Debbie Allen, the producer and director of ‘A Different World,’ joined the cast on an episode of ‘The View.’ The conversation on the show’s guest stars led to a discussion about Whoopi Goldberg, who had just won an Oscar for her role in Ghost.
Allen shared that Goldberg was the show’s “secret weapon” in creating a powerful episode about the AIDS epidemic. In the episode, Goldberg made a cameo as a professor, assigning students to write their own eulogies. Tisha Campbell also appeared as a student revealing she had AIDS. This was the first network television show to address AIDS after Magic Johnson’s announcement.
Allen and executive producer Susan Fales knew they needed a big gun to make the episode happen. Goldberg readily agreed to participate, and the episode became the sitcom’s highest-rated that year. Goldberg noted that being part of a series focusing on an all-Black cast attending college was a unique opportunity.
The conversation on ‘The View’ provided a nostalgic look back at a groundbreaking episode of ‘A Different World.’