Reassembling a dozen cast members from a popular ’90s TV sitcom could pose a challenge for any network, much less an individual. But it was a task Fran Drescher relished.
As star of the hit CBS series “The Nanny,” Drescher co-created and co-produced the show, along with then-husband Peter Marc Jacobson.
“Peter came up with the reunion idea for fans stuck at home during isolation, and I said right away, ‘Let’s do it, if everyone in the cast is available,’ ” Drescher said, speaking from her home in Malibu, Calif.
Unable to meet collectively in a studio because of isolation restrictions, all 12 credited actors who appeared in the 1993 pilot agreed to participate from their homes via a Zoom reading of that first episode, interspersed with cuts from the original broadcast.
In addition to the cast, Jacobson narrated the reading while Ann Hampton Callaway — composer and performer of the show’s catchy theme song — opened with a lively rendition on piano.
Drescher, 62, said the reunion brought memories flooding back.
“I never really expected to get the warm fuzzy feeling that I did,” she said. “To see everybody and to hear the words again made me miss the show and everyone in it so much. It gave me a lift during this terrible period. Hopefully it did the same for fans.”
Nearly 20 years have passed since “The Nanny” first aired.
“For Peter and me, this was our baby, and we remember everything about it,” said the actress, who is still close friends with her former husband. “There was a live audience for the pilot. They had never really experienced an outrageous character like Nanny Fran Fine that incorporated elements of Cinderella, Mary Poppins and Maria from “The Sound of Music.”
Currently starring in the NBC comedy “Indebted,” Drescher has long taken on another role of healthcare advocate following a diagnosis of uterine cancer soon after “The Nanny” ended production. She founded the Cancer Schmancer Movement in 2007 to promote a “whole-body approach to wellness.”
“We’re a very cutting-edge health nonprofit, pivoting the way we look at sickness, identifying causation and eliminating it,” explained Drescher. “We educate, motivate and activate people.”
The panic and confusion brought on by the coronavirus pandemic prompted Drescher to produce a series of informative videos she calls Corona Care 4 You. They feature her interviews with health experts and are available on the Cancer Schmancer site, www.cancerschmancer.org.
“I wanted to interview medical doctors who think outside the box and can provide useful information for people to help themselves,” she said.
A longtime advocate of natural foods and products, Drescher is especially concerned about environmental toxins. “If we can eliminate them and begin building up the body, it will be in fighting shape to ward off attacks from pathogens such as the coronavirus.”
Isolated at home for weeks like much of the country, Drescher says she’s been catching up on TV shows, writing and cleaning. As Nanny Fine, Drescher’s famous TV character might not have scolded Niles the Butler for using corrosive cleaning products such as Clorox to sanitize the Sheffield’s home in which the ’90s series was set, but today she probably would.
“I use 65 percent alcohol in a spray bottle with a little water and some peppermint oil which smells nice and has some antimicrobial properties,” she said.
And despite the forced home confinement, Drescher has taken the situation largely in stride.
“I know it’s hard for a lot of people,” she says. “I’m fortunate to live on the beach, so can take walks with my dog and get plenty of sunshine without seeing anyone. But I happen to like staying at home, so I don’t get cabin fever easily.”
Thomas has written features, columns and interviews for more than 800 newspapers and magazines.
