The Bosom Buddies Effect: Duos Where One Star Rose as the Other Fell

Around the time that Ronald Reagan won his first presidential election, a brand-new sitcom called "Bosom Buddies" debuted on ABC. Fresh-faced Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari played two life-long friends who, in order to secure an inexpensive New York apartment, masqueraded as women. Except for their co-worker Amy (the late, great character actress Wendie Jo Sperber), no one else at the Susan B. Anthony Hotel knew they were really guys during the first season, even though Hanks looked incredibly butch while wearing high heels and a dress.

Scolari's character, Henry Desmond, was the "cute one" and Hanks' Kip Wilson provided much of the comic relief, especially when he chased after the blond bombshell played by Donna Dixon. When the show ended in 1982, Scolari should have moved on to great things, but Hanks eventually became the breakout star, earning respect for his role in "Big" and later winning back-to-back Oscars after a decade of low-budget comedies ("The Money Pit") and box-office duds ("Joe Versus the Volcano"). Scolari had a decent run on television's "Newhart," but he typically is seen these days in cameo roles in Hanks' pet projects, most notably the 1960's-era musical "That Thing You Do!"

This "Bosom Buddies" effect also can be seen in other Reagan-era duos:

A "Square Peg" gets "Footloose"

In the fall of 1982, CBS put the groundbreaking show called "Square Pegs" on the air. The great-grandfather of "Freaks and Geeks," this innovative comedy focused on two friends (Sarah Jessica Parker and Amy Linker) who didn't fit in with all the cool kids (played with 80's flair by Jami Gertz and Tracy Nelson).

"Square Pegs" didn't quite fit the round hole provided for it on the CBS schedule, but Sarah Jessica Parker soon found success on the big screen in the monster Kevin Bacon hit "Footloose" and later on the original series "Sex and the City." Linker, who is just as cute and appealing as Parker, did a couple of forgettable films ("D.A.R.Y.L.") before almost completely fading from pop culture memory.

I'm like a movie star, eh?