Broderick

Some folks enjoy seeing these "character appearances" lists, over a period of a month or a year. I recently re-watched episodes #6051 - #6380, which cover the Summer of 1979, through early November of 1980. I jotted down how many times the contract characters (and a few of the recurring ones) appeared over those 330 episodes. The storylines covered are the "Tobias Gang", "Mansion of the Damned", "Margo Dorn's Murder", "Kirk Michaels & the Crazy Girl", "Nadine Drinks the Tea", and the beginning of the "Clown Puppet". Here's how many times everyone appeared: #1 APRIL SCOTT -- 223 episodes Henry Slesar clearly loved Terry Davis. This girl rarely got a day off. April Scott was at the "heart" of ALL these storylines, and I think the show suffered terribly when she left in 1981. #2 DRAPER SCOTT -- 216 episodes Same as above. Henry Slesar seemed to love Tony Craig. His exit in 1981 left a great big hero-gap, right in the center of the show. #3 LOGAN SWIFT -- 187 episodes Another big loss to the show in 1981. #4 DEBORAH SAXON -- 182 episodes Yet another terrible loss in 1981. She would've probably had even more than 182 episodes, but Denny Albee's exit left her high & dry for several months. #5 NICOLE DRAKE CAVANAUGH -- 164 episodes Jayne Bentzen's exit was yet another loss for 1981. #6 MILES CAVANAUGH -- 160 episodes He got a lot of mileage during the "Nola poisons the water cooler" storyline in late 1979 and early 1980. #7 ELIOT DORN -- 156 episodes Was used very heavily until a Clown Puppet stabbed him in October of 1980. #8 RAVEN ALEXANDER JAMISON SWIFT -- 147 episodes She would've probably come in at #3, had she not taken a leave of absence for 107 episodes. She left at #6095 and returned at #6202. #9 NANCY KARR -- 122 episodes Except for a brief interlude with a drug pusher, she mainly fretted about Draper Scott & Kelly McGrath. #10 MIKE KARR -- 121 episodes 100% supporting character, who delivered good courtroom appearances and fretted about Draper. #11 DEREK MALLORY -- 114 episodes A brand new character who got a LOT of airtime. Strangely his first several episodes previewed the return of his ex-wife "Ivey", who ultimately never materialized. #12 EMILY MICHAELS -- 107 episodes Didn't appear until early 1980, but was attached to Draper, so she ended up in the center of the action. #13 STEVE GUTHRIE -- 107 episodes Used practically daily, until his sudden (and unfortunate) exit in 1980. #14 CALVIN STONER -- 102 episodes Steady & consistent throughout the 18 month period #15 NOLA MADISON -- 101 episodes Short-term, entertaining character, who was used practically daily during her contract #16 CLIFF NELSON -- 85 episodes Used sparingly at first, but once he joined Karr & Scott was used regularly #17 GERALDINE SAXON -- 79 episodes Rarely used, until she inexplicably became station manager of WMON TV. #18 MOLLY SHERWOOD -- 75 episodes Arrived with Emily Michaels in early 1980, and by working for April & Draper, and being a villainess in a major storyline, racked up a great number of appearances. #19 OWEN MADISON -- 73 episodes By being in-between Kim Hunter & Frances Fisher, got a lot of episodes prior to Kim Hunter's exit. #20 MARGO HUNTINGTON DORN -- 71 episodes A major driver of storyline up until her death in early 1980. #21 KELLY MCGRATH -- 64 episodes Floundered while played by Joey Alan Phipps, but became a young lead once he was recast #22 PAIGE MADISON -- 60 episodes Margaret Colin was used almost daily during the Tobias story and Mansion of the Damned, but then was moved to As the World Turns. #23 JODY TRAVIS -- 59 episodes Arrived like gangbusters in the summer of 1980 as part of the Kelly/Jody/Gavin triangle. #24 BRIAN MADISON -- 54 episodes I didn't find him very impressive -- mainly whined about Paige. I was sorry when Paige left, but wasn't sorry to see Brian go. #25 GAVIN WYLIE -- 35 episodes Introduced the Dance Studio to the show in the summer of 1980 #26 MICKEY DIALS/TOBIAS -- 25 episodes To me, everything about this strange character was entertaining, all the way up to his death. #27 NADINE ALEXANDER SCOTT -- 16 episodes Recurring character, who drove a lot of storyline, for Raven, April, Draper, & Molly Sherwood. #28 STAR WILSON STONER -- 13 episodes Recurring. I'll always believe they missed the boat in not using the cute, personable Yahee in more episodes. #29 WILLARD MASEFIELD -- 10 episodes This old guy appeared with the contract actors, but was only used as the lead actor in the "Mansion of the Damned" movie. #30 MARTINE DUVAL -- 9 episodes Appeared as a dancer in late 1980, and gosh she was pretty! #31 BILL MARCEAU -- 9 episodes Ditched in late 1979 after only limited, sporadic appearances #32 CHRIS RAFFERTY -- 9 episodes I'd forgotten him. He was signed to a contract as the young lead in "Mansion of the Damned", was barely used, and disappeared once the movie had been filmed. #33 MATT SHARKEY -- 7 episodes Chris Goutman & some temporary replacement. Used only in the psych ward where Emily Michaels was incarcerated, but would ultimately move to the Bryson Clinic. #34 SCHUYLER WHITNEY/JEFFERSON BROWN -- 4 episodes Appeared with Martine Duval near the end of 1980, and would of course ultimately become a lead. #35 ANSEL SCOTT -- 2 episodes I was expecting him to play a bigger part in Nadine's death and Raven's affairs, but -- well, he didn't. He just appeared on the phone a couple of times with Draper, Raven & the police.

I'm sure every TV show has had its dumb moments. But I remember trying to watch an episode of "General Hospital" one day in the early 1980s. There was a scene with Demi Moore's Jackie Templeton character, awaiting an important phone call, standing alone in the room, staring at the phone and saying, "Ring, dammit, ring!" I laughed like a hyena. Who in the world stares at a phone and says out loud, "Ring, dammit, ring!" The whole episode had some of the worst writing imaginable, but that poor girl's soliloquy to the telephone was horrendous.

Seems like the "Orphans in San Leandro" came to a conclusion of sorts. The whole premise seemed to be creating an environment in which Lucas Prentiss would send a Prentiss Industries jet to the island of San Leandro, and Jonas would ride with him on the plane. Leslie Brooks (wearing a blonde wig and calling herself "Pris") would stowaway on the jet, and this would be the mechanism that would bring Lucas, Jonas, and Leslie all face to face for the first time. I agree there was no conclusion to the Liz Foster/Stuart Brooks separation. Not even the writers seemed to know the answer to that one. When Liz came back to the show for a few episodes in 1986 after Jill's shooting, Bill Bell seemed to tip-toe around the subject. Later, when Liz returned in the early 2000s, Kay Alden clearly had no idea whatsoever. Juliana McCarthy was billed in some episodes as "Elizabeth Foster Brooks" and in other episodes as "Liz Foster".

Y&R's been pretty good over the years about referencing its "real" location, by mentioning Walworth County (the real county where Genoa City is located), as well as making references to nearby Lake Geneva. Envelopes and packages shown on the show typically contains the real-life zip codes of Genoa City and Lake Geneva (53128 and 53147). I can recall several instances over the years in which Milwaukee was mentioned --- specifically Nick "scoring some tickets to a Brewers game", and the storyline in the early 2000s when Nick and Sharon planned to opened a statewide chain of Crimson Lights coffee shops, beginning with Crimson Lights Two in Milwaukee. They even visited Milwaukee several times to scout locations. (They planned to have Carter Mills manage the Milwaukee location, but he turned out to be Matt Clark, so that was the end of that!) In the dialogue, it was mentioned that they'd selected Milwaukee because it was close enough for them to keep an eye on the management before they branched into Madison and other places. The show has also been pretty good about referencing "Route 12", the U.S. Highway that runs through real-life Genoa City, and there've been several mentions on the show of I-94, the interstate highway that connects Milwaukee and Chicago.

Love it!! lol. This all sounds so plausible, especially Hank and the weed and the BJ 😉

Seems like Nikki and Patty were both waiting tables at the Allegro for a little while. Brock had hired them. That Patty Minter was supposed to serve as a "conscience" to Nikki. She never had a story of her own. She just said things like, "Wow, Nikki, I'm saving myself for the right guy!" And Nikki would roll her eyes and say, "Why? Just do it with fifteen or twenty of them!" It was a mechanism for the writers to establish that Nikki was a "slut going down the wrong path" without having to drag Casey into it as the confidant.

Yeah, Erica Hope definitely gave Nikki a trashy look and attitude that was completely believable. I can remember a scene where she was in the Allegro with that Patty Minter girl, and I made the comment to my siblings that Nikki looked as though she'd been gang-banged the previous night. Melody Thomas initially played the role more like a silly airheaded bimbo and less like the complete slut we'd seen with Erica Hope.

On Y&R, Eileen Davidson's "assertive ingenue" Ashley Abbott debuted in 1982, just when Jaime Lyn Bauer made it clear she planned to vacate the Lorie Brooks role. Within a couple of years, Ashley had snagged Lorie's "bio dad drama", subbing John Abbott for Stuart Brooks, and she also became Victor's "muse" to foil Nikki.

Snapper and Casey always had such good chemistry, despite having to deliver absurd lines to each about "picking up vibes", having something "heavy going down", and wondering where someone's "head is at" lol.

I don't think they ever specifically said it was in Ohio, but that was always kinda the implication, that it was a fictional version of Cincinnati. They were always going "upstate" as though to Columbus or Cleveland, and there was that big old picture of Cincinnati in the opening credits for years. Wasn't there even a bar near the courthouse called the "Ho-Hi-Ho"?

That's true, and we'd have missed out on a LOT. But I've always suspected that Bell's original plan was to bring back Stephanie Williams, in a recurring capacity, as the "upper middle class" girlfriend of Nathan, and then a few months later introduce Drucilla as the illiterate shoplifter who would become dependent on Nathan. At that point, he would've had all his players in place, and he would've signed Stephanie Williams and Victoria Rowell to contracts. There would've still been a Dru, but not an Olivia. We'll never know for sure, though, since "General Hospital" signed Stephanie Williams to a contract, forcing Bell to re-work the entire trajectory of what he'd planned for Nathan.

Yeah, Lynne Bassett-Hound was utterly wretched and only had a job because her father was on the writing staff. Once Jerry Birn was off the writing staff, his dull daughter was booted out the door instantly. Stephanie Williams had such good chemistry with both Doug Davidson and Steven Ford, and her character should have evolved into Paul's partner at Williams & Richards, once Steven Ford was gone. She was good with the aerobics classes, a great dancer, had good friendship chemistry with Traci, good rival chemistry with Lauren, and worked well with whomever she was paired with romantically. It's just hard to believe that Bell couldn't find a way to continue using her.

Re-watching the "It's Ok to Say No Concert" reminded me what a mistake it was for Bill Bell to let Stephanie E. Williams get away. That girl, in addition to being beautiful, was talented on so many different levels.

Makes sense. I just remember it seemed kinda "rushed". I was changing schools at the time and gave it lots of thought. Traci, on the other hand was like, "Hmmm, I think I'll go to Stanford and finish my degree. Oh, and by the way, I'm leaving today. Good-bye!" lol. Yeah, Rose & Vince were like those Thenardiers in Les Miserables. Whenever we thought we were rid of them, they popped up yet again. They were funny.

Didn't Beth Maitland also get "purged" (temporarily) during all of that? Seems like Traci announced rather suddenly that she was going to Stanford to finish her degree, packed her bags, and swooshed out of town rather suddenly. Also seems like Beth Maitland was removed from the cast list. Brad walked around grouchy about it for several weeks, became closer with Lauren, then Neil Fenmore died, Brad started working with Lauren on the Fenmore Foundation, and after a few months, Traci came swooping back in. I never knew if the intention had always been to bring Traci back later in the year, or if Bill Bell just kinda changed his mind about getting rid of her in the first place.

A couple of Miss Dickson's favorite attributes are DEFINITELY about to escape in that pic!

I was thinking (director) Herbert Kenwith stuck around longer than he did. He directed the first episode of Y&R, and I was thinking he stayed several years. But according to his bio, he moved on to Norman Lear comedies. Y&R has been lucky to have several good directors, including all those you've listed here -- Bill Glenn, Richard Dunlop, Frank Pacelli, and Rudy Vejar, as well as Kathryn Foster in the 1990s and 2000s.

Yeah, they were all jumping the bones of their make-up men in the early 1980s. Melody Thomas had a baby with Carlos Yeaggy, who was one of the make-up men. That's what inspired the whole Victoria storyline. Then she decided she'd rather marry an executive producer instead lol.

By 1973, she was mostly just a washed-up, middle-aged TV actress who was drawing unemployment and raising her three kids. I believe her last notable TV appearance had been in "Bracken's World" circa 1969-1970, and her movie career was pretty much finished for good.

If I remember right, the Chancellors were discussed in the dialogue for several days (or weeks) before the viewers ever encountered them. A slow-build to their debut, I believe you'd call it. There was discussion in the dialogue that on Foothill Road, there was a big house that overlooked the city. The house, of course, belonged to Mr. & Mrs. Chancellor. It was also established that the Chancellors owned several factories and manufacturing plants around town, including the one where Liz worked. The Chancellor anecdotes seemed to be providing some "local flavor" to help flesh-out the physical appearance of Genoa City. I'd say it's certainly possible that we first saw Kay Chancellor for one or two appearances in late 1973, before Phillip and Kay made their big splash in January of 1974. That was just kinda the way Bill Bell wrote. Slowly, and thoughtfully. The cast listing wouldn't provide any clue of when Jeanne Cooper first became a contract player, because the cast only scrolled "in order of appearance", for any specific day. Jeanne could've well started appearing in late 1973, and the press assumed that she was recurring instead of contract, as her storyline didn't really kick-off till January 28, 1974.

His name was "Sean Garrison"; he was an actor from western shows in the 1960s.

We all remember things differently, of course. For instance, I vividly remember the episode in 1980 where Bond Gideon's Jill puts the multiple layers of lipstick on the customer at Jabot, and John Abbott fusses at her, and then later tells her the idea has merit. BUT I could've sworn Brett Halsey played John Abbott in that episode. When it surfaced online earlier this year, John Abbott was played by some complete stranger that I never remember seeing in my life. I remembered the episode itself, but just not the actor. Our memories are fuzzy that way sometimes. Whoever came up with the "Joseph Thomas was a doppelganger to scare Nikki" is just remembering it wrong. That never happened. Jill only strayed into the Greg/Nikki storyline for like ONE DAY, and that was when Liz was shot and was hospitalized. Jack Abbott took Jill to the hospital, so Jill could make sure her mother was going to be ok. And then Jill was like, "Ok, looks like Ma is going to make it! Thanks for the ride, Jack!", and she went directly back into her new Jabot storyline. She didn't plot any "revenge scheme" against Nikki, and Quinn Redeker didn't appear.

I never bought Miss Dickson's book, but I've flipped through it and read the part about Jeanne Cooper, whom Miss Dickson refers to as "Jean". (The book is FULL of misspellings, errors, and apparent fantasies of Miss Dickson, as you might expect. There are probably kernels of truth here & there, but also embellishments and elaborations.) Brenda Dickson basically says that Jeanne Cooper was a raging alcoholic (which is pretty much public knowledge to most fans of the show, I guess, as Jeanne Cooper openly discussed her alcoholism). Miss Dickson, in her quest to defame Bill Bell and Y&R, claims that Bill Bell "enabled" Jeanne Cooper to be an alcoholic. She implies that Bell and Conboy specifically hired an alcoholic actress (Cooper) to fill the role of an alcoholic character (Kay Chancellor) and sort of enabled/encouraged Jeanne Cooper to remain an alcoholic as long as the storyline called for Kay Chancellor to have bouts of sobriety and drunkenness. THEN, when it was time for Kay Chancellor to become "permanently sober", the Evil Bill Bell told Jeanne Cooper, "Sober up, you old crone, or I'll kick you out the door." None of this was really a "slam" of Jeanne Cooper, but Brenda Dickson, in her crazy book, just "uses" Jeanne Cooper to make Bill Bell sound more horrible and mean than he probably really was. She implies that Bell manipulated and abused Jeanne Cooper's alcoholism, and that Jeanne Cooper was too drunk, stupid and naïve to realize she was being manipulated. Only the Wise Brenda Dickson could see all of this unfolding. That's what Beth Maitland was reacting to when she said that it was low and thoughtless of Brenda to discuss two dead people (Bell and Cooper) who weren't around to defend themselves. If Bell were still alive today, he'd obviously say that he never condoned or encouraged Cooper's drinking, and if Jeanne Cooper were still alive today, she'd obviously say that Bill Bell wasn't the reason she drank.

Yes, one of the soap mags made a comment circa 1986 that "if you'd like to watch a parody of Brenda Dickson, just tune into Y&R weekdays on CBS to see Brenda Dickson doing a parody of Brenda Dickson!" lol. I think there's a lot of truth in that statement. She definitely appeared to have some (untreated) problems with emotional stability, and I'm sure there were those on the set who exploited that particular vulnerability of hers, for their own benefit.

We'll never know for certain how much of her "illness" and "persecution" were real, and how much were merely figments of her imagination, because her concept of "truth" is so murky and vague. (That's based on having read passages from her book, where she can't even accurately relay her own AGE to the reader without embellishing the facts and masking the issue in confusion.) But I agree with Will81, when she turns to the camera at the wrong times, or when she does it for extended periods of time, it completely removes the Jill character from the scene. At home, we're treated basically to a tableau of Brenda Dickson posing, pouting, smirking, mugging and vogueing at the camera, while her co-star ineffectively attempts to deliver a soliloquy to the back of her head. There she is, in her plumed hat with sequined feathers, her spangled shoulder pads, her dramatic veil, with her back turned entirely to her co-star. While those of us at home are getting the benefit of watching her roll her eyes, smirk, wiggle and pout, her co-star may as well be performing opposite a corpse. There's nothing wrong with a little camp -- and heaven knows, she was plenty campy --- but it was just TOO much! It was difficult to understand why the other characters were wasting their time on Jill. If I were Phillip Chancellor III and my mother acted that way, I'd have just stayed at Kay Chancellor's house with no qualms about it. If I were Michael Crawford, I wouldn't have asked for the first date, let alone the second. If I were Brad Carlton, I wouldn't have wanted to associate myself with her men's line project. If I were David Kimball, I would've asked to be transferred to a different department. She just went so far with it at the end that it ruined any sense of reality associated with it. If a character has no redeeming qualities at all and can't even manage to LOOK sympathetic for a second or two, then there's pretty much no reason for the character to exist, as all the human conflict is erased.