A Different World cast members are going on tour to HBCUs across America

The cast of A Different World is going on tour

Entertainment Weekly announced that the major cast members of the NBC sitcom A Different World will embark on a 10-city tour of Historically Black Colleges and Universities. (HBCU). They will be celebrating 35+ years of impacting fans in the US. ADW ran from September 24, 1987 to July 9, 1993 on NBC. It aired behind The Cosby Show on Thursday nights and became an instant hit.

The cast members have told many stories over teh decades related to the series. They had people to ask if Hillman was a real college and many Black students said they went to an HBCU because they were inspired by ADW.

Darryl M. Bell (Ron Johnson); Charnele Brown (Kimberly Reese); Jasmine Guy (Whitley Gilbert-Wayne); Kadeem Hardison (Dwayne Wayne); Dawnn Lewis (Jaleesa Vinson-Taylor); Cree Summer (Winifred Brooks); Glynn Turman (Col. Bradford Taylor); and Sinbad (Walter Oakes) will embark on the tour, which will feature panels and other events.

The cast members have remained close

There have been many who appeared on A Different World and went on to stardom. These include Jamie Foxx, Halley Berry, Marisa Tomei, Eric Lasalle, Tisha Campbell, and David Allen Greer. There were also many established actors who guest-starred on the series like Diahann Carrol, Patty Labelle, Whoopie Goldberg, Rosalind Cash, Mary Alice, Roscoe Brown, McGhee Denise Nicholas, and Jennifer Lewis.

There were many memorable characters over the years on ADW who were only around for a season or 2. One short guy who mostly wore sweaters was in seasons 3-6 but he was never named and is not listed. The core group who were together on season 2 have remained the ones who tour and do television talk shows together.

Whitley, Dwayne, Ron. and Jaleesa were on season 1 of A Different World. They were joined by Turman, Brown, Summer, Sinbad, (Walter Oakes) and Lou Myers (Vernon Gaines) in season 2. The only cast member pictured who is not a part of the tour is Meyers who portrayed the owner of The Pit. Myers passed away in October 2020. Walter left Hillman at the end of season 4 and Jaleesa did not return for season 6 because Lewis was starring in Hanging with Mr. Cooper on ABC.

The tour begins

The tour will begin on February 29 and include the following stops. Georgia at Atlanta University Center, which encompasses Spelman College, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse College. Tours in Washington, D.C. (hosted by Howard University) and Montgomery, Ala. (hosted by Alabama State University and Tuskegee University), will take place in April but no dates have been given.

Will the ADW cast stop in Virginia?

The fictional Hillman College on A Different World was located 45 minutes from Richmond, Virginia where Whitley lived. At this point, none of the HBCUs in the Commonwealth are not listed on the tour. There are 5 HBCUs in Virginia.

Hampton University, Norfolk State University, Virginia State University, UNCF-Member Institution. Virginia Union University, and Virginia University of Lynchburg. Additional dates and locations for the A Different World tour will be announced soon and it would be fitting for Virginia to be included.

Keep up with the cast members of ADW

For many fans of A Different World, especially people of color the series reminds us of a time gone by when values mattered. The series tackled date rape, racism, culture clashes and even the Rodney King trial and riots. The show aired at a time when there was not so much violence and political correctness. Be on the lookout for updates related to additional venues being added to the tour. You can watch episodes of ADW on Bounce and also Max (formerly HBO).