You're Soaking in it

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Oh good another temp recast. I always enjoy those. He has an...interesting interpretation. Who is the actor? He could have fit in on Sledge Hammer. He also has the "dirty hot" vibe...

 

Robin Strand... Did a ton of prime time episodic work in the 80's. He was a main cast member of Berrenger's, one of NBC's short-lived entries into prime time soaps.

Lynn Harbaugh played Lisa on Y&R...

I didn't initially think of them as resembling each other. Now looking closely, I see that there's something with the eyes. But Lynn had this Stevie Nicks / Gypsy vibe...

What would have been better is if they'd found Carrington Garland about 9 months sooner - and kept her about 16 months longer!

On 6/19/2017 at 6:21 PM, MissLlanviewPA said:

 

She was, for almost all of 1999 after Pam Long was let go (although apparently Harding Lemay was consulting her in some way, somehow). ABC finally forced her to hire someone near the end of 1999, so she brought on Megan McTavish as her lap dog, er I mean her HW. 

There's a big gray area at ABC for 1999... McTavish was ghost-writing OLTL for some period of time, while she was still being credited as HW of All My Children - a return stint that, btw, featured what I'd describe as some of her most idiotic work. What started it all was that, though they tried to keep it all quiet, Agnes Nixon returned to AMC after an acrimonious split from the network in late 97. (There was even a tonal shift you could see on-screen, that made you think "this is McTavish?) We knew there was no way that McT and Nixon were working together at that time, and from the looks of things, Nixon had likely been back as early as February. 

When word leaked about the changes at AMC, ABC confirmed it, but went out of their way to say that McTavish had not been fired - and that she was "consulting" for other programs. Her name came off the AMC credits around May of 1999. A couple of months later, they officially announced her as the new HW of OLTL. I think her name started appearing on OLTL's credits late-Summer to September at latest... It's open for interpretation what McTavish was doing in the Spring & early Summer, but my guess would be OLTL.

58 minutes ago, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

I didn't know that she was prepping for a date with Buck when she was killed. See that makes me question even more is Gwen really did kill her to "spare" her or if she did it out of spite b/c of Buck. They should've explored that a bit more. 

 

See I knew I remember Ally having a child with Cooper. Did Cooper/Michael Weatherly leave the show before or during the Loving killings? Did he even pop up during The City b/c I don't remember if he did. If not, I guess he'd go on to be one of the many deadbeats soaps produced who left their kids behind. But doesn't Casey die via overdose?

Gwen was involved with Jeremy at the time; there was no indication of spite from her toward Stacy... Gwen's sole reason for the murders was that they were "Loving" gestures to spare people from their pain. She even (as "Trisha," of course) tried but failed to kill herself by clogging the exhaust on her car... which coincidentally threw off viewers as to who the culprit was.

Michael Weatherly left Loving before the Loving murders. He then returned / appeared briefly on The City to have Cooper reunite with Steffi and facilitate AH's exit from the show.

Casey dies a hero - he kicked his drug habit many months before PAS left the show. Casey actually helped take down the drug ring in Corinth. A sting operation happened, things went haywire and Casey was shot. He died in Ally's arms, staring into her eyes. His last words were, "when I look at you, I see forever."

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

Thanks. That last bit does seem ludicrous. 

 

Did Norma have an exit or was she just a victim of producer changes?

 

I think someone said Elizabeth Savidge was unhappy with her stuff as Gwyn and that's why they brought Christine Tudor back? Or did they just bring Christine back anyway? I can't remember. 

 

What did you think of Chip Albers as Curtis? 

Tudor was open to returning and they wanted her back. I do think Savage was a very good recast for the time she was there, but not so great that she'd gain ownership over Tudor.

I thought Albers was a very good actor, but wasn't a great fit for the role. I couldn't buy that this was the same man once married to Ava. He didn't seem mature enough, and perhaps Albers was too young for the part. He was supposed to be Trisha's older bother, as well as Jack's peer / friend / cousin. They ignored that connection - maybe because it wouldn't have played well. The writing at the time didn't help: With the uber-preppy characterization and all those damn sweaters, I feel like he was Corinth's version of Fresh Prince's Carlton Banks.  

And there were so many Curtis Aldens! I remember liking Linden Ashby, Curtis #2, who did fall in love with and marry Roya Megnot's Ava. He had a similar vibe to Marcantel, but was a little more spoiled rich college boy than Marcantel's spoiled rich awkward boy. He married on-screen cousin Susan Walters (Lorna) in 1986, and followed her exit from the show. They've been together ever since.... #3, insta-recast Burke Moses, was physically way different than Ashby. But I also really liked him - a little more knight in shining armor. Too bad they married him off with Judith Hoag's Lotty. 

As for Norma, I think she just kind of faded out of the story after the Rick Alden murder mystery ended.

15 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

 

Thanks for all your replies! Talking about Loving is something I enjoy a great deal, especially with someone who actually saw these episodes. 

 

I can see where they might have felt Horan was too young, but I thought he carried it off well. 

 

What was your favorite period of the show? 

Probably the first few years, then the last few - from 1992 on... When I think about it, Nixon's influences were there for both. I liked that a sense of humor arrived around '92. Jacquie Babbin was brought in early in the decade as EP, because of her success with All My Children. But her time at AMC wasn't entirely a bed of roses - Zach Grayson's murder mystery, being one of the biggest letdowns. So what does she do with Loving? Orders not one, but TWO umbrella murder mysteries - first, Rick Alden, who almost no one cared about - and then this guy Monty, who had something to do with Clay's baby with Abril - and definitely NOBODY cared about... Oh, and both ended with HUGE letdowns. If memory serves me right, Monty was a diabetic and somehow killed himself, lol... For Rick, it was revealed to be Wally, the twin brother of Norma's boyfriend, Denny ... Again, who cares, lol?  (And I'm going to say right now, I could be fuzzy with that time - because it was so all over the place... But I think that's pretty close to what happened!)

So Loving wasn't a fit for her. There were so many EP's that came after... Fran Sears, Heidi Grainger, Josie Emmerich, then Jean Dadario Burke... Despite those changes, the tonal shift and new characters that came in under Sears and then-head writer Addie Walsh, I thought, really set Loving on a solid path. (Grainger would later clash with Walsh, causing her exit, and things unfortunately got a bit unstable again until Grainger herself was replaced.) 

Thinking about the above, a lightbulb went off and I have to correct something I said in the previous post... Dinahlee came into Clay's orbit when he discovered that Cabot wasn't his bio father - later undone, I believe - and he became hellbent on revenge. After Jack died, he became obsessed with gaslighting Stacy to somehow gain control of her Alden stock shares while hooking up with Dinah. His vengeance stressed her out, so it was easy for her to become hot for Curtis once he returned from the Gulf war. 

I think the weirdest, most inconsistent times for Loving ironically happened under one EP, Joe Hardy. I recall weird moments that made absolutely no sense and were never explained... Like Clay setting some sort of trap for Alex, Alex walking in some shack and sparks flying everywhere in slow motion... I guess it was supposed to be an explosion? And then the next episode, he's fine and Clay's like "see, you better be careful, I might sparkler you to death for taking over my life!" (Ok, I'm kidding about that last part... but that would have been a better conclusion!)

I feel like I've hit a history jackpot here! I'm so glad I've read up on this board... I watched Loving from almost the very beginning (I was a kid, yes, but a kid with an incredible memory) - on through to its end... There were some questions here that I can definitely answer!

On 3/1/2017 at 7:40 PM, dc11786 said:

I believe Ally was kidnapped by Carter (was she also held captive in the belfry?) and possibly saved by Casey.

I don't remember if Ally was ever kidnapped by Carter (Dinalee definitely was) - but Trisha was held captive by Giff Bowman, Casey's father - who had a mental breakdown, and was saved in part by Casey.

On 3/1/2017 at 8:19 PM, Nothin'ButAttitude said:

 

So this story was used to transition Ceara and Jeremy over to Loving too? 

Ceara's transition to Loving involved a Genie Francis body-double getting off a train from Pine Valley to Corinth... unfortunately during an unrelated shoot-out (bad timing!). She died in Jeremy's arms.

On 3/6/2017 at 1:01 AM, juniorz1 said:

The producers and writers saw what they had very quickly and shifted her over to the vets- aka James Horan's Clay and the newly returned Christine Tudor's Gwen.  Smart, crafty move.  Those 3 actors had off the charts chemistry!  James Horan was a FAR better actor than Christopher Cass (he was the definitive and best Clay IMO) and throwing Dinahlee into his orbit was genius!  

Jessica Collins & James Horan may have crossed paths, but if they did at all, it had to have been passing scenes... Before AFTER getting cozy with Clay, Dinahlee (like Lily, except minus the crazy) pivoted from Jack to his cousin, fell for Curtis Alden - and through three actors: Patrick Johnson (nice to look at), Michael Lord, and the returning OG Curtis, Chris Marcantel. Their marriage & moving into the Alden mansion is what gave her proximity to Clay.  More like, her affair with Clay gave her proximity to Curts! 

On 3/6/2017 at 1:07 AM, DRW50 said:

I didn't know she was there when James Horan was. I never remember when he left (was he fired or did he want to go?)...  I liked Dennis Parlato too but his Clay seems more one-dimensional. I've never seen Larkin's.

I don't remember them being on the show at the same time - he left & she arrived the same year. But I am sure they weren't involved at that point. I agree with you about Parlato - but he was an unexpected recast, as Larkin Malloy abruptly quit. I thought Malloy was VERY good, and that his Clay & Dinahlee were really appealing. She didn't have that connection with Parlato; it was as if he just wanted to own her. It was Horan's decision to leave, but there was always talk about him playing as "too young" to be the real Clay Alden. He was cast after wrapping a notable stint on AMC as Creed Kelly... similar to Parlato just having finished a run on OLTL as Michael Grande.

On 3/6/2017 at 3:03 AM, juniorz1 said:

 Augusta Dabney was and is Isabelle.  She was the quiet but strong presence that balanced out Wesley Addy's very "CC Capwell"-like Cabot.  She was reserved, beautiful, and had a delicate way of handling Cabot.  She was stern when she needed to be but always soft.  

 

Celeste Holm is a PHENOMENAL actress who was miscast as Isabelle.  She made her strong and her features, even if they were married in real-life, were too masculine for her to look right with Wesley Addy onscreen.  Gone was the delicacy and softness and delicacy we had with Dabney.

 

Patricia Barry was an improvement.  She looked better with Addy but she was too fiery for the part.  Again, she wasn't soft enough.  Better than Holm, but not even close to Augusta Dabney.

Remember that at this time, Cabot was mistakenly presumed dead... and that the only interaction Holms' Isabelle had with Cabot was through her imagination (or his ghost, as she viewed it). I'm not sure that Barry even shared scenes with Addy, as Holms' exit wasn't exactly amicable. I thought it was Barry who came off as REALLY hard-edged. Dabney returned just in time for Cabot's resurrection - of course, that wouldn't last too long, either.

On 3/7/2017 at 1:37 PM, Soaplovers said:

Dinah lee was a fascinating character...there was just something rootable about her.  She came on originally as a nanny with designs on Jack..and due to jessica collins...the character became more then just a girl from the wrong side of the tracks.  Plus, she and peluso's Ava made good buddies.  The recast was a good actress..but she just wasnt Dinah Lee...and even the actress Elizabeth mitchell admitted she wasnt right for the part.  

 

I liked Peluso as Ava much better then Roya.  Roya's take on Ava was too much like Erica Kane...and there is only one Erica..imho.

 

I liked Trisha and was one of the few that bought her as a recast for Martha bryne on ATWT since Trisha in the 80s had the same function on this show that Martha Bryne's Lily had on ATWT.  Its interesting to see how Lily progressed on ATWT because i think he would have tried something like that with Trisha.

 

Stacey was the good girl that was always a loser in love...and she came across to me like a punching bag.  I did like how her and Ava's history wasnt ignored...but brought up on occasion up to Stacey's murder in 1995.

 

Was Jack and lily circa 1983 to 1984 a better pairing then him and Stacey down the line?  

Agree on all those counts! I really enjoyed Roya, and feel that she essentially created the character of Ava. But in spite of how entertaining she was to watch, it was easy to become frustrated with her. She was just SO selfish... Peluso, to me, was a seamless recast. She had a really similar energy & presence to Roya - but she matured the character and gave her a subtext that made Ava easy to root for. There was a good, caring person in that schemer!  And to your question, the Jack / Lily pairing in 1984-85 (as played by Jennifer Ashe) was the couple to bet on. I liked them, and rooted for her to overcome her breakdown from the abuse she suffered. Ashe's leaving changed that outcome.

On 3/8/2017 at 6:17 AM, Elsa said:

 

Lorna had an Pamela Sue Martin/Emma Samms situation. She became so weak and boring when O'Hara Parker (?) took over and that marriage to Zach Conway sure didn't help. 

Except O'Hara Parker was SO bland - we're talking a big wet blanket of rainbows & unicorns... make that BORING rainbows & unicorns. Emma Samms is anything but bland.

On 3/2/2017 at 1:08 PM, juniorz1 said:

I watched part of the 1989 episode because it had redhead Gwyn (her real name escapes me) who I always thought was a solid recast. ... Luke Perry's Ned and the blonde girl who tried to take him from milquetoast April

Elizabeth Savage is the second Gwyn - not counting Tudor's previous temp replacements, Leslie Denniston and Marianne Tatum. April Hathaway was Alexandra Wilson, who went on to originate Josie Watts on Another World.. her romantic rival for Ned was Kristin Larsen, played by Teri Polo.

9 hours ago, allmc2008 said:

What saddens me is that you all, at one time, were far more introspective and patient and intelligent than you guys are now.   That is why I preferred SON. All of you have turned into prissy fools who look for conflict.  On that note, I'm not sure why I even took time to post this tonight.

 

What the hell?!

I'm pretty sure we were all talking about a trailer for a TV show.

18 hours ago, allmc2008 said:

Guys, this is just a trailer and stop acting like it's a misguided shot-by-shot remake.  It's a reimagining.  Also, lets be honest, Linda Evan's Krystal was written like she was misunderstood as a gold digger but she wasn't played like that by the actress.  I think they are going for that again but this time forcing embossing the misunderstood persona.

They're (we're) not acting like - or expecting that - it's supposed to be a shot-by-shot remake. What I think we're all saying, is that it looks terrible - devoid of things like intelligence, charm, witty humor,  multi-faceted characterizations, or memorable performances. It's a re-imagining that comes off as emotionally-vacant, unless self-serving and horny are considered emotions. Those alone are the driving forces of every character in every scene of this promo.

Sure there are people who might enjoy this. But those who hear "Dynasty" and think of something culturally iconic might be bummed that THIS is what will be served. And yes, it is "just" a trailer... But a trailer is supposed to tease the audience with samples of the BEST of what's to come. If this reflection is wrong, it's a horrible trailer. But if it's right, it's going to be a horrible show.

Philece was a very different Donna. To use a vintage OLTL comparison, it's like having Krista Tesreau's miscast Tina take the place of Kassie DePaiva's Blair:  Bold but manipulation-prone woman who finds herself caught in lies & emotional binds yet eventually claws her way out of them .... gets replaced by dumb deer-in-the-headlights schemer who always gets totally blown away in every confrontation scene with any other female character. 

Everyone is cold, dark, and unlikable. What helped make the original Dynasty so compelling is that spark of humanity you could see in every core character... For all their transgressions, you could understand what brought them there, and root for them to find their piece of happiness. And that cast, for the most part, gave portrayals that made the ride FUN... Whether we're comparing this Fallon to Martin or Emma Samms (who I really enjoyed & think The Colbys writers just served her some bad fish), in these clips she totally lacks a soul. So does everyone else.

And whoa is Krystle... Ooops, "CRISTAL" - Oh! Get it? The spelling of her name is flashing a neon sign at you that she's Latina... You know, because on shows like Riverdale, we dumb viewers can't figure out Veronica is of Latin descent because they didn't spell her name in some distinctively Spanish way (sorry, that annoys me) - Anyway, we're supposed to be shocked that she appears to be a gold-digger. I'm actually just disappointed in her obnoxiously vapid, layer-free performance. 

I don't love to hate anyone here in this clip. I just hate them. So I'm definitely not interested to see where it goes.

32 minutes ago, danfling said:

The person holding the child appears to be Kathy Kalmi as Pamela Kingsley #1.  My guess about the child is that it could be Laura Cudahy.   The daughter of Lorainne Broderick, I believe, played the role.   I cannot remember her name right now.

Anne Delahanty is Broderick's daughter, who played Laura as a baby. But this photo had to be from 1982, since Gil Rogers as Ray Gardner is there - and Brooke wasn't pregnant with Laura until I think 1984.

It may be, like Leo mentioned, Palmer-John... since the Chateau fire that "wrote him off" was in 1983.

Savage played Gwyn for two years. She was let go in favor of Tudor coming back to the role. I think Savage was quite a good recast, but while she was definitely adept at playing up the campy / catty / ruthless traits of Gwyneth, she ultimately lacked Tudor's levels of depth and sophistication.

I recall Leslie Deniston also being toward the end of Tudor's first stint, maybe a few months before Tatum. You'd never mistake her for the character visually or through mannerisms. Save for her shorter hair (at the time), Tatum looked & spoke much like Tudor. Denniston was good for a temp, but seemed a little more like an older version of Ava than she did Gwyneth. Her stay was very, very brief, though - maybe just a couple of days.

John, I watched Loving daily for pretty much its entire run. I know for sure Tatum didn't come back in 1991, that she only subbed the one stint in '89. Chip Albers evidently isn't (at least not correctly, even if he thinks he is) posting his scenes as Curtis in chronological order.

The medical reason DC just re-posted totally rings a bell. Tudor left the show at the end of her contract not long at all after she came back from that temporary leave, and that's when Savage took over as Gwen. I recall that rotation of Gwens caught me off guard!

So this clip is probably from 1989 then?

I get confused about Tatum because IMDB lists other dates for her beyond 1989.

Her IMDb is currently just reading a general "1989" for Loving - http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0851367/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1

It was probably mistaken before, and got corrected. It happens.

You're right, Tudor did return in 1991. Marianne Tatum's temp stint as Gwen was in 1989. Whoever made the comment about December of 1990 is just incorrect about the date of the clip (especially since Savage was playing the role at that time). I guess the clips might not be uploaded as chronologically as they think they are. ;-)

Actually, Tatum stepped in sometime around Tudor's first exit. I can't remember if she was a stop-gap temp between Tudor and Elizabeth Savage (or if Tudor was sidelined and came back to wrap up). But I do recall for sure that she was definitely before Savage took over as Gwen.

Katherine Bailess auditioned for a role on Guiding Light and for Kendall Hart in 2002, but the role went to Alicia Minshew,no word on the GL role

http://www.welovesoaps.net/2013/07/katherine-bailess-interview.html

I remember that the auditions for Kendall were actually taking place in late Summer of 2001, many months before the character would make it to screen in January 2002. Assuming it's around the same time, Bailess was probably up for the recast Marah Lewis on GL, replacing Laura Bell Bundy. (She certainly looks the part.) We know of course that role went to Lindsey McKeon, who debuted in November of 2001 - so the timing makes sense.

1988 was an off-year for pretty much all the soaps, as that was the year of the WGA strike. I say "the," because it really felt like the longest, most painful one I can remember!

ETA: It was the longest ever writers' strike. I just looked it up. It ran from March through August, which likely negated everything we saw on-screen from mid-Spring until well into the Fall...

Reading a Star magazine from 1998, and they talk about the actresses who tested for Terri Demarco. They included Signy Coleman (who of course won the role), Crystal Chappell, Colleen Dion, and Teresa Blake.

I had no idea Blake had tried for any soap roles after AMC. I wish she'd gotten one (and her take on Annie would have interested me).

That would have been interesting. As Gloria, Teresa Blake was very adept at playing a woman on the edge... I wonder if TPTB felt she had resemblance to Cynthia Watros that actually worked against her, or if they were just trying to cast who they perceived as a bigger name with Coleman.

Hey, Gloria started out on AMC as a nurse, just as Annie did on GL, didn't she?

I wonder how close this was to Tudor leaving & Elizabeth Savidge taking over

I recall that it was really close... Tatum played the scenes of where Trisha was presumed dead (in actuality, she became amnesiac and coincidentally wandered straight into the arms of her obsessive ex, Jeff Hartman). Tatum physically resembled some kind of cross between CT's Gwenyth and Callan White's Ann.

CT came back a couple weeks later, but her stay was very brief... maybe another two weeks before Savage took over. I thought she was a pretty decent recast... a little more colorful in her performances - perhaps a bit "Rula Lenska" drag-queenish at times (I suppose that might only make sense to those who remember Rula Lenska!)... but always fun to watch.

You're right, he did look like he would be on a gay porn.... let alone his name!

It happens... I recall one of the mags, either SOD or DaytimeTV, reporting that Mark Philpot had been cast as OLTL's new Dan Wolek... Of course, he would play Jamie Sanders - and Joshua Cox (more recently of Strong Medicine) would play Dan at this time, 1986.

The role of Chris Stamp on All My Children was originally written with Wayne Northrop in mind. When he turned the part down, both Robert Hays and Brian Kerwin screen-tested before Jack Scalia was cast.

Robert Hays?!

"Surely you can't be serious..."

October 1984 SOD -

Sela Ward was offered a 5 year contract on Dynasty. She turned it down to make a film with Tom Berenger.

That's interesting timing... She was on the Shapiro's other night time soap, the short-lived Emerald Point NAS. Pamela Sue Martin had just left Dynasty... Ward's character on EP was very similar in energy to PSM's Fallon - and their voices and mannerisms were also alike at this time. I have to wonder if she was being courted as a recast (to occur sooner than what ultimately happened with Emma Samms a year later). Other than Amanda or the disposable character of Nicole Simpson, there were no other significant female roles to debut that season.