Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time w Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time with roses and a little Stevie Wonder. I could do this all day! 🌹 #traderjoes #flowers #roses #therapy #selfcare
Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is my absolute favorite meal and @louieswinedive in Clayton treated us so well! I will definitely be back. 

#brunch #stl #stlouis #food #stlfoodie #hosted
Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis
A generous heart is always open, always ready to r A generous heart is always open, always ready to receive our going and coming. In the midst of such love, we need never fear abandonment. This is the most precious gift true love offers – the experience of knowing we always belong.” — bell hooks
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Flower arranging has become the self-care I didn’t know I needed. It’s a tranquil and relaxing experience for me. Get into it. 💐 #traderjoes #flowers #therapy #selfcare
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We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A time was had and memories were made. Grateful that I got some extra days with these guys (thanks Southwest—now run my son back his reimbursement 😂).
My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift car My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift cards as one of my Christmas surprises. Take a look at my haul which includes makeup for oily skin and a some faves! #sephora #haul #skin #oilyskin #beautyproducts #overforty #midlifewomen
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80's baby, Boob Tube, Fashion · May 30, 2019

TBT: Do You Remember the TV Series Rags to Riches?


Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Picture it: 1987 in Phoenix, Arizona. A 12 year old girl (me) is on the hunt to find something on TV that resembles her teen life. She wants to see people on prime-time television that look like her outside of The Cosby Show or A Different World. Something fresh, something different, and something that was created for the MTV generation BET Video Soul inspired palette that currently had her attention.

Enter Rags to Riches.

What first began as 2-hour pilot movie featuring a rich bachelor who needed to clean up his image and six orphans whom he “rents” to make him more PR-friendly, turned into an one series hour-long weekly series on NBC.  It gave me my first glimpse at a sangin’ sister by the name of Tisha Campbell, who played Marva, and it was what I had been looking for.

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Rags to Riches was a smooth, well-appointed series that featured musical numbers centering around Nick Foley (Joseph Bologna), the Frozen Food King, his butler, and his new kids, five girls (one of the girls didn’t make it from the pilot to the series) whom he decides to adopt. Each week, a different problem ensued and was sprinkled with songs that were made over from some of the 50’s and 60’s favorite tunes. I used to love this show!

So much so that I recorded every episode on the family room Betamax and often memorized all of the songs and choreography. I had slumber parties during this era, and we always watched several Rags to Riches episodes.

With its musical approach to every storyline, and the bright early 60’s colorful costumes and hairstyles, it was a fashionable look at what it could’ve looked like to grow up during the soda shop era.

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.

Rags to Riches did well at the beginning, but NBC changed their slot from Sunday nights to Friday nights in 1988, and it was canceled after two short seasons. The series standout, Tisha Campbell, went on to star in the House Party franchise, which kicked off two years after Rags to Riches was yanked off the air.

For my pre-teen entertainment needs, this short-lived program gave me something that I was longing for at the time. Its tagline: “If you liked Annie, you’ll like Rags to Riches” aimed at the Hard Knock Life of us all.

Do you remember Rags to Riches? And more importantly, did you watch?

Rags to Riches was a musical series that had just two seasons on NBC in the 80's, but had a profound effect on this pre-teen black girl living in Phoenix.


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In: 80's baby, Boob Tube, Fashion

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Comments

  1. Molli Taylor says

    March 2, 2020 at 10:43 am

    i was a HUGE HUGE fan of this show. i am probably around the same age as you and was a musicals kind of kid, raised on my dad’s extensive doo wop collection. just started watching with my kids on youtube, but i am hard of hearing now and the captions are awful.

    Reply
    • Vanessa says

      September 16, 2020 at 11:08 pm

      I loved this show. Was looking where to be able to watch but it looks like none of the tv outlets have it. You can buy it through amazon but not watch it through any subscriptions. That sucks!

      Reply
      • The Cubicle Chick says

        September 16, 2020 at 11:57 pm

        I watched both seasons on YouTube. Try watching there.

        Reply
  2. Richard Johnson says

    April 24, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    I was obsessd with the series as a kid. Heidi Ziegler and I are the same age to give you an idea. I waited 20 years to access a copy of “Wilderness Blues” Thanks to Baby Jessica interrupting the broadcast. Something that wouldn’t have affected you in Arizona. I wish this was on a social media platform, because recently I had a professional Monopoly Game created for Rags To Riches. My love of the series hasnt stopped there. I have collected a good deal of memrobelia from the series as well.

    Reply
    • Elizabeth Himowitz says

      March 5, 2021 at 8:24 pm

      I was 11 or 12 years old and loved this show and specifically remember the episode being pre-empted for breaking news about Baby Jessica in the well. I was SO upset. They didn’t re play the episode so I probably still haven’t seen it

      Reply
  3. Miranda Kilgore says

    May 27, 2020 at 7:10 pm

    Oh, how I LOVED this show!! Me and my 2 older sisters had to watch it! And I at that time would have bn about only 6ish I think, but I remember it like yesterday. Great memories from this era of life for me!

    Reply
  4. Gina says

    June 8, 2020 at 8:47 am

    I loved Rags to Riches!! I have looked for a long just to remember the name of the show. Finally it came to me! And now I’m looking where to watch it. I was young also when it aired and sad that it was gone. Now I’m excited to finally watch it.
    Great show!

    Reply
    • Richard Johnson says

      June 8, 2020 at 9:43 am

      It is on DVD, although the pilot film on that release is a work print. If you want to source it online there are 10 episodes on you tube currently.

      Reply

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Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time w Another flower arranging therapy Reel, this time with roses and a little Stevie Wonder. I could do this all day! 🌹 #traderjoes #flowers #roses #therapy #selfcare
Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is Mimosas, beignets, and Benedicts, oh my! Brunch is my absolute favorite meal and @louieswinedive in Clayton treated us so well! I will definitely be back. 

#brunch #stl #stlouis #food #stlfoodie #hosted
Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis Brunch vibes. #latergram #brunch #stl #stlouis
A generous heart is always open, always ready to r A generous heart is always open, always ready to receive our going and coming. In the midst of such love, we need never fear abandonment. This is the most precious gift true love offers – the experience of knowing we always belong.” — bell hooks
One more week before she goes back to school for h One more week before she goes back to school for her second semester. Reppin #stl and @seriessixcompany. 

#stlouis #collegekid #stlmade #mykid
Flower arranging has become the self-care I didn’t know I needed. It’s a tranquil and relaxing experience for me. Get into it. 💐 #traderjoes #flowers #therapy #selfcare
It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me toda It was about a mellow mood & self-care for me today as I spent the first day of the year taking care of my mind, body, and soul. It went something like this…. #newyear #selfcare #overforty #fortyish
We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A We made it a family night at @stlouiswheelpark. A time was had and memories were made. Grateful that I got some extra days with these guys (thanks Southwest—now run my son back his reimbursement 😂).
My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift car My family gifted me $250 worth of Sephora gift cards as one of my Christmas surprises. Take a look at my haul which includes makeup for oily skin and a some faves! #sephora #haul #skin #oilyskin #beautyproducts #overforty #midlifewomen
It’s #giveaway time! Enter to win 2 silk pillowc It’s #giveaway time! Enter to win 2 silk pillowcases from @celestialsilk made of 100% mulberry silk. Sleep better in the new year and take care of you! Entry detail link in bio. #selfcare #sleeping #newyear #review
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