Reverend Ruthledge

Hey there. I'm sorry I can't answer your questions. I'm only up to 1969 in my reading. I'll have to get back to you on that when I get around to the early 70s.

Yes, Johnny adopted Billy. Johnny had a nervous breakdown, left Springfield and deserted Peggy and Billy (never to be heard from again).

Hey P.J. Yes, Peggy Scott became Peggy Fletcher after marrying Johnny Fletcher and then eventually married Roger Thorpe.

Peggy Scott was still a teenager when she got knocked up by the sleazy Marty Dillman.

I didn't get that Don was talking about the later years at all. I think he was saying that she could have been a movie star but was mishandled in the beginning of her career. That was just my take on it. I'm sure he would have said that she was mishandled at the end because that was evident to everybody. But I think he was just talking about how she should have been a movie star.

Ok. That would make the most sense. Thank you.

Well, I wasn't watching when Bill Bauer came back from the dead so I don't know for sure but I've read history books that said that Bill also had a son, Paul, who was his other child with Simone. However, I've also read that there wasn't a Paul. So, I don't know if Paul really existed and if he was Bill's son. If he did and was, they could have brought that character into the show. But, for whatever reason, they didn't. Instead, they chose to kill a childless Hillary. I tell you, it was very clear that they were out do decimate the Bauer family around 1983/1984.

I think the reason Johnny and his family were introduced was because they had the last name Bauer. They wouldn't have been introduced if they were distant relatives who didn't have the last name Bauer. This way, the writers could create their own characters, give them the last name Bauer and say they were bringing on more "Bauers" without bringing back the real Bauers.

Having read Schemering's 50th Anniversary book for GL and having read the actual scripts for GL, I would take anything Schemering wrote with a grain of salt. He was not averse to historical revisionism.

Whatever happened to Robin?

Thanks for sharing, Paul. That was a really good article and Fran seems to be a bit of a prophet mentioning, in 1975, that Bill Bauer could still be alive. Unless they were already planning that back then. Bringing characters back from the dead was not very common in those days.

Do you mean by "Texas invasion" that there were a bunch of actors that came over from the show Texas? Or are you talking about all the characters on GL that came from Oklahoma?

Thank you, Slick! I appreciate it. It was amazing how complex and character-driven those first two years were. It really was like a web. I was also surprised at how bitchy Nancy could be! She had mellowed out tremendously by the time I started watching the show.

For those who might have missed my post in the Eileen Fulton thread: It was a typical funeral service but the eulogy was unique to Eileen. It was great. It was by a guy who was from South Carolina. He wasn't related. Years ago, he surprised his wife with a trip to NYC and while he was there, he thought it would be great to surprise her with a meeting with Eileen Fulton since she was a big fan of ATWT. This guy took a shot in the dark and called Eileen Fulton's manager (he found the info online) and made it clear he wasn't a stalker but he would love to arrange a meeting between Eileen and his wife. He said he would give a sizable donation to the charity of Eileen's choice. He said to his complete surprise the manager called him back and said, "Eileen will meet you for lunch at Sardi's tomorrow at 1:00". He said as soon as they met, they became fast friends and were at lunch for four hours. They stayed in touch over there years, would call each other once a week and she even visited him in South Carolina. He said that since Eileen didn't have children of her own, he became, "in true soap opera fashion", her "long-lost son". He even helped her move back to Asheville. His son, who sadly died a couple of years ago, drove Eileen down from NYC to her new home in North Carolina. He talked a lot about As the World Turns. He even mentioned Irna Phillips. He talked about her starting the show and he quoted the initial motto of the show that Irna created, "As the world turns, we know the bleakness of winter, the promise of spring, the fullness of summer, and the harvest of autumn—the cycle of life is complete." He then stated ways in which Eileen personified the seasons and said, "Your cycle of life is now complete, Eileen". He said, "Don't doubt. Her presence is with us now. She couldn't resist an audience". He also mentioned how it was her idea that she would be listed last in the cast list as "And Lisa—Eileen Fulton". He said that she never talked about this in the press but the reason she had them do that was because she knew Helen Wagner and Don McLaughlin would be listed first and second and she said she'd rather be last than third. He said this really makes a statement of the impact she had in the world. So, whatever happens in the future, we can always think "And Lisa" so she's never really gone. He also said that his son asked her one time if she was nervous when she auditioned for the show because there were so many other girls vying for the role. She said, "Absolutely not because when I walked into that audition, I KNEW I was Lisa".

You're welcome. I'm sure it meant the world to her. I met her once and she adored attention. I mean that in a good way. She was an extreme extrovert. And very sweet.

It was a typical funeral service but the eulogy was unique to Eileen. It was great. It was by a guy who was from South Carolina. He wasn't related. Years ago, he surprised his wife with a trip to NYC and while he was there, he thought it would be great to surprise her with a meeting with Eileen Fulton since she was a big fan of ATWT. This guy took a shot in the dark and called Eileen Fulton's manager (he found the info online) and made it clear he wasn't a stalker but he would love to arrange a meeting between Eileen and his wife. He said he would give a sizable donation to the charity of Eileen's choice. He said to his complete surprise the manager called him back and said, "Eileen will meet you for lunch at Sardi's tomorrow at 1:00". He said as soon as they met, they became fast friends and were at lunch for four hours. They stayed in touch over there years, would call each other once a week and she even visited him in South Carolina. He said that since Eileen didn't have children of her own, he became, "in true soap opera fashion", her "long-lost son". He even helped her move back to Asheville. His son, who sadly died a couple of years ago, drove Eileen down from NYC to her new home in North Carolina. He talked a lot about As the World Turns. He even mentioned Irna Phillips. He talked about her starting the show and he quoted the initial motto of the show that Irna created, "As the world turns, we know the bleakness of winter, the promise of spring, the fullness of summer, and the harvest of autumn—the cycle of life is complete." He then stated ways in which Eileen personified the seasons and said, "Your cycle of life is now complete, Eileen". He said, "Don't doubt. Her presence is with us now. She couldn't resist an audience". He also mentioned how it was her idea that she would be listed last in the cast list as "And Lisa—Eileen Fulton". He said that she never talked about this in the press but the reason she had them do that was because she knew Helen Wagner and Don McLaughlin would be listed first and second and she said she'd rather be last than third. He said this really makes a statement of the impact she had in the world. So, whatever happens in the future, we can always think "And Lisa" so she's never really gone. He also said that his son asked her one time if she was nervous when she auditioned for the show because there were so many other girls vying for the role. She said, "Absolutely not because when I walked into that audition, I KNEW I was Lisa".

Really! That's great. I'll have to tune in once again. Thanks for the heads up.

That reminds me of DOOL with the Hortons. Tommy only had a daughter, Mickey was sterile and then adopted a daughter and only Bill was capable of passing on the Horton name. They, for some reason, refuse to bring Mike back and they've largely ignored the existence of Jeremy. And Lucas only had a son who was gay. Even with him being gay, he had a child but, even then, it was a daughter! I don't know if it's lack of foresight or what but the show is less and less about the Hortons simply because there aren't any "Hortons" left. Maybe biologically but the name is dying out. Although AW really seemed to want to just axe the Matthews family entirely.

I'm sure that I am in the minority (as I am with most things) but I don't mind the names Fred, Freddy or Frederick. I like them all a lot more than the name "Rick".

Grandpa Hughes was an interesting character. Yes, he was the sage old man dispensing wise advice. But he could also be pretty salty. He often put Nancy in her place in the early years and, later, he could always see right through Lisa.

You're very welcome. Please feel free to post any observations or questions. I'm dying to be able to talk about the glory days of the soaps with people. Even on these cancelled soap threads, most people just want to talk about the final years of the shows. I get it. People can't talk about what they don't know about. But it's frustrating for me. I'd love to be able to deconstruct the golden years of these shows with people like they do with the latter years.

Thank you, vetsoapfan. I greatly appreciate it. I'm glad there are some out there that enjoy and appreciate it.

Thank you. I appreciate that. I just don't know if the interest is out there.

That's how I envisioned it, and how I think it was meant to be envisioned, when I watched the show in the 80s.

Right. But as I said, in the early years of the show, it couldn't have been Chicago because Irna had Edith living in "the city" and not in the suburb of Oakdale. It was one of the things that distinguished the free-spirit, glamorous Edith from the conservative, traditional Hughes family living in Oakdale. Edith left "the city" and moved to Chicago for a while and wrote letters back to the family. She then later moved back to "the city" when she left Chicago. So, "the city" may have been based on Chicago but it definitely wasn't Chicago in the early years of the story.