Date Published:6/1/2021
Publisher:The Fayetteville Mafia Press
Once upon a time ABC-TV’s Moonlighting was among the most buzzed-about shows in the country, thanks largely to the bravado of creator Glenn Gordon Caron, who never met a television convention he didn’t want to break, and the sizzling on-screen chemistry between glamorous erstwhile film star Cybill Shepherd and a New Jersey bartender nobody had ever heard of before named Bruce Willis, who bickered and flirted ceaselessly on screen and engaged in epic off-screen battles that all these years later remain the stuff of Hollywood legend. This combustible blend of creative brilliance produced some of the most acclaimed, audacious, and innovative programming of the eighties, including a black and white tribute to film noir, with an introduction by Orson Welles; a parody of Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, written in iambic pentameter; an homage to The Honeymooners; and countless metafictive episodes breaking through the fourth wall — almost unheard of at the time for hourlong comedy-dramas. Without a doubt, Moonlighting helped pave the way for the era of prestige television we are now all enjoying.
The real story of this pioneering television series and the extraordinary behind-the-scenes challenges, battles, and rewards has never been told — until now. Author Scott Ryan (The Last Days of Letterman, thirtysomething at thirty: an oral history, The Blue Rose, Scott Luck Stories) interviews over twenty people, including the actors, writers, directors, and producers who made Moonlighting such a dynamic, unforgettable show, delving deep into their thoughts and feelings as they relive this magical moment in pop culture history in this full color oral history.
GUEST POST
I
was a huge fan of Moonlighting my entire life. It was the series that inspired
me to become a writer, but there never was a book that took you behind the
scenes. I reached out to the creator of the series, Glenn Gordon Caron, and
asked if he would be OK with me doing a book where I interviewed all the cast
and crew. He wanted to take a look at my other books about thirtysomething
and my look at the final six weeks of The Late Show with David Letterman
(The Last Days of Letterman). Luckily, he liked what he saw and he
agreed. I started interviewing the writers, directors and the cast. It was an
honor to get to itnerview Cybill Shepherd who is a feminist icon in my
opinion. They all were so willing to share their thoughts, memories, and
experiences of creating one of the most famous television series from the
eighties. Once I had all the interviews, I realized that putting them together
would tell the story of how a creative endeavor is made. It takes readers from
the first ideas to the final episode. Moonlighting was a
rollercoaster ride. It blew up and became an iconic series and then fell to the
bottom and whimpered off television. This ride is detailed from the happy high
times to the painful low times. The artists were willing to share their
successes as well as their very public failures. When readers get the fateful
meetings between ABC, Glenn Caron and Cybill Shepherd, they will be vested
enough in everyone's journey to be shocked at how it all played out. It was
incredible to me that this story was never told before.
The
book is told through their words and memories, my job is to set up the episodes
and moments in history in a light, comical way to stay with the tone of the
series. I have been so happy that the producers of the series have approved the
book and given me great feedback on the end result. I became a writer because
of the work of these writers, the fact that they are now reading the book and
saying it is good is more than I could ever ask for.
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