zanereed

I think they were trying to close out any lingering romantic entanglements between Mike and Elizabeth so that Mike was free to pursue Jennifer moving forward (and at the same time, bring closure to Renee). If I recall correctly, though, Mike and Elizabeth would still interact all the way through early 1981, when Elizabeth finally left Springfield (as can be seen in "The Trial of Jennifer Richards" DVD set). ...and you're right - who wouldn't look at Rita?!!?

No, it definitely isn't. I'm not certain who was portraying Trudy at that time.

Here's one from waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back. If this was already linked here, I apologize, but I think it might be one of the earliest existing episodes of the show, from July 10th, 1952. The second Meta (Joan Allison) is in it, along with Trudy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cz2SrBAhzYM

Doing a search for the user who is posting these, there are quite a bit more from the past few months I haven't viewed yet. For instance, the beginning of the final days for Bill Bauer (August, 1983): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-l1VdyfELo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzRd05af3Oc

Wow. I haven't seen Diane's final episode since if first aired. Watching this again, Sofia Landon is so good here. I wonder why they decided to kill her off? Did Landon want to leave, or did Marland think that Diane had run her course? I agree, Carl - Landon and Bernau were fantastic here. I admit, I'm really enjoying watching Anna Stuart as Vanessa. So, is this the last 1981 episode the poster has? I hope not, as I really wanted to see the Tenerife storyline again, as Alan takes Hope and AM there with Mike following close behind. I think that is where Josh Lewis also makes his debut?

That would make sense. It's the only time I ever remember reading any mention of bringing Hope back. It would have been an interesting choice if they went in that direction. Leeds is 11 years younger than Elvera Roussel, and I can't recall how old Hope was supposed to be when Roussel was in the role - mid 20's or late 20's? I wonder how Leeds opposite Chris Bernau would have looked. Regardless, I would have rather seen Hope Bauer back than SORAS-ing Alan-Michael like they did the following year. In fact, I think that's the primary reason that they never brought Hope back again - with an aged Alan-Michael on the canvas, who could convincingly play Hope as both a mother of AM and someone who was supposed to be 20 years younger than Alan Spaulding?

Well, technically Peter Simon (born September 27, 1943) was only 3 years younger than Mart Hulswit (born May 24, 1940), but I think Mitch hit it on the head - Hulswit's look at that time probably didn't help his cause. Simon certainly looked younger than Hulswit IMHO when he started.

Yes, I had heard going back to the early 2000's (and also confirmed in this very thread) that Don Stewart was difficult to deal with, not learning his lines properly and wanting certain things for his character (such as dating younger women). However, I've also read that Pam Long wanted to write for Mike, and had a long term story line for Mike that involved a love triangle between Alexandra and Lillian (which had already started in the summer of 1984). From what little information I've gathered, Stewart didn't want to go in this direction and Gail Kobe finally had enough and fired him. I wonder...had Peter Simon stayed on as Ed going into 1985 (instead of recasting Ed with Richard Van Vleet) if TPTB would have considered recasting Mike, just as they did with Ed Bauer three years earlier? I know that SOD mentioned in 1986 that both Mike and Hope were coming back, but that obviously never materialized. Had that happened, I would have expected new actors in each role.

Great news! I hope they have some of the location shooting from late 1981 that involved Mike chasing after Alan when Alan fled to Tenerife after being the prime suspect in Diane and Joe's murders.

Carl, By 1989, I was completely used to Simon in the role, and you are right - he was just fine versus Zaslow at that time. However, TPTB at GL really didn't keep Ed and Roger constantly in each other's radars, which was a shame. They had so much history together between their involvements with Holly, Christina/Blake, Rita, etc. It's a shame they really didn't keep that feud going much, especially when Roger and Maureen got along so well as friends. Hulswit probably didn't look like "leading man material" for soaps by 1981 compared to when he got the role in 1969 (and certainly not next to his TV brother, Don Stewart), so I'm sure that was one of the factors that caused the role to be recast. The other thing I heard at one time was that it was Allen Potter who decided to let Hulswit go for apparently questioning the writing at that time. However, Hulswit stated in an interview some time in 1981 or 1982 that they let him go as part of a larger plan to remove the Bauers from the GL canvas. Whether any of that was true or not, I've never been able to confirm it.

Who didn't Mike Bauer date at that point? I know Stewart had been lobbying for Mike to be involved with a younger woman (which I believe is why his relationship with Jennifer was phased out after her trial), but I don't think his pairing with Trish lasted very long because by 1982, they brought back Deborah May in her second role on GL as Brenda Lowery/Ivy Pierce.

Flabbergasted . I was used to recasts as a kid, but since I was familiar with Peter Simon most recently from his work at that time as Ian on ATWT, it was a shock to see Simon in a role that Hulswit had ever since I had been watching. For the first year or two, I had a hard time getting used to Simon as Ed, mainly because I felt Simon played Ed much more relaxed than the often-tensed and confrontational version that Hulswit portrayed. For example, if Roger Thorpe was still on at that time, I just couldn't see Simon's Ed going head to head with Roger in any way.

Thanks for alerting us to these episodes, Carl. I'm glad someone was finally able to post some episodes from this period, especially now helping to clarify exactly when Mart Hulswit exited the role of Ed and Kristen Vigard the role of Morgan. I hope the person that put these up has more from September. I think I still recall Peter Simon's first day as Ed Bauer, but I'd love to finally see it again after 33 years.

Yep, you are definitely right. There must have been too many weddings that week for my mind to process! Here's the clip I was thinking of, definitely from the last Bauer BBQ: http://youtu.be/DxjKMv8YEW4?t=1m50s

Didn't Rick mention Bert in a tribute toast when he married Mindy? Or am I thinking of his toast at what was the final Bauer BBQ?

What I also found interesting regarding another GL connection was the trailer for the "Green Card" movie. It briefly shows Stefan Schnabel, who played Dr. Stephen Jackson.

They definitely are (I have the original German DVD set to confirm). I encourage everyone to watch these, as well as the August 1979 episodes that have also been put up. They are the final months for the Dobsons, who I believe ended their writing in December 1979 or January 1980. There is great stuff here, and the scenes with Michael Zaslow and Chris Bernau are not to be missed. As far as who Doug Marland wrote out first, I suppose it was either Dr. Greg Fairbanks or Dr. Mark Hamilton (as mentioned above). I can't recall if either character had an exit story or just stopped appearing altogether. Dr. Peter Chapman wasn't around for too long after Marland took over, either (but I think Peter did have a proper exit). Holly also exited in September 1980, but like Michael Zaslow, that was the choice of Maureen Garrett versus Doug Marland.

Correct. Coster wasn't named directly by Lemay, but he was someone who apparently didn't bother learning his scripts. According to Lemay's book, Paul Rauch finally said that he had to let him go because of this.

Agreed. I've always been curious if the whole episode exists, or just that particular scene.

Here's the final scene of this storyline, for those interested: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5XGkhLgi_A

I've heard lots of comments and rumors about Stewart and his attitude on the set during his tenure at GL, so take the following with a grain of salt - similar to George Reinholt, Stewart allegedly became more arrogant as his popularity rose with the show (both of these men even started on their respective shows during the same year!). I believe GL was still using teleprompters during the early 1970's, but even in the November 1977 episode that was released on the "Phillip Spaulding" DVD, you can clearly see Stewart looking off camera for lines. The reason Stewart remained so long was because of enormous popularity. Had GL had an Executive Producer like Rauch during the 1970's, Stewart might have shared the same fate as Reinholt. As it happens, he managed to last 9 years longer on his show than George did on AW. I never believed this rumor, but one contact from the past stated that Stewart allegedly had a hand in getting Lynne Adams off GL in 1976 because he wanted Mike "free" for future story. I've also heard that Mart Hulswit was difficult, as well. Has anyone else heard this one?

He aged well: http://youtu.be/3Kl-TLBWarA?t=35s

Thanks for finding that article, Carl. I believe it was P & G, CBS or someone in the publicity department that didn't want it revealed that Don was married and had a child, because he was insanely popular in the late 1960's/early 1970's. I don't know if they thought that viewers would be less attracted to him (and therefore less likely to tune in to GL) if they knew he was married in real life.

TimWil, Thank you for all of those GL tidbits. It's always disheartening to read more about how Don Stewart was at GL. But, his attitude also explains why Mike never had any long term relationship on GL after Leslie died. I've heard rumors that he and Beverlee McKinsey didn't get along too well, even though Pam Long was building up a Mike/Alexandra/Lillian triangle in 1984. That was also interesting to read regarding Marsha Clark and John Wesley Shipp being Marland "spies"...

That's a good question. What I remember from around this time period (other than some of the vets being written off quickly in the last few months of 1983) was that Alan was busy dealing with Bradley Raines, who was blackmailing Alan for money when Bradley had discovered that Phillip was not Alan's biological son.