Swinging by the Snyder farm

Oh, what a nice thread. I hope LittleMissSeattle sees it soon.

Thanks for the new thread.

As OP, I obviously know this is the P&G thread.....but wanted to make a quick note that June Brown from EastEnders is apparently retiring.

Dot Cotton is one of the last of a long line of very "character" soap characters - unique and with edges, not vapid hair models in even more vapid storylines.

Op

Who smoked on the porch?

Op

Who smoked on the porch?

I used to love Dot Cotton on Eastenders.

A opinionated butinsky. Very much like Aunt Liz. Or Phoebe Tyler Wallingford, except without the snootiness.

[quote] Who smoked on the porch?

Only the naughty girls. I can't remember their names.

Carly Tenney smoked when she first arrived in town. Famously threw a cigarette butt in the Snyder pond. Possibly she smoked on the porch too.

Worst soap recast thread- I voted Coleman as Annie Dutton on GL.

[quote]Worst soap recast thread- I voted Coleman as Annie Dutton on GL.

You must not have watched AW in the mid 1980s, r9.

We could give Signy Coleman a run for her money.

R10 Or AW in the mid 1990s.

Poor BNSD. The Donna recast really was one of the worst ever.

Anybody here remember me?

I'm sorry, who?

Never heard of her r14.

R4, when Carly first arrived, she was Rosanna's sweet-as-pie sister. But when she famously pulled out that cigarette, you just KNEW she was up to no good. And later, when she insulted Emma's potatoes as "lumpy", you knew she was trash.

[quote] Never heard of her

Well, ain't that a kick in the cunt!

On P&G soaps, only bad girls smoked.

When Sonni Carrera at GL suddenly pulled out a cigarette we all clutched our pearls. This was of course before we knew it was (kinda) her sister Solita.

[quote]On P&G soaps, only bad girls smoked.

I remember Carmen Duncan's Iris smoking in her penthouse once. And then, yes, she who would destroy Oakdale. They should have had her smoking every day.

Did characters smoke on the soaps in the '50s and '60s?

on DOOL, they had a flashback of Doug smoking in jail... so weird to see soap characters smoke

I haven't listened yet, darlings, but I just saw this on the Digest website.

Thanks R22! Can't wait to listen.

There seems to be a competing thread solely dedicated to AW for those who may be interested in participating.

R24 HOORAY!

Miss Me?

You miss me, too, right?

Don't forget me - I am the queen of eating the entire show!

Nancy Hughes died and you'd think from that episode that my feelings about Nancy were the only ones that mattered!

I had given up for most of your collective reign, r28 r27 r26. Carly really did ruin the show, so I stopped watching. I came back for Nuke + Reid, but only watched those scenes (unless Grayson took his clothes off).

Were they even using the eavesdropping porch then? Hadn't everyone moved to the Yardley motel?

R29 Not by then, no. The Snyder farm was reduced to just a kitchen after the Brooklyn move in 1999.

They rarely used the Synder set, or if they did it was only the kitchen, of course.

I think at the end they were doing the same as GL where they were filming at other locations, but since Goutman saw how people reacted to Peapack, he didn't publicize any of that.

Also, Wheeler went to ATWT as a director/producer after GL shut down, so she probably coordinated a lot of that.

OP -- for those of us who don't know soaps, who is the guy in your photo?

R32 That is Jon Hensley, who played Holden Snyder. Holden was a smoldering stud in the 80s, and a hot DILF as the show came to an end.

More Holden

In later years as the DILFness emerged

Meg Snyder Drug Stealing storyline

Who knew she was an addict?

Destroying the show seemed truly important to Goutman.

There's a sidewalk running the length of the drama building at Carnegie Mellon that features big red circles for graduates who have won awards, kind of like the stars in Hollywood sidewalks, only big red circles with white printing.

Goutman has two, for Daytime Emmys. I took classes there a couple of years ago, and every time I would walk on one of his circles, I would stop just long enough to grind my heel into it, as if I were crushing a cigarette. I would have spit on it, but I am not a spitter.

I don't know WHO that cheap looking whore is at R36, but it's NOT nor was it EVER Meg Snyder. That was an imposter given the same name.

THIS is and was Meg Snyder.

Holden would wear those coveralls with one side down and be chewing on straw. It looked more like a Falcon Video than a soap. Jon Hensley would be in the top 5 of the top 25 hottest guys to ever appear on a soap opera.

THIS was Meg Snyder.....scheming but lovable.

R39 YES!

Jon actually looked not terribly unlike Lex Baldwin and a few of the Falcon types of the time.

I mean, "Lex" clearly had some Latino features/ancestry but in general, the hair/body/attitude....some overlap in that Venn diagram.

Jon Hensley reminded me so much of a mouth-breathing cousin of mine, I was never able to equate him with sex. Michael David Morrison, OTOH...He looked just like my first boyfriend.

(I couldn't find a shirtless pic, so I chose one that includes the Eavesdropping Porch Portal.)

Caleb exuded sex appeal, too, in that "2 am booty call" kind of way.

Sadly that wasn't a big stretch for him, I guess.....he was strung out and kind of lost, sadly. RIP

So I know someone who is good friends of Kelley Meinighan in Chicago. She divorced Jon Hensley a few years ago. One big reason is because he became a day trader and squandered all the money BOTH of them made on ATWT. They are now both broke and Kelley had to live with her patents, with their three kids, for a while.

They should have invested with Daniel Markel.

R45 Wow, I didn't know that was what happened. I'd heard they'd split and saw Kelley was back in Chicago.

Her family owns a chain of salons and apparently she was working at one. They opened one in my old neighborhood and I kept hoping that I'd see her but it never transpired.

If you look at Kelley's FB page, you can see pictures of her and Jon's son, who is in college now, I believe.

He's a chip (a slightly beefier chip) off the old block!

Can we talk about Meg Snyder drug storyline

How did she become an addict?

Anyone know what R49 is asking? I didn't watch Faux Meg so can't say for sure.

[quote] So I know someone who is good friends of Kelley Meinighan in Chicago. She divorced Jon Hensley a few years ago. One big reason is because he became a day trader and squandered all the money BOTH of them made on ATWT. They are now both broke and Kelley had to live with her patents, with their three kids, for a while.

WOW I had to no idea - you know one of Jon Hensley best friends Daniel Markel (ex-David Stenbeck) quit the business to become a financial planner, and now he is a multi-millionaire. Maybe he saw Daniel doing that and thinking "If he can do it, why not me?"

[quote] They are now both broke and Kelley had to live with her patents, with their three kids, for a while.

The parents' three kids? That part confused me. (Kelley and Jon only have two kids, a son and daughter)

I was reminded talking with a friend about another thing that happened at the time that contributed to the notion GL became cursed in 1992 on- that actor who had just started on the show, was gorgeous and was doing a great job but was seriously hurt in a hand gliding accident.

GL really looked to seriously take off in 1992 then had a serious of serious, almost inexplicable things happen which took all the air out of the show.

Leonard Stabb as Hart Jessup is who you are probably thinking of.

R49 I don't remember her being an addict. I do remember her boosting some drugs from the hospital in order to take care of Paul, whom she had found at the bottom of a cliff (was this when Emily had shot him?? I can't remember) and took him to a cabin to nurse him to health, or something like that. They, of course, fell in love.

GL had risen to number 2 or 3 in the ratings in '92 for awhile. Then cast members left in a short amount of time leading to subpar recasts which resulted in so many story lines losing steam. This seemed to start a trend of bad luck for the show.

The only time Another World rose in the ratings to BEAT Guiding Light for a week was under Jill Farren Phelps

She moved most of the action to the hospital, creates an outdoor "town" set, set up the John/Felicia/Sharlene/Michael quadrangle and introduced a slew of younger characters,.

Speaking of Guiding Light, because there have been SO MANY requests is Jordan Clarke Emmy reel for which he won the Emmy

Two episodes and he only had 5 minutes of screen time in each episode. Which means his emmy reel is only 10 minutes! Compares to other nominees who had at least 30 minutes on their reels (two episodes)

How does he win with a 10 minutes reel!

Because it's not about quantity, but quality. A good actor, especially a good soap actor, can convey their talent through just a look.

R56 You're right....just so many bad things at once.

I don't think it was so much a curse, though.

But it's a shame that Hart Jessup never became as interesting a character as a son of Roger Thorpe should have been. I loved most of the new characters introduced post Pam Long as they really identified areas that needed help storyline wise - especially Bridget and Eleni. But Hart's first actor was a bore. Leonard was great, but obviously injured. The next two weren't really very distinguishable and then, suddenly, someone decided farmboy Hart was a Guido and cast Frank Grillo!

I wish Kevin McClatchy had been available and interested - he would have been a great Hart. (And I know he played another character not long before, but they could have swung it and changed his appearance somehow for an adjustment period.)

GL really swept up the awards in 2006. Did it really have a great year? I stopped watching in '05. I just couldn't take the character assassinations and the attempted glorification of Harley. I think I checked out when I heard about the "super hero" stuff. I turned back in in late '08. It seemed much better.

The super hero thing was product placement, and lasted literally one day. It was when they were doing what was often referred to as "Wacky Wednesday" where they tried to make one day a week have one single narrative/story.

I loved Harley up to about a year into her romance with Gus, and then I just loathed them both, and found her mostly unbearable.

2006/2007 was a solid era for a while, with Gina Tognoni, the end of Tom Pelphrey's run, and the awards for Zimmer and Jordan Clarke. But after that, things slipped hard and the show didn't get back on its feet until Jill Lorie Hurst started as HW. By then, sadly, it was too late.

I hate Goutman for what he did to ATWT at the end. When the show got it's cancellation notice, it had a really long stretch before it went off the air, so it had plenty of time to wrap up all of it's storylines. But instead of bringing back old favorites from it's 54 years, it continued introducing tired ABC retread "actors" in storylines nobody cared about. And talk about NOT giving the peopl what they wanted....No Martha Byrne at the end? Putting Katie with Chris Fucking Hughes instead of Simon? No real final scenes for Lisa?

I credit Goutman for two things...he brought back John Dixon at the end, and (despite the budget) he never let the show get as cheap looking as Guiding Light. But he did absolutely nothing else right.

Jon and Kelley have three kids: Spencer, Sophie and Georgia Mae (Gigi).

I know it's morbid, but they should have filmed Helen Wagner saying "Good Night" to close out the show. It would have been a great bookend episode. In fact they should have used the Monday-Thursday shows to wrap up all the other stories and the final Friday episode should have been nothing but Bob and Lisa reminiscing.

Chris Goutman must have really hated Eileen Fulton - when he came on the show Lisa had absolutely nothing to do

I remember one year, the summer of 2007 Lisa didn't even appear once - for four months! This despite having a 2 episode guarantee and a 26 week cycle.

Some people had mused online that Eileen had memory lapses, so that is why Goutman kept her off-screen, but who knows.

The minute they were cancelled, they should have filmed that final episode with Nancy. But Goutman said that was morbid to think that way.

More that he just never thought of it until others mentioned it.

A great lady.

SOB!

Lucinda made the wrong call giving Holden a job at Walsh Enterprises, I guess.

Speaking of Lucinda, there's a hilarious scene in which Holden and Lily are arguing over him having to entertain spoiled Monica Lawrence, whose 'mummy' was a big client of Lucinda's.

Holden and Lily are at the stables and Lucinda barges in, says, "Holden! Monica Lawrence is mounted and she's ready to ride!"

I can't believe they got that on.

Lily pulled the lady of the manor in a Christmas Eve episode and noted to Holden he'd dragged water into the living room with his wet shoes/boots.

Later, Lily came to the Snyder home and tracked HER snow covered boots into the Snyder kitchen. Holden didn't say anything, but you could tell he was like BITCH! But it's okay when you bring snow into MY HOUSE?

Soaps don't have these moments anymore.

R69 Marland (or his teams) were great with those nuances.

I remember reading a writeup of his early ATWT bible, and just seeing how he tied things together.

I wonder how GL would have turned out had Marland stayed. On one hand, it had a really great period after he left with the 4 Muskateers and other characters. But Pam Long had some missteps but nothing critical, then she left to have a babe and the show really suffered for about 2-3 years. GL, which was ahead of ATWT in ratings, was overtaken by ATWT almost for good by 1986 (except for maybe 1991 and 1992).

I always had more affinity for GL than ATWT. ATWT seemed more boring than GL.

Two things: [R51] Jon Hensley & Daniel Markel...best friends?? They should have been ATWT first gay couple. [R60]: Frank Grillo...damn!, and by that I mean, "Damn, he's fine."

Remember Hensey and Grant Show were roomates for a time! Hensley gave an interview and talked about gay photogs hitting on him all the time. Yet he never minded weekends at Doug Marland's.

Scoche Marin (nuMrs. C, Y&R) appeared as a customer at Company on GL for several years. She is/was good friends with Justin Deas.

What R74? I thought Katherine Chancellor died.

[quote] then she left to have a babe

What about the bebe?

R75 Please ignore that nonsense. Some truly damaged, demented queen has an elaborate fantasy that a made up, pretend actress is taking over the role of Mrs. Chancellor.

Miss Queen has been spreading that shit on the Y&R thread for a while and also comes to other soap threads. Ignore her and block her.

[quote] Yet he never minded weekends at Doug Marland's.

I'm sure Jon was on the casting couch for someone.

Since I can no longer find a Y&R thread, would someone here please opine as to why Sharon hasn't called Doris?

Those Soap Opera Digest podcasts are well done. THe one with Robert Newman a few weeks ago was terrific.

R79 This is the new Y&R thread

Did someone say "swinging" by the farm?

I always felt GL had more interesting characters. ATWT never appealed to me much and I tried to get into it.

The ending of the Roger Thorpe saga in 1980 looked riveting.

R78 No offense but wouldn't he have had a better career if he put out?

R83, could not disagree more. When Marland started writing the show, I was hooked. And I love what he did with characters like Barbara and Lucinda.

R18 Such language! I am shocked! You need a good licking!

R86 Oh, I get a good licking when I like it, Liz. Mind your own business!

R86, that Last Licks of Aunt Liz is the best one they ever did. Irene captured that character perfectly with the glass up to the door, something Aunt Liz probably never did but is still known for.

Speaking of Digest, I saw it at the supermarket recently. It's around 74 pages? It's paper thin and there's no real news in it. Anything they report on has been out on the web for around a week.

R88 It's been terrible for a few years now, and I almost never buy it....it was bought a while back by the folks who make the National Enquirer who are Trumpers.

I used to laugh out loud over the Diva Von Dish column.

he trashed soap fashions once with zingers like "Adrienne Johnson, now that you have found your long lost brother you can finally stop dressing like him."

"Miss Ellie. You may find the wearing of a housecoat to every formal family function be appropriate. I do not. I saw what you wore to Pam and Bobby's wedding. Did you want to be there?"

The reality is there's not much news to cover anymore.

I still would love to know who wrote Diva von Dish. It could have been Miss Logan. Connie P wasn't mean enough to write that sort of voice.

A few years old but still applies

R91, it wasn't Logan and it wasn't Connie.

Who's Connie p.?

r93 Connie Pasqualina.

I disagree about Judi Evans. I think she started out great. She played vulnerable but tough Beth Raines to GL's first ever Emmy acting nom and win. Beth rebounded from Phillip to Lujack in a flash and grew as a character. She gave as good as she got with Lujack. She actually saved him by breaking him out of jail. She never let Alan get the best of her verbally. Once Lujack died, the character was just left in the wilderness under a terrible HW until Judi quit the show. I don't know how she was in her other roles but she was fantastic, and legendary, as Beth.

R93 Connie Passalacqua, who for years wrote under a pen name, "Marlena Delacroix."

I thought Marlena was a take off of Diva but apparently not. "Marlena" lived in Paris and GL paid homage when Blake was writing romance novels by making her name Darlena LaCrosse.

Anyway, "Marlena" wrote the critic's piece for Weekly, like Hinsey the sow writes it for Digest.

[quote] she was fantastic, and legendary, as Beth.

MARY!

I also wanted to be a soap headwriter when I was young. Marland inspired me even more as I loved the way his stories went. It's all a pipe dream now.

I've been watching "Dark Shadows" on DVD and remember when Marland tried for his own (comical) ghost story with Shannon that eventually fell apart due to the writer's strike. I love this TV Guide review of "Shadows" that states Joan Bennett plays her part as if she's just forgotten where she put it.

Second to the Irene Dailey/Liz Matthews "Last Licks", this was my favorite. Very similar in nature, showing that one picture says all. Liz & Amy Vining were the two great busy-body's/gossips of all time. Genie Francis had one as Ceara from "All My Children" that blasts away her goody-goody Laura Spencer image and Jane Elliott as Tracy with the boxing gloves is good too. Then there's one of Monica with her stethoscope. With Monica's tongue, she needed a scalpel.

Spooky, considering what's happened since.

things like that are chilling in real life R101

Digest should put out a booklet of all the last licks; I think they did them for quite a few years.

I love this picture of a future soap opera matriarch, looking quite modern. Eat your heart out, Madonna!

Who is that, r103? (The pic, when you click, says it's not on Pinterest anymore.)

Meg Mundy...too obscure for me too.

Meg Mundy! She was on the Doctors for years. She was stunning in her youth.

she came on for a brief bit as Maeve's mother on Guiding Light for Maeve and Kyle's wedding.

Then back a few months later after Maeve, her only daughter, was killed in a helicopter crash. She came close to taking Ben away.

She lived quite a long life; I'm not sure she was well enough to work when Matt Bomer was cast as her grandson circa 2000/1?

It would have been smart to bring both Larkin and Meg on along with Ben and set them up as a family; Kyle, I think, had an off-camera daughter, too.

But by this point, GL was being run by people who either didn't know its history or didn't care. I and other viewers were spoiled by Douglas Marland and Pam Long. They wrote great long-term stories.

As the years went on, the loyal fans knew far more than the people working at the show did.

Also, a great turn as Mary Tyler Moore's mother in Ordinary People.

Oh, my goodness.

I left work early today and was a little under the weather.

And for some reason, my brain put forth the thought: "Well, if I get home by 2 I can still watch....."

Crazy, but it happens every once in a while. I still miss those stories.

ORD dear at r109 You're not alone in doing that.

On more than one occasion in recent years, I've woken up from a nap, glanced at the clock which read 1:58 or something like that and thought, "Oh, Another World is about to start."

Thanks, Liz. I'm glad I'm not the only one!

By 1986, GL was in such bad shape, it's a wonder they got the show on the air each day. I was bored to death by show, choosing to watch Santa Barbara more often.

Not a surprise the shop dropped plot points and overlooked history.

I remember there being a particularly hideous stretch of GL right as I started to watch ATWT.

It was all the Samson Girl, Billy is hypnotized by two intertwining rings, Reva is chased by some weird man named Cain business. They had Alexandra hanging out with H.B. and Hawk. (!!)

Meanwhile, over on ATWT, there was....can that be Nola Reardon? And some hot guy (Gregg Marx) from my mom's story playing Tom Hughes? And one look at Holden and Dusty.....one scene of Lucinda (Darling!) and I was hooked.

Me, too, at two, ORD and Aunt Liz.

Starting in spring/summer 1985, GL began going downhill. It swung wildly in bizarre and unintersting direction, losing much of its heart along the way. That was when Billy was hypnotized by the Infiinity rings, the yawn-inducing music storyline with Jackson Freemont and Suzette Saxon was dominating the show and the Sampson Girl contest was underway. So boring.

That also corresponds to the period when Jeff Ryder was promoted to co-head writer with Pam Long. And of course when Pam went on maternity leave in late 1985, Jeff Ryder was the sole HW, even if Pam's name was still listed on the credits.

I like to think that all those clunker storylines are Ryder's doing. And ONLY Ryder's doing.

In actuality, Pam Long probably was involved in some way. And likely CBS was pressuring GL to go off on some of these bizarre storylines.

And of course, everything that was airing in 1986 was Ryder's doing. Simon and Jesse. Calla and Ross, Cain going after Reva, Maeve and Kyle, Alex hanging out with HB and Hawk, etc.

Was I the only one who thought that 4 friends fishing storyline with Harley Jane Kozak on GL didn't make a lick of sense?

I always found it amusing that in both of Frances Fisher's soap roles, she played characters whose last name was Saxon.

Deborah Saxon on Edge of Night, 1976-80

Suzette Saxon on Guiding Light, 1985

I thought 1985 GL was still interesting. The Infinity storyline, while dumb, had action. It was 1986-early 1988 when the show was a real snooze-fest. I can't believe how far it had fallen. The characters and story were so boring.

Oh, I don't think 1988, you could tell the minute Pam Long came back in fall 1987. The show got good INSTANTLY.

R119 yes but a bit slow to get churning. No doubt it was better.

R119, Long's return wasn't blasted all over the web as it wasn't really around yet; and the mags didn't report it; maybe that gem of a publications Soap Opera NOW! did?

I do remember Josh and Reva having a heart to heart at Vanessa's house/backyard -- the empty fountain, it was the spot where Reva had her big breakdown speech in the summer of '84.

I thought, wow, this is really good - it's as if Pam Long had written it; she did!

1986 did have SOME good things -- the producer got Chris Bernau, Peter Simon, Robert Newman, and thank you soap gods, Grant Aleksander back to the show.

By the late summer of 1987, the war between Phillip and Alan was in full swing. Alan came over to Phillip's once night with 'divorce' papers. The two men had a knockdown dragout. I have it on tape. I'll upload it to youtube some day. The scene should have won BOTH actors Emmys.

Reva was on the outs; Josh dumped her for Sonni b/c he thought Marah wasn't his. Reva goes to the country club in her red dress and pisses off all the day player wives by flirting with their husbands. Regis asks her to leave as she's not a member. Then, Alan says: "Regis. Miss Shayne is my guest. See to that she gets anything she wants."

Later, Alan takes Reva home to Reva Bend. She declares: "this time it's over between me and Josh-you-ah!" And Bernau half scowls: "And how many times has it been 'over' between you and Josh?" he says to Reva -- and this was soooo Chris' Alan -- "it's time for a new regime!"

And it was on.

oh, and Pam also wrote a great rivalry between Alan and Alexandra; at this point, Alex knows Alan rigged Marah's paternity tests.

Alan warns Alex not to blab: "Marah's 'real' daddy Josh Lewis is back at Lewis Oil! You know what sweet revenge those savages are capable of!"

Alex: "We'll find a way to keep down the damage. Our company will survive the likes of Reva Shayne!"

God, it was all so brilliant.

R121 The scene I remember from Pam's first week or two back is with Alan. The whole Marah-is-Kyle's business is playing out and Reva is at her wit's end again.

Alan tells her he'll pay her to tell him a story about herself, and Reva ends up telling her a story from her childhood about eating garbage.

I am shocked it (a) is not on YouTube and (b) didn't win an Emmy.

And I think that scene is at the end of the country club one when they are back at Reva Bend.

I've been binge watching old episodes of "The Doctors" I taped onto DVD from Retro, and am really enjoying Elizabeth Hubbard as Althea, married where I currently am to psychiatrist Dr. John Morrison (Patrick Horgan who seemed to hop around every New York based soap, even playing Penny's husband on "As the World Turns", still living at 90!) who tells Althea after a fight over her ex-husband Nick (Gerald Gordon) "Warm and lovely, as long as your worshiped. Let anyone dare to criticize you and make you face yourself, and you turn to steel." Meow, John!

In the story, Carolee and Steve have just married at the Powers house after he was acquitted of Dan Allison's murder. Other stories involve Maggie's fear that she has dementia and Toni Ferra's desire to find her mother so she can get over her fears that she might be a loose woman like mom was. Even the supporting characters are all delightful to watch, especially this deliciously loving grandma, Emma Simpson, as Carolee's mother, who treats non-blood relative Billy Allison (Alec Baldwin in a decade) as if she was her own flesh and blood. She has the greatest lines, and she even looks like she could have been Carolee Campbell's mother with certain mouth tics and the way they speak. Katherine Squire is someone I'd bake cookies for, not expect her to bake them for me.

I know, "Mary!"

I'm sure many of the posters here know (if not all) that heroine Toni was played by Anna Stuart who gets constant praise here as "Original Recipe Donna" from "Another World" (I love that nickname!), a far cry from her schemers from other soaps. Lydia Bruce subbed briefly for Beverlee McKinsey as Alexandra Spaulding while Anna subbed for Maeve Kinkead as Vanessa Chamberlain.

The Doctors on Retro is such a treat and a joy to watch. If you are a classic soap fan, it just makes you happy. 67-69 was some of the best television ever made.

R127 Thank you. I just finished watching all of 1971 and posted a lengthy positive re-cap and review of that year on the Daytime Royalty board for the show. In short, I can see why the Emmy's honored it this year. I've watched a bit of the 1969 episodes but decided to start my binging with the intro of Anna Stuart. I had started it months ago but got distracted by other things and only recently went back to it. Maggie had been held hostage by a psycho drifter played by Marc Alaimo; Carolee and Steve were terrorized by the now rotting in hell Dr. Dan Allison, and Nick was perturbed by the growing romance between Althea and John. In the background, Cathy Ryker was scheming originally to get Steve away from Carolee, but her story didn't hit gold until Nancy Barrett ("Dark Shadows") took over the part. Mike attempts to find a cure for his adopted sister Greta by injecting himself with Compound D and nearly commits suicide by his hallucinations that he can fly. The cast is superb, and even the villains are enjoyable to watch. Mona hasn't been introduced yet but is mentioned by a visiting Jason who is a doctor here, not an attorney as later played by Glenn Corbett. There are mentions of his wife Doreen who will come in years later played by the fabulous Pamela Lincoln who was the 1970's version of Marj Dusay on daytime with her infectious laugh that will be greatly utilized when she goes bonkers! To think of the storylines in 1971/72 and compare them to 81/82 is like comparing fresh fruit to what the compost doesn't even want.

David O'Brien from "The Doctors" (also known as the Sin Stalker on "Another World") died rather young at age 53, only a couple years after his AW run. How did he die? I was young when he was the Sin Stalker but could tell he'd been a good looking man.

David O'Brien was indeed very good looking and was a great actor. He could play comedy, romance and tragedy, and Steve Aldrich on "The Doctors" often had dialog that made him sing like a British "dandy". I could tell he was gay, but he had great chemistry with both Carolee Campbell and Jada Rowland. After "The Doctors" ended, he had a short term role on "Ryan's Hope" and later got the longer part of Dr. Alan Glaser on "Another World" where you could tell he had lost a lot of weight and was sick. He was HIV positive and obviously took these short term jobs so he could be eligible for equity insurance. Fans of "The Doctors" were shocked to see him as "the sin stalker" and one even wrote in, "No! Not Steve Aldrich!" He had been the matinee idol on "The Doctors" for years, even over Gerald Gordon's Nick Bellini who when paired with Elizabeth Hubbard's Althea was considered one of daytime's first "super couples".

One hysterical scene of him on "The Doctors" had him accidentally saying to Carolee, "I just balled your son in the hallway" rather than "I just bawled out your son in the hallway." He had worked with Jada on "The Secret Storm" and when she took over the role of Carolee arranged for her to meet Carolee Campbell. He said in an interview that sitting with them in the same restaurant made him see how much both women had in common, as if they were sisters. (Jada was 7 years younger than Carolee which is why she looks like "brand new sexy Carolee" while Carolee Campbell, who had a rather acerbic way of saying her lines would be "original recipe" Carolee. But both were very popular with viewers, and both left acting for similar careers afterwards. Physically, David O'Brien isn't my type at all, but he is so dashing and handsome and good natured that you just can't help but be enamored of him. (I feel the same way about Anna Stuart, even if I am gay, that she is one of the most beautiful, sexy women, even in her 70's, and it's one of those cases where you just can't help but drop your jaw over how they look.)

If "The Doctors" was still on today, obviously Maggie and Matt would have passed away and Steve, Carolee, Althea and Mike might still be around, although Mike would probably be the only one working at the hospital, probably chief of staff.

Alec Baldwin never passes up a chance to sing the praises of David O'Brien. It sounds like he was a very special man. When Steve first shows up he's quite the rich, obnoxious playboy. He even date raped Karen.

David O'Brien died of AIDS in 1989 at age 51.

Yes, he was a gifted actor. I loved him as Steve on the Doctors. And I HATED him playing the Sin Stalker on AW in 1987. It went so against his image on The Doctors. When they cast him on AW, I was fairly certain it was stunt casting where he would end up a villain. Obviously I was correct.

The Sin Stalker storyline was one I despised. It was not the type of story that AW did and O'Brien being the villain made me dislike it even more. NBC imposed that storyline on AW in one of its several attempts to make AW more like Days. Former Days HW Margaret DePriest was the HW at that point. She also wrote the vapid storyline where Rex was impersonating Cass, who was being held captive for some reason I've long forgotten. 1987 was an especially weak year for AW thanks to those two storylines.

Thanks for the remembrances of The Doctors. When I first started watching soaps as a gaylling in 1970-71, it was the NBC lineup that I watched. So, I got to see the Doug and Julie romance beginning on Days while a dying Dan Allison was manipulating things to frame Steve Aldrich for his death on the Doctors. And of course, the Steve-Alice-Rachel triangle was going strong on AW. All wonderful, compelling storylines. It's no wonder the NBC soap line up was top rated in the early 1970s.

I would love to rewatch those old episodes of the Doctors. Especially the couple of years before I started watching it. I wish my cable company carried Retro TV.

I also remember being enchanted by Anna Stuart when she started as Toni Fera on The Doctors. She commanded the screen whenever she was on.

And Gerald Gordon as Nick Bellini was so sexy. I couldn't take my eyes off him, even though I didn't understand what that meant at the time.

In case you don't know, there's a separate thread about the Doctors, linked below. Some interesting discussion there, although it hasn't been very active in recent months.

R131 The first week of the Retro episodes had David's introduction as Steve. He walks up to the nurse's desk and Carolee looks up and you can see her wince at how handsome he is. Carolee Campbell could make you laugh just with a look or with a mouth twitch or one of her wry remarks. There are times when she looks at him in awe of like "How did I land this sexy, beautiful, charming playboy and make him fall in love with me?" It's like her look with real life husband Hector Elizondo who is still sexy in his 80's. It is obvious that there is real love there, so Carolee and Steve sort of parallel what she had with her husband.

As a character, I find Karen Werner to be rather creepy, but Laryssa Laurent was so good in that part that I get past my distaste for her. There's a glint in Laryssa's eyes that shows her soul even though I often doubted that Karen had one. Laryssa would post memories of her time on "The Doctors" when the re-runs began and her family notified the various fan sites for the show when she passed away. It seems to me that "The Doctors" cast was very close with many of them remaining friends. My respect for Alec Baldwin increased a great deal when he wrote of going to gay bars with David, showing a side of him that I never would expect.

R133 Thanks for posting that link. I posted some of the last messages on that board (re. the Retro TV interviews, Pamela Lincoln's obituary), hoping it would create some activity. There are great boards on Daytime Royalty and Cancelled Soaps that have more activity (DT Royalty is especially busy.....) and I'm sure that the actors who are aware of its Retro return are stunned that this little forgotten soap is getting a lot of attention.

For those of you who are interested. Retro is doing a streaming service for The Doctors. You have to sign up and there is a cost, but if you like classic soap please consider supporting this effort. If it works, who knows what other old soaps Retro will air. Both Days and Y&R didn't wipe their tapes and have full catalogs. And the PG shows go back to, I think 78.

r135 A lot of threads just seem to drop of people's Watchlist for no reason. That's happened to many of my favorite threads in recent months.

The Doctors thread I posted above had fallen off my Watchlist. I had to search for it to find it. Luckily, I remembered the name and it came up easily. Sometimes when the DL search function fails, I have to do a Google search with the thread name (or a close proximity of it), plus "Datalounge" to find old threads that have dropped off my Watchlist.

Anyway, my point is that your recent posting of the Pamela Lincoln obit may not have generated any discussion on the Doctor's thread because it mysteriously fell off other people's Watchlist too. Thus, the people who were following that thread likely didn't see your post to continue the discussion. But thanks for posting it.

And thanks to r136 for the Retro TV streaming service info. I'll have to subscribe once my schedule frees up some so I have time to watch. Is The Doctors the only show Retro streaming carries.

R137 Thanks. Makes sense. Speaking of Pamela Lincoln, I found her on episodes of "One Life to Live" from 1984 in scenes with Vicki and Clint, Cassie and her character's son, Simon Hall. Pamela played the widow of the president of a Central or South American country who was in Llanview to find her son who was one of the youth leaders of the rebellion in that country. He's about as Hispanic as I am though which is probably why the story folded quickly. She turns up also in the very last episode of "A World Apart" (av. on YT) as a nurse handing a baby to Susan Sarandon. Interestingly enough, her rival on "The Doctors" was played by Kathleen Turner. Elizabeth Lawrence originated the role of Sarandon's mother on "A World Apart" (played by Augusta Dabney in the available episode) and later played (briefly) Turner's mother on "The Doctors". I'd really love to find some of her "Love of Life" work where she worked with John Aniston. Doreen quickly became a camp favorite of mine on "The Doctors" especially with her long talons and her taking on the future "Serial Mom".

I'm waiting for the pre-1967 aired episodes of "The Doctors" to turn up on the streaming site which they said would happen. I really am interested in seeing the anthology years (1963-64) which has some great people in week long parts. On the IMDb, someone is constantly updating the site with screenshots, and Pininterest has a lot of great shots too. Other soap fans have scanned their old magazines so there is a lot of material out there in regards to the show now.

Retro doing the Doctors in a subscription service is a wonderful idea. I'm going to buy a month to month for $3.

I want P&G to get the message loud and clear that they should do this.

The Sam Groom thread has everyone talking about how gorgeous he still is. How about "Doctors" actor Frank Telfer? Woof!

When did Armand Assante join The Doctors and who did he play? I remember that was the first time I ever saw him & I became a big fan. I thought he was hotter than hot in movies like The Mambo Kings & Q&A.

Now he's gone totally off the rails & is just gross physically and personally.

R141 He played Mike Powers and was on from, I think, 1975 to 1977.

The weird thing is that the original Mike was Peter Burnell - a blond, Nordic looking guy. And suddenly Assante is playing the same character.

Armand's version of Mike Powers was very similar to Toni's former boyfriend, Dr. Vito McKray, played by Paul Henry Itkin. Peter Burnell's Mike was very sweet, but he did a terrific job when Mike was experimenting in Nick Bellini's lab and took an overdose of a compound that he had helped work on. He ended up thinking he could fly and nearly took Toni off the roof of the hospital with him. Anna Stuart really should have become a top daytime star with that part, but she only made Daytime TV's "honorable mention" list of top daytime actors with that part. Between Toni and Donna Love, Anna really proved what a great actor she was, and I wish that some casting director would bring her back, maybe for a guest stint while hubby James Cromwell is in L.A making a movie.

Liz Keifer (Blake from GL) is now doing a podcast.

A lot of it is self-help/coaching but the first half or so of this has some comments about her time at GL.

Tony and Vanessa!

The title makes me think of Phillip Spaulding and his big, swinging cock. Beth had to fake her death twice to try to get away from it.

If only he would SWING it our way.

HB's funeral.

Interesting, didn't remember that Kimberly Simms was back as Mindy for these shows.

That made me cry like a huge MARY!, R148. What a great tribute.

When they had his voice at the very end?

I lost it.

Although it was a stupid move for future storylines, the actual death scenes for Jennifer on ATWT were three-hanky perfection. Having her family come in one-by-one to say goodbye was tearjerking at it's best. Barbara and Hal's scenes with their dying daughter had me bawling up a storm. And the fact that Ben Hendrickson (Hal) killed himself a month later just added to the drama.

R151 I hated ATWT for killing off both Bryant and Jennifer.

I love that Dusty was the only one who called Jennifer "Jenny." And I love that she died in his arms while they were "dancing."

R151, I'll join you in unpopular opinions by giving one that causes many ATWT fans absolute fits: I loved, loved, loved the baby switch story. No, the real Craig Montgomery would have never committed that KIND of crime, but once the dastardly deed was done, it got Faux Craig off my screen and the real fun began. Great use of history, an old-school umbrella story that literally affected every character on the show, terrific acting from a stellar cast, and one of the most heartbreaking reveals in Daytime history. A classic!

I didn't mind Hunt Block as Craig for a while - he became Craig when he showed his heartbreak when Bryant died, which was the only good thing to come out of that.

I'm more angry at how evil he became as time went on, and how they misused Scott Bryce so badly when he returned.

I LOVED Hunt Block as Craig. Bryce was good as the younger Craig but Block was just fantastic as more grey character. I also think Hunt was a better actor.

[quote] And the fact that Ben Hendrickson (Hal) killed himself a month later just added to the drama.

After he shot the scene, you mean. He killed himself BEFORE the scenes aired which made them especially uncomfortable.

[quote] I hated ATWT for killing off both Bryant and Jennifer.

Couldn't agree more.

And I hated Hunt Block as Craig. I hated how they wrote him and I hated how he played him. And they let him slide on his responsibility for the death of Sierra's husband. Horrible, horrible writing.

Hunt Block wasn't bad, he was just way overexposed. I remember there was a period in 2001 where he was in every episode for over 6 months.

"And I hated Hunt Block as Craig. I hated how they wrote him and I hated how he played him."

The character lost all of the vulnerability that had made him so endearing, even when he was doing bad things. Bryce played him (and he was written at that time) as a "woman's man" who needed constant injections of strong feminine energy from Lyla, Margo, Lucinda, and his many romantic partners. In his triangle with Sierra and Iva, and later with Sierra and Ellie, it was Craig for whom we felt the most sympathy, even though he could take his pick. That was something that was impossible to even imagine with Block in the role.

I don't mean to bash Block as an actor; he could be quite funny and amusing. I especially enjoyed his interactions with Michael Park (Jack). And I fully admit that as a huge Bryce fan, I would not have accepted ANYONE else in the role. Most soap roles are re-castable; some are not. On ATWT, the latter, IMO, would be: Craig, Lucinda, Nancy, Kim, Bob, Susan, and John.

I wasn't a huge fan of Bryce's Craig. He was weak and weepy. But his Craig was who he was. Hunt Block's Craig was Craig in name only, just like Grayson McCouch's Dusty wasn't really Dusty. There was just no justification for how the character we knew very well became the character foisted on us by Goutman.

I think that Grayson COULD have played Original Recipe Dusty, if the character had been written that way. We definitely saw traces of O.R.D. when Dusty was softened during his romance with Jen, her death, and his adoption of her baby. It's really a shame that John was off the canvas by that time, because I think there could have been some wonderful mining of history between the two characters, and I believe the actors would have worked well together.

I mean, don't even get me started on them letting Larry Bryggman go... LOL.

Bryggman was probably happy about it. He hated the show. It was nothing more than an ATM for him.

I don't think Bryggman hated the show at all. I think he believed in professionalism and excellence, and felt that being on Daytime was no excuse not to give the audience a well-written, well-acted show. I respect him for that.

It's odd that Bryggman hated the show. He seemed humble in one of his Emmy acceptance speeches (1987, I believe).

What is there to hate about doing scenes each week with Kathy Hays, Don Hastings, Liz Hubbard, Anne Sward, etc.

I agree, he was clearly thrilled when he won his Emmy, R163. Not the least bit embarrassed or acting "above it all."

McCouch felt like a good choice for Dusty initially, until they started trying to make him more Sonny Corinthos like.

Bryggman was still on when McCouch started and they had maybe two scenes together. It was typical Goutman. There was tons of story to play there, as well as tons of John-James material. If only Goutman had the least bit of interest in the story possibility of playing the history of the characters.

There was a great ATWT thread on here years ago with all the anti ATWT quotes by Bryggman. A few insiders even posted to confirm that he thought the show was beneath him and that he only did it because he couldn't make the same kind of living in theatre. I'm sure he was gracious when he won the award, because he respected his fellow actors. He just didn't respect soap opera.

Bryggmann really seemed to be enjoying himself when he returned at the end

As for Craig, Bryce was terrific. Remember when he started, he was the villain to Frank Runyeon's hero. He eventually made the very believable switch to (flawed) hero. Hunt Block was very one-note. He could be great in his snide, sarcastic moments, but that was it. Strangely, I kind of liked the forgotten Craig, Jeffrey Meek, but his dark looks made him a better choice for a Stenbeck. Jon Lindstrom was worst of all, he was just boring. But R158 was right, the role really belonged to Bryce.

I always thought that Larry B enjoyed himself with the writing was actually good but was completely disgusted when it was bad which it was a lot especially towards the end

Larry B objected to the story that would have him rape his wife Dee Stewart - he was actually prepared to walk off the show

So a compromise was struck - Dee would still accuse John of martial rape, but the it would be discovered at the trial that Dee thought John was Brad and made love to him willingly.

I hated Meek.

Jon Lindstrom was as good as the writing was for him - solid at times, weak at others. I like him but again, one of a long list of former ABC'ers who came in and were characters in name only.

In terms of Scott Bryce

Christopher Goutman fired him, not sure why - thought Bryce said

I've had dozens of relationships with executive producers and this one, with Chris Goutman, was odd and very disconnected. I think we had an inherent disagreement or a different vision of who Craig is. The plots on the show are so much darker than they used to be — dead babies, pornography, methamphetamines — and maybe I didn't fit into that vision.

It's not the As the World Turns I remember from those many years ago. Chris would say to me, "This is your character, run with it." But when I did he never seemed pleased. Craig, as I understood him, has a need for family and love and fulfillment, and at all costs, which is what creates all the mayhem and madness in his life. Yes, he's a villain but he doesn't know that.

That woman (Elizabeth Hubbard) taught me how to do this genre. She's a remarkable actress and an even more remarkable person. Our chemistry is off the charts and I don't know why they wouldn't explore that. There were times where it just felt like plot was more important than people and that gets difficult to play. And it's hard to go to work when you don't really have the support of the captain of the ship, which is what I felt. So when the time came and I was fired, I wasn't shocked. I gave 100 percent. The only thing that kind of annoys me was that I was fired over the phone during the holidays. That felt disrespectful and unnecessary. Did Goutman ever lie to me? Never. Was I misled? Never. I worked hard. I respected the story as much as I could. I played the good soldier and didn't bitch. I called him sir. I showed up on time and did my scenes in one take. [Laughs] That's not enough?

The week I came back to ATWT it was rated No. 7. The week I got fired it was tied for No. 3. I hold my head up high. You know, I was very fortunate to work during the heyday of the show under Doug Marland, who was a phenomenal writer and understood romance so deeply. He knew what star-crossed lovers are really all about. His show was always people and relationship-centered. Now it's really about plot over people and they're willing to sabotage history if necessary.

I wouldn't want [Goutman's] job. It's impossible. He's being slammed from all sides. He's got budget cuts continuously. There are fewer and fewer viewers. We're now in the era of info-tainment. How can the stories on ATWT beat "Who is the father of Anna Nicole's baby?" That's very, very tough. Reality has become the new soap opera. We now follow the loves of celebrities the way we used to follow the lives of Lily and Holden.

I didn't hate Meek. But as a longtime SFT fan, he was always a McCleary brother to me.

Except for Nuke and Reid, I don't know how anyone could have watched Oakdale in Name Only. After Lisa sued John, it was over for me. I would come back and watch an episode every couple of months, but that was it. They should have killed it years earlier.

[quote] After Lisa sued John

Actually that was one story that seemed to work as the town had to take sides, and it pushed alot of the back burner veterans on stage into a story that affected the Hughes family

[quote] it pushed alot of the back burner veterans on stage into a story that affected the Hughes family

Especially my Andrew.

"The week I came back to ATWT it was rated No. 7. The week I got fired it was tied for No. 3."

The numbers don't lie. Fans were thrilled to have Bryce back, but in Goutman's mind, they weren't thrilled for the right reasons, so fuck 'em. It's like he was *angry* at Bryce for making fans sympathize with Craig, instead of Paul. Well, that's what Bryce had always done, and you know that, so why even hire the guy again, then punish him for being a good actor?

"I was very fortunate to work during the heyday of the show under Doug Marland, who was a phenomenal writer and understood romance so deeply. He knew what star-crossed lovers are really all about."

Craig was perhaps the most hopelessly romantic male character ever on soaps, and Goutman just didn't get that. ATWT viewers wanted their tortured, complex anti-hero back, and Bryce was laboring hard to give him back to them, against ridiculous writing. I have a strong feeling that Roger Howarth was not at all pleased with the way viewer sympathy was leaning and made his concerns known to TPTB, but I have no proof of that. I actually liked Howarth as Paul, and I think it's a shame that they went with a lazy "Paul vs. Craig" storyline. Paul and Craig had a long, interesting relationship that could have been explored in a much more satisfying way.

I'm sure Goutman was under pressure, but he'd have made ATWT's axing bearable if he'd taken Noelle Beck up on her offer to step down and let Byrne come back to play out Lily.

Holden and Lily's final scenes were hollow because he didn't.

[quote] he'd have made ATWT's axing bearable if he'd taken Noelle Beck up on her offer to step down

Her contract actually expired shortly after the cancellation announcement - and Beck said she would be willing to vacate the role, saying she knew it wouldn't be personal if Byrne came back

But Goutman said no, and Beck stayed on as if she was still on contract until the end.

Goutman literally scored maybe 1.5 out of 10 on the things he could have done at the end of ATWT.

GL got at least several things right, even if they didn't do everything I wanted. (India should have come back, for sure.) But they had Nola there, and Holly, and they got several of the small details right in those last few weeks. Their budget was smaller than a dinner theater in a dollar store parking lot, but they still acted like it might be wise to at least nominally acknowledge the fans.

Granted, they also had Jeffrey O'Neill, and we all knew Josh and Reva would somehow lather-rinse-repeat one more time. But I was somewhat pleased with what we saw.

But there was just so, so little at the end of ATWT. John Dixon's return was literally the only bonus and nod to the past. (Okay, I suppose you can also include Julianne Moore's five second cameo - thus the .5)

He was so delusional thinking that anyone cared about his pets. We all could have gone forever without ever seeing Janet or Liberty again, but a second or two of Penny or a ghostly visit from Gillian Spencer would have been nice. Or any of the people who made ATWT special in its run. Including yes, Martha Byrne.

The really gross, gross thing about Martha and Goutman is that Martha worked for that show SO hard for so many years. She took something like a 60 percent pay cut to help keep the show going the year before.

She wanted to try and remain on contract and counter-proposed when they wanted to take away her guarantee. They never even talked to her about "hey, let's work this out." They just said, okay, next.

Vile, disgusting behavior.

R181 Julianne Moore actually called ATWT to tell them she'd love to do a cameo

R183 and it's a fucking miracle he didn't fuck that up.

r184

it was awesome to see her but she did nothing... Did she say more than 2 lines? Why wasn't there a greeting to her sister Barbara, brothers et al?

R184: "and it's a fucking miracle he didn't fuck that up."

"Julianne, we're thinking it might draw in new viewers if you play Lily rather than Frannie on the last show. Don't worry, Noelle's cool with it."

A 60% pay cut? Damn. Was it a take or leave it offer? My God! 60!?!!?

[quote] A 60% pay cut? Damn. Was it a take or leave it offer? My God! 60!?!!?

She was getting 2 episode guarantee - they wanted to knock that down to a one episode guarantee

Martha countered by asking for (in writing) that she be booked for the exact number of episode she appeared in the previous year, for the new year coming up

TPTB responded to her counter offer by putting out a casting call for a late 30s wife and mother.

That was cold R188. They should have offered her the one day a week, plus let her join the writing staff or something. She was always such a good ambassador for the show.

Yeah, that's what I mean - cold. And Martha was the face of ATWT, had supported Hogan Sheffer when others were more wary....she deserved better.

R185 That part, I don't blame Goutman. She basically said, I'll come back so I can toast Kathy Hays and Don Hastings. She was OK with Colleen and Helen (and a few others that made sense) being there. She wasn't being snobby - just, she wasn't coming back for a long story arc, but a quick cameo.

There was some kind of kerfuffle about it and it looked briefly like it wasn't going to happen, but luckily, I think CBS made Goutman get out of his own way.

Jon Hensley did say he was upset TPTB didn't invite Byrne back at the end - he even suggested Byrne do a cameo as Rose, if TPTB felt awkward about giving Noelle Beck the heave-ho

But answer was always No

And I have to say, I like Noelle Beck, she did truly the best she could and I thought she did nicely with Liz H and Jon.

It just wasn't the same, and that's no insult to Noelle.

I wonder if Hensley got the same 60% cut.

Man I listed to that first Liz Keifer podcast that [R155] references and she could give Fran Drescher a run in the whining department. It's all about how she was taken off contract after 12 years of being on contract and the demeaning things that went along with it, like no longer having her own dressing room.

It's clear her entire identity revolved around GL, and as the show and genre changed, she felt stuck with no other options or a backup plan for when/if that did happen.

R193 everyone was taking pay cuts - but he was married to another actor on the show, so they were quite comfortable with a dual six figure income.

I don't think he was making quite as much, but I am sure he also got a substantial cut.

R194 actually she was asked to go back on-contract, but she declined. because being recurring she had more freedom to pursue other work.

R194 Hmm, I didn't take away that she was whiny.

I've been laid off and demoted/asked to train a successor. It really messes with your mind. I liked what she had to say about deciding how she was going to think differently about it.

I know lots of shows had to make cuts, but some of that sounded disrespectful.

Sorry R144 was the Liz Keifer podcast reference.

So who was making all the money over at ATWT?

[quote] she could give Fran Drescher a run in the whining department.

I remember a Soap Opera Digest article about Soap actor moonlighting doing commercials. P&G had recently lifted the ban against their contract actors doing commercials for competitors products.

Most of the actors interviewed LOVED doing the commercials and talked about how much money would be rolling in. Everyone except Elizabeth Keifer

She absolutely HATED doing commercials and said they were the most boring thing she could think of doing. She had to be kicking and screaming to just to go to an audition. But at that time she was in heavy credit card debt (having been out of work for a few years PRIOR to Guiding Light)

She swallowed her pride and did a Monistat Commercial that played in heavy rotation and paid off her credit cards.

[quote] It's all about how she was taken off contract after 12 years of being on contract and the demeaning things that went along with it,

At Young and Restless and Bold and Beautiful there were not enough dressing rooms to go around - so many of the new contract players are rotated to different rooms. Many time put in a dressing of a long tenured vet who might not be working that day.

It could be YEARS before they might get a permanent room, but they never seem to mind as they are just grateful for the work.

On Liz Keifer Website she writes about the "loss" of her dressing room

But one day, out of the blue, when I’d been playing Blake for twelve years, the bottom fell out of my world.

Something happened that devastated and embarrassed me: my status changed to “non-contract player”.

I was still on the show, but there was no guarantee my character would be written in on a daily, or even weekly, basis. I was still working with the same colleagues that I’d been with for years, and I was the only one whose status had changed.

My salary was reduced, and the perks that went with being a contract player were no longer guaranteed. My wardrobe allowance was cut. Scripts were no longer messengered to the house.

And worst of all, I had to hand back the keys to my precious private dressing room.

Now, I know these sound like diva problems. A private dressing room isn’t something every woman, or even every actor, has or expects.

But what was really going on was that this played into every bit of personal insecurity I had. I felt deeply ashamed and mortified, and the dressing room was simply a practical indicator of my sudden change in status. That dressing room was my haven, my sanctuary. It represented my personal power, my sovereignty, my permission to take up space in the world.

It was as if I went to work and no longer had an office, but had to sit in the staff room. Or as if I went to the doctor and had to change in the waiting room.

I was shattered and disheartened. And, of course, I wondered why it had happened, and that led me to question myself.

Cont from R203

After a year of claiming and standing in my power, everything came full circle; my character was back front and center, with a full storyline.

And I had my beloved dressing room back!

I enjoyed my role in Guiding Light for two more years, until eventually the show ran its course and went off the air.

I still act, in film, television, and theatre, and probably always will—it’s my first great love.

As well, after Guiding Light ended, I began coaching actors, supporting them in finding clarity in their motivation and feelings, knowing why they were doing what they were doing.

Try having an assigned desk at work, and then be told that you no longer have an assigned desk but instead have to hot desk every day.

Same feeling. It's not unreasonable to feel like it's an insult, even if our brains know it's not.

"After a year of claiming and standing in my power..."

Liz is telling you now so she doesn't have to tell you later.

it was way too brief; the highlights were Bob answering the door and Julianne as Frannie says "Daddy!" just like she did in December 1987 when Frannie made a surprise visit home for the holidays despite having gone to Boston.

As a viewer I was all 'all cool! They got Julianne back!' Um, Sabrina was already in the same episode... I guess that's a testament to Julianne's acting.

Another highlight of her return in 2010 was the toast she gave to Bob and Kim on their anniversary. She debuted around the time of their marriage in 1985 so it was fitting she came back for the anniversary.

I'm sure Julianne was in and out in two hours to accommodate her, but my guess is those talks with her people and the show she wasn't in on; Julianne would have come back for a full day.

I'd have been cool if she'd done a week and Marsha Talbot had gotten paroled or escaped or something and there's one final showdown where is killed or goes back to jail.

Odd, that I can recall so much.

MARY! (Ellen Walters)

R207, I can recall the craziest of details about soap storylines and I can't even tell you certain details of my own personal life. It's crazy.

we've been Murieled, beautiful people, so here's the new thread

When former ATWT Executive Producer Robert Calhoun died, Julianne Moore went to the funeral as Calhoun was the long-time partner of actor Farley Granger (ex-Earl). Julianne wanted to pay her respects, and support Granger through a difficult time.

POST on the new thread, please, this one's been Murieled.

New thread

Folks, the new thread I posted above....well, I tried to be subtle about the title and it was perhaps too subtle and a little confusing.

Most people are now posting at the Brent/Marian thread.....so click here for that one