What happened to Marisa? She was singing, I was dancing. Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt are in talks to star in a slasher sequel that will reportedly be a passing of the torch from one generation to the next. I thought that they were very corny. Hardison: I was not a fan of that whole idea. I thought everything was just over. Bell: One of my favorite nights was the night that Magic Johnson broke the all-time assist record. That was everything, because we already had Diahann Carroll. . Stop. When youre a costume designer, when youre doing makeup and hair, youre part of creating this character. That was sort of a clue [that my character wasnt coming back]. This was a time when it was perceived that the writers were gods and the actors [should just] do what theyre told. I was like, Baby, please! The second please was a please for hersay your line, say your line, because Im out right now, and this is just going to get worse and worse if we have to do more takes. I said, I cant cheat them. I wanted to do movies. I mean, the list just went on and on and on. On the other hand, it was nice to go out on a high and not feel like youre a poor imitation of what you once were. Bell: If you watched the last episode, when Whitley and Dwayne are getting ready to walk out of frame, Debbie ends the shot on my face. We had nothing like that. . Marisa Tomei followed up As the World Turns in 1986 with a role on the sitcom A Different World as Maggie Lauten during the first season. Allen: We had to evolve Freddieshe couldnt stay the flower child. [Jada] was brand-new to Hollywood and she was just magnificent and magical, and had an extraordinary story herself. Waithe: When I first joined Instagram, I didnt really want to use my name. Summer: I fucking live for wardrobe [and] Ceci was heaven on earth. Everybody said, Well, thats just her. Do you know how hard it is to make your reality truth? Lewis, Summer, Hardison, Guy, and Brown gather in a Radford Studios parking lot. Marisa Tomei played a white character going to an HBCU on A Different World r2. Stop it right now. During a brief hiatus, former Saturday Night Live writer and Square Pegs creator Anne Beatts replaced Crosby. In the episode, Rudy Huxtable visits Denise at Hillman and becomes enamored with Whitley. I can hardly believe that its really happening. Wheres the PR? Guy: I couldnt do a lot of things I did on that show without Charlie [Charnele Brown, who played Kimberly Reese], Cree, Kadeem, and Mary Alice [Lettie Bostic]. She started crying and shaking and we were like, All right, honey, dont die on us. But she was like, You just dont understandIm a doctor now, Im married to a lawyer. But I thought that he could evolve into something else, and he did. View this post on Instagram. Season 11 Episode 72: Part I: Marisa Tomei talks with Andy Cohen about being "the white girl" on "A Different World" and eventually getting fired from the show. In the show, Hardisons Dwayne Wayne quickly developed a crush on Denise. Waithe: Theres definitely talk about We only want to see happy Black people or We dont want to see trauma in our entertainment, but the truth is I got both with A Different World, and I think I turned out okay. Lives in a dorm. Bell: Think of all the other shows when theyre ending, its like they have all of these countdowns to the final episode. Appearing on "Watch What Happens Live" in 2014, Tomei told host Andy Cohen that she was fired from the show- but there were no hard feelings. Among the most memorable episodes were two consecutive shows that culminated with Whitley and Dwayne getting married, during what was initially Whitleys wedding to Byron Douglas III, played by Joe Morton. Marisa Tomei Talks About Her Unique Acting Experience in 'She Came to Me' and Sleeping on a Boat. They said, Youre one of the central characters on this show. Wilbekin: In many ways, A Different World helped a lot of us who were in college or just out of college process what was going on in the world. That is whack. I was like, Jo-An. Because it was like, if you knew what it meant, then you were part of the cool kids. About Maggie The series originally centered on Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) and the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically black college in Virginia. All products featured on Vanity Fair are independently selected by our editors. Theres an age gap between the two of us, so she was younger than me. Allen, while stressing that "A Different World" will remain first and foremost a comedy, believes that the political. From left: Sinbad; Tomei; Jada Pinkett Smith as Lena James. And I liked that math was his thing because it was my thing until they put letters in it. Early life A Hollywood star was born in Brooklyn, a densely populated area of New York, in the family of an English teacher and a lawyer. We were crisscrossing the country, and during a break I met with Susan Fales and Debbie Allen. Hardison introduced himself to everyone in the room, one by one, then recited each persons name back to them in reverse order. He leaves through Whitleys window and rumors start. Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei played the part of Maggie Lauten a roommate and friend of Denise Huxtable in Season 1 of "A Different World". I got Whoopi Goldberg to play a teacher[and] I knew she was going to win the Academy Award that year for Ghostand she was amazing. She had only one line in the film. After that appearance, he was cast in A Different World. Copyright 2023 Endgame360 Inc. All Rights Reserved. What is happening?. Allen wanted to keep the dynamic of having a white girl in a black college, but after one season, Tomei's character disappeared too. Bell: There were a lot of people who wanted to say, Yeah, youre just [successful] because youre in the time slot behind The Cosby Show. They didnt want to give us credit for being as good as we were. He had a good heart. The amount of press and paparazzi that hounded and followed themthey were 20-year-old kids. A Different World really altered the molecules in my soul and my destiny. From left: Photo by Don Cadette/ mptvimages.com; Everett Collection; Photo by NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images. From one week to the next, our fans didnt even know if we were going to be on television. Several students asked us, Why dont we see anybody whos from a mixed marriage on your show? Im from a mixed marriage myself, but I didnt think people wanted to talk about that or see it. While Hardison wasnt a fan of Dwaynes colorful style, early on the wardrobe department gave him free rein to order sneakers from Nike, and he didnt push back on how they styled him from the ankle up. She said I can have them, because I want to send them to the National Museum of African American History in D.C. Thats where they should be. We worked together, we hung out together, we talked about life together. I took notes, I took lunch orders, I ran errands, I babysat for peoples kids, I made posters; when Whitley ran for dorm monitor, thats my handwriting on the posters. Debbie was always so ahead of her time. It was my decision [to leave] because I was working so much, doing too many things. And he said, Thats a messed up question to ask you. I said, Yeah, it is. But I understood Whitley, and I understood why she became what she was and the journey that she had to go on. That was Darrell coming unglued, because that was the last shot of the night, and it was over. All rights reserved. The pilot was picked up and filming began in early 1987 with George Crosby as producer. Fales-Hill, who had been a writer for The Cosby Show, was tapped to write for a spinoff, originally titled Stepping Up to Step Out. Join Vanity Fair to receive full access to VF.com and the complete online archive now. [It examines] the relationship between Black fathers and their daughters, and how sometimes Black fathers have demons that unfortunately, their children have to deal with. She would go on to create some of the shows most recognizable looks, from Freddies texture-heavy boho ensembles to Whitleys polished suits. I had so many women and young girls come up to me saying, Im just like Freddie. Today, I begin my first real job as an intern writer with a new NBC sitcom. A compromise was made and the writers added a scene where Dwayne tries to talk Whitley out of the marriage the night before. The actress rarely gets lead roles, but even the episodes with her participation become mini-masterpieces of cinema. We changed the world with that show, Allen says. The second eldest Cosby kid goes to college. A post shared by Marisa Tomei (@marisatomei) But a source claimed to Page Six on Saturday that not only had Tomei been paid, but she was handed more than $1 million upfront. Fales-Hill: There were a lot of Black performers, especially of a certain generation, who wanted to be on the show because they loved what it was saying and what it was doing. I wish that people got as excited about Black television as they did for Cheers, which was right down the road from us, but I dont think we ever felt a real overwhelming sense of celebrity. I had just finished working on The Jacksons: An American Dream, playing the role of Jackie, and was incredibly excited about the opportunity for A Different World. It frees you up as an actor when someone is that loose with it. Then they got into a fight with them and they all got thrown into jail together. Guy: When Diahann Carroll, Patti LaBelle, Richard Roundtreewhen they came on set I was thrilled. The show was so important, and I didnt want to see things go the way they do with many shows and casts. Prince-Bythewood would then go on to becomea staff writer. The rest of us, we were not. Shows, and particularly Black shows, didnt really have an enormous budget, so I always had to be creative with Whitley to make her wardrobe look opulent. Costume department polaroids of cast members Cree Summer, Darryl Bell, and costume designer Ceci (in a Hillman cheerleading uniform). I went back on the road and got the news that they wanted me for the role. Summer: The girl that was my competition lived in England and Debbie asked if she could stay with me. Of course Sinbad, but Glynn Turman, Lou Myersjust a witty, savvy group of people. Bell: I think there were three of us, maybe four, that went to network for the part of Dwayne Wayne. We just hadnt seen that. Little did I know how truly tough and oppressive the world would be outside. She was my first boss on Girlfriends; she was showrunning. Goes to class. Look aroundyour director is Black, your writers are Black. As the new showrunner for A Different World, she was excited about making it part of Denises storyline. They brought her right down and I was like, Oh snap, thats my homie., Sinbad (Walter Oakes): I heard they were looking for a stand-up comic to warm up the studio audience, so I met with the producers, and Bill Cosby was there. Id been accepted to UCLA, and I was like, If I get this, Im not going to be able to go to college full-time. I was kind of torn between [going to school full-time or] having to go part-time and work on A Different World. Did Whitley and Dwayne date in real life? This needs to be Dwayne shows up. Debbie Allen came on as director and executive producer, and stayed until its final episode in 1993. Allen sought after to keep the dynamic of getting a white girl in a black faculty, however after one season, Tomei's persona disappeared too. Advertisement 56-year-old Marisa Tomei reportedly decided marriage and kids were not for her. And they just erupted applauding and applauding and applauding. Season 1 saw Denise make friends with Marisa Tomei's Maggie, Cree Summer's Freddie, and Dawnn Lewis' Jaleesa. Pitting them against one another, you dont have to do much. We bounce well off of each other, so when the writers saw that, they started putting it into the script. He didnt have a drivers license, so I would have to take him in to work every dayto the job I auditioned for and didnt get. In the 34 years since its debut, A Different World has become one of televisions most impactful shows, inspiring everything from dissertations and lectures to Halloween costumes and social media fan accountsall while influencing countless young people to attend college, specifically HBCUs. Alison Brie and Dave Franco Bare All in Rom-Com, The real-life couple and creative partners speak to. Waithe: An episode that I dont think gets talked about enough is when [Jada Pinkett Smiths character] Lenas father comes back into her life. God knows my heart and how determined I am to make change in this world. Hardison: When I found out that they were going to put Dwayne and Whitley together, I was shockedbut I liked it because I knew what a beast [Jasmine] was at work. Thats me too.. THATS WHEN I CAME UP WITH THE ACCENT FOR WHITLEY.. Marisa Tomei Wins Supporting Actress | 65th Oscars (1993) Watch on. To revist this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Bell: I cant tell you how many parties Debbie hosted with all of us there.