The Facts of Life 

Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' former housekeeper, teaches to a group of girls of a boarding school how to tackle issues throughout teenage life and later adulthood.

Creators:

Dick Clair, Howard Leeds, Jerry Mayer

Stars:

Lisa Whelchel, Kim Fields, Mindy Cohn

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

Cast

Complete series cast summary:
Lisa Whelchel	...	Blair Warner / ... 202 episodes, 1979-1988
Kim Fields	...	Dorothy 'Tootie' Ramsey / ... 202 episodes, 1979-1988
Mindy Cohn	...	Natalie Green / ... 202 episodes, 1979-1988
Nancy McKeon	...	Jo Polniaczek / ... 189 episodes, 1980-1988
Charlotte Rae	...	Edna Garrett 155 episodes, 1979-1986

Storyline

A group of girls attending a boarding school experience the joys and the trials of adolescence under the guiding hand of housemother Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' maid on Diff'rent Strokes. Later in the series, she is promoted to school dietitian, and four of the girls move into new quarters above the cafeteria. She eventually leaves the school and opens her own business, with help from the girls.

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Plot Keywords:

housemother | famous opening theme | school | boarding school | 1980s | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Kim Fields was only ten years old when she started playing Tootie, who was supposed to be twelve. In an effort to make her appear taller (and older) her character was always in roller skates for the first year of the show.

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Goofs

Though Nancy McKeon's character was penned as Joanna Marie Polniaczek, some called her by the name Joann, not Joanna as it was in the scripts.

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Quotes

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

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Alternate Versions

Reruns of the series in the US are cut by two minutes.

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Connections

Referenced in Cougar Town: Runnin' Down a Dream (2013)

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Soundtracks

The Facts of Life
(title theme)
Written by Alan Thicke, Gloria Loring and Al Burton
Performed by Gloria Loring

User Reviews

Love it!

I didn't see this show until recently when they started re-running it on Nick-At-Nite. I fell in love with it immediately. While the plots are a bit corny at times, I still love to watch it and get to know the characters. While the later ones aren't as good as the earlier ones when they're in boarding school, I still love this show. And I hope other people will check it out. :o)

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 August 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

Garrett's Girls

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Embassy Communications, Embassy Television, TAT Communications Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

30 min (209 episodes)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1