Fame (1982 TV series)
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| Fame | |
|---|---|
 "Fame" Season 1 DVD Cover |
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| Genre | Drama |
| Creator(s) | Christopher Gore |
| Starring | Debbie Allen Albert Hague Carol Mayo Jenkins Lee Curreri Erica Gimpel Carlo Imperato Valerie Landsburg Gene Anthony Ray Lori Singer |
| Country of origin |  United States |
| No. of episodes | 136 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC |
| Original run | January 7, 1982 – May 18, 1987 |
| Links | |
| IMDb profile | |
Fame was an American television series that ran from 1982 to 1987. The show was based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name that tells the stories of the students and faculty at the "New York City High School for the Performing Arts."
The show was produced by MGM Television and was first broadcast on the NBC television network in the U.S. and on the BBC in the United Kingdom. NBC cancelled the series after two seasons, but the show continued for an additional four seasons in first run syndication. The popularity of the film and television productions was such that its cast members went on the road to perform live concerts.
Two versions of the series were syndicated in reruns. The original hour-long episodes which usually contained a primary plot, a sub plot and two or more musical numbers. The second version was stripped of the musical numbers and the sub plot and was a half-hour in length.
The show's self-titled theme song was a pop hit for singer Irene Cara, having been the featured piece in the motion picture. "I Still Believe In Me", from an episode of the series entitled "Passing Grade", was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Original Song. It was performed by Erica Gimpel and Debbie Allen and co-written by Gary Portnoy who would go on to co-write and sing the Theme from Cheers (Where Everybody Knows Your Name). In the UK, two singles credited to The Kids from Fame, "Hi-Fidelity" and "Starmaker", reached the top ten.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, which held the distribution rights for all MGM television series until May 31, 2006, released the first season of Fame on DVD on November 1, 2005. [1]. Future releases will be handled by 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment through a new deal made by MGM.
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[edit] Awards
It won a number of Emmy awards and in 1983 and 1984 was voted the Golden Globe Awards: Television, Best Series, Musical/Comedy. Actress, director and choreographer Debbie Allen, who had a small role in the motion picture but played a major character in the television version, also won several awards.
[edit] The cast
[edit] Faculty
- Debbie Allen as Lydia Grant
- Albert Hague as Benjamin Shorofsky
- Graham Jarvis as principal Bob Dyrenforth (seasons 5–6)
- Carol Mayo Jenkins as Elizabeth Sherwood (seasons 1–5)
- Ann Nelson as Mrs. Berg (seasons 1–3, regular on seasons 4–6)
- Eric Pierpoint as Paul Seger (season 6)
- Morgan Stevens as David Reardon (seasons 3–4, regular on season 2)
- Ken Swofford as Quentin Morloch (seasons 3–5)
- Michael Thoma as Greg Crandall (season 1)
[edit] Students
- Olivia Barash as Maxie Sharp (season 6)
- Michael Cerveris as Ian Ware (season 6)
- Loretta Chandler as Dusty Tyler (seasons 5–6)
- Lee Curreri as Bruno Martelli (seasons 1–3)
- Erica Gimpel as Coco Hernandez (seasons 1–3)
- Elisa Heinsohn as Jillian Beckett (season 6)
- Carlo Imperato as Danny Amatullo
- P.R. Paul as Montgomery MacNeil (season 1)
- Valerie Landsburg as Doris Schwartz (seasons 1–4)
- Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy Johnson
- Lori Singer as Julie Miller (seasons 1–2)
- Jesse Borrego as Jesse Velasquez (seasons 4–6)
- Billy Hufsey as Christopher Donlon (seasons 3–6)
- Cynthia Gibb as Holly Laird (seasons 3–5)
- Carrie Hamilton as Reggie Higgins (seasons 5–6)
- Page Hannah as Kate Riley (seasons 5)
- Janet Jackson as Cleo Hewitt (season 4)
- Nia Peeples as Nicole Chapman (seasons 4–6)
[edit] Additional characters
- Dick Miller as Lou Mackie (season 6)
[edit] Recurring characters
- Carmine Caridi as Angelo Martelli (seasons 1–2)
- Michael DeLorenzo as Michael (seasons 1–3)
- Denny Dillon as Corky (season 6)
- David Greenlee as Dwight Mendenhall (seasons 2–5)
- Dick Miller as Lou Mackie (seasons 4–5, regular on season 6)
- Robert Romanus as Miltie Horowitz (seasons 5–6)
- Carolyn J. Silas as Laura Mackie (season 6)
- Sam Slovick as Cassidy (season 4)
- Bronwyn Thomas as Michelle (season 1–4)
- Caryn Ward as Tina Johnson (seasons 5–6)
