''Just Say Julie'' is an American comedy/music video show created by and starring comedian and singer

Julie Brown Julie Ann Brown (born August 31, 1958) is an American actress, comedian, screen/television writer, singer-songwriter, and television director. Brown is known for her work in the 1980s, where she often played a quintessential valley girl charac ...

. The series aired from 1989 to 1992 on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

in the United States, where it aired on Friday nights during its run.

Series background

Though Brown was considered an

MTV VJ This is a list of people who have been VJs on MTV, the music video channel in the U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North ...

, her only function in playing videos came through her show. The show was extremely popular because it went against MTV's image of playing patsy to popular artists of questionable talent. Brown, as a satirical valley-girl version of herself, would often introduce,"jump into" (by blue screen) or speak after a video with negative, scathing comments about the artist. Teen stars like Tiffany and

Debbie Gibson Deborah Ann Gibson (born August 31, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. Gibson released her debut album '' Out of the Blue'' in 1987, which spawned several international hits, later being certified triple plati ...

were frequently mocked along with

Samantha Fox Samantha Karen Fox (born 15 April 1966) is an English pop singer and former glamour model from East London. She rose to public attention aged 16, when her mother entered her photographs in an amateur modelling contest run by ''The Sunday Peopl ...

and

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreograph ...

(questioning her tap dancing and talent). A notable example: after playing a

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

video, Brown quipped that "maybe we should all sleep with

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

so he'll write songs for us." Easton, whose songs were produced by Prince (including "

Sugar Walls "Sugar Walls" is the second single from Sheena Easton's 1984 album ''A Private Heaven''. It spent 16 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in the United States, nine of which were in the top 40. It reached number 9 on the Hot 100, number 3 on the R& ...

"), was reputedly outraged, although she would appear as herself in an episode. In another episode Julie provides running commentary as

Tawny Kitaen Julie Ellen "Tawny" Kitaen (August 5, 1961 – May 7, 2021) was an American actress, model, and media personality. She began her career as a television actress, appearing in the television films ''Malibu (film), Malibu'' (1983) and ''California ...

as the

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978. The group was originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their own entit ...

video, '

Here I Go Again "Here I Go Again" is a song by British rock band Whitesnake. Originally released on their 1982 album, '' Saints & Sinners'', the power ballad was re-recorded for their 1987 self-titled album. The song was re-recorded again the same year in a ...

' plays, saying "Here's my boyfriend

David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after wh ...

... He's the reason I model in a video, because I'm sleeping with him." Julie would also aim barbs at the MTV audience, such as in 'The Nuclear Show': "Hello, MTV-ers. Let's talk about personal hygiene a moment, shall we? For you MTVers that simply means taking a bath. ...You may not care about the way you smell, but think about your co-workers who have to be close to you behind the counter at Burger Boy. Don't they count?" A popular target was

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

; Brown insinuated that the young boy in her '' Cherish'' video was the love child of Madonna and a dolphin. In the episode "How to Date" Julie says "Don't underestimate the value of parking in cars. Look what it did for Madonna!", and in "The Nuclear Show": "There's more to life than watching MTV, shoplifting and having meaningless sex with people you don't know or care about. Right, Madonna?" Brown would go on to do a scathing

mockumentary A mockumentary (a blend of ''mock'' and ''documentary''), fake documentary or docu-comedy is a type of film or television show depicting fictional events but presented as a documentary. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on c ...

of Madonna called '' Medusa: Dare to be Truthful''. Most episodes would also feature a "plot" that was used to string together the videos. In one episode, Julie sells her soul to the devil. Other episodes had Julie shrink herself in order to fight a beauty queens cold after going up her nose. In another, a blonde supermodel thinks too hard and accidentally blows her brain out of her ear and onto the floor. In the episode "Just Say Bon Jovi" Julie claims to be

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

's girlfriend, and plays only

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in 1983 in Sayreville, New Jersey. It consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarist Phil X, and bassist Hugh McDonald (American musician), Hugh McD ...

videos. At the end of the show

appears via video to thank Julie for her support, although he initially confuses her with

Downtown Julie Brown Julie Dorne Brown, better known as Downtown Julie Brown, is an English-born actress, television personality, SiriusXM DJ and former MTV VJ. Brown is best known as the host of the television music show ''Club MTV'', which ran from 1987 until 19 ...

. During the run she hosted two editions of "Julie's Choice For The Julie's" a parody of the Emmy's complete with a song and dance from Brown. She even got her chance to show the video for her 1984 song that MTV refused to air, "

The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun "The Homecoming Queen's Got a Gun" is a song by American singer–comedian Julie Brown. It appeared as the B-side to her 1983 single " I Like 'em Big and Stupid". Brown's satire of valley girl culture also parodies 1950s-1960s "teen tragedy" song ...

", in the episode 'My Evil Twin' where her "sister" Debi (the "Homecoming Queen" from the video, who was "shot" to death, but survived) escaped a mental institution to seek revenge on Julie, and succeeded. Another recurring gag in most episodes would include a product ostensibly endorsed by a popular celebrity, but inherently flawed. For instance, Julie enjoyed a new breakfast cereal called "Prince Puffs", but found a fly inside the box; when the fly was exposed to Julie's "Sheenapoo" (

shampoo) it became a mutant. Easton later appeared on the show disguising herself as a maid to make Julie go crazy in return for all the times she's made fun of her. At times Brown was jealous of having her show on the same network that featured another person with the same name, "

", who was the host of ''

Club MTV ''Club MTV'' is a half hour television show modeled after ''American Bandstand'' that aired on MTV from August 31, 1987, to June 26, 1992. ''Club MTV'' was part of MTV's second generation of programming, as the channel was phasing out its origi ...

'' and whom she would refer to as the "Evil Julie Brown". That 'rivalry' would result in an episode in which the two met face to face only for them to be trapped in the condo, but later rescued by Randee of the Redwoods. Many other celebrities appeared at Julie's condo including

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...

(in the pilot), -

Michael McKean Michael John McKean (; born October 17, 1947) is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, composer, singer, and musician known for various roles in film and television such as Lenny Kosnowski in '' Laverne & Shirley'', David St. Hubbins in '' ...

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

Linda Blair Linda Denise Blair (born January 22, 1959) is an American actress and activist. She played Regan MacNeil in the horror film ''The Exorcist'' (1973), for which she won a Golden Globe Award and received a nomination for an Academy Award. The film ...

Kip Winger Charles Frederick Kip Winger (born June 21, 1961) is an American bass guitarist and singer, active as a member of the rock band Winger and as a solo artist. He initially gained notability as a member of Alice Cooper's band, contributing bass an ...

Colin Quinn Colin Edward Quinn (born June 6, 1959) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and writer. Quinn first gained widespread attention for his work as a cast member and writer for the NBC sketch comedy series ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1995 to 20 ...

, Ken Ober (via telephone), MTV VJ

Martha Quinn Martha Conrad Quinn (born May 11, 1959) is an American actress and Radio personality, radio and television personality, best known as one of the original video jockeys on MTV (along with Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter (VJ), Alan Hunter ...

, and

Elvira Elvira is a female given name. First recorded in medieval Spain, it is likely of Germanic (Gothic) origin. Elvira may refer to: People Nobility * Elvira Menéndez (died 921), daughter of Hermenegildo Gutiérrez and wife of Ordoño II of León ...

. The show made way for the persona Brown became known for: an egocentric, over-the-top, kooky valley girl with an attitude. She would take this character into her film ''

Earth Girls Are Easy ''Earth Girls Are Easy'' is a 1988 American science fiction musical romantic comedy film that was produced by Tony Garnett, Duncan Henderson, and Terrence E. McNally and was directed by Julien Temple. The film stars Geena Davis, Julie Brown, ...

'', which is considered Brown's crowning achievement in mocking the

valley girl A valley girl is a socioeconomic, linguistic, and youth subcultural stereotype and stock character originating during the 1980s: any materialistic upper-middle-class young woman, associated with unique vocal and California dialect features, fr ...

persona. Toward the end of the series run she adopted the "Eco-Gal" persona and along with "Recycle Man" they drove around looking for wrongdoers (like spotting

Stevie Nicks Stephanie Lynn Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer, songwriter, and producer known for her work with the band Fleetwood Mac and as a solo artist. After starting her career as a duo with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham, releasi ...

twirling around in her driveway and throwing her mail all over the ground). The show and Brown were parodied on the 1990s cartoon show ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation ...

'', with Brown voicing the host of "Just Say Julie Bruin." In 2006, Brown bought the rights to the show and released the DVDs ''The Very Best of Just Say Julie Volume #1'' and ''The Very Best of Just Say Julie Volume #2 1/2''. The DVDs are available through her website and released by "Just Say Julie Productions". Despite airing for three seasons, ''Just Say Julie'' is one of the very few shows that do not have an episode guide or list.

Cast

- Star of the show, a valley girl with attitude. *

Larry Poindexter Larry Poindexter (born December 16, 1959) is an American actor and singer. Early life Poindexter was born in Dallas, Texas on December 16, 1959. Career He may be best-known for his role in 2003's ''S.W.A.T.'', in which he played by-the-book LA ...

- Plays cute guys Julie would usually flirt with, like the Nuclear Technician in 'The Nuclear Show' or Recycle Man in 'Eco Girl and Recycle Man'. He is introduced in 'How to Date' as: 'Musician, actor and man about Hollywood, Larry Poindexter.' *

Stacey Travis Stacey Elaine Travis (born August 29, 1964) is an American actress. She has appeared in films '' Hardware'' (1990), '' The Super'' (1991), '' Only the Strong'' (1993), ''Traffic'' (2000), ''Bandits'' (2001) and ''Intolerable Cruelty'' (2003). L ...

- Longtime friend of Julie Brown, she is in almost all of her videos. On the show she plays cute blondes like the model Lake Arrowhead in 'How to be a Model', Sissy White in 'Just Say Bon Jovi 2' and Ashley in 'Salute to Animals'. *

Charlie Coffey Charles Edward Coffey (June 28, 1934 – August 24, 2015) was an American football player and coach. A native of Shelbyville, Tennessee, Coffey attended the University of Tennessee to play football for Robert Neyland. While at the University of ...

- The associate producer of the show, he usually plays the stage manager, as in 'The PMS Show' and 'Just Say Bon Jovi 2'. *

Stanley DeSantis Stanley DeSantis (July 6, 1953 – August 9, 2005) was an American actor and businessman. DeSantis was raised in the Chicago area, and graduated from Thornton Township High School in 1971. He appeared in several motion pictures, including '' Cand ...

-played "The Devil" in 2 episodes in which he tries to get Julie to sell her soul as well as various other oddball characters. *

Jodi Carlisle Jodi Carlisle (born August 28, 1960 in Joliet, Illinois) is an American actress who has appeared in 46 television shows, 5 feature films, 6 videogames and 4 television movies as well as a number of stage plays. Carlisle is perhaps best known as on ...

- Plays 'Mom' types, such as a contest winner that Julie gives a make-over to in 'How to Be a Model', and Abbey Landers, the advice columnist that attacks Larry in 'How to Date'. * Celia Arden - Julie's real-life Mom appears as herself in some episodes, such as 'Popo the Clown' and 'My Very Own Movie'. * Paul Brown - Julie's real-life brother plays himself on the show. He is usually broke and tries to borrow money from Julie, as in 'How to be a Model' and 'My Very Own Movie'.

References

External links