Making A Difference: A Conversation with Felice Schachter - Page 3
FS: Sure!
gJg: How did you get your start with "The Facts of Life"?
FS: "The Facts of Life" actually started out as an episode on "Diff'rent Strokes". That episode was a pilot and from there it went on to become its own series.
gJg: There was a rumor that you had actually auditioned for Kimberly on "Diff'rent Strokes". Was that true?
FS: I not only auditioned but I actually had the part. I did the presentation for NBC but they decided that they wanted someone who was more "wholesome". So the role went to Dana Plato.
gJg: Were you originally to have much larger role on "Facts of Life" as well?
FS: Yes, it started out that way but then they minimized it, and ultimately my character was taken off.
gJg: What do you suppose was the reason for that?
FS: I think it was because there were too many girls and it became a bit too confusing. They decided to go with just four strong characters. I was supposed to return to do recurring appearances, but at that point, I had decided that I wanted to go to college and dropped acting for a while.
gJg: What made you decide to do that?
FS: I think it was when I was supposed to travel to LA to film an episode of "The Waltons" and actually had a psychology test conflict at that same time.
I also began to think about how during high-school I was always missing out on a lot of things because of work. So I made the decision to just concentrate on going to Brown University and then go back to the business once school was over.
gJg: In a scene in "Zapped!" You're actually wearing a "Brown" University sweatshirt. Was this done on purpose?
FS: Yes! I had asked to wear it because I knew at the time I would be going to Brown. <laughs>
gJg: What was the chemistry like with all the girls that first season of "Facts of Life"?
FS: We had a lot fun together. We all went to school together. I remember that we all used to go around the lot on roller skates. Even though Tootie was the one who wore them on the show, we all used to skate around the lot on them.
Continued on the next page
Follow Technorati