More Moonlighting, less Moon Knight-ing?
David Addison, where art thou?
But there’s one key project on his CV that is still absurdly difficult to watch.
Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd on ‘Moonlighting’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
That’sMoonlighting, the Emmy-winningABCdetective dramedy that introduced Willis to the world.
He starred as smart-aleck private investigator David Addison, oppositeCybill Shepherdas model-turned-detective-agency-manager Maddie.
“When we madeMoonlighting, television shows didn’t typically use pop music,” he says.
Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis on ‘Moonlighting’.ABC Photo Archives/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images
“It was really just us andMiami Viceat that time.
So when deals were made for the music, no one anticipated streaming.
He also notes that Willis almost missed out onMoonlightingaltogether.
Caron and his casting team chose him from more than 3,000 actors who auditioned.
“Most of the men on television I didn’t relate to.
They just weren’t men that I’d encountered in my life.
In those days, Caron says he and Willis “worshipped at the temple of movies.”
In short, it was a cadre of cinephiles making a TV show.
“I truly felt there were great stories to tell on the other side of that.
Unfortunately, a bunch of forces came together that we had no control over.”
In television parlance, it’s the romantic equivalent of “jumping the shark.”
But is the “curse” really fair?
It’s not as if ABC doesn’t have a natural home forMoonlighting, with bothDisney+andHulubeing corporate siblings.
“It would just be wonderful to have it back,” Caron concludes.
The reappraisal and celebration of Willis' career elevates the need for access toMoonlightingfrom ideal to absolutely essential.
How can we truly point to what makes him iconic as an actor without this foundational text?
Willis withoutMoonlightingis like George Clooney withoutER.
