amybrickwallace

I think Jacquie could have definitely pulled it off. It sounds a lot like Great Expectations - and I think Lemay could have easily written a Dickens homage without ripping off the original story; giving his own twists and turns to it.

That would have been awesome.

Yup, that's another thing. What woman wouldn't swoon at a fiancé who calls her "kid" and generally treats her like dirt? Sadly, they did and still do exist in real life.

Weirder things have happened!! Rod Arrants IS still acting, albeit mostly in regional theater in the San Francisco area, but who knows? If the offer and circumstances were right, maybe he could be lured back onto a soap.

Ironically, he had taken over as EP from John Conroy. Sharon Gabet said in her recent interview on Brandon's Buzz that when she got the job at OLTL as Melinda, she was a bit afraid of him because she'd heard stories about him from other actors and did her best to stay out of his way. But she was also quick to credit him for hiring her when she asked for a job, and she said that she always appreciated that.

In her memoir Untied, Meredith Baxter wrote about when she first began working with David Birney on Bridget Loves Bernie, he thought of himself first and foremost a great theatre actor who seemed to resent the fact that his greatest fame at that point in time was from being on the soap opera. Apparently he didn't take into consideration that not many people across the country could see him in a play, but they COULD watch him every day on TV, and that's why the soap had given him his greatest fame up to that point. Ironically, today he is much better known to the general public not for his acting but the fact that he was once married to Meredith Baxter and the father of three of her five children.

Not to mention that he was at the helm of SB when it went off the air, but in that case, I really can't fault him as much. The wheels were already coming off by the time he came on.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Matt's son Mike at this point. I thought HE had a thing for Liz Wilson as well.

He was killed off in three roles that I know of - Travis on SFT, Richard on DAYS and Steven on Y&R (though in the case of Travis, I believe it was his choice to leave the show. The other two, I don't know). On DAYS, he mainly interacted with Deidre Hall/Marlena. With Eileen Davidson now back as Kristen, maybe they could resurrect Richard and give Marlena and Kristen another man to deal with.

That's a good point. Also, most of the time Viki's kids (when there were just the three - Kevin, Joey and Jessica) really seemed united and got along most of the time. That was pretty refreshing, and Kevin Stapleton and Nathan Fillion actually looked enough like each other to really be brothers (kind of like Sean Kanan and Steve Burton on GH).

I think the ones for John Forsythe, Linda Evans and Joan Collins were perfect: Blake sitting behind his desk in his office, Krystle coming down the stairs in a beautiful gown and Alexis lounging in a bubble bath. Some of the others, like the aforementioned bow tie and light switch, were just unintentionally hilarious.

Today, they would write it as another mother/daughter squabbling over/bedding the same man - Erica and Mona vying for Nick. What you all have described sounds much more complicated yet plausible.

I know that Sharon Gabet started at EON in 1977, the same year that both Don May and Maeve McGuire left EON. Did SG's Raven get to interact with either of them before their respective departures?

Is anyone else freaked out when Dr. Powers starts smoking that pipe? I guess the surgeon general's warning hadn't come out by 1967. In real life, Jim Pritchett was older than Bethel Leslie (IMDB has his birth year as 1922 and hers as 1929), but she does come off as sort of matronly. Here's hoping that Dr. Bellini eventually changes his attitude. Has he been nice to ANYONE in these episodes? I just can't keep my eyes off Althea. Not only was Liz Hubbard an absolute stunner (still, I have to wonder if she modeled before going into acting because she radiates such elegance, poise and grace), but her acting is absolutely powerful. Whether she is confiding in Maggie, sparring with Nick, or crying because of him - she commands every scene she was in. It's no wonder she eventually won an Emmy for the role - and when given the right material as Lucinda Walsh on ATWT, would knock it out of the park every time.

So do I. If you've ever seen her out of character in Battle of the Network Stars (some of which is up on YT, some of which I've seen on ESPN Classics) or in a Family Feud episode, Heather Locklear seemed very happy, enthusiastic and energetic. It's a shame she isn't on one of the cable dramas or even on a network sitcom. She showed she had comedy chops on Spin City. Someone get this woman a show!!

Oh, wouldn't it have been incredible if Sherry had worked with Nelson Riddle and others of his ilk? Maybe gone back to the stage and headlined Broadway musicals had she lived? Going back to the scene where she is singing, notice how Rod Arrants as Travis is looking at Sherry's Liza with such love in his eyes. Then when she bolts from the piano bench after trying to give her a kiss, she has her arms up as if trying to hide. When he asks, "Liza, why are you trying to run from me?", his voice is so gentle and still hurt. I think had I been a soap fan at that time (they started on SFT around the same time I was born!) - I would have been a Travis fan and not a Luke Spencer fan. (The soap mags and books were always comparing the two around that time.) It's a shame Rod Arrants isn't on a soap today as the patriarch of a major family. He would certainly be a major asset to any program. But with the state of the few soaps still on the air, maybe it's best that he isn't on a soap now.

vetsoapfan, would you please upload or transcribe that interview if you can find it? I would love to read it. It seems like everyone had different takes on what went down (and I would especially love to hear what Doug Watson had to say, because from the start he seemed to be the classy gentleman both on and offscreen that would continue until his own passing). Yes, Paul Rauch seemed like a nightmare to work for, especially if you were a woman. But he helped get ratings up, leading to long tenures at both AW (1971-83, I think - didn't he and Lemay begin at AW almost at the same time?) and OLTL (1984-91). Also, does anyone happen to have the 2004 issue of SOW with the letter from Jacquie Courtney, who after years out of the limelight wrote in to refute comments PR had made about her and George Reinholt? I've never read that letter but have heard about it for years. If anyone has it, please post it!! One more thing, Jacquie really did have a very low voice. At times, it sounded even lower than Suzanne Pleshette's!!

Ahhhhh. Complex yet strong male characters - remember them? The people running soaps today sure don't!!

I think it was mentioned in Julie Poll's AW 35th Anniversary book that Liz indeed sold her house and moved into what had been Jim and Mary's home.

L'eggs seemed to have a thing for brunettes with short hair as their spokeswomen - see also Joyce DeWitt!

Yes, and that's a shame. Though to be fair, before he passed away George Reinholt himself admitted that he was a handful at times. It's just somewhat surprising with all his success at AW that Lemay never found another long-running soap writing gig again.

Yes, and I think that she could certainly underplay a scene - both Lemay and Rauch sometimes made it out to seem like she was OTT all the time.

Yes. To get back to Jack Coleman, his opening title scene of him yanking off his tie always cracks me up. He really does look like he is angry - at the tie, at the writers, the producers, etc. LOL

I know - and George Jefferson struck it rich enough to move to that DEEEEEEELUXE apartment in the sky. He should have gotten nicer, more classic furniture, too!!! To get back to the scene, I still don't understand why Harding Lemay and Paul Rauch did not appreciate Jacquie's talents. She was every bit as good as VW - and had been on the show from Day One!!!

Thank you, Carl...it's always nice to know what these folks who aren't quite as visible to the public are up to these days. Is that Michael E. Knight in the Hallmark ad?