Did You Know?
Spin-off of The Cosby Show, the original premise of the series was abandoned after the first season due to Lisa Bonet's exiting the show.
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Even after Lisa Bonet had left the series, there was still a certain amount of interplay between this show and The Cosby Show. Phylicia Rashad, Lisa Bonet and Joseph C. Phillips appear on an episode during the 1990-1991 season when Dwayne comes to visit Denise. Rashad is also the sister of frequent episode director Debbie Allen. In the 1987-1988 season, Rudy Huxtable(played by Keshia Knight Pulliam)came to Hillman College to visit Denise. In 1992, a character from the late years of The Cosby show (Charmaine Brown, played by Karen Malina White) joined the cast of A Different World, as a new student at Hillman College.
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In the party scene during the "Good Help Is Hard To Find" episode, airing November 8, 1990, the song heard in the background is "Try Me" from the debut album of Jasmine Guy.
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The visuals of the campus buildings and entrance to the fictional Hillman College were of Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
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Lisa Bonet left the show because she was pregnant and the writers could not write around this or exclude her from many scenes or episodes, as she was supposed to be the main character.
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Originally, the character of Whitley was to only appear in just the pilot. However, she became so popular that not only did she become a regular, but it helped to make Jasmine Guy the star of the show.
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The show's theme was sung by Phoebe Snow in the first season. It was sung by from season's two through five was sung by Aretha Franklin. In the final season, it was sung by Boyz II Men.
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Dawnn Lewis, who played Jaleesa on the show, was one of the songwriters of the show's theme.
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In August 2006, Nick At Nite premiered new shorts titled "Hillman College Reunion" with cast members reprising their characters. The shorts featured Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer, and Sinbad. They aired during a week-long marathon of the series.
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Diahann Carroll received an Emmy nomination for her portrayal of the glamorous socialite Marion Gilbert on the show.
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The only Cosby Show cast regulars not to appear on A Different World include 'Sabrina Le Bauf' (Sondra Huxtable-Tibideaux), Geoffrey Owens (Elvin Tibideaux) and Erika Alexander (Pam Tucker).
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Mr Gaines is a veteran of World War II, however Lou Myers who played him was born the year the war ended in 1945.
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The name of the Virginia town Hillman was located in was never clearly identified, though was said to be either in or just outside of Richmond.
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Jasmine Guy and Kadeem Hardison are the only performers to remain with the show for all six seasons.
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Prior to the series, Kadeem Hardison, Sinbad, Charnele Brown and Lou Myers appeared as unrelated characters on A Different World's parent series The Cosby Show.
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Darryl M. Bell appeared as Ron throughout the first season, but didn't become a regular until the show's second season.
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Ron's decision to pursue a career in music resulted in a falling out between himself and his father. Darryl M. Bell who played Ron said that his decision to go into acting had initially resulted in a fallout between himself and his own father.
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Between seasons 2 and 5 the theme song was performed by Aretha Franklin, who had been married to series co-star Glynn Turman prior to the show.
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During the show's final season, Kim, who had been a Premed Major, was attending Medical School, and Freddie was attending Law School. These reflected the careers of Cliff and Claire Huxtable from The Cosby Show.
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Dawnn Lewis left the show prior to the final season to co-star on Hangin' with Mr. Cooper. The absence of Jaleesa (as well as her and Col Taylor's newborn baby) was never explained.
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Declared Majors of regular characters-Dwayne, Math; Whitley. Art History (Minor in French); Jaleesa, Business; Kim, Pre-Med (attended Medical School in final season); Freddie, Creative Writing (atteneded Law School during final season); Walter, Masters Degree; Ron, unknown; Lena, Creative Writing; Denise, undeclared; Maggie, Journalism.
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