Sometimes, in Hollywood, it matters who you know. Now, a much younger Valerie Bertinelli may not have been well-connected yet back in the 70s, but Tami Lynn, her teacher turned manager, knew Norman Lear. At that time, Lear was one of the most successful showrunners in the business, having been behind popular series such as "All in the Family," "Maude," and "Good Times." Back then, Lear was developing his best show yet: a sitcom revolving around a single mother and her daughter. Originally titled "All About Us," the show already had Bonnie Franklin playing the mother and Mackenzie Phillips, the daughter. But then, Lear later made a few more changes to the show, giving Bonnie's character a boyfriend and another daughter.
As Lear looked for the perfect young actress to complete the cast, his casting director, Jane Murray, saw a photo of Bertinelli in an actor's directory. Murray thought that Bertinelli looked like Lear's youngest daughter and asked to have the actress audition. After going up against several girls her age, she eventually got the part of Barbara Cooper in what would be known as "One Day at a Time." Decades later, the show got a reboot but unfortunately, Bertinelli wasn't able to appear for a cameo. "We were almost able to work something out," the actress told Entertainment Weekly. "I had one day off and I was flying in the night before and I had to start my show the next day and I think it was just too much."
