DRW50

RIP Elizabeth MacRae (who had more soap credits than I realized). Elizabeth MacRae Dies: 'General Hospital' & 'Gomer Pyle: USMC' Actor Was 88 (deadline.com)

RIP Elizabeth MacRae (Meg Baldwin). Elizabeth MacRae Dies: 'General Hospital' & 'Gomer Pyle: USMC' Actor Was 88 (deadline.com)

I think so, yes. IIRC Claire was living there at the time so Ed and Maureen could keep an eye on her.

The material that Jessica did get in her time on the show is somewhat remarkable considering the conservatism of P&G, yet you do still wonder what could have been. (not even getting into her second run, where she may have been more leading, but I think most of her material was extremely degrading) Yesterday I was thinking about how much I miss the Hughes family Memorial Day barbecues. The holidays are when I miss P&G soaps most of all.

Does anyone know if that's a beauty shot or was it a scene from the episode? Beauty shots are such an underrated part of the daytime soap experience. I'm sorry they didn't keep them for a longer period.

Al Ruddy Dead: Oscar-Winning 'Godfather', 'Million Dollar Baby' Producer Was 94 (deadline.com)

@Manny My advice would be if you do watch, skip any social issue plotlines. They are uniformly terrible and one of the main reasons I barely watch the show in recent years. The show turned gay domestic violence into true love.

I am enjoying some of the stories, but I don't really know about as of late - Maeve/Thaddeus is reminiscent of some of the bad comedy they used to give Damo and also clearly filler until she reunites with Viliami (again...), and Phil/Ihaia are so dull and incredibly unpleasant. Most of the strongest stories, aside from Chris' breakdown, feel like they have been wrapped up. Boyd's story in particular felt incomplete to me. I feel like the show swings from being extremely dark (so many characters have lost children in just a few years) to empty, not much in between.

Thanks as always @slick jones . Love the Rita photos, and glad you got a cap out of that Juliet Jones video.

I know Dr. Quinn was hot at the time and I appreciate the attempt to help GL, but that sure wasn't the way to do it.

What do you all think of the books? I have a few. I don't think I've ever fully read one, although I've read parts. I wonder how the tone changes in them as the years go by. I read one from the late '00s or early '10s where a big rich man takes over a lot of Cabot Cove and really pushes buttons when he takes over the 4th of July celebrations, complete with his nepo baby daughter wanting to be heavily involved in the patriotic play, and Jessica noting with polite disdain that the band the guy brought in to play has <gasp> long hair </gasp>.

Thanks @dc11786 that is utterly fascinating. @Vee you probably already saw this but if not you might enjoy it.

Thanks for letting me know. I'm glad that you are both helping to keep AW alive.

She definitely had that hard edge. I could have seen her as a temp recast later on. I'm talking about her performances, not her as a person. That's how she played Vanessa and generally how she played Donna - flighty, neurotic. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not Vanessa in the long term.

Reminds me a bit of how 2016 and 2020 played out. I'd say it's election year turmoil, or climate change, or the general dispiriting vibe in this country, but I know that's too easy; its probably just many factors converging.

Mid-late September does make sense, as the episode with Craig's arrest and Lily returning home with her leg injury is September 4th.

Anna was a flightier actress. Maeve had more of an iron rod, even when Vanessa was more lightweight early on. I can't imagine anyone else as Vanessa either - maybe Christine Jones.

Thanks for the extra info. I have vague memories, mainly of the scene with Juliet and beau, but so much runs together for me... As mentioned above, looks like it was posted here a little over a decade ago. Glad it popped up again, at least.

That's a good point. I've heard of Juliet Jones, vaguely, but never read it. This is pretty early after the strip started - I guess it must have been a big hit from early on.

Pathetic. Another NBC News prize.

Yeah - Ross' expression there is burned in my brain. Hard to believe neither of those episodes are anywhere to be found.

Wasn't Cole still a heavy drinker when he was on GH?

That's awful. Just a few days ago I was reading about Brando and his son as I was not watching GH in that period and didn't read a lot about it either and I kept thinking it all sounded so tragic. And now I read this. My thoughts to his friends and family.

IMDB has her up to August 1st. Around that time would make sense as in the episode posted on this page Roy mentions looking for her. Her exit always feels so abrupt to me (lack of context probably not helping). It's a shame they didn't keep her around. I haven't watched her Locher Room interview yet. I am glad someone got to spill some tea on that podcast.

Thanks to @Liberty City for posting this elsewhere. Catching Up With AMC/ATWT Alum Tonya Pinkins - Soap Opera Digest I remember Ernie Pysher writing an SOD article around 1984 or 1985 about how bad the backstage atmosphere was. I guess he wasn't the only one who felt that way. Not to be discouraged, she auditioned for two other soap operas in the following weeks, and booked ATWT, working alongside some of the top names to come out of daytime, including Meg Ryan (ex-Betsy), Marisa Tomei (ex-Marcy), Julianne Moore (ex-Frannie/Sabrina) and Steven Weber (ex-Kevin). “We were the kids,” Pinkins says. “[Late Head Writer] Doug Marland was a great, great writer, but there was a culture there that was incredibly toxic. It was like the writers were reading all the soap mags and finding out what was going on in people’s real lives and putting that into the show. It was very tense.”