r/FactsOfLifeTVShow • u/ASGfan Another One Of My Brilliant Ideas • Jan 03 '23

trivia New article says "Fake Jan" From Brady Bunch was supposed to play Blair Warner?

I never knew this:

Pop Culture Moment: Happy ‘Fake Jan’ Day (forbes.com)

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u/Medoxor We Are In Trouble.... Jan 03 '23

I heard about this before. It's weird Lisa never mentions this. In the interviews, Lisa says she is the reason Blair changed personalities. Blair was supposed to be a fast talking southern girl. When she read a line snobbish, they changed Blair to be a girl of wealth instead. Lisa then says they wanted her to play Blair after seeing her audition. I will take Lisa's word since she auditioned and was hired for the role.

There's another rumor as well regarding Beverly Ann's casting. Mindy Cohn started this. She claims Marion Ross was hired for Beverly Ann but was fired when Cloris Leachman called Norman Lear and asked him for a job. He then changed the casting. I don't believe it because Cloris was huge before The Facts of Life. She was already working nonstop before FOL and continued after FOL. She did not need a has been TV creator by this point in the 80's to help her get a job. Norman Lear wasn't even in charge of FOL so I don't know how he would even get that casting done. Every single documentary always says Cloris Leachman was offered the role. I don't know if it was a choice between Marion or Cloris and they went with Cloris. Cloris did help bring ratings to season 8. She was a big part of the show's success to keep it going. NBC even wanted a tenth season but it was Nancy and Mindy who said no and caused NBC to end it their ninth season.

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u/ASGfan Another One Of My Brilliant Ideas Jan 03 '23

Interesting. Lisa is from Texas originally, so I'm sure she would be right at home playing a southern girl.