zanereed

Jed Allen would have likely been a perfect Mike Bauer, but would he have been too perfect? Meaning, would we have looked at him and said, "It's Don Craig playing Mike Bauer!" I also doubt that they could have gotten Jed Allen to portray him, as I understood that he was firmly planted on the West Coast, and I'm not certain he could have been lured to an East Coast show? @vetsoapfan, you might have mention this earlier, so I apologize for forgetting, but was Ellen Demming retired from acting by the mid-1980's? I still wonder why no one ever thought to bring Meta back in the 1980's versus waiting an entire decade before doing so. Also, thank you for the YT link - I have something to watch this weekend!

I have never, ever heard a bad word uttered about Charita. It seemed the entire cast loved her, and writers loved writing for her. And Bert did have a sister, Alma-Jean Miller. Unfortunately, I think the show chose to kill off Alma-Jean off-screen around 1983 (again, the same year they killed off Bill Bauer on screen). Bringing on Bert's sister would have been a great alternative at the time of her funeral.

I kept seeing Pilon as Max DuBujak (his character on Ryan's Hope) during his time on TGL, which was probably my biggest issue. I guess that may be why TPTB at TGL ended up casting him in the first place? Raines was a different story, altogether. I think Raines would have made a better Mike Bauer than he ever did as Alan Spaulding.

For Bert, they mentioned *in passing* that Mike sang at her service, yet no Mike on screen. I know by then TPTB had burned bridges with actors like Stewart and Roussel, but I'm guessing if asked to appear to honor Charita, both would have done it. Or, if they were looking to finally bring the characters back in recasts, then this would have been the opportunity to do so. But, as @vetsoapfan stated, there were no close friends, no family other than Ed...just horrid.

Robert Pickering played Mike Bauer for a few months in 1968 when the character returned to Springfield, but by November or December of that same year Stewart took over. I don't recall if Pickering left or if the show decided to recast?

I think the character of Mike Bauer had been away from TGL for a few months (maybe closer to a year?) when Mike and Hope first arrived in Bay City in 1966, although Mike was still played by Gary Pilar when he did appear on AW. I assume that they would have referenced it on TGL, but I don't think Mike ever "crossed over" back to TGL during 1966/1967.

Thank you so much for sharing this, @Forever8!

As I mentioned earlier, I now wish that GL had hired Reinholt to replace Chris Bernau in 1988 as Alan Spaulding (he was a much better fit IMHO than Daniel Pilon), although we may never have gotten Michael Zaslow back as Roger Thorpe, had that actually occurred. I agree with this 100% - it has to be Trusel.

I love your ideas for Poser, @vetsoapfan and @Mitchespecially this one above. I would have taken it a step further to make it more "soapy", with Poser's character coming to town thinking she is Alan's love child with Rita. Roger becomes suspicious of her claims and decides to have blood work done. To his shock (and delight?), Poser's character isn't a Spaulding, but a Bauer. Not only is she a Bauer, but the bio daughter of Ed! And only Roger knows this. I wonder if Lenore Kasdorf could have ever been persuaded to return at Rita? I think they wanted her to return in 1989 when Zaslow and Garrett came back, but she declined.

Pondering it now, I think I would have cast Poser as Alan's love child...with Rita Stapleton. I can't remember if the show hinted at Rita being pregnant when she fled Springfield in 1981, but having Rita be pregnant with Alan's child, and Poser's character finding out later in life that she was a Spaulding and then wanting her share of the pie would have made that character more interesting. Timewise, she still could have fit, as she still would have been younger than A-M (although by months versus years). Poser's character could have found out from Rita because Rita was dying off camera, or finding out from a still-living Rita, and Rita could have been brought back to Springfield later on if needed. I think Hulswit and MOL would have visually looked believable as father and son. I never saw Simon and MOL that way at all. I thought Born would have been an excellent Alan, as well. Born was a decade younger than Bernau, but just grey the temples - it works every time .

The Bert Bauer Memorial Service was indeed a travesty. You have an original character of the show - someone who had been with it for 32 years in Charita Bauer - pass away, and it took almost 2 years and a heap of viewer mail for the show to finally address it on air. To top it all off, they never even showed the funeral. Ed mentions in passing that Mike was there and sang at it - good grief, that is what the audience wants to actually SEE! TGL should have rolled out the red carpet and brought back everyone they could for it: Mike, Hope, Meta, Trudy, Clyde (if alive), as well as other friends of Bert's over the years. Where was Peggy Fletcher? Adam Thorpe? Sara McIntyre? Barbara Norris Thorpe? Even if the friends were not possible, the family should have been there. This would have been the perfect opportunity to have the fan favorites make an appearance, or roll the dice and recast the roles and bring the characters back, long term.

Regarding Reinholt and McKinsey playing siblings...I completely agree. Again, after all these years, Reinholt was someone I had never, ever considered for the role of Alan until someone asked me out of the blue a few years ago. The more I thought about it, the more I wondered if it could have worked. I admit, Reinholt was uneven, but sometimes I wondered if it was who he was acting in a scene with, or if he was actually invested in the material that was written for him. Regarding Simon, you know I'll agree with you on that one . I really was trying to figure out who Simon had any chemistry with. Even when he was first on with Ellen Dolan, it always seemed like Dolan was striving to make that relationship interesting. Yes, that you for finding that article, @robbwolff. I admit, reading it doesn't instill confidence that they even knew what they would even do with Hope and/or Mike should they have brought them back to Springfield.

@vetsoapfan, what would you have thought if TGL had eventually tried George Reinholt in the role of Alan Spaulding. I could definitely see parallels between how Reinholt played Steve Frame and Bernau played Alan Spaulding. Someone a few years ago had posed that question to me, and I never thought of how well Reinholt might have done in the role. By the 1980's, Reinholt looked a bit different (as could be seen in his return for Another World's 25th Anniversary in 1989), but I think he would have been fascinating to watch. The role of Alan might have allowed Reinholt to go a bit darker than he was allowed to do with Steve Frame. I know at the time Reinholt had sworn off of acting, but I now ponder what that would have looked like, had he been able to portray Alan. Honest question, @Mitch: did Simon have any chemistry with anyone other than Ellen Parker? After I read your comment above, it made me wonder if Simon really had any true chemistry with anyone...?

That exact question about Stewart was asked in TGL thread! Some have speculated that he was actually burned out after 16 years, and wanted to make a change. To be fair, once he was fired, he promptly relocated to the west coast to try his luck there. He appeared briefly as a fill-in for Nick Coster as Lionel Lockridge in 1985. I don't think he appeared in any soap after that? I have heard from others that Stewart felt a bit shielded because of his popularity, and was able to subtly dictate how the show could/should use him. Mike Bauer had really been a supporting/anchor player from 1982 to 1984, so maybe Stewart had gotten used to that role? From what little I've gleamed from Pam Long's comments, Mike would have been front and center in story for a least a year, if not more. Here's what I would have loved to have seen play out in 1984 to 1986 from Alex/Mike/Lillian: Mike ends up following Alex to Barbados and discovering Brandon alive (late 1984). After Barbados, Alex wants to rekindle her romance with Mike, but Mike is still dating Lillian (late 1984/early 1985). Bert passes away peacefully in her sleep. Mike stops dating Lillian, wanting some time to himself to reevaluate his life. Hope returns to Springfield (recast, likely), with A-M cast in the tried and true tradition of "Boarding School" for Bert's funeral (spring 1985). Alex, both feeling sorry for Mike due to Bert's passing, but also wanting a way to get back into Mike's good graces, hires Hope (before she can consider returning to NYC) to redecorate the Spaulding mansion (giving Hope both gainful employment and an opportunity to further eliminate Alan's presence from her life). Mike and Alex interact because of this. Lillian continues to give Mike space, but sees right through Alex's scheme (summer/fall 1985). Mike comforts Alex after Lujack is killed, and this leads to their romance rekindling (winter 1985/early spring 1986). Mike decides he's ready to commit again, and asks Alex to marry him. Alex is elated to have some happiness in her life after losing Lujack, and wants to marry Mike as soon as possible, leading to a summer wedding (late spring 1986). On the day of wedding, Mike and Alex are horrified as their wedding is interrupted by the return of none other than...Alan Spaulding, back from the dead (summer 1986)! That's how I would have plotted it, anyway!

I think you might have been the one to point this out to me, but didn't P & G want the Bauers eliminated as the core family as early as 1981? I thought Hulswit commented somewhere on this shortly after he was let go in? I do remember that Doug Marland confirmed that P & G wanted "fresh" and "new" (younger) faces on TGL to cater to the younger audience. Marland was able to both introduce younger characters who were - at the same time - anchored to established characters on the show, along with keeping those established characters rooted in a storyline, even if they weren't the front burners. Once Potter was gone and Kobe took over, I have a feeling Kobe wasn't as tied to history as her predecessors were, so she was open to completely revamping the show. As far as ratings went, that revamp started off well in early 1984 when the show finally hit #1, but it didn't last.

I honestly wish that Pam Long had the opportunity to bring Meta Bauer back to Springfield. I really believe that Long would have written well for the character. And you are very correct, 1985 to 1988 were definitely a wasteland. When Zaslow and Garrett returned in 1989, I started watching again full time. Also, was that Kobe quote just lip service to the viewers? Someone once told me that although Kobe said that, she never really intended on doing it.

Stewart was definitely fired by Kobe, allegedly due to his resistance to Mike Bauer's involvement in the Alexandra/Mike/Lillian triangle, which would have essentially put Mike Bauer back into a front burner storyline. From the conversations from TGL thread in this forum, along with other input I've found, I guess Stewart was always resistant to whomever he was potentially being paired with (Jackie, Elizabeth, Jennifer, etc.). It seemed he liked Rebecca Holland (Trish Lewis), but he thought that Trish was too young for Mike. There was also Renee Dubois (Deborah May) in late 1979, who had chemistry with Stewart, but Renee was killed by Roger. In fact, in 1981 Doug Marland brought May back to TGL in a different role to be paired with Mike, but that role never stuck. Then in 1984, Pam Long wanted to write for Mike Bauer, so she made Mike part of a love triangle with Alexandra (the sister of his on-again/off-again nemesis, Alan), and Lillian, and the issues from that triangle would have an effect on Beth/Lujack. But, apparently Bev and Don did not get along well, so Stewart was resistant to the storyline. Kobe decided to fire Stewart by the end of the summer in 1984. And IMHO, TPTB never got the Ed casting right once they fired Mart Hulswit from the role. I never understood why Hulswit was never asked back during the times that Simon or the character of Ed was out of Springfield. Maybe he was difficult to work with, but I've never heard anyone confirm that. Firing O'Rourke was a huge mistake on Kobe's part, especially after the well-written paternity reveal in 1983, after a 6 year (in real time) secret being kept on the show. The audience was never given an opportunity to see how the Phillip/Justin/Alan dynamic would have changed. Agreed on Pennock. I loved him in other roles, but he really didn't fit Justin at all. As far as never bringing back Hope, I still say the reason we never saw her again after 1983 was because of Alan-Michael. Once they SORAS-ed A-M to 18 in 1987, it made bringing back Hope awkward. When Hope left Springfield in 1983, she would have still been in her late 20's, I think. Therefore, a recast would have to be more age appropriate. If that was the case, the whole May/December dynamic of Hope/Alan would have been lost (at least in 1987). Hope really should have been brought back in 1985 or 1986, ideally at the time that Bert's death would have been acknowledged on-air. That way, A-M could have been aged a bit more slowly (well, as slowly as allowed on soaps). I wish that Roussel would have stayed in 1983, because it looked like Long was setting up Alan and Hope for a "War of the Roses" scenario.

Well, both Peter Simon and Don Stewart were still on the show when Bert was recovering from her amputation. In fact, I think Stewart appeared in the same episode where Bert tells Josh how precious life is. The scene was Mike arriving for Bert's therapy session when Bert took her first steps towards Mike, and Bert commenting on how, not so long ago, she was on the other end, with Mike taking his first steps towards Bert. It was a fantastic scene from Charita.

I think Kobe played too fast and loose with minimizing the Bauer family in 1983 and 1984. Someone told me that Kobe (and maybe even Long?) felt that as long as they had Bert Bauer as their tentpole, legacy character, everyone else was expendable to a certain extent. However, as people have noted over in the GL discussion thread, Charita never let on how sick she was, so it was shocking (to say the least) when Kobe learned that she passed away. Meaning, there was no back up plan for anyone to replace Charita, and TPTB certainly weren't going to bother researching into history to bring in Meta, for example, to help replace Bert. I can remember throughout 1985 (when I wasn't paying much attention to the show at all) reading that fans were wondering why the show wasn't going to honor Charita by having Bert also pass away. I'd love to know the inquiry letters the show received that year concerning it.

I heard the same thing, which was why I was confused about his take on Rebecca Hollen (Trish Lewis), as he apparently considered her too young?!!? Unless Stewart no longer wanted to work much on the show, I don't know why he would turn down a front burner storyline which was supposed to have kept Mike in focus for most of 1984 and 1985, and probably beyond that had Stewart still been in the role when Bernau returned in 1986. By the way, I liked Alex and Mike, as well! I loved the scene when Mike took The Baroness on a helicopter ride, and Bev was just looking expressive and amazed at it the whole time. I think that one is still up on YT. I wonder why they didn't eventually recast Mike and Hope, as well. I suppose part of the reason was that Long never bothered (or wanted?) to acknowledge Charita's death, as Bert's death was finally announced on air a few months after Long had left in January of 1986. I could never figure out why it took so long for the show to acknowledge Bert's passing...? That's a good question. I assume Pillar was still acting in the mid-1980's...?

Agreed. 100%. However, I think that Peter Simon leaving the show was a surprise, which is why they had to come up with a recast so quickly. If Simon had stayed on, I'm pretty sure Kobe would have recast Mike. The reason being was that Mike was already being weaved into a semi-front burner storyline via a love triangle with Lillian and Alexandra, the ramifications of which were supposed to have spilled over into the budding Beth/Lujack romance. Allegedly Don Stewart had not been an easy person to work with, going back years on the show. However, his popularity was so high with viewers that it was tolerated. For example, Mike Bauer had not been in any long-term romantic relationship since Leslie Bauer died in 1976! Apparently Stewart was never happy with who he was paired with (with perhaps the exception of Trish Lewis, but Stewart thought Trish was essentially too young for Mike). When Pam Long came on as head writer, she *wanted* to write for Mike, which is why she positioned him in the center of the triangle. I guess Don and Bev didn't get along very well, so once again Stewart was resistant to the storyline. That must have been the last straw for Kobe, so she fired him around August of 1984. Looking back, Mike was on quite a bit over the spring and summer of 1984. I believe his last major appearance was at the Founders Day Celebration? I think the original plan was that Mike would be with Alex when the Dreaming Death/Susan Piper/Brandon Spaulding is alive in Barbados storyline reached its conclusion in late 1984, but those plans were scrapped, along with anything else tied to Lillian/Alexandra/Beth/Lujack.

To be fair, Peter Simon definitely left, declining to stay with the show. Meanwhile, Don Stewart was definitely fired by Gail Kobe, and that article is pretty accurate as far as the "why"! However, it was unfortunate that Stewart never got a final scene or farewell on the show. Mike was simply written out as having taken a job in Washington DC and that was it.

@Paul Raven, I'm trying to recall this correctly, since both things happened in the same year - I think Lynne Adams decided she wanted to leave the show, so Leslie Bauer was killed off. I think the Dobsons decided to kill off Joe Werner to free up Sara on the canvas (because they were going to pair her with Justin Marler), so Anthony was written out. I might have that backwards?

Yes, 1980 was definitely a transition year, but I don't really remember noticing it that much until April of 1980. That's when Roger "died", and both Jennifer and Morgan were introduced. Kelly and Nola had already been inserted into the story the prior two months - cleverly, I might add. Marland took his time, and didn't overpower current storylines by suddenly shifting focus to his new characters. He knew how to introduce those new characters by anchoring them to existing ones. Nola and her mother, Bea, were tied to Roger, Kelly was tied to Ed, and Jennifer and Morgan were initially tied to Mike (and then Amanda, Alan, etc.). From then on, the purge continued: Peter Chapman and Holly were written out, Lucille Wexler was killed off (which I hated, as Rita Lloyd was wonderful as Lucille), and Jackie was recast. Speaking of which, when Cindy Pickett left the role of Jackie in 1980, I would have rather Jackie have been killed off at that point versus being recast. Carrie Mowery just didn't have the spunk that Cindy did, and would have been better suited as a recast for Elizabeth. However, Lezlie Dalton was still under contract and I don't think had a desire to leave the show at that point. In regards to the Philip paternity reveal, I think Pam Long did a fantastic job with it. It had been an "on-air secret" since 1978, so the show did an admirable job of keeping it hidden for such a long amount of time (the only thing I can recall comparable would have been Mike Horton's father reveal on DOOL). The only issue I ever had with it was as soon as the secret was revealed, Long wrote out Justin Marler! The audience never was allowed to see the new dynamic play out between Justin and Phillip. Instead, Justin left Springfield, and Phillip was more or less back in the Spaulding orbit (until Justin reappeared again in 1990). From what I understand, Tom O'Rourke wasn't planning on leaving the show, Long and Kobe decided to write the character out. I never understood that at all.

Around a month into Douglas Marland's era, as Marland is charged with finishing off Roger's storyline. It just kept building and building. Rita's kidnapping and miscarriage, Holly and Christina fleeing to Santo Domingo, Renee's death, Mike and Ed trailing Roger to Santo Domingo. It was just a gradual build-up to Roger's eventual "death" I give Marland credit - he did a heck of a job in sending off Roger. I'm still not sure if he was working off of things the Dobsons were planning, or if this was all Marland. Regardless, it was "can't-miss" TV.