NBC Rejected Madonna For A Lead Role In A Hit '80s Drama Series
Madonna wasn't always famous. Shortly before she made it big, she was turned down for a role in this popular series that ran from 1982 to 1987.
In the early 1980s, Madonna was a young woman in her 20s attempting to break into the entertainment industry. She traveled to NBC studios to audition for the 1982 TV adaptation of the hit film Fame. The series, which aired from 1982 to 1987, followed students at the New York High School of Performing Arts as they pursued their careers and dealt with the challenges of teenage life.
Former NBC head Brandon Tartikoff later admitted in his 1992 memoir that Madonna had auditioned but was not selected for a lead role, regretting this decision as one of his biggest. The tape showed Madonna's trademark attitude, and she later released her debut self-titled album in 1983 and became a pop icon. Debbie Allen, who starred in Fame, went on to become a household name in the screen industry and has been a producer and director on Grey's Anatomy since 2011.
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