impoverished kids from Harlem whose mother had recently died. They were adopted by the wealthy Mr. Drummond (Conrad Bain), a Park Avenue millionaire. The series revolved around the relationship Arnold and Willis developed with their adopted father, new sister Kimberly (Dana Plato), and one of three kindly housekeepers. In the 1984 season, Mr. Drummond married a woman named Maggie, and she was played by Dixie Carter for two years before being replaced by Mary Ann Mobley.

"Diff'rent Strokes" wasn't just overwhelmingly popular, but it also served as a template for a decade's worth of booming sitcoms. It was "Diff'rent Strokes" that famously presented "very special episodes" about serious issues like drug addiction, homelessness, eating disorders, and looking out...

Sheldon Harnick, the nimble lyricist who partnered with composer Jerry Bock to create the songs for some of Broadway’s greatest musicals, including Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello! and She Loves Me, has died Friday. He was 99.

Harnick died of natural causes at his apartment overlooking Central Park on the Upper West Side, spokesperson Sean Katz told The Hollywood Reporter.

Harnick, who credited actress Charlotte Rae for inspiring him to become a Broadway lyricist, had an uncanny knack of making it sound as if the singer were having a conversation with the audience. His lyrics for such tunes as “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “She Loves Me” and “Little Tin Box” were simple and straightforward yet deeply moving at the same time.

“A theater lyricist is a playwright who writes short plays in verse that have to be set to music,” Harnick said in a 2016 interview with the Los Angeles Times.

The live-action remake of Disney’s The Little Mermaid has been met with a lot of criticism for many reasons and way before the first looks at it were shared, and Melissa McCarthy’s casting as Ursula was no exception. The trend of live-action remakes continues at Disney, and next in line is The Little Mermaid, loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s 1837 fairy tale of the same name. The Little Mermaid remake is directed by Rob Marshall with music by legendary composer Alan Menken and new songs by Lin-Manuel Miranda, and it’s expected to tell the same story as the animated classic, but with some changes here and there.

The Little Mermaid, then, will see the title mermaid, Ariel (Halle Bailey), as she transforms into a human after falling in love with human Prince Eric (Jonah Hauer-King) and making a deal with the sea witch Ursula (Melissa McCarthy...

Carole Cook, who used a career boost from Lucille Ball to build a career that included three turns on Broadway and roles in Sixteen Candles and The Incredible Mr. Limpet, has died. She was 98.

Cook died of heart failure on Wednesday, three days shy of her birthday, in Beverly Hills, her husband, actor Tom Troupe, announced.

On television, Cook showed up as the ex-wife of Walter Findlay (Bill Macy) on Maude, as the bar owner of the cop hangout Stella’s on Kojak, as madam Cora Van Husen on Dynasty and as Donna La Mar, the girlfriend of Charlie Cagney (Dick O’Neill), on Cagney & Lacey.

The fun-loving Texan came to Hollywood at Ball’s behest and appeared on a 1959 episode of the comedienne’s Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse. Ball convinced her to change her first name from Mildred to Carole in honor of the actress she most admired, Carole Lombard.

Cook...

Click here to read the full article.

Pat Carroll, the gregarious Emmy-winning comedienne who was a television mainstay for decades before segueing to a voiceover career that included portraying the villainous sea witch Ursula in The Little Mermaid, has died. She was 95.

Carroll died Saturday of pneumonia at her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, her daughter Kerry Karsian told The Hollywood Reporter.

Carroll’s perky personality, screwball wit and impeccable timing made her a great second banana, and Red Buttons, Jimmy Durante, Mickey Rooney, Steve Allen and Charley Weaver were among those who called upon her to make their programs funnier. Her antics on Caesar’s Hour earned her an Emmy in 1957, and she was nominated for her work on the classic variety show the following year.

In a 2013 interview with Kliph Nesteroff, Carroll compared Howard Morris, Carl Reiner and Sid Caesar on Caesar’s Hour to the Chicago Cubs’ legendary double-play...

It was a night of record-making firsts and honoring legends from Hollywood’s Golden Era. John Forsythe and Marlo Thomas hosted the 34th Primetime Emmy Awards on ABC on September 19, 1982 — before cable TV and streaming services took over and network TV still ruled the small screen. Read on for our Emmys flashback 40 years ago to 1982.

One of the most celebrated dramas of all time set new records and dominated the acting categories. “Hill Street Blues” received 16 major nominations, breaking the two-decade record of 14 for “Playhouse 90” in 1959. It’s also the first series to receive nine acting noms in one ceremony. It would end the evening tied with “Fame” for the most wins with four, including Best Drama Series, a writing win (it received four out of the five bids in that category) and two acting trophies.

SEEEmmys flashback 20 years ago to 2002, when ‘Friends’ finally won and ‘The West Wing’ dominated...

Spoiler Alert: This post contains details about Tuesday’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience, which aired live on the East Coast on ABC.

After four decades, cameras rolled once again on the classic ’70s/’80s comedies, Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life, as part of ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience tonight.

Airing live on the East Coast, the telecast unfolded smoothly, with no major line flubs and only a few uneven moments, which passed quickly. Soon-to-be-100-year-old TV legend Norman Lear, appearing with Jimmy Kimmel, who produced the third outing in the Live series, dropped an f-bomb that had to be bleeped. The curse word toward the top of the show seemed to be a staged, though amusing, element.

Before the main event, Deadline took a peek behind the curtain during Monday night’s rehearsal featuring an all-star cast of new players and...

Kevin Hart went Live in Front of a Studio Audience on Tuesday night, channeling Gary Coleman as part of a reenactment of the classic NBC/ABC comedy Diff’rent Strokes.

But before the reenactment got underway, original cast member Todd Bridges (aka Willis Jackson) entered the recreated Drummond penthouse set to introduce Boyz II Men, who performed the series’ iconic theme song. He also paid tribute to his late costars.

More from TVLineJeopardy!: Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings to Host Through End of Season 38Tv Ratings: Live in Front of a Studio Audience, FBI Top TuesdayAbbott Elementary Premiere Recap: Grade ABC's...

The world don’t move to the beat of just one drum — but when Boyz II Men starts singing, the studio audience rises from their seats.

ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience — consisting of reenactments of Diff’rent Strokes and The Facts of Life episodes — enlisted four-time Grammy winners Shawn Stockman and Wanya Morris from Boyz II Men to perform a live rendition of the theme song that accompanied Diff’rent Strokes during its eight-year run.

More from TVLineJeopardy!: Mayim Bialik, Ken Jennings to Host Through End of Season 38Tv Ratings: Live in Front of a Studio Audience,...

The first half of Tuesday’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience transported audiences to Eastland Academy in Peekskill, N.Y., where a star-studded ensemble — led by Friends‘ Jennifer Aniston and WandaVision‘s Kathryn Hahn — recreated a classic episode of the 1980s comedy The Facts of Life.

But before the reenactment got underway, original series star Lisa Whelchel (aka Blair Warner) entered in her Eastland uniform to perform the series’ iconic theme song, which culminated in an all-too-brief reunion with former costars Mindy Cohn (Natalie Green) and Kim Fields (Tootie Ramsey). (Nancy McKeon, who originated the role of Jo Polniaczek,...

If the idea of Kevin Hart as Arnold Jackson — the 8-year-old played by Gary Coleman on “Diff’rent Strokes’ — sounds perfect on paper, wait until you see tonight’s “Live in Front of a Studio Audience.” When the 5’4” Hart stands next to the 6’4” John Lithgow — who fills Conrad Bain’s role as Arnold’s adoptive father, Mr. Drummond — the casting is about as spot-on as anything “Live” has done in the past.

And then, when Hart leaps into Lithgow’s lap at one point, expect the live studio audience to erupt. At least, they did on Monday night during a dress rehearsal of “Live in Front of a Studio Audience.” Variety was there to witness the staging of early-series episodes of “The Facts of Life,” which aired on NBC from 1979 to 1988, and “Diff’rent Strokes,” which aired from 1978-1986.

Both shows come from the stable of Norman Lear, the legendary creator...

This Tuesday at 8/7c, ABC will revisit two more classic sitcoms, Diff’rent Strokes and its offshoot The Facts of Life, by way of its Live in Front of a Studio Audience franchise.

But whereas these live specials in the past stayed age-accurate in the casting of characters from All in the Family, The Jeffersons and Good Times, this time around Jimmy Kimmel, sitcom titan Norman Lear, Brent Miller and the other exec producers opted to have some fun refilling iconic roles with, let’s say, Actors of a Diff’rent Age.

More from TVLineJon Stewart Joins Live Facts of Life...

Jon Stewart joins ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience that’ll see the characters from Diff’rent Strokes and the Facts of Life back to life by a new, all-star cast of talent. The special airs Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. Et.

Stewart will appear as part of the Facts of Life cast in a surprise role. He will work opposite Jennifer Aniston, Kathryn Hahn, Gabrielle Union, and Allison Tolman who will play private school teens from the Facts of Life‘s fictional Eastland School: Blair (originally played by Lisa Whelchel), Jo (Nancy McKeon), Tootie (Kim Fields), and Natalie (Mindy Cohn), respectively.

Ann Dowd will play Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), the girls’ housemother.

Diff’rent Strokes (created by Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris) follows the lives of an unconventional family brought together by circumstance. Arnold (Gary Coleman) and his older brother Willis (Todd Bridges) were two Black brothers from...

Jennifer Aniston is headed to Eastland.

The Friends vet is returning to her sitcom roots for one night only as part of ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience (airing Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 8/7c), the network has announced. She’ll play Blair Warner during a live re-staging of The Facts of Life, succeeding original portrayer Lisa Whelchel.

More from TVLineThe Bachelor: Clayton Echard Officially Named Season 26 Star -- Watch TeaserSteve Burton Confirms General Hospital Exit Due to Covid Vaccine Mandate: 'This Is About Personal Freedom to Me'tv Ratings: DWTS Hits Finale Lows But Still Tops Monday, The Voice...

Jennifer Aniston, Gabrielle Union, Kathryn Hahn, and Allison Tolman have joined the cast of ABC’s Live in Front of a Studio Audience that’ll see characters from Facts of Life and Diff’rent Strokes brought back to life on Dec. 7 starting at 8 p.m.

The quad will portray private school teens from the Facts of Life‘s fictional Eastland School who at times crossed over to Diff’rent Strokes.

Aniston will play the role of Blair (originally played by Lisa Whelchel), Union will play Tootie (Kim Fields), Hahn will play Jo (Nancy McKeon), and Tolman will play Natalie (Mindy Cohn).

They join the previously announced Ann Dowd who will play Mrs. Garrett (Charlotte Rae), the girls’ housemother.

Diff’rent Strokes (created by Bernie Kukoff and Jeff Harris) follows the lives of an unconventional family brought together by circumstance. Arnold (Gary Coleman) and his older brother Willis (Todd Bridges) were two...

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s… Kevin Hart as Super Arnold?

ABC announced late Thursday night that Live in Front of a Studio Audience will return for a third installment on Tuesday, Dec. 7 (at 8/7c), recreating episodes of Diff’rent Strokes and its spinoff, The Facts of Life.

More from TVLineTV Ratings: 20/20 Dominates With Turpin Sisters' 'House of Horror'Grey's Anatomy Recap: Thanksgiving, From Soup to... Aw, Nuts!Dancing With the Stars: Derek Hough Contracts Covid Ahead of Season 30 Finale -- Watch His Announcement

The cast of Diff’rent Strokes will feature Hart as Arnold, succeeding Gary Coleman...

ABC has pulled back the curtain on the third installment of its Live in Front of a Studio Audience franchise. Jimmy Kimmel announced on his late-night show Thursday that the 90-minute special will re-create episodes of comedies Diff’rent Strokes and its spinoff The Facts of Life.

The live event will air at from 8-9:30 p.m. Tuesday, December 7.

The cast for the Diff’rent Strokes re-do is intriguing: John Lithgow will play Mr. Drummond, Kevin Hart is Arnold, Damon Wayans embodies Willis, and Ann Dowd portrays Mrs. Garrett. The Facts of Life cast is Tba.

Live Before a Studio Audience‘s executive producers Norman Lear, Jimmy Kimmel, Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux and Jim Burrows are returning for this round.

“Other than with my family, there’s no place I’d rather be in my 100th year than on a soundstage at Sony with these glorious actors...

Here’s what Willis is talkin’ about. Jimmy Kimmel and Norman Lear are bringing back their “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” franchise for a third edition this December, and this time they’ll be taking on the iconic sitcom “Diff’rent Strokes’ and its spin-off, “The Facts of Life.”

Already cast in the “Diff’rent Strokes” installment are John Lithgow as Mr.Drummond, Kevin Hart playing Arnold, Damon Wayans as Willis and Ann Dowd as Mrs. Garrett. The cast of “The Facts of Life” will be revealed at a later date.

“Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘The Facts of Life’ and ‘Diff’rent Strokes'” will air Tuesday, Dec. 7 at 8 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Et, followed by the premiere of new workplace comedy “Abbott Elementary.” Lear is back to executive produce and host with Kimmel. Also executive producing: Brent Miller, Kerry Washington, Will Ferrell, Justin Theroux and Jim Burrows.

Billie Hayes, whose portrayal of the flamboyantly and comically wicked witch Witchiepoo on the 1969-70 Saturday morning live-action children’s classic H.R. Pufnstuf, died of natural causes April 29 at Cedar’s Hospital in Los Angeles. She was 96.

Her death was announced by her family.

A Broadway veteran by the time she reached national fame as the flute-stealing nemesis to a psychedelic dragon, Hayes had starred as Mammy Yokum in both the Broadway and film versions of the popular late-1950s musical Lil’ Abner. She’d made her Broadway debut in New Faces of 1956 along with an ensemble that included actress Maggie Smith.

Following a couple of guest appearances on episodic TV in 1967 – including a Mammy Yokum-type matriarch in the “Hillbilly Honeymoon” episode of The Monkees – Hayes endeared herself to a generation of glued-to-the-tube Saturday morning viewers in 1969 as the eccentrically costumed, ever-cackling and always bumbling Witchiepoo (full name: Wilhelmina W.

When eulogizing screen performers, we often look at an Academy Award as either the launchpad or the apex of an actor’s life. In the case of Cloris Leachman, who died Wednesday at the age of 94, her Oscar was just one milestone in the career of an exceedingly versatile character actress.

Leachman was honored over the years both for her dramatic intensity and for a comedy skillset that embraced neurotic tension and fearless physicality with equal grace. She not only lived to be a nonagenarian, but she also remained busy and in demand to the very end, with recent credits as a voice in “The Croods: A New Age” and on such shows as “Mad About You” and “American Gods.”

Born in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1926, Leachman studied at Northwestern (where her classmates included fellow comedy legends Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae) before competing in the 1946 Miss America pageant. She...

Academy Award-winning actress Cloris Leachman has died at the age of 94. The news was originally broken by TMZ who reported the actress passed away of natural causes on Tuesday night at her home in Encinitas, California. Leachman boasted nearly 300 credit in film and television, throughout her career, making memorable turns in “The Last Picture Show,” “Young Frankenstein,” “The Twilight Zone,” and “Raising Hope.”

Leachman was born in Des Moines, Iowa on April 30, 1926. She started acting as a teenager, and after graduating high school she enrolled at Northwestern University in its School of Education. Her classmates included fellow comics Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae. In 1946, Leachman participated in the Miss America pageant where she placed in the top 16. She used the scholarship she won to attend the famed Actors Studio in New York City, learning under acclaimed director Elia Kazan.

It was quickly after working with Kazan that Leachman started working on Broadway,...

Veteran TV actress Cloris Leachman, who won eight Emmys across a career that spanned seven decades and hundreds of roles, has died at the age of 94.

Leachman passed away on Tuesday of natural causes at her home in Encinitas, California, our sister site Variety reports.

More from TVLineLarry King, Legendary Interviewer and Host of Larry King Live, Dead at 87Gregory Sierra, Barney Miller and Sanford and Son Actor, Dead at 83American Gods: Cloris Leachman Joins Cast as Eldest Zorya Sister

Making her TV debut in 1949, Leachman was a frequent guest star throughout the 1950s and ’60s on shows like The Twilight Zone,...

I was never the biggest fan of “The Facts of Life,” a sitcom about an all-girls boarding school that ran nine seasons on NBC from 1976 to 1988. But I learned through pop-culture osmosis that Tootie was played by Kim Fields, that Mindy Coen was Natalie and character actress Charlotte Rae was cast as Edna Garrett, a mother hen to a flock of adolescent lassies. I also was somewhat aware of Lisa Whelchel, who was spoiled rich girl Blair Warner on the popular show.

But when Whelchel signed on as a castaway on the 25th season of “Survivor” that took place in the Philippines in 2012, I became quite intrigued by her presence on the show. It was partly because she was able to keep her identity a secret from most of the other players, most who were too young to know about her ties with the sitcom.

See‘Survivor’ host Jeff Probst...

Lifetime's You Light Up My Christmas reunites Tootie, Natalie, Blair, and Jo from The Facts of Life. It's the first time that Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Lisa Whelchel, and Nancy McKeon have all been on screen together since 1988. The hit series started as a spin-off from Diff'rent Strokes in 1979 and ran until 1988, making it one of the longest-running sitcoms of the 1980s. Fans of the series have waited over 30 years to see the cast together on screen. You can see them together in the trailer below.

Kim Fields stars in You Light Up My Christmas and is also an executive producer on the project. It was her initial idea to reach out to The Facts of Life cast for a mini reunion and they were all interested in helping out and getting together again, though George Clooney did not take part in the festivities. All it took was few phone calls.

Tootie, Natalie, Blair and Jo are together again for the holidays. Lifetime on Wednesday rolled out the trailer for You Light Up My Christmas, an upcoming movie that features The Facts of Life‘s core four — Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn, Lisa Whelchel and Nancy McKeon — back in action. The film premieres Sunday, Dec. 1 at 8/7c.

Although McKeon doesn’t appear in this trailer, you can rest assured that she does make a cameo in the movie. The actress “had a really difficult, unexpected family emergency she had to work through, and she still stayed committed,” Fields, who also executive-produced the film,...

GoFundMe, the world’s largest social fundraising platform, announced today an initiative in partnership with Netflix’s critically-acclaimed series, Orange Is the New Black, the Poussey Washington Fund.

Named after the memorable character from the series played by Emmy-winning actress Samira Wiley, Poussey Washington, the fund is an initiative that will support eight preexisting non-profits to benefit organizations focused on social issues surrounding criminal justice and policy reform, immigrants’ rights and helping those affected by mass incarceration. To learn more about the non-profits and donate, visit: crowdrise.com/Pwf.

The fund began as a fictional storyline that will play out in the seventh and final season of Orange Is The New Black, launching Friday, July 26 on Netflix. Creator and writer, Jenji Kohan and executive producer, Tara Herrmann, realized they had an opportunity to encourage their passionate fanbase to help make an impact. Viewers will be made aware of the fund...

For Sunday’s Oscars 2019 ceremony, producers had a difficult decision of which film industry people would make the cut and who would be left out of the “In Memoriam.” For the segment, Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic performed music by Oscar winner John Williams.

Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.

SEEDirector Stanley Donen, dead at 94, was light on his feet and a movie musical heavyweight

Stanley Donen would have certainly been included, but he died on the weekend after the segment had been finalized (look for him on the 2020 show). Here is list of some of the people included in the Memoriam tribute for the ceremony (Academy members are indicated with ** by their names):

Susan Anspach (actor)

Bernardo Bertolucci (director)

Yvonne Blake (costume designer)**

Paul Bloch...

While Academy Awards producers have strived for a much shorter ceremony this year, the annual “In Memoriam” segment will definitely remain. In fact this moment on Sunday’s 2019 event should be extra classy since Gustavo Dudamel and the L.A. Philharmonic will be performing as part of the tribute.

Over 100 Academy members or film industry veterans died in the past 12 months. But which ones will be featured in the short segment? There are generally outcries each year from family members upset about people being left out. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.

Virtually certain to be part of the montage are Oscar-winning directors Bernardo Bertolucci and Milos Forman, Oscar-nominated actors Carol Channing, Albert Finney and Burt Reynolds, director and actress Penny Marshall, executive producer and entertainment icon Stan Lee and many more.

SEEDana Carvey, Mike Myers, Queen Latifah, Barbra Streisand...

One of the saddest and most important segments of the SAG Awards each year is the In Memoriam segment. For the 2019 event, it turns out to be even sadder for family members of certain long-time members of the Screen Actors Guild. Which actors and actresses were not even featured in this portion of the program on Sunday night? Check out this list below:

Marty Allen (actor)

Charles Aznavour (actor)

Kaye Ballard (actor)

Dushon Monique Brown (actor)

Joseph Campanella (actor)

Roy Clark (actor/singer)

Vic Damone (actor/singer)

Daryl Dragon (host/musician)

Louise Latham (actor)

Robin Leach (host)

Stan Lee (executive/host)

Katherine MacGregor (actor)

Robert Mandan (actor)

Peggy McKay (actor)

Tim O’Connor (actor)

Roger Perry (actor)

Douglas Rain (actor)

Ken Swofford (actor)

Clint Walker (actor)

Nancy Wilson (actor/singer)

Louis Zorich (actor)

SEE2019 SAG Awards: Full winners list in the 6 film and 9 TV categories

For the ceremony hosted by...

Sunday’s telecast of the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards will feature a special In Memoriam segment devoted to many of the actors and actresses who have died since last year’s ceremony in late January. Sure to be among those saluted include actress and director Penny Marshall, Oscar nominee and Emmy winner Burt Reynolds and Grammy winner Aretha Franklin. Visit our own Gold Derby memoriam galleries for the year of 2018 and the newly-started gallery for 2019.

The 25th annual ceremony will be hosted by past winner Megan Mullally (“Will and Grace”) for TNT and TBS on Sunday, January 27, at 8:00 p.m. Et; 5:00 p.m. Pt. Tom Hanks will be presenting the SAG life achievement award to Alan Alda.

SEE2019 SAG Awards nominations: Full list of Screen Actors Guild Awards nominees

Over 100 people in SAG/AFTRA have passed away in the past 12 months. Which of the following 50 names will also...

Amid the chaos that was 2018, the show business industry lost some major players. There were icons of the big screen (Burt Reynolds) and TV, along with such legends as Marvel hero Stan Lee, sportscaster Keith Jackson and singer Aretha Franklin, to name just a few of the year’s high-profile passings.

Hollywood also lost groundbreaking producers, unforgettable writers, and executives.

Familiar actors including Joseph Campanella, Sondra Locke, Tab Hunter, John Mahoney, Charlotte Rae, Harry Anderson, Jerry Van Dyke, David Ogden Stiers, Verne Troyer and R. Lee Ermey also left us this year.

We also said goodbye to such influential folks including physicist Stephen Hawking, SpongeBob SquarePants creator Stephen Hillenburg, editor Anne V. Coates, Bambi animator Don Lusk, gossip columnist Liz Smith, Blockbuster founder Wayne Huzienga,...

With 2018 now ending, Gold Derby celebrates over 30 celebrities who died in the past 12 months. Tour our photo gallery above as we feature tributes to these entertainer losses from this past year.

Just a few of the people honored in our special photo gallery:

Actress and director Penny Marshall died December 17 at age 75. She became one of the biggest stars on TV in the 1970s and early 1980s with “Laverne and Shirley.” She then directed such blockbuster films as “Big,” “A League of Their Own” and “Awakenings.”

SEERaise a beer to Penny Marshall, who talked like a Bronx truck driver and directed mass-appeal films like a pro

Bernardo Bertolucci died on November 26 at age 77. His 1987 film “The Last Emperor” swept the Oscars, including for Best Picture and Best Director. Other movies in his career included “Last Tango in Paris,” “The Conformist,” “The Sheltering Sky” and “Little Buddha.”

Screenwriter William Goldman died...

Every year, the Oscars, Emmys and Grammys must choose which notable performers and creators to memorialize in their In Memoriam segments, and the three organizations will have many talented entertainers to remember at 2019’s ceremonies.

The past year saw the loss of celebrated stars of the big screen, such “Smokey and the Bandit” star Burt Reynolds, who died Sept. 6. Reynolds, who was 82, earned an Oscar nom for “Boogie Nights” and also appeared on television in “Evening Shade.”

Among the other notable movie performers lost this year were “Superman” and “Smallville” actress Margot Kidder, who died May 13; “The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter” star Sondra Locke, who was also a film director and died Nov. 3; and Susan Anspach, who starred in “Five Easy Pieces” and “Blume in Love” and died April 2.

Several stars known for their work in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s passed away in 2018, including Dorothy Malone, who starred...

Over the last 12 months, there was much TV news that made us happy — and plenty that made us so, so sad.

Among the headlines that broke our hearts: the deaths of many beloved television stars, which we’re reflecting on in our latest Year in Review photo gallery.

In 2018, we said goodbye to some small-screen legends, including The Facts of Life actress Charlotte Rae, Emmy winner Burt Reynolds, Laverne & Shirley star Penny Marshall and Days of Our Lives veterans Frank Parker and Peggy McCay.

Some of the year’s deaths were less high-profile, but nonetheless tragic — and we weren...

Throughout 2018, we will continue to update this photo gallery with major celebrity deaths from film, television, theater and music.

For this year, losses have included Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin, Marvel founder Stan Lee, Tony winner Neil Simon, Oscar winners Bernardo Bertolucci, Milos Forman, Dorothy Malone, Emmy winners Steven Bochco, Anthony Bourdain, Reg E. Cathey, Olivia Cole and Burt Reynolds, Emmy nominees Harry Anderson, John Mahoney, Charlotte Rae and Jerry Van Dyke, Oscar-nominated composer Johann Johannsson, and legendary sports announcer Keith Jackson.

With just six weeks left for 2018, Gold Derby celebrates over 40 celebrities and entertainers who died in the past 12 months. Tour our photo gallery above as we feature tributes to 25 losses from this year so far.

Stan Lee, co-creator of many iconic superheroes, died on November 12 at age 95. For Marvel Comics and later many films and TV programs, his characters included Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, X-Men, Iron Man, Hulk, Captain America and the Avengers.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen died on October 15 at age 65. He and Bill Gates helped start the microcomputer revolution in the mid-1970s by creating the world’s largest PC software company.

Burt Reynolds died on September 6 at age 82 in Florida. He was an Oscar nominee for “Boogie Nights” and an Emmy winner for “Evening Shade.” He was one of the top box office stars of the 1970s with movies such as “Deliverance,” “Smokey and the Bandit,” “The Longest Yard,...

The Actors Fund has announced a star-studded lineup for the 2018 Looking Ahead Awards hosted by Garrett Clayton and Ashley Argota (“The Fosters”) on Sunday, October 28 from 4-8pm at the magnificent Taglyan Complex in Hollywood.

The fifth annual gala, which raises support and awareness for The Actors Fund’s Looking Ahead Program, features exciting “blue carpet” arrivals, cocktail hour, gourmet dinner, awards ceremony and live performances. Tickets are now on sale at www.actorsfund.org/LookingAheadAwards.

The Looking Ahead Awards celebrates leaders in the current and former young performer community who inspire the world by living the Looking Ahead Program’s core values of growth, education, leadership and community service.

The Judy & Hilary Swank Award for Parenting, honoring the parent of a former young performer, will be presented by actress Ari Graynor to her mother, Joani Geltman.

The Looking Ahead Award for Education, honoring a former young performer who has...

The Actors Fund has announced that the 2018 Looking Ahead Awards will honor the cast of Disney Channel’s “Andi Mack,” Raven-Symoné and Monique Coleman on Sunday, October 28 from 4-8pm at the magnificent Taglyan Complex in Hollywood.

The fifth annual celebration, which raises support and awareness for The Actors Fund’s Looking Ahead Program, features exciting “blue carpet” arrivals, cocktail hour, gourmet dinner and celebrity-studded awards ceremony. Tickets are now on sale at www.actorsfund.org/LookingAheadAwards.

The Looking Ahead Awards celebrates leaders in the current and former young performer community who inspire the world by living the Looking Ahead Program’s core values of growth, education, leadership and community service.

The Elizabeth Taylor Award for Social Awareness, honoring the youth cast of a current TV show that is raising awareness about important societal issues though their roles, will be presented to the young stars of Disney Channel’s hit...

The Emmys paid their final respects tonight to dozens of industry notables who died over the past year, including 10-time Emmy-winning writer-producer Steven Bochco, who employed half the town on such shows as Hill Street Blues, La Law and NYPD Blue; five-time Emmy-winner Anthony Bourdain, whose suicide shocked his friends and fans; and three-time winning actress and humanitarian Nanette Fabray. Sen. John McCain also was honored, as was Neil Simon and Aretha Franklin, whose moving rendition of “Amazing Grace” was played throughout.

Presented by Tina Fey, the In Memoriam portion of the show also paid tribute to dozens of actors including Burt Reynolds, Rose Marie, Jim Nabors, Della Reese, Jerry Van Dyke, Charlotte Rae, Bill Daily and David Cassidy. Emmy-winning actors Robert Guillaume, Reg E. Cathey and Olivia Cole also were honored.

David Ogden Stiers, who was nominated for three Emmys – twice for his role as Major Charles Emerson Winchester...

The special “In Memoriam” segment on the 2018 Emmy Awards ceremony was tearful as beloved television legends Steven Bochco, Anthony Bourdain, Robert Guillaume, Monty Hall, John Mahoney, Jim Nabors, Charlotte Rae, Burt Reynolds, Neil Simon and Craig Zadan were part of the annual tribute.

SEEEmmy winners 2018: Full list of winners and nominees at the 70th Emmy Awards

But who was missing from the memoriam this time? Some of those surprising omissions included:

Marty Allen (actor/comedian)

Peter Baldwin (director)

Brent Briscoe (actor)

Dushon Monique Brown (actor)

Frank Buxton (writer/director)

Joseph Campanella (actor)

Olivia Cole (actor)

Vic Damone (actor/singer)

Bradford Dillman (actor)

Roy Dotrice (actor)

John Dunsworth (actor)

Harlan Ellison (writer)

Nanette Fabray (actor)

Dominic Frontiere (composer)

Michael Gershman (cinematographer)

Billy Graham (host)

Vanessa Greene (producer)

Doug Grindstaff (sound editor)

John Hillerman (actor)

Rance Howard (actor)

Tab Hunter (actor)

Earle Hyman (actor)

Anne Jeffreys (actor)

Margot Kidder (actor)

Louise Latham...