Reverend Ruthledge

Thank you for your insight! That's one of the reasons why I post my synopses. To try to generate discussion on the golden years of the show. Yeah, the argument between Paul and Bert was great. I always loved it when someone put Bert in her place! It was very out of the blue as it started as a friendly visit but Paul never held back when something bothered him. He was very outspoken. That's why he was one of my favorite characters. Bert sure didn't like him though. Even when they were on friendly terms, they never really liked or understood each other. They kind of tolerated each other. In my opinion, ANYTHING with Dick was dreary. I absolutely hated that character. I'll be glad to see him go. He was such a wuss with his mother and totally selfish. A perfect example of his selfishness, which is why I included it in my synopsis, was when he was talking to Marie about getting back together and he said, if they did get back together, he would want her quitting her job and being a stay-at-home housewife. Not uncommon for that time period, but considering the fact that Marie wanted to adopt a child because she was so bored since Dick was always at his work and she was always alone, with the fact he didn't want to adopt a child so she got a job to occupy her time...well, it's just a good example of how selfish he was. His name suited him well. Knowing how this plays out, SPOILER ALERT, I don't know how in the world Marie breaks her engagement to Joe and goes back to Dick. I can't imagine how that plays out. Joe was really good to/for Marie and Dick was just horrible. Those episodes are much better when you watch them knowing the context. For example, Robin and Bert give each other a lot of looks with nothing and the looks have so much more meaning when you know what was going on between the two at the time. You realize why Bert is being so cold and fake and why Robin is giving her the F.U. looks. EDIT: Sorry, my last paragraph is referencing the episode that's out there from January, 1961. Not the two that you posted. But any of the episodes are more enjoyable when you know the whole context.

Thank you, vetsoapfan.

You're all welcome. I'm glad you're enjoying them. 1960 was a really good year. In particular, the second half of the year. I think Agnes really hit her stride then.

-1/4/60-1/29/60. Paul and Anne name their baby John after John Lipsey. Karl asks Robin to marry him and she’s tempted to say yes just to have a place to belong. Bruce and Meta have the Bauers over and announce their wedding plans for the end of the month. Mike and Robin take a walk to the drugstore and Mike tells Robin he knows Karl wants to marry her and asks her not to do it if she doesn’t really love him. Dick and Marie meet with Nora’s parents, the Hansens, to discuss the custody of Nora’s baby. Nora’s mother doesn’t like Dick. The next day, they go over to Marie’s to tell her they’ve decided not to let her have the baby and that they’re leaving with the baby. Marie becomes hysterical and blocks them from taking the baby. The Hansens go to the police. Although Nora wanted Marie to have the baby if anything happened to her, Dick reminds Marie that Nora didn’t have her wishes in a legal document and the Hansens have the legal right to their grandchild. The Hansens come back with the police and take baby Marie away. Bert goes over to comfort Marie and Marie vows to get the baby back. After talking with Papa Bauer, Robin decides that, though they’re not strong, she might have feelings for Karl and that she’s not just using him to get back at Mark and Ruth. Robin accepts Karl’s marriage proposal. Marie tries to go the legal route to get the baby back and asks Joe to be a witness that Nora wanted Marie, not her parents, to have the baby. Joe agrees and an angry Dick, who hates Joe, wants Joe out of their lives. Mike tries to warn Karl against marrying Robin. Karl tells him that even though he’s his best friend, he needs to mind his own business. -2/1/60-2/29/60. Karl apologizes to Mike for their row and pressures him into apologizing to Robin. Marie resents that Dick doesn’t want to fight for the baby like she does. Before Meta’s wedding, Bill has an alone moment with her and says he’s happy it’s turned out this way for her. Later, Bert and Meta share an alone moment. Bert tells Meta how happy she is for her and Meta says she never thought she could be happy again like she is now. Papa comes up later to take Meta down to give her away and he tells her this is what he’s been praying for for so long. Papa, Bill, Bert, Mark, Ruth, Marie, Dick, Anne, Paul, Karl, Robin and Mike all gather at Meta’s house to watch as Bruce Banning and Meta Roberts are married on February 5th. After the wedding, Karl and Robin announce their engagement. Mark tells Robin the hopes this will bring him and Robin closer so things can be like they were when they were close. Robin tells Bert that she thinks she’ll love Karl after they’re married for a while even if she doesn’t right now. Bert assures her it will all work out. Mike thinks Robin just wants to marry Karl because she wants a family, not because she loves him. Papa thinks Mike is against Karl and Robin marrying because he doesn’t want to lose his best friend. Karl is pushing Mike and Robin together so that they will bury the hatchet. Ruth gives Karl her mother’s diamond ring to give to Robin but can’t get over the worrying feeling that something’s not right. Marie thinks Dick’s refusal to help her fight for the baby is because he’s up for Chief of Staff and selfishly doesn’t want any negative publicity even though Marie cares about being a mother just as much as Dick cares about his career. She says if he won’t help her fight for the baby, their marriage is through. Dick thinks Marie cares about being a mother more than being his wife. -3/1/60-3/31/60. Marie is forced to accept the fact that she’ll never get the baby back but feels dead inside. Seeing no point in the marriage, she leaves Dick and moves into an apartment at the Bowden Art Gallery. Karl asks Mike to be his Best Man and continues to try to force Mike and Robin closer as friends for the sake of peace. Dick thinks Joe is the cause of all of it. Laura goes to Marie and tells her that the scandal she’s causing by leaving Dick is making it difficult for him at Cedars and his possible promotion. A fellow doctor at Cedars, who is jealous of Dick, makes sure the rumors of Dick’s personal problems are known by the current Chief of Staff considering making Dick his replacement. -4/1/60-4/29/60. Mike suggests to Karl that he and Robin elope. Karl is for it but Robin the idea upsets Robin and nobody can figure out why Mike would suggest it. Robin’s emotional turmoil as the wedding nears causes her to get physically ill. Even though the marriage looks good on paper, she knows deep inside that she’s not in love with Karl but now feels trapped. Robin goes into Cedars for tests. Dr. Walter Pierce, the doctor who wants the Chief of Staff position, feigns concern for Dick and pumps Robin for information on Dick and Marie. He learns about the separation and goes straight to the Chief of Staff with the information who lets Dick he’s no longer under consideration for the position due to the distraction he has in his personal life. An angry Dick confronts Marie and tells her that she’s now gotten more than even with him for taking away her chances for a baby by taking away his chances for the position. He says he never wants to see her again. Robin is “forced” to postpone her wedding and Karl is frustrated as he is very eager to get married. Paul is shocked to learn that he, not Walter, has been granted the Chief of Staff position that Dick wanted so much. -5/2/60-5/31/60. Robin overhears that Dr. Pierce got his information from her and the guilt she feels for what happened to Dick causes her physical symptoms to get worse. Dick begins to think her illness is psychosomatic. Ed is the only one to figure out that Mike is sweet on Robin and Mike gets angry when Ed teases him about it. Now that it’s just become the 49th state, Mark’s company is doing a construction project in Alaska and Mike wants to go work there in the summer, consciously or subconsciously to get away from his growing feelings for Robin. Even though Dick says Robin should hold off on setting a date for the wedding, Karl is determined that it will be in June just as soon as the semester is over. Mike tells Bill he wants to go to Alaska and he doesn’t care if it means he’ll miss the wedding, even though he’s supposed to be the best man. Bill can’t understand Mike’s hurry to leave. True to form, Laura sticks her nose into Dick’s life and tells him he should leave Marie because she was never right for him anyway. Robin admits to Dick that she doesn’t love Karl enough to marry him but just thought marrying Ruth’s son would make her part of a family and keep her from feeling isolated from Mark now that he’s married to Ruth. Bert tells Marie that she thinks Joe thinks of Marie as more than a friend. Marie asks Joe about it and Joe doesn’t deny it but says he wants Marie to stay married. Karl, working hard to save up for the marriage, asks Mike to take Robin to the Memorial Day fraternity picnic until he can get off work and join them later. At the picnic, Robin admits to Mike that she doesn’t want to marry Karl and it’s because she now knows what love is. Mike kisses her. -6/1/60-6/30/60. Paul and Laura run into each other at Cedars and Laura mentions that she thinks it’s best that Dick and Marie have split. Paul ruffles her feathers by telling her to quit trying to run Dick’s life and reminds her that she’s his mother, not his wife. Robin is tortured as the voice of Karl saying he doesn’t want to postpone the wedding any longer, the voice of Mike saying he couldn’t do anything to hurt his best friend and the voice of Dick saying it would be worse to marry Karl without loving him than to break his heart now all swirl around in her mind. Laura purposely doesn’t give Dick the message that Marie called the apartment wanting to talk to him. Robin admits to Mike that she’s in love with him. Meta is throwing a going away party for Papa as he embarks on a trip to NYC to visit Clyde and Trudy. Bert can’t figure out why Mike doesn’t want to go to his Aunt Meta’s for the party, not knowing it’s because Karl and Robin will be there. She also can’t figure out why Mike wants to run off to Alaska. She asks Bill to talk to him and Mike finally admits to Bill that he and Robin are in love with each other but he could never take Robin away from Karl. Bill feels for him and tries to comfort him. Robin tells Karl that she can’t marry him. Mike and Robin discuss their predicament. Mike still plans on going to Alaska. Robin says she wants to go with him and she could if they were married. Mike is dubious about her plan until Robin makes him see that if they were married, it would help Karl get over her faster. Karl is the only one still in the dark as everybody else starts to realize the truth about Mike and Robin. Meanwhile, Mike and Robin cross the state line and get married. -7/1/60-7/29/60. Unable to accept the fact that Robin doesn’t love him, Karl looks to blame someone and targets Dick. He confronts him saying that he poisoned her mind by telling her that her problem was psychosomatic and she should put her marriage off. He even goes as far as to accuse Dick of being in love with Robin. Ruth begs Mark to go look for Karl but Mark refuses, saying that the kids need to work out their own problems. Ruth worries he’s making a mistake. Bert lets Bill know that she has figured out about Mike and Robin and is furious to learn Mike had told Bill and they kept it from her. Meta and Bert fret over the Mike/Robin/Karl triangle. Karl walks in on Mike and Robin on the Banning patio. Robin tells Karl she loves Mike, not him, and Mike tells him he and Robin got married. An angry Karl starts hitting Mike and, as Mike tries to leave, Karl lunges for him, loses his balance and hits his head on the iron patio table which knocks him out. Paul and Anne’s evening at home is interrupted by a call from Mike asking for help with Karl. Paul rushes over to the Bannings to check on Karl. Later at the hospital, Paul tells Mark that Karl is going to need surgery. Marie finds out about Karl and joins Meta at the hospital. Meta fills her in on what happened and Bruce tells them that Karl is through with surgery and now they have to wait for the results. Bill and Bert learn from Paul what happened during Mike and Karl’s fight and how Karl sustained his injury. Mike convinces Robin to keep their marriage a secret. Paul delivers the news to Mike and Robin that Karl has died. Ruth verbally attacks Robin, blaming her for her son’s death. She bitterly declares to Robin that Robin should be satisfied as she has finally gotten even for Ruth taking away her father by taking away Ruth’s son. Bill tries to comfort his guilt-ridden son as Mike blames himself for Karl’s death. Robin suggests that Mark take Ruth to Europe and perhaps move away from Los Angeles. Mark agrees and, right after Karl’s funeral, Mark takes Ruth to Europe to help her recover from the shock and to keep her away from Robin. Bert takes the torch of bitterness and blame towards Robin from Ruth’s hand before she goes. Bill, Bert and Mike are on edge as Mike is questioned by Detective Wyatt due to Karl’s death being violent. Marie confronts Laura and asks her if she gave Dick the message that she calls. Laura dodges the question and tells Marie that Dick never wants to see her again. Lt. Wyatt questions Robin. Robin tells the true sequence of events but Wyatt doesn’t believe her. -8/1/60-8/31/60. Joe and Marie are doing work with a children’s home through the art gallery and Joe thinks Marie has taken an interest in a young orphan boy, Phillip Collins, to try to fill the void she feels with little Marie gone. Wyatt doesn’t believe that Mike didn’t fight back with Karl and goes for a manslaughter charge. There’s to be a Coroner’s Inquest into Karl’s death which makes the Bauers nervous. A reporter with the newspaper named Grimes goes to Papa and Robin to interview them. They are shocked to learn that Bert had told the reporter that there was nothing between Mike and Robin. Just infatuation on Robin’s part. Paul thinks Laura is lying about giving Marie’s message to Dick so he takes matters into his own hand and asks Dick if he got the message which he says he didn’t. Robin lets only Dick know that she and Mike got married. Mike feels responsible for Karl’s death and his extreme guilt is making it difficult to be around Robin. Anne befriends a young widowed volunteer at Cedars named Amy Sinclair but there’s something about her Paul doesn’t like. The Coroner’s Inquest begins and Lt. Wyatt makes his statement on the witness stand that he believes it was manslaughter and not an accident. -9/1/60-9/30/60. Mike is forced to admit on the witness stand that he and Robin had gotten married the day Karl was killed. Everyone is shocked but the confession helps the coroner rule Karl’s death as accidental and dismisses the case. Mike comes down with viral pneumonia. Dick confronts Laura about not giving him Marie’s message. Laura tries to weasel out of it but Dick doesn’t buy it this time. He angrily tells Laura to stop trying to control his life and heads over to Marie’s to apologize for his mother’s actions. He interrupts a friendly dinner between Joe and Marie and thinks it’s something more. Bert and Robin’s claws come out when Robin stops over the Bauers to see Michael. Bert says Mike can’t have visitors and Robin retorts that she’s Mike’s wife, not a “visitor”. When Meta hears from Robin that Bert is trying to keep Robin from seeing Mike, Meta angrily defends Robin to Bert. Bert secretly consults a lawyer about Mike’s marriage. -10/3/60-10/31/60. Bert learns from the lawyer that the marriage can be annulled because he was underaged in the state he got married in and so, therefore, Mike must have lied about his age. Bert is not deterred by the fact that Mike would have to assent to the annulment, as she is determined to end the marriage no matter what it takes. Dick and Marie talk and Dick says that, if they got back together, he would want her to quit her job at the art gallery and stay at home. Marie says if he doesn’t want children, there would be nothing for her to fill her time with since he’s always at work. Marie later confides in Joe that her and Dick’s differences seem too much and it might be better to make a clean break now than to let the relationship die a slow, tortured death. Paul doesn’t trust Amy and thinks she’s after Dick. Bill tries to assuage Mike’s guilt of Karl’s death by encouraging him in his future with Robin. Mike answers Bill, “I married Robin because I was in love with her but you can’t deny that Karl would be alive today if she hadn’t become my wife. You can’t deny that, Dad”. Anne shocks Paul by saying that Marie would be better off with Joe and Dick would be better off with Amy. Joe tells Marie that the reason why Dick doesn’t want her working at the art gallery is because he thinks Joe is in love with Marie and Joe confirms that it’s true. Joe goes to Dick with characteristic straightforwardness and tells him that he’s in love with his wife and asks him if he intends on divorcing her. He bluntly tells Dick to either get back together with his wife or let him have her. When Joe says that he can make Marie happier than Dick can, Dick shows him the door. -11/1/60-11/30/60. Dick’s talk with Joe shakes him up enough to go to Marie and demand that she come back to him. When Marie learns that Joe told Dick that he wanted to be with Marie, Marie refuses to go back to Dick just because he doesn’t want another man to have his wife. Joe tells Marie that he would be happy to adopt the children she wants. Paul tells Joe to leave Marie alone. Joe points out that Dick is too selfish to really love Marie and the only reason he wants her back now is because he knows someone else wants her. Joe won’t stop pursuing Marie because he knows he can make her happy and Dick can’t and he says he couldn’t care less if Paul doesn’t like it. Alex Bowden, owner of the Bowden Art Gallery, comes back from his world travels. He immediately picks up on Joe’s feelings for Marie and Alex tells him to stay single because it’s the best way and he knows first-hand. Though not as on-board with the annulment idea as Bert is, Bill talks to Mike about it. Mike’s guilt and the difficulty it causes being around Robin, makes Mike agree with the idea of an annulment. He doesn’t think he could make her happy and thinks Robin deserves more than he can give her right now. Robin goes over to see Mike, excited about plans for their future, but is crushed when Mike tells her he feels their marriage would be wrong and wants an annulment. Sensing Bert’s hand in this, Robin quickly gets angry but Mike assures her that it’s what he wants as well. She runs out of the house and when Papa and Meta come by to pick Robin up, they learn of what happened. A furious Meta unleashes on Bert, accusing her of lying and brainwashing Mike while he was laid up sick at home. Marie tells Alex she saw Robin at the park across the street and she’s worried about her. Alex volunteers to go talk to Robin while Marie calls the Bauers. Alex tries to talk sense into Robin by admonishing her not to wallow in self-pity because nothing or nobody is worth the tears, especially a youthful romance with a boy. When Bill and Mike return to the Bauer household without Robin, Meta lays into Mike as well, pointing out that he’s always had a family and home but Robin hasn’t been so lucky. Papa tries to calm Meta’s anger by reminding her that Mike is her nephew. Meta says Robin has been like the daughter Meta never had and nobody is thinking about her, only about Michael. She’s the only one there is to protect and defend Robin. Joe tells Marie he’ll give her the life she’s always wanted, with a house full of adopted kids, and kisses her. Dick files for divorce from Marie on grounds of desertion. -12/1/60-12/30/60. Paul drops in at the Bauers to see how Mike is doing and has an argument with Bert. She says she’s only concerned about Mike but Paul bluntly tells her she’s only thinking of Bert Bauer and keeping her close little family in one piece as long as she can. Bert angrily tells him to mind his own business. Paul tells her to get another doctor. Meta talks Bill into talking Mike into not getting an annulment right away but going away somewhere alone for a while. Marie doesn’t like Alex, thinking that he’s cynical but doesn’t really believe the things he says. She thinks he just purposely says things to bait people. Joe tells Marie he wants to marry her and adopt Phil. Marie is served the divorce papers by a deputy. Meta and Bert declare war on each other. In front of Mike, Bill and Bert argue about Meta’s influence on Bill’s opinion of the annulment. Sick of the family drama, Mike yells at them both to shut up and says he doesn’t want an annulment but he wants to get away from everything. Alex announces his plans to sell the Art Gallery which devastates Phil as it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to him. Mike tells Robin that he doesn’t want to get an annulment but wants to go away alone to New York City for a while. Robin has mixed feelings. Bert tells Anne that this was the first Christmas that she and Bill haven’t spent with Meta and Papa since Bert joined the family and she blames Meta for splitting the family. Papa tries to encourage Robin by noting that Mike wants to stay married but just needs some time. Robin despondently says that it’s only postponing the inevitable. She knows they won’t stay married and she wishes she had died instead of Karl. Alarmed, Papa goes over to tell Mike about Robin’s mental state but Bert forbids him to. Marie consults her own lawyer in the divorce and says she doesn’t want any kind of settlement from Dick. Alex gets a letter that he burns without reading. Meta takes Robin to the art gallery to visit with Marie. Alex takes Robin on a tour of the gallery and tells her to toughen up and forget about Michael. -12/23/60. Amy, Dick, Paul and Anne gather at Amy’s apartment to celebrate Christmas. Paul encourages Dick to reach out to Marie, who he is separated from. Marie gives Joe and Phil a Christmas they aren’t used to.

Thank you, Zane. I don't remember that footage from findyourlight. I wonder if someone captured it before the site went away. UCLA has several episodes of soaps that are on a reel and haven't been transferred. I'm not sure why somebody doesn't do something about that. You would think it wouldn't be that difficult in this day and age.

I'd be cautious. I've never given them money but have emailed them asking questions several times and never got a response. It just didn't seem very professional so, at this point, I would not give them money even if they responded. I've been ripped off by other sellers in classic soap opera material.

30s: Ned Holden, Charles Cunningham 40s: Julie Collins, Ted White 50s: Bert Bauer, Laura Grant 60s: Ed Bauer, Ben Scott 70s: Charlotte Waring, Stanley Norris

Well, I wrote synopses for the years 1937-1940 which, if you're interested, are in the radio thread. That would give you a lot of what you'd like to know about the characters I liked. I just liked Ellis because he was cynical and aloof on the outside but, when it came down to it, he would go way out of his way to help people in need. He was enigmatic, which is what I like in characters. I don't like one-dimensional characters. The philosophical debates between Reverend Ruthledge and Ellis were riveting to me. And Rose just had a great redemption arc as she matured. Watching the maturation process with her was fascinating.

I liked Julie mainly because she was a fascinating, unpredictable and sympathetic character. Also, because I'm a psychologist and she was an interesting psychology study. Her story was mainly tragic (GL IS a soap opera, after all. LOL). She had to wear this scarlet A because she got pregnant from Mike Bauer (with Hope) and he had to marry her (this was the mid-60s). She was in love with him but he wasn't in love with her. It was just a sex thing for him. Because he felt trapped in the marriage, he was emotionally neglectful and somewhat abusive to her. She fell out of love with Mike and was the one who eventually felt like the trapped one and wanted to leave the Bauers (she and Mike were living with Bill, Bert and Papa while Mike was going through law school). Just when she was getting ready to leave and live on her own with Hope, Mike raped her and she got pregnant again which made her situation even more unbearable to her. She felt even more trapped which triggered a mental breakdown. She basically went insane. She tried to say the baby was someone else's (someone who she never had sex with). Although this was more of a delusion than an outright lie. She would routinely attack the Bauers. She eventually miscarried and tried to jump out of the hospital room window but was stopped in time. Ironically, at this point, Mike finally saw how badly he had treated her and realized that he did love her but, by then, it was too late. Julie finally got what she wanted, Mike to love her, but by the time he did, she had fallen out of love with him and just wanted away from him. She eventually slipped into psychosis, went catatonic, and Mike had to commit her to a sanitarium. She eventually came out of her catatonic state and seemed to be improving but then had a relapse and committed suicide in the sanitarium. Mike was guilt-ridden for years after.

Yes.

I don't really do couples but my favorite characters were: 30s: Ellis Smith, Reverend Ruthedge 40s: Rose Kransky, Mama Bauer 50s: Bill Bauer, Paul Fletcher 60s: Leslie Bauer, Johnny Fletcher, Julie Bauer 70s: Peggy Fletcher, Bert Bauer

Thanks for posting that. I'd never seen it. Nice to see that Hope got at least a mention towards the end. As brief as it was.

Make me want some Compoz. I guess this is before quaaludes took off.

Thanks for the explanation of how the name came to be. I didn't know she was named by Cassie. It still seems odd to me to name her that of all names.

That's true but, by that time, long-time viewers had been beat to a bloody pulp so a poke in the eye was no big deal.

T To me, the biggest mystery was why they named their daughter Hope. Did Michelle name her after her cousin that she never saw?

One of my biggest pet peeves. I sort of, kind of appreciate a nod to the origins of the show but the very few viewers who would have even gotten the reference would be the people who would know there could be no offspring of Rev. Ruthledge's with the same last name. So, what was the point of using the name Ruthledge? It was kind of a non-event for the viewers who didn't know the original character and an insult to those that did. He could have just said Reverend Ruthledge was his grandfather and leave it at that. But since there was no connection between Five Points or Selby Flats (where Ned and Mary relocated) and Springfield, having an offspring of Reverend Ruthledge show up in Springfield didn't make sense either. It was a huge stretch all the way around and I wonder the point.

Hey there! Actually, she was named Berta Bauer Ramsey, thus B.B. (not Bebe) for short. Thank God this was only for a very short while and the writers realized what a mistake every angle of her name was. Michelle Bauer was MUCH better!

These pics are great. Thanks! I haven't seen most of them and it really helps to put a visual to the characters.

Yes, Dick was an ass. I couldn't stand him. Dick's father was not dead at this point. He was just a much quieter figure than his wife. He was always away on business. I suspect he was hiding from Laura. Yes, Jane in 1959 is the same Jane in the 1966 episodes. I don't mind the articles AT ALL! In fact, they enrich the synopses. So, thank you. Bring them on!

Correct. February 3rd, 1958.

She was just Marian's best friend. She didn't do much but act as a sounding board for Marian. At least in 1959. We'll see if she plays more of a part in 1960. But I don't think she does.

-1/2/59-1/29/59. Henry goes out to Santa Clara to meet Fred and Jane as he investigates Paul’s connection with them. Robin keeps trying to push Mark and Meta together but Mark’s thoughts are with Ruth. Fred goes to Los Angeles to track down Marian and gets her to confess that Paul is their son. Henry goes to Chicago and gets the information he needs to convince Anne that Paul is a fraud. He tells Anne that Paul’s mother is Marian Winters and that his father is marked as “unknown” on his birth certificate. He gleefully tells Anne she can get an annulment because Fletcher isn’t Paul’s legal name but Anne doesn’t care. Anne faints and is rushed to the hospital where it is discovered that she’s pregnant but she quickly miscarries. Fred proposes marriage to Marian so that Paul can rightfully have the name Fletcher and try to take away the shame he feels about his illegitimacy. -2/2/59-2/27/59. Fred sees Judith at the hospital. She accuses him of wanting to marry Marian just to have a son to replace the one he lost in Korea. She tells him he needs to leave Marian alone because he’s already caused enough damage. Helen also comes to the hospital from San Francisco, sees Marian, and understandingly lets her know she knows all about her and Paul. Helene is angry at Henry for trying to break up Paul and Anne’s marriage. Anne tells both Paul and Marian that she knows the truth and it doesn’t change the way she feels about either of them. Paul worries that Anne’s heart ailment is recurring as he also resolves to let go of the shame he’s been living with his whole life based on the way he came into the world. Marie and Dick continue to grow further apart as he gets more obsessed with work and she starts wanting to adopt a baby more. Fred tells Jane that Paul is her half-brother. John asks Marian out on a date. Meta becomes determined to get Mark. -3/2/59-3/31/59. Bert warns Meta not to lead Robin on that there’s a future for Mark and Meta when there very possibly won’t be. Paul goes to Santa Clara when Fred is rushed to the hospital with a heart attack. Father and son meet for the first time and Paul lets him know that he has forgiven everything but there’s no need for Fred to marry Marian for Paul’s sake. It’s too late. Mark and Ruth admit they are in love with each other and Ruth worries about what it will do to Robin whose hopes are all in Mark and Meta getting married. John and Marian get married. Mark tells Robin that he’s in love with Ruth and Robin throws a fit. Alice helps Mark see that Robin looks at Mark marrying Ruth as another personal loss for her whereas marrying Meta is not a threat to her security. Mark starts to finally understand Robin’s obsession. Meta starts to get manipulative in her desperation for Mark and tries to make Ruth feel guilty about Robin’s unhappiness. -4/1/59-4/30/59. While painting out at the park, Marie meets a fellow artist, Joe Turino, who also teaches classes at the Bowden Art Gallery. Joe offers Marie a job teaching at the gallery. Papa is worried that Meta is regressing back to her selfish early ways. Mark tells Meta that he and Ruth are in love with each other and a bitter Meta tells Mark he’s going to hurt Robin. Paul tries to reason with Robin and assures her that Mark would be happier with Ruth because he’s in love with her, not Meta. Robin is dubious and asks Paul if it would ever be possible for him to love another woman if Anne died, in a bit of (perhaps unintentional) foreshadowing. A bit creepy as Robin is 15 at this time. Robin tells Mark she’ll move out if he marries Ruth. When Mark tells Robin that she has to have dinner with him and Ruth when she starts to feel better, Robin stands out in the rain to make her cold worse. She develops pneumonia. Ruth doesn’t think she can put her and Mark’s happiness before Robin’s and says she’s taking a job in Chicago. -5/1/59-5/29/59. Mark is getting fed up with Robin and demands that Ruth not move to Chicago but stay and marry him. Dick talks Marie into getting a final word with a gynecologist in San Francisco before he agrees to adopting a child. Mike asks Robin to the prom. Marie invites Joe over for dinner and he and Dick take an immediate dislike to each other. Nora Gibbs comes to the Bowden Art Gallery looking for work as a model and her mysterious circumstances piques the interest of Marie. Anne is pregnant again. Mark and Ruth get married in San Francisco. Meta suspects Mark and Ruth are getting married in San Francisco and Bert worries that she will tell Robin. While Robin gets ready for the Prom, Meta encourages Robin to call Mark at the hotel. The front desk says that Mr. Holden isn’t in but Mrs. Holden is. Robin is stunned. -6/1/59-6/30/59. Robin runs away while Meta, Bert and Mike are waiting for her to get ready for the Prom. Marie gets definitive news from the gynecologist that she can never get pregnant. Robin heads to the Greyhound bus station and buys a ticket. Mark receives a ransom note for Robin. A guilt-ridden and afraid Meta confesses to Papa that she purposely got Robin to call Mark in San Francisco and put him on the spot to spitefully hurt Mark, not thinking about what it would do to Robin. The police find out that a bus ticket to NYC was sold to a young girl. On the 3-day trip to NYC, the bus stops in Pennsylvania for a lunch break. In the bus station cafeteria, Robin overhears a state trooper asking questions about Robin to the bus driver on the Los Angeles-NYC bus. Robin quickly ducks out and later gets on a different bus. She shows up at her grandmother Allen’s doorstep in NYC. It’s revealed that Nora has been abandoned by her husband and is pregnant. She wants Marie to adopt her baby. Mark takes the new, faster jet plane out to NYC to get Robin. -7/1/59-7/31/59. When Dick and Marie start the adoption process, Nora tells Marie that she’s pregnant and wants her to adopt her baby. A guilt-ridden Meta flies to NYC to try to convince Robin to go back to Los Angeles. She confesses to Trudy that she used Robin’s insecurities for her own selfish end of not being rejected by Mark for a second time. Trudy warns Meta to stay out of it all. Meta ignores the advice and goes over to Helen’s to talk to Robin where she runs into an angry Mark who lays into her and tells her to go away. Meta later tells Robin that she knew Robin was afraid of losing Mark’s love and wanted Mark with Meta instead of Ruth because she knew he didn’t love Meta like he did Ruth. Meta also confesses that she used Robin’s insecurities to try to get Mark to marry her. This confession crushes an already disillusioned and bitter Robin and she says it was a mistake for her to be born in the first place since nobody has ever wanted her, including her own mother. Robin leaves Meta and joins her grandmother Allen on a long trip to Europe and Zena Bethune leaves the role with the parting words “I’m through, Meta. I’m through with all of it”. Trudy gets Bruce to come see Meta and Meta confesses to him that it was more her pride and vanity, than love, that made her want Mark to ask her to marry him. Meta is worried how Robin’s faith in everything and everybody has been destroyed and says, “I’m afraid we’ll never see the same Robin again”. Dick meets Nora and doesn’t like her. Mark and Ruth head for Switzerland to get her teenage son, Karl. The adoption agency turns down Marie’s request to adopt after they talk with Dick and ascertain that he didn’t really want to adopt and was just doing it for Marie. -8/3/59-8/31/59. Marie’s disappointment causes her to be angry at Dick and then Paul and Anne when she learns Paul confirmed Dick’s reluctance to adopt a child to the case worker when she interviewed him. Marie turns on Laura as well because she knows Laura didn’t think they should adopt and probably influenced Dick. Bert tries to lift Marie out of her depression but it’s too severe. Bill is in NYC from Boston and visits Meta. He tells her that he’s being transferred back to Los Angeles. Bruce reminds Meta that he’s still there for and wants to marry her. He also reminds her that they’re not getting any younger. Nora continues to try to get Marie to take her baby but Marie thinks Nora will regret giving it away and tries to convince her to keep it. Nora gives birth to a baby girl. Mark and Ruth come back to NYC with Ruth’s son, Karl. Nora names her baby Marie. Marie wants Nora and her baby to come stay with her for a while to take care of them and everybody thinks Marie is trying to live vicariously through Nora and her baby and it will end in more heartache when Nora leaves. Helen and Robin come back from Europe and Karl goes over to meet Robin and try to reason with her about going back with them to Los Angeles. -9/1/59-9/30/59. Bert, Papa, Mike and Ed fly out to NYC to meet Bill so they can drive across the country back to Los Angeles together. The Bauers have a picnic in Central Park. Bill, Bert and Mike meet Karl. Karl and Mike discuss Robin. Karl opines that she’s beautiful but Mike hasn’t noticed. The Bauers invited Karl to join them on their cross-country drive. Mike tries to reason with Robin and lets her know her bitterness about the past is going to destroy her future. Robin coldly dismisses Mike’s advice. Mark forgives Meta. Robin says she’ll only go back to Los Angeles if she can live with Meta. Nora gets a call from her husband Al who invites her out to Las Vegas where he’s living. She rushes out there, leaving her baby with Marie. Meta tells Bruce she wants to marry him but she must first go back to California since Robin wants to live with her and she feels responsible for her. Dick comes back from his medical conference in Switzerland and is very upset when he learns that Marie is taking care of Nora’s baby and Nora has run off to Las Vegas to be with her husband. As Meta gets ready to return to Los Angeles with Robin, Helen warns her that even though Kathy failed to give Robin the discipline she needed, life will eventually discipline Robin. Mike and Karl bond on their road trip back to Los Angeles and when they arrive home, Karl gets accepted to UCLA and will be entering as a Freshman along with Mike. Karl tells Mike he feels sorry for Robin and Mike warns him that Robin doesn’t want any help and enjoys feeling sorry for herself and he’ll be sorry if he tries to help her. -10/1/59-10/30/59. Alice has transferred to Cornell. Robin wants to become an actress. A detective hunts down Marie and tells her that Al and Nora were in a car that drove off a bridge in a rain storm. They’ve found Al’s body but not Nora’s. They assume she’s dead too. Marie remembers Nora’s pleas for Marie to take care of her baby if anything ever happens to her. Marie lies to the police and tells them Nora was her sister so she can keep the baby. Still angry at Mike for telling her she’s acting like a spoiled child, Robin goes out with Karl to avoid a family dinner with the Bauers. Robin thinks Mark only adopted her because of Kathy and doesn’t think he really loves her. Not wanting to live with Mark and Ruth and thinking that Meta will marry Bruce, an alienated Robin looks for a place of her own. She wants Karl to keep it a secret that they are dating but people are starting to catch on. Papa goes in for gall stone surgery. -11/2/59-11/30/59. Robin is feeling more and more unwanted. Mark is getting tired of Robin’s selfishness. Mike warns Karl that if he gets involved with Robin that he’ll regret it for the rest of his life. Marie’s hopes are restored when she and Dick meet with a lawyer who thinks they will be able to adopt Nora’s baby. This is immediately called into question when Nora’s parents, who Nora said were dead, show up looking for Nora. Robin argues with Meta that Mark isn’t really her father. She says Bob Lang is her father even though he died before she was born. Meta is shocked to find out Robin’s going by Robin Lang, not Robin Holden, as her acting name. Mark thinks Robin is using Karl to get back at Mark and Ruth and that Karl will be hurt. -12/1/59-12/31/59. Meta thinks Robin’s new passion for acting is because she’s trying to escape herself. She warns Robin that no matter how great the part is she’s playing, the curtain always comes down. Dick is kicking himself for not trusting his instincts about Nora and not forbidding Marie to have anything to do with her. Bill, Bert and Meta go over to Paul and Anne’s to celebrate Christmas Eve and are happy to see Bruce when he arrives there from NYC. Papa, Meta, Bruce, Bill, Bert, Mike, Ed and Robin celebrate Christmas Day. Bruce gives Meta an engagement ring which she accepts. Laura crashes Marie’s meeting with Nora’s parents and sticks her nose into everything. Joe goes over to see Nora’s parents to try to persuade them to let Marie adopt the baby. Having not met Dick but having met Laura and hating her, Nora’s mother, Ruby, doesn’t want Dick to have the baby if he’s as snobby as his mother is. Dick reaches his breaking point with Marie and her obsession with the baby. Johnny Fletcher is born to Paul and Anne on New Year’s Eve as we say goodbye to the 50s and hello to the 60s.

Thank you for your insights. Yes, Trudy was short for Gertrude.

Thank you! Yeah, it's a bit frustrating for me. Even though it's all one show, it's like there are two different GLs and most of the talk on here is about the GL that I'm not that interested in. LOL. I get it. People can't talk about what they don't know about. That's one of the reasons why I posted my summaries on the main page to share some of the knowledge and hopefully generate some discussion about what I consider the glory days of GL. I hope you can enjoy those.