‘Moonlighting’ Producer Cybill Shepherd Discusses ‘Remarkable’ Bruce Willis: ‘We Fought For Him’

ABC’s romantic comedy series featuring Cybill Shepherd and Bruce Willis is now available for streaming on Hulu. The film stars played private detectives Madolyn “Maddie” Hayes and David Addison Jr. in the five-season show inspired by Preston Sturges and Howard Hawks’ screwball movies.

Moonlighting premiered in 1985 and was intended as a mid-season replacement, but viewers soon caught on to its engaging quality. The show had an interesting touch, with the characters sometimes speaking directly to the audience, having rapid-fire exchanges, and lengthy monologues.

‘ABC’ executives were unsure about Bruce

Before Die Hard, Bruce’s role as David in Moonlighting brought the spotlight on him to an unprecedented degree. Creator Glenn Gordon Caron told The New York Post of how he insisted Bruce should play the part. “I brought Bruce in 11 times, and he was the only one I brought in. The problem with Bruce is that he didn’t look like an ABC leading man to network execs, but I wasn’t interested in doing a show with an ABC leading man,” he recalled.

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Thankfully, one of the executives found him interesting; “He sure looks like fun to me,” she had said. “It froze the room, and they reconsidered, and we were able to get Bruce the part, which meant the world to him and to me,” Glenn added. Glenn was proven right after Bruce gave an unforgettable delivery of his character alongside Cybill, who confirmed they had great chemistry on and off set.

Cybill enjoyed working with Bruce

Cybill admitted to feeling immediate attraction for Bruce the moment she saw him, and though it became mutual, both co-stars knew to keep it at bay, partly for the sake of the show. “We managed just to stop and not to fulfill that, and it had a huge amount to do with the success of the show,” she said.

Bruce was undoubtedly attractive, as Glenn recalled ladies swooning over him while they walked down the network’s hallway. “I met Bruce in an office with Glenn, and my temperature went up at least 10 degrees,” Cybill quipped earlier in the interview. Although they did not always get along while filming Moonlighting, Cybill loved working with him. “Bruce was funny, brilliant, sarcastic, and real, and we couldn’t have chosen a greater co-star,” she said.