16 Classic Celebrity Appearances on 'Fantasy Island'
August 5, 2021
By Gayle Jo Carter
www.aarp.org
Before the reboot arrives, let's celebrate the show's fabulous, kitschy past
In TV's ever-expanding passion for nostalgic series reboots, it's high time that Fantasy Island, that iconic late ‘70s/early ‘80s Saturday night series, is making a kitschy comeback. In the brand-new version (premiering Aug. 10, 9 p.m. ET on Fox), Puerto Rican-born Roselyn Sanchez (Without a Trace) is host Eleana Roarke (the descendant of Ricardo Montalban's Mr. Roarke), still guiding guests through fantasies that prove you'd better be careful what you wish for.
Like the era's other Saturday night hit The Love Boat, Fantasy Island's storylines relied on a diverse group of guest stars. Some appeared at the apex of fame, while others were yet to make their mark. And of course, others popped up on the downhill side of their careers. It was all part of the who's-on-this-week? fun.
And so as the guest-star-making machinery revs back into gear on a new Fantasy Island, let's look back at some of the stars who stepped off the plane, the plane!, back in the day.
David Cassidy
Pre-Fantasy claim to fame: Tiger Beat-fueled superstardom as Keith Partridge on The Partridge Family (1970-1974)
The episodes: “Unholy Wedlock/Elizabeth” (Season 3, 1980), “The Songwriter/Queen of the Soaps” (Season 6, 1983)
The roles: In “Unholy Wedlock,” Cassidy plays a young man who finds out his bride turns out to be the girl from his bachelor party cake; in “The Songwriter,” he's a pianist who travels back to Tin Pan Alley to find his grandfather's unpublished songs.
NOTE: There were 15 other guests mentioned in this article
