"The Facts of Life" (1979) TV series 1979-1988

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Creators:

Dick Clair
Jenna McMahon

Seasons:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

You take the good, you take the bad, you take them both and there you have the facts of life...

Plot:

A group of girls attending a boarding school experience the joys and the trials of adolescence under the guiding hand of housemother Edna Garrett...

Plot Keywords:

Housemother | Boarding School | Tolerance | Uniform | Bad Girl

Awards:

Nominated for 3 Primetime Emmys. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Lisa Whelchel	...	Blair Warner (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Kim Fields	...	Dorothy 'Tootie' Ramsey (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Mindy Cohn	...	Natalie Green (200 episodes, 1979-1988)
Nancy McKeon	...	Joanne 'Jo' Polniaczek / ... (186 episodes, 1980-1988)
Charlotte Rae	...	Edna Garrett (145 episodes, 1979-1986)

Also Known As:

"Garrett's Girls" (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

30 min (209 episodes)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Argentina:Atp

Filming Locations:

Columbia/Sunset Gower Studios - 1438 N. Gower Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Embassy Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The character Jo was inspired by then NBC Chief Fred Silverman after he had seen the film Little Darlings. He felt a streetwise scholarship student would contrast well, and add conflict, against the rich, spoiled Blair character.

Quotes:

Tootie Ramsey: There's going to be trouble...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Married with Children: Kelly Does Hollywood: Part 2 (#6.10)" (1991)

Soundtrack:

The Facts of Life

We Could Always Use the Facts of Life!

The Facts of Life was an unusual comedy series on NBC because it lasted so long and in different environments. First, Charlotte Rae became so famous for playing Mrs. Edna Garrett on Different Strokes that she earned her own show. The first season was set with a large cast of characters including one girl who had a boyfriend named Roger. Molly Ringwald was a cast member before she became a movie star. There was the blonde pretty girl but not Blair played by Lisa Welchel. Then there was chubby Natalie Greene played by Mindy Cohn and roller skating Tootie played by Kim Fields. Jo played by Nancy McKeon joined the cast later on. The show kept changing it's cast and it got better. They narrowed it down to four girls, Blair, Natalie, Tootie, and Josephine (from the wrong side of the tracks). The cast got along better. I felt like I grew up with this show like many girls my age. Even when Mrs. Garrett left, she was replaced by Cloris Leachman. What a cast that included George Clooney at one time, Marj Dusay, Randee Heller, Alex Rocco, Mackenzie Astin, and others along the way.