Valerie Bertinelli found a forgotten strip of film frames while decluttering her home, and the discovery sent her followers straight into preservation mode.
The 66-year-old actor shared a close-up of two color frames showing her younger self posing in black lingerie and strappy heels around a chair. Bertinelli referred to the find as “negatives” in her Instagram caption and said she had completely forgotten she had them.
“I had totally forgotten that I had them, which is why we probably haven’t seen them in print anywhere,” Bertinelli wrote.
She asked followers a simple question: “Toss or save?” The answer in the comments was clear, with many urging her to keep the images from her early Hollywood years.
The Film Strip Dates Back to Her Early One Day at a Time Years
Bertinelli estimated that the shoot took place in 1979, when she was 19 and already several years into the role that made her famous. She joined CBS’ One Day at a Time at 15, playing Barbara Cooper alongside Bonnie Franklin, Mackenzie Phillips and Pat Harrington Jr.
The sitcom premiered in 1975 and ran for nine seasons through 1984. In the two frames Bertinelli shared, she poses in a studio setting against a bright pink backdrop, wearing black lingerie and heels while seated around a chair.
Her caption left the exact date slightly open. “#throwback 1979?” she wrote.
Bertinelli Asked Followers Whether She Should Save the Images
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Bertinelli said she found the frames while doing a “massive amount of decluttering” and sorting through old memorabilia. After coming across “a bunch” of old film material, she admitted she was not sure what should happen to it.
“Now I don’t know what to do with them,” she wrote. “But I have an idea…”
Entertainment Weekly reported that more than 600 comments appeared within the first 24 hours, with many followers telling Bertinelli to save the frames. She also liked one suggestion that she create a scrapbook for photographs she wants to preserve.
The Photos Could Be Used in Her New Series
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She and her brother, photographer David Bertinelli, have launched a new series called Undeveloped: Stories from the Vault through her digital platform Valerie’s Place.
“My brother @davidpbertinelli and I have a new show called Undeveloped, premiering today @itsvaleriesplace,” she wrote while showing the film strip. “Maybe I should get him to do something with them? Or not?”
The series uses previously unseen photographs taken by David to revisit moments from Bertinelli’s life and entertainment career. Its premiere episode is available through Valerie’s Place, the subscription-based platform Bertinelli launched earlier this year.
Bertinelli Has Been Building Valerie’s Place Around Personal Archives
Valerie’s Place includes original programming, cooking content, podcasts and projects connected to Bertinelli’s past work. Along with Undeveloped, she has launched Still Hot in Cleveland, a podcast revisiting the TV Land comedy Hot in Cleveland.
Bertinelli starred in Hot in Cleveland with Jane Leeves, Wendie Malick and Betty White. She told People that revisiting the sitcom has been bittersweet because she still believes it ended too soon.
“I’m still more than grateful for the experience, and I’m still pissed off for cancelling us a year too early in my mind,” Bertinelli said.