DRW50

It kind of reminds me of Doctor Who, when Frazer Hines was ill and they had to have another actor come in and they said that an alien machine turned Jamie's face into a different actor's.

That's what you get for focusing so much effort on a stunt. I still can't believe what they did with Steph's exit. And he has no idea what to do with any characters he created. It's one thing to not get characters you inherited, but people you created?

More information on what was cut out of the fire episodes. From a poster at DS: Apparently the episode with Ma Fisher and the McQueens was shot the night before broadcast!

She was pretending to be a man to get revenge on various people.

I was going to ask this here and in the temp replacement thread, but I was looking through a December 1973 TV Dawn to Dusk and they show a photo of Mary K Wells and daughter, and they list Mary as playing Joanne Vincente Tate. Was Mary Stuart ill at this time, or was that a goof or something?

I was going to ask this here and in the SFT thread, but I was looking through a December 1973 TV Dawn to Dusk and they show a photo of Mary K Wells and daughter, and they list Mary as playing Joanne Vincente Tate. Was Mary Stuart ill at this time, or was that a goof or something?

I just hope they weren't inspired by the Stape fiasco on Corrie. Sometimes I think some mysteries should be kept a mystery. I'm not sure whether this would be another or not.

It looks like Eric might be getting a story.

Barmaids reunited. Even if the show might see past characters as unworthy, I'm glad the press is doing this stuff. http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/3249835/The-rovers-return.html I really wish they would bring Suzie Birchall back (give Gail something interesting to do). And Irma still looks nice.

From the September 1977 Digest (SOD Publishing Inc), a profile on Roger Thorpe. Roger Thorpe - What Kind of Man Is He? The Development of a Character by John Davenport Kropinski Roger Thorpe, a leading character on Guiding Light, can no longer be easily classified in the black-and-white categories of villain or hero. Throughout the past few years, his character has fluctuated from one extreme to the other. Recently, however, he's developed into a most believable character, whose complex personality and strong combination of character traits have made him seem even more human. To fully appreciate just how much Roger's character has developed over the years, one must go back and examine how he grew from a selfish young playboy into the responsible family man that he is today. Roger Thorpe was once a young, carefree playboy who loved to entertain young beautiful ladies in his Springfield bachelor pad. Holly Norris, a rich (and beautiful) airline hostess was one of his favorite guests. For Roger it was only a brief and casual fling - but young and naive Holly mistook his intentions for those of true love. Holly fell head-over-heels in love with Roger, a feeling that, unfortunately, was not reciprocated. Adding to Holly's unhappiness was the fact that Roger had his eye on another Springfield beauty...Janet Norris. Ignoring the fact that Janet was married - to Holly's brother - Roger stopped at nothing to win over the woman he wanted. It was an emotionally crushing experience for Holly when she discovered that it was her own sister-in-law and best friend (Janet) whom her beloved Roger was interested in. In a dramatic confrontation, Holly went to see Janet and discovered that Roger had been there before. Feeling betrayed by both her boyfriend and her best friend, young Holly Norris aimlessly walked the streets in desperation. It was a dark, rainy night, and Holly let her mind wander. Suddenly, there was a scream. Brakes screeched. Holly was rushed to Cedars Hospital, struck by a car. From that point on, Roger Thorpe was despised by the residents of Springfield. He had ruined two lives: Holly lay crippled physically and emotionally in the hospital, and Janet Norris' marriage had suffered a serious blow. When even Roger's own father, Adam, scorned his irresponsible son, to everyone's pleasure the "villain" left town. Things did work out...later. Holly Norris married doctor Ed Bauer, whom she had met at the hospital. Janet Norris moved to California. roger went to Texas, where he got involved with a beautiful young woman named Rita Stapleton. He was working on the luxurious Granger estate where Rita worked as private nurse and companion to the wealthy lord of the manor, Cyrus Granger. Time went by and the past was slowly forgotten. His father married Holly's mother, and Roger Thorpe sheepishly returned to Springfield for the wedding. Adam confessed that he was happy to see his son again, and Roger convinced everyone that he was repentant and eager to change his old ways. Springfield was ready to give Roger a second chance. Roger decided to begin his own business. But things didn't work out and he soon found himself in serious financial trouble. Trying to save his business, Roger borrowed money from local loan sharks. Things only got worse. Finally, he was forced to declare bankruptcy. To help pay off his large debts, Roger went to the one person in Springfield who he knew could help him financially: Holly. As benefactor of her late father's fortune, Holly Norris Bauer could afford to be generous if she wanted to. She did. She lent Roger the money he needed. Earnestly trying to work off his debt to Holly, Roger took on two jobs at once. He worked round-the-clock as cab driver and waiter, until he practically dropped from exhaustion. Holly discovered that she still had strong feelings for Roger - in site of all that had happened before. Roger became ill at a time when Ed Bauer was out of town. Holly took advantage of the situation. While her husband was gone, she nursed Roger back to health and helped him to decorate his apartment. One thing led to another, and Roger and Holly soon rekindled their earlier relationship. But nothing had changed. He realized, however, that it was wrong to lead her on again...especially now that she was married. Ed Bauer returned home and Holly and Roger agreed that their affair must end. The end of Roger and Holly's affair signalled a turning point in Roger Thorpe's life. Shortly thereafter, he met and fell in love - for real - with nurse Peggy Fletcher. At first, Peggy was reluctant to get involved with him because of all she had heard about his scandalous past. But, after a while, she could no longer deny her true feelings. Peggy was in love with Roger Thorpe. Everyone in Springfield soon noticed the chance in Roger's personality. He had finally grown up. Roger's big break came when he was offered the job of manager at a successful restaurant in town, The Metro. At home, he became a substitute father to Peggy's young son, Billy, from a previous marriage. Roger and Peggy's romance blossomed, and he slowly gained acceptance into Springfield society. Roger seemed ready and willing to accept the responsibilities of marriage and parenthood. Just as his life seemed to be running smoothly, more problems arose. Holly confessed to Roger that the baby she was carrying was not Ed's...but his. And, the loan sharks whom Roger had dealt with before demanded to be paid. They terrorized Peggy and threatened her son. After some difficult times, Roger confided the truth about Holly's baby to Peggy, and was able to pay the loan sharks their money. Being an understanding young woman, Peggy accepted Roger's explanations and forgave him for his past mistakes. The problems and long delays at last passed, and Roger and Peggy were able to marry. they looked forward to a good life together. Roger tried to be a good father to Billy and a doting husband to Peg. At long last, he had earned the respect of the good people of Springfield. But Roger's past continued to haunt him. Nurse Rita Stapleton surfaced at Cedars Hospital. Several days before his death, Cyrus Granger (who both Roger and Rita had worked for in Texas) had changed his will to include a substantial inheritance for Rita. Cyrus' son, Malcolm, abused Rita physically when she rejected his advances. Cyrus realized what had happened to Rita, and never forgave his son for mistreating her. Rita moved to Springfield to start a new life. Malcolm Granger tracked her down and threatened to accuse her publicly of causing his father's death. But before he could carry out his threats, Malcolm suffered a stroke and died in the hospital. Rita was the last person to see him alive. Though a medical board voted her innocent in Malcolm Granger's death, Malcolm's wife was determined to press the matter further. She hired Raymond Schaefer, an attorney, to investigate the circumstances surrounding her husband's death. Schaefer took his case to the district attorney. Rita was arrested and a long trial began. She deliberately lied about knowing Malcolm prior to his admittance to Cedars Hospital and her trial quickly turned against her. Rita's movie for murdering Malcolm, alleged the DA, was to keep him from exposing her part in Cyrus' death. Her own alibi - that she was on an errand for the elderly Granger at the time of his death - was disproven in court, and the only key to her innocence lay with Roger Thorpe. At the time of Cyrus Granger's death, Rita had been in a motel room with Roger. Rita had promised him, that under no circumstances, would she reveal her involvement with him, knowing that it would mean the probable end of Roger's happy marriage to Peggy. To complicated matters even further, Rita knew that Roger had fathered Christina Bauer while Holly was still married to Ed. Ed was now divorced from Holly and loved Rita. But, with all the hurt she had already caused him, Rita knew that the truth about her and Roger would be the last straw in their troubled relationship. Roger Thorpe was tormented by the guilt his silence had caused for Rita. He knew that he did not deserve his wife's trust in his honesty and his father's pride in the "new man" he had become. Breaking under the pressure, Roger took the first step to help in Rita's acquittal: he went to his father and confessed that he was the man Rita was protecting. Roger cried that he was tired of destroying other people's lives...of hurting and being hurt in return. He realized that he had to tell Peggy the truth, knowing full well that she probably would be unable to accept yet more skeletons from his closet. As the storyline progresses, we can't help but feel some empathy for Roger. The happy life that he has worked so long and so hard to establish is about to fall apart around him. His character again is coming to a crisis of change: Will he go full circle and come out the villain again? Only time will tell what the future holds for Roger Thorpe, a man torn between a dark past and the prospect of a brighter tomorrow.

Thank you for finding this. Like you said, I'd never heard of this story. It could have been very interesting if given the chance. When people say all soaps were alike, I am even more disappointed that this show isn't around to prove them wrong. How long was the Roy Cleveland character around? So much talent came out of this show. I especially would like to see the episode which was all about an episode of a television show, or a play, or whatever.

Thanks for all that information. It was unusual for soaps at this time (or at almost any time) to tell a story involving Jewish characters, wasn't it? Someone on IMDB, and it may have been mentioned here too, I'm blanking at the moment, mentioned that Gerlach played a wild child who was killed during an argument with Greta, during the story where Greta had been bitten by an animal. I think you mentioned that story before.

Oh that's so awful Reading this and seeing she was full of life -- I guess it reminds how much of a front these interviews can be. Was this the first time you'd heard of Marta being on the show or has it been mentioned before? I'm not sure of her character; if I find more I'll let you know.

From the August 1970 Daytime TV (Sterling Inc). I don't really know anything about this woman.

You're right, that's a very pretty picture. I keep forgetting that the Brooks were supposed to be more wealthy, mostly because the show did not overdo it the way they tend to with rich families on soaps in more recent years, lots of time writing the daughters like Paris Hiltons. I can see why she said that her posters were still selling well even after she left in 1980.

From the June 1972 Afternoon TV (Roband Publications Inc).

I didn't see a thread for this on its own. This was the soap which was said to have changed daytime drama forever, with the emphasis on "youth." Of course it started out as something which would, sadly, not change daytime, a tale of a mixed-race woman and her interracial relationships. Then moving towards making daytime superstars out of David Birney, Leslie Charleson, and Donna Mills, this show also helped launch the careers of Paul Michael Glaser, Michael Zaslow, Beverlee McKinsey, Andrea Marcovicci, and Bibi Besch, among others. It's too bad the show didn't go on longer. At least, unlike some other soaps of that era, we have some episodes available. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yZQ1uxKl6NY

Who was Carol's first story with? Characters, I mean.

So she brought Carol back then? I do wonder if she created her - when did Carol first start? I wish I could see Carol, she seems like she was such an important part of carrying ATWT in the 70s, and she must have been popular, as two or three of the soap magazines I got have her in them being interviewed (one had been ripped out before I got it - something about her new hairstyle).

Thanks for typing that out. It's more insight into what was going on at that time. Honestly they should have recast Frank as soon as they decided to keep Frank around, but then, I guess it didn't hurt ratings or anything, so perhaps I'm wrong. I just think he killed a lot of what the Frank/Jill/Delia story was supposed to be.

A follow-up to my Diane Ladd question, from June 1972 Afternoon TV. Diane Ladd has been written out. We spoke with Diane and she was not too glum but would like to get on another show. Diane was recuperating from a very bad flu which forced her to bed for many days. They also say that SS and LIAMST got "warning lights" on their ratings - pick up or be canceled.