Morgan Fairchild: Too Sexy for TV, Pee-Wee Herman, and Hollywood's Golden Era

About this episode

Morgan Fairchild discusses her career and the evolution of television with hosts Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson.

"I said, John, you know, it's a visual art. You don't give me something to do, at least I'm gonna be something to look at." - Morgan Fairchild To celebrate the 100th episode of our podcast 80s TV Ladies, hosts Susan Lambert Hatem and Sharon Johnson welcome actress, activist, and podcaster Morgan Fairchild to discuss her decades-spanning career and how television and auditioning have changed from in-person meetings to self-tapes and fragmented audiences. Fairchild recounts moving from Texas to New York after a young divorce, breaking in through open calls, landing Search for Tomorrow, then relocating to Los Angeles and getting an early role on Rafferty with Patrick McGoohan. She explains shaping layered “bad guy” roles with comedy, including Initiation of Sarah, Flamingo Road (and being labeled “too sexy for TV” by the Moral Majority), and Falcon Crest, where she pushed for a promised incest-repercussions storyline and used fashion as a visual hook. She shares behind-the-scenes stories from Pee-wee’s Big Adventure with Paul Reubens, friendships with classic Hollywood stars, her AIDS activism and COVID education, and her new podcast with sister Catherine Hart, Two Bitches from…

People in this episode

Hosts: Susan Lambert Hatem, Sharon Johnson

Guest: Morgan Fairchild

Topics covered

• Morgan Fairchild
• Hollywood
• TV history
• AIDS activism
• self-taping
• character development
• 80s television

Keywords

• Morgan Fairchild
• 80s TV
• Hollywood
• self-tapes
• AIDS activism
• character roles
• Pee-wee Herman

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Moral Majority, Two Bitches from Texas

Books & works: Search for Tomorrow, Rafferty, Initiation of Sarah, Flamingo Road, Falcon Crest, Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

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