REMEMBER MY NAME...
MARION MCMULLEN on how the Fame TV series launched in the UK 40 years ago
THE memorable opening line at the start of TV series Fame saw dance teacher Lydia warning students, “So you want fame? Well, fame costs and right here is where you start paying”. The TV spin-off of director Alan Parker’s blockbuster film about hopefuls at New York’s High School of the Performing Arts launched on BBC1 on June 17, 1982.
It saw the return of four of the original film’s cast – Debbie Allen as dance teacher Lydia, Gene Anthony Ray as cool dancer Leroy, Albert Hague as music teacher Mr Shorofsky and Lee Curreri as keyboard prodigy Bruno Martelli.
Debbie also directed 11 episodes of the American show and won two Emmy awards for her choreography.
Fame ran for 136 episodes over six years and new students included Lori Singer as cello-playing Julie Miller. Lori could play the cello in real life and majored in music at Julliard Performing Arts School in New York. Janet Jackson also joined the cast for one season in 1984 as young student Cleo Hewitt, before leaving and going on to release her first hit album Control.
Gene, who died in 2003 at the age of 41, had actually attended New York’s High
School of the Performing Arts himself, but left after a year.
The TV series was so popular with UK viewers that cast members headed to Britain for a 10-date Kids From Fame concert tour and a television special about the trip was later broadcast in America. The tour extended to Europe in 1983 and a live album recorded at London’s Royal Albert Hall was also released.
Fame was watched by 11 million viewers in the UK at its height and fans rushed to snap up record releases from the show leading to chart success for singles like Starmaker and Hi Fidelity.