Fame is an American musical drama television series based on the 1980 film of the same name. It followed the lives of the students and faculty at New York City's High School of Performing Arts. Most interior scenes were filmed in Hollywood, California. In all seasons except the third, the show filmed several exterior scenes on location in New York City. The series aired on NBC from January 7, 1982 to April 7, 1983 and later in syndication from October 15, 1983 to May 18, 1987.
The popularity of the series around the world, most notably in the United Kingdom, led to several hit records and live concert tours by the cast. Despite its success, few of the actors maintained high-profile careers after the series was cancelled. Several of the cast members were seen again briefly in Bring Back...Fame, a reunion special made for Channel 4 in the United Kingdom in 2008.
Episodes
Cast Cast timeline Actor Character Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 Debbie Allen Lydia Grant colspan="6" Lee Curreri Bruno Martelli colspan="3" colspan="2" Erica Gimpel Coco Hernandez colspan="3" colspan="1" Albert Hague Benjamin Shorofsky colspan="6" Carlo Imperato Danny Amatullo colspan="6" Carol Mayo Jenkins Elizabeth Sherwood colspan="5" Valerie Landsburg Doris Schwartz colspan="4" colspan="1" P.R. Paul Montgomery MacNeill colspan="1" colspan="4" Gene Anthony Ray Leroy Johnson colspan="6" Lori Singer Julie Miller colspan="2" colspan="4" Morgan Stevens David Reardon colspan="1" colspan="1" colspan="2" Cynthia Gibb Holly Laird colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="1" Billy Hufsey Christopher Donlon colspan="2" colspan="4" Ken Swofford Vice Principal Quentin Morloch colspan="2" colspan="3" colspan="1" Jesse Borrego Jesse Velasquez colspan="3" colspan="3" Janet Jackson Cleo Hewitt colspan="3" colspan="1" colspan="2" Nia Peeples Nicole Chapman colspan="3" colspan="3" Ann Nelson Mrs. Gertrude Berg colspan="3" colspan="3" Loretta Chandler Dusty Tyler colspan="4" colspan="2" Carrie Hamilton Reggie Higgins colspan="4" colspan="2" Page Hannah Kate Riley colspan="4" colspan="1" Graham Jarvis Principal Bob Dyrenforth colspan="4" colspan="2" Michael Cerveris Ian Ware colspan="5" colspan="1" Elisa Heinsohn Jillian Beckett colspan="5" colspan="1" Eric Pierpoint Paul Seeger colspan="5" colspan="1" Olivia Barash Maxie Sharp colspan="5" colspan="1" Dick Miller Lou Mackie colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="1"
Cast notes
Main cast Debbie Allen as Lydia Grant, dance teacher and choreographer, reprising her role from the original film Lee Curreri as Bruno Martelli (seasons 1–3; guest season 6), music major and keyboard virtuoso, reprising his role from the original film Erica Gimpel as Coco Hernandez (seasons 1–3; guest seasons 4, 6), music major and talented bi-racial singer/dancer, replacing Irene Cara from the original film Albert Hague as Professor Benjamin Shorofsky, classically trained music teacher, reprising his role from the original film Carlo Imperato as Danny Amatullo, aspiring comedian and drama major Carol Mayo Jenkins as Mrs Elizabeth Sherwood (seasons 1–5; guest season 6), liberal English teacher, replacing Anne Meara from the original film Valerie Landsburg as Doris Schwartz (seasons 1–4; guest season 6), Jewish drama major, replacing Maureen Teefy from the original film P. R. Paul (Paul Ray Rosenbaum) as Montgomery MacNeill (season 1; guest season 6), drama major and son of a famous actress, replacing Paul McCrane from the original film Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy Johnson, dance major, later assistant dance instructor, reprising his role from the original film Lori Singer as Julie Miller (seasons 1–2), music major and talented cellist Morgan Stevens as David Reardon (season 2; recurring season 3, guest season 4), drama teacher and struggling actor Cynthia Gibb as Holly Laird (seasons 3–5; guest season 6), drama major Billy Hufsey as Christopher Donlon (seasons 3–6), dance major Ken Swofford as Principal Quentin Morloch (seasons 3–5), conservative school principal who often clashes with the students Jesse Borrego as Jesse Velasquez (seasons 4–6), multitalented Hispanic student, Leroy's protégé Janet Jackson as Cleo Hewitt (season 4), music major Nia Peeples as Nicole Chapman (seasons 4–6), music major and talented singer/dancer, killed in a car accident Ann Nelson as Mrs. Gertrude Berg (seasons 4–6; recurring seasons 1–2), school secretary Loretta Chandler as Dusty Tyler (seasons 5–6), singer and preacher's daughter Carrie Hamilton as Reggie Higgins (seasons 5–6), aspiring comedienne and drama major Page Hannah as Kate Riley (season 5), drama major Graham Jarvis as Principal Bob Dyrenforth (seasons 5–6), school principal who replaces Morloch Michael Cerveris as Ian Ware (season 6), music major and punk rocker from London's East End Elisa Heinsohn as Jillian Beckett (season 6), drama major and daughter of a police officer Eric Pierpoint as Paul Seeger (season 6), drama teacher and actor, Lydia's friend Olivia Barash as Maxie Sharp (season 6), professional child actress and drama major Dick Miller as Lou Mackie (season 6; recurring seasons 4–5), owner of the local hangout Lou's Lanes
Recurring characters Michael Thoma as Gregory Crandall (season 1) Carmine Caridi as Angelo Martelli (seasons 1–2) Judy Farrell as Charlotte Miller (seasons 1–3) Madlyn Rhue as Angela Shwartz (seasons 1–3) Michael DeLorenzo as Michael (seasons 1–3) Bronwyn Thomas as Michelle (seasons 1–4) David Greenlee as Dwight Mendenhall (seasons 2–5) Connie Needham as Kelly Hayden (season 2) Stephanie E. Williams as Stephanie Harrison (season 2) Jimmy Osmond as Troy Phillips (season 2) Phoebe Yardon-Lewis as Alicia Morgan (season 3) Sam Slovick as Cassidy (season 4) Dick Miller as Lou Mackie (seasons 4–6) Robert Romanus as Miltie Horowitz (seasons 5–6) Caryn Ward as Tina Johnson (seasons 5–6) Carolyn J. Silas as Laura Mackie (season 6) Denny Dillon as Corky (season 6)
Guest stars Notable guest stars include Paul Bartel, Frances Bay, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Art Carney, John Carradine, Nancy Cartwright, Marge Champion, Don Cheadle, Brian Patrick Clarke, Keith Coogan, Elizabeth Daily, Fran Drescher, Dominique Dunne, Greg Evigan, Fionnula Flanagan, Randee Heller, Arte Johnson, Russell Johnson, Tuesday Knight, Kevin McCarthy, Donna McKechnie, Dermot Mulroney, Bebe Neuwirth, Anthony Newley, David Paymer, Sydney Penny, Richard Simmons, Brenda Vaccaro, Gwen Verdon, Nancy Walker, Ray Walston, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, and Betty White.
Production Fame was produced by MGM Television and aired Thursday nights at 8:00–9:00 on NBC beginning on January 7, 1982. NBC promoted its Thursday line-up (Fame, Cheers, Taxi [later Night Court], and Hill Street Blues) as "The Best Night of Television on Television!" Despite glowing reviews from critics, ratings were less than impressive, and NBC cancelled Fame 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. The show, after moving to first-run syndication, was initially financed by Metromedia, before Metromedia sued MGM/UA in 1985, and shifted to Tribune Broadcasting, where it remained until 1987. Production on the series ultimately allowed MGM to retain the intellectual property on the Fame franchise for future use despite rights to the original film going to Turner Entertainment and now being held by Warner Bros., as Turner would sell the studio to United Artists shortly after acquiring it in 1986.
Four cast members from the original movie appeared in the television series. Lee Curreri portrayed the character Bruno Martelli, an introverted musical genius. Gene Anthony Ray 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 semiliterate, but this was dropped in favor of him having "fourth-grade reading level" in the television series.Season 1, Episode 1: "Metamorphosis" Albert Hague played teacher Benjamin Shorofsky, a German music teacher who constantly battled with Bruno Martelli over musical styles. The final cast member from the film was Debbie Allen, who portrayed Lydia Grant. Allen only appeared briefly in the movie, but her character was expanded in the series. She also became the show's original choreographer, in addition to directing several episodes and co-producing one season.
Several characters were carried over from the movie, played by different actors. Irene Cara portrayed Coco Hernandez in the film, but the part on TV was played by Erica Gimpel. Paul McCrane played gay student Montgomery McNeil in the film, but P.R. Paul portrayed Montgomery for TV and the character was no longer gay. English teacher Elizabeth Sherwood was played in the film by actress Anne Meara, but in the series was played by actress Carol Mayo Jenkins. The character Doris had her name changed from Doris Finsecker (portrayed by Maureen Teefy) to Doris Schwartz (Valerie Landsburg). The character of Ralph Garci (Tommy Aguilar inheriting the role played by Barry Miller in the film) appeared only in the pilot.
Additionally, two new characters were introduced in the TV series: cello player Julie Miller (Lori Singer), and actor-comedian Danny Amatullo (whose last name is derived from the associate producer, Tony Amatullo) played by Carlo Imperato. All subsequent characters were created for the series.
Ira Steven Behr wrote 12 episodes of the series. He recalled: "I did three years on Fame, which was a lot of fun and was also in syndication. We had no one looking over our shoulder. We got to do some wonderfully bizarre things on the show..."
Following its cancellation, two versions of the series were syndicated in reruns: the original hour-long episodes, which usually contained a primary plot, a subplot, and two or more musical numbers; and a second version, stripped of the musical numbers and the subplot 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 titled "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 went on to co-write and sing the theme from Cheers. In the United Kingdom, two singles credited to The Kids from "Fame", "Hi-Fidelity" and "Starmaker", peaked within the top ten of the UK Singles Chart.
The arts-focused cable network Ovation began airing reruns of Fame in 2011 for a period.
International broadcasts Canada: Aired in first-run syndication France: Series started on March 6, 1982, on TF1 United Kingdom: Series started on June 17, 1982, on BBC1. Only the first four seasons were screened on BBC1; the full series was broadcast on The Children's Channel in 1992. The BBC also helped pay for seasons 3 and 4. On November 7, 2021, music channel Now 80s begin showing the series. Sweden: Series started on September 5, 1982, on SVT1 Israel: Series started in 1982 Italy: Series was renamed "Saranno famosi" (literally, "They Will Be Famous"), started in January 1983 on Rai Due who also helped pay for seasons 3 and 4 Brazil: Series started in 1983 on Rede Manchete