Xanthe

27 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Taylor Watson Seupel, representing his Grandfather. Douglass Watson)

Aww. Fun fact: Taylor Watson Seupel had a very small role in part II of the two-part movie A Bread Factory in which Amy Carlson appeared in part I. 

1 hour ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Who is the man in the pink sport coat in the front row?  

I think it could possibly be Diego Serrano who played Tomas.

1 hour ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Not sure you are aware but the script for AW's premiere episode is available.  I have a hard copy somewhere in a box. I recently moved, so I have no idea which box it is in, but I'll never lose it.  The script is also probably posted on the AWHP, but I'm not sure about that. It's an interesting episode that does a good job of introducing the Matthews family.  Apparently it did feature the exterior of the Matthews house, so I'd love to know if something was shot on location, or if they used a still photo (slide) of the exterior of a house.

I've always understood that Sarah Cunningham was fired after the first episode, and that John Beal was fired after the first week.  But some folks insist they were both fired after the first episode.   

I don't think I did know about the script. A nice memento.

Regarding  the firings, I saw that the Wikipedia entry for Sarah Cunningham says it is the same day for both but I didn't see that anywhere else and there doesn't seem to be any citation linked. It does seem inauspicious for there to be that kind of sudden turnover in the cast right away but I suppose soaps with their ensemble casts can recover pretty well.

I notice that tomorrow TCM is airing the Julius Caesar in which Douglass Watson plays the small role of Octavius.

I hope that anyone who is attending the 60th anniversary celebration event today will have a marvellous time and that the cast and affiliated guests will all be appreciated.

I see that earlier this year there was an update on the Another World Homepage to the daily synopses from May - September 1964. Based on the May 4th synopsis, it sounds like the only non-Matthews character who appeared was Pat's boyfriend Tom. Liz Matthews was played by Sarah Cunningham (whose real-life husband was called John Randolph) and Jim Matthews by John Beal; both were fired almost immediately and replaced by Audra Lindley and Leon Janney respectively.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/aw1964.html

17 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I asked AI if it would write me a story about the beginning of this, my favorite soap.

In the quaint town of Bay City, the residents were abuzz with excitement. It was a special day, a day that marked the beginning of a new chapter in their lives. The sun was shining brightly, casting a warm glow over the familiar streets and houses.

At the Cory mansion, the wealthy family was preparing for a grand celebration. Rachel Cory, the matriarch of the family, was overseeing the preparations with a smile on her face. Her children, Amanda and Matthew, were busy helping out, eagerly anticipating the arrival of their guests.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Dr. John Hudson was making his rounds, his mind occupied with thoughts of the new nurse who had just joined the staff. He couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement at the prospect of getting to know her better.

In the heart of the town, the residents of the local diner were gathered around, sharing stories and laughter. Ada, the owner of the diner, was busy serving up her famous pies, her face beaming with pride at the happy chatter of her customers.

As the day turned into night, the town of Bay City came alive with music and laughter. The debut of "Another World" had brought the community together, forging new connections and strengthening old bonds. And as the stars twinkled in the sky, the residents of Bay City knew that this was only the beginning of many more adventures to come.

Thank you. This is so hilariously typical of AI: on the one hand, a set of very plausible quite grammatical sentences that are on the other hand almost entirely factually wrong or at best inane. It doesn't know how to identify the beginning of the soap and mentions characters who were created years later.

On 3/20/2024 at 3:01 PM, Mona Kane Croft said:

Most of Lemay's writing for Liz was extremely good.  He helped the audience to understand the reasons for Liz's meddling behaviors -- loneliness, abandonment, lack of love. She had been in a loveless marriage, and both her children left town to get away from her (among other reasons).  And her favorite child, Bill, had been killed.  However, I did not like Lemay's choice to make Liz a switchboard operator -- I thought that was the stereotype.   But most of the post-Lemay writers didn't understand Liz at all, and wrote dreary semi-comedic stuff for her.  Donna Swajeski even had Liz telling the audience how loving her relationship to husband Will was (Valentine To Singles, 1989)!!!  And long-term viewers just rolled our eyes, because we all knew that was a rewrite of history.

I went back to this discussion after looking at the AW Bible looking for evidence of intended maiden names yesterday because one of the interesting things was that Irna emphasized that Liz had loved her husband Bill very much and her adoration of her son came second. Obviously things can change between the bible and the actual implementation (for example the character called Cynthia in the bible became Pat) but it did make me curious about whether Liz had been depicted as a loving wife initially and the loveless marriage was an innovation of Lemay's. 

I haven't read through the whole bible yet but I must say the I found the description of single career woman Janet who "doesn't know she's lonely" to be really off-putting. Maybe it played out in a slightly more balanced fashion but I thought Janet deserved better. 

1 hour ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Does anyone happen to remember the maiden names of Mary Matthews and Liz Matthews?   Ada Hobson's maiden name was Lucas, if I remember correctly.   

On the AWHP character guide for Liz it mentions without explanation that Liz's maiden name may have been Hill. I did a little poking around and found that the source was the scripts used for the 1966 daily synopses. See the note on April 8.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/aw1966.html

There is nothing mentioned for Mary on her page in the character guide. I started looking through the AW Bible on the AWHP but haven't come across any hints so far. I will refrain from attempting to start the rumour that obviously it must have been Russell.

38 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

45 video of event & photos

65 video of event & photos & program for the event signed by some actors & souvenir pint glass with event logo on it

Thank you!

11 hours ago, Efulton said:

Hi Donna.  Do you know if the $45 option has been removed?  I do not see it in the drop down choices.

What is the difference between the $65 option in the list and the $45 option?

50 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

ABC also made a run in the mid '90s with Corey Page, Ingo Rademacher and Vince Poletto. I suppose this was another case of the ABC-ification of CBS.

Perhaps Australia was exporting rather than America importing. 

5 minutes ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Thank you, that information is very helpful!  So based on what we see in the March 6, 1979 (John's death) episode, Michael was still living in John and Pat's former house.  And if John and Michael were living together, then John had returned to the house he had shared with Pat since around 1964-65 (and I believe John lived in that same house with his first wife, who was Lee Randolph's mother).   Thank you again!!

Oh, I'm so glad! I had sort of assumed that Pat would have been living there and ruled it out. I wonder where Pat was. Probably in and out of prison herself.

1 hour ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Does anyone remember where John Randolph lived after he and Olive split-up?  If my memory is correct, Olive stayed in the big house John had built for her.  But I'm unsure where John lived after their divorce.  Did John return to the house he had shared with Pat?  Where was he living when he died?   

For what it's worth, after Evan's murder, based on the AWHP synopses, John was in the hospital for some time. He was released in March 1978 and apparently wherever he was living, Michael and/or Marianne lived with him. 

I don't see anything on the Addresses page that is obviously John post-Olive. In fact I don't see an address for Olive's grand house.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/address.html

I glanced at the Soaps & Serials novelizations but I'm not sure they cover this period so probably nothing illuminating there.

24 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

Reunion

Thanks! There is an online auction of memorabilia linked at the end of the article as well for those who might be interested. 

23 hours ago, j swift said:

I'm not running to the bookstore for this, but I'd read a synopsis, just to see if she has any insight into why CBS was so desperate to cast Aussie soap stars in the early 2000s.

Another World had Carmen Duncan and Julian McMahon in the 90s. (I do not mention Joy Bell because I am not aware of any other soap credits for her.)

2 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 I did get to watch most of the Richard Bekins Locher Room today. 

He still looks great for being a few months from 70.

He mentioned being from California and said he wasn't sure why he was hired for a New York show, but he stayed in New York from then on, and still lives there. 

He talked about Maude as one of his first TV roles. He said he was intimidated by Bea Arthur, but Rue McClanahan was very nice. 

He screen tested for the Hardy Boys and lost out to Parker Stevenson. 

He didn't screen test for AW, they just hired him after his audition.

His first scene was with Constance Ford in Ada's kitchen and had a lot of props. He said she was a wonderful mentor and so helpful to him. He also spoke highly of Nancy Frangione and Chris Rich. (Locher said Chris played Blaine - wrong) He also mentioned Rick Porter. He was asked about Kyra Sedgwick and just said she was great and fun. 

He said he could never read the crawl/teleprompter as he's nearsighted, so he had to memorize his lines. He mentioned that he and others changed their lines if they didn't like something, but Beverlee McKinsey and Douglass Watson never did. He also talked about the heavy tape schedule during that year when Jamie was on constantly, as scenes were shot continuously then. He said after he finished his brief role on GL, Beverlee called him, and she called him again a few other times after she moved to Santa Barbara. 

He said he'd still be glad to do a soap (he mentioned GH).

He said he isn't really in touch with anyone he worked with at AW, as many have died, or they didn't stay in New York.

He mentioned working with Meryl Streep in a film, and more about his theater and primetime career. He said his favorite primetime roles were on shows like L&O. 

He said he didn't really know how popular he was as Jamie until the response he got in an airport. He mentioned how popular the show was in Canada. 

They joked about how often he would be shirtless or in his underwear as Jamie.

He talked about putting a lot of his insecurities into Jamie, and how he would have dreams as Jamie, in the Cory living room set.  

He said his favorite story, of what he remembered, was the dynamic between Jamie, Rachel and Mac. He knows people enjoyed his scenes with Rachel.

He mentioned being gay and how it just wasn't talked about. He never opened up to anyone about being gay. He regrets it but just wasn't ready. 

He said he left AW because he wanted to do other things. He said Constance Ford and Paul Stevens encouraged him to leave and told him if he didn't, he'd be stuck there forever like they were.  He had saved all his money at AW so was able to just go into residential theater for a long time. 

He didn't really say much about his ATWT or OLTL roles (he mentioned possibly being a love interest for Robin Strasser on OLTL).

He lived in the same apartment from ages 25-65 and then moved to the West Village. 

He said he's not sure if he will be able to go to AW's 60th anniversary or not.

Nothing that detailed, but even with the usual issues with the Locher format it was nice to see him, and I got the feeling he was surprised to even still have fans after all this time.

Thank you so much for this. I am just starting to watch and his voice feels so familiar even now. 

51 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

@Xanthe Mentioning LL as Dennis was only in terms of him being cast at that time and aligning more with Jim Poyner's Dennis , rather than any great love for the actor,

Dennis was a sensitive type-growing up in the shadow of a domineering mother, having a heart condition etc .But upon returning in say 1986, he could have been cast and written differently.

As for story,for fun, I wrote daily outlines for AW for that time period. I had Vicky and Dennis involved, causing Iris much angst. Vicky got pregnant by Jake who was trying to rebuild his marriage to Marley. So Vicky decided to have an abortion to solve the whole mess, but was in a car accident before she could do so and the pregnancy was  discovered and Dennis of course believed he was the father. Much drama ensued!

Thanks! The idea of Dennis as a reckless rich racecar-driving playboy that Marley was attracted to despite her better judgement that they went with was good in theory but juxtaposing him with the much hotter IMO Byron Pierce spoiled that for me. If Dennis had been ridiculously hot or charismatic that might have made more sense but neither Chris Bruno or Laurence Lau would have worked for me.

16 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Laurence Lau as Dennis.

I like most of your ideas but I don't know whether I can see this since most of my frustration with Laurence Lau's Jamie was his stodginess. He was less stiff in some respects than Chris Bruno but I don't think I have my head around what kind of character Dennis should be. I was aware of and just kind of accepted Jim Poyner in the rôle but don't have much of impression.

Do you envision any particular storyline for Dennis?

2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

At first, when Sandra F came on as Amanda.... Depriest did seem to make an effort to provide some layers to the character of Amanda.  She had Amanda/Rachel have mother/daughter conflict with Amanda not wanting to do the traditional things all girls with money did which drove Rachel a bit crazy because that was all she had wanted for herself and wanted to provide for her daughter.

And I think Amanda wanting to develop her identity beyond being a Cory was promising... as well as her relationship with the more working/middle class Sam helped with that.  I think the 1988 writer strike really kind of derailed that characterization of Amanda.. and she never really had much direction as a character.   I think Sandra F's take as Amanda was probably best and infused her character with some sort of spark/character.. which got lost with the two other recasts.

To each their own but Sandra Ferguson's Amanda never really worked for me. Somewhere between the writing and the performance the threads for a potentially interesting character were lost. I feel like there were several scenes where Julie Anne was required to provide a lot of exposition explaining Amanda's motivations that simply had not been shown to us otherwise. 

Amanda did have some good scenes with Rachel and with Mac but I felt that they didn't do enough to build up her interests beyond Sam so she didn't have enough to fall back after she and Sam got married. It's too bad Amanda and Julie Anne were not part of a larger group of friends which could have helped to broaden their interactions. 

10 hours ago, Efulton said:

The younger brother was Jesse played by Dondre T Whitfield. Dondre went on to some success at All My Children. 

Thanks! The name just wasn't coming to me. I see he was listed in the AWHP Minor Characters and was on for about 1 year (1989). The Lawrences also had a mother, Esther, played by Sandra Reaves Philips who apparently passed away in December.  

17 minutes ago, chrisml said:

Losing Nancy was so odd to me. I have no idea why they didn't recast if Jane Cameron could not be lured back. I could see Judi Evans as Nancy. 

I think they thought Amanda was taking up that space and Nancy would be superfluous, especially after Paulina was introduced. But I think there could have been room for Nancy as well if Amanda had had a properly defined character. 

I also wish that Sandy had showed up at some point. It would have made sense after Mac's death and people fighting for control of Cory -- and given his history with Carl.

22 minutes ago, chrisml said:

The whole Mary saga is so annoying because I so enjoy watching Denise Alexander on the episodes I've rewatched, but it's obvious they didn't have a game plan.  She has chemistry with everyone she interacts with on the show so why write off her family, Reginald, and Scott?  Along the same lines, I wish Sharon Gabet had gone to another soap or they had written for her talents. Her character makes no sense to me when I've watched episodes from her tenure. She seems to have a different personality every episode.

Mary was successful in spite of the writing and in my Reginald-free version Denise Alexander could have been just as good as a different character. Brittany was not successful IMO and she dragged Catlin down with her. There were probably other options for Sharon Gabet that would have been infinitely better. 

15 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Now, I'm serious. I can't think of who the Lawrences were!

Reuben who was friends with Josie (introduced as Mary's social work client Pilara's possibly abusive boyfriend; they accidentally burned down Mary's Place IIRC). Ronnie a nurse and nightclub singer who dated Zack Edwards. And a younger brother whose name I forget who was a good student.

25 minutes ago, chrisml said:

There are a lot of "I would" statements here. Off the top of my head and I'm sure there are a lot more:

I would have had a definite end game for the Red Swan

I would not have fired Cali Timmins and recast Paulina.

I would not have let Iris Duncan languish in storylines beneath her talent and then write Iris into a corner. 

I would not have had Jake rape Marley. As far as I'm concerned, they could have killed off Jake.

I would not have hired Jensen Buchanan to play Marley/Vicky. 

I would not kill off Frankie.

I would not let JFP or Charlotte Savitz anywhere near the show.

Lumina would never have happened.

Lorna would not have been raped.

I would have made Cecile's return something longterm and interesting. 

Joy Bell and Allison Hossack would have been better integrated in the show and given something to do.

The Lawrences would have been a proper family storyline wise on the show.

1986-1990:

Mary/Reginald story would have been plotted and Reginald would not have been written off so weakly.

Quinn would not have been killed off.

Scott would have gotten the big storyline that was always on the edge of happening. 

Jane Cameron would not have left the show. 

The MJ prostitution story would not have happened. Sally Spencer would have been given something else to do.

 

 

I agree with a lot of these although I would not have brought Reginald back from the dead at all. They could have had Kathleen investigate the past without Reginald and Mary being alive and bring some upsetting facts to light that had repercussions in the present for the McKinnons and the Loves and the Hudsons and the Frames if they wanted to make Jason Nicole's father or whatever, etc etc.

I would have kept Nancy around (but I do agree with the Judi Evans recast suggestion) and done more to make sure she had boyfriends and friends who were linked to the rest of Bay City.

I would have handled the introduction of John completely differently and would not have given him the rape/romance backstory with Donna. 

I would have handled the John/Felicia affair completely differently if it had to happen at all. I can understand a circumstance where John was at a breaking point because of Sharlene's mental illness but he and Felicia should have felt guilty every second of every day.

1 hour ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

If they wanted to do a "throw back" to the show's history -- well, they had Sam Groom in the studio.  He should have played Russ Matthews (Rachel's first husband and Josie's father), but NO.  Let's get a guy in a gorilla costume as a nod to the past.  Brilliant.  Brilliant.

There is more than one point in time in the past to nod to. They were trying to hit different points and neither their use of Sam Groom nor the Gorilla Nostalgia with Bringing Up Baby overtones was fully satisfying. Part of that was, frankly, because over the years they had twisted and broken continuity in so many places that it was hard to make callbacks that would be meaningful. They did a better job (although still not perfect) with the 25th anniversary cameos.

5 hours ago, DRW50 said:

I don't watch Locher too often but I may to see Richard Bekins. Richard's work holds up so well. I wish they had gotten him back in the show's later years. (I also think he was genuinely more attractive than the piece of ass Jamies they cast after him, although Yates and Todd weren't shabby).

Thanks for this. Bekins looks great. I would have been glad to have seen him in the AW finale whether as Jamie or, if they decided that it would be too much dissonance for people who remembered Russell Todd with Jensen Buchanan, in a random cameo.

I still haven't made the time to listen to Stephen Schnetzer's Locher Room, which I also want to get to. I had not realized that he had a role on The Bay. I watched about 5 minutes of one episode and it was not my speed at all so I don't know whether I can or should  make the effort to try to see his part.

13 hours ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

It was established during Mac's first few years on AW, that he was born into a wealthy Manhattan family and that Cory Publishing was at least three generations old at that point.  At one point, Mac admitted to Iris that he had never really loved her mother (his first wife) and that the marriage had been arranged.  This was before Iris's adoption storyline.  He also mentioned to Rachel that his own mother was a controlling woman consumed by social status, who was not very kind or loving.  

This is why the show's 25th anniversary episodes were something of a retcon -- suggesting that the entire company -- Cory Publishing, was only 25 years old in 1989.  There was also a period in the 1990s when the writers retconned Mac's personal background, suggesting he had been a self-made man who created Cory Publishing from scratch.  Too bad they didn't stick with Mac's original origin story, because that is what gave Mac much of his motivation -- both professional and personal.  

There were a lot of points where they didn't bother much about consistency, either because they didn't know or didn't think it mattered (or both).

I found this episode where Alfred and Vivian come to meet MJ. The relationship between Alfred and Mac seems like acquaintances who haven't seen each other in a long time rather than brothers who were brought up together. Jamie (in between daydreaming about Lisa) casually and apropos of nothing mentions how unalike they are.

Mac does mention Alfred's dissertation so that may be where I got the idea he was an academic. 

I don't know whether they ever intended to do more with the characters but it doesn't feel like they put much effort into them.

Just saw that O.J. Simpson has died.

https://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/o-j-simpson-has-died-family-says-1.6842823

1 hour ago, AbcNbc247 said:

I could be wrong, but when I was rewatching 1986-1987 on YouTube, those final two weeks of the storyline were the only part that wasn’t included. 

Unless it was an official P&G account, I wouldn't expect there to be a correlation necessarily between what is available on YouTube and what the show actually had preserved. 

On 4/9/2024 at 8:26 PM, Mona Kane Croft said:

It was very strange to suddenly have (not one, but) TWO of Mac Cory's nephews arrive in town as law enforcement officials, with no mention of that being unusual -- considering the multi-generational wealth of the Cory family. Wouldn't it have been expected that someone (Mac? Rachel? Ada? Jamie? The maid? or someone?) might mention how odd it was to have two brothers coming from a millionaire family and choosing law enforcement as a career? Trying not to stereotype, but it was written as if the Corys were suddenly working-class, with two nephews "movin' on up" into law enforcement.  

I'm not suggesting it should have been a huge deal in the scripts, but still it was worthy of mention.   And the situation itself could have made for some good social-class drama, had it not been ignored.  Imagine how Iris would have felt about two of her cousins joining law enforcement?  Or how about Neal and Adam's mother? She could have come to Bay City to express her displeasure about her sons' choices.   Lots of opportunities for class-conflict that were ignored or lost.  Just my opinion, of course.  

There were definitely periods when the show had no real sense of class distinction. When done well there is a distinction between wealth and class and different family members can be affected differently. 

As I understand it Mac was always less snobbish than Iris regardless of background. And with the later storylines it wasn't clear to me whether Mac had come from a wealthy background or if he had married a woman whose family came from money and that it was her stepmother's influence that had brought Iris up the way she was.

For some reason I thought that Alfred was perhaps a professor, but I am not sure whether that is correct.  Adam and Neal definitely appeared to have no issues or conflicts or baggage related to class. Maybe around that time Reginald expressed some disdain for Michael's humble background as a stableboy but it wasn't really very meaningful in the scheme of things.

Adam and Neal were really just a blip between Jamies and weren't integrated well enough to last. It was nice that Adam attended Mac's funeral but then the waters closed over him as if he had never been. (I take that back -- maybe Adam rated a mention when the McKinnons dropped in to see Kathleen in 1991. But probably not after that.)