Todd Bridges reminisced about filming an episode of Diff’rent Strokes with Nancy Reagan.
For those unaware, the 61-year-old American actress played the role of Willis Jackson in the American television sitcom, which originally aired on NBC. The show, which ran for eight seasons, had an ensemble cast, including Gary Coleman, Conrad Bain, Janet Jackson, Dano Plato, Charlotte Rae, and others.
Reagan made an appearance in a season 5 episode titled The Reporter to promote her signature “Just Say No” anti-drug policy, which aired on March 19, 1983.
Bridges appeared on the recent episode of Taboo’s Comics & Kicks, where he shared the details of filming the episode.
He stated that all the security measures in place turned the experience into a “nightmare.”
The Celebrity Big Brother star recalled, “Nancy Reagan was on the show, but the president came in the audience, and the audience was all Secret Service. It was the biggest, craziest nightmare ever. It was terrible.”
“But I tell you, I learned a lot, too, about Secret Service. One of the guys showed me in his trunk; they had surface-to-air missiles in there and stuff. I was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’ Yeah. It was a no-fly zone.”
“If they came close, they’d shoot you out the sky. Man, it was crazy. And it was like, you got scanned when you came close, you got scanned again, then they would scan you again, and then scan you again before you actually got in the door. It was a nightmare. We couldn’t wait till she left,” Todd Bridges explained.
