Moonlighting With DavidAndMaddie.com
Glenn Gordon Caron


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Glenn Gordon Caron
The Moonlighting Family Creator & Executive Producer
Moonlighting TV series


The reason for this website, the reason we all have formed a community must be attributed to the vision of Glenn Gordon Caron. Mr. Caron took the simple concept of a detective story, and with uniqueness and creativity, turned it into a television series whose universal appeal is still more thantwenty years after its debut.

He started writing a story for a bright and beautiful lead character ….and realized he was writing for Cybill Shepherd. He launched a talent search for her leading man, and hit the jackpot with Bruce Willis...who couldn't be proud of the foresight of that decision? He surrounded them with a quirky supporting cast, and fresh creative ideas, and the show just took off.

Moonlighting is fun and engaging, with occasional flashes of brilliance. It blazed paths in creative television with groundbreaking episodes like "The Dream Sequence Always Rings Twice" and "Atomic Shakespeare," but also kept us enthralled on a weekly basis with sharp, clever dialogue and the palpable sexual tension between David and Maddie.

Each cast member we speak to credits Glenn Caron's high standards and quest for excellence with the show's success. It is evident to all that the fifth season, and the ultimate demise of the show was accomplished without the valuable Caron input - the magic was just no longer there.

We plan to use this page to provide insight into Mr. Caron and his accomplishments, and as a thank you from those of us who have gotten entertainment and inspiration from his gift.

~~Diane Hopkins, Co-editor, DavidandMaddie.com


Glenn Gordon Caron, Creators

Biographical Data:
  • Born in 1954
  • A native of Oceanside, New York
  • Graduated from the State University of New York, College of Arts and Sciences at Geneseo
  • Studied with Del Close and The Second City
  • Went to work in an advertising agency after college
  • While working there, he was contacted by an independent producer who had been impressed with a script that Caron had written years earlier, and the producer arranged for Caron to meet with NBC about the possibility of writing a pilot for the network.
  • Even though that pilot did not become a series, the script caught the eye of writer/producer/ director James L. Brooks, who invited Caron to join the writing staff of his hit series "Taxi."
  • Went on to serve as the story editor on the highly-acclaimed, but short-lived, series "Good Time Harry" starring Ted Bessel.
  • Made his producing debut after being asked by Steve Tisch to assist in writing and producing the television adaptation of the Academy Award-winning film "Breaking Away."
  • Wrote and produced the first 10 episodes of the 1982-87 hit detective drama "Remington Steele," starring Pierce Brosnan, before leaving the show to form his own company, Picturemaker Productions.
  • Created in 1985 the groundbreaking hit "Moonlighting." The series, which is recognized as launching Bruce Willis' career and resurrecting Cybill Shepherd's, broke many of the storytelling conventions associated with hour-long shows. He also wrote and executive produced the series.
  • "Moonlighting" garnered 42 Emmy nominations, nine Golden Globe nominations, six Writers Guild of American nominations and four Directors Guild of America nominations. Caron himself received the WGA Award for writing the series.
  • Made his feature directorial debut with "Clean and Sober," starring Michael Keaton, Kathy Baker and Morgan Freeman, in 1988. The film, which he also wrote, earned its star, Michael Keaton, the Best Actor Award from the National Society of Film Critics.
  • Directed the feature "Wilder Napalm," starring Debra Winger and Dennis Quaid; the remake of "Love Affair" in 1994 starring Warren Beatty and Annette Benning, and the romantic comedy "Picture Perfect" in 1997, starring Jennifer Anniston, Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr. He also co-wrote this film.
  • Executive Producer and Creator of the TV series "Now and Again" in 1999, starring Eric Close.
  • Executive Producer and Creator of the TV series "Medium" in 2005, starring Patrica Arquette. Read more.
  • Recipient of "Outstanding Television Writer Award" at the 14th Austin Film Festival, 2007.
Notable Quotes From Glenn Gordon Caron about Moonlighting:
  • From Rolling Stone, February 13, 1986 "The show you saw last night, we finished five days ago. The one due to air in three weeks is still more or less a concept in my head. It's nuts. We end up shooting off partial scripts. The writing comes down to a stream of consciousness...and there's a strange purity to it."
  • From Rolling Stone, February 13, 1986 When asked what is the secret to the show's success: "Two very strong stars. Plus, I think it has something to do with the fact that while we may be the fifty-thousandth TV detective show, we know we're the fifty-thousandth TV detective show. That's at the heart of it. The show knows a little bit that it's on TV."
  • From Rolling Stone, February 13, 1986"I have no notion of it being a hit or a critical achievement. Right now it's just something that sort of happened. For the time being, I'm just terrified that it won't be able to fulfill its promise."
  • From Los Angeles Herald Examiner, February 18, 1986: "Cybill's never really had a chance to own the screen before. In this, she gets to plant her feet. And what I like about Bruce's character is that he's a man. And I don't think there's been a whole lot of men on TV for a long time. He looks her in the eye and tells her what's what. He doesn't crack open a bottle of white wine and say "Let's discuss this." She feels free to snap back at him. That's kind of fun."
  • From Newsweek, September 8, 1986 Explaining the show's appeal: "It's, 'If I care for you, and I suspect that maybe your don't care as much for me, what do I do?' I think the audience sees this and says, 'Ok, now something is at stake here. Your heart is on the table.' There's always a little ache running underneath everything."
  • From Newsweek, September 8, 1986 On his two stars intense sexual chemistry: "When we finally got them together, you could see the bolt go across the room. It was like, ba-bing! I mean, IT WAS THERE!""
  • From USA Weekend, September 19-21, 1986: "Jay [Daniel] says that he sees a lot of David [Addison] in me and alot of me in David. But I don't know that. I'm a storyteller. Would either of the Brothers Grimm cop to the fact that they felt a unique kinship with Rapunzel? I'm entertained by David. But I don't think I am him.
  • From USA Weekend, September 19-21, 1986: When asked about the show's propensity for "breaking the fourth wall": "The history of that goes back to old Hope and Crosby Road movies. Invariably, in every Road movie they'd turn to the audience and say 'Can you believe we're saying this stuff?' and then they'd go on. As a kid, that just tickled the hell out of me."
  • From Seattle Times January 2, 1987: "Everything is filled with enigma. I think enigma is kind of wonderful."
  • From Seattle Times January 2, 1987: "When Moonlighting is on its game, it's like being at a party with someone who is very witty. When we go too far, it's like being at a party with someone who's had too much to drink."
  • From Cybill & Bruce: Moonlighting Magic, published June 1987: "Our goal is to reinvent ourselves every week. One week we're a comedy, then next week we're fairly serious and the next we're a musical."
  • From Los Angeles Herald Examiner, February 6, 1988: "It's always been about those two people wrestling with their hearts, and I think that will go on. I don't know if they're gonna get married or what, but when they're 80, they're still gonna be checkin' in with each other."
Caron and Moonlighting staff in editing room
Caron with the Moonlighting staff
in the editing room.

Caron discusses a scene with Cybill
Caron discusses a scene with Cybill.


Links to info on Glenn Gordon Caron

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