When Nancy Reagan took a political platform in the "Arnold and Willy" series

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She is the first of the Firsts.

In 1983, a year before the re-election of her husband president, Nancy Reagan offered a political platform in the Arnold and Willy series.

This week, in SERIELAND, Clémence Olivier takes you behind the scenes of a shoot that is at least out of the ordinary. 

Since it is about the celebrities invited in the series, I wanted to tell you about a "guest" a little special, it is Nancy Reagan.

In 1983, the wife of the 40th President of the United States offered herself a platform in a series that tells the story of two young black boys taken in by a white billionaire,

At that time, her husband, the conservative Ronald Reagan, was running for a second term.

And Nancy Reagan is doing everything to help him.

She is personally involved in her war on drugs with the campaign "Just say no", "Simplement dire non" in French.

And to promote it, she has an idea: to appear on television in one of the most popular and gently moralizing series of the time. 

I give you the pitch: Arnold denounces drug trafficking in his school.

But the headmaster does not believe it.

The First Lady steps in to support Arnold and show that drugs affect everyone, even the youngest. 

Nancy Reagan doesn't remember her text

Nancy Reagan is a former actress.

Filming the episode should have been a snap.

Especially since it plays its own role.

But on D-Day, nothing goes as planned.

Nancy is late.

Despite the rehearsals, she does not remember her text.

This is what actor Gary Coleman, Arnold in the series, tells us in an article published at the time by

The production cannot be dismantled.

And find a trick: write in felt on panels the few replicas of the First Lady….

And it works!

The sequence is shot.

The episode saved!

The episode will be seen on April 30, 1983 by more than 30 million viewers.

It is a beautiful platform for the first lady and her husband. 

A year later, Ronald Reagan will be reelected hands down.

As for its anti-drug program, it will mainly stigmatize the black community.

It's ironic you will tell me, when we know that his promotion was done in the series whose credits chant "let's accept the differences".

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After Nancy Reagan, Hillary Clinton and Michelle Obama

But the appearance of Nancy Reagan in a TV series will have had another impact: Paving the way for other politicians.

Because being "guest" in a series is worth ten campaign clips! 

After Nancy Reagan, Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State to Bill Clinton will appear in

in 2005;

The following year, Hillary Clinton, in campaign, made an appearance in

As for Michelle Obama, she will play her own role in no less than five series.