Melissa Joan Hart provided insight into the teenage mind on Clarissa Explains It All. She played the title character, Clarissa Darling, who clued the audience in on her life.
Clarissa would often sit in her bedroom and provide details about school, friends, her annoying younger brother, and crushes. A teenager herself while filming the show, Hart starred in the beloved Nickelodeon series from 1991 – 1994.
The series, which ran for four seasons, has come to be known as a classic ‘90s TV show. A pilot for a spin-off show called Clarissa Now was shot by CBS in 1995, but unfortunately wasn't picked up for a full series (the pilot can be watched here).
Today, Hart’s still an actor and she has keepsakes from various acting gigs. But when it comes to Clarissa Explains It All she wishes she would’ve left the set with one specific item from her character’s bedroom.
In a 2019 interview with Architectural Digest about making her Lake Tahoe home her family’s main residence, the 44-year-old talked about what she wishes she would’ve taken from the set of Clarissa Explains It All - which was based at Nickelodeon Studios at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida - and what she ended up with.
What does Hart wish she would’ve taken? “The white and red checker quilt,” she told Architectural Digest. “It’s just so iconic. I really wish I had taken that.”
The quilt always sat on Clarissa’s bed and seeing as her bedroom was one of the most often-used sets it made many appearances throughout the series.
Hart’s time on Clarissa Explains It All didn’t end with her leaving without a keepsake. She kept a vintage sign.
“There was this episode where there was a gas station, and there was this old-fashioned circular Texaco sign. I took that,” she said.
“When I was a teenager, I had it in my bedroom,” she added, saying it was hanging up “for a long time.”
Not exactly like the hubcaps hanging up on the wall in Clarissa’s bedroom but still car-related.
‘Clarissa Explains It All’ creator got pushback on Clarissa’s bedroom decor
Mitchell Kriegman, the creator of Clarissa Explains It All, reflected on the drama that ensued when he shared his visions for Clarissa’s bedroom with Mental Floss.
“I’ll never forget when we designed her room,” he said. “The designer was very upset at first because he wanted to design a very girly room. And I said, ‘OK, you can design her girly room,’ and so they did. It was pink.”
Kriegman then proceeded to have the walls covered with black paint and it didn’t go over well.
“Then I said, ‘Now we’re going to take car paint and paint black checkers across the wall,’” he recalled. “They were in shock. I mean, there was a cameraman who said, ‘What is she, possessed by the devil?’”
Kriegman also noted he instituted a no-purple rule for any of the sets or the wardrobe. An arbitrary rule he made on the advice of an industry veteran, purple ended up making it into the wardrobe or the set multiple times.
While Hart didn’t get the quilt maybe someday she can explain what happened to it after Clarissa Explains It All went off the air after four seasons.
There was talk about Nickelodeon reviving Clarissa Explains It All for a new generation of fans, but unfortunately, talks seem to have stalled for now. However, Hart's voice can be heard in Nickelodeon's The Casagrandes.
Melissa has also revealed that she has some of the props from Sabrina The Teenage Witch in which she featured. She managed to take with her a hanging mirror and an umbrella holder that was made of wrought iron. She also remained with some candlestick holders and a sign written Witches Brew that still hangs in her kitchen.
Melissa didn't find her favorite role in either Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All or Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Melissa's favorite role was in the ABC Family show, Melissa & Joey. The show had five seasons that started in August 2010 and ended in August 2015. Melissa said that she enjoyed the play so much because she was able to inject her real personality into the film.
Although she wasn't making a lot of money from the show initially, it's believed that from season 2, Melissa could pocket up to $40,000 per episode. The show ended after season five after Joe married Mel and gave birth to twins.
Melissa rose to fame at an early age, and throughout her acting career, she befriended and dated fellow actors, musicians, and other celebrities. She became friends with pop superstar Britney Spears - who once guest starred on Sabrina - and she even appeared in some of Britney's music videos.
In her memoir, Melissa talks about how she used to sneak Spears in and out of clubs, and how they did a lot of stuff together. She also revealed in her memoir how she disliked Ashton Kutcher, and she always made sure that she kept some distance from him.
Originally published: Monday, October 26, 2020 at 01:18 GMT.
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