Moonlighting With DavidAndMaddie.com

Moonlighting Fans Get-Together
Marie Callender's Restaurant,
Los Angeles, California


Thank you to Vicki Briasco for the photos and report from the event.

Vicki, Amy, Lisa and Brian at Marie Callender's Resaurant
A quartet of California fans from the Moonlighting Discussion Email List that got together on June 13, 2004 to celebrate the announcement of Moonlighting on DVD. Left to right: Vicki Briasco, Amy, Lisa Ridlon, and Brian Madsen.
I arrived at the Marie Callender's on Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills at exactly 7:30pm (I was actually on time, for once!). This was the restaurant that was used during the filming of the Moonlighting episode, ...And the Flesh Was Made Word. The front facade looked vaguely familiar but not exactly as I remembered it...but I hadn't seen that episode in a long while. Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately recognized Brian, Amy and Lisa, not only from our first meeting at the Museum of Television and Radio but I also reviewed the pictures taken from that last get-together just before leaving my house -- a little memory booster never hurts! Even though eight of us expressed an interest in getting together, it appeared that it was just down to us four for the evening.

Brian requested that we be seated on the patio. Our host gave us a quizzical look but accommodated us anyway. The patio was empty of all people because, as we soon found out, it was a little chilly outside and most people were inside enjoying the warmth and the Laker game being beamed into the bar. Not to be deterred, we requested of our waiter to light the gas heater that was next to our table. Not only did it warm us up, it worked a little too well. We found ourselves stripping off our jackets and feeling like we were dining under a bright, hot sun. Well, the only solution to that of course, is an ice-cold Long Island Iced Tea!! All four of us decided to indulge in this refreshing beverage and lifted our glasses in a toast to the success of the DVD campaign, it's staff, and especially to Cindy and Diane who were the engines behind this success.

We discussed for quite some time what we would like to see included with this DVD release. We were all in agreement that just to have a clean, unedited copy of all the episodes was more than we'd ever dreamed of, we still had a few hopes that the release would contain just a few extras. Blooper reels and outtakes were a popular favorite. Also, interviews with cast, writers, directors, would be a bonus. Commentary underneath some episodes and promos that aired were also mentioned. Amy suggested a "featurette" that contained separate interviews and recollections of principle players in the series. Something like this would allow for everyone to have a chance to express themselves without any discomfort of certain people being in the same room and feeling the need to account for the past. They could just talk about the show and it's brief but phenomenal place in history.

More iced-teas made their way round the table and many subjects were discussed. We laughed and joked and had a wonderful time. Since none of us thought to take a look at the episode that had made the location famous (to us, at least), we agreed that we'd pop in our copies of .....And the Flesh Was Made Word when we got home. Brian was positive that the restaurant had been renovated since they filmed and even managed to find a manager to give us a little history on what had been done to the place. According to him, a few minor changes had been made, but nothing significant. Lisa shanghai'd our waiter (whom she kept referring to as "sparky") into coming outside and taking our picture in front of the restaurant.

Amy in Front of Callender's RestaurantVicki, Amy, Lisa and Brian

I have included a shot of the restaurant facade (with Amy in the foreground), a shot of the four of us (taken by "sparky") As it turns out, after coming home and viewing the episode in question, the facade of the restaurant is pretty much the same! What they had done for the episode is actually set up tables and chairs on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant to give it that sidewalk cafe look.

The scene at Marie Callender's from And the Flesh Was Made  Word
This is the actual scene in Moonlighting--dining at Marie Callender's. (Photo by Chic Donchen/ABC.)
Amy, Lisa and Brian
The shot of Amy, Lisa, and Brian in front of where we ate. This is taken almost exactly where Bruce and Cybill were sitting at their outdoor table!


Well, this concludes my recollections for the evening. I had so much fun, and it was great to see Brian, Amy and Lisa again. We hope to do it again soon. We'll start scouting for locations for the next get-together soon! Take Care!

Vicki Briasco--June 14, 2004


A candid shot taken during the filming of the scene at Marie Callender's from And the Flesh Was Made WordNotes from Webmaster: This photo is a candid shot taken of Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd by celebrity photographer Bob Scott in March 1988 during the filming of Moonlighting episode "And the Flesh Was Made Word" at a scene set in the patio area of Marie Callender's. Maddie has called a breakfast meeting with David so they can do surveillance on their client's business partner who has obsessively fallen in love with a woman from afar. Maddie has determined by reading the man's journals that every Tuesday morning he has breakfast at this restaurant, so she and David go to see what they can learn.