A Different World

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A Different World begins by following the life of Denise Huxtable, daughter of Cliff and Clair Huxtable of the popular television series The Cosby Show.

For the first season, we see Denise (Lisa Bonet) finding her feet at Hillman College, Virginia, her parents’ alma mater. Soon, though, she returns to Brooklyn (she was written out of the series when Bonet became pregnant) and the focus switches to other students, including Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) and Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison. Unlike most of its contemporaries, A Different World addresses harder edged issues such as race relations, sex and HIV/AIDS.

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Denise Huxtable (Lisa Bonet) – Denise is attending college at her parents’ alma mater, Hillman College in the state of Virginia, and it’s her first real time away from home. Sometimes unsure of herself, she eventually decides to leave college and return to her parents in Brooklyn, New York.

Dwayne Wayne (Kadeem Hardison) – Math genius Dwayne is also from Brooklyn and is the best friend and roommate of Ron Johnson (Darryl M. Bell). Dwayne wears flip-up glasses and Air Jordan sneakers, and his number one occupation is hitting on women. Sadly for him, it’s a hobby at which he’s mostly unsuccessful – as he is with Denise Huxtable, the target of his attentions for some time. Although occasionally annoying, Dwayne begins to mature during his time at college.

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Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) – Spoiled southern belle Whitley hails from Richmond, Virginia and at first believes she’s better than most people at Hillman College. Over time, she learns her lesson and makes good friends, especially Kimberly Reese (Charnele Brown). Whitley has several serious boyfriends, and an on-off relationship with Dwayne.

Maggie Lauten (Marisa Tomei) – Maggie is the roommate of Denise and Jaleesa (Dawnn Lewis). One of the few white students at the essentially African-American Hillman College, Maggie is a journalism major and a “military brat”, and has a long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, Mike.

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Jaleesa Vinson (Dawnn Lewis) – The roommate of Maggie and Denise, Jaleesa is from Camden, New Jersey. At 25 years old, she’s a little older than the other students and often acts as a source of advice. Divorced from Lamar Collins (Thomas Mikal Ford), she’s now enrolled as a business management major and is the assistant director of Gilbert Hall. Jaleela is well-liked and a hard worker, both in school and out.

Ronald Marlon Johnson (Darryl M. Bell) – Ron is Dwayne Wayne’s best friend and roommate. From Detroit, Michigan, he is also a member of the Hillman ROTC. Ron dates many women during his time at college, and works summers at his father’s automobile dealership.

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Kimberly Reese (Charnele Brown) – Kimberly is a biology major and Whitley’s best friend and roommate. She’s from Columbus, Ohio, and works part-time at “The Pit”. A fun girl with a great smile, her ultimate goal is to go to medical school.

Walter Oakes (Sinbad) – Walter is the popular coach of baseball, football, track and basketball. A graduate student and the co-dorm director of Gilbert Hall, he is tall, funny and good-looking. Like Jaleela he’s someone people often turn to for advice, and the two have a serious relationship.

Winifred “Freddie” Brooks (Cree Summer) – Freddie is from New Mexico and is a roommate of Jaleesa’s for a while. She is a student activist and cousin of Matthew (Andrew Lowery), who briefly dates her friend, Kimberly.

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Stevie Rallen (Loretta Devine) – Stevie is the graduate student dorm director of Gilbert Hall and has a son named J.T. She is later replaced by Lettie Bostic (Mary Alice).

Colonel Bradford Taylor (Glynn Turman) – Colonel Taylor is a professor of mathematics at Hillman College. Divorced with two children, his tough reputation has earned him the nickname “Dr. War”. A Vietnam veteran, he is the principal mentor for Dwayne and the commander of the Hillman ROTC.

Vernon Gaines (Lou Myers) – Mr. Gaines is the owner and manager of “The Pit”. Married with a son, he is a father figure as well as employer to Kimberly and several of the other students. His claim to fame is that he met singer Lena Horne during World War II.

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Gina Deveaux (Ajai Sanders) – Gina is the roommate and friend of Charmaine and Lena. Her family immigrated to the United States from Martinique. She dates a man who physically abuses her, but finds the courage to press charges against him.

Lena James (Jada Pinkett) – Lena is an engineering major, but later switches to journalism. She is named after singer Lena Horne, and comes from Baltimore, Maryland. She also has a brief crush on Dwayne.

Charmaine Brown (Karen Malina White) – Charmaine is from Brooklyn, New York and previously appeared on The Cosby Show as the best friend of Clair Huxtable’s cousin, Pam Tucker (Erika Alexander). Now at Hillman College, Charmaine is a nice girl but has a tendency to irritate others by talking nineteen to the dozen.

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Main Cast

Character	Actor
Denise Huxtable	Lisa Bonet
Dwayne Wayne	Kadeem Hardison
Whitley Gilbert	Jasmine Guy
Jaleesa Vinson	Dawnn Lewis
Ron Johnson	Darryl M. Bell
Kimberly Reese	Charnele Brown
Freddie Brooks	Cree Summer
Vernon Gaines	Lou Myers
Walter Oakes	Sinbad
Colonel Taylor-	Glynn Turman
Lena James	Jada Pinkett Smith
Maggie Lauten	Marisa Tomei
Gina Devereaux	Ajai Sanders
Charmaine Brown	Karen Malina White
Lettie Bostic	Mary Alice
Stevie Rallen	Loretta Devine

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Additional Cast

Character	Actor
Terrence Taylor	Cory Tyler
Terrell Walker	Patrick Malone
Dorian Heywood	Bumper Robinson
Spencer Boyer	Michael Ralph
Gloria	Bee-Be Smith
Ernest Bennett	Rueben Grundy
Shazza Zula	Gary Dourdan
Millie-Marie	Alise Recasner
Matthew	Andrew Lowery
Allison	Kim Wayans
Kinu Owens	Alisa Gyse Dickens
Julian Day	Dominic Hoffman
Dean Davenport	Jenifer Lewis
Marion Gilbert	Diahann Carroll
Adele Wayne	Patti LaBelle
Byron Douglas III	Joe Morton
Randall Adams	Maurice Davis
Velma Gaines	Bebe Drake
Dion	Brandon Quintin Adams
Kobie	Abner Mariri
Professor Randolph	Roger Guenveur Smith
Desiree Porter	Josephine Premice
J.T. Rallen	Amir Williams

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Trivia

Lisa Bonet’s first marriage was to musician Lenny Kravitz, originally known to the public as Romeo Blue.

The character of Whitley Gilbert (Jasmine Guy) was only intended to appear in the pilot. She proved so popular, however, that she became a regular and went on to become one of the stars of the series.

Cree Summers (Freddie Brooks) and Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne Wayne) were in a relationship during the making of A Different World.

While Lisa Bonet and Marisa Tomei were playing roommates in A Different World, they were also roommates in real life. Tomei is also godmother to Bonet’s daughter, Zoe.

Sinbad’s (Walter Oakes) birth name is David Adkins.

Dawnn Lewis (Jaleesa Vinson) released her debut CD in 2006.

Jasmine Guy has a daughter, Imani. She chose the name after it was used in A Different World as the name of Jaleesa’s baby.

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Despite sharing a name, Marisa Tomei (Maggie Lauten) is no relation to actress Concetta Tomei.

The show was re-vamped after the departure of Lisa Bonet, both to re-focus the story away from her character, Denise, and to respond to criticism that it did not accurately represent a historically African-American college. Debbie Allen, who became the show’s producer, drew on her own experience as a Howard University graduate to improve its authenticity, and both she and the writers made yearly visits to predominantly African-American colleges to get ideas for the series.

Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne Wayne) is divorced from singer Chante Moore and has one daughter, Sophia.

Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson) graduated from Syracuse University in 1986.

In 1995 Lisa Bonet legally changed her name to Lilakoi Moon, but continues to use Lisa Bonet as her stage name.

Loretta Devine (Stevie Rallen) had a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy.

Real life best friends Lisa Bonet and Cree Summers both appeared on the show, but never at the same time.

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Sinbad has been married twice, both times to women called Meredith.

Jasmine Guy was good friends with rapper Tupac Shakur, who was murdered in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Alfonso Ribeiro made a guest appearance as Zach Duncan and was at one point going to reprise the role and became a series regular. Instead, he opted to take the role of Carlton Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Marisa Tomei has dual Italian and US citizenship and sometimes travels under an Italian passport.

The show’s theme song was co-written by Dawnn Lewis (Jaleesa) and performed by a number of different artists: by Phoebe Snow in the first season, by Aretha Franklin for the next few, and finally by R&B group Boyz II Men.

During a week-long marathon of the series on Nick at Nite in 2006, the network premiered a number of shorts titled Hillman College Reunion, which revisited some of the characters later in life. Lisa Bonet, Jasmine Guy, Kadeem Hardison, Darryl M. Bell, Cree Summer and Sinbad all reprised their roles.

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Jada Pinkett Smith (Lena James) has been married to Will Smith for nineteen years and they have two children.

Jasmine Guy has won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series six times in a row, more than any other actress to date.

Loretta Devine appeared alongside Whitney Houston in movies Waiting to Exhale and The Preacher’s Wife.

Sinbad attended the University of Denver and played college basketball.

Glynn Turman (Colonel Taylor) was once married to Aretha Franklin.

Darryl M. Bell and Tempestt Bledsoe, who played Vanessa on The Cosby Show, have been together since 1993 but have never married. The divorce rate amongst their friends and acquaintances has reportedly deterred them from walking down the aisle.

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In 1997 Lisa Bonet made the raunchy movie Angel Heart, co-starring Mickey Rourke. So explicit was one scene between her and Rourke, that several seconds were edited to get the movie its R-rating. Bonet’s career went into decline after the film was released, despite having just taken up her role in A Different World.

Kadeem Hardison and Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson) are still good friends today.

All but two of The Cosby Show regulars made an appearance on A Different World. The exceptions were Erika Alexander (Cousin Pam) and Geoffrey Owens (Elvin Tibideaux).

A Different World had a habit of seeing its characters disappear without explanation: Maggie, Jaleesa, Millie, Ernest, Lettie and Terrence all vanished without a trace.

Jasmine Guy’s (Whitley) song Try Me from her debut album can be heard playing in the background in an episode from 1990.

In 1996 Sinbad joined First Lady Hillary Clinton and Sheryl Crow on a USO tour in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Marisa Tomei won an Academy Award for her role in My Cousin Vinny.

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Dawnn Lewis, who played Jaleela, left to co-star in a new series, Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper. Her character’s disappearance was left unexplained.

Kadeem Hardison went to junior high with Robert Downey, Jr. and Jon Cryer from Two and a Half Men.

Glynn Turman was originally cast as Han Solo in George Lucas’s iconic film Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope. Lucas, however, changed his mind and re-cast the part with Harrison Ford.

Though written out of A Different World due to her pregnancy, Lisa Bonet did return briefly to The Cosby Show before her character, Denise, was sent off to Africa. Denise later returned to the Cosbys, married and with a step-daughter.

Jada Pinkett Smith auditioned for the role of Will Smith’s girlfriend, Lisa, on the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, but was told she was too short.

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Sinbad ranked in the top 10 worst tax debtors for the state of California in 2009. He owed $2.5 million in personal income tax and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy that same year. In 2010, he put his 2.5 acre home up for sale to help clear his debt.