Fame's Danny Pulls Up A Chair For A Chat - Tune In!
Q: How's Fame's third season going so far, Carlo?
A: Great! Everyone's been working real hard and things have been going full blast.
Q: Can you tell 16 readers how the show has changed since it went into syndication?
A: Sure. There aren't as many restrictions any more. Now we show that bad things can happen to kids - like Bruno having to quit school when his father dies.
Q: Have there been any more cast changes?
A: Well, you know Lori Singer left last season - we still keep in touch though, 'cause as I always say, there's no such thing as an ex-Famer - and Erica Gimpel, Coco, won't be in anymore shows either. She wants to pursue other interests.
Q: What about the Fame Kids doing more concerts?
A: There's talk of us doing a concert tour - maybe in Europe - but nothing's definite yet. Our December concert in L.A. though, was broadcast in January. That was a lot of fun - I did my "Friday Night" song and some Billy Joel tunes. Everyone did their Fame top hits plus their favorite songs.
Q: What's a typical day on the Fame set like?
A: It's non-stop work from 6:30 in the morning till 7:00 at night. Of course we're always goofing around on the set, changing the dialog and stuff like that. We end up showing those scenes - and other mess-ups - at wrap parties and it's really funny. Sometimes in between scenes we get a break - and I can go home or get some shopping done - but sometimes we just have to wait on stage and be real quiet; kind of like school.
Q: How long does it take to film one show?
A: It takes seven days to finish one script - and since we have a Monday-Friday schedule, it really doesn't work out to one show per week. There are no rehearsals, only one cast reading and the cameras are always rolling.
Q: That sounds pretty tough on the actors. Who are you close with in the cast?
A: Right now I'm going out with a Fame dancer, but the whole cast is like a family - basically everyone is a transplanted New Yorker so we have a lot in common. Gene Anthony Ray is from Harlem and I'm from the Bronx so we're practically from the same neighborhood and know where the other one's coming from. Gene and I are real tight, but we all lean on each other and work together.
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