‘Family Ties’ stars gather for family reunion

Viewer e-mail answered

The cast returned later with TODAY’s Al Roker to answer some of the many e-mails readers had sent in, including one that asked about the peripheral characters Andy Keaton, neighbor Skippy Handelman (Marc Price), and aspiring artist Nick Moore (Scott Valentine).

Here’s a transcript:

Q: What happened to Andrew, Skippy and Nick? — Nancy, Interlaken, N.J.

Goldberg: They wanted too much money to be here. [Joking] We had to cut them off — Brian Bonsall is doing very well. I think he lives in Colorado. Scott Valentine is doing really well in California. We’re going to see him next week. I’m not actually sure where Marc Price is.

Q: Do you think “Family Ties” could be on the air today? — Christina

Baxter: It would certainly stand out and be different because there aren’t that many family shows. People want to see what goes on in families; you’re not seeing that reflected much today.

Gross: If the divorce rate is still as bad as it is, I think people would love to see an intact American family. I think that’s one of the reasons we did as well as we did, because families are in crisis in a way. This was a family that held together — a lot of difficult children.

Yothers: In the reality-TV era we live in today, I think people would be refreshed watching a show like “Family Ties.”

Goldberg: I would say no, because I don’t think the network executives are smart enough to put it on and give it the kind of attention it would need to stay on. There’s such fear in the business right now. There’s just a bunch of kind of craven people making the decisions, and they wouldn’t have the courage to let the show gradually grow.

Fox: There’s a generalness that doesn’t exist in terms of television. It’s all so fast. I was listening to the theme song, the “Family Ties” theme song. They don’t make theme songs anymore because that time’s too expensive. Just hearing that song and knowing it’s time to close the fridge and go sit down and watch the show — that’s gone now.

Roker: We’re getting a lot of questions, Michael, about you and your health. How are you doing?

Fox: I’m doing well. It’s a progressive condition, so it progresses. But then I’m a progressive person, so I progress as well. I have four great kids, and an unbelievable wife, who I got from the show. I’m totally blessed. We all got our bag of hammers and this is mine. I look around and people have a lot harder things to deal with.

Q: [For Tina] Were there any pressures from the producers to keep your weight at a certain level? — Marilyn

Yothers: No. They would all give me carrot sticks to eat — if that’s pressure. [Laughs] I was a big kid. Next to Justine and Meredith, I was two times their size.

Fox: She could beat me in an arm-wrestling contest.

Bateman: The greater pressure we all put on ourselves was just to excel with the material, to be really funny and have our acting have depth with the issues we were dealing with.

Q: What is your favorite show memory and why? — Virginia

Baxter: It’s gotta be the water fight. We started out with little small water guns. [Turns to Fox] But you sent your assistant out who came back with one of these big mother things.

Fox: I was a 22-year-old with an assistant and too much money: “Take the Ferrari. Get water guns.”

Bateman: The stage was soaked. We soaked the place.

Gross: We marked our territory.

Yothers: People thought I was the only kid on the set and they were way off.

Gross: We had a running thing — “Tag, you’re it,” and I tagged her at the final wrap party 18 years ago and Tina’s still “it.”

Fox: There’s so many moments. To show up every week and ... seeing these faces, and this is my family. Just that — the feeling you’re part of something, to be given a second family just out of nowhere. You’re just blessed with these people.

Gross: [Before doing “Family Ties,” he had been doing theater and rarely watched TV. He had no idea what Hollywood was like.] I thought all shows were this well run, all casts got along this well and all shows were this well written. Boy, did I take it for granted. I had no idea.

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