Blind Item: Who was the 1980s sitcom lesbian predator?

Amanda Hearse from MWC? The only other possibility that fits would be Meredith Baxter from Family Ties, but she wasn't out in the 80s.

Obviously Ricki Lake.

China Beach

Original Run: 1988-91

Stars: Dana Delaney, Nan Woods, Michael Boatman, Marg Helgenberger, Robert Picardo, Tim Ryan, Ricki Lake

Just because MBB wasn't out doesn't mean she didn't go for puss on the downlow.

She was also drinking on set at the time, by her own admission.

R2 for the win - China Beach was fucking hysterical!

I was thinking Marcia Cross on Meltose Place.

OP used the description "sitcom" that wasn't in the original BI.

Bea Arthur

Murphy Brown

Empty Nest?

Dixie Carder

Designing Women?

The Facts of Life?

All of the women on the all-ladies shows I can think of were straight. Although the female cast of "Alice" gave off dyky vibes.

AGC guessed Mindy Cohn, which I find hard to believe. Were there any rumors/stories about her like that?

The one who played Jackie on Roseanne.

I can't imagine the young women on the facts of life, repeatedly hitting on an extra till she gave in. I think it is a woman of some advanced years. But not as advanced as the Golden Girls, cmon now.

Danny Pintauro, teen whore.

Designing women had 4 female leads so that is where I'm looking.

Cloris Leachman.

Nancy McKeon?

Gotta be Loni Anderson.

Jesus, it's Penny Marshmallows.

CYBILL SHEPHERD ?

Either Mindy Cohn or Nancy McKeon from FoL or Annie Potts from Designing Women. I wouldn't be surprised if Kim Fields was hit on there too, cause I think Queen Latifah tried to eat her cooch on "Living Single," and had her blackballed in Black Hollywood

I think the Facts of Life cast were too young to be demanding people be thrown of the set etc

Bearse directed some episodes of Married With Children, and may have had some say in casting decisions. Hard to believe Cohn was powerful enough to repeatedly get actresses fired.

Vicky, Small Wonder?

30+ year old gossip, seriously? Why stop there? I heard Barbara Billingsley didn't have a whiter than white wash and Donna Reed's husband never had a second cup of coffee at home.

I think we would know about it if Mindy Cohn was into women. I have my doubts Nancy McKeon is really straight, but I cannot imagine she would do something like this.

Cagney or Lacey!

I bet it's Jackee from 227.

r23 Nancy McKeon makes sense, closeted or in denial, difficult, problematic, herrisch, Mindy Cohn seems too good for something like that, and she said she is a fag hag, I think they are usually not lesbian, and usually not closeted, she also seems too good and soulful to be closeted.

Miss Donna Mills.

R31 Think she grabbed DL fave Geri Jewell's pussy?

What about Nell Carter? She died with a female domestic partner.

Sandra Bernhard

Beverly Archer

Sounds like it could be a sci job.

Lassie.

R37: In all fairness, Kirstie's voice has always been kind of mannish.

My first immediate guess was KA. And yes doll, Miss Johnny T is the most hetro het that ever hetroed.

Really, how stupid do these pampered actors think their fans are.

Kirstie NEVER came on to me!!!

Could you really consider a teen/early 20s woman like McKeon or Cohn a "predator"? I just don't see it.

I was thinking Suzanne Somers. Didn't she have lesbian rumors, or am I making that up?

The item mentions a female dominated cast, and Somers doesn't fit that. It's either Facts of Life, GG, DW, or 227. Were there any other successful mostly female cast sitcoms in the 80s? Kate and Allie doesn't count, because I just don't see Jane Curtin or SSJ pulling this type of thing.

Amanda Bearce sounds right to me. Why no traction?

Was Married With Children considered a show with multiple female leads? Sagal was the female star, while Bearse and Applegate were supporting. Plus I really don't think Bearse had that much power to fire people.

Yeah, good point. I think of it more as a 90s phenom too.

Three's Company: Somers, DeWitt, Harrison, Barnes, Lindsey, Wedgeworth vs. Ritter, Fell, Knotts, Kline.

I don't think anyone really sees 3's Company as a female-lead show. Plus the show was mostly as 70s hit and I don't think Suzanne appeared past 1980. I'm telling you bitches, it's a show known for its strong female cast, either Facts of Life, Golden Girls, Designing Women or, possibly 227.

It's A Living? Marian Mercer?

Hold on a sec. Is it a sitcom, or did OP just assume that and put it in the subject line? If it's a drama, my money is on Knots Landing. I've heard stuff about Donna Mills.

I know for a fact it was Tootie.

I think the OP added sitcom. So yeah, it might be a drama show.

Isabel Sanford

It's a stretch, but "Empty Nest"? It had Kristy McNichol, Park Overall, and Dinah Manoff as the female leads.

Jackee / 227 makes the most sense. Female leads, enough power to push people around, and rumored to enjoy women.

No guesses for Lisa Whelchel? I do not think it is true, but am curious why some would mention Nancy McKeon and Mindy Cohn, but not her.

I think the word "trailer" is a clue.

Wouldn't only certain kinds of television shows have trailers (implying frequent location or outdoor shooting), while others would be filmed/taped solely in studios with private dressing rooms for the leads?

Also, as R6 pointed out the word "sitcom" was not in the original blind item. So I'm thinking more drama-oriented, since those shows would be more likely to have trailers.

Multiple female leads could apply to Thirtysomething, an ensemble show.The headline says sitcom but the blind doesn't. But does it fit?

r58, was that 80s or 90s?

30-something is not really a fondly remembered show that had a huge general audience that anyone would write a BI about. I mean, who really remembers Polly Draper or Melanie Mayron (well, except for me, that is)? Definitely a more mainstream show still fondly remembered by many fans. I think it's Donna Mills.

R59 Thirtysomething 1987-1991. Doesn't seem like the cast would do something like that, though. Yes, I realize a cast member, Melanie Mayron, is gay.

[quote] Vicky, Small Wonder?

I saw her father trying to get close to some of the adult male guest stars in a way he tried to with his wife. I never mentioned anything to her because, bless her weak anorexic little heart, I don't think she could take the truth even if it were as plain as the nose on her equally plain face.

R58 There's no headline at the source (Enty), so not necessarily a sitcom.

The BI doesn't say sitcom.

I would assume multiple means more than two or else they would use the word dual or something along those lines.

It also doesn't say they were fired, but "throw off the set" which could mean fired or just treated badly.

It was Jaclyn Smith on CHARLIE'S ANGELS. She was like a starving lioness with a raw steak whenever new female talent came on the set! It was horrible! That's why they couldn't keep an angel after Kate left.

I immediately thought of Donna Mills, but R32 beat me to it.

Roseanne

What about Dynasty or one of those other primetime soaps? Charlie's Angels is a good guess and there were so many women as the cast changed over the years.

Someone on Dynasty

I want to guess Kate Jackson but the timeline could be off. When exactly did Kate exit Charlie's Angel's? Sometimes the clues can be a bit askew.

She was gone long before 1980, r70. 1981 was the show's last season.

R70 No wonder Kate was a pissed off Momma. Cheryl refused to lick her turtleneck wearing cooter

Yeah, Charlie's Angels ended in 1981 and it's generally considered a 70s show.

My first thought was Cagney & Lacey.

What about A Different World? Weren't there rumors about Jasmine Guy? And I just assumed Dawnn Lewis was a lesbian.

Betty White

On multiple occasions, I've heard shocking things about Debbie Allen and her propensity for women - and how she allegedly seduced some of the female cast of "A Different World". Behind the scenes of that show was a hotbed of lesbian activity, spearheaded by Debbie. And did I also recently hear that she was so sexually "aggressive" toward Erica Gimpel (Coco on the "Fame" series) that Erica decided to leave the show rather than put up with Debbie's predatory ways?

I don't know about Dawnn Lewis being a lesbian - but I thought it is cool how she and DL icon Greg Louganis were/are good friends - dating back to their days to being fellow drama majors at the University of Miami.

R75 Doesn't surprise me about Debbie. She could get very 'passionate' about some of those female contestants on SYTYCD. Isn't she also tight with Shondra?

Abe Vigoda

Mrs. Roper

Chrissy was one fine bitch.

Kate Jackson. She was in a TV show with multiple leads and the 80s show was Scarecrow and Mrs King

I vote for "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" myself. Beth Broderick looks like she could throw her weight around (though I saw her speak at a funeral once and she was very vulnerable, very moving).

No such hijinks on set of "thirtysomething", I can tell you that from the inside. It ran like a well-oiled machine. And it's very '90s, though it first aired in 1989. Four seasons. Still a great show.

Marsha Warfield of Night Court.

When did Sisters air? Does Swoozie get woozy around muff? All of the actresses seemed so humorless in interviews, especially Patricia Kalember. Maybe she was still bitter about being axed as the lead heroine on Loving.

The blind item is about a FEMALE LEAD on a SITCOM. "China Beach" was not a sitcom. Neither was "Charlie's Angel's. Neither was "Cagney and Lacey" or "Dynasty." Boy, you people are dumb!

[quote] The blind item is about a FEMALE LEAD on a SITCOM. "China Beach" was not a sitcom. Neither was "Charlie's Angel's. Neither was "Cagney and Lacey" or "Dynasty." Boy, you people are dumb!

The OP made a mistake by adding "sitcom" to the original blind item. So it could very well be Joan Collins or Linda Evans.

R42, someone posted in here a few years ago about a casual sex encounter with Suzanne Somers. Apparently she was fantastic in bed. She met her again a while later and SS didn't even recognize her.

The poster was female, btw.

R42, not R43

Murphy Brown

My first thought was Sisters ad Swoosie.

[quote]In all fairness, Kirstie's voice has always been kind of mannish.

In all fairness, KiRSTIE has always been kind of mannish.

Aren't willing scientos all kind of gay? Doesn't CoS pray away the gay?

What about that show Sisters, was it 80s? I forgot all about it till someone mentioned it on another thread.

God, I hated Patricia Kalember on "thirtysomething". I would brace myself if her name came on in the opening credits because that meant it was a Gary/Suzanne show, vomit. "Humorless" is an understatement. Glad she disappeared.

r75, that is simply not true about Debbie Allen on Fame. Never did anything of the sort to Erica. It was a hot bed of sex and drugs but Erica had the best experience on the show as any of them. She speaks highly of it and is greatful she was on the show. She did not run from any predatory lesbianism, she was looking for bigger things for her career.

KiRSTIE has things to hide

I think this is Laurie Metcalf or Bearse... Metcalf might have had the power as her character was vital to her show, and was likely in with Roseanne enough to have some kind of pull on set.. Roseanne extras were unattractive though. But Married always had PLENTY of good looking women as the floozies Al would pick up on!

I don't care what the timeline is; look at the accompanying picture and compare:

r98, what?

r97, Bearse was not a lead in MWC, she had no power to do anything. Laurie Metcalf is not lesbian. That show just gave off false positives.

I don't know, she might not do it as described but I bet, after that many years, if Bearse complained that an extra was making her "uncomfortable", they'd be relieved of duty and sent home. Especially if it didn't happen that often.

Well if the "sitcom" part is incorrect then it would maybe be Dynasty, Falcon Crest, or Knots Landing. Those three shows were lead by ladies.

If the "sitcom" part is correct then there is no way in hell that it was The Facts of Life because those gals were children during a fair amount of that show's run. I would rule out Gimmie a Break because the late Neil Carter never struck me as a sexual preditor. Hmm..227?! I dunno

If it's limited to a sitcom, I would say it's Jackee from 227. If it also includes drama, my bet is on Donna Mills. When the show ramped up into full OTT soap mode by the 5th season, there were always a bunch of hot young women walking around that Lotus Point complex that Gary/Abby/Karen ran. Would be total catnip for a lez.

On Crackle, they have a pilot for an attempted "227" spin-off called "Jackee." Sondra moves to NY for a job, only to have it fall through and take a job as an assistant manager of a health club. How were we supposed to take a series seriously when the title of the show is the actor's name and not the character's name. Let's see, maybe "Matt" would have worked for the Matt LeBlanc spin-off instead of "Joey" or how about "Megan" where Karen Walker and her unseen husband Stan move to Iowa under the Federal Witness Relocation Program.

Back to the topic at hand, I really don't think Jackee was a big enough star to have this kind of influence.

It was that dyke Mindy Cohn in the study with a candlestick!!!

Read the BI -- there's nothing in there that says sitcom.

Phylicia Rashad. Can you blame her? She worked with Bill Cosby.

Suzanne S

I always remember this interview where Suzanne Somers seemed to be coming onto Ashley Tisdale. Maybe I was creating gossip on the spot but it always stuck in my mind and the behavior seems to fit the blind.