DRW50

March 1976 Day TV

March 1976 Day TV

Daytime TV Library

I'd heard that before but not in a while. Either one probably would have been better than just status quo.

I'd never heard that. How fascinating.

You're right. I think it's some type of easily accepted cliche that any adopted child must be bitter and damaged. In some ways I'm still surprised they got this story through. It's one of the most jolting and ugly stories ever for a leading heroine on a soap, especially since it wasn't something that went away after a few months. I wonder if that's one of the reasons why AMC seemed to forget Kendall for years after SMG left.

Dates, courtesy Daytime TV. Melinda Fee was "killed off" as Charlotte on 9/3/72. Lynne Adams returned as Leslie Bauer on 9/4, replacing Barbara Rodell.

Dates, courtesy Daytime TV. Robert Phelps and Linda Bove (Matt and Melissa Weldon) left in September 1972. David Ford was "killed off" as Karl Devlin on August 20.

I'm glad you chimed in too Khan, I remembered how you appreciate her work. Dates, courtesy Daytime TV. Irene Sun (Amy Hughes) left at the end of September 1972, and Conrad Matthaei (Grant Coleman #1) joined at the same time.

Dates, courtesy Daytime TV. Nick Benedict debuted as Phil Brent on 9/5/72.

Thanks again. I don't have the exact article with me at the moment where an ATWT actor talked about behind the scenes issues, but this sums it up. It's Ernie Townsend.

Thanks so much for taking the time to read all that. This is a great opportunity to hear about some of ATWT's best years.

She went by Deborah Moreheart. I love how central Myrtle's boarding house was to the show for so many years. When was it last seen?

One more. I can't believe I forgot this one! Rosemary Prinz had so strongly ruled out an ATWT return that she basically said her mother would have to be in front of a firing squad. Yet you got her back for Bob and Kim's wedding. That was quite a coup. How did this happen? Was it difficult?

Eileen quit the show in 1982 and was replaced by Betsy von Furstenberg.

I like all the Emmerdale themes until this recent one, which is so generic and poorly edited. So what do all of you think of Amy, the world's oldest teenager? I can't deal with the endless propping of her as she is abusive to everyone around her, and the ruination of Eric and Val solely to try to make her a star. She is disgusting.

Hunter was on the show for one or two years. This was a big transition period for AMC and I don't think her character was well defined. I think they tried her with Greg, and maybe Tad. This is where Hunter met Michael Tylo.

A few more (sorry, I know you aren't going to read all this crap, but this is probably the best chance I'll ever have to get some of this answered). Your tenure had some fairly notable departures, such as Karen Haines, Gunnar, Annie and Jeff Stewart. How much of this was the choice of the actors and how much was a production decision? What plans would you have had for Barbara if you had stayed on as headwriter or producer? Would you have made her "bad", as Douglas Marland did? Did you create the character of Shannon O'Hara, and if so, what were your plans for her? Did Marland's writing for Sierra match what you had in mind for the character? During your tenure, black characters were represented by the wonderful Tonya Pinkins as Heather Dalton, Eddie Earl Hatch as Tucker. Did the show choose to write Hatch out? Did you create Roy Franklin, who essentially replaced Tucker in Heather's story? Did P&G or CBS have any guidelines or criticisms of giving airtime to minority characters? Were there any stories you wanted to do but censors or some other decision did not allow you to do so?

Some actors who worked on ATWT during some of 1984-1985 described the show as very confusing and difficult in terms of production and filming. Do you think there's any truth to that? You were responsible for reuniting Bob and Kim, a brilliant idea that paid off for many years to come. Their initial relationship was one of the most notorious on ATWT. Did you face any reaction from CBS or P&G for wanting to pair the two again? Was there any worry of fan backlash? Did you face any pressures by P&G or CBS to focus on young characters and phase out the established favorites (such as Bob, Kim, John, Lisa)? Did you face any resistance to bringing back old favorites like Nancy and Chris, who had essentially been banished a few years earlier? During your time on the show, ATWT cast some actors who would go on to have long and successful acting careers, such as Julianne Moore and Steven Weber. Did you have any involvement in those decisions, or any memories of them at that time? You were at ATWT during the very difficult phase involving the recasting of Betsy Andropolous upon the departure of the very popular Meg Ryan. How long did it take to find a replacement, and what were the reactions of viewers, other cast members, etc.? Did you initially plan to write Betsy in a similar manner to Ryan or did you change your writing to suit Lindsay Frost's own talents? Your tenure also involved a difficult recasting of Tom Hughes, played by the popular Justin Deas. What was the line of thinking involving the first replacement (Jason Kincaid)? Was it based on his successful AMC run? When did you decide to replace him with Gregg Marx? Was there a deliberate effort to, after Kincaid didn't work out, cast an actor who would bring very different shadings to the role of Tom? What was it like bringing Eileen Fulton back to ATWT after a 2-year absence? During your tenure, the McColl family were a fairly dominant family in Oakdale. What story plans did you have for the family and were they impacted by the exits of the actors who played Diana and Kirk? Did you have any more story plans for Dorothy Connors (Nancy Pinkerton)? The transition between your work and Douglas Marland's work seemed to be almost seamless. How did that work out? What was he like to work with? Did you get to work with him? Was he responsible for the exits of characters like Maggie, Frank, and Jay, or were they already leaving?

Laura/Bobby would have been interesting. I liked the idea of Kelsey/Bobby, and I liked Scott/Laura (the first Scott - not dull Cosgrove), but Bobby/Laura would have been very loud and challenging, and maybe better defining for the characters. I had never seen the stuff where Liza has to awkwardly deal with the kids, then they leave, and she and Tad have a steamy kiss, and JR walks in! Now we know why JR was so screwed up!!

From what Harley Jane Kozak said in an interview a few years later, I think she and Beecroft chose to leave, although she wasn't thrilled about their exit (they just sort of went on vacation and never came back).

It's so tough for me to ever see Ashley as strong, whoever plays her, but they did change her personality. I usually don't see the resemblance to Eileen but I definitely do in that photo with Victor and Leanna. I'm glad they changed her hair and clothing after a while. I wish I could see a clip of her with Terry Lester.

6/27/89 Digest

I think she just wanted to try new things.

Is this the same Cynthia? http://www.americans...lty-bio?id=1280 IMDB doesn't even include her ATWT run. Or Doug, apparently... Could you refresh me on who her character was? At first I thought she was the one who was with Tom but maybe she was in Bennett's story.