On 3/12/2021 at 4:18 PM, j swift said:

Reading the 1984 recaps got me thinking about how members of this board would react to iconic moments from the period.

 

GL - Josh Lewis being motivated to recover from paralysis by Bert Bauer after her amputation was inspirational, but 2021 soap fans would quibble that both of the long term actors who played her sons Mike and Ed were missing from Springfield when Bert returned.

 

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.

On 3/15/2021 at 1:10 PM, Mitch said:

Kobe gave a bullshit statement that they wanted to keep Bert alive as long as GL was on the air...so Rick could pick up the phone and say, "Grandma, I have a problem." So yea, it was b.s. and then the funeral they gave poor Bert...(and yes, Jesse and Simon had to be on those episodes too to make it even worse!)

 

 

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.

On 3/13/2021 at 11:43 AM, Mitch said:

I heard that Don wanted to always have a younger actress as his romance and thought Bev was too old. Too bad his ego got in the way and it makes sense that Kobe would recast Mike but didn't as she had to recast Ed. Too bad as I always thought Alex/Mike would have been very interesting and have no clue why they didn't recast him later leading up to Berneau coming back. They could have brought both a recast Mike and Hope back for Bert's funeral and had months to set them up with Mike/Alex and Hope/Ross for Alan to return. Instead we got Jesse/Simon, with Alex obsessing over those bores, Calla with Ross, and endless Kyle and boring Maeve!

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...?

On 3/13/2021 at 3:53 PM, Efulton said:

I wonder if Guiding Light ever considered bringing Gary Pilar back as Mike since be played the role from 1963–1965.

That's a good question. I assume Pillar was still acting in the mid-1980's...?

59 minutes ago, Mitch said:

Dumb move to fire Stewart when Simon left...I know Kobe didn't know Charita would pass away but it wasn't fair to Charita to hang it all on her.

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.

On 3/8/2021 at 11:49 PM, j swift said:

I had no idea Don Stewart and Peter Simon left GL within weeks of each other in 1984

 

 

 

But it is a toss up which was less respectful

 

Mike's final mention in the recaps

 

Or the poor grammar and misspelling of the title of the article announcing their departure

 

 

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.

On 3/7/2021 at 11:43 PM, Paul Raven said:

Millette/Sara was such a big part of the show in the 70's but the Dobsons didn't seem enamored of her despite her popularity.Joe was killed off (Did Anthony Call choose to leave?) and then she was given another murderous husband.

Marland married her off to Adam and then he was dropped and she gradually faded away,

 

 

@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.

On 2/20/2021 at 1:25 PM, victoria foxton said:

 February 4, 1980- A pregnant Rita's terrorized. In the Hall of Mirrors by Roger. As Donna Summer and Barbara Streisand's Enough, Enough plays.

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.

On 1/20/2021 at 5:36 PM, Mitch said:

I get to play the chair??(I will refrain from a "sitting on" you joke.)

A great time on the show..it was all coming together..the climax of Sonni/Solita...and Roger's return along with Holly.  I wish they had made the "FBI guy"  Mike Bauer and the triangle be with Mike/Alex/Roger not boring and once again shoe horned Fletcher. Nadine's talk show was a waste of time filler. I forgot how cheesy Rusty was..who calls their sister "beautiful"???

I was hoping all during the spring/summer of 1989 that they were going to bring Mike Bauer back for Roger's return storyline. Phillip even called Mike at one point to discuss Roger (and it was hilarious, as Phillip asked Mike on the phone if Mike remembered him...).

I agree - Mike Bauer should have been the one who rescued Alex from the island (because he was in pursuit of "Adam Malek"), and essentially taking Fletch out of the equation, altogether. Then, when Roger was revealed, there would have been one more Bauer who had an axe to grind with Roger. I personally would have been fine with a Mike Bauer recast, since the character had been away from our screens for 5 years at that point.

On 1/4/2021 at 6:10 PM, Mitch said:

Agreed..and it did tie all the families together in a way which worked..if they had continued on with it being those 5 families being the main families going forward. Hate that they killed Bill, he needed to be around in the background and coming in on various events occassions...(imagine him at Bert's funeral.)

Definitely - especially if Bill showed up drunk for Bert's funeral because of the guilt he still felt for how he was as a husband to her during their marriage and during the time he let her believe he was dead...

On 1/2/2021 at 10:14 AM, Khan said:

 

Granted, the storyline was built on an absurd premise (that Bill Bauer, Henry Chamberlain, H.B. Lewis, Tom Reardon and Brandon Spaulding were all friendly with each other and liked to go on fishing trips together) that contradicted established history.  (For one thing, the Lewises and Spauldings weren't even IN Springfield until the 1970's and early '80's).  But, on its' face, I think it was a well-told mystery that affected all the major families in town.

 

And it was a damn sight better than the Maryanne Caruthers mystery, too.   

I actually could believe that Bill Bauer knew the Lewis, Spaulding, and Chamberlain families, considering Bill's career in Public Relations. I always took the liberty of believing that these three families were some of Bill's top clients, so he and his company would take them on an annual fishing trip. Bill happened to be acquainted with Tom Reardon because of that.

The storyline, itself, was fine. It helped in intertwine the main Springfield families. What I was never happy with (and still not happy with) was that they used this storyline to kill off Bill Bauer, a character who had been on the show in some form or another since at least 1949. Bill's death was pretty much used as a plot device for the story, and there were no long-term effects on the Bauer family at all. If Bill's death had brought Simone Kinkaid (Bill's ex and Hillary's mother) back to town to spark a new storyline, that might have made the death serve a greater purpose. As it was, it didn't do much at all.

On 10/26/2020 at 3:08 PM, DRW50 said:

I have a very hard time watching Hilary's funeral episode. There's just such a falseness, from the very camera-ready performance from Trent Jones (who is a very good actor and did wonderful work on Ryan's Hope) and Richard Van Vleet among others, to the strong undertone of "yeah it's sad, get over it now" in some of the writing choices for various characters, to how cheap the set looks (even though at this time they were more than able to blow out the budget on location shoots). Even starting the episode with Jonathan, rather than the Bauers. The main heartbreak I can feel is from Charita Bauer, and I have to wonder how much of that is her knowing how ill she was (IIRC the others at the show did not).

I finally watched this episode for the first time in a long while, and I completely agree. First, Hilary's death was utterly pointless, making it two years in a row of a pointless Bauer death in order push forward a storyline (Bill Bauer's death being the other from 1983). Second, no Mike, no Hope...and I forgot to pay attention if they even mentioned Simone Kinkaid (Hilary's mother)? Charita was fantastic, as always. I guess we are lucky that Hilary even received a funeral - Bert Bauer's "funeral" episode in 1986 was an absolute travesty.

On 12/25/2020 at 11:55 PM, DRW50 said:

Is the first old woman in this ad Kate Wilkinson (Viola Stapleton)?

 

 

It certainly looks like it.

13 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Mart Hulswit was cute as younger man but by the early 80's he was overweight and balding thus the decision to let him go.

Don Stewart had aged much better, so Mike was retained at that time.

Hulswit had actually thinned out a bit by 1980 (as can be seen on YT during the Summer 1980 Bauer pool scenes), probably due to pressure put on him by the studio, although I have no confirmation on this. I know that TPTB were looking to eliminate the Bauer family - or to downsize them significantly - but Marland kept that at bay during his tenure there. The point could be made that both Mike and Ed became more supporting players versus part of front burner storylines.

As far as why Hulswit was not hired after Marland had moved to ATWT, I really don't know. As others have correctly noted here, he didn't give up acting at all. He was still active for years after the show let him go.

I have heard from a few people in the past that Hulswit became critical of Marland's writing once Marland took over as headwriter in 1980.  I'm not certain *what* the issues were, but Marland apparently became so fed up with it, he pressured the Executive Producer at that time, Allen M. Potter, to fire Hulswit and recast Ed. Potter was reluctant to do so, but finally gave in and terminated Hultwit in the summer of 1981.

As @vetsoapfan stated above, Marland was not kind at all to Hulswit in the press. Which, to me, was surprising, as I always understood it that Marland had good relationships with the actors. Apparently, this wasn't the case.

I wish I could find the book, but there was a section in some book I was reading a few years ago about soap operas and soap opera production where Potter actually talked about his firing of Hulswit, stating something along the lines that he regretted doing it, and felt pressure to do it from the writing staff. I am blanking on the book though. Potter also discussed the character of Alan Spaulding in that same book. Does anyone remember this book at all...?

Here's where I laugh about wanting to recast with a "younger" Ed:

Mart Hulswit DOB: May 24, 1940.

Peter Simon DOB: September 27, 1943.

So, I guess they were successful in getting a younger Ed, all of 3 years younger...

On 8/13/2020 at 1:04 PM, Mitch said:

I agree..maybe because Simon never could express any emotion besides that pursed lip thing..I really do think they did indeed need to recast Ed when Simon left, as it would almost be a start over for the character..why did they never bring the Ed before him back?

 

Parker's acceptance was gracious and a kind of FU to JFP, talking about the people writing in for Maureen, that's a hard line to walk. I wonder why no soap ever hired her for something?

Because Mart Hulswit apparently didn't look like the leading man part to TPTB. However, Mart would have had much better chemistry with both Michael Zaslow and Maureen Garrett, due to their history together throughout the mid to late 1970's. It's a shame, as Hulswit *could* actually emote more than just a pursed lip - he was warm but had a temper when pushed.

2 hours ago, RavenWhitney said:

Robert Soderberg and Edith Sommer wrote the show from 69-73. I have part of their story bible in my attic. I won it off of ebay at some point. It's really interesting.  It's been a while since I've read it.

Any interesting tidbits from it? I would love to know things that were in their story bible.

24 minutes ago, Mitch said:

That promo would have made me watch even if I had no clue what GL was. And I might say Ed was looking very DILFY in this commercial, something PS never was..Marland was a dumbass for that.

 

I only watched a little of the Doctors before class and Zimmer was a site...its too bad she had to be REVA all the time..she played conflicted bad girl great..

Mart Hulswit had noticeably slimmed down by the time the Santa Domingo storyline rolled around. I wonder if that was dictated by the studio? Don Stewart was already buffed up and ready to go. Notice how they had Ed in a button up and Mike in a tight-fitting polo shirt . They were also using the pool more during the summer of 1980, so Mart was still slim during that time period, as well.

On 2/16/2020 at 4:57 AM, DRW50 said:

 

Once of the best conclusions to a storyline, ever. It took about 2 years from start to finish from when Zaslow returned to the role of Roger in 1978 to his fall from the cliff in Santa Domingo on April 1, 1980. Stellar performances by everyone involved. Zaslow and Garrett should have each won an Emmy for their work during 1979.

27 minutes ago, Neil Johnson said:

 

That storyline was confused about a lot of things.  Most importantly, did any of those older male characters even live in Springfield during the period the photo was supposedly taken?  Bill Bauer was living in Selby Flats, California during that time. HB Lewis was in Tulsa, and had never even heard of Springfield.  The Spauldings were not originally from Springfield, because I remember when Alan moved there in the late-70s (although this history was changed later and misused many many times).  I suppose the only character for whom this plot was historically accurate was the the Reardon father (don't recall his name) -- because the Reardon's were Springfield natives.  

 

It was a very interesting plot, and well written.  But the show's continuity was totally botched. Nutty.  

Good point. I mean, the truth *could* be stretched a bit concerning Bill Bauer, if one chose to adhere to original TGL continuity. Even if we go by the fact that Bill lived in Selby Flats during the time period the fishing trip took place (and Selby Flats was pretty much retconned out altogether once Springfield was the new location for TGL), Bill Bauer did travel occasionally for business, so it isn't out of the question that Bill may have paid to take his clients on a fishing trip in the rural area of Springfield (even if he's technically living in Selby Flats).  But, you're right - I think at that point the plot was written that the Bauers, Chamberlains, and Spauldings were all long-standing residents of Springfield.

On 2/2/2020 at 11:36 PM, DRW50 said:

Two years?

I think they were confused when Brandon "reappeared" in 1983 via flashbacks for the Eli Simms storyline (which actually ended up killing Bill Bauer in 1983, not Brandon). Brandon had originally died on camera in 1979.

4 hours ago, SoapDope said:

UCLA Film and TV Archive lists as having several pre-wiping period episodes in their archives along with episodes of ATWT. They are listed as not available for public viewing. I assume they do not have the equipment to play those old quad tapes or it's just an excuse to not have to bother with them. 

Are those on quad tapes or on kinescope/33 mm film? I remember that UCLA also has episodes of "The Guiding Light" and "Edge of Night" also in their archives, but I believe those are listed as 33 mm film. Which, (unfortunately) unless those tapes have been transferred, has likely degraded.

On 1/15/2020 at 11:53 AM, Mitch said:

I think Simon has his own money and didn't need the soap work..so he was less tolerant then other actors of..well, probably everything. I wonder if he is the vet in Tina Sloan's book who got out of his contract early cause of the way they were pushing all vets aside.  I know he really, really fought the "Michelle slap" and I agree with him. I do have to say, some of his demands were a bit off...(I actually think Nola and Ed could have worked if written correctly, but still think Nadine would have been good with Ed, give him a zip and he could bring her down to earth. )

 

I never understood when Simon left in 96 they didn't recast Mike? He could have had a wife who could be a new Bauer matriarch...(but I still wanted to see him with Alex..though Dusay in a love scene would scare the HELL out of me...)

 

I just don't understand Marland's feeling that Simon was sexier then MH as that was not the case..(I think Marland had a thing against..."bigger" guys who wernt muscle boys.

 

From what I've learned, Hulswit was apparently critical of Marland's writing, or at least commented on the writing in some way that made Marland less than happy with Hulswit. Allegedly Marland had Potter replace Hulswit in 1981.

On 1/11/2020 at 1:59 PM, DRW50 said:

I think this one has been up before and the channel was probably taken down, but still, it hasn't been up for a while. July 1, 1980.

 

 

Not sure if @zanereed still posts here but they may like this (although I don't think Mike is in it).

I do - thank you for posting this, @DRW50 - there's no Mike, but it still has a majority of my favorites in it.

@Mitch - good question. I can't remember either why Brandon initially left his stock to Amanda. @vetsoapfan - do you remember at all? 

And I will wholeheartedly agree with all of you - in my opinion, the best Ed Bauer was Hulswit. He had warmth that Peter Simon never had, yet still had the temper that Robert Gentry had before him. Plus, Hulswit looked like Michael O'Leary's father .

On 8/11/2019 at 7:33 AM, vetsoapfan said:

From Rona Barrett's Daytimes, April 1977 (debut issue)

 

Don Stewart (TGL) defends the soaps.

 

 

Pre-internet, comments from the public were just as weird as they are today on social media.

 

 

From Rona Barrett's Daytimers, May 1977

 

Douglass Watson from AW.

 

 

From Rona Barrett's Daytimers, June 1977

 

Tina Andrews on DAYS' interracial romance.

 

 

Harding Lemay, AW's head writer.

 

 

More Warped Fans write to Eileen Fulton.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Go, Don, GO!  I miss Don Stewart...

And yes, those Fulton columns are absolutely hilarious.

THANK YOU for the Harding Lemay article. I really don't know how he was able to write two soaps simultaneously. It seemed from what he described in his book (and hinted in the article), he was likely suffering from major burnout.