Auditions

In New York City in the late 1970s, a group of teenagers audition to study at the High School of Performing Arts, where they are sorted into three departments: Drama, Music, and Dance. Accepted in the Drama department are Montgomery MacNeil, son of a well-known actress; Doris Finsecker, a shy Jewish girl with an overbearing mother; and Ralph Garci, who succeeds after failed auditions for Music and Dance. In the Music department, Bruno Martelli is an aspiring keyboardist whose electronic equipment horrifies Mr. Shorofsky, a conservative music teacher. In the Dance department, Coco Hernandez coolly hints at how she could join any of the three departments while Lisa Monroe is talkative and nervous. Leroy Johnson attends to perform his part of a dance routine for an auditioning friend, but the dance teachers are more impressed by his talents than his friend's.

Freshman year

The students learn during their first day of classes that academics are weighed equally with performance. In the lunchroom, Doris becomes overwhelmed by the energy and spontaneity of the other students ("Hot Lunch Jam"). She befriends Montgomery, but worries that she is too ordinary against the colorful personalities of the other students. As the year progresses, Coco tries to convince Bruno to book performing gigs with her. Leroy clashes with his English teacher Mrs. Sherwood over his refusal to do homework. It is later revealed that he is semi-illiterate. Bruno and his father argue over Bruno's reluctance to play his electronic music publicly. Miss Berg, the school's Dance teacher, warns Lisa that she is not working hard enough. Michael, a graduating senior, wins a prestigious scholarship and tells Doris that the William Morris Agency wants to send him out for auditions for television pilots.

Sophomore year

A new student, Hilary van Doren, joins the school's Dance department and becomes romantically involved with Leroy. Bruno and Mr. Shorofsky debate the merits of traditional orchestras versus synthesized instruments. Bruno's father plays his music ("Fame") outside the school, inspiring the student body to dance in the streets. As an acting exercise, the students are asked to divulge a painful memory. Montgomery discusses discovering his homosexuality, while coming out in front of his classmates; Doris relates her humiliation at being forced by her stage mother to sing at a child's birthday party; and Ralph tells of learning about the death of his idol Freddie Prinze. Miss Berg drops Lisa from the Dance program, and after seemingly considering suicide in a New York City Subway station, Lisa drops her dance clothes on the subway tracks and decides to join the Drama department.

Junior year

Ralph and Doris discover their mutual attraction, but their growing intimacy leaves Montgomery feeling excluded. Hilary brings Leroy home, much to the shock of her father and stepmother. Ralph's young sister is attacked by a junkie and …

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• Irene Cara as Coco Hernandez – Drama, Music and Dance
• Lee Curreri as Bruno Martelli – Music
• Laura Dean as Lisa Monroe – Dance
• Antonia Franceschi as Hilary Van Doren – Dance
• Paul McCrane as Montgomery MacNeil – Drama
• Barry Miller as Ralph Garci/Raul Garcia – Drama
• Gene Anthony Ray as Leroy Johnson – Dance
• Maureen Teefy as Doris Finsecker – Drama
• Albert Hague as Mr. Shorofsky – Music
• Anne Meara as Mrs. Sherwood – English
• Joanna Merlin as Ms. Berg – Dance
• Jim Moody as Mr. Farrell – Drama
• Debbie Allen as Lydia – Dance
• Eddie Barth as Angelo Martelli, Bruno's father
• Boyd Gaines as Michael
• Tresa Hughes as Naomi Finsecker, Doris's mother
• Steve Inwood as François Lafete
• Richard Belzer as Catch a Rising Star M.C.
• Bill Britten as Mr. England
• Isaac Mizrahi as Touchstone
• Sal Piro as Rocky Horror M.C.
• Michael DeLorenzo as Principal dancer
• Meg Tilly as Principal dancer

Fame premiered at the Ziegfeld Theatre on May 12, 1980. MGM issued a platform release which involved opening the film in select cities for limited showings, before releasing it nationwide. The studio was concerned with the film's cast of then-unknown actors, and felt that the limited theatrical run would generate strong word-of-mouth support from critics and audiences. On May 16, 1980, Fame premiered at the Cinerama Dome Theatre in Hollywood, and opened in limited release in New York, Toronto and Los Angeles. MGM spent more than $2 million on an advertising campaign which placed emphasis on the film's music. The studio also allowed select theatre chains to give out free tickets for special screenings. Fame was released nationwide on June 20, 1980, distributed by MGM through United Artists. In the United States and Canada, it grossed $21,202,829, and was the thirty-second highest-grossing film of 1980. By April 1981, the film had grossed $20.4 million overseas and was expected to gross $29 million, giving it a worldwide gross of between $42-$50 million.
Fame was released on VHS, Laserdisc, and CED videodisc in March 1981, by MGM/CBS Home Video. In 1986, the distribution rights to the film were transferred to Turner Entertainment Co., which acquired MGM's pre-May 1986 library of feature films. Currently, the rights are owned by Warner Bros., after its parent company Time Warner acquired Turner's library of MGM films in 1996. The film was released on DVD on June 3, 2003, by Warner Home Video. Special features for the DVD include an audio commentary by Parker, a branching video featuring interviews with Parker and several cast members, a making-of featurette, a short documentary on the High School of Performing Arts, production notes, and the theatrical trailer. As a tie-in to the home video release of MGM's 2009 remake, Warner Home Video released the film on Blu-ray on January 26, 2010. The Blu-ray presents the film in 1080p high definition, and contains all the additional materials found on the 2003 DVD release, including a CD "soundtrack sampler" that previews four musical numbers from the soundtrack album.