jam6242

Thanks for the article! I wonder why Rigsby left the show? I don't remember anyone named Owen.

Also thanks for refreshing my memory about the pitchfork incident. It's coming back to me now. The priest's brother was really countrified & always seemed kind of oily & dirty to me, lol.

Sorry I don't remember any stories involving a mirror.

My favorites on this show were Marla Adams (Belle), Jada Rowland (Amy), & Linden Chiles (who played Paul Britton for most of the time I watched, though I think quite a few others played the role previously). I also liked Liam Sullivan (Alan Dunbara) even though his character ended up being crazy!

I don't remember Diana Millay on the SS, so she must have been on in the 60s. I think Joel left DS & went to SS around 1969 or 1970, not long before DS went off the air. It must not have been an important role because I can only vaguely remember him on it. Now that I think about it, I followed Joel to Somerset & Edge of Night too, so I guess he was one of my favorite soap actors!

I do remember the story with the priest, and I believe Gary Sandy played his brother. I seem to recall something about a scene in a barn, involving a pitchfork. I'm going to have to think about that one!

I remember when Kevin Kincaid was paralyzed but for some reason I don't remember the artificial insemination. Did you know that Dennis Cooney (Jay Stallings on ATWT) was the first Kevin Kincaid?

I would love to read the interview with the Ian Northcoate actor. Which one is it? They both were similar in appearance but I remember Alexander Scourby's (the last one) voice being so beautiful. If the interview is with him, I'm assuming you know he was married to Lori March (Valerie) in real life.

I watched this show a bit too. Jill Clayborn (played by Barbara Rodell when I was watching) was Amy's good friend. I remember there was a big fan uproar when the Clayburn's were killed. They left behind a daughter, who I think had been SORASed to a young teen in a short amount of time. I can't remember her name but I believe she lived with Valerie Ames & her husband, Dr. Ian Northcoate.

I vaguely remember Dianne Ladd on the show. I may be totally off on this, but for some reason I believe her character was somehow involved with Alan Dunbar when Liam Sullivan began playing the role. Alan had become quite psychotic because of his war experiences. I seem to recall that he was murdered and Susan went on trial for his murder.

I had started watching this show because Joel Crothers had joined it after leaving Dark Shadows, and he had been one of my favorites on there. I only remember that his character was named Ken but that's about it. He stayed only a couple of years.

I wasn't annoyed by the "falling up the stairs" because it was more of a stumble or trip up (though I did find it hard to believe you could damage your spleen so badly from that type of fall). Interesting story about Jane. I didn't even know that Irna didn't like her but I'm not surprised based on some other things I've read about Irna.

Thanks for the clip! I had forgotten about Connie, and that John had been blind. Regarding Liz, Jane House is the actress I remember best. I was watching the day Liz fell up the stairs, but I can't remember what I thought about the recast.

Lyla & Iva were favorites of mine as well.

Liz Talbot was very genteel & elegant. It was shocking when she died. Everyone thought poor Betsy had been left an orphan because Paul (whom most people thought was her father) had died too. I think it wasn't until several years later that Betsy finally learned Dan was her father (I think Liz had only told Dan the truth while on her death bed).

I can't remember exactly why the Stewart girls decided to change their names. I think it may have been just a teen rebellion thing. I think it occurred when Marcia McClain & Martina Deignan took over the roles. I didn't like it at the time because I thought Dawn & Carol were prettier names than Dee & Annie! Maybe the show didn't want two Carols on at the same time?

I will check out your tribute!

Peter Reckell's character's brother was named Brad Hollister. Beau Spencer was the man who had married both Annie Stewart and Melinda (and Dee Stewart had dated him too). I always thought Peter Reckell's character was dull and didn't see what Dana's character (Hayley?) saw in him. I was very surprised when he showed up on Days of our Lives as Bo Brady!

I believe Glynnis O'Connor was playing Dee Stewart (then called Dawn) at the same time Arianne was playing Carol Ann. It was also strange when Glynnis took over the role of Margo! Dawn & Carol Ann were favorites of mine at that time, I suppose because they were closest to my age, just a few years older.

I think I must have started watching in the early 70s. My earliest memories are of the quadrangle I suppose it was between Dan & Paul Stewart, Susan Stewart (I can't remember her maiden name) and Elizabeth Talbot(Betsy's mother). I was around 12 then so of course only got to watch it on my school breaks. My mother had always watched the NBC soaps and General Hospital, and I had watched those with her. I guess ATWT was the first soap I started watching on my own. Days of Our Lives was always my favorite overall, but ATWT was a close second for a long time. I guess I didn't pay that much attention to the changes at the time they occurred. My interest started waning in the 90s (as it did with other soaps) so I only watched sporadically from then on.

I wonder why they didn't just say that Steve left the show through James' dealings instead of saying he was in a Greek prison.

Do you have any memories of Valerie, or Sandy, or Kevin, or of Kim's niece Melinda?

Of those four, I remember Valerie the best, probably because she interacted with many of my favorites at the time, Kim, Lisa, Grant, plus I liked Judith McConnell very much. I do remember the others, but not quite as well. I couldn't adjust to Arianne Munker playing Melinda since I remembered her as Annie Stewart (when she was still called Carol Ann). And I remembered her best from her role on Another World. I do remember that Peter Reckell played the brother of the man who was with Melinda when she drowned. Dana Delaney played Reckell's girlfriend (later wife).

I would have loved it if Carol/Rita had returned even if had just been for a visit. She still had friends in town, though no family. Of course, she had the little girl that Jay had with Natalie. Carol's best pairing to me was with Jay/Dennis Cooney. I think Jay & Carol were considering reconciling when he was killed. I don't know whether Dennis Cooney left on his own or was let go. I liked him very much too. He definitely was a change from the usual white-collar men that had been on the show prior to that time. Of course, Steve Andropolous took over that position when he came on. He was mixed up with James Stenbeck's criminal doings & that's why Carol divorced him. Justin Deas' Tom was a much different character than the ones I remember with Carol (Peter Galman & C. David Colson). I'm not sure whether I could picture him with Carol at all.

Thanks for all that information. It was unusual for soaps at this time (or at almost any time) to tell a story involving Jewish characters, wasn't it?

Someone on IMDB, and it may have been mentioned here too, I'm blanking at the moment, mentioned that Gerlach played a wild child who was killed during an argument with Greta, during the story where Greta had been bitten by an animal. I think you mentioned that story before.

Was Gerlach's character Mike Powers girlfriend? I think the rabbit was a lab rabbit that had been given LSD (by Mike, I think) and caused Greta to have "trips."

My best memories of Carol are during the storyline where she had divorced Tom & married Jay Stallings. Tom married Natalie Bannon (played by Judith Chapman)but then Natalie had an affair with Jay & got pregnant with his child. I believe Carol & Jay ended up adopting the baby because Carol couldn't have children. I think she had divorced Jay by the time he was killed in the mine. Steve Andropolous worked in the mine with Jay, and he and Carol were married for a while and then divorced. Carol finally married a minister (and I think he was played by her real-life husband who was a minister) and left Oakdale. Carol was very sweet and wholesome, the quintessential soap good girl.

I didn't know about Fran Brill being a puppeteer! Thanks for that tidbit. I wish I had taken notes all those years ago when I was watching the shows! I naively believed they would always be around and as entertaining as they were then. Looking forward to the other articles!

I'm glad you enjoyed it. As much of a cliche or an albatross the word supercouple became, it's worth remembering that a lot of these early couples really were important to many people. I didn't know DAYS was so popular in Australia. I wonder if it still airs there.

I really like the photo of Julie and her bridesmaids.

I know that Doug and Julie aren't the same as Bill and Susan, but if you ever want me to post any of those DAYS with the Hayes columns they wrote, let me know.

Thanks, I would love it if you get the chance! I love anything Bill & Susan related. In their book, they say they have kind of morphed into Doug & Julie, or vice versa, lol!

Of course, the term "supercouple" hadn't been invented when Doug & Julie were in their heyday but no doubt they were extremely popular. In addition to the Time magazine cover, they used to be featured in the movie & tv magazines with the movie & prime time stars, and appeared on many talk shows and game shows. They even encountered a Native-American tribe on their travels who were huge fans and adopted them into the tribe. The tribe had to watch the show using a generator but they loved Doug & Julie!

I believe Days still airs in Australia but I think it about a year behind the U.S.

Yes, you've brought back some memories. I hadn't thought of this show in a long time. I think I watched all the soaps to some extent during this time period. I wish I had paid more attention to some of them!

I'm not sure how much time had gone by when Dave died but enough for me and my mother to get attached to him! Plus, he died suddenly of a heart attack, with no warning (and no spoilers back then!). His wife was very likable too. I'm not sure what it was exactly about Jennifer Harmon that put me off. She seemed kind of prissy to be a feminist for one thing, lol! Was Lynn Lowery the actress who played Larry's mistress? I remember thinking she was funny (not intentionally). Even the way she said Larry's name sounded funny to me. I enjoyed her though.

My mother & I used to watch this show. I liked some things about it but I couldn't stand Jennifer Harmon's character, I found her completely unappealing. My favorites were Armand Assante, and the actors who played the Bachman couple. My mother and I cried like babies when Dave Bachman died, lol!

Thanks so much for posting the Doug & Julie article! They are still my favorite soap couple, after all these years. Bill & Susan said they were allowed input into the wedding and used some of the same scriptures they used in their real wedding. Bill has said that 16 million viewers watched the wedding & an Australian tv channel actually did a satellite feed of the show so their viewers could see the episode at the same time as American viewers.

There had been some speculation last year that Ciara's kidnapper was going to be Dougie back to retaliate against Hope but that apparently was just wishful thinking!

I believe the last time Dougie's name was mentioned was around 1986/1987 when Doug returned to Salem without Julie. Dougie is mentioned in a scene between Doug & Hope. I saw the scene recently on youtube. It was several years before Doug learned that Dougie was his son, after Rebecca was killed (in a plane crash I believe). Hope & Dougie had been playmates when they were small, before they knew they were siblings. Rebecca & Johnny took Dougie away for awhile. I seem to recall that Hope missed her playmate & substituted her doll for a real baby in a carriage at a playground (and took the real baby home!).