Asked at a TV Land “Bosom Buddies” reunion in 2010 if she thought it was a quality series, Donna responded: "There was never a question in my mind. We had the genius behind Chris Thompson and they pulled together this incredible crew of talented actors.”
“You can look back and say, 'We really did some great shows,'” Hanks said at the TV Land reunion.
Born in Alexandria, Va., Donna attended college at George Washington University, originally studying anthropology.
“It concerned my parents greatly because they thought I was going to be the next Margaret Mead,” she said. “I found myself living in South America in a village surrounded by poverty.”
Classic TV Beauties 1980s Countdown
DONNA DIXON as Sonny Lumet in "Bosom Buddies"
While “Bosom Buddies” was best known as the series that launched Tom Hanks' career, this obscure program also introduced Donna, the bombshell who played Hanks' character's love interest.
“Bosom Buddies” viewers have two vivid memories of the series: Hanks (Kip) and co-star Peter Scolari (Henry) dressing as women; and the beauty of the five-foot-nine former model with long blonde hair whose presence dominated the screen.
Sonny was a nurse who aspired to be a dancer (“She moves like a goddess,” Kip raved). Much of Donna's air-time was spent tormenting Kip and Henry.
"It was a very special time in my life. I feel 'Bosom Buddies' was the beginning of my adult life,” Donna recalled years later. “I was surrounded by a talented cast that embraced me.”
“Bosom Buddies” focused on two single men working in the advertising field who disguised themselves as women to live in a cheap apartment. When the creators were pitching the show to ABC they mentioned a comparison to Billy Wilder's classic film “Some Like It Hot,”and the network decided to buy the program if the main characters would wear women's clothing.
“We weren't there to pitch that,” co-creator Thomas L. Miller said. “We drove back to the studio, saying, 'Oh my God, what are we gonna do? We have to do something in drag.'”
Although the show started with strong ratings, the one-joke format of the men dressing in drag grew old and ratings plummeted. “Bosom Buddies” was canceled in 1982 after just two seasons.
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Donna changed her major to pre-med and modeled part-time for income. She was named Miss Virginia USA in 1976 and Miss Washington DC World a year later. While still a student, she moved to New York for one year to model full-time.
"Anything I've ever done in my life I've always wondered if I could do it to the best of my ability and be the top of my field,” she said. “So I decided to go to New York and I found myself enjoying an aspect of my life and being very successful. I decided I would stay because I could always go back to school."
She eventually returned to school, but not until getting into acting and landing the role of Sonny.
A year after the series was canceled she appeared as a prostitute in the 1983 comedy film “Doctor Detroit.” She became close friends with the movie's star, Dan Aykroyd, during the filming and they soon married.
Working more in films than TV, Donna had a memorable role as Garth's dream girl in “Wayne's World.” Donna and Aykroyd made several other movies together, including “Spies Like Us” and “The Couch Trip.”
Asked about working with his wife, Aykroyd told Playboy in 1993, “It's a lot of fun. She's an extremely capable and funny comedienne. There have been no problems. I'd do it again any time. But now she's given up the business.
“She wants to be a full-time mother and has made that commitment. It may be temporary. She may go back to acting and she also has a tremendous sense of interior design.”
Aykroyd's words rang true. Donna basically retired from acting; the IMDB reports that she hasn't worked in movies or TV since 1997.
