16 Little Known Facts About ‘The Facts Of Life’

3. The show was progressive in certain ways

Did you know The Facts of Life was the first TV show to ever feature an all-female cast? Later on, some guys were added to spice things up, most notably George Clooney as the school handyman. Geri Jewell became the first performer with cerebral palsy to ever land a regular role on a primetime series when she was cast as Blair’s cousin Geri. She was spotted by Norman Lear while performing at the Media Access Awards. “That particular night, Norman was in the audience. I got a standing ovation, and I ran into Norman in the elevator. He said, ‘You’ll be hearing from me really soon, kid.’ Three months later, he called me with the cousin Geri episode, and I filmed it two weeks before Christmas that year.”