saynotoursoap

Thanks, Carl. What month and year was this?

What an interesting article. This is one of the few soaps for which I have never seen a single episode. It has always intrigued, for Doug Watson's participation if nothing else. I was completely unfamiliar with Louise King. Her real-life story sound like the backstory for a beginning soap opera. I hope she had a happy life afterward. I must research now and find out more. Perhaps an episode of Moment of Truth will one day turn up.

Regardless of who wanted what in management and despite Jon Frid's breakout status, I felt TPTB should have been more accommodating to Alex. She really was not asking a great deal from the production. Would it have been so difficult to make Victoria less clueless and occasionally give her an alternate character to play who was less saintly? I think it was a mistake to let her go so easily. The scene in which she (Alex's Vicky) is in her wedding gown, hugs Joan Bennett, and says "Collinwood will always be my home" is so poignant to me, because it's the closest we ever really get to Elizabeth and Vicky sharing a real mother and daughter moment. I am saddened at what could have been but was not.

The articles on Emily McLaughlin and John Beradino were especially poignant. I had read a bit about her relationship with Jeff Hunter previously, but not of the premonitions of his impending death and the depth of their love. It makes her passing at such a young age a little more bearable. I like to think he was waiting for her, and they are together forever. She is one actress that I always wished I could have met. I understand she was just a lovely, dear woman in real life. I am glad that John Beradino did live to see his children grown. It is an indescribable feeling for fathers who truly love their children. Thanks, CarlD!

I did not watch Loving during this era. She appears to have bedhead hair. Did Jeff attempt to rape her?

I do not know if this question is directed toward danfling or me. Personally, I did think the writers and performers remained true to one another. I agree with danfling regarding the relationship between the two sisters. Squabbling sisters was nothing new in soap opera, but Iris and Laura were always written with such humanity and even frailties. They were not really the good sister/bad sister archetype of say Van and Meg on Love of Life. Iris and Laura were very complex characters with a complex relationship. I loved Love is a Many Splendored Thing. Of all the shorter run soaps, it is probably my favorite and the one I miss the most.

Yes, I misread it; however, the question still remains. The article states that actor Oliver Crawford would play one of character Betsy Crawford's brothers. Unless I am experiencing a senior moment, I do not recall Betsy having an on screen brother other than Tom Crawford who appeared in 1976, not 1974. Was the proposed character that had been cast with "Oliver" supposed to be the same brother who later materialized under the Schneiders as Tom, or did L&M create a brother and decide not write him into the narrative for some reason? It could have happened. I recall that when The Young and the Restless was debuting, early press releases included the Henderson family, who did not arrive on screen for nearly two years. And when they did, the son James Henderson had been renamed Mark, and the second son Russ, a potential love interest for Peggy Brooks, was not used at all. Also, the article could have a typographical error. There is an actor named Oliver Crawford, but he was born in 1911. I doubt he would have been cast as Betsy's brother. Perhaps the character's name was indeed Oliver Crawford, and author switched the actor's name with the character's name.

We thought they'd never end, Khan. For we were young and sure to have our way

Was it recast again? The way I remember it, when Robert Reed left, Estelle blackmailed Lloyd into departing Henderson. The following month, Liza miscarried their baby, and Lloyd never returned. I believe Jane Krakowski also left, with TR joining Lloyd in Europe, but she did return for the final episode. I think one reason Reed had such a short stay was that there was little to do with his character. The writers had tied Lloyd to his relationship with Liza, and none of the actors paired with Louann Gideon's Liza seemed to work. In my opinion, Gideon was the problem, and TPTB would have served the show well to recast Liza again.

I did, CarlD. Thank you. I am intrigued by Barbara Becker. There is virtually no information about her on IMBD, which should be rectified. These articles should help uncover more information about her. I wonder if any video of her as Doris Crandall on GL exists?

No, I do not think so. Nancy Barrett was originally submitted to test for Victoria, not Carolyn, and even Barrett admitted that she was wrong for the part. I thought Nancy was perfect for Carolyn and Moltke was perfect for Victoria. The problem was not in the characters but in the way the parts were written. Alex simply wanted something meatier to play, less naïve, and well, less thick. I think Carl is right. The contemporary writing up through 1967 worked well, and I feel it worked because the writers incorporated real emotions and struggles into the fantasy aspects. After 1967, characterization largely took a backseat to special effects and plotting. This is where Dark Shadows began to fall apart.

I agree, Max. It was also the first soap to use extensive "location" shooting. Although the beach set was on the studio lot rather than a true location, it was nevertheless an exterior set. Until the Peapack disaster of Guiding Light, I cannot think of any other American soap to utilize exterior shots practically every day. This even preceded the extensive use of interior/lot shooting on British soaps such as Coronation Street. NTY also incorporated popular music more than any other soap. I heard once, unverified, that all of Never Too Young still exists, having allegedly been saved by its producer Conson Studios. Even if it was, the music would prohibit it from ever being released because the show had pop music in nearly every show, and all of it by the original artists. Certainly a world apart from today's dramas.

I wonder if Oliver Crawford was the same character who later evolved as Dr. Tom Crawford, or if they were completely different? Oliver would have been created by Claire Labine and Paul Avila Mayer. I believe Tom was introduced under Paul & Margaret Schneider. I also wonder if perhaps Jameson Parker would have been cast as Oliver. Parker had been the first choice to play Ben Harper, but CBS preferred Chris Reeve because his dark features more closely resembled Tudi Wiggins'. Parker's blonde looks would have matched Liz Kemp's Betsy very well.

Yes. I read this was one reason Bill Bell wrote Chris Brooks' and later Peggy Brooks' rapes as being so brutal and ugly on Young and Restless. It was a very different presentation of rape than the romantic fantasy rapes of Mark/Iris on Love is a Many Splendored Thing and Bill/Laura on Days of our Lives, the storyline that Marcus obviously attempted to copy on LIAMST. One thing I can say for Marcus, she utilized it well given the history of the characters. Laura and Iris had vied for Mark's attentions in the past, so this plotline only fueled Laura's jealousies and insecurities, particularly since Laura's single purpose over the run of the series had been to have a child. In this plot, Laura's sister now had the baby that rightfully should have been Laura's and was fathered by Laura's husband, who had once been in love with her sister. There was a great scene after Laura discovered what had happened the previous February. She confronted Iris and suggested that she had not been raped at all. Iris and Mark had been lovers five years before. Perhaps Iris took advantage of his inebriation and seduced him. After all, Spence was so busy with his senatorial campaign, he had ignored her. She was feeling lonely and rejected. She needed a man. So, she turned to the old standby, Mark Elliott. She got him drunk and tricked him into making love to her. Iris' anger boiled over. She slapped Laura hard across the face. "Now, you wait just a damn minute, little sister!" she hissed. Iris admonished Laura for even entertaining the thought that she would lie about being raped. The scenes between Besch and Stanger were electric.

Are they mentioned somewhere in this thread? They should not have been. Alex and Amanda Spaulding are the sisters to Alan Spaulding on Guiding Light. Alan once thought Amanda was his daughter until an unfortunate plot twist insulted the audience's intelligence and changed her to his father's illegitimate child. Jennifer was not a Spaulding. She was Jennifer Richards, but that was an alias. Her real name was Jane Marie Stafford, a young girl who had slept with Alan and became pregnant with his child, the aforementioned Amanda. Though, once again, this was retconned to Janie Marie becoming pregnant by Alan's father Brandon Spaulding.

I felt that all of the actresses portraying Dorian brought a unique slant to the character. None of them were bad. The level of interest one had was rooted in how one enjoyed the part being played. It is fairly remarkable that such a major role was recast so many times and each successfully.

Thank you. I always forget about Full Circle!

Yes. Betsy was not on contract. After Victoria faded into the past and it appeared Betsy was not needed, she left the U.S. for a Christmas holiday in Europe. While she was gone, TPTB contacted her to play Victoria again for those final episodes set in the past. Durkin could not return, so Carolyn Groves was cast. Coincidentally, Groves and Durkin were friends off screen, having appeared together in a play.

Love is a Many Splendored Thing was shafted. Their bugging plot preceded Another World's and was actually more relevant to Watergate, as it was a political intrigue story. To what extent it might have helped the ratings I cannot be sure. There were other problems which probably influenced the drop in viewers. For one thing, there were too many recasts at a critical time. Veleka Gray and Michael Hawkins had been playing Laura and Mark right before the storyline commenced. They had just survived the Maria of the Lourdes story with Maria setting fire to the garage with Mark locked inside and causing Laura to tumble down the stairs and miscarry her baby. The audience was no doubt feeling sympathetic toward Gray and Hawkins as a couple. In November 1971, Hawkins was replaced by actor Vince Cannon, and Cannon was dropped two months later for Tom Fuccello. Veleka Gray left and was replaced by Barbara Stanger. As I recall, Fuccello and Stanger actually debuted in the same episode, which must have been a first. Mark raped Iris a couple of weeks later, the week of Valentine's Day 1972. I felt it too soon to throw new actors into such a heavy storyline when the audience had not developed a connection to the actors yet. Of course it was a plot necessity. The point of the story was a blackmail plot to derail Spence's senatorial election in November, so it was necessary for Iris to conceive in February regardless of who played the parts. The rape itself was another problem. Mark was supposed to be a hero of sorts, or at least the character that audiences were meant to root for. He had done some bad things before, but raping his sister-in-law was a bit hard to swallow. To make matters worse, Ann Marcus attempted to soften it all by absolving Mark's actions as "accidental" (he raped Iris believing her to be his wife Laura), and by downplaying the whole assault angle. I do not remember any characters referring to it as a rape. Mark and Iris constantly talked about "that awful night" and "the terrible mistake" Mark made because he was drunk. The criminal aspect was secondary to the blackmail over Iris' pregnancy, and she never appeared to anguish over being raped, rather, she was more upset about having to pass off her pregnancy as her husband's child. I had friends who were quite disapproving of the rather cavalier treatment of such a serious issue.

Yes, Bright Promise was taped in LA. The Brighter Day also taped there for its final months, having moved from New York.

Skip Curtis is Dr. Rudy Wells! I thought the photo looked familiar. Thank you for this, CarlD. I had never heard of Skip Curtis. TV Radio Mirror is to be commended for their documentation of the serials. Few publications bothered to mention soaps in those days, but RTM appeared to treat the soaps quite well.

If that was Lee Lawson's "light makeup", I shudder to think of what she looked like at night with heavier eye liner and mascara!

You should send this to Lance Jackson or Soapluvva at You Tube. Perhaps one or the other or both could play it for us.

Barbara Becker looks so very different in these photos than she did on Road of Life. She played the bitch so well. It is nice to see her smiling and looking glamorous. I wish that I had episodes of her on Guiding Light. I remember my mother being impressed with her performances on GL playing Doris Crandall. Thanks for this.

I agree. I believe Carolyn Groves appeared in only two or three episodes, but I thought she performed very well under the circumstances. She might very well have succeeded had she been given a chance. I am glad that Betsy Durkin left the country and was not available for Groves' episodes because it proved to me that another actress could play the Victoria Winters part competently.