The Facts of Life 

Mrs. Edna Garrett, the Drummonds' former housekeeper, teaches a group of girls at 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 / ... 201 episodes, 1979-1988
Kim Fields	...	Dorothy 'Tootie' Ramsey / ... 201 episodes, 1979-1988
Mindy Cohn	...	Natalie Green / ... 201 episodes, 1979-1988
Nancy McKeon	...	Jo Polniaczek / ... 188 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

Upon the streamlining of characters after season one, Molly was to have been among the four regular girls to remain. According to Molly Ringwald producers wanted to include another older girl to pair off with Blair, and Molly proved to be the most expendable to make room for the introduction of Jo.

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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

Blair: Whoever said it was lonely at the top was looking from the bottom.

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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 Inside Amy Schumer: 12 Angry Men Inside Amy Schumer (2015)

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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

WONDERFUL!!!!!!!!!!

I LOVE THE FACTS OF LIFE!!!!!!! It is my favorite show in the whole world! My favorite characters are Blair (Lisa Whelchel) and Jo (Nancy McKeon). I have almost every single episode taped, so that shows you how much I like it! If you are ever having problems, you can watch one of these episodes, and I always feel better right away, because the show covers real life problems that real teenagers would have.

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