Lewis appeared in 20 of the 22 episodes of the first season as Robin Dumars, Mark's childhood best friend and roommate. Speaking of the A Different World theme song: it was performed by Aretha Franklin from Season Two through Season Five. From 1995 to 1996, she continued her acting career, mostly doing voice-overs for characters in TV series likeSpider-Man: The Animated Series(1994),Bruno the Kid(1996), andC-Bear and Jamal(1996). She is recognized for her role as Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor on NBC's 'A Different World,' for which she also co-wrote the theme song. Sure, the final season was a bit questionable, but what show doesn't suffer from a little senioritis? Oakes was the busiest man on Hillman's campus, coaching the football, basketball, baseball, and track teams, and acting as co-director of the Gilbert Hall dorm. Each of the special episodes came from a young, collegiate perspective. DAWNN LEWIS is a multitalented and multifaceted individual: a Grammy Award-winning singer, multiple ASCAP & BMI Award-winning songwriter, film actor I'M GONNA GIT U SUCKA, DREAMGIRLS and a Series TV creator/producer (BLACK JAQ) for ABC & can now be seen recurring on the hit TV shows MAJOR CRIMES & BETTER CALL SAUL, (starring Bob Odenkirk & Patrick Fabian) the highly anticipated spin off of . SitcomsOnline Digest: Pair of Popular Broadcast Sitcoms Renewed for Third Season; Malcolm in the Middle Movie in the Works? As producer, she added some new flavor and freshness by introducing stories that mirrored her experiences as a college student at the predominantly black Howard University in Washington, D.C.. She made the show more youthful, topical, and authentic. In 2012, she voiced Malora in Strange Frame. As the wisecracking resident coach, hes somehow still as damn funny now as he was then. She said that she had so much fun on the show and that she is still friends with her Hillman pals particularly Lisa Bonet, who is the godmother to Tomei's children. Denise quickly became the first Huxtable college dropout. While in production, they found out the show was canceled. And then there was "Mammy Dearest," in which they took on how the mammy archetype has harmed and helped the black culture. . She was looking for some sort of wardrobe accessory that would give math whiz Dwayne Wayne a slightly nerdy look to make him stand out from the other male characters. It was Debbie Allens idea to have the Roseanne stars, along with the handful of white suburban soccer moms, gleefully savage the merchandise racks. [11] She portrayed Deloris Van Cartier in Peter Schneider's Sister Act the Musical, which opened at the Pasadena Playhouse on October 24, 2006. Nell Carter played P.J. The fine funky divas of En Vogue also popped up during season six as the nerdy church choir nieces of Mr. Gaines in the episode, "Mind Your Own Business." Lisa Bonet (Denise Huxtable) is 20; Marisa Tomei, a fellow Brooklynite who plays red-haired Maggie Lauten, is 21. The show's "very special" episodes seem cheesy now, but they were actually great. Glynn Turman has built an impressive career in TV and film since his A Different World days, appearing as Mayor Clarence V. Royce on The Wire,in addition to recurring roles on How to Get Away with Murder and Fargo. Jaleesa eloped with math professor Colonel Taylor and disappeared from the series with no explanation after Season Five. [8], From August 1, 1985, to July 6, 1986, Lewis performed and understudied in the National Tour of the Broadway musical The Tap Dance Kid under the name "Dawnn J. 17. Luckily, after the second season overhaul, the character became more developed. Turns out some of these were shot before the finale but never aired. Though she left the show after its fifth season, A Different World wasn't the end . Lewis, a New Yorker who was graduated magna cum laude from the University of Miami, thought of herself primarily as a musician until a year ago. In 2005, Lewis accused Newman of domestic assault and battery after claiming he assaulted her in his Richmond suburbia home. We commit to cover sensible issues responsibly through the principles of neutrality. Cree Summer played Freddie, Jaleesa's roommate and the love interest of many a co-ed at Hillman. Comedian, Talk show host, Actor, Screenwriter, Television producer, Soldier, Film Producer. Timeslot; Onyx Collective Bringing More Programming to Hulu In that same year, she also voiced Ruby's mother Helen Hanshaw in one episode of Sofia The First. Allen produced and directed some of these amazingly titled episodes, which included one where Dwayne rescued Freddie from date rape ("No Means No"); an episode where Whitley stands up to a boss who was sexually harassing her ("Bedroom at the Top"); and domestic abuse in "Love Taps." A Grammy award-winning actress, writer, songwriter, singer, Dawnn is currently a voice actress for The Regular Show. Search Sitcoms Online: