robbwolff

Rosemary was also on an episode of Laverne and Shirley in 1979, where the girls spent the weekend at a weight loss retreat. If I remember correctly, she even got special billing in the closing credits.

Yes, Reed was the last actor to play Lloyd. Joe Lambie was playing the role when the Henderson flood happened in late February 1986. Reed replaced him in March/April. Reed was gone by June/July.

There was also talk in the soap magazines about the production of Guiding Light moving to California circa 1981-82. I recall the articles discussing that about a quarter of the cast would likely not make the move.

Years later, Browne would tell the Another World Home Page that she had raised GL's ratings by taking the show from eighth to third place. She also claimed that she continued to be credited as head writer for another nine months, which isn't true. Her name was removed from the credits by March 1983. Per what she told the Another World Home Page, Ken Fitts was the executive mentioned in Hirsch's article. As I recollect, Falken Smith's work began airing in late September/early October 1982 and Browne and Palumbo's material started in late November/early December. I don't recall there being a writer's strike in 1983. The Cullitons, later with Gary Tomlin, were credited as head writers after Browne was fired. They were responsible for the conclusion of Rebecca's story. I think they also introduced Martin Bruner and Annabelle Sims. I seem to recall that Annabelle arrived in April 1983.

I loved those opening credits, too. The last opening credits also featured the town of Somerset. As I recall, the town featured in that opening was Lambertville, a charming town along the Delaware River in New Jersey.

Great find, @DRW50. I believe that's Bruce Minnix in the Cape May clip. I recall hearing he was mayor of Cape May in the 70s. In the early 00s, one of our neighbors mentioned that she knew him from Cape May. She was stunned that I knew his name from his soap directing gigs.

Thanks for the tag, @slick jones! I was sad to read about Dee Freeman's death. She was so memorable as Ribina on Pretty: The Series.

About 20 years ago, some guy on The World of Soap Themes claimed that Carla Borelli was slated to play the role of Liza had Search for Tomorrow continued. The guy who claimed this was eventually revealed as a fraud, but I absolutely loved the thought of Carla as Liza.

Another World.

It appears that the Gregory parents were recast during their short runs on the show. The second actor to play Bert Gregory was House Jameson, who would have a memorable stint as Nathan Bunker on The Doctors a few years later. The second actress to play Cora was Florence Williams, who would later play Althea’s mother Edna Hamilton on The Doctors. I knew that Ellen Weston had played the role of Karen, but was never aware that Ellen Madison had replaced Weston about a month before the character was phased out. Does anyone know why the role was recast?

Raven's trial was featured in the show's final months. The trial wrapped in October 1984, as Raven disappeared later that month...just around the time that the cancellation was announced. I was so impressed with Marcia and Philip. I would have loved to have seen where their characters would have gone in 1985. I’m also curious how Mark McEwen would have fared. He claimed that he had been cast as the new police chief, replacing Derek Mallory. I can't help but wonder how his character would have fit into the Monticello canvas.

Sheldon penned Raven's trial for supposedly murdering Logan. I thought it was some of his better work. Plus, it introduced us to Phillip Casnoff as Raven's attorney Brian Murdock (I think that was his name). Casnoff and Marcia Cross as Liz were real standout cast additions that last year.

I would say that another exception to the amazing casting by Whitney Burnett was Mark Andrews as Chad Sutherland in 1982. That Republic of Eden storyline was truly a dud and a low point for Edge. Have you seen the proposed 1985 Search for Tomorrow opening that Nicholson considered? It's even worse than the last opening for Edge. Unfortunately, the credits have since been removed, but a version of the proposed credits remixed to the 1986 theme are available here. The proposed theme song was truly bad.

Sedaka apparently appeared in July 1982. An article I read discussing his appearance teased that The Waitresses, Air Supply, and Quarterflash would be featured that summer. Did they ever appear?

Multiple episodes throughout 1981 show Vera Moore as a contract player. A quick Interwebs search showed that this was a topic of conversation here back in 2020, and people were perplexed then that she appeared amongst the contract cast.