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This piece of information was on the Soapnet forum a few years ago and I had forgotten all about it until it was mentioned recently by someone. It was from poster, TotallyKate. She is the webmaster of TotallyKate! The Official Website of Kate Mulgrew. 3/15/08 by TotallyKate A few years ago I happened to acquire from eBay notes about the original casting and storyline for Ryan's Hope. I had forgotten what was in it until I came across it last week when I was looking for something else. In the original bible for 'A Rage to Love', Mary has gone to the police academy to follow in the footsteps of her big brother, Frank. Frank is still a policeman and he and his partner, Saul, are involved in a case with mob connections. Saul dies and then Frank is found at the bottom of the hospital steps. Frank eventually dies and Bob Clancey (last name was changed to Reid) and Mary investigate his death as they don't believe it was an accident. Mary "quits" the police force and goes undercover taking a job at the hospital. Jack does not agree with Mary risking her life by going undercover and this breaks up the relationship that has already developed between them. Jack then starts a relationship with Faith, although both he and Mary love each other. Faith was involved with Pat but that relationship broke up after Faith wanted marriage and Pat didn't. Jack's relationship with Faith of course is wonderful for the widow Delia who wants Pat back. So everyone seems to be without the person they really love which makes for many hours of wanting them to get back to the one they love. Of course many aspects of the storyline changed drastically by the time "Ryan's Hope" made it on the air. It's interesting to note though that a lot of these original storyline ideas either ended up as backstory for the characters or as future storylines, such as the police academy and Siobhan.
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No, I'm just copying them after they are put up at the Soapnet forum. From what others have said - no, she didn't know. I don't think the show knew, either. She was announced in the magazines and newspapers as the NuFaith. Nancy said her depature was 'mutual', but apparently it was the shows decision. Do you know if she ever became a psychiatrist?
Why Michael Hawkins Got The Shaft! Daily TV Serials - January 1977 He's no longer Frank Ryan on Ryan's Hope. But the painful tale he tells is one that illuminates the hazardous road that soap opera perfomers often tread - even though in his case, there may be light at the end of his journey. By James M. Elrod Every once in a great while, an interviewer is blessed with the opportunity to talk with someone who not only has strong feelings, but also the intelligence and courage to express them in an articulate manner. The following interview with Michael Hawkins, who created the role of Frank Ryan on Ryan's Hope, took place some time ago -- before Andy Robinson inherited the part. Nevetheless, some of the subjects we talked about may explain the problems Michael faced and also exposed the agony and the ecstasy of an actor who poured his heart and soul into his work. The conversation begins with a little background information. "My father was a doctor -- very much inspired by Albert Schweitzer. He decided that he wanted to do very much the same sort of thing -- going to countries and treating people who couldn't afford medical care. He went to the east, to Afghanistan, which is where I was born," Michael related. "Later, we went to Burma and China and then came back here when I was fourteen. My father died soon after, having fulfilled what he wanted to do." Since Michael had never been to America before the age of fourteen, what sort of impression did he have of the Untied States? "The sense I had was like a Walt Disney impression of what the United States was. I expected it to be a fairyland of some kind, and was shocked to find it had grass,trees, buildings, and people just like everywhere else. It gave me the inpresssion that all the world is alike in many ways -- that there is nothing new under the sun." "But, there is still this purity about my feelings toward the United States that I don't think many people have. There is this feeling of having a crystal that is very precious. I didn't grow up in the generation that threw rocks. But, I consider myself totally apolitical." Michael paused for emphasis then continued, "This is just a wonderful place to live and beats anything else the rest of the world has to offer." How did Michael come to think of acting and the theater as a career? "It was just the only place I felt at home. Performing was the only tme I felt alive to the fullest. I went to Carnegie Tech in Pittsburgh, spent four years there, graduated, had a couple of season of stock, and then went to Stratford, Connecticut (for the Shakespeare company there). I came to New York, studied with Stanford Meisner and Lee Strasberg, and then went to the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where as a matter fo fact, I met Michael Levin (now Jack Fenelli on Ryan's Hope). Then I got back to New York, where I did some off Broadway, including Macbeth with James Earl Jones. It was the Mobil touring production that Joe Papp did. We took it to all the boroughs of New York." "And then I got the soap thing." Something in Michael's' tone of voice told me that the real interview was just about to begin. "Soap opera was a completey new thing for me. Doing a show a day -- when you've been used to rehearsing a month for a show you do in the evenings -- it is quite a change. It's taken me six years and as many shows to really get a handle on what I am doing. Some people pick up soap acting just like that," he said, snapping his finger for emphasis, "but not me. I've been on six of them, and I've been ignominiously fired from many. Practically all of them!" "I was fired from Love Is a Many Spendored Thing, the last one I did before Ryan's Hope. It fell apart about 3 months after I left. But I took over from David Birney, which right away is a tough situation. David was a very good, popular star, who was identified with the part. And it's always tough to repalce someone like that. Then, up until the last week I was on the show (and I was on it for a year and a half) the directors were still calling me David." "They just kept thinking and hoping it was David that was playing it and not me. So, pyschologically, it wasnt right. It wasn't home. I was still learning." "There is so much pressure on the soaps, so much depends on you. It's on a smaller scale than nightime, and it's a step toward nighttime, a step an actor is wise to take, I think. It gives you a chance to learn about working with the camera, hitting you mark, and all that." Mchael grinned, "I did one film called Truckin' Man, It was shown around last winter. And it's the kind of a film that you talk back to. It's so corny and so bad and so thrid rate that you start sayiing things like, 'Oh, so you're not going to say that, are you?" "The film is really not ever worth mentioning except that, at the time, I wanted to do a film and to see what I looked like on the screen. And I looked good, but I was two years away from doing what I'm doing now on Ryan's Hope. Now, I'm doing work, which for the first time, I'm extemely proud of." By the this time, I felt Michael was someone not afraid to talk about his probelms with Ryan's Hope. "My fortunes on that show have been incredible," he admitted. "The character waa originally concieved to be killed after ten weeks -- to die from being pushed down the stairs by his wife. But the scenes that I did -- the flashback scenes of what I was like before I was pushed -- were so good and they ( the creators and producers) were so excited that they completely changed their concept and kept the character alive. Killing the character -- the hero -- was to be a publicity move to gain attention to the new show. They practically had the funeral for Frank and then brought him back to life." "In the meantime, I happened to be in Sherlock Holmes on Broadway. Dennis Cooney (Jay Stallings on As the World Turns) was playing Dr. Watson, and I was understudying him. Then, when ATWT became an hour-long show, Dennis had to leave Sherlock Homles about three months before it ended. I had already done this how about thirty or forty times, because Dennis would be too tired after doing World Turns. Doing a soap opera and Broadway play at the same time is murder! Even Dennis Cooney was having problems and Dennis was, at that point, I think, far more on top of his soap opera acting than I was. Again, I had been at it for six years, but I didn't quite have it. I couldn't get the key to it." "Anyway, since they changed the entire concept of the show to accommadate the fact that Frank Ryan was going to live, they got behind in their writing. I need at least five good days with the script to feel comfortable with it, and I was getting my script about a day in advanced with three or four scenes in them. All of sudden, Frank began to talk his head off. So, the pressure of doing Dr. Watson at night, and coming in and doing the show the next day wore at me until Wap! There was no way I could learn those scripts and do both." "I started reading the whole show -- three or four times a week -- off the prompter. It was lousy, and they fired me when the thirteen week cycle came up. They went on a nation-wide search for a replacement for me. After turning up nothing in New York, they went out to Hollywood and came back with six guys on tape." "In the meantime, I had quit Sherlock Holmes. And they finally heard about my needing the scripts in advanced. This was last November (of 1975). Over the Thanksgiving weekend, I had the next weeks scripts, I came back Monday and it was dynamite. And I continued to do good work. Then the day before Christmas, they called my agent and said, 'We hear from the directors that Micahel has been doing marvelous work." The reports about me were so sterling, that my agent told them they should pay me more! And they did!" "And so, I began doing the show without a contract and making about seventy-five dollars more per show than I had been earing originially, when I had the contract." "This went on for about six months.They kind of backed off on Frank a bit, and I could relax some. And then, all of a sudden, they decided to bank everything they had on making the show a hit, and they laid it all on Frank Ryan. He would be the central charaacter and would be on five days a week." "So I said,'Pay me more again. If you're going to bank the whole show on me, pay me for it.' And they did, but I still don't have a contract." "Then, to cover themselves, they started auditioning more Frank Ryans right under my nose. Every day, there would be three or four guys who were the mirror images of me, up there reading a script with 'Frank Ryan' on it." "But now I am at the top of my form. You know when I told you that I was searching for a key -- for something that worked and was right? Well, I've finally found it." Michael said quietly, "I finally found it. And just in time," he laughed. Looking back on it now, it's no laughing matter that it obviously wasn't enough time. "Prompted by the appearance of Michael's seven year old son, Christian, the conversation briefly turned to his family. Michael's been married for eight years to Mary Jo Slater, but they are currently separated. Christain is an only child, and if Michael has his way, will remain so. "I had younger brothers myself. When I was about five, I was rather shocked that my parents would think of having more after I was there. I certainly thought I was enough. I was 'put out' by this-- and I think I have been ever since. This feeling is a fascinating thing, though. There is also the feeling that it's bascially the same situation with these guys auditioning for a part. What are they doing wanting to be in the same family!" Back to the subject of not working under contract, Michael said, "That piece of paper means exactly nothing They could fire you at any time. I've been fired before from a show that owed me thousands of dollars. They got out of it, because they claimed I was a 'menace' to the show. I don't want a contract. They pay me to go in and do a job. Everybody knows that when your moment comes, you go -- either way." Prophetic, it turned out, but didn't this lack of confidence in Michael make him angry? "Well, healthily angry. You see, I know I can do it, but they don't know I can do it. I have total confidence that I can make the show a hit and can make Frank Ryan very important, but they're still not sure. To be fair, I have taken my time getting my act together. And my act has includes many people, including my psychiatrist, who is a very important part of my life. He is the most exciting man I have ever met. He has helped me tremendously to clarify my ideas and to get myself together." Of course, if I hadn't fallen completely a part two years ago, and hit rock bottom, I would have never been able to gather the people around me that I needed in order to reconstruture and to go in another whole direction." Does it bother Michael to talk about that period of his life? "No, I don't have any qualms about talking about it. You can call it whatever you like -- a nervous breakdown, or hopitalization, or whatever. Let's face it, I had a marvelous couple of months in New York University Hospital," Michael stated with an ironic half-smile, " sitting around and thinking about the way things were. I was fortunate to have a good psychiatrist." "But now you saw people like Gary Moore and Dick Van D-yke coming out about alcoholism. Joshua Logan has let it be known that he uses lithium to control manic-depressive cycles. These things exists. And when you deal with this sort of emotional environment and with the pressure that an actor deals with, there are all sorts of ways to screw up. And I've done 'em all. It's all a matter of going back to the drawing board and starting over again. So, you've failed. I've failed many times more, but I'm not ashamed of any of them. Each failure has given me new insights into how to succeed." "The whole point is when I succeed, I want people to know that, in the process, I have failed before, too." I sat there a minute absolutely astounded at Michael's calm courage and honesty about a part of his life that many people never deal with. Weeks later, I was to be reminded of that courage when I heard that a new Frank Ryan had been cast, and that Michael was 'out'. I approached the call to Micahel with trepidation because I knew how important the role of Frank Ryan was to him -- as you, the reader, must know from the proceeding statements. Michael's voice was light-hearted. He said he still only had the warmest feelings toward everyione involved with Ryan's Hope and emphasized that it was his decision to leave. He had talked with the producers months earlier about his desire to finish up his assignment, sometime in November. So, things worked out because that was when Andy Robinson took over. Michael did stress however that he had become disenchanted with the character of Frank since I had interviewed him. Frank had suddenly lost most everything he valued in the world. In Michael's view, Frank was becoming depressingly close to being a loser and there wasn't much temptation for him to continue playing Frank. Coincidentally, the new Frank, Andy Robinson, is an old friend. Andy played Bobby Kennedy to Michael's JFK years ago in the Broadway play MacBird. In fact, before Michael had married Mary Jo, Andy had been one of her suitors. But she chose Michael, even though there seems to be some difficutlies in the marriage now that may not be resolved. As for the future, Michael is working on a nightclub act that hopefully will showcase his singing and comedic talents. He also wants to return to classical stage acting, and expects to journey soon to Hollywood for a film and nighttime TV career. Michael has left a impressive memory on every viewer of Ryan's Hope. He's not afraid of facing the future, and in spite, of all the downs and pitfalls, Michael has always come through and risen above them. In his own words, "Every failure has given me new insight into how to succeed." And he will!
ETA: I couldn't find anything that Rachel said, that Justin said, about his lack of story. I know she hopes to type up some more interviews, so maybe we'll find out before Soapnet goes off the air/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Soapnet poster, Rachel, with the magazines, had typed up this little list of some things Rose Alaio (Rose Pearse Melina) said when she was a poster on that forum - it was during Soapnet's first Ryan's Hope rebroadcast. I wasn't around there at that time, but everyone said she was super-nice and very straight forward. These are a few things that actress Rose Alaio (Rose) shared with us when she visited the MB during SOAPnet's first run. Rose was complimentary to the cast. She really liked Michael Levin (Jack), Tom Aldredge (Matthew), Michael Corbett (Michael), and Ann Gillespie (Siobhan #2). She liked Kelli Maroney (Kimberly) and thought the show didn’t give Kelli enough help or encouragement as an actress. Rose would watch her rehearse and question Kelli about her acting choices and motivations. Rose preferred her Guiding Light experience over that of RH. She said the atmosphere at GL was light and fun; the atmosphere on the RH set was serious (for the most part). RH taped scenes in sequence and that was h-ard on the actors. She said the CBS soaps treated their actors better than they did over at RH. Helena (Guiding Light) was her favorite soap character and Douglas Marland was her favorite soap writer. She adored Douglas Marland and said he was a beautiful person. Sometime between 11/3/80 and 11/6/80, ABC became sole owners of RH. (Rose got this date off some old script she had - I heard ABC became owners earlier - but this was what Rose said - SAFE) ABC wanted Joe, Siobhan, and gangsters brought back. They were also responsible for Rose’s storyline with the mob and her daughter. She said Claire Labine was notorious for getting scripts late to the actors. It only got worse once ABC purchased the show. Rose felt Claire was doing it vindictively. She said the actors and crew suffered because of it. Rose did not like producer, Ellen Barrett. She thought she was unduly tough on the actors and abused her power all the time. ABC made Sarah Felder (Siobhan#1) cut her hair and then let her go a few months later. She said acting is not an easy vocation.
Here is a little more that she said was in the same interview - Justin said Ryan's Hope was thinking about pairing Bucky with the new arrival, Siobhan. He thought it could have been interesting - but it still wasn't enough to make him want to stay. He also said that Ryan's Hope had been through so many cast changes that it didn't feel like the same show to him, anymore.
Carl, I only recall a little bit. Delia sending an anonymous fan letter to Barbara exposing EJ as a reporter. Barbara takes the letter to the producer and has EJ fired from The Proud and the Passionate. Joe and Siobhan missing each other around Christmas. Faith and Ari being followed. Since some people have these episodes in their possession, from the 2007 rebroadcast, I think someone will, eventually, put them on YouTube No mention fo that. The interviewer was quite a fan of Pat's. He kept saying what a good guy Paddy was.
Carl, love the articles! Have you listened to the blog talk radio interviews with some of the Ryan's Hope actors? If not, here is the link. There are interviews with Louise Shaffer, Kelli Maroney, Malcolm Groome, Ilene Kristen, John Gabriel, Helen Gallagher, Christopher Durham and a few others. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/robertreidshow This quote from the 1976 Malcolm Groome article reminded me of one of the blog radio interviews with Malcolm. Malcolm briefly mentioned that Pat was a ladies' man when the show started, and he said several months into the show they changed Pat, and made him closer to Malcolm's personality. Malcolm said he is kind of a really nice guy - and that was what they made Pat. How about the Gordon Thomson's 2009 blog radio interview? He talks a little about Ryan's Hope. He said the audience didn't buy Merit Kara. The story wasn't true to the show - the show was about Ryan's Bar and Maeve's kitchen. He calls MK the only time the show "went wrong". http://www.blogtalkradio.com/brandonsbuzz/2009/01/16/dynasty-and-santa-barbara-star-gordon-thomson-visits-brandons-buzz
Rewind scheduled for 11/4 - the schedule runs 6 am through 5 am the next day. It looks like Soapnet is going to stop where they did in 2003 - and not go the extra week of episodes to the end of 1981 - as they did in 2007. http://www.soapnetmedianet.com/schedulegrid/docs/10/November/November10_Listings.pdf
As with the Sam Behrens interview, this is also about an RH actor when she was in another project. There could have been a slight reference to it on RH - perhaps someone here might know more if this was true... (March 17, 2010 was the most recent time this episode aired.) Soapnet forum message Rose's line "...that Marilyn Monroe movie on TV last week..." "During the previous showing, some posters who had seen the original run recalled that the Catherine Hicks (Faith #3) movie, "Marilyn: The Untold Story" was shown around this time in 1980 and they thought the line was referring to that film. No way of knowing, of course, but the timing was right, and it was an ABC movie, and received a great deal of press, and, in particular, press touting that the title role was being played by a former soap opera actress. New information was added this current run, when Wanda and Bridget told us that Michael Fairman (formerly Nick Szabo/currently Richie) had a small role in Marilyn. He could have been talking about the film when he was at the RH studio filming his scenes." _____________________________________________________________________________ [TV GUIDE - Sept.27 - Oct. 3, 1980 Daring to Play a Legend Ambition, empathy and a touch of mysticism led Catherine Hicks to the role of Marilyn Monroe. By Dwight Whitney How do you play a legend? How do you play Marilyn Monroe? How do you connect with a character who is already so much a part of American consciousness that everyone has his own private idea of what she was like? The answer is you don't. You leave the “real” Marilyn to the individual, and reach deep down inside yourself and come up with a new character, the Marilyn Monroe part of you. You, in this case, is Cathy Hicks, 28, actress. She is sitting in a darkened Sunset Strip restaurant talking about what it is like to be asked to do the impossible thing. “I know the character so well, I've played her before. I didn't want anyone to not do her right.” Hicks is saying. “ I identified strongly with that failed part of Marilyn, the part that says I will make it to the top of the mountain and then I will no longer be lonely. Well, she made it to the top and she was alone again. What I admire was that she was like a prize fighter and never gave up.” Even though shooting has finished on Lawrence Schiller's three-hour movie, “Marilyn: The Untold Story” [ABC, Sept. 28] Cathy is still wearing her young-Marilyn hairdo. Bobbed, parted on the left, with a barrette. It is still bleached Marilyn-blonde. “I'll let it go back to it's natural state one day soon,” she says confidently. She is still very much in the part. If you squint your eyes, you half believe she is Marilyn at 28. She means it that way. She has just emerged from a exhausting 10-week shoot, in which she was in virtually every shot. It takes a person a while to come down out of the clouds. “A star has to have an image. When you don't have one, you make one up. Marilyn wanted to see herself as The Most Popular Girl in the Class. Unfortunately, her real image turned out to be The Sex Object That Every Woman Is Supposed to Want to Be. And it made her miserable.” Cathy spears a single bite of salad and waves it into the air. “No matter how hard she worked, she still only got to play the Dumb Blonde roles. She was our first sacrifice, a reflection of our own inability to understand what's happening to a fellow human being." So who is this Cathy Hicks? She didn't mean to get into acting, she says, much less into acting Marilyn Monroe. It just happened. The only child of a well-to-do- Scottsdale, Ariz. businessman, she is too young to have seen many Marilyn movies. Her ideas of high drama was leading cheers as Gerard High. Then she went to Notre Dame, where she majored in English Literature, a good safe subject. It was, until her life took an unexpected mystical turn. I was walking by the stage door of the the theater at St. Mary's College. Don't ask me to explain it. It was as if a voice spoke to me. I didn't know the actors or the play. I only knew I wanted to belong inside those walls. I knew I had to learn to move across the stage.” Despite, this St. Joan-like assist from inner voices, her career did not immediately take off. She was committed to being an English major. “I could take acting classes, but I had no time in my schedule to appear in productions” she recalls. “It was enough for me to be on stage during classes. When I graduated, if my acting teacher hadn't said, “ Well, Cathy, what are you going to do now?” I might be some place teaching right now. But that convinced me that I had to get further training in acting. I became obsessed with the idea. Finally, I got a scholarship to Cornell, and I couldn't wait to get cast. I didn't know my left foot from my right. I was a klutz on stage, but I was so happy to be there it didn't matter.” Her high energy helped ultimately to get her some heavy parts at Cornell. Stella in ”A Streetcar Named Desire”, Cherie in “Bus Stop”(Marilyn played that one in the movie), Natasha in “The Lower Depths” and Maggie – read Marilyn – in Arthur Miller's “After the Fall”. “ I really came to know her [Marilyn] then, “ she muses. “ I felt a positively maternal feelings toward the character.” Thus it was no surprise that less than a year later she was successfully auditioning for the Broadway play “ Tribute” starring Jack Lemmon. “ Me and every other ingénue in New York.” “ Scared? Sure. But I was heavy into soap opera [Faith on Ryan's Hope] so I was accustomed to cold readings. Once I got the part Jack was nice and helpful, none of that star stuff. He taught me comedic timing, 'Don't take a pause before the punch line, Cath,' he'd say, 'it's funnier that way'. She almost didn't audition for Marilyn. She'd had an unhappy experience with The Bad News Bears and was generally disenchanted with Hollywood. I told my agent why should I stay here?' “Well, “ he shrugged, “there's always 'Marilyn' "... "So, there I was in Larry Schiller's office with these other blondes”. I thought no way I'm going to get this. I went into a lawyer's office across the hall to change. “Do I look OK?” I asked him. 'Sure' he said. Well, I must have, I read for the director and Larry, and I didn't have one butterfly. It was effortless, like riding a wave. My little voice inside said, 'don't worry, you'll get the part.' And I did.” “We did her test in a single take, “ Schiller explained later. “I figured if she could hold the scene 7 minutes, she could hold a three-hour film.” Norman Mailer, who wrote the book, “Marilyn” on which Schiller's film is based, was impressed, too. “The girl's terrific, “ he said a few weeks ago. “It's not easy to play Marilyn without having it come out parody. She caught her moves. I could believe the character was at once was ambitious and timid and on the make. Of course, not everyone's going to love Cathy Hicks. People's expectations are too high. Most actresses wouldn't touch it.” Hicks has also made conquests on the set. The crew delights in her bawdy sense of humor. Whitey Snyder, the real Marilyn's longtime make-up man gets this weird feeling that Marilyn has been reincarnated. Hicks shares with Schiller, who took over directing special sequences halfway through the film, the compulsive love of the material to put everything out of her life for the duration. With Jason Miller, the actor and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright (“That Champion Season”) who plays Arthur Miller, she shares a lot of talk about Marilyn and her men, although their views are not necessarily the same. “Marilyn was a caricature of sensuality, no subtlety at all,” Miller says. “ It was some sort of magic that the camera bestowed.” Hicks bristles. She believes Marilyn was basically misunderstood and she plays her that way. “We all have our own deficiencies to overcome. We all make or break each other. “ she says. Hicks is unmarried and up until recently a confirmed New Yorker. To her Los Angeles was a dessert outpost where you came to work. Sometimes it was satisfying, as in “Marilyn”. Today, she is feeling more like a permanent resident, she has an apartment in Beverly Hills. At the moment there is no permanent man in her life. She likes to play the guitar and dine at small out-of-the-way French restaurants. She will go sailing if someone asks. One part of her wants to experience, as she once put it, “the existential pain” of acting, but there is another part of her that wants stardom and all the trappings. It has an inner conflict that has special meaning for the young actress playing the role of Marilyn Monroe. ------------------------------------------------------------------- This Weeks Movies by Judith Crist The surprise satisfaction this week comes from Marilyn: the Untold Story, a TV biography of Marilyn Monroe that retells everything. But thanks to Darlene Young's intelligent screenplay, Lawrence Schiller's lavish and non-exploitive production and, above all, Catherine Hicks' breathtaking (and breathless) portrait of the actress, it provides a clear view of her dichotomous personalty and charisma. The film is frank up to a point: the only reference to her last involvement is a one-line”Did Mr. Kennedy call?”
This is about an RH actor, although not really about his time on RH. I hope it's ok to put here. Sam Behrens/Stan Birnbaum (Adam): 10 Questions (1983) Soap Opera Digest 1983 By Toby Goldstein Back in the winter, when the Susan Moore murder investigation was in full swing, the irreverent character of lawyer Jake Meyer made a brief appearance on General Hospital. Apparently people liked what they saw in Jake, and the actor who plays him, New York- born Sam Behrens, because Jake has now become a regular member of the GH cast. Previous, Sam appeared as Dr. Adam Cohen on Ryan's Hope and has many theatrical productions to his credit. Sam visited out office recently, and turned out to be an engaging, outspoken conversationalist. TG: So how does a kid from Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, decide to become an actor? SB: I don't think there was any one day I decided it. I just found out that it was what I liked doing. Actually, I think I wanted to be star first. I didn't even know I wanted to become an actor until later on. TG: What did your family think about your decision to pursue acting? SB: They thought it fit with my general personality (dead pause) considering what I'd been - I was always sort of the black sheep. You known, the kid who never really did well in school. All the teachers were frustrated because they all liked me, and I was also very intelligent, I never applied myself to my schoolwork, so acting fit for them. But they were always supportive. And they're thrilled I get recognized in the streets. TG: When you played the character of Vince Fontaine in Grease on Broadway, did you model him on anybody from your neighborhood or someone you knew? SB: Vince Fontaine was an older, washed-up disc jockey, who went after the young teen-age girls when he went to make these appearances at dances.. He was the star to these teen-agers and he knew it. He'd wear leopard jackets and was very cool. I really modeled him after the generation who went before me, but I didn't know anybody like him. TG: After your role on Ryan's Hope ended, you moved to California. Do you think moving to Los Angeles is the next logical steps for most New York actors? SB: No, it doesn't have to be. There are actors who never do it and they survive quite well. If you want to do movies, it helps. I guess that I wanted to be involved in primetime TV or let me put it this way it looked like that was where I would be most sellable and I could meet the most people. TG: You've been married since April, but you're in Los Angeles and your wife, Dale Kristien, is here on Broadway in the lead of Showboat. How are you dealing with three thousand miles of distance between you, just as you begin your marriage? SB: There are disadvantages, of course. But also, it has it's advantages. Everytime we see each other it's like a honeymoon. And it's good that it's happening now. When your an actor, you have to expect to not be home sometimes, right? So we can adjust to it now rather than being together for two years and suddenly one of us having to go on tour somewhere. Mostly we live on the telephone. And with the money we spend on the phone, we could pay for flights! When I do one show and I have the rest of the week off, I come out here. TG: Even though you're fairly new as the character of Jake Meyer on General Hospital" what are your perceptions of him? SB: He's generally a good-hearted fellow who likes to fight for the rights of people. He's more the people's lawyer as opposed to the establishment lawyer. And he gets what he wants, I suppose. And I think he's about to fall in love... TG: I was just going to ask you where you'd like to see Jake go on the show, in what direction? SB: I guess one of the things they're trying is setting up Rose and Jake. And Loanne and I couldn't be happier because we like each other and work well together. So that would be fine. I'd love to have a court battle with someone, go to court against someone like Scotty or Lee Baldwin. That's what I had thought would originally happen with Jake during the murder trial. TG: Both Dr. Adam Cohen on Ryan's Hope and Jake Meyer on General Hospital are Jewish characters, and to be perfectly honest, there aren't a whole lot of Jews on soap operas. Aside from the fact that you are Jewish, do you feel that there is a particular approach you can take as an actor playing these roles? SB: I think Jake is perhaps the only Jew on a soap right now. [Ed. Note. The character of Ringo on Search for Tomorrow portrayed by Larry Fleishman was supposedly concievedas a Jewish role Ringo's last name is Alman but somewhere along the line the character's ethnic origin was blurred.] I like the fact that he is not like the other characters. Because there are no expectations of him, except to bargain well on some deals (This is said laughing folks. We're allowed to make these ethnic cracks among ourselves.) But what I would like - if my work contributes anything to anybody is to reveal something about humaity. And since Jake is an offbeat character, he has a good chance of expressing different feelings. TG: Why do you think they picked you for the part? SB: It's sort of cosmic both characters seemed to be written for me. My wife knew it when she read the breakdown (character description). And she said, You are getting this role. She just knew it. And what's hysterical to me is that when I went to L.A., my agent recommended that I change my name. My name was Stan Brinbaum during Ryan's Hope. They made a big point of my changing so I wouldn't get typed ethnically. But the first role I landed was Jewish attorney. TG: How do you feel about changing your name from Stanley Birnbaum to Sam Behrens? SB: It was a bit easier this time. I say this time because it's not the first time. I had changed my name earlier, when I was a kid, all for the wrong reasons. What I was really trying to do was change me to John Smith. In fact, I changed it back when I realized what I was doing and saw the idiocy of it. This time it was really for professional reason, and I changed it to a name that at least I could accept, Sam, from Stan, because Sam is the only name I can answer to without going, Who's he? I always had a connections with Sam my parents were going to name me Sam but they thought I would kill them later in life! And Behrens is from the German pronunciation of Birnbaum. Beh-ren-baum. But my old friends gave me a lot of flack. They saw me going out to California and selling out and changing my name, wearing sweat clothes instead of Khaki pants and a sport coat. I'm lost as far as they are concerned. The End
[Jack Fenelli or Michael Levin? March 1978 Jack Fenelli is tough, street-wise, abrasive, and cynical. So is Michael Levin. Jack was also rotten to his wife and furious about having a child. Michael is very different – he's happily married and crazy about kids. Michael is warm and friendly. He does things like build little men out of fruit when we pass an outdoor fruit stand, and he teases little old ladies walking past us on the street. He lives in the suburbs of New York because the schools are good and it's a good environment for his kids to grow up in. He doesn't want them to grow up in Manhattan to become future Jack Fenelli's. Unlike the Italian Catholic Jack, Michael is Jewish, and says,” I grew up in Minneapolis, in a rapidly moving Jewish ghetto. It was right when everyone was moving out to the suburbs. I started out in a northtside community that was tough, then moved to a sweet little suburb.” “Minneapolis is where most of my family is. I have two brothers, one older, one younger. My mother is still there, my father is dead. I decided to become an actor because I didn't want to work. I was totally naive about the whole thing. I'd never acted in my life, I thought it was sissy stuff. I used to fight and play baseball. I was going to go into writing and work in advertising.” “I went to the University of Minnesota and was in the Navy. I guess I went into acting because of my Aunt Frances. She was in New York and was secretary to the vice-president at Universal Pictures. After my junior year of college I wanted to get out of advertising and I came to New York to see some girl, a stewardess, I think. I met the casting director at at Universal and he said go back and finish one more year of school, then come back, and I could be an actor.” Michael laughs as he thinks back to his incredible innocence regarding acting and what it takes to be successful. “I went back to school,” he continues, “where they thought I was a diamond in the rough. They put me into a couple of major productions at the University of Minnesota. I didn't know what I was doing.” “Then I wrote to Universal and said I was ready for my screen test. I went to Hollywood to be tested at Universal. I was sure I'd be a movie star. It must have been some sort of emotional need. Everyone thought I was nut-s. But they also thought I was a serious actor from New York. They were waiting for great parts to come up for me.” “Eventually they told me to call the casting director at the studio. I wanted a contract, which I thought I'd get. But I didn't want to work! The guy said, 'Well, we'll let you know if we can give you anything. Bye!' And hung up the phone. It took me ten minutes to realize it was over. I started reading trade papers to learn how to be an actor. Finally got a part in a play in a little theater in Hollywood. A reviewer said it was the most unfunny comedy she'd ever see. " "Then I was in a sexy French play, which eventually fell apart. But I met someone who got me a part in something called 'Wire Service' on TV. It was just a bit part but it allowed me to join the Screen Actors Guild.” “I have to tell you something funny. I was in an acting class for a few months, and Robert Vaughn, Jack Nicholson, Sally Kellerman, Robert Blake, Sheree North, Ann Francis, Barrie Chase, and Leonard Nimoy were all in that class! Nicholson and Kellerman had never acted before. Blake had been a child star, but was then in the dumperoos.” “Finally I left Hollywood and went to New York which I found very bleak. I got very unhappy. I could never do things through contacts and parties. I'd look in the showbiz papers for jobs. I got summer stock, finally.” “Then I got a McKnight Fellowship in 1962 to work at the new Tyrone Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. All kinds of big stars were there then. The rest of what I'd been doing was sheer nonsense – that's when it really began. I had learned a lot from everything, but I was never serious. So now I became a very serious actor. I did all kinds of classical parts, I found that I could act. I did original plays. It was very exciting.' Michael is extremely reticent when it comes to talking about his personal life, but he briefly told us, “ I met my first wife in Hollywood, then wherever I went after that we either went together or corresponded. We had a son, Jason, who, is now 15 and who lives in California. I have a steps-son, Scotty, who's 16, and a son from my present marriage, Aaron, who is 11. My wife's name is Elizabeth.” “In 1965, I came to New York, “ he continues, “ and immediately got a good part in a Broadway play 'Royal Hunt of the Sun' with David Carradine. Then I messed up my career pretty badly. It was basically fear. I'd get into fights. “I quite 'Royal hunt' to do an off-Broadway play written by a friend. Finally, I found myself without a career. I was always in fights.” The resemblance to the character he plays in “Ryan's' Hope” inevitably come to mind as Michael describes what he was like then. “There were very bad times for a couple of years, “ he goes on to say. “I did some plays.” “Then I did my first commercial. It was the first time I was cast as an Italian. I did the commercial for Atlanta Airlines, as the spokesman and went to Italy for two weeks. Two months after that coincidental, I was offered the part of Jack Fenelli, and a role on another soap as an Italian” “Michael Fairman, who plays Nick Szabo, on “Ryan's Hope” had recommended me for the part. It was a week before shooting and they still hadn't found a Seneca Beaulac or a Jack Fenelli. Michael Fairman told them about me and they called me and I got the job right away. It was a brand new soap, which was very exciting. It's been terrific. It's the first show with a lot of ethnic types. We've been very successful. I feel we're the most innovative and dynamic soap on the air. The writers are among the best, if not the best.” “ But the question is can we push for quality or will we fall into the usual soap stuff? We're still on the battleground. I think the viewers will take more. Trapping characters in storyline events that can't get out of can be exciting.” Michael says he plans to stay on the show quite awhile, and he has no desire to quit, which makes his fans happy. He adds ,” I'm surprised - thought I'd be bored after 2 years, but I'm not. It's exciting – the success of the show and the possibilities. The Mary and Jack relationship was loaded with dramatically valid problems.” “The biggest reason for the success of “Ryan's' Hope' is the writers, who also happen to be the producer. Andy Robinson, who plays Frank, has done lost of stage work, but after his first day on the set, he staggered back to his dressing room and said, ' Wow, this is hard!' Claire and Paul took a lot of chances. They cast a lot of people who are not standard-looking soap types.” “ I'd much rather do a soap that has a chance of being a good soap than do Shakespeare if it isn't going to be as good as Shakespeare.”' Going back to the subject of the similarities to Jack Fenelli, Michael says, “Jack's history, background, life are completely different from mine. His psychological make-up, though is very much like mine. I'm not nearly as aggressive, not nearly as frightened of families and children, and so forth. But his feeling of being a victim, fighting for everything he's gonna get, seeing the world in very cynical way, hating the good-goody atmosphere of the family gang, his insecurity, I share them all. That feeling that you have to do it all alone, and be sure of everything you do -I share it.” “I find his aggression difficult. His denial of kids , I find difficult. It's not that he doesn't like kids, he loves them, he just doesn't want the responsibility. I'm not as aggressive and driven, but otherwise, were on the same track. I would like the writers to add more humor, however.” “One of the most difficult things for me as a professional, whether it's as an actor, writer, or whatever, is consistency.”
Ed Evanko (Alex): Ed Evanko's Glad To Have Someone Special In His Life (1977) DAYTIME TV – JULY 1977 The character of Dr. Alex McLean was originally introduced on Ryan's Hope as a possible love interest for the shows unhappily married heroine, Mary Ryan Fenelli. But when Kate Mulgrew, the actress who plays Mary, became pregnant in real life, the writers decided to let Mary become pregnant, too – by her husband Jack – which kind of left Alex in the lurch. And so, Ed Evanko, who portrayed young Dr. McLean, was written out of the story in February. Since Ryan's Hope, Ed has been keeping extremely busy doing a production of Showboat in Florida, appearing in Knickerbocker Holiday at New York's Town Hall in April, and auditioning for a role in the Broadway revival of The King and I starring Yul Brynner. A talented Canadian of Ukrainian decent, Ed is also a very fine singer. In fact, he became famous during his stay on Ryan's Hope for singing on the set at 7 a.m. rehearsals. And from time to time, he travels around the country with the Koshetz Choir and Rusalka Dancers doing authentic Ukrainian music. Ed was born in Winnipeg, where his family still lives. After earning an honors degree in English, he went to England for six years to attend the Old Vic Theater School in Bristol. These days, though, home for him is a bright, spacious West Side Manhattan apartment, which he not only decorated but cleans himself. He laughs when he's told he'll make someone a wonderful husband someday because the apartment is immaculate. He keeps himself looking right by going to the gym and by keeping tabs on what he eats. Displayed proudly on the desk in his bedroom is a photo of Andra Akers, who recently played Christine Addams on Mary Hartman. Ed and Christine co-starred a while back in A Little Night Music. “We had a wonderful time on tour,” he says, conceding that she is a special lady in his life. “Touring is very different and strange and uprooting. You're in a state of future shock all the time, especially the way we did it- the long stays, three months, two months in different places.” “You get an apartment or hotel suite and you get settled in, but at the end of three months or whatever you have to move your whole life. It's like moving six, seven times a year, and it's hard going. So we were saying how grateful we were that we had each other as something that was constant in this year of change.” But Ed is non-committal about their future together, especially since she's in Los Angeles while he is in New York. “ I think marriage is very hard in this business, I really do. We travel so much. I suppose it is not easy in any business. You have to work hard at it and even sometimes work doesn't make it happen. I've been exposed to a lot of marriages – my four sisters are happily married and have families – so I'm very aware of families and children. I do love children - I think they're really wonderful.” “I've been very fortunate. If marriage hasn't happened, I have a lot of wonderful friends.” Right now, Ed has his fingers crossed that he'll get a chance to sing on Broadway in The King and I. “If it transpires,” he promises us, “ I'll be sure to let you know. Perhaps the readers of Daytime TV would be interested to know that Dr. Alex is alive and well and singing his heart out in Siam.”
Hannibal Penney Jr. (Clem) (1976) Day TV '76 Fall Annual Hannibal was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee and is making his daytime debut as Dr. Clem Moultrie. This talented young actor received his training at the Yale School of Drama and has a appeared in such films as “The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3 “, “Gordon's War”, “Live and Let Die”, and several TV commercials as well. He has done much work in regional theater and was in the New York Shakespeare Festival. Besides acting, Hannibal enjoys swimming, dancing, fishing, and motorcycling. He is 6'2” tall and weighs 180 and is single. Michael Fairman (Nick Szabo) (1976) Day TV '76 Fall Annual Born in the Bronx, at Hunt's Point Hospital on February 24, 1934, Michael fell in love with acting while he was in the Air Force stationed in Tokyo, Japan. A buddy at the base asked him to help build sets for the community theater and then gave him a small part in the play which led to another and another. After the service, he went back to college to study drama, and then did a lot of road shows as well as becoming a stand by for several Broadway show actors. He has appeared on “Love of Life”for one year before joining “Ryan's Hope” He is divorced and has one son Jeremy, 6 ½. He lives on the west side of Manhattan.
Dennis Jay Higgins ( Sam) (1976) Day TV '76 Fall Annual Just when a loving and stable relationship is achieved by Mary Ryan and Jack Fenelli, a tall, dark, and handsome Sam Crowell enters the picture to complicate matters. Sam is being played by newcomer, Dennis Jay Higgins and he is thrilled with his first experience on a daytime drama. Dennis is originally from Oakland, California and comes from a family of five brothers, including his twin, Barry. The family once lived for 10 years in Sidney, Australia. Because he feels most comfortable with people in the arts, most of his friends are actors. He values loyalty in a relationship and feels that possessiveness, as long as it doesn't get out of hand, is natural instinct when you care for someone. Dennis, who is single, just moved to a new apartment on the Upper West Side. He and Kate Mulgrew frequently go swimming together on Saturdays...though Kate has a steady in real life too.
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