'Family Ties' reunion! Cast weighs in on whether the '80s show would work today (2024)
What would we do, baby, without the Keatons?
One of TV's most beloved families reunited Tuesday night when the cast of "Family Ties" gathered for the latest edition of "Stars in the House," which raises money for the Actors Fund.
The reunion, hosted by Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley, featured Michael J. Fox (Alex P. Keaton), Meredith Baxter (Elyse Keaton), Michael Gross (Steven Keaton), Tina Yothers (Jennifer Keaton), Brian Bonsall (Andy Keaton), Marc Price (Skippy Handelman) and Scott Valentine (Nick Moore).
Fox, 59, shared a story about how he'd get rides to work from Baxter, his onscreen mom — only to make her late.
"I used to live in a cheesy little apartment in Brentwood," he recalled.
"Meredith would kindly give me rides to work. And she would show up — and of course, if we were supposed to leave at 8:30, she would pick me up at 8:30, I woke up at 8:29. She would honk the horn and I'd get in the shower," he said. "I'd scramble downstairs half-dressed. I wouldn't have my script. I wouldn't have whatever I need. I was just a mess."
The cast also discussed whether the show — which ran on NBC from 1982 to 1989 and frequently found humor in the tension between hippie parents Steven and Elyse and their conservative son, Alex — could work in today's political climate.
"I just want to say one thing and that is, I loved the time that we were together," said Gross, 73. "That was, I think as you'll all agree, a kinder, gentler politics, when Tip O'Neill and Ronald Reagan could sit down over a glass of Irish whiskey and these two guys could hammer out compromises. And it was a great time. In the same way, we hammered out our compromises in the family and I think that's one of the things that people loved about us."
Yothers, 47, added, "I'm trying to raise a 13-year-old and a 15-year-old and trying to ... navigate them through our democracy and how to make this work and it's been really difficult to try to set the example with what's been going on. It's really unfortunate. My daughter is going to vote in the next election, so I want her to get a feel of what America's about. So we need to definitely come back to the Keatons' kitchen table."
"This show could not have, would not survive now," Baxter, 73, replied, while Yothers disagreed: "It would! It would! We have family members that are on different pages and we do get along."
Fortunately, the cast got along just as well offscreen.
"I think I took some of how great we were together for granted," said Gross. "I didn't know how contrary some shows could be and how some casts quarreled the way they did. I mean, I just thought it was all perfection the way ours was and I didn't really understand that things don't always go this particularly well — that there was no controversy, not a lot of problems."
"This show could not have, would not survive now," Baxter, 73, replied, while Yothers disagreed: "It would! It would! We have family members that are on different pages and we do get along." Fortunately, the cast got along just as well offscreen.
And the cast had nothing but affection for one another. "It's cliché to say that it was like a family and everybody always says, 'They're so great. We all loved each other. ' But we really did," Fox, now 54, said.
Tina Yothers got the role of Jennifer Keaton at nine years old. After Family Ties ended, she began to perform with the band Jaded and started acting and singing in musicals. While she has mainly focused on music, she did appear on Celebrity Wife Swap in 2012 and What Not to Wear in 2013.
Tina Yothers started acting at just 3 years old in commercials. She had a couple of small TV gigs in cameo roles and a made-for-TV movie before landing the part of tomboy Jennifer Keaton on Family Ties at age 9.
Meredith Baxter (born June 21, 1947) plays Elyse Keaton in Family Ties. Baxter does not appear in some episodes in Season 3 (fall 1984) because she (while playing a pregnant mother) was herself pregnant and would deliver twins on 10/2/1984. Here are the episodes: Love Thy Neighbor (production code 054)
After Alex's friend Greg (played by Brian McNamara) dies in a car accident, he has to deal with all kinds of emotions, including a refusal to grieve, and the realization that he was supposed to be with Greg the night he died.
Not once, but twice, did the quintessential 1980s comedy series Family Ties serve up multi-episode arcs that showcased future Academy Award-winning actors Tom Hanks and Geena Davis.
While maintaining a busy producing and performing schedule, Marc has also made forays into new media, co-creating and managing the comedy website, www.iJoke.com, with legendary Improv owner Budd Friedman. He also produces online video for Reuters TV.
On the way to talk to his agent to discuss roles, he landed on a soap opera, and in the movie, Lords of Discipline Scott had an altercation with a driver on the road and that driver ran him over. Scott died at the hospital and was brought back to life.
The Art of Being Nick is an American sitcom pilot created by Bruce Helford, that aired on NBC as a special on August 27, 1987. The pilot stars Scott Valentine as environmental artist Nick Moore, who appeared as Mallory's (Justine Bateman) boyfriend in Family Ties.
Set in Columbus, Ohio, during the Reagan administration, the show depicts Steven and Elyse Keaton (Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter) as baby boomers, liberals and former hippies, raising their three children: ambitious, aspiring millionaire entrepreneur Alex (Michael J. Fox); fashion-conscious, gossipy Mallory ( ...
Why Did the Show End? While Family Ties was a ratings hit, several of the characters felt it was time to move on and explore other projects. Fox's film career took off with Back to the Future, Teen Wolf and Bright Lights, Big City and he was ready to tackle more exciting roles on the big screen.
Her career has shifted since her youth when she was best known as the star of Family Ties. Now she's directing and producing, writing books and scripts, and working with the entertainment unions and guilds she belongs to, like the Writers Guild and the Screen Actors Guild.
(Though the show was set in Columbus, Ohio, the series was filmed on a soundstage at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.) A baby-faced Tom Hanks (center) appears here in a cameo alongside regular cast members (from left to right) Tina Yothers, Michael J. Fox, Justine Bateman, Meredith Baxter, and Michael Gross.
A young Hanks had a multi-episode stint as "Uncle Ned" Donnelly during the series' first two seasons. While the actor has since won two Oscars, this is presumably the only role that saw him chugging a bottle of vanilla extract.
Elyse is mentioned in the episode as being bedridden due to pregnancy but Meredith Baxter is not actually in this particular episode. She was herself very pregnant in real life.
Why Did the Show End? While Family Ties was a ratings hit, several of the characters felt it was time to move on and explore other projects. Fox's film career took off with Back to the Future, Teen Wolf and Bright Lights, Big City and he was ready to tackle more exciting roles on the big screen.
Introduction: My name is Chrissy Homenick, I am a tender, funny, determined, tender, glorious, fancy, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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