The Facts of Life (TV series)/Trivia

As Herself: In a roundabout way. The producers visited a girls' school as preproduction research; there they came upon Mindy Cohn, who was the lynchpin around whom spun a lot of the school's social activity. Impressed, they they created the character of Natalie based on her. Later, they encouraged Cohn -- who had never previously considered acting -- to audition for the show, and then essentially cast her as herself.
The Danza:
- In a weird sideways manner. The character "Natalie" was based on Mindy Cohn, who at the time was not an actress but a student at a school the producers visited for ideas and inspiration. She was invited to audition, and ended up cast essentially as herself.
- Also, George Clooney as George Burnett during the 1985 and part of 1986 seasons.
- Molly Ringwald, during her one season stint (the first one; 1979-1980) played Molly Parker.
- Not to mention Geri Jewell as Cousin Geri.
Disabled Character, Disabled Actor: Geri Jewell, who played Geri, actually has cerebral palsy.
Hey, It's That Guy!: Lots, but most notably Kenneth Mars in the episode "Gossip".
- Natalie wound up voicing Velma in Scooby Doo.
- Mayim Bialik (the future Blossom and Amy Farrah Fowler), Seth Green, and Juliette Lewis in the finale.
- A very young Helen Hunt in a first-season episode.
What Could Have Been: Despite the number of main characters being thinned between Seasons 1 and 2, production expressed interest in retaining Molly Ringwald as a regular. However, she left to pursue a movie career.
Written-In Infirmity: Nancy McKeon had broken her foot shooting the Made for TV Movie Strange Voices shortly before shooting for the final season began; thus resulting in her foot being in a cast for a few early episodes that season.

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