Facts About the TV Show, "Moonlighting"

It was great, but volatile.

Cybill ShepherdPhoto byCreative Commons: Hollywood_PR

It some ways, Moonlighting was like a meteorite. It shown brightly for a short period of time before burning out. It was great for a while, but really hard to sustain. Bruce Willis was ascending, and Cybill Shepherd was great, but the concoction was somewhat volatile, so had a relatively short run.

In addition to the writing and acting, the theme song, performed by Al Jarreau, was and is still a great listen. All in all, for a while, Moonlighting was an excellent hour of entertainment. So here are some things you might not remember about Moonlighting.

1: If Moonlighting had failed, it would have been the show’s creator, Glenn Gordon Caron’s third strike.

Caron had a contract to provide three pilots for ABC, and the first two weren’t picked up. If Moonlighting had failed, Caron might have been moonlighting as in looking for other employment.

2: Caron said the inspiration behind the show was, The Taming of the Shrew.

I believe that in the credits, Cybill Shepherd she is credited as, The Shrew. Wait, being told that’s not accurate.

3: Orson Welles’ finale was on Moonlighting.

Orson introduced The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice. He died a week later. No, Moonlighting didn’t kill him, it probably had more to do with his diet and that huge cigar he was smoking.

4: Caron wrote the character of Maddie with Cybill Shepherd in mind.

He came to that realization 50 pages into the pilot. He was writing the character as someone who was spoiled and bratty and thought that was the public perception of Cybill Shepherd. No doubt Cybill was flattered.

5: Bruce Willis didn’t dress for the role.

No, he didn’t come in naked, but he did come to his audition with a punk haircut, earrings and wearing army fatigues. He also avoided eye contact with Cybil Shepherd and didn’t make a point of flattering her. Network execs didn’t want Willis for the role, but Cybill Shepherd did. That kind of set the theme of discord on the set.

6: Shepherd hated the idea of her character’s sudden marriage to Dennis Dugan.

She was reportedly told by Caron something like: ‘Just shut up and do your job, you’re not producing this show.” After the fourth season, Caron was canned, allegedly at Shepherd’d insistence. So, he wasn’t producing the show either.

7: A footnote on Dennis Dugan. He was nominated for a number of awards.

Mostly Golden Raspberries. He was nominated four times for his work as a director.

8: In an effort to reduce the workload of Willis and Shepherd, Agnes DiPesto (Allyce Beasley) starred in some episodes.

The ratings dropped for those episodes. Well duh.

9: A pause in the show’s production allowed Bruce Willis to star in the movie, Die Hard.

The pause was brought on, at least in part by Cybill Shepherd’s pregnancy. So it must have been a pregnant pause. Plus, the stardom that came with the success of Die Hard no doubt changed Bruce Willis’ focus. After that, Moonlighting died quickly.

10: Production was a chaotic and very demanding.

Trying to keep on schedule proved to be a Herculean task. Ultimately, there was no time for anybody to moonlight.