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The Eastland School girls were back together with their housemother today on 'Good Morning America' (weekdays, 7AM on ABC) for a 'Facts Of Life' cast reunion. Lisa Whelchel (Blair), Kim Fields (Tootie), Mindy Cohn (Natalie), Nancy McKeon (Jo), Geri Jewell (Geri), Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrett), and Cloris Leachman (Mrs. Garrett's sister Beverly) joined Cynthia McFadden of 'GMA' for a conversation about the show.

The group was already together for the TV Land Awards Sunday night. Rae had expressed how proud she was that her former castmates had turned out so well, saying at the awards show Sunday they had all turned out "straight." McFadden cleared that up; some in the crowd had misunderstood Rae's intentions. "I was thinking of a tree that grows up straight to the sky," said Rae. "Why, what did you think?" Rae seemed genuinely embarrassed when it was put to her that some thought she meant straight vs. gay.

When I saw the kids from Glee sing at the World Series earlier this month, I was surprised to see that Kevin McHale, the actor who plays disabled gleester Artie, wasn't disabled in real life.

Not sure why this surprised me; non-disabled actors have been playing disabled characters for decades. Maybe it's because McHale handles his wheelchair so well, or because Glee seems to be pretty proud of its not-calling-attention-to-itself brand of diversity. Maybe I just figured that, in 2009, hiring a disabled actor to play a disabled character wasn't a big deal.

I guess I was wrong. And I'm not the only one who's puzzled and disappointed by the show's decision. Tonight's episode, in which the gleesters rally around Artie so he can travel with them to the regionals, is the jumping-off point for an AP article on how disappointed disabled actors are about the casting of McHale in the role.

Whatever happened to Tootie, Blair, Natalie and the other Eastland girls?

Quick -- how many '80s sitcoms can you name that featured three future Oscar winners amongst their cast and crew?

We're not talking about 'Charles in Charge;' it's 'The Facts of Life,' the 1979-1988 boarding school comedy that gave us wise-crackin' teens, a roller-skatin' Tootie and that trio of Oscar-caliber talent.

Who were those Academy Award-worthy 'Life'-ers? Read on.