j swift

The world of soap headlines can be cruel (perhaps this was part of Ms. Fulton's infamous, but fictional, grandmother clause?) Also, can we give a hand to the ultimate “settle a bet” question of the week - no, TL from Baldwin Park, Brian Patrick Clarke is not married to lesbian comedian Lily Tomlin, and Susan Lucci's mother is not Phyllis DIller.

There are two things I enjoy about this Tumblr; the headlines and the gossip The headlines this time were mostly puns about the cancellation of Edge of Night None of them were very inspired, nor were the stories, P&G wanted to keep producing the show but ABC affiliates wanted the time back to expand local news programming. It was the lowest rated soap of the time, meaning that only 3 million people watched and it got less than a 10% share of the audience, which needless to say any soap would kill for in 2021. On the gossip front; they dated and they dated and Robin Leach (who was dated Jackie Zeeman) really got around Meanwhile the juiciest gossip was once again about actors being fired. Bryan Cranston and John O'Hearly were fired from Loving. Jason Kinkaid was too old to play Tom Hughes on ATWT, Dane Witherspoon was too stoic to play Joe on SB, and Joanne Pflug was too Christian to play Taylor on Rituals. But, the jaw dropping story was that Patty Davis (first daughter of Ronald Reagan) was only on Rituals for two episodes!

There's been two comments about the language in the Don Stewart firing article. But, how about that awful headline? "bower loses a leaf" - now that's an editor that should have been fired. Is correct grammar and a basic knowledge of the subject being edited too much to ask for?

Ahh, so that must have tied into why Laurie was released from the sanitarium at the end of series. It is starting to make sense. It may also explain why the bust was amusingly bad, because it may have been why Liz didn't recognize her sooner, as well as its slight resemblance to Lionel Richie in the "Hello" video. It's funny how the details get lost in my memory. I recalled that Chris Egan had a son, but I forgot about Walter Ganz and his relationship to the whole cast. It is great to have this resource to be able to remember everything.

I'm reading the 1984 recaps on Tumblr. Who did the bust/bones turn out to be and why did people try to destroy the bust?

The moral of this story is the Eve continues to have the best timing in show biz.

Yes, I had no memory of this detail but one week's recaps during the period when Caitlin was investigating who/where was Marley's father he interviewed Michael's grandmother who thought he was dead and a women identified as his ex-sister-in-law (unclear if she was an ex because she divorced Eugene, or an ex because everyone thought Michael was dead), but she believed Michael was alive. Then, there's no mention of them again, and when Michael comes back to Bay City, he makes no attempt to contact his local family. To be fair, Britney thought he was at the Love Mansion to apply as a stable boy, so he was pretty busy mucking the stables and running an international conglomerate at the same time. fair point Cass, Kathleen, and Felicia were also caught in the secret room at some point Secret rooms were big during that period because there was also the "treasure cave" where the stolen poisonous Egyptian artifacts were stored, and the secret room at the La Soleil spa where Felicia underwent a "visualization procedure."

Bravo!!! and thank you, that was the timeline I wanted, needed, and desired! I hadn't even considered Ben and the fact that he was the same age as the twins. Reg and Mary's original affair must have been quite brief, but memorable (pardon the pun), given that she was still having kids with Vince throughout her employment at the mansion. Now, do Carl, his marriages, love affairs, and children please.

So Donna comes along in January 1983, mostly as an antagonist for Sally, and later Cecile, in stories involving Peter and Caitlin. Then, Marley comes home from school in May 1984, a week after the 20th anniversary when Alice came back to Bay City and David Thatcher (Sally's secret baby daddy) was shot. Donna was involved with Carl, they hooked up again after their divorce a few years earlier in Europe. Donna was housing Carl and his son Perry in the Love Mansion (which leads to the eternal question of whether Perry was older than Ryan, Carl's other son). Donna was a suspect in the David Thatcher's murder because she wore a ring that Carl gave her which Sally remembered as being on the finger of the woman who shot David. Given that (spoiler alert) David and Royal Dunning were involving in an illegal adoption ring, the ground was laid early that she was actually Marley's mother. Donna also gasped whenever Marley kissed her boyfriend Ben and was overprotective in a different way than she had been with Peter or Nicole (her med school student/coke addicted model/reporter/lounge singer/murdering everchanging sister). Vicky was first revealed the next year in April 1985 in an amazing cliffhanger. Jake came back to the boarding house, and opened the door to find a girl who looked like Marley, but styled as a Madonna wanna-be in a seductive black leather jacket, smoking, and with a sultry lower vocal tone. The LaSalles (aka Reginald Love, Mary McKinnon, and Scott) came in August 1986, and Donna #1 left after seeing the fake photo of the triplets in November 1986 (which probably coincided with the expiration of Anna Stuart's original three year contract).

I was reading the 1984-1987 weekly summaries on the Another World Homepage and once again I am struck by how the ages of the Love and McKinnon children don't make sense. I know there was a change in writers and actors, yadda yadda yadda, but wasn't someone responsible for maintaining logic? First, in 1985, we have the stupefying scene of Donna telling Peter that she is Marley's mother. Again, I get the dramatic purpose that Donna needed to admit her secret out loud so the audience knew her dilemma. However, Peter was three years younger that Donna, wouldn't he have suspected that Marley needed to come from somewhere other than his mother who had already died when Marley was born? I know Reg kept Donna in the cellar, (which was introduced much earlier in the plot than I remembered, I thought it was first mentioned around the time when Reg was trying to drive Donna crazy with the baby picture, but it was actually originally referenced during the Royal Dunning/David Thatcher murder mystery), but wouldn't Peter have been suspicious about the sudden appearance of a baby in the house when he was a teenager? Then, we have Cheryl and Scott LaSalle's ages, Cheryl turns 18 in the summer of 1986. Scott was older and he was either adopted by the LaSalles or, as originally intended, he was supposed to be the triplet brother to Marley and Victoria who were 20 in 1986. Therefore, wouldn't Reg and Mary/Marissa already escaped Bay City to adopt Scott in South America before Cheryl was born? Later, when the triplet photo was retconned, we find out that although Reg forced Michael to leave town before the twins were born, he allowed his brother John to be present for their birth, and now the birth happened in a secret room at Bay City Memorial Hospital rather than in the secret basement room by Royal Dunning in the Love Mansion. When Donna was introduced she was the CEO/charitable board member/owner of the hospital because her budget cutbacks affected Marley's recovery when she needed her bone marrow transplant which lead to the reveal of Victoria. So, she ran the hospital but had no idea that there was a secret room where she gave birth? Don't even get me started on how Vince McKinnon afforded boarding school for Cheryl. The unsolved mystery of what was happening at the Le Soliel spa and rejuvenation center ( a contrived plot involving Felicia, Kathleen, some guy from Felicia's past who got plastic surgery, an architect who fell in love with Kathleen and Sally, and Cass being charged with murder in a case that dropped because the DA, with no apparent motive, withheld evidence). Or the sudden appearance of multiple nephews related to Mac that had never been referenced before. Finally, an actual question that people can answer - when did they stop calling her Victoria and began referring to her as Vicky? Throughout 1984-1986 she is always referenced as Victoria, even by Jake and Bridget, so who started calling her Vicky?

I also read that he mentored Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman. As much as I joke about his bitchy tone, it is remarkable the impact that he had on the genre of soap journalism. Film journalism, pop music fandom, and primetime TV reporting often speak of their respective subjects with reverence, but soap journalism strikes an intriguing balance between sarcasm and promotion. Both Lynda and JMR write with a sense of investment in the ongoing evolution of daytime that seem unique to writing about soaps in particular, and it is easy to find their influence in discussions likes the ones we read on these boards.

Wow, I had no idea JMR died so young. It's one year after what we're reading now, so those must have been his final columns LAT ARCHIVES MAY 29, 1986 12 AM PT Jon-Michael Reed who wrote a column about television soap operas for The Times and 200 other newspapers in the United States and Canada, is dead of the complications of hepatitis. He was 38 and died at a New York City Hospital Friday, a spokesman for United Feature Syndicate, distributor of the column, said Wednesday. Reed was believed the first to regularly chronicle the daily dramas that appeared on American TV screens and each week offered a plot summary of the leading soaps which The Times had published on weekends for the past several years.

Here's news I never knew Reportedly, he was unhappy at AMC, and Hugo Napier was just fired at ATWT, so he substituted in for the role (also the press spells Nick's last name in multiple different ways) More news I never knew Apparently cultural appropriation was not an issue in 1984, so if Tony Geary wanted to look like Bo Derek, he was free to do so, but ultimately Luke showed up with his iconic perm. I'm a bit shocked that a newspaper was willing to print this gossip about the firing to Leslie Graves from Capitol More news about the recasting of Tina However, rude her detractors may have been, they weren't wrong... Also, on the rude front, this odd note about the recasting of Ava on Loving Finally, speaking of rude, someone has taken Queen Lynda to task It was Linda Borgeson (aka AW's Alice #5), but don't be so rude next time RG. I can't believe Lynda printed it, it must have been her nasty, soap illiterate, editor.

I really liked Elaine Welteroth's response to Sharon. Because she noted that the issue not about supporting or defending a friend, it is about the need for public figures to use social media to call out racism. If you like Piers Morgan, call him on the phone, but don't use your status to promote his behaviors. I think Sharon Osbourne and Whoopi Goldberg suffer from the same generational instinct. If they've met someone, and had a pleasant working relationship, then they feel the need to defend or explain their character. However, what they miss is the idea that men like Piers Morgan are cowards and would never offend someone to their face. Thus, as an audience member, I don't care if Sharon or Whoopi like some old fool, I just want to know that they understand the boundaries of social interactions in modern media.

Reading the 1984 recaps got me thinking about how members of this board would react to iconic moments from the period. DAYS - Bo rescuing Hope from her wedding to Larry Welch on his motorcycle to the pop song "Holding Out for a Hero" was so much fun, but 2021 soap fans would commiserate about the fact Doug and Julie couldn't attend the party because they left due a contract dispute. 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. ATWT - Betsy and Steve's wedding was a ratings bonanza for the show, but 2021 fans would find fault in how long it took for them to get together, only to be torn apart weeks later when Meg Ryan left the show. It is not that 2021 fans are more opinionated per se, it just made me nostalgic for a time when fans had no more information than what was on screen, and could still be genuinely surprised, moved, or excited by the scenes of the day.

Who was Samantha Marler's mother?

Neither Kelli, nor the character of Tina, are very convincing as "business school" graduates. It is no wonder that Tina's MBA was never referenced in later iterations. I hope we'll read about it on the Tumblr, because the casting was announced in November 1984, so it looks like Kelli only lasted a few weeks. Also in November 1984 Marsha Clarke was fired from GL, so the timing makes it seem like there is some shenanigans going on at OLTL... Either way, Bo's prediction about Tina becoming Asa's second hand to replace Chuck was as likely as Didi O'Neil becoming the endgame for Bo Buchanan. Although it is notable that she was the only O'Neil not to get recast.

The recasting of Tina was an odd journey, considering a few months earlier it was reported that they originally hired Kristen Vigard to play Tina, and then decided to make her Joy O'Neil.

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

I thought it was humorous in the summaries when Frisco randomly decides to set Tania free, just as Felicia was introduced. From the on screen writing to the off screen publicity they really tried to make Brad Maule into hunk. From his intro (was he screwing his mother's inattentive nurse, or was Frisco doing the deed?) to those stories about romancing his fiance in Europe, there was a constant PR campaign to make us want to like him. Unfortunately, the actor just never gave off a hunky vibe. Although no PR campaign was a forceful as this ad for the new Teen Disco in town. They have free hot dogs and soft drinks!

Reading the plot highlights of 1984 - Lorena Sharpe (Monica's insta-cousin), her spa, the murder of Jimmy Lee's mother, the whiny little orphan Mike and his constantly crying mother Ginny, not to mention the two Grants who were differentiated only by the amount of mousse in their hair, - all make the Aztec Treasure seem worthy of a Pulitzer Prize.

@franko called it Loving is on the move on the ABC daytime schedule (BTW no mention of if the Olympics were disruptive to ABC ratings). The obsession with weight continues, but this time its a guy so it is funny, unlike Laura Malone who have to give up breastfeeding her baby to lose 30 lbs. Of course, the irony of him "starving as an out of work actor" won't come true for a few more months Meanwhile, this little mentioned kiddo could have been the character of Theo on Y&R, and it wouldn't have required a retcon Remember the Alamo? AW is taking Cecile to Majorca for the character's exit. Meanwhile Tony Geary was ready to go to Mexico but had to settle for San Antonio, if I said it once, I've said it a thousand times, Felicia the blonde Aztec Princess would be cancelled by current social media mavens I find myself really into the David Thatcher murder mystery (as well as EON's Logan Swift's murder mystery). Both are great examples of good plotting, (something propels the mystery forward every week, like Donna and her blue ring), it brings together a lot of disparate characters (although one wonders why Rachel Cory decided to go undercover in a dive bar to help Caitlin - were she and Sally even that close?), and the mystery is a useful tool to uncover other secrets around town (like Marley's parentage).

Upon further review Harry Dean Stanton was in the Wim Wenders' film Paris, Texas in 1984, (which won the Palm d'Or in Cannes that year), as well as the iconic film Repo Man. So, one tends to think he was unavailable to play a part on One Life to Live, although he was in the soap parody Young Doctors in Love two years earlier. Thus ends this thread's brief tangent into the life and career of Harry Dean Stanton... BUT, it's a helpful reminder that whether it is 1984 or 2021, you can't believe everything you read.

So, I'm reading the 1984 pre-Olympics synopsis on Tumblr. I recall Sky and Preacher's escape from the baddies in Mexico. However, I hadn't remembered how forced the storyline was that created the need to go to Mexico and the literal cliffhanger. While everyone in Montecello was trying to solve the masterfully setup mystery of who shot Logan, (in a locked room with a closed window), all of the sudden Alicia Van Dine gets caught up in a scheme to steal a chemical from one of Del's cronies. The whole plot was a red herring, which wound up having nothing to do with Logan's murder. Looking back, I would posit a guess that the network had a mandate for Loving, Ryan's Hope and EON to come up with an Olympics cliffhanger. Then, EON wrote the Mexico trip (actually shot in Montauk), in order to not disrupt the planning of the ongoing mystery. The same day a bomb was discovered at Greenberg's Deli on RH, and Jack got in a motorcycle accident after finding out that Dane was his biological father, while Mike and Jim were in a dark room when a shot went off on Loving. The reports at the time were that there was a lot of network arguing about airing the Olympics in daytime. ABC was losing ratings to CBS due to the expansion of Price is Right. There were fears that the audience would sample the other networks and never return. However, ABC sports was heavily invested and needed the commercial income because of the 1980 winter Olympics that were cancelled. The compromise was that LOV, RH, & EON went on a two week hiatus, and AMC, OLTL, and GH produced 40 minute episodes. It is interesting to read the behind the scenes stories while reading the synopsis because it provides so much additional information that I was not privy to at the time (to be fair, I was in middle school when this all aired originally). It is particularly interesting to think about a time when ABC daytime and ABC sports were run like two separate companies, before acquisitions made everything merge into one being. It is amusing to me that production used that footage in the opening montage, (which today looks like it was shot against a green screen to very poor effect), when the actual plot was so inconsequential.

It's not on Stanton's IMDB so I think it's the same editor who headlined the article about Bill & Susan Hayes leaving DAYS with a title about Search for Tomorrow, and confused Loving with Capitol. That editor needed an editor.