Fame Calendar March 2022

 

Easy To Believe - Loretta Chandler and Jesse Borrego

"Easy To Believe"comes from the season 5 episode "To Tilt At Windmills". Written by Sue Sheridan and Bobby Martin it  is performed by Loretta Chandler and Jesse Borrego.

Now 80s Broadcasts W/C 27th February

 

Get the Hankies ready for this week's Now 80s Broadcasts, with a tribute to Michael Thomas in "A Tough Act To Follow" and a sad end to Doris' first boyfriend in "Relationship" It all starts in the U.K. at 9.00am on Now 80s. Repeated on Thursday Evening.

Ebay of the Week

 

This week a Fame Colouring and Activity book

View Auction

Lyric of the Week

 

Can you Guess the lyric from next Weeks Song of the Week?

"The Fears That No One Knows, I Carry With Me"

Life Is A Celebration Rick Springfield - Original Artist

"Life is a Celebration" comes from the season one episode "Street Kid" performed by Erica Gimpel and Carlo Imperato.

This is the original version of Life is Celebration by the song's writer Rick Springfield and it comes from his 1976 album "Wait For the Night".

Life Is A Celebration

"I was lost on a winding road,
 I thought that life had nothing left to give.
Then you came and showed me that just to live,
Was the greatest gift of all. 

And you showed me,
Life is a celebration,
And Lord, I'm gonna celebrate.
Don't you know that,
Life is a celebration, 
So come on now and celebrate, celebrate.
Life is a celebration.
Look it's a revelation,
So celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah,
Celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah!

How could I have been so blind? 
Just to think that we were living to die.
Then you came along and I was no longer alone,
And you lead me to the light.
And you showed me.

Life is a celebration,
And Lord, I'm gonna celebrate.
Don't you know that life is a celebration.
So come on now and celebrate, celebrate.
Life is a celebration.
Look it's a revelation.
So celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah!
Celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah!

And you showed me life is a celebration
And Lord, I'm gonna celebrate.
Don't you know that life is a celebration.
So come on now and celebrate, celebrate.
Life is a celebration.
Look it's a revelation.
So celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah!
Celebrate now, celebrate life, yeah!
Celebrate, celebrate, celebrate, 
Celebrate Celebrate, Celebrate Life!"

Michael Cerveris on the Fame cast Trivia of the week

 

A celebration of the women of Fame

For an 80s tv show, there were a significant number of women in positions of power on the show, among the producers, writers, crew and cast. Not enough, and not (I'm sure) with complete parity, but enough to be remarkable in those days. And speaking of remarkable, this group of women I happily take a fitting back seat to in these photos today (albeit dressed in my best Prince attire). These women, among their many other accomplishments, became role models and inspirations for thousands of girls around the world, who were able to see themselves in these characters with their hopes, strengths and vulnerabilities. And in the paths they've taken since, they've continued to inspire people across continents, genders, races and sexualities through performing, teaching, raising children and advocating for the importance of the arts.

By the time I came on the show (in its final season), many of these powerhouse ladies had already moved on to other successes. But for the final episode, the OGs all came back and showed graciousness and generosity to all us latecomers who had been keeping the dreams alive that they had begun.

Valerie Landsburg

was already producing, directing, making music and raising a family. She adopted me (it might have been our shared propensity to dress in black) and became one of my best friends in LA. You could not have a more fierce advocate than Val, then or now.

Erica Gimpel

was another centerpiece of the series from the start. She was as kind as she was talented, elegant and exciting to be around.

Cynthia Gibb

was the sweetest person, a woman whose crush worthiness at first might predispose you to overlook her talent and drive. But that'd be a mistake. One of those people who lit up every room she walked into.

Debbie Allen

Debbie Allen Debbie Allen

quintuple threat Dancer/Singer/Actor/Choreographer/Director and then some. There's a reason you think of her when you think of Fame.

and then the ladies who I was lucky to share the whole season with, and who I admired so much then and appreciate even more now:

Nia

Virenia Peeples

who I always felt shy around. Partly because of her natural talent combined with her natural loveliness, but also because of some earth deep wisdom she seemed to possess that appeared to see through your weak defenses to what you really felt and who you might be.

Elisa Heinsohn

I was so lucky to have Elisa as my fellow freshman, both of us learning the ropes together from day one. Her midwest girl next door sweetness was genuine as can be, but her seriousness and hard work ethic were just as profound. I always thought her character was a great way for a lot of young viewers to find a way from their small towns into this urban free for all that could open their eyes and expand their minds to the value of other kinds of people and ways of being that they would never see in their hometowns.

Loretta Chandler

whose infectious laugh and twinkling spirit combined with a soulful voice and a deep well of empathy inside her ever upbeat approach to life. I always thought there were a lot of young viewers seeing themselves in her character's struggles between a traditional upbringing and an eye opening new world.

Olivia Barash

arrived part way through the season to add some more edgy pizzazz to the proceedings. We became friends over our shared punk rock leanings, and she gave me the high honor of bringing me with her when she was being interviewed on KROQ one night, and introducing me to the one and only

Rodney on the Rock

Bingenheimer.

Also pictured (with a feminine charm of their own):

Robert Romanus

my first Fast Times At Ridgemont High brush with greatness, who brought a manic sensibility and sly wit to the set on screen and off

and

Jesse Borrego

who I admired so thoroughly (and still do) as an actor, performer, and person. He always had a seemingly unflappable ease and cool swagger that I aspired to and knew I'd never have. But deeper than that, an ability to immerse himself in his work and to give himself over to music, especially, that I connected with and really admired. I loved our scenes together and was like a sponge watching and learning from him everyday. He was my closest male friend on the show, and was happy he let me repay a bit of that debt by giving him a roof when he was between homes for a while. Ian and Jesse never got to be roommates (though that would have been another great spin offf), but I'm so Michael and Jesse got to be. And I'm even happier we've reconnected lately through these posts. And that I got to see his great new film Phoenix, Oregon streaming last week.

Facebook, for all its evils, occasionally has its uses

and then, of course, there was Carrie

She adopted Elisa and me on our very first day, a dance rehearsal in NYC where we started the season with a couple weeks of location shooting. I couldn't have been more daunted--especially since I'd had no dance component to my audition and was told Ian wouldn't really ever dance (which I pretty much proved in every dance number that season). By the time we left NY for LA, we were inseparable and it was through Carrie that I learned LA and made most of the real friends I have out there to this day. She remains one of the most multi talented, brilliant, creative and boundless people I've ever known. We played music together, had a development deal for a spin-off series, spent hours laughing, working and seeing music together. Our characters' symbiotic friendship, mutual admiration and support and unspoken affection for each other was the easiest piece of non acting there could be. I regret that we weren't more in touch after I left LA, and I miss her to this day. Her sisters and mom have meant a lot to me ever since.

Michael Cerveris - HEDWIG at Club Make Up -- Rebel Rebel 1999

Michael Cerveris - HEDWIG at Club Make Up -- Rebel Rebel 1999

Michael Cerveris on the death of David Bowie:

"My turntable for the foreseeable future. Growing up, though I loved rock and roll, my voice never seemed to fit the songs I loved...until I discovered Bowie. He made rock music safe for baritones. If I didn't listen to him daily as a teenager, it was damned close. As a kid in Appalachia, I drew pencil drawings of him and traced photos I found in big rock picture books from my public library.

Always feeling a bit of an alien in my surroundings, Ziggy made that seem not just ok..., but right. And through his songs I encountered and embraced and identified with all kinds of strange, mysterious and beautiful versions of the Other. Queer ones, European ones, Space ones.. It wasn't just my musical world, but my Whole View of the World that was formed by looking through those mismatched eyes. When I first tried making my own marks on the world, I essentially tried to be Bowie as Crow in David Petrarca's Tooth Of Crime in Hartford and my Hedwig was nothing if not an homage to all he'd taught me in his music (for my money, Stephen Trask and John Cameron Mitchell wrote the true Bowie musical). And I accompanied myself on guitar with Young Americans as my audition song for two pivotal parts in my life--my first TV series Fame, and the Broadway production of The Who's Tommy. So I owe him a lot.

I met him once, saw him many times from arenas, to Broadway in the front row of The Elephant Man, to a 500 capacity place in the Bronx. I wouldn't sing how I do or be where I've been if he'd never existed. The influence he had in his life and art giving comfort and inspiration to generations of misfits and freaks and anyone who felt like an outsider is incalculable. Fearless and peerless. Maybe Carrie Brownstein said it best today: "It feels like we lost something elemental, as if an entire color is gone."

Picture of the Week Debbie Allen

 

The Goldbergs Fame Episode

 

Last Month The Goldbergs TV Series played homage to the Fame Movie. 

Michael Cerveris Da Bois Podcast interview 2020

 

Michael Cerveris Da Bois Podcast interview, talking about Fame, Carrie Hamilton and his career.

Quote of the Week - Lydia Grant

 

Starting at the End - Kids From Fame

"Starting At The End" comes from the season 3 episode "The Home Front". Written by is performed by E. Mergency, T. Rigger, L Boray and J Fluitsma it is performed by Valerie Landsburg, Cynthia Gibb, Bronwyn Thomas and Eartha D Robison. 

 Download MP3

Kids from Fame Book 1 Chapter 1

 

Now 80s Broadcasts W/C 20th February 2022

 

This week's Now 80s Broadcasts are "Childhoods End" and "Homecoming". It all starts in the U.K.  on Now 80s at 9.00am.

Ebay of the Week

 

This week a Fame Badge

View Auction

Lyric of the Week

 

Guess the lyric to next week's song of the week.

"So I took the Road, back into your arms."

The Strike - 40th Anniversary

Can the Kids put on a show while the Teachers are on Strike?  

18th February is the 40th Anniversary of  the broadcast in the U.S. of  the Seventh episode of Fame, "The Strike".

Which was  filmed in November 1981.

Celebrate, Re-Watch, Enjoy and Discuss on our Facebook Discussion Group. #Fame40

Everything you could possibly want to know about the episodes is on our Fame TV Series Archive, with Reviews, Scripts, MP3 Downloads, Background information, Trivia, Photos, Promo Material, TV Listings etc...

View Episode Information



French Dubbed



Italian Dubbed



Spanish Dubbed

Michael Cerveris on Ann Nelson and Albert Hague - Trivia of the Week

 

"I felt like this dynamic duo deserved their own post.

Another aspect of Fame's diversity and inclusion was giving the adults and elders their humanity and dignity and occasional moments to shine.

Ann Nelson as Mrs Berg was the dear little front office woman who you always secretly knew ran the entire enterprise. Sweet, steely, sly and strong, she was everyone's favorite aunt or grandma. Ann was every bit the funny and wise tv veteran you'd hope her to be, and at 70, she seemed younger and more energetic than we felt half the time.

Arriving so late in the game, I was lucky to step into the big shoes left by

Lee Curreri

as the show's resident wunderkind self taught classical musician who REALLY JUST WANTS TO ROCK. Lee and Albert Hague had lovingly built that cross generational dynamic starting in the original film. When he arrived, Ian and Professor Shorofsky butted heads, but it was likewise always clear how much respect and admiration there was between the Professor and his students. Albert was the eminence grise of the set, but never took any of it, or himself, too seriously. When asked once about his childhood, he said, " well I grew up in a tough neighborhood-Nazi Germany." And it was true. Also true, was that he was a two time Tony award winning composer who, even more significantly to me, wrote the score for the original Grinch animated movie. I think of Albert every Christmas, and thank my lucky stars that I got to frustrate him weekly...and hopefully made him proud."

The Sell Out Production Credits

 

Executive Producer:   William Blinn

Producer:  Mel Swope

Creator: Christopher Gore

Writer:  Gary Knott

Story Idea: Bruce Shelly

Director: Thomas Carter

Development Executive: Carole Coates

Executive Story Consultants:  Hindi Brooks

Story Consultant: Christopher Gore

Associate Producer: Parke Perine           

Choreography: Debbie Allen

Director of Photography: William W. Spencer A.S.C.

Art Director: Ira Diamond

Editor: Mark Melnic

Executive in charge of Production: Ted Zachary

Unit Production Manager: Hap Weyman

First Assistant Director: Stephen Lofaro

Second Assistant Director: Armando Huerta    

Set Director: Joseph Stone

Producers Associate: Tony Amatullo

Producer’s Coordinator: Donna Lee

Script Supervisor: Marjorie Mullen

Costume Supervisor: Marilyn Matthews

Costumer: Annalisa Strickland

Sound: John Oliver

             Alan Rochin C.A.S

Sound Recordist: Duncan McEwan

Sound Editor: Dan Yale

Make Up: Jack Wilson  

Hair Stylist: Gloria Montemayer

Property Master:  Rick Young

Score: William Goldstein

Music Supervisor: Harry V. Lojewski

Music Coordinator: Bill Burch

Music Editor: Bob Mayor

Musical Instruments furnished by Yamaha

Songs by The Entertainment Company: Martin Bandier & Charles Koppelman

Songs Producer:  Barry Fasman.

Original Casting: Mary Goldberg (New York)

                                Linda Francis (Los Angeles)

Casting: Al Onorato,

               Jerry Franks 

Payrole Accountant: Kevin King

Location Manager: Mitchell Klebanoff

Rigging Gaffer L.A. Unit: Thomas P Powell

Set Dresser: Eric A. Hulett

Prop Shop: Robert W. King

Fame Theme: Michael Gore

                          Dean Pitchford

Produced by M.G.M

In association with: The Jozak Company and Eilenna Corporation.

Picture of the week Lee Curreri

 

Michael Cerveris Piety Album Live 2016

 

Michael Cerveris performs his album "Piety" Live 

 

How Many Times - 
Sleepwalking - 
Evangeline - 
Atlas - 
Crescent -
Tenth Grade -
Lost in New Amsterdam - 
Better - 

Phoenix - 

 

Buy the Album on Amazon

Quote of the Week - Tracey Street Kid

 

Straight To The Heart - Nia Peeples - Song of the Week

"Straight To The Heart" comes from the season 5 episode "The First Time" Written by  Richie Zito and Teri DeSario it is performed by Nia Peeples.

Download MP3




"I Wake Up In The Morning, Face Another Day,
Got To Get The Walls Up, That'll Keep Me Safe.
If I Stopped And Closed My Eyes, I See You In My Mind,
Then I Hear You Speak My Name.

It Happens Every Time.

Straight To The Heart,
You Got A Way Of Gettin' Through.
Tearing My Defenses Down,
Oh, That's What You Do.

Straight To The Heart
You Never Ever Miss The Mark.
Determined That I'll Stand My Ground,
Think Of You, The Walls Come Tumbling Down

I Never Show The Way I Feel, Always In Control.
In A World Of Push And Shove It's The Way To Go.
When The Pressure's Building Up, Things Are Out Of Line,
I Close My Eyes And Look At You, 

It Happens Every Time.

You're Always Going Straight To The Heart,
You Got A Way Of Gettin' Through.
Tearing My Defenses Down,
Oh, That's What You Do.

Straight To The Heart
You Never Ever Miss The Mark.
Determined That I'll Stand My Ground,
Think Of You, The Walls Come Tumbling Down"

Happy Valentine's Day

 

Ebay of the Week

This week the rare 1985 Kids From fame Calendar

View Auction

 

Now 80s Broadcasts W/C 13th February 2022

 

This weeks Now 80s broadcasts are "Winners" and "Word" all starts at 10.00am in the U.K. on Now 80s.

Lyric of the Week

 

Guess the lyric to next week's "Song of the Week"

"Got To get the Walls up, that will keep me safe..."

The Sell Out - 40th Anniversary

                           

Bruno buys a new Synthesiser and Coco has an issue with Julie. 

11th February is the 40th Anniversary of  the broadcast in the U.S. of  the Sixth episode of Fame, "The Sell Out".

Celebrate, Re-Watch, Enjoy and Discuss on our Facebook Discussion Group. #Fame40

Everything you could possibly want to know about the episodes is on our Fame TV Series Archive, with Reviews, Scripts, MP3 Downloads, Background information, Trivia, Photos, Promo Material, TV Listings etc...

View Episode Information

French Dubbed



Italian Dubbed



Spanish Dubbed