Lisa Whelchel Wasn’t the First Blair
It may come as a surprise to some, but Lisa wasn’t the first actress to play Blair! The original Blair was played by Geri Reischl on Diff’rent Strokes. However, once the spinoff for The Facts of Life became a reality, Geri’s contract with General Mills prevented her from working on something that had no defined ending.
In the end, everything worked out better than expected! The producers found an amazing replacement for Blair in Lisa.