Forgotten 1978 TV Movie, Based on Iconic Banned Book, Featured a Future TV Heartthrob and a No. 1 Hit Song
In 1978, one of Judy Blume's most controversial books was made into a TV movie. Forever, Blume's famous 1975 young adult novel about teen sexuality, was adapted for a CBSFriday night movie.
The trailer teased: "It was a time to live and a time to love. The first love. And they thought it would be forever.
Starring Stephanie Zimbalist and future Little House on the Prairie heartthrob Dean Butler (Almanzo Wilder on the beloved series) in his first starring role, the made-for-TV movie aired on Jan. 6, 1978, on CBS.
Forever featured an impressive soundtrack. According to IMDb, the songs licensed for the TV movie included "I Love How You Love Me" by The Paris Sisters, "Right Time Of The Night" by Jennifer Warnes, and most impressively, "Dreams" by Fleetwood Mac, the 1977 No. 1 hit song from the band's iconic Rumours album.
Blume gave her approval of the movie. She once told January magazine, "Forever was made into a TV movie in 1976. Stephanie Zimbalist's first starring role. Music was all the Eagles and Fleetwood Mac."
"I was totally pleased with it," the legendary author added. "I didn't know any better. I thought it was great. They had a good director. They had a producer who really, really cared. And they had an executive producer who fought the network to be able to make it true to the book."
In 1978, Blume talked to The New York Times about the sale of her book to television and admitted that she worried that other writers would get the idea that teen sex sells.
"I don't believe that sex is why kids like my books," she said. "I can't entirely explain why they do, myself. I know I'm no great literary figure. But it has something to do with my feeling about kids. I identify very strongly. I'd probably be a much more successful parent if I didn't. Very often, I find the kids' side does make more sense."
Blume also shared that she decided to write Forever's love story of teens Katherine and Michael, who planned to stay together forever, when her daughter Randy turned 13.
"There's always been this category of books around I think of as ‘pregnant books,' about girls who get involved with sex and get into trouble," she explained. "They only do it because they're disturbed and their home lives are bad. There's always a punishment, and it's always the girl who gets it."
Despite Blume's intent to show a loving side of teen sexuality, Forever was banned from many libraries in the late 1970s due to its explicit sexual content, and it's still banned from some today.
Blume once told NPR that having her books banned early in her career was a "very emotional" experience but that it never deterred her. "I was a new-ish, young-ish writer, and it was hard to take, but it never stopped me from writing," she said.
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This story was originally published June 3, 2026 at 10:13 AM.