| Fame | |
|---|---|
Title screen |
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| Format | Drama |
| Created by | Christopher Gore |
| Starring | Debbie Allen Jesse Borrego Loretta Chandler Lee Curreri Cynthia Gibb Erica Gimpel Albert Hague Billy Hufsey Carlo Imperato Carol Mayo Jenkins Valerie Landsburg-McVay Ann Nelson Nia Peeples George Gene Anthony Ray Lori Singer Ken Swofford |
| Theme music composer | Michael Gore Dean Pitchford |
| Opening theme | "Fame" Performed by: Erica Gimpel (Seasons 1-4) Loretta Chandler (Seasons 5-6) |
| Country of origin | USA |
| Language(s) | English |
| No. of seasons | 6 |
| No. of episodes | 136 (List of episodes) |
| Production | |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Broadcast | |
| Original channel | NBC (1982-1983) Syndication (1983-1987) |
| Original run | January 7, 1982 – May 18, 1987 |
Fame is an American television series originally produced between 1982 and 1987. The show is based on the 1980 motion picture of the same name. Using a mixture of drama and music, it followed the lives of the students and faculty at the New York City High School for the Performing Arts. Although fictional, it was based heavily on the actual Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in New York. Most interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood, California. In all seasons except the 3rd, the show filmed several exterior scenes on location in New York City.
The popularity of the series, particularly in the UK, led to several hit records and live concert tours by the cast. Despite its success, very few of the actors maintained high-profile careers after the series was cancelled. A number of the cast members were seen again briefly in Bring Back...Fame, a reunion special made for UK television in 2008.
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The show was produced by MGM Television and was initially broadcast on the NBC television network in the US on January 7, 1982. Despite glowing reviews from critics, ratings were less than impressive, and NBC cancelled it after only two seasons. However, by special arrangement with LBS Communications, MGM revived the series for first-run syndication in the fall of 1983, where it continued for four more seasons, with the last first-run episode airing in the US on May 18, 1987.
Some seasons of the show were produced by the BBC in the United Kingdom, RAI in Italy and Channel 7 in Australia, where later seasons of the show were more popular than in the domestic market, and in order to continue production, they financed the later seasons.
Following its cancellation, 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; and a second version, stripped of the musical numbers and the sub plot and reduced to 30 minutes in length.
The show's theme song was a pop hit for singer Irene Cara, having been featured in the motion picture. A re-recorded version of the theme, using similar instrumentation to the 1980 track, was used in the TV series and sung by co-star Erica Gimpel, who played Coco Hernandez.
Although Gimpel left the series midway through the third season (after the show moved from NBC to first-run syndication in 1983), her opening vocals were still heard on the show for two more seasons. An updated version of the song, featuring a modern, synthesized hard-rock flavor, was introduced in the fall of 1985 and performed by new cast member Loretta Chandler (Dusty). This version ran for the final two seasons of Fame.
"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.
There were four cast members from the original movie that appeared in the television series. Lee Curreri portrayed the character Bruno Martelli, an introverted musical genius.
The second cast member was Gene Anthony Ray who portrayed Leroy Johnson, a tough hood from the projects with a natural talent for dance who muscles his way into an audition and wins. In the film, Leroy is also illiterate, but this was not addressed in the television series.
The third film castmember was Albert Hague who played teacher Benjamin Shorofsky, a German music teacher who constantly battled with Bruno Martelli over music styles. Last was Debbie Allen who played dance instructor Lydia Grant. Although Allen only appeared briefly in the movie, her character was expanded in the series and she also became the show's original choreographer, in addition to directing several episodes and co-producing one season.
There were also several characters carried over from the movie, played by different actors. The character of Coco Hernandez appeared on the show, played by Erica Gimpel and not Irene Cara. Actor P.R. Paul played Montgomery McNeil in the series while ER actor Paul McCrane portrayed him in the film. Montgomery was no longer gay. The character Doris Schwartz, played by Valerie Landsburg, was in the series while the character of Doris Finsecker appeared in the film version and was portrayed by Maureen Teefy.
The character of Ralph Garcy metamorphosed into the character of Danny Amatullo for the TV version.
Since 2011, reruns of Fame air in the United States on the arts-focused cable network Ovation.
The series 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.
Sony Pictures Home Entertainment released the first season of Fame on DVD in Region 1 on November 1, 2005. This is now out of print as the home video rights are now owned by 20th Century Fox.
20th Century Fox (under license from (MGM) released the complete first and second seasons of Fame on DVD in Region 1 and Region 2 on September 15, 2009. [1]
| DVD Name | Ep # | Release Date |
|---|---|---|
| The Complete First Season (Out of Print) | 16 | November 1, 2005 |
| Seasons 1 & 2 | 38 | September 15, 2009 |
On 27 December 2008, Channel 4 TV in the UK screened a 90-minute special titled Bring Back...Fame, which sought out and reunited some of the original cast members of the television series.
Presented by Justin Lee Collins, and apparently filmed the previous summer, the show followed the presenter around the United States as he tracked down actors from the series and then staged a reunion. The programme showed Collins appearing to surprise the former cast members in locations including restaurants, a recording studio, a gym, LAX airport and a cinema, before interviewing them and persuading them to take part in the reunion.
The actors featured in the programme were Debbie Allen, Carol Mayo Jenkins, Lee Curreri, Erica Gimpel, Valerie Landsburg and Carlo Imperato. Also interviewed were Irene Cara, who did not appear in the TV series but sang the theme song and played Coco in the original motion picture, and the mother of the late Gene Anthony Ray. It was not stated whether other actors from the series had also been approached but had declined to take part. Excerpts from the TV series were shown throughout the programme. The final scenes of the programme showed the six principal actors and a number of backing dancers taking part in a recreation of the title sequence of the TV programme.
The programme was made for and broadcast on Channel 4, despite Fame having originally been shown in the UK on the BBC.
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