thirtysomething
Real world tie-ins to names of
people, places and companies
on the show: Credits:
Special thanks to Lisa Stevenson, who was the main
contributor.
Susan Shilliday was a writer for the show, and
Val Shilliday was a character played by Rosalind
Cash, first appearing in Weaning, 12/8/87
(submitted by me)
DAA was apparently named after the mighty firm CAA,
and it follows that Miles Drentel was patterned
after Michael Ovitz, head dude at CAA who in 1996
was destined to get very rich by getting fired
by Disney. There are differences, of course. The
name CAA stands for Creative Artists Agency,
Los Angeles-based literary and talent representatives.
DAA stands for its founders' names (Drentel, Arthur
and Ashley), the business is in Philadelphia, and
the work is of a different nature. (submitted by me)
Winant Scott was the name of a business mentioned on
the show (I forget which episode and whose business)
and Scott Winant was supervising producer and
sometime director on the show. Further, Bruce
Winant played Dr. Rawlins in Advanced Beginners,
1/22/91. (submitted by me)
Robert Gould Shaw was a minor character in the last episode
(California - 5/28/91). Hope says, "Again she asks
'who is Robert Gould Shaw'." Robert Gould Shaw was
a real life Civil War officer and subsequent character
in producer/writer Ed Zwick's Oscar-winning movie "Glory."
(submitted by Jan Nicholson)
Bedford Falls - Thirtysomething's makers took their company name
from Bedford Falls, the fictional town in the classic
movie, "It's a Wonderful Life." The line, "...and dance
by the light of the moon," (heard during thirtysomething's
end credits) is from the song, "Buffalo Girls," sung in
that movie. The house seen in the end credits also is
from the movie. You can see the house and hear the song
by clicking the Bedford Falls button on my main
thirtysomething page. Michael and Eliott mention Bedford
Falls in thirtysomething's final episode, "California."
(submitted by me)
Grendel is Michael and Hope's dog, and it's also the name of a
key character (the monster) in Beowulf. That epic is, of
course, Gary's favorite book, and he mentions it in
several episodes, including "Second Look"-2/12/91.
(submitted by Markus Schmitz)
Rabbi Markowitz was a character in the Christmas episode "The
Mike van Dyke Show"-12/20/88. His name probably is derived
from the name of that episode's writer:
Mar(shall) (Hers)kowitz. (submitted by Markus Schmitz)
Bistro Le Parsons III is a restaurant visited by Michael, Hope,
Billy and Ellyn in "Hopeless" (5/17/91). This is probably
a reference to Lindley Parsons III, executive producer.
(submitted by Markus Schmitz, and also mentioned by Lisa
Stevenson in her exhaustively detailed episode guide)
Jerry Stahl was a character in the episode "Housewarming"-10/13/87.
He was someone from Hope's past, with whom she had an
"extended physical encounter." Michael was unhappy about the
prospect of meeting Stahl, but to Michael's delight he turned
out to be a dweeby guy with a cheesy grin and a nasal voice.
In real life Jerry Stahl penned the episode "Born to be
Mild"-5/10/88. Stahl was a heroin addict at the time he was
writing for thirtysomething, "Alf," and other shows. He later
wrote a book about himself called "Permanent Midnight."
(submitted separately by Andrea Stanfield, someone called RCR,
Hal Beardsley and me)
Patsy Klein, a character in the episode 'Happy New Year'
(12/18/90), has a name annoyingly similar to that of singer
Patsy Kline. That's all. I know it's not much. I watched
the episode to see if she says she's "crazy" or that she
"falls to pieces," but it just didn't happen. Mary Kay
Place, who played Klein, turned up again in the Bedford
Falls Company's "My So-Called Life" as Camille Cherski,
mother of Sharon Cherski, the former best friend of
Angela Chase (the central character on the show).
Other actors who crossed over from 30-s to MSCL include:
Danton Stone - brother Brad to Michael Steadman, the main
male character on 30-s, and brother Neil to Graham Chase,
the main male character on MSCL.
Paul Dooley as Bob Spano, the Minnesota Brands big boss
in "Towers of Zenith" on 30-s, and as Chuck Wood (what a
name) on MSCL. Dooley is married to 30-s writer/producer/
director Winnie Holzman.
Jeff Perry - David Hall in "New Baby" on 30-s, and really
neat, sympathetic teacher Mr. Katimski in episodes 12 and
13 of MSCL.
(submitted by me, except for the bit about Dooley being
married to Holzman, which I stole from Lisa Stevenson's site)
thirtysomething cameo - Onscreen for maybe half a second, a
director's slate in episode 60, "Going Limp," in the 3rd season,
reads "THIRTYSOMETHING." It's backwards but easily readable.
You can see it in my Pictorial Guide to thirtysomething. See
the link on my main 30-s page.
(Nathan Olson spotted this and emailed Lisa Stevenson about it,
and I shamelessly stole it from her site and used it here)
Kate Hodges, who played the young Hope in the ep "the burning bush"
went on to star as Randi Wallace in the series "She-Wolf of
London." That series' episode "Little Bookshop of Horrors"
opened with a scene of a couple called Hope and Michael
discussing business, and the names Elliot and Miles were
dropped as well. Hope later went nuts and beheaded Michael.
(This provided the impetus for the plot of the episode,
running down what had happened.) It obviously was a send-up
of "thirtysomething," but it's not clear whether Kate Hodges
herself contributed the idea.
(this gem contributed by Lisa Stevenson)
Joseph Dougherty, frequent writer/director for the show, "appears"
as the voice of Sherman Howard on the answering at the
beginning of the second-season episode first day/last day.
(Sent by Lynn Wilhite to Lisa Stevenson and
shamelessly stolen by me)
Pressman Department stores, where Mr. Pressman rudely interviews
Michael and Eliott for jobs in the second-season episode
"First Day/Last Day," is most likely a tip of the hat to
thirtysomething producer Ellen S. Pressman.
(shamelessly stolen from Lisa Stevenson's web site)
W.H. Macy, co-writer of the fourth-season episode "Sifting the Ashes,"
became much more famous after the demise of thirtysomething in
1991. Switching to his acting cap, William H. Macy was a regular
on the TV show "ER" and appeared in many movies, including
Fargo, Mystery Men and Magnolia. Check out this
page: http://www.whmacy.com/thirty.htm. Also, go
to http://www.whmacy.com/rose.htm to read what he told Charlie
Rose about how he came to write a thirtysomething episode.
(submitted by me)
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