toml1962
-
Posts
94 -
Joined
-
Last visited
Content Type
Forums
Events
Blogs
Gallery
Posts posted by toml1962
-
-
There are various episodes of many soaps floating around in the hands of private collectors. The studios and networks may not have cared about preserving the episodes, but die-hard fans sure did. Actors too. Jacquie Courtney said in one interview that she had had kinescope copies made of many of her most significant episodes as Alice Matthews Frame on AW. Now that she has passed away, I imagine her family has inherited them, but of course, that doesn't mean the public will ever have the chance to see or archive them. A private seller contacted me a few years ago, telling me that he had videotaped on Betamax, an entire year of TGL from 1976. The tapes had been for his mother, and after she died, he was willing to sell them. He wanted $2000.00 for (he said) about 260 episodes. There was no way I was going to pay that kind of money for unseen material, with no assurance of its quality, but he did swear up and down that the episodes existed. Whatever happened to them in the end, I have no idea. I'd love to get eps of the show from the mid 1970s, but not at that price!
There is a bogus so-called seller out there who not only claims to have those GL episodes, but full years of SOM. Several people I know have actually given this female lots of money and rec'd nothing in return. Moreover, there is a website that lists her name and address and much more.
I would never pay ANYONE for any of those all at once. I might be inclined to pay a small amount for a demo dvd, showing clips of at least 30-50 episodes. THEN I might buy them slowly. Needless to say, when I myself asked this person to do as much, they never replied.
For those interested, here is the link:
http://www.tvpast.org/forum/sales-deals/19896-bootleg-warning-poland.html#ixzz1wyFi23GB
Has used the names
N, Anna Nicole, Nicole, Lucy Martin, Jessica Nicel, Alice Tenny, Caroline Novak
Email addys include:
EMAILS: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
[email protected], [email protected] (for PayPal account), [email protected] (claims it's her sister's PayPal account & shows Jessica Nicel as the account owner)
Many more. DO NOT buy from people who claim to have tons of episodes without making them PROVE they do!
0 -
Of course, different critics can view the same material and come away with different opinions on its merit. Asserting that another critic's assessment is "ill informed", simply because it contradicts one's own, is akin to proclaiming that no one else can judge a piece of art negatively, because you had once read something, somewhere, praising the art to the sky. Ten different viewers could have judged a show's writing during its first few seasons and all expressed varying opinions on it. Rationally, since personal opinions cannot be wrong, they should not precipitate any sort of ire and belligerence among fans. I find it curious, surfing the net, how viewers of such diverse series as STAR TREK to I LOVE LUCY can become livid with rage when other viewers "dare" to have opinions of their own.
Was Cenedella the single worst writer in the history of soaps? No. Was he the best? No. The shows he was involved with benefited from his leaving; AW with Harding Lemay taking over and Somerset with the gifted Henry Slesar assuming the writing reigns. Cenedella was also very fortunate to have Agnes Nixon's long term storyline in place, and to have the wonderful characters and situations she which had evolved, to work with during his tenure on the show. It was Nixon and Lemay, bookending Cenedella's work, who really benefited AW the most.
Cenedella was not "lucky," he happens to have been already on the show as one of her two assistant writers BEFORE the Steve-Rachel-Alice story began. Nixon herself credited Cenedella as hugely responsible for the shows success, which came about several years before Reinholt came on the show. It was also Nixon who recommended Cenedella become head writer when she left in February 1969 to concentrate full time on OLTL.
In other words, opinions are one thing - facts often quite another. Some may wish to assume Nixon did not know what she was doing when she hired him AND kept him on the show AND saw to his promotion...I on the other hand, agree with the dear lady - The man was a fine writer.
0 -
In 1970, AW’s title was changed to Another World - Bay City to coincide with the premiere of new soap and spin-off Another World - Somerset. Ironically, AW (which had originally been intended to be the first daytime soap spin-off ever) begat the real first daytime spin-off. The names were established to connect the two series (essentially making up the 1st hour-long daytime soap opera even though it would be another 5 years before the two series would air back-to-back). Regular AW characters Missy Palmer Matthews (now widowed from Bill), her son Ricky Matthews (the biological child of the late Denny Fargo), and newly-weds Sam Lucas (Ada’s brother) and Lahoma Vane Lucas (former best-friend of both Rachel and Lee) moved to Somerset which was located 50 miles away from Bay City. Early in the show’s run, there was much crossing over between the two series. However, ratings for the new series were low and the ratings for the parent series were beginning to drop drastically. In an attempt to fix what was broken, Robert Cenedella (who was head writing both series at the time and who had created Somerset) was removed from AW so that he could focus all of his attention on the new series. The parent name of the parent series was changed back to Another World and the name of the spin-off was shortened to simply Somerset.
Whoever wrote that article is ill-informed. Cenedella left SOMERSET to concentrate on AW, not the other way around. And he left the show in January 1971. about six weeks before the titles changed on March 1, 1971. This is all backed up by numerous sources including Daytime TV, Afternoon TV and the wonderful Another World website.
0 -
I think that Robert Cenadella was one of the best writers on soap operas. Somerset was not written poorly during its early months! One thing that may have hurt it, though, was that so many of the characters from Another World:Bay City crossed over to Somerset for cameo guest appearences. I had never seen Another World, and the crossovers would sometimes get in the way.
Had Dark Shadows remained as it initially was (not turning into a horror soap opera), I think that Cenedella would have been an EXCELLENT writer or headwriter.
Mr. Slesar has a pattern of breaking up the couples that he inherits or sometimes creates, such as Laurie Ann and Vic on The Edge of Night, Liz and Steve on The Edge of Night, Adam and Roxanne on The Edge of Night, Tony and Jill on Somerset, David and Emily on Somerset, Steve and Deborah on The Edge of Night, Winter and Logan on The Edge of Night, etc. This sometimes hurts his shows because the audiences are not happy.
Agree with nearly all of what you say. This superstition about the show being badly written during its first two + years has no basis in fact. It is merely the ill-informed opinion of one writer whose article clearly showed they had NOT followed the show very closely. Other's since then propagated this inaccuracy and those who did not watch the show repeat it again and again. People always say the show got better when Slesar came on in 1972, but he came on in 1971 nine months after the show began so as to free up Cenedella - that is clear from many sources.
But, two things:
1) The crossovers were an issue largely because the shows were not back to back, due to the fact that SOM was unable to go up against another P&G show. I have letters printed in soap mags where people complained A LOT about this very issue and that SOM not being shown right after AW caused some viewers lots of issues due to the fact that if you wanted to know what happened after AW, you HAD to watch SOM. Also, most parents said that their kids came home when SOM came on and that it was hard to watch it in full, etc. BUT, as some have also stated here, the crossovers were very useful. AND, when the crossovers dwindled, so too did the ratings.
2) The Jill/Tony story did not come to an end by dint of Slesar, who came on as HW in early January 1971. Pammy and Randy work big time to keep the two of them apart nearly from the start of the show. Also, the actor who originated the role of Tony Cooper, Doug Chapin, refused to renew his contract. Tony was originally only supposed to leave town for a month or so. When Chapin left, the character stayed away for six months, thus the end of Tony and Jill. Slesar brought on Mitch Farmer at the end of October 1971, and then brought back Tony to heat things up at the end of November of that same year. I recall an item in one of the soap magazines that Pamela Toll was approached but declined to resume her role as Pammy.
0 -
I think someone mentioned this before, but for the record, five episodes are at UCLA.
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 109px;" width="109"> <colgroup> <col /> </colgroup> <tbody> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="width: 109px; height: 19px; text-align: center;"> 3/12/1973</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px; text-align: center;"> 3/20/1973</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px; text-align: center;"> 3/28/1973</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px; text-align: center;"> 4/5/1973</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px; text-align: center;"> 4/13/1973</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
0 -
All of these episodes exist:
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 275px;" width="274"> <colgroup> <col /> <col /> <col /> </colgroup> <tbody> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="width: 64px; height: 19px;"> 1</td> <td style="width: 76px;"> 3/8/1971</td> <td style="width: 135px;"> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 2</td> <td> 3/16/1971</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 3</td> <td> 3/24/1971</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 4</td> <td> 4/1/1971</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 5</td> <td> 4/9/1971</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 6</td> <td> 3/12/1973</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 7</td> <td> 3/20/1973</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 8</td> <td> 3/28/1973</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 9</td> <td> 4/5/1973</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 10</td> <td> 4/13/1973</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 11</td> <td> 4/22/1975</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 12</td> <td> 12/11/1975</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 13</td> <td> 1/30/1976</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 14</td> <td> 5/20/1976</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 15</td> <td> 6/8/1976</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 16</td> <td> 10/7/1976</td> <td> UCLA</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 17</td> <td> 1976</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> <tr height="19"> <td height="19" style="height: 19px;"> 18</td> <td> 1976</td> <td> Paley Center</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
Am willing to bet others exist in private collections.
0 -
-
-
-
Funny, but IMO Strasser DID see the vulnerabilities in the role. It was Wyndham who played it full on the first two years or so. This from an interview.
Star: VICTORIA WYNDHAM
Role: Rachel Hutchins, ANOTHER WORLD
AW Debut: July 15, 1972
Birthday: May 22
Children: Darian and Christian
A WOMAN OF INDEPENDENT MEANS
Victoria Wyndham Celebrates Her Silver Anniversary as Bay City's Beloved,
Self-Reliant Heroine
DIGEST ONLINE: When you joined ANOTHER WORLD back in 1972, you and Constance
Ford (Ada) reportedly got off to a bad start?
VICTORIA WYNDHAM: I remember that first day rehearsing with her. I had made it
very clear to the people who'd hired me that I didn't want to hear, "Oh, well,
Robbie [Robin Strasser] would have done it differently." The problem with
taking over from somebody is that you're going to bring in your own bag of
tricks. That's what they were hiring, that's what they wanted. [The producer]
assured me [there would be no comparisons to Robin Strasser's interpretation
of the role]. "Oh, no, no, that's not going to happen," they said, "because
we're hiring you. We've tried other people and it hasn't worked. We've wanted
you for the whole year, even though we weren't able to get you because you
were retired with your babies. [FYI: Wyndham had put her acting career on hold
while her sons were infants.] And now we've got you. We hired you because we
want to change this character [and make her sympathetic]. It's what you do
that we want." So that first day I come in, and I'm doing a scene with Connie,
and we finish the scene, and she looks at the director du jour and she says,
"Well, Robbie never would have played it like that, is that the way you're
gonna play it?" I put my script down and I waited for the director to run
interference, and it was clear to me that he was a little intimidated by her,
so I put my script down and I said, "When you've all sorted this out, I'll be
in my dressing room!" I walked off the set, and that was the end of that --
that was the moment that Connie decided that I was a great replacement for
Robin.
DIGEST ONLINE: So you didn't let Constance Ford intimidate you?
WYNDHAM: I'd worked with people like this before. I'd been on Broadway, I'd
been off-Broadway. I'd been working with Lily Tomlin and Madeline Kahn and
everybody else, so Connie ford was certainly not going to intimidate me on my
first day. Well, that was all she wanted to do; she was testing my mettle and
she found out [i wouldn't wilt] and from that point on we got along famously
DIGEST ONLINE: It's interesting. You've become so strongly identified with
Rachel, a character that Robin Strasser first portrayed; and Robin has become
so identified with Dorian Lord (on ONE LIFE TO LIVE), a role that SHE didn't
create. Have you two ever discussed that parallel?
WYNDHAM: No I don't see Robin; I don't see anybody really in the business. I
live out in the country and when I am working in New York, we're all the way
out in Brooklyn [at the NBC studio] and she's in Manhattan [at ABC]. By the
time I finish taping, I get back [home] very late at night. I go to bed, learn
my words and go to work the next day, and then at the end of the week I go
home to the country. You know, I spend so many hours here [at the studio] with
this company, more hours than I ever get to spend with my family or my
friends, so I don't do a whole lot of business [things]. [Robin and I] see
each other at functions, and we enjoy seeing each other, but we hardly talk
shop; we usually talk about our sons, do mother stuff. It's strange. We admire
each other's work, but I think Robin is so totally identified with my
character. The first thing you all say to me is, "Well, of course you took
over for Robin Strasser." I took over for Robin Strasser? I've been doing this
part for 25 years, she did it for 5. If that's not parity, what am I nuts? I
don't consider it as taking over a part; I consider it that I created a new
part.
DIGEST ONLINE: When you became Rachel, making her more sympathetic was
immediately part of your vision for the character, wasn't it?
WYNDHAM: That's why they hired me. I just exposed her vulnerabilities, and
Robin didn't see the part that way. She saw it differently and it was totally
valid. From what I understand that she did, I think it was a very valid way to
go. You know, we're different, that's all. I find heavies are interesting
because of what you can bring to them from the other side of the deck. Some
people play heavies and think they're interesting, because they don't ever
want to show any other side of the deck. It's just two different ways of
working, and they're both valid. But what [producer] Paul Rauch and [head
writer] Pete Lemay wanted was to see a little bit more of what made her tick.
That's why they wanted me, that was what the deal was. I was to come on and
give them what I do, not what somebody else did.
DIGEST ONLINE: After all these years, do fans ever get the two of you
confused?
WYNDHAM: Do you know my favorite story about Robin? She made quite an
impression on everyone. I was coming down from Boston after seeing my son,
when he was at college at BU, and I'm on the Boston Turnpike. I'm going
through the tollgate and I'm futzing with my handbag, and the girl at the toll
booth starts getting all apoplectic and nervous and smiling and getting all
short of breath. She's very excited because she recognized me. So I hand her
the money and she goes, "Wait, wait, oh you're on my favorite soap." Well, I
don't supply my name, I'm waiting for her to get it, and as I'm driving away,
she goes, "I just love you Robin Strasser -- for years!" I drive away and I
think -- at that point I'd been on the show for 20 years -- and it still isn't
my part yet! It was a very funny thing. I laughed I think all the way down to
Connecticut. Because Robin and I don't even look alike. This woman obviously
was a current viewer; she knew who I was. She wasn't mistaking me for Robin,
she just couldn't get the right name. More power to Robin-- what an indelible
impression she made.
0 -
Thanks, that's nicely done.
I have more there in other folders (did it based on the TV seasons - 70-71, 71-72, etc.). Also found a lot more in magazines. Will add as I can.
0 -
http://s1257.photobucket.com/albums/ii508/Tom_Lowery/SOMERSET/1969-70%20Season/
A link to photos of Somerset's cast from the first six months.
0 -
Apparently the woman playing the nun in this (and wearing glasses in an earlier character) short film is Carol Roux? This was put on Youtube in 2008.
People's faces do often change a lot over many years, but I too do not think this is the same person. The CR from AW & SOM is on Facebook and although that photo is clearly from years ago, the eyes of that CR and this other one are very differrent. That is one feature that rarely if ever changes.
0 -
I've always wondered how Fawne Harriman was on Somerset because the only thing I've ever seen her in was that 1 episode of "Charlie's Angels" she did and I've never read one good thing about her performance in it. Every comment I've read typically states that she the 1 single client the Angels had where everyone was unanimously rooting for the killer to get her just to shut her up. I can't recall the title of the episode off the top of my head, but it was Fawne played "Angela" who was a college roommate of Sabrina's who's a stewardess being stalked and left black roses and the Angels have to go undercover at the stewardess school which turns into a take-off on Airport '75 where Kelly has to land a passenger plane. I do love watching old episodes of episodic 1970s television, though, because you never know what classic soap star of the period you'll end up running into.
Fawn was on a fair amount of shows in the 1970s: Switch, Lannigan's Rabbi, Chips, Barnaby Jones and others. She got on the show the way most actors do - an audition. She was a so-so actress, and her career did not last all that long. She certainly was not the actress Jarrett was, and the original actress, Meg Wittner, was better in the role than both IMO.
In fairness, Harriman only started acting around 1970, whereas Jarrett had been around for more than a decade before SOM as a child actor.
Of all three, only Wittner is still active.
0 -
Am so frustrated because there are details from the show's first year or so that I cannot recall. One of them was a fire that broke out on the Riverboat, which was owned by Gerald and Ike, and where Marsha Davis Harding and Randy Buchanan worked. Am fairly certain this is why later in the series those characters wound up working at the Hayloft. Wondering if anyone here remembers that storyline.
0 -
No one ever really talks about Robert Cenedella that much. He always struck me as one of those workhorse writers who just moved from show to show. Did he ever tell a story that stood out on any show or did he just continue stories from the writers that preceded him?
Cenedella was a writer for AW for about one year from 1968 to 1969, then was promoted to head writer early in 1969, where he remained until he willingly stepped down from the role and Lemay came in in late 1971. Cenedella stayed with the show another two years.
Although Agnes Nixon (the previous head writer) created the Steven/Alice/Rachel storyline, it was RC who really exploited it and made it grow. He helped create Somerset and did double duty for the first nine months. Most sources say he left SOM in 1972 in favor of Slesar but that is incorrect. Slesar took over at the start of 1971.
RC was largely a TV writer, and a prolific one. Later he changed careers and became an artist of some notability.
0 -
RTPP certainly did not fail where ratings where concerned. Not the top show, but #10 or 11 out of 16 or 17 shows is nothing to call a failure.
1971-1972
1.As The World Turns 11.1
2.General Hospital 10.4
3.Days Of Our Lives 9.9
4.The Edge Of Night 9.5
5.The Doctors 9.3
6.Another World 9.1
7.Search for Tomorrow 8.6
7.The Guiding Light 8.6
9. Love is Splend. Thing 8.0
10.Love Of Life 7.4
10.Return to Peyton Place 7.4
10.The Secret Storm 7.4
13.One Life To Live 7.3
14.Somerset 6.5
15.Where The Heart Is 6.3
16.Bright Promise 6.1
17.All My Children 5.7
1972-1973
1.As The World Turns 10.6
2.Days Of Our Lives 9.9
3.Another World 9.7
3.General Hospital 9.7
5.The Doctors 9.3
6.Search for Tomorrow 8.6
7.One Life To Live 8.3
8.All My Children 8.2
8.The Guiding Light 8.2
10.The Edge Of Night 7.9
11.The Secret Storm 7.3
12.Love Of Life 7.2
12.Return to Peyton Place 7.2
14. Love is Splend. Thing 7.1
15.Somerset 6.8
16.Where The Heart Is 6.4
17.Young And The Restless 5.0
1973-1974
1.As The World Turns 9.7
1.Days Of Our Lives 9.7
1.Another World 9.7
4.The Doctors 9.5
5.General Hospital 9.2
6.All My Children 9.1
7.The Guiding Light 8.1
8.One Life To Live 7.8
9.Search for Tomorrow 7.7
10.The Edge Of Night 7.4
11.Return to Peyton Place 7.0
12.How/Survive A Marriage 6.4
13. Young And The Restless 6.2
14.Somerset 6.1
15.Love Of Life 6.0
16.The Secret Storm 5.8
It lost approximately 130,000 viewers in the period from 71-72 to 73-74, but easily could have recovered given time.
0 -
The general consensus among critics was NOT that RTPP was badly written. Cast turnover and the producer's uncertainty over whether to replicate, replace or continue storylives from the earlier show. All three were tried in the show's 21-month period. In that respect it has something in common with the last half of Somerset's run.
Reading through the scripts, the shows were neither better or worse writing-wise. Both shows had some of the best head writers in the business like Henry Slaser, Robert Cenedella (both shows), James Lipton, Roy Windsor, Robert Shaw and A.J. Russell. No one who remembers the shows and knows the caliber of these writers would be ignorant enough to suggest they turned out bad scripts.
Whenever producers/networks cannot decide on what a show should be, or whenever they constantly change the direction of a show - in particular a daytime drama - that causes problems. AMC took over TWO years before it caught on, and it was widely considered to be one of the worst soaps on tv for many years - badly directed and often badly acted. But time and consistent storys made it a success.
Had Slesar not left Somerset to concentrate more fully on the ailing EON, SOM might very well continued to climb in the ratings...
0 -
I have never been able to confirm Bille Allen either.
0 -
I am not positive that Rex Ingram ever appeared on The Brighter Day. I know that he was hired, but was the show gone before his character could be introduced?
Also, Billie Allen (The Edge of Night, As the World Turns) was hired to appear on A Flame in the Wind/A Time for Us, but I also have not accertained that she indeed appeared.
He was hired in late August, started on September 17th, and the show ended on the 28th.
You can see the actual advertisement here:
Forgot to say there is a video out there (shokus I think) with two episodes featuring him.
0 -
will be occupied by the first game show on the CBS network starting February 11.
At the time that Storm was cancelled, Jada Rowland, who played the part of Amy Britton Kincaid, was the only member of the original cast of that first fifteen-minute show back in 1952. (Storm was extended to a half-hour segment in June of 1962.) Jada was just 11 when she joined the cast to play the part of young Amy Ames. She has continued to play that role through the years with the exception of three leaves of absences - once when she was killed off, another time when she decided to leave to travel, and another time when she was replaced by Lynne Adams in the Amy role. Through the years, the part of Amy has grown from the rather secondary role of a child-part into the pivotal role on the show. As Storm ends, clearly Amy is the protagonist, pitted against the evil Belle Kincaids and Robert Landers of the world, trying to keep her family together and occasionally getting help and comfort from another favorite Storm character, Valerie Ames Northcote, Amy's stepmother and sounding board and crying shoulder. Valerie has been portrayed by Lori March since the character's introduction some ten years ago, and lately the man who played Valerie's husband was Alexander Scourby, Lori's mate in real-life for more than thirty years.
Another famous Storm player was Haila Stoddard, who played the role of Pauline Fuller Rysdale from the show's debut until 1971. Haila was a veteran of innumerable Broadway shows but it was the role of sometimes witchy but always interesting and captivating Pauline for which fans remembered her and loved her best. When Haila retired in 1971 it was with regret and with the desire to devote more of her time to her work as writer and producer. One of her smash successes as a producer was co-producing The Last Sweet Days of Isaac.
"It's just been marvelous," said Haila then. "On a TV soap series you're paid 52 weeks a year, which in the theatre is unheard of. But aside from the security I've enjoyed it thoroughly.
"For about 10 years I was the protagonist and I just loved it. I was very spoiled, self-willed, father-oriented, very frank and dashing. Fans would tell me I did all the dreadful things they want to but can't...Then after I'd been in every situation an adventurous woman could get into, they reformed me and Pauline became more difficult and less interesting. I solved it by begging them to let me do comedy, so if there's a grain of humor in any situation they let me play it. It's kept me happy and also the viewers, because it's such a relief."
Another longtime Storm favorite was Marjorie Gateson who remained on the show and was a member of the cast, like Jada and Haila since its premiere. Marjorie was the lovable old dowager Grace Tyrell, the maternal grandmother of Amy and the owner of the largest department store in Woodbridge, the setting for Storm. Marjorie, until her retirement, was a veteran of more than fifty years in show business, including the early days of Broadway and movies.
But there have been many distinguished actors who have been associated with The Secret Storm. Beautiful blond Marla Adams, who played the part of Belle Kincaid, and in real life is the mother of two children and wife of Paul Lyday. Bernard Barrow, the man who portrayed the Dan Kincaid character, who had so many roles in movies and had several degrees in the theatre. Peter Hobbs, who played the role of Peter Ames, when Storm first began back in 1952. The character of Peter was killed off in April, 1968, when it was portrayed by Larry Weber. Judy Lewis, who portrayed the role of Susan Ames Dunbar Carver, and is Loretta Young's daughter. But the list of fine actors who have contributed their talents to The Secret Storm goes on and on - June Graham, Mary Foskett, Don Galloway (now on Ironside), Diana Muldaur, nightclub and supper club singer Julie Wilson, George Reinholt, Terry O'Sullivan and Larry Luckinbill. But perhaps the most famous of the Storm performers, although she only appeared for a few sequences, was Joan Crawford.
Actually it was Joan's daughter Christina who had signed up for the Secret Storm part, playing the role of Joan Kane, an unhappy wife who was seeking a divorce. Suddenly Christina was hospitalized for major surgery, and someone had to fill in for her while she was ill. Like the truth trouper and veteran performer she is, Joan volunteered to sub for her daughter.
The Secret Storm was also the first soap opera to feature a black player. The first black on daytime TV was cast on Storm, in 1968.
When the show first began, the character of Peter Ames, the head of Tyrell Department Store in Woodbridge, was the focal point of the story, with his three children and his second wife Myra. Then the spotlight turned more frequently to the problems of Pauline Fuller Rysdale, wife of well-to-do businessman Arthur Rysdale and stepmother of young Kip. Kip as a high school student was in love with Amy and Amy with him. But the romance was thwarted because Kip had made another girl pregnant. Amy tried to forget Kip and went away to college in Woodbridge where she met and fell in love with Professor Paul Britton. When Kip was free, he re-entered Amy's romantic picture and the two were married. As in most soap opera marriages, it wasn't what it seemed it would be, and Amy longed to be free. When she and Kip divorced she married Paul Britton. Yet Paul was enticed away from Amy by newcomer Belle Clemens, a sexy blonde with a way with men. Belle was the kind of girl who always got want she wanted. She got Paul, married him, and then set her sights on another man - this time Dan Kincaid, the show's prime political material and ripe choice for governor of the state. Yet Dan was not all Belle wanted, for after their marriage, it was discovered that Dan had many underworld connections. He was sent to prison and Belle became attracted to a man many years her junior, Robert Landers. In the meantime, Amy married Dan's son, Kevin, which also complicated matters between her and Belle. Always the resourceful witch, Belle decided to blackmail Amy when, unknown to Kevin, Amy became pregnant through artificial insemination, although Kevin thought he had fathered her child.
So The Secret Storm has evolved with its focus on Amy and her problems, as offset by the evil Belle.
Of course, perhaps the most interesting plot development through the years of Secret Storm, and certainly the one which garnered the most outside publicity was the episode which involved the priest and his girlfriend. Father Reddin, played by David Gale, himself a lapsed Catholic, fell in love with young widow and mother Laurie Stevens, as played by pretty brunette Stephanie Braxton. Father Reddin eventually made the controversial decision to leave the church and marry Laurie. It was such an unusual and daring plot development that it was even covered in Time Magazine and the national news magazines. It seemed to have revived viewership in the somewhat faltering serial, and ratings had climbed after the episode started appearing. However, there are those who felt that the priest's problem was too daring for daytime TV, and some felt that this sequence only contributed in the end to the show's cancellation.
The article is also incorrect about the show being the first to feature a black player. In 1962, The Brighter Day made history by hiring the first African-American contract player, actor Rex Ingram, about six weeks before the show ended in 1962.
On July 12, 1965, Micki Grant debuted as Peggy Nolan on Another World.
On Edge of Night, Al Freeman Jr played Assistant DA Ben Lee from 1965 to 1967.
In 1966, Guiding Light hired THEIR first African-American contract players, Billy Dee Williams and Cecily Tyson. The roles were later recast with James Earl Jones and Ruby Dee. Jones also appeared that same year on As The World Turns.
On Another World, Lon Sutton debuted on July 25, 1968 as Peggy's husband.
Also in the middle of 1968, Love of Life hired Darlene Cotton and Lincoln Kilpatrick, and OLTL brought on Ellen Holly sometime in the fall of that same year.
0 -
Was this the first (non supernatural related) evil twin storyline in daytime?
I do recall the Julie Hillyer story from EON (68-69), where she was a twin of the late Laura HIllyer, but Laura was already dead when she appeared. There were many soaps I did not follow so it is possible there were others.
0 -
SYNOPSIS OF TWO YEARS:
Constance and Elliot Carson had moved back to Peyton Place with their young son Matthew, now seven years old. Connie still ran the book gallery and Elliot was the editor of the Clarion. Elliot's father, Eli Carson, the genial wise man of Peyton Place, was a little older but still running the general store, supplying advice along with all the staples of life. Betty and Rodney Harrington moved to New Bristol along with Rodney's brother Norman and his wife Rita ... where the two brothers were now running a small fishing business, but not too successfully. Rodney had still not accepted his inheritance, and Betty continued to urge him to get back to Peyton Place and the lucrative business started by Martin Peyton years ago.
Hannah Cord was still occupying the Peyton Mansion and running it all to please Martin Peyton (he was living in the Bahamas unknown to anyone else in Peyton Place, having arranged his own funeral to be able to stay around and from behind the scenes make sure that the provisions of his will were indeed carried out). Steven Cord, Hannah's adopted son and Martin's bastard grandson, was virtually running Peyton Industries as the company attorney.
Ada Jacks was still running the Tavern on the wharf in touch with and always there with her good sound advice for her daughter Rita Harrington. She also was in touch with Leslie Harrington, Rod and Norman's father, who was still dreaming big dreams and scheming big schemes to return to the Peyton Industries and take over, since his son wouldn't.
Allison MacKenzie had gone away at the end of the nighttime show and now returned to Peyton Place after an absence of two years. She said nothing about where she had been, but seemed weak and ill. Her parents of course were delighted that she had come home. In fact, she was addicted to drugs which Mike Rossi soon discovered, but with Mike's kind and understanding help she slowly recovered and eventually was able to "kick" the habit. It was revealed that she had been addicted to drugs by her husband, Ben Tate, whom she met and married while in New York.
Ben Tate followed her to Peyton Place, and proceeded to terrify everyone in his efforts to get her back. He used every means available with the help of friend Gino Panzini to frighten Allison back to him. Finally, he kidnapped Allison's young brother and exchanged his hostage for Allison.
Allison was unaware that she had married one of twin brothers. Her husband in fact was a victim of a rare disease, and had left Allison rather than burden her with his care in the last months of his life, and it had been his twin brother, Jason Tate, who instead of telling Allison the truth, simply substituted himself in a relationship he coveted. In order to keep Allison from suspecting the truth he addicted her to drugs.
After he kidnapped her he attempted vainly to re-addict her. In her efforts to free herself from Benny (Jason) Allison struggled over a gun, and was knocked out; when she awoke Benny (Jason) was dead! Allison then stood trial for his murder. Rod Harrington, suspecting something amiss, was the one responsible for finding the dying Benny (the real husband), bringing him back to the courtroom to confess the killing. The real Benny died entrusting Allison to Rod's care.
Elliot Carson, Allison's father, and her mother Constance, began having marital problems during this period, but Allison—now cleared of the murder charge—went to work for her father's paper and helped persuade him to see a marriage counselor with Constance. This did not work out, and Elliot left town and went to work for a paper in Baltimore.
Betty Anderson Harrington had a fight with her husband, Rodney, and began an affair with her former husband, Steve Cord. When she became pregnant by Steven, she returned to Rodney, telling him it was his child, and gave birth to a boy. To keep up the farce, she told him the baby was premature, since it was small in size, and kept it in an incubator longer than necessary. Steven, upset over the circumstances, had been warned by his mother, Hannah, to "cool" it.
Rita Harrington, taking care of her mother's bar while her mother was away, decided to modernize it with a student, Monica Bell. Monica started a romance with Tom Dana, a hitchhiker who got a ride into town with a man who suffered a heart attack. Tom had some medical background, but refused to acknowledge his past to anyone.
Although Selena Cross, nurse to Dr. Michael Rossi, was jealous of Constance's friendship with him, he and Selena were married in a huge wedding at the Peyton Mansion and went off to the Bahamas for a honeymoon. Their marriage, however, as the story came to a close, was not a solid one.
It was up in the air what Constance's future would be like. When the story came to a close it was suggested by the producers that she and Elliot Carson would become a happy couple again.
Also, Rodney and Betty could not keep on living their sham of a marriage —Rodney sued her for divorce, leaving her to find happiness, possibly, with Steven Cord, the real father of her child.
The story did end on one very positive note: Rita and Norman Harrington were to have another child.
Obviously lots more happened on the show, but that is what the article had.
0 -
Did Maxwell stay in the role?
Possibly not. Daytime TV Stars July 1974 issue has a brief synopsis of the whole two years, as well as final cast list. Mind you these things can be wrong, but here is what I found based on that article and one other.
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="width: 384px;" width="385"> <colgroup> <col /> <col /> </colgroup> <tbody> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="width: 223px; height: 18px;"> Character</td> <td style="width: 161px;"> Actor</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Allison Mackenzie Tate</td> <td> Pamela Susan Shoop</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Constance Mckenzie Carson</td> <td> Susan Brown</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Elliot Carson</td> <td> Warren Stevens</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Eli Carson</td> <td> Frank Ferguson</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Betty Anderson Harrington</td> <td> Lynn Loring</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Rodney Harrington</td> <td> Yale Summers</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Norman Harrington</td> <td> Ron Russell</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Rita Jacks Harrington</td> <td> Patricia Morrow</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Ada Jacks</td> <td> Evelyn Scott</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Dr. Michael Rossi</td> <td> Guy Stockwell</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Selena Cross Rossi</td> <td> Margaret Mason</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Steven Cord</td> <td> Joseph Gallison</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Hannah Cord</td> <td> Mary K. Wells</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Martin Peyton</td> <td> John Hoyt</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Monica Bell</td> <td> Betty Ann Carr</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Bob Whitmore</td> <td> Rodi Solari</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Matthew Carson</td> <td> John Levin</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Nell Abernathy</td> <td> Mary Jackson</td> </tr> <tr height="18"> <td height="18" style="height: 18px;"> Tom Dana</td> <td> Charles Sailor</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
0
Return To Peyton Place Discussion Thread
in DTS: Cancelled Soaps
Posted · Edited by toml1962
Oh God, how mortifiyingly absurd...for the record, during HIS tenure as head writer, the show won TWO awards for its writing...AND Cenedella has at least one highly acclaimed novel to his credit.
So tell me, where is your evidence that Cendella wrote soley off of her ideas? LOL. Opinions are WORTHLESS when the person presenting them has no repect for the FACTS.
I have to say that I am constanly amazed at how often your opinions are NOT rooted in anything factual. You appear not to have the slightest knowledge of how these things work. Nixon RARELY wrote the scripts - she PLOTTED them. Cenedella was one among who wrote the scripts, dialogue and the subplots. Others included Kiki McCabe, Don Wallace, Ralph Ellis, Elspeth Eric, Frances Rickett, Kathy Callaway and Robert Newman
On top of which, when faced with facts (such as the one which PROVES the character Steve Frame on AW left the show on the SAME day that Mary Matthews died) you ignore them! Again, absurd.