Blondes vs. Brunettes

For the charity football game, see Blondes vs. Brunettes (charity event).

Blondes vs. Brunettes was an ABC TV special that was broadcast on May 14, 1984.^[1][2] The one-hour variety show, co-hosted by Joan Collins and Morgan Fairchild, was a humorous look at the personality and lifestyle differences between blonde and brunette women. Time magazine characterized the special as a "showdown" between Collins, "…TV’s brunette meanie and Morgan Fairchild, 34, a blond TV vixen."^[3] At the time of the release, Collins was starring in the popular nighttime soap opera Dynasty where she played a dark haired foil to the blonde Linda Evans.^[4]

Blondes vs. Brunettes
ABC-TV Promotional Advertisement
Genre	Variety
Written by	Rod Warren, George Beckerman, David Scott Jones, Bus Cohan, Lisa Medway
Directed by	Steve Binder, Sterling Johnson
Starring	Joan Collins Morgan Fairchild Brooke Shields Rita Moreno Bruce Boxleitner Phyllis Diller
Theme music composer	Fred Thaler
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
Production
Producers	Claude Ravier, Steve Binder
Running time	60 minutes
Production company	ABC-TV
Original release
Network	ABC
Release	May 14, 1984 (1984-05-14)

Despite the imagery of a confrontation, the special gently poked fun at popular culture's blonde vs. brunette rivalry ^[5] and attempted to "dispel the myths about blondes and brunettes."^[6] The show featured a number of skits including a "Dynasty" skit where Fairchild and Collins played the roles of the show's blonde and brunette rivals.^[7] The final skit featured Collins and Fairchild in their elderly years offering a toast to each other.^[6] The lengthy guest cast included Brooke Shields and Bruce Boxleitner.

The special was widely criticized and mocked for its absurd premise.

"Do blondes really have more fun? Are blonde men more gentle than dark haired men? Which do you notice first, blondes or brunettes? Does ABC have any class? You can find out the answers to these and other inane questions on this special ... "experts" on the subject include Dr. Joyce Brothers, and Father Guido Sarducci."^[8]

See also

• Blonde versus brunette rivalry
• Les Gladiatrices: Blondes vs. Brunes

References

1. Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television: Series, Pilots and Specials 1974-1984. New York: BASELine Publications, page 50
2. "Blondes vs. Brunettes" Internet Movie Database (IMdB), retrieved September 23, 2012
3. Time Magazine, "People" May 14, 1984, page 59
4. Collins, Joan (1999) Second Act: An Autobiography. New York: St. Martin’s Press, pages 192-193
5. Douglas, Susan J. (1994) Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female With The Mass Media. New York: Random House, pages 241-242
6. Washington Post, "The TV Column" May 14, 1984, page C9
7. Flander, Judy (May 14, 1984) "Blondes battle brunettes" Lakeland Ledger, page 16. Retrieved October 2, 2013
8. "Around the Dial : Blondes vs Brunettes". The Des Moines Register. Retrieved 1 September 2019.