With a career spanning seven decades, garnering eight Primetime Emmy Awards and an Academy Award, Cloris has a certain charm that is shared by only the best in the industry. Making her debut in season 7, Cloris, playing Beverly Ann, had humongous shoes to fill, replacing the legendary Edna Garrett.
Beverly Ann was to be the new caretaker of the girls, as well as a businesswoman. We love the fact that even in the 80s producers weren’t afraid to portray women as successful and entrepreneurial! In a typical Charlotte Rae move, the actress hand-selected Cloris to be her replacement, assuring producers that she was the right fit…and she was, of course, right!
George Clooney – Then
A bit of a latecomer onto the show, next up is Hollywood A-lister, George Clooney. First appearing on The Facts of Life during season 7 of the show, Clooney portrayed the amiable (and obviously very handsome!) handyman George Burnett.
We really cannot get over that shocking hair-do – but we guess that was just the fashion at the time…really slick! The cheeky handyman even stole a kiss from Blair Warner on the show! He was clearly a bit of a ladies’ man from the very beginning!
George Clooney – Now
With a name that carries more weight than anything else, George Clooney is just one of those names that everyone knows. With a reel of successful films, Clooney has paved quite the career. Also dabbling in directing and producing.
Sadly, however, he is indeed off the market. Whilst it took a while, it was certainly well worth it, finally marrying the glamorous, intelligent (and did we say glamorous?) Amal. The pair recently welcomed twins into the world.
Cloris Leachman – Now
The 92-year-old is fighting fit, and looks absolutely amazing for her age! After her time on The Facts of Life, she went on to appear in films such as A Troll in Central Park, Now and Then, Spanglish, New York, I Love You and The Croods.
We feel almost rude for not acknowledging the fact that Leachman has over 200 credits to her name. We’re absolutely flabbergasted! She’s certainly the busy lady, and we think she’s got the tenacity (and wit of course) to keep her career going!
John Lawlor – Then
Another one of our ‘short and sweet’ The Facts of Life stars, is John Lawlor. Playing the role of Headmaster Steven Bradley on the series, sadly, the character of Steven Bradley was axed during the show’s rejigging between seasons 1 and 2. Four other girls were also ousted from the show, including Molly Ringwald as we saw earlier!
Due to Mrs. Garrett’s commanding presence and role on the show, the producers felt that the character of the Headmaster was redundant.