Bosom Buddies

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Bosom Buddies
Title screen
Genre	Comedy
Creator(s)	Chris Thompson
Starring	Tom Hanks Peter Scolari Wendie Jo Sperber Donna Dixon Holland Taylor
Country of origin	United States
No. of episodes	38
Production
Running time	22 minutes per episode
Broadcast
Original channel	ABC
Original run	November, 1980 – May, 1982
Links
IMDb profile

Bosom Buddies was an American sitcom starring Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari created by Robert L. Boyett, Thomas L. Miller and Chris Thompson. It ran from 1980 to 1982. The series was rerun on NBC in 1984 due to the success of the Tom Hanks film Splash.

1 Premise
2 Cast
3 Trivia
4 Celebrity Appearances
5 DVD Releases
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Premise

After their own apartment is demolished, two men disguise themselves as women in order to live in the women-only Susan B. Anthony Hotel because of the dirt cheap rent. Kip Wilson (Tom Hanks) is originally skeptical of the plan, but after meeting knock-out resident model/dancer/nurse Sonny Lumet (Donna Dixon), he ends up convincing aspiring writer Henry Desmond (Peter Scolari) that the experience will make a great book. Their co-worker, Amy Cassidy, (Wendie Jo Sperber) is the only resident in on the plan because she's attracted to Henry. In the first season, Kip, Henry, and Amy work for Ruth Dunbar (Holland Taylor) at the advertising firm of Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin, where Kip is a graphic artist, Henry is a copy writer, and Amy is the receptionist. Ruth often takes credit for the boys' work when reporting to her (unseen) boss, Mr. Rubinowitz.

The boys' deception includes outwitting the hotel manager, Lily Sinclair (Lucille Benson), and fellow resident, Isabelle Hammond (Telma Hopkins), an aspiring singer.

In the second season opener, Kip, Henry and Amy leave Livingston, Gentry & Mishkin to start their own advertising firm, Sixty Seconds Street, with Ruth serving as a not-quite silent partner.

In the second episode of the second season, the male characters' ruse of living in drag is revealed, although they are allowed to continue living at the women-only hotel anyway. Sonny forgives Kip for the deception, and as the new hotel manager replacing Lily, Isabelle agrees to go along with the ruse rather than admit it to the other residents.

[edit] Cast

Tom Hanks - Kip Wilson (Buffy when in drag)
Peter Scolari - Henry Desmond (Hildegarde when in drag)
Wendie Jo Sperber- Amy Cassidy, their co-worker and friend who knows their secret
Holland Taylor - Ruth Dunbar, their boss
Donna Dixon - Sonny Lumet
Telma Hopkins - Isabelle Hammond
Lucille Benson - Lilly Sinclair (First season only.)

[edit] Trivia

The theme song for the opening credits was "My Life" by Billy Joel, although Joel's version was not used on the air. (The Internet Movie Database notes the cast sang the theme song, although this has not been verified.) Some reruns shown in syndication had a vocal version of the show's back credit instrumental theme,performed by Stephanie Mills, used for the front credits, with "My Life" removed altogether.

Although the series was produced on videotape, the pilot episode was shot on film. Edie Adams plays the hotel manager in the pilot, and when Kip and Henry name each other's alter egos, they say Buffy and Hildy are sisters. Lucille Benson is introduced as the new hotel manager in the series, and she is told that Kip and Henry are Buffy and Hildy's brothers, respectively. Buffy and Hildy are allegedly from Saskatchewan, but Kip and Henry somehow attended high school in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Peter Scolari appeared in the Tom Hanks directed feature film That Thing You Do! as an Ed Sullivan style announcer. He also appeared as Astronaut Pete Conrad in an episode of the Tom Hanks produced HBO series From the Earth to the Moon and co-starred with Hanks in The Polar Express.

Bosom Buddies was taped on Stage 25 at Paramount Pictures. Stage 25 was also the home of The Lucy Show, Cheers, and Frasier.

[edit] Celebrity Appearances

Rita Wilson, who later married Tom Hanks, guested starred in the episode "All You Need Is Love" as a girlfriend of Henry's that he met at a dating service. Rita Wilson later costarred with Hanks in the Nicholas Meyer film Volunteers along with John Candy.

Adrian Zmed guest starred in the first season episode "Best Friends" as Kip's childhood summer camp friend turned rock star Joey Midnight. Zmed went on to costar in the feature film Bachelor Party with Tom Hanks.

Jennifer Holmes guest starred as Henry's girlfriend Dana in the episode "Other Than That, She's a Wonderful Person" and went on to costar in the 82-83 season of Newhart prior to Scolari joining the cast in fall of '83 when she was replaced with Julia Duffy.

Russell Johnson of Gilligan's Island fame guest starred in the episode "Amy's Career" as mouthwash executive Mr. Shaw.

Ernie Hudson guest starred in the episode "One for You, One for Me" as Rochelle, a cellmate of Henry's after he gets busted for buying a stolen VCR before going on to star in Ghostbusters.

Jerry Hardin of The X-Files and K Callan of Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman guest starred in the episode "Kip Off the Old Block" as Kip's parents, Thomas and Enid Wilson. In a scene where the elder Wilson has to be disguised in drag, Hardin noted that Hanks commented that he bet he didn't know he had to dress up in drag when he took the role.

Bob Saget guest starred in the episode "The Show Must Go On" as Bob the Comic who emceed at the club where Isabelle was trying to start her singing career after Kip and Henry arrange with the club owner to get her put on the bill.

[edit] DVD Releases

On March 13, 2007 Paramount Home Entertainment released the first season of Bosom Buddies on DVD. The original theme song—Billy Joel's "My Life"—has been replaced on this DVD release with the more generic "Shake Me Loose", a song penned by series creator, Chris Thompson and which was used in the syndicated rerelease of the show [1]. This is even confirmed on the packaging:

"Some music has been changed for this home entertainment version. Some episodes may have been edited from the original broadcast version."