DRW50

Opal and Erica - very moving goodbye, with a lot of schmaltz, perfect for Erica. I am enjoying your writing for her. Can't wait to see that with Skye and Hayley. I hope Skye will be supportive.

Sorry, that was mine.

Joe Trippi, who lost all relevance after destroying Howard Dean's campaign and bumbling through several other campaigns (John Edwards says hi), gives the media spin (Romney yay!) http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0612/77952_Page2.html

Rand Paul goes around saying the Bible should be the basis of our laws so why the Constitution even matters to him baffles me. I think he's just an opportunist and a huckster, riding his father's coattails.

I would laugh if this wasn't so sad. http://www.politico.com/blogs/on-congress/2012/06/rand-paul-obamacare-is-still-unconstitutional-127574.html

Wait for the media to tell us that the biggest winner was Romney, and he's now the new Reagan, every dream come true, and those libs don't know what hit them. Far right groups are also already planning to spend $10 million on ads trashing the ACA. Imagine what they could do to help people with that money.

Looks like the Medicaid section was struck down. http://blog.al.com/sweethome/2012/06/scotus_on_medicaid_states_cant.html It will be interesting to see how long it takes the media to repeatedly tell us how good this is for Romney and the GOP, that now they can campaign full force on repeal, while those mushmouthed Democrats fumble for an explanation. The GOP kicks ass, et al. All the focus went on Kennedy, although Kennedy isn't as moderate as many claim. TPM was one of the few who predicted this. http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/did-john-roberts-throw-a-wrench-in-major-argument-against-obamacare.php Some are saying Roberts did this to help Romney win.

I read that CNN said they had struck it down. Do you know which it is?

Really liked the ending. It's good to see Cory confronting his mother. I especially love Iris and Amanda working together!

It's nice to see Cass standing by Nicole, unlike his behavior years ago.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xrYRDUSUK4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcZHmjBXZx8&feature=channel&list=UL

Great chapter. I didn't even think of what the drugs would do to Nicole. All this Love family drama is just fascinating to read.

I can't remember a time when I wasn't married." Long-term marriages are scarce enough when one member of the family is in show business, but when both husband and wife are working actively at successful theatrical careers, an ideal marriage is indeed a rara avis. "Philip had some vocal problems so he eventually gave up singing and got involved with a record company," Doris explained over a coffee in the cheerful, high-ceilinged living room of the Roses' large apartment overlooking New York's Central Park (practically at the doorstep of the ABC-TV studios where One Life To Live is taped). "He became what was then known as an A, and R, man but is now called a record producer." Producing records apparently gave Philip ideas and he soon made the switch from platters to plays. One of Broadway's leading producers for the past 14 years, he has racked up an impressive list of credits, including "A Raisin in the Sun," "The Owl and the Pussycat," "Nobody Loves an Albatross," "Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?," "Purlie Victorious" and the more recent musical version of that play, "Purlie" (the hit that catapulted Melba Moore to instant stardom). "Our relationship with blacks goes way back," said Doris. "Lorraine Hansberry was a good personal friend and when she wrote 'Raising in the Sun,' she said to Philip, 'I think I have a property that would be just perfect for you.'" She was right. The show not only established Philip Rose as a top-flight producer, it introduced a talented, young actor who has since become one of Hollywood's genuine superstars - Sidney Poitier. The Roses, for all the longevity of their union, have no children. And that has not proved to be a trauma because, as Doris told me, "We made a conscious decision not to have children. "We've both been too involved in our respective careers to run the kind of responsibility - both emotional and financial - that is required of concerned parents. The theater makes a great many demands, but if you love it, you comply with them. And because you love it, complying is no sacrifice." Doris has always been enamored of all things theatrical, but originally she aspired to a musical career. "I wanted to become a dancer or a singer. When I started school and appeared in the school plays, the music teacher told me I was 'a listener' and asked me to please drop out while the others were singing. That gave me a phobia, and by the time I finally discovered I did have a pretty fair soprano voice and wasn't tone deaf. I was too inhibited to do much about it." However, she did enough about it to meet and marry the man of her choice, and I'm sure even her ex-music teacher would agree that she has had more-than-average success with what was considered less-than-average trilling. A native New Yorker, Doris is the younger of two daughters born to Russian parents, Isaac Belack and his wife, Bertha. Neither of her parents (now deceased) had theatrical ambitions, but the actress recalled, "Although my father was a working man with little formal education, he was a brilliant, self-trained musicologist. I'm sure I got my overpowering interest in music from him." Despite her overpowering interest in music, Doris decided her future lay in straight acting, so following her graduation from Evander Child's High School, she enrolled at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Upon completion of her course, her first professional acting job was in the last road tour of "Life With Father." She has since appeared in a number of Broadway shows (including "Semi-Detached" with Ed Begley, "The Heroine" with Kay Medford, and "Nathan Weinstein, Mystic, Conn." with Sam Levene), on major prime-time TV series (East Side/West Side, The Defenders, The Patty Duke Show, etc.) and she played opposite Edward G> Robinson in the national company of "Middle of the Night." Has she ever worked for her husband? "Yes - once. I understudied Diana Sands in 'The Owl and the Pussycat.'" Doris also understudied Eileen Heckart in "You Know I Can't Hear You When The Water's Running," and stood by for Linda Lavin in the Neil Simon smash, "Last of The Red-Hot Lovers." Her first daytime drama was The Edge of Night on which she was featured in a variety of small parts. Her first regular running role was that of Madge Murray on Another World, which she played from '66 to '68. She and another member of the World cast, Antony Ponzini, so impressed the writer of the serial, Agnes Nixon, that when Miss Nixon was called in to pen One Life to Live, she created expressly for Doris and Antony the roles the two actors are currently playing. One day soon, Doris hopes to appear in another Broadway show - possibly the next venture her husband is planning. She'd also like to make a film. As long as she is active in the theatrical field, it matters little to her in which branch she is involved. "However, if I were forced to go into another business," she said, "I'd probably run an animal farm." Cows? Horses? Pigs? "Lord no!" laughed Doris. "I know nothing about cows, horses and pigs. It would be a refuge for dogs and cats." At times, the Roses' New York apartment looks like an animal farm because the actress is a push-over for a stray. "I keep the discarded animal until I can find a home for it. I have a long list of dog and cat fanciers, and when we all put our heads together, we can always place one. Last fall, I found a German shepherd and it only took one day to find him a home." She usually limits her ministering to dogs and cats but she once tended an injured bird. "It was up in Connecticut after a thunderstorm and I found a little robin that had fallen out of its nest. I put it in a box and fed it with an eyedropper." And what thanks did Doris get for her efforts? "The only kind of thanks I wanted. Within a few days, it was so strong and healthy, it flew right out the window." The only permanent animal residents in the Roses' domicile are two dogs. ("Two dogs on a full-time basis are enough for a city apartment," Doris explained.) One is a pedigreed poodle called "Crazy Louie." "His real name is Louis Brandeis and he was sired by Hugo L. Black, but we call him 'Crazy Louie' for obvious reasons," said Doris as the 10-year old canine frisked about the apartment like a 10-week-old pup. Louie is so crazy he even tries to make passionate love to the Roses' other pet, a "part-Labrador" mixed bred named Susie, who is at least three times his size and neuter. Normally, a loving placid brown-eyed charmer, Suzie does occasionally bare her fangs at Louie when his wooing becomes too ardent. Originally Susie was one of the strays with which Doris couldn't part. "Every summer we rent a turn-of-the-century mansion in Rhinebeck, N.Y. (That's quite a popular area for 'soap' people; many of them have homes up there including our show's producer, Doris Quinlan, Patricia Roe, who used to play Eileen SIegel on Life, and Teri Keane, who's on The Edge of Night.) At summer's end, I usually find a lot of pets that are left behind to fend for themselves. Susie was a starving, abandoned puppy when I found her six years ago. It was a case of love at first sight. "From time to time, a stray cat will join our menage temporarily. And I must say, it leads me to doubt the natural enmity theory because the animals get on famously together." In the Rose household, not only do diverse animals find a meeting ground, but, more importantly, people of all races, creeds and religions don't suffer from that lack of communication plaguing the world today. Yes, Doris Belack's home is a nice place to visit - you might even enjoy living there! - MARILYN T. ROSS

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQTKF1oiqLg&feature=channel&list=UL http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlebrtkAfU0&feature=relmfu http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ypr-qXbPcWQ&feature=relmfu

From a January 1997 Digest

From a January 1997 Digest

Robin Wright auditioned for Jade and Laken. Tony Geary tested for Mitch Williams, but GH thought he was too young.

From a June 1998 Digest

Thanks for sharing those with us. Digest covers the first Mason/Julia wedding.

This morning we'll find out how much of the health care law the Supreme Court throws out, and how much time Scalia is going to spend ranting and raving to his followers. The Republicans have pretty much not offered any type of alternative health care plan (other than - don't go to the doctor). Or any alternative immigration plan. Their whole campaign is, "Shh, it's a secret...and we'll cut your taxes, and we hate the right people." Thanks to money and media, this is all it takes. Romney is spending his time bickering with the Washington Post over outsourcing while giving a big presentation at a plant which outsources, and yet he still seems likely to win.

videos

Thanks for the extra details. I didn't realize Tommy Rettig was in this. I like the cast, it's too bad the show didn't last. This was such a sweet and low-key finale, aside from the specter of Vietnam in the background.

two-and-a-half years of my life have been filled with a series of my emotional happenings that don't usually happen to a person in such rapid succession. My father, to whom I was very close, passed away; I was separated and divorced; I got the part of Leslie Bauer on The Guiding Light, then I left The Guiding Light. I was concerned about reorganizing my life so that Jonathan would feel secure and loved during all this turmoil, and also looking for work. During that period our lives were filled with a lot of negative things and yet I know I grew up faster during that period than at any other point in my life," Barbara said. Most people would be on pills or something. I thought to myself, or worse yet, many would have just broken under so much emotional strain in such a short period of time. Barbara looked calm and her voice was that of a woman that was sure and in control of herself. "I try very hard to live the moment instead of looking at everything all at once which only leads to panic, depression and a negative way of thinking. Really, when you think about it, everything is temporary. Life itself can be taken away in a moment, and no one has control over their life. When we are riding high we feel great, but more importantly is how we handle the crisis periods. Coming to terms with what life was all about wasn't easy for me, but my strong feeling for the need to be balanced inside - regardless of what happens - helped enormously! "I have heard about people who go through these divorces and come to the end of a relationship with another person saying 'I hate him - or I hate her,' This is inconceivable to me...If you love a man when you get married, and you conceive a child together then it is incomprehensible to me to come to a point where you are able to say that hate that person. Jonathan sees his Daddy regularly, and I still would help him, and I'm sure he is still my friend. I know we both hurt each other a great deal, however, if you understand your own limitations then you are more easily able to understand another person's limitations. It doesn't mean that I was right or he was wrong - our marriage is over - but we both have Jonathan. He is a healthy happy little boy and we want him to grow up knowing that we both love him. At this time our child needs to be nourished and he needs this nourishment from his mommy and daddy. This phase of Barbara's life is over, it has run its course, but how has it affected her feelings about marriage as an institution? "Oh I strongly believe in marriage, Barbara said. I'm sure I'll get married again someday. I am a very romantic and sentimental person." Barbara told me that the day before our interview she and Jonathan were sitting in the kitchen of their N.Y. apartment together and he asked Barbara if she was happy. Barbara explained to him that being happy is something a person must do for himself, you can't depend on others to make you happy. "Only you can make yourself happy...you can walk around with a frown or you can smile and have a good feeling toward life. Nobody can do that for you, not Mommy, fame, money nor beauty. You have a key inside and you control that key." What a beautifully realistic way to look at life, I thought to myself. I told Barbara that I felt that Jonathan was a very lucky little boy to have her for a mother. "I'm lucky to have him too," she said. "There were many times when Jonathan gave me strength. I was very upset one day when all kinds of things were happening and I remember him saying 'Mommy don't be sad...be happy.' It is really something to realize that a three-year-old can bring you out of your self-pity. I realized then that I was causing him pain - and I hugged him - and said thank you God for this child. "Then I started thinking - when you get right down to it, what can I give my child? I can leave him money when I die...if there is any left, but what I feel my father left me is something we can't even put into words. It is learning to keep your head up. It is living life as a decent human being. It is learning the importance of fulfilling your responsibilities to yourself and to others. If I can instill those feelings in my son I'll be happy and proud." When we finished talking I knew that this was just a small sampling of what Barbara Rodell is all about. She is a very personal young woman and talking about her inner-most feelings isn't easy for her. "The thought of interviews and bearing one's soul to the public eye has always been difficult for me," she said. "It is something I wish weren't necessary, but it is expected of entertainers and I've tried to cooperate." Because Barbara did discuss her personal feelings about an extremely sensitive period of her life we say thank you, and we wish Barbara much success as Joyce Colman and as the mother of Jonathan, and for Barbara herself. - MELISSA GOLDSMITH

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3fPHdaXR3PM

Thanks to saynotoursoap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ah8bxElkNv4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMi3NJbk9UU&feature=channel&list=UL