Bosom Buddies (1980–1982)

Two single men must disguise themselves as women to live in the one apartment they can afford.

Creators:

Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller, Chris Thompson

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Peter Scolari, Donna Dixon

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Tom Hanks	...	Buffy Wilson (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Peter Scolari	...	Henry Desmond (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Donna Dixon	...	Sonny Lumet (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Holland Taylor	...	Ruth Dunbar (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Telma Hopkins	...	Isabelle Hammond (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Wendie Jo Sperber	...	Amy Cassidy (37 episodes, 1980-1982)
Lucille Benson	...	Lilly Sinclair (17 episodes, 1980-1981)

Storyline

Henry and Kip are two advertising designers who had a real problem with finding a place to live. At the beginning, the sole place they could afford was condemned, but they only found out when the wrecking ball was smashing up the place while they were sleeping. A female friend suggested they stay at her building, but the snag is that the place is for women only. In desperation, they assume the identities of the women Hildegard and Buffy in order to rent a room. Now as they pursue their dream of success in the ad business, they also struggle to keep their deception at the apartment building so they won't be evicted, but the beautiful neighbours they have are a constant temptation.

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Plot Keywords:

advertising | writer | advertising agency | small business | advertising executive | 

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Taglines:

Friendship can be a real drag.

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 November 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

Amigos del alma

Filming Locations:

Lafayette Park - 2801 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Miller-Milkis-Boyett Productions, Paramount Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

4:3

Did You Know?

Trivia

Main characters named after two bars in Berkeley, CA: "Kips's" and "Henry's."

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Goofs

In a second season episode, an opening shot of Kip & Henry's building shows a California state flag flying outside. Since they work in New York City, this would be incorrect. It is an obvious stock shot of a downtown Los Angeles office building meant to imply Manhattan.

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Quotes

Cop: Could I have your name?
Kip 'Buffy' Wilson: Well, you could, but it would be an incredible coincidence.

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Connections

Referenced in Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Shake Me Loose"
Music by Dan Foliart and Howard Pearl
Lyrics by Chris Thompson
Performed by Stephanie Mills
1982 Paramount Records Corp.

User Reviews

The Show that Launched Careers

"Busom Buddies", the simpliest premise. Struggling young men who cannot afford a home, take the best one they can get, as women. Someone who watches this show once will first laugh just looking at stars Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari, and then will say what a stupid show that it ended up to be. Nowadays, its seems like a simple publicity stunt, great actors doing that. The show was a good try. The writers squezzed every possible situation into the show, no matter how crazy or stupid. As the show grew on and more of the supporting casts charracters found out about the "busom buddies" the show went downhill. Most nowadays just watch it to look at Hanks and Scolari. I guarantee you would not be seeing the reruns if Hanks had not become the star he did, and i'll bet you on that one.