Palm Royale Star Mindy Cohn Looks Back on Her Career & Working With George Clooney on The Facts of Life

Mindy Cohn was once told by Golden Girls Betty White, Bea Arthur, and a “gaggle” of other legendary actresses, that her 50s, 60s, and 70s would be her best years. Approaching 58, Cohn who appears alongside Kristen Wiig, Ricky Martin and Carol Burnett on Palm Royale says they couldn’t have been more right. Cohn stopped by the SheKnows studio to look back on her long career which started with a show called, The Facts of Life, which kicked off George Clooney’s rise to fame. Cohn played a little game of “What Was It Like Working With?” to take us down memory lane and share stories of working with Clooney, White, Lucy Hale, Burnett, and her Palm Royale co-stars, Martin, Wiig, and Allison Janney. Watch the exclusive video to find out what advice White gave her to survive in Hollywood, what humbling moment in Clooney’s life she witnessed, and what Wiig’s reaction was to hearing she auditioned for Palm Royale.

Before she was even shown one photo of a past co-star to take us down memory lane, Cohn reveals that Kevin Bacon once told her, “There seems to be six degrees of working with Mindy Cohn.” Now that is what we call a receipt. If Mr. Six Degrees, himself, is saying Cohn knows everyone, then it must be fact. But with her long-running career, it’s no surprise. From The Facts of Life, to Scooby-Doo, to Hot in Cleveland, to Bones, Cohn has dropped in on many popular shows. And confesses that anybody who was anybody guest starred on The Facts of Life in the 1980s.

“May I just say, Allison Janney has been on my top 5 list of actors I’ve wanted to work with for 20 years. So, dream fulfilled,” Cohn confesses about her Palm Royale co-star.

When handed a photo of the late great Betty White, Cohn says, “Oh, alright make me cry on a Thursday afternoon. This is THE Betty White.” She tells us that White was one of her mentors. “We called ourselves the coven, it was a gaggle of these wonderful women 40 years my senior. They were in their late 50s early 60s, when I met them in my 20s…. and they took me in. And here I am, on the verge of being 58 and actually fulfilling what they said would be my destiny, which was that my 50s, 60s, 70s were going to be the best years of my career. Enter Palm Royale! What can I say ladies, you were right.” So, who made up this gaggle? “It was Betty, Bea Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Geralidine Page, Elaine Stritch, Ruth Gordon, Eileen Heckart.” Now, that’s a gaggle.

Cohn also shares what she believed is the reason Betty was so beloved in Hollywood. “Betty gave me advice. Whenever there’s drama on the set, just skulk away to your dressing room, never be a part of hijinks or on-set drama. So that’s a Betty White-ism that I take with me.”

Clooney and Cohn worked together on The Facts of Life, where he played George Burnett. Both of their careers took off then. Cohn fondly remembers being in the car with Clooney and co-star Nancy McKeon. He told them he needed to quickly run an errand. He stopped the car, then returned and proudly told them, “Well, ladies I just payed my rent for the next year!” Now Clooney could probably pay all of our rents for the next year.

As for how Palm Royale came about for Cohn, it might not be as easy as people think.  “One of the misconceptions about me and I think other people who have some sense of notoriety, whatever that means is that it’s up to us whether we work or not. I sent in an audition tape.” Abe Sylvia, Palm Royale showrunner, watched that tape and then called Wiig and said two words, “Mindy Cohn.” “So apparently I was one of the first celebrities Kristen Wiig met when she moved to LA. Thank goodness I was nice to her!”

Watch the video to find out what Lucy Hale taught her, what she really thinks of Wiig, and what legendary Hollywood actor she and Martin bonded over.

Palm Royale is streaming now on Apple TV+.

Before you go, check out the all-time best ‘Outlander’ episodes you need to watch.