# Who Is Tracy "Square Pegs" Nelson Talking About? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 2, 2010, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343 "2010-02-02T05:21:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/21 "2010-02-03T01:52:03Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > I was surprised to see Wells was actually about 28 when the show started. But she was the odd one out. Of eight series regulars, five were teens (as young as 15) and two were in their early 20s. > [@](#): > > I also discovered the guy who played Johnny Slash died quite young and that he was in Wrath of Khan. I can see it now but I never made that connection before. He was my favorite character on the show (we had similar tastes in music). ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/22 "2010-02-03T03:33:35Z")
> [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](#): > > I also discovered the guy who played Johnny Slash died quite young and that he was in Wrath of Khan. I can see it now but I never made that connection before. Merritt Butrick died of AIDS. It’s always been a huge debate over whether or not he was gay. The only thing that’s agreed upon is he used drugs so I guess that debate will never be resolved. It’s funny how [when the cast talks about him](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAbVilIHPqQ) he seems to come off as a junkie but they never come out and say he was on drugs, but the hint at it very much ---
**Author:** ![Sigmundex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e19adc/32.png) [@Sigmundex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmundex)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/23 "2010-02-03T07:48:23Z")
Could it have been the singer from Heart, I think it’s Ann Wilson, right? I remember that the guitar-playing sister (Nancy?) was in a bit part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, so maybe that’s a possibility? I haven’t put any thought into whether Ann’s age would have fit the role, but you have to admit, at that time she was a pretty big star… and she has definitely had some weight problems. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2010, 7:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/24 "2010-02-03T07:50:26Z")
Ann Wilson would have been 31 years old at the time. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/25 "2010-02-04T20:53:14Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > It’s funny how [when the cast talks about him](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAbVilIHPqQ) he seems to come off as a junkie but they never come out and say he was on drugs, but the hint at it very much Well, now I’m sad. I knew he was dead but I’d never listened to people who knew him talking about it before. Sheesh, it’s not like _I_ knew him. He was a guy on TV for a little while in the '80s… ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/26 "2010-02-04T21:13:01Z")
> [@Sigmundex](#): > > Could it have been the singer from Heart, I think it’s Ann Wilson, right? I remember that the guitar-playing sister (Nancy?) was in a bit part in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, so maybe that’s a possibility? I haven’t put any thought into whether Ann’s age would have fit the role, but you have to admit, at that time she was a pretty big star… and she has definitely had some weight problems. They did have a few musical acts make cameos in a few eps - The Waitresses played the HS dance in the first or second episode. It could have been a musical act auditioning for that, rather than for a part. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2010, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/27 "2010-02-04T21:24:50Z")
> [@Katriona](#): > > They did have a few musical acts make cameos in a few eps - The Waitresses played the HS dance in the first or second episode. It could have been a musical act auditioning for that, rather than for a part. I don’t know, but I doubt they would have had leads and musical guests at the same audition. It’s unlikely that bands like the Waitresses (who also did the title track) and Devo had to audition at all. Janet Jackson seems like the best guess so far. Even though she hadn’t released a record at the time they were casting, she soon would, and she was of course already part of a famous musical family and a well-known young TV actress. ---
**Author:** ![draight\_stope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@draight\_stope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/draight_stope)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/28 "2011-05-28T21:34:16Z")
I just came across that video today and wondered the same thing. Belinda Carlisle from the Go Gos came to mind. She would have been a good choice for the show, was very famous as a singer at that time, and has had a lot of problems with her weight. Our Lips are Sealed was released in 1981. You can see she’s a little pudgy in the video for the song: [Go-Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed (Extended 12" Version) (Music Video) - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5OULlWNCqDQ&feature=fvwrel) Any other ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/29 "2011-05-28T21:48:08Z")
Wynonna Judd would have been just taking off as a singer around then, and been 18 or 19. She got huuuuuuge. ---
**Author:** ![draight\_stope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@draight\_stope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/draight_stope)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/30 "2011-05-28T22:10:59Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Wynonna Judd would have been just taking off as a singer around then, and been 18 or 19. She got huuuuuuge. They didn’t sign on with RCA until 1983. And I doubt that Wynonna would have been considered a candidate for the show Square Pegs. Do you know the show? The person would have already been really famous by '81 to audition. And they would have been someone who would fit on a show like square pegs. Tracy Nelson’s character was a Valley Girl, type. Here’s a link to one of the scenes with Tracy: [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LctPbe6WyU&feature=related](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LctPbe6WyU&feature=related) I could really see Belinda as that character. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_s\_Son](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19adc/32.png) [@Jim\_s\_Son](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_s_Son)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/31 "2011-05-28T22:18:15Z")
I was under the impression it was Carnie Wilson. We kind of forget them now but WilsonPhillips had some huge hits ---
**Author:** ![draight\_stope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@draight\_stope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/draight_stope)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/32 "2011-05-28T23:14:51Z")
> [@Jim\_s\_Son](#): > > I was under the impression it was Carnie Wilson. We kind of forget them now but WilsonPhillips had some huge hits I remember, but they weren’t around until almost a decade after this show started. She’d be a good guess if they had been famous then, though. ---
**Author:** ![Katriona](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/katriona/32/113_2.png) [@Katriona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Katriona)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2011, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/33 "2011-05-28T23:37:54Z")
nm - misunderstood the question. ---
**Author:** ![draight\_stope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@draight\_stope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/draight_stope)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/34 "2011-05-29T00:19:57Z")
I just watched that part again, and she says there were “well-known - MAJOR - singing stars,” which would mean really well-known by 1981 or 82, “who have recently had weight problems,” which would mean more recently, if that’s exactly what she meant to say. She said she called her agent to say she couldn’t audition against those “big stars,” so that definitely means big then, but they may or may not have had any weight problems until now. I think the DVD this video is on was released in 2008, which would mean they had a weight problem by then. I think that’s all correct. Wikipedia notes that Belinda Carlisle became the spokesperson for Nutrisystem in January 2009. That makes me think even more that it’s Belinda. ---
**Author:** ![draight\_stope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@draight\_stope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/draight_stope)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/35 "2011-05-29T00:30:07Z")
I’m not sure about Janet Jackson. Could be Janet. She’s the right age, too. Remember, that they had to play teens in that show in 1982. Tracy and the other actress in the video were the two oldest and were 18 or 19. ---
**Author:** ![Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/8baadc/32.png) [@Nicest\_of\_the\_Damned](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nicest_of_the_Damned)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2011, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343/36 "2011-05-29T01:48:55Z")
Belinda Carlisle was from Hollywood and has had weight problems but I don’t know if I’d say they were recent. I remember some harsh comments about her weight pretty early in her career. She also seems a bit on the old side. If Wikipedia can be believed (and it’s certainly possible it can’t) Nelson was born in 1963 and Carlisle was born in 1958. Jackson was born in 1966. But Belinda is younger than Claudette Wells who was born in 1954 so it wouldn’t be impossible. The timing also seems a little off to me. The Go-Gos signed their first record deal in spring of 1981 and were just becoming hugely popular in 1982. Carlisle had been in several bands previously and seemed to really want a career in music. And from what I have read, she liked to party and didn’t take responsibility too well. All this makes me think she wouldn’t have been looking to take on a TV series at the time when the band was just taking off. But she does have some IMDB acting credits (IMDB also notes she auditioned for Howard the Duck which came out in 1986). I guess it can’t be completely ruled out. Only Tracy and Claudette know for sure. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/who-is-tracy-square-pegs-nelson-talking-about/527343.md?page=1)