A Different World
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A Different World was an American television sitcom. It dealt with the life of students at Hillman College, a fictional historically Black college in Virginia, and ran for six seasons on NBC. A spin-off series from The Cosby Show, it was originally centered around Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet). Later seasons focused on Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) and Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy). The sitcom aired from its debut on September 17, 1987 until the show's final episode on July 9, 1993.
While it was a spin-off from the Cosby Show, A Different World addressed issues that the largely apolitical Cosby Show avoided, such as race and class relations, and the Equal Rights Amendment. One episode that aired in 1990 was one of the first American network television episodes to address the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Reruns can be seen on Oxygen, and will be coming to Nick at Nite in Summer 2006.
The success and popularity of A Different World is often said to be largely responsible for the increased enrollment at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
The show played a part in popularizing several fashions that were staples of the early 1990's. Among them were sunglasses attachments that clipped onto regular glasses and flipped up. These were worn by the character of Dwayne Wayne, and were frequently referred to as "Dwayne Wayne glasses".
Contents
Cast
- Mary Alice - Leticia "Lettie" Bostic (Episodes 13-20, 23-44)
- Darryl M. Bell - Ronald "Ron" Johnson, Jr. (Seasons 2-6, recurring in Season 1)
- Lisa Bonet - Denise Huxtable (Season 1, guest-starring in Episode 49)
- Charnele Brown - Kimberly Reese (Seasons 2-6)
- Loretta Devine - Stevie Rallen (Episodes 1-9, 21)
- Jasmine Guy - Whitley Marion Gilbert-Wayne (except Episode 22)
- Kadeem Hardison - Dwayne Cleophus Wayne (except Episode 22)
- Dawnn Lewis - Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor (Seasons 1-5)
- Patrick Malone - Terrell Walker (recurring in Season 6)
- Lou Myers - Vernon Gaines (Seasons 3-6, recurring in Season 2)
- Jada Pinkett - Lena James (Season 6, recurring in Season 5)
- Marie-Alise Recasner - Millie (recurring in Season 1)
- Bumper Robinson - Dorian Heywood (recurring in Season 6)
- Ajai Sanders - Gina Deveaux (Season 6, recurring in Seasons 4 and 5)
- Sinbad - Walter Oakes (Seasons 2-4, recurring in Season 1)
- Cree Summer - Winifred "Freddie" Brooks (Seasons 2-6)
- Marisa Tomei - Maggie Lauten (Season 1)
- Glynn Turman - Col. Bradford Taylor (Seasons 2-6)
- Cory Tyler - Terrence Johann Taylor (recurring in Seasons 4 and 5)
- Karen Malina White - Charmaine Tyesha Brown (Season 6, guest-starring in Episode 113)
Episode 22
The final episode of the first season, Episode 22, entitled "My Dinner with Theo", had a much different casting lineup than the rest of the series. It was apparently shot before the pilot was, and as such many characters from the rest of the show are not credited at all, and some appear only in this episode.Characters not appearing in this episode
- Jasmine Guy as Whitley
- Kadeem Hardison as Dwayne
Characters appearing in this episode alone
- Ted Ross as Dr. Harris, the dean of Hillman
- Vernee Watson-Johnson as Carla Meyers, Hillman's resident director.
The Season 2 Revamp
During the summer of 1988, Lisa Bonet announced that she and husband Lenny Kravitz were having a baby. It was felt that viewers would not accept Denise Huxtable as an unwed mother, having grown to know her as a "good girl" after four seasons of The Cosby Show and A Different World. Thus, it was decided that Denise would drop out of Hillman, return home to her family, and eventually travel to Africa throughout the fifth season of The Cosby Show, ensuring that viewers would not see a pregnant Denise. This led to the coming of Debbie Allen as the chief creative force behind A Different World, and to the revamp that placed Whitley and Dwayne at the center of a wider ensemble, dealing with more relevant issues of the day. Allen, an alumnus of Howard University, made a conscious effort to make Hillman resemble an actual HBCU as much as possible.Lisa Bonet, Marisa Tomei, and Marie-Alise Recasner were dropped from the cast, while Charnele Brown, Cree Summer, and Glynn Turman were added to fill the void. Darryl M. Bell and Sinbad were "promoted" to the principal cast, and Lou Myers was added to the recurring cast.
Dwayne's status as the campus nerd was gradually phased out, and Ron was transformed from devoted boyfriend to notorious womanizer. The replacement of the passive Millie with the more confident Kimberly as Whitley's roommate and confidante helped to make Whitley a more sympathetic character. The Bohemian aspects of Denise and the studious nature of Maggie were combined to create Freddie, the neo-flower child activist. Finally, the addition of Colonel Taylor and the expansion of the characters Ron and Walter helped to create a more equitable balance between the male and female perspectives presented in each episode.
It is generally believed that, without this series of events, A Different World would not have lasted beyond Season 2.
Life and times at Hillman College
The following gives a brief synopsis of each student's experience at Hillman, as well as their known fate (as of the final episode):
- Denise: daughter of Hillman alumni Cliff and Clair Huxtable, joined the Hillman track team, went on one date with Dwayne, dropped out after sophomore year, married Lt. Martin Kendall of the U.S. Navy, stepmother of Olivia Kendall, moved overseas with Martin, pregnant with her first child (as seen in the final episode of The Cosby Show)
- Maggie: involved in long-distance relationship with Mike, became a victim of Chuck Cunningham syndrome after Season 1
- Jaleesa: divorced from Lamar Collins, enrolled at Hillman at age 25, worked part-time at the Hillman library, assistant dorm director of Gilbert Hall, worked a summer installing cable television, entered into serious relationship with Walter, co-dorm director of Gilbert Hall, engaged to Walter, couple halts wedding at the altar and mutually separates, graduated, accepted an entry-level corporate position, married Colonel Bradford Taylor (in a surprise elopement), stepmother of Terrence, started an temporary employment agency, gave birth to a daughter, became a victim of Chuck Cunningham syndrome at the start of Season 6
- Dwayne: unrequited feelings for Denise (went on one date with her), unsuccessfully ran for the title of "Miss Hillman" (at Denise's urging) in order to highlight the allegedly sexist nature of campus beauty pageants, dated Suzanne Taylor (who was unwilling to enter into a serious relationship), went on a date with Denise's younger sister Vanessa Huxtable (without first realizing her true age or identity), pledged Kappa Lambda Nu Fraternity but dropped from the line before "crossing over", prevented Garth Parks from raping Freddie, involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Whitley for years, worked as summer intern with Kinishewa, involved in serious relationship with Kinu Owens, broke up with Kinu because of his lingering feelings for Whitley, was distraught when his childhood friend Zelmer Collier was deployed to the Persian Gulf just before the start of Operation Desert Storm, graduated as valedictorian of Class of 1991, engaged to Whitley, became the man to whom Whitley lost her virginity, enrolled in graduate school at Hillman, employed as an instructor of mathematics at Hillman, victim of a bias incident at Virginia A&M University, engagement broken (after he almost cheats on Whitley), slept with Whitley (while she was involved with Byron), interrupted Whitley & Byron's wedding ceremony and married Whitley immediately thereafter, honeymoon in Los Angeles coincided with the 1992 riots following the verdict in the Rodney King trial, expecting a child with Whitley, designed a new video game for Kinishewa (based upon a concept from Ron), moved to Japan (with Whitley) to work for Kinishewa
- Whitley: unsuccessfully ran for the title of "Miss Hillman", pledged Alpha Delta Rho Sorority and successfully "crossed over", temporarily employed by Mr. Gaines at The Pit to pay for damages to his car, involved in serious relationship with Julian Day, involved in an on-again-off-again relationship with Dwayne for years, voluntarily remained at Hillman for a fifth year to take additional courses in business, succeeded in ruining Dwayne & Kinu's relationship, graduated, engaged to Dwayne, lost virginity to Dwayne, worked as summer intern with E.H. Wright Industries, dorm director of Height Hall, employed as an assistant art buyer for E.H. Wright Industries (where she was a victim of sexual harassment), engagement broken (after Dwayne almost cheats on her), entered into serious relationship with state senatorial candidate Byron Douglas, cheated on Byron with Dwayne (for which Byron forgives her), engaged to Byron, rejected Byron during the wedding ceremony and married Dwayne immediately thereafter, honeymoon in Los Angeles coincided with the 1992 riots following the verdict in the Rodney King trial, downsized from art buyer position, employed as waitress, employed as substitute teacher, pregnant with her first child, moved to Japan (with Dwayne)
- Ron: involved in serious relationship with Millie, pledged Kappa Lambda Nu Fraternity and successfully "crossed over", dated numerous women during most of his college career, worked summers as a salesman for his father's automobile dealership, managed/performed in band, has a one-time sexual encounter with Freddie (at which time she loses her virginity), graduated after nine semesters, band breaks up, victim of a bias incident at Virginia A&M University, employed as spokesman for a phone sex hotline, employed as a car salesman (independent of his father), unemployed, criticized Kimberly's interracial relationship with Matthew (but later admitted he was jealous), entered into serious relationship with Kimberly (after pursuing her for months), antagonist of Shazza, cheated on Kimberly with Freddie, broke up with Kimberly, entered into serious relationship with Freddie, managed and co-owned club with Mr. Gaines, provided the concept which inspired Dwayne's new video game for Kinishewa, chosen to be godfather of Dwayne and Whitley's unborn child
- Millie: involved in serious relationship with Ron, became a victim of Chuck Cunningham syndrome after Season 1
- Kimberly: employed by Mr. Gaines at The Pit part-time, involved in serious relationship with Robert (had a pregnancy "false alarm"), employed at funeral home part-time, involved in serious relationship with Matthew, pledged Alpha Delta Rho Sorority and successfully "crossed over", graduated, entered into serious relationship with Ron (after being pursued for months), enrolled in Hillman Medical School, co-dorm director of Height Hall, broke up with Ron, entered into serious relationship with fellow medical student Spencer Boyer, completed first year of medical school, engaged to Spencer (after turning down numerous proposals from him)
- Freddie: unrequited feelings for Dwayne, was a student activist throughout her undergraduate career, dated Garth Parks (who almost rapes her), dated Ernest Bennett, lost her virginity in a one-time sexual encounter with Ron, entered into serious relationship with Shazza Zulu, graduated, enrolled in Hillman Law School, co-dorm director of Height Hall, cheated on Shazza with Ron, broke up with Shazza, entered into serious relationship with Ron, made law review and completed first year of law school
- Julian (Dominic Hoffman): exchange student from Georgetown University, entered into serious relationship with Whitley, broke up with Whitley, engaged to marry another woman, plans to move to Paris
- Mbubunni (Ron Mokwena): international student from apartheid-controlled South Africa, became a victim of Chuck Cunningham syndrome after Season 4
- Gina: dated Dion (who physically abused her), pressed charges against Dion and broke up with him, involved in incident that led Charmaine to falsely accuse Terrell of sexual harassment, placed on academic probation, moved off-campus into house (with Lena, Charmaine, Terrell and Dorian), rejected Dion again after he violated probation and contacted her, completed junior year and still enrolled at Hillman
- Terrence: Colonel Taylor's son, criticized his father's decision to join an all-white country club, converted to Islam, unsuccessfully attempted to romance Freddie, pledged Kappa Lambda Nu Fraternity and successfully "crossed over", became a victim of Chuck Cunningham syndrome after Season 5
- Kinu (Alisa Gyse Dickens): student at Avery College, worked as summer intern with Kinishewa, entered into serious relationship with Dwayne, broke up with Dwayne because of his lingering feelings for Whitley, graduated, married to another man, employed as an executive with Kinishewa in Tokyo
- Matthew (Andrew Lowery): Freddie's cousin, visiting student from Avery College, involved in serious relationship with Kimberly
- Shazza (Gary Dourdan): matriculated at Hillman for at least six years, changed his name from Sylvester Simon to Shazza Zulu, converted a failing term paper into a book criticizing other African-American men, publicly criticized Kimberly's interracial relationship with Matthew, entered into serious relationship with Freddie, antagonist of Ron, broke up with Freddie (after she cheated on him with Ron)
- Lena: ended relationship with Piccolo, employed by Mr. Gaines at The Pit part-time, entered into serious (yet celibate) relationship with Dorian, rejected Piccolo's attempt to reconcile, moved off-campus into house (with Gina, Charmaine, Terrell and Dorian), completed sophomore year and still enrolled at Hillman
- Charmaine: best friend of Clair Huxtable's cousin Pam Tucker, maintained long-distance relationship with Lance Rodman, employed by Mr. Gaines at The Pit part-time, falsely accused Terrell of sexual harassment, relationship with Lance ended when he broke up with her by telephone, failed French midterm after being caught cheating, harassed by local residents (along with Terrell), moved off-campus into house (with Gina, Lena, Terrell and Dorian), completed freshman year and still enrolled at Hillman
- Terrell: falsely accused of sexual harassment by Charmaine, failed French midterm after being caught cheating, harassed by local residents (along with Charmaine), almost expelled for carrying a gun on campus, moved off-campus into house (with Gina, Lena, Charmaine, and Dorian), completed freshman year and still enrolled at Hillman
- Dorian: born-again Christian, entered into serious (yet celibate) relationship with Lena, uncharacteristically entered into physical altercation with Piccolo over Lena, moved off-campus into house (with Gina, Lena, Charmaine, and Terrell), completed freshman year and still enrolled at Hillman
- Spencer (Michael Ralph): enrolled at Hillman Medical School, entered into serious relationship with Kimberly, completed first year of medical school, engaged to Kimberly (after numerous proposals from him were turned down)
The 70s Connection
- Many of the main characters' parents were portrayed by individuals who were icons of African-American film, television, and music of the 1970s.
- *Kimberly's father - Richard Roundtree (Shaft, Shaft's Big Score, Shaft in Africa)
- *Whitley's father - Ron O'Neal (Superfly)
- *Whitley's mother - Diahann Carroll (Julia, Claudine, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
- *Dwayne's mother - Patti LaBelle
- *Ron's father - Art Evans (Claudine, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings)
- *Denise's father - Bill Cosby (The Bill Cosby Show, Uptown Saturday Night, Let's Do It Again)
- Additionally, Glynn Turman (Col. Taylor) had starring roles in Cooley High and JD's Revenge, Mary Alice (Lettie) appeared in Sparkle, Rosalind Cash (Dean Hughes) appeared in Uptown Saturday Night and Cornbread, Earl and Me, Roscoe Lee Browne (Dr. Foster) appeared in The Liberation of L.B. Jones and Uptown Saturday Night, Bebe Drake (Velma Gaines) appeared in Which Way Is Up?, and Joe Morton (Byron) appeared in the Sanford and Son spin-off, Grady.
Trivia
The opening creditsLike its parent series The Cosby Show, A Different World altered its opening credit sequence at least slightly almost every season.
- Season 1 - Joint and individual scenes featuring Lisa Bonet (Denise), Marisa Tomei (Maggie), Dawnn Lewis (Jalessa), and Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne) frolicking on the campus of Hillman College. Jasmine Guy (Whitley) and Loretta Devine (Stevie) are named but not shown, nor is Mary Alice (Lettie) when she replaces Devine. Episode 22 removes the names of Hardison, Guy and Devine/Alice, replacing them with Ted Ross (Dr. Harris) and Vernee Watson-Johnson (Carla).
- Season 2 - Series of individualized scenes featuring Jasmine Guy, Dawnn Lewis, Kadeem Hardison, Mary Alice, Darryl M. Bell (Ron), Sinbad (Walter), Charnele Brown (Kim), Cree Summer (Freddie), and Glynn Turman (Col. Taylor). Lisa Bonet and Marisa Tomei are not present.
- Season 3 - Same as Season 2, except Lou Myers (Mr. Gaines) replaces Mary Alice.
- Season 4 - Same as Season 3.
- Season 5 - Season as Season 4, except Sinbad is removed, and Darryl M. Bell's scene is re-shot to reflect this.
- Season 6 - Completely new series of individualized scenes. Dawnn Lewis is removed. Many of Jasmine Guy's and Kadeem Hardison's scenes are together, reflecting Whitley & Dwayne's new marital status. Charnele Brown and Lou Myers share scenes. Ajai Sanders (Gina), Jada Pinkett (Lena), and Karen Malina White (Charmaine) are added. Dominic Hoffman (Julian), Gary Dourdan (Shazza), Patrick Malone (Terrell), Bumper Robinson (Dorian), and Jenifer Lewis (Dean Davenport) are not named but clearly shown.
The dorm directors
Gilbert Hall
- Stevie - Episodes 1-9, 21
- Lettie - Episodes 13-20, 23-44
- Carla - Episode 22
- Walter (assisted by Jalessa) - Seasons 3-4
- Whitley - Season 5
- Kimberly and Freddie - Season 6
The ever-changing roommate situation
Season 1
- - Denise, Maggie, Jaleesa
- - Whitley (alone)
- - Dwayne & Ron (presumably)
- - Jaleesa & Freddie
- - Whitley & Kimberly
- - Dwayne & Ron
- - Jaleesa & Whitley
- - Dwayne & Ron
- - Freddie & Kimberly
- - Terrence (at home with Col. Taylor)
- - Whitley (alone - as dorm director)
- - Col. Taylor & Jaleesa (as husband & wife), with Terrence
- - Dwayne & Ron
- - Freddie & Kimberly
- - Dwayne & Whitley (as husband & wife)
- - Ron (alone)
- - Freddie & Kimberly (as co-dorm directors)
- - Gina, Lena & Charmaine
- - Terrell & Dorian
- : Gina, Lena, Charmaine, Terrell & Dorian ("lost episode")
- One of the most unique aspects about college is the opportunity to interact with numerous people from different parts of the country (and the world). The students of Hillman hailed from far and wide (although Brooklyn was disproportionately represented):
- Denise - Brooklyn (New York City)
- Maggie - was an "Army brat", from all over
- Jalessa - Camden, New Jersey
- Dwayne - Brooklyn (New York City)
- Whitley - Richmond, Virginia
- Ron - Detroit, Michigan
- Millie - ?
- Kimberly - Ohio
- Freddie - New Mexico
- Gina - Martinique
- Mbubunni - Soweto, South Africa
- Terrence - Germany (although he was also an "Army brat")
- Lena - Baltimore, Maryland
- Charmaine - Brooklyn (New York City)
- Terrell - Brooklyn (New York City)
- Dorian - ?
- The theme song was co-written by Stu Gardner, Bill Cosby, and Dawnn Lewis. It was performed by Phoebe Snow in Season 1, by Aretha Franklin in Seasons 2 through 5, and by Boyz II Men in Season 6.
- Kadeem Hardison is the only person pictured in the opening credits of every episode (although his name does not appear in the credits for Episode 22).
- The third-season finale of The Cosby Show, entitled "Hillman", was essentially a pilot episode for A Different World.
- A Different World frequently presented the viewers with romantic pairings where the two individuals were complete opposites, such as Ron and Freddie, Dorian and Lena, and (of course) Dwayne and Whitley.
- Gary Dourdan's () first television role was Shazza Zulu on A Different World.
- The first-season episode "War of the Words" features appearances by recurring cast member Kim Wayans and her brothers: guest stars Keenan Ivory Wayans and Damon Wayans.
- In January 1991 (seven days before the beginning of Operation Desert Storm), Blair Underwood guest-starred in "War and Peace", a moving episode written by Jasmine Guy and Dominic Hoffman about the impending Persian Gulf War. It was one of the only television series to address this topic in the days leading up to the war.
- Denise's departure from Hillman after Season 1 did not stop her mother from reappearing on the show. Three of Phylicia Rashad's four appearances as Hillman alumnus Clair Huxtable took place after Season 1.
- Dwayne earned a perfect score on the math portion of the SAT, a fact that he mentioned frequently (particulary during Season 1). Terrell's combined SAT score was 1500 (at a time when a perfect combined score was 1600).
- Whitley's horrible singing was a recurring feature on the series, but during the first two seasons she was depicted as an excellent singer, once even competing with Jaleesa for a job as a back-up singer for Gladys Knight. In 1990, Jasmine Guy released a self-titled album. It yielded several singles, including "Try Me", "Another Like My Lover", and "Just Want to Hold You". Guy was also one of "The Rays" featured on the song "Be Alone Tonight" (with lead vocals by Tisha Campbell) from the School Daze soundtrack.
- Both Freddie Brooks and Terrence Taylor were biracial. Both had African-American fathers and White mothers.
- Almost every character over the age of 30 (regular or recurring) was an almunus of Hillman College. The two most notable exceptions were Lettie (who dropped out during her last semester), and Vernon Gaines.
- Like Lisa Bonet, Karen Malina White brought her Cosby Show character to A Different World. Charmaine was the best friend of Clair Huxtable's cousin Pam Tucker.
- Allen Payne turned down an offer to bring his Cosby Show role as Charmaine's boyfriend Lance Rodman to A Different World as a regular during Season 6, preferring instead to pursue a movie career. He and Jada Pinkett starred in the 1994 film Jason's Lyric, which is considered to be a milestone in both of their careers.
- It is not unusual for a college freshman to have a crush or exaggerated romantic feelings for an older student, and this was a recurring theme on the series. The most notable crushes were:
- *Dwayne (for Denise, when she was a sophomore)
- *Freddie (for Dwayne, when he was a sophomore)
- *Terrence (for Freddie, when she was a junior)
- *Lena (for Dwayne, when he was a graduate student and faculty instructor)
- The term "Walter Oakes date pack" is a euphemism for a condom.
- In one of her two appearances, psychiatrist Dr. Langhorne (Debbie Allen) advised Whitley to "relax, relate, release", which Whitley did on more than one occasion.
- Over the course of the series, recurring cast member Michael Ralph guest-starred in at least four different minor roles before being cast as Hillman medical student Spencer Boyer in Season 6.
- Some characters (and fans) objected to Kim's interracial romance in Season 4 with Freddie's cousin Matthew (Andrew Lowery).
- Both Whitley and Gina were fluent in French (Whitley as a result of her upper-class upbringing, Gina because her family hailed from Martinique). The efforts of Charmaine and Terrell (Patrick Malone) to pass French class formed the basis for one of the funniest episodes of Season 6.
- Dwayne and Ron lived off-campus as roommates for several seasons. Their landlady was Velma Gaines.
- After graduating, Jalessa lived in an apartment with fifth-year senior Whitley (across the hall from Dwayne and Ron).
- In the one of the "lost" episodes, Gina, Lena, Charmaine, Terrell and Dorian all decided to rent a house off-campus. Their landlord, former professional baseball player Langston "Sweet Knuckles" Paige, was portrayed by Billy Dee Williams.
- In the fourth-season episode "Ms. Understanding", Shazza peddles a book he has written and self-published that is highly critical of African-American men and their allegedly sexist behavior. The episode is a thinly-veiled commentary on the controversy surrounding the book The Blackman's Guide to Understanding the Blackwoman. The latter book, written by an African-American woman named Shahrazad Ali, blamed many of the problems within the Black family and the Black community on African-American women. Though most Black women found the book highly offensive and intellectually deficient, African-American men purchased hundreds of thousands of copies in 1989 and 1990, leading to a temporary rift between many African-American men and women.
- In the fifth-season episode "Bedroom at the Top", Col. Taylor is highly critical of Terrence's decision to major in dance. In reality, Cory Tyler is an excellent dancer. He appeared in Michael Jackson's 1988 film Moonwalker, as one of the dancers in "Badder" (an all-youth parody of Jackson's video Bad). Occasional guest star Brandon Adams also appeared in Moonwalker, and had the Michael Jackson role in "Badder".
- The fifth-season episode "Mammy Dearest" -- arguably the most thought-provoking of the entire series -- addresses two subjects almost never discussed on prime-time television:
- *the "mammy" image and its negative effect upon African-Americans' sense of beauty and self-worth
- *the little-known fact that some well-to-do African-Americans actually owned slaves themselves
- Kinishewa was a Japanese electronics conglomerate that was central to the plot of a number of episodes involving Dwayne's career. It was probably intended to be an analogue to Sony. The name of the corporation is most likely derived from the Japanese word for "good afternoon": "konnichiwa".
- Clearly, Bumper Robinson's character was named after actor Dorian Harewood. Harewood and Debbie Allen were both in the 1979 miniseries . He portrayed Alex Haley's father Simon Haley, and she played the author's first wife Nan Branch Haley.
- Although the sign outside read "Blues", the full name of the club co-owned by Ron and Mr. Gaines during Season 6 was "The Place Where the Blues Will Be Played".
- In one of the "lost" episodes, Jada Pinkett's high school classmate Tupac Shakur guest-stars as Lena's ex-boyfriend Piccolo.
- Several cast members married famous recording artists:
- Lisa Bonet was once the daughter-in-law of the late Roxie Roker, who portrayed Helen Willis on The Jeffersons.
- Cree Summer is the sister of Stargate Atlantis actor Rainbow Sun Francks.
- Karen Malina White is the wife of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, her castmate from The Cosby Show and Malcolm & Eddie.
- Cory Tyler is the son of ventriloquist Willie Tyler.
- Michael Ralph is the brother of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph.
- Producer/director Debbie Allen is the sister of occasional guest star Phylicia Rashad, the wife of former NBA basketball player Norm Nixon, and the former sister-in-law of sports personality Ahmad Rashad.
- In an article from the Museum of Broadcast Communications, the Hollywood Reporter is quoted as stating that when Debbie Allen became the producer-director of the popular television series A Different World after the first season, she transformed it "from a bland Cosby spinoff into a lively, socially responsible, ensemble situation comedy"[link].
- a graduate of historically black Howard University--drew from her college experiences in an effort to accurately reflect in the show the social and political life on black campuses. Moreover, Allen instituted a yearly spring trip to Atlanta where series writers visited two of the nation's leading black colleges, Morehouse and Spelman. During these visits, ideas for several of the episodes emerged from meetings with students and faculty" [link].
- Marisa Tomei won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1992 film My Cousin Vinny.
- Kadeem Hardison, Jasmine Guy, Darryl M. Bell, and recurring cast members Dominic Hoffman and Roger Guenveur Smith all appeared in the 1988 Spike Lee film School Daze, which also depicted life at a fictional historically Black college.
- Loretta Devine was a member of the original cast of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls, along with Sheryl Lee Ralph (Michael Ralph's sister).
- Marisa Tomei and Loretta Devine both appeared in the 2000 film What Women Want.
- Sinbad and Dawnn Lewis were both in the 1996 HBO movie The Cherokee Kid.
- Diahann Carroll and Loretta Devine both appeared in the 1999 TV movie Jackie's Back!, which starred recurring cast member Jenifer Lewis in the title role.
- Lisa Bonet, Kadeem Hardison, and Orlando Jones (who wrote several episodes of A Different World) all appeared in the 2003 film Biker Boyz.
- Jada Pinkett and recurring cast member Joe Morton both appeared in the 2001 film Ali, which starred Pinkett's husband Will Smith in the title role.
- Jada Pinkett, Loretta Devine, and recurring cast member Dominic Hoffman all appeared in the 2001 film Kingdom Come.
- Recurring cast members Bumper Robinson and Roger Guenveur Smith both appeared in the 1995 TV movie The O.J. Simpson Story. Robinson portrayed Simpson as a young adult.
- Recurring cast members Patrick Malone and Joe Morton both appeared in the 1999 TV movie Mutiny, which depicts the story of the Port Chicago disaster. Morton portrayed NAACP attorney (and future Solicitor General and Supreme Court justice) Thurgood Marshall.
External links
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