Totally Tracey Online
Friday, May 04, 2007
A TTUS Story
For those of you who remember TTUS (The Tracey Ullman Show), I have a story you'll find interesting.
Remember the sketch "Francesca: A Physical Education", in which Francesca rebels against the win-at-all-costs attitude of her gym teacher (Betty Thomas)? Remember how she was told to serve the volleyball to the worst player on the other team, a girl wearing some huge, nerdy-looking glasses? I recently heard from that girl, Diane Oshiro (now grown up, married, and no longer working in the business), who referred to that appearance as "the biggest thing I did in the entertainment industry, so I guess it was the highlight of my short career."
She and the other girls who were called in were regarded as the best dancers in the industry for their age range (14 to 20). She fondly remembers working with Tracey and with Paula Abdul, then the show's choreographer but soon to be pop superstar and future American Idol judge. In fact, Paula's first single "Straight Up" hit #1 the week this sketch was filmed. She said Tracey was great to work with. "The choreography wasn't easy, but she picked it up really fast," she said. And she recalled meeting Paula at a restaurant a few years later, and Paula remembered her -- by name, too ("I felt like a big shot").
Betty Thomas, who played the gym teacher [and did so very well, in my opinion] was not the first choice for the part, according to Diane. The original actress backed out of the role because she had hurt her back on one of the exercise machines in the sketch, and so Betty took over.
Now how did Diane become the geeky player? During on-set classes, the director came over asking if anyone wore glasses because they needed a nerd for the scene. Those were her own glasses she was wearing, and they were judged the most nerdy, and so she got the part. Some of the other girls became jealous and complained, she said, because she got the extra screen time. "They complained they had glasses too, but left them at home." One other girl named Cybil got a speaking role (one line), earning her a much better paycheck than the others.
What an interesting story! Thank you, Diane, for sharing this with me and the readers of this site.
Remember the sketch "Francesca: A Physical Education", in which Francesca rebels against the win-at-all-costs attitude of her gym teacher (Betty Thomas)? Remember how she was told to serve the volleyball to the worst player on the other team, a girl wearing some huge, nerdy-looking glasses? I recently heard from that girl, Diane Oshiro (now grown up, married, and no longer working in the business), who referred to that appearance as "the biggest thing I did in the entertainment industry, so I guess it was the highlight of my short career."
She and the other girls who were called in were regarded as the best dancers in the industry for their age range (14 to 20). She fondly remembers working with Tracey and with Paula Abdul, then the show's choreographer but soon to be pop superstar and future American Idol judge. In fact, Paula's first single "Straight Up" hit #1 the week this sketch was filmed. She said Tracey was great to work with. "The choreography wasn't easy, but she picked it up really fast," she said. And she recalled meeting Paula at a restaurant a few years later, and Paula remembered her -- by name, too ("I felt like a big shot").
Betty Thomas, who played the gym teacher [and did so very well, in my opinion] was not the first choice for the part, according to Diane. The original actress backed out of the role because she had hurt her back on one of the exercise machines in the sketch, and so Betty took over.
Now how did Diane become the geeky player? During on-set classes, the director came over asking if anyone wore glasses because they needed a nerd for the scene. Those were her own glasses she was wearing, and they were judged the most nerdy, and so she got the part. Some of the other girls became jealous and complained, she said, because she got the extra screen time. "They complained they had glasses too, but left them at home." One other girl named Cybil got a speaking role (one line), earning her a much better paycheck than the others.
What an interesting story! Thank you, Diane, for sharing this with me and the readers of this site.
