VelekaCarruthers

Guza to Y&R is also good guess. I had forgotten about him. I can't believe he'd spend a year with MVJ then go to the competition, GH. But again with Kent and Phelps at Y&R, Guza as co-head or consultant would make sense.

Carlivati is one of the only writers in the sad state of daytime who garners social media attention and it's always been weird that he was hired at BTG other than if CBS was place holding him for Y&R which I've always thought was a possibility (especially with Steve Kent there). I can't see RC going back to GH with Varni still calling the shots with Valentini. So my guess is Ron. Less interesting would be Dan O'Connor leaving Days to return to GH.

Skyy Sandifer wrote today's Days script. I think this is her third or fourth free lance script.

And Terrell tried to compete with A Martinez/Cruz SB for tightest jeans with package visible. Neither could compare to Charles Flohe/Preacher on EON...In that department

Morgan Englund was so wrong for the part of Dylan and I could never understand why they kept him. Must have been someone at CBS who dictated that he couldn't be fired since he's Cloris Leachman's son? He couldn't act period. Pam Long ripped off her own plot with the Harley story. She was definitely Reva of 5th street. But Harley and Frank were highlights of Pam's return run. The Johnny cancer story was god awful. Hated Chelsea Reardon (was never a fan of Kassie), Roxy was a mess. Rusty was a decent character but again, the performer in the role couldn't act. And I can't even with the Rose drug thing. The Sonny plot was so convoluted I can't even recount it. But I know the five month strike had an impact.

I still think the earlier lists of head writers on this board and other places is incorrect as to the final three head writers. I watched the show with my grandmother and my recollection is that the progressive stories with Dale/Ellen and the older folks, murder plot was Don Appell/Winifred Wolf with Frank Salisbury, then they replaced those head writers with Kubeck whose period was terrible compared to the Appel period. My recollection is that in the final few months (and I see from the May 76 photo above that Kubeck is listed as the writer with Jamison Parker still in the cast) the show brought in AJ Russell with Frank Salisbury. Jamison was gone. Ellen and Jill were never on as I think GJ was ill. AJ I believe created the characters that Gene and Toni Bua played,. I wish there were tapes or other evidence of this, but that's my recollection. I remember by grandma being happy they replace Kubeck because the show was improving when it was cancelled. I guess I could have it backwards with AJ and Kubeck, but I don't think so.

Not surprised to see O'Connor get one script with Ron gone and especially given that they are testing out all these newbies one of whom is on contract (Simone Hawthorne). I won't be surprised if he's gone from the credits soon. Would also not be surprised if Schock goes (or has left the staff) as another Ron hire.

Christian Streaty wrote June 30 Days script. She still lists Peacock writing assignments under her freelance work on linkedin.

35 contract actors and 27 recurring and day players. I remember feeling that the year or two before Marland died, the cast got too bloated. I got sea sick watching episodes with massive numbers of characters shuffling through the hospital cafeteria or Emma's kitchen or the Hughes living room. Many scenes felt like noise but little happened except exposition. I do give Backus and Packer credit for their time as head writers (I think it was about 18 months?). The bottom fell out of the show when they brought in Culliton and Wolf and fired Backus. The show really never recovered.

I watched live during this period (as a kid) with my Grandma and the show was not enjoyable to watch. Slow, mostly uninteresting compared to the six month period when they focused on Dale/Ellen and the murderer with the senior crowd. That was such a fun six months. My grandmother scoffed at Ellen and Dale but watched every day. The subsequent writer and crime plots couldn't hold a candle to Edge and they shouldn't have tried.

This could be a good fit although his acting chops seemed thin on Y&R but Griffith's material is lame.

I only saw part of the credits for today's episode but Rick Draughon was not listed with the breakdown writers. I didn't see the script writer list because YouTube vid was distorted. Can someone confirm if Rick was listed with the script writer? Wonder if it was a mistake and he was just left off. His linkedin profile still shows he's employed at Days.

Nancy Curlee and Stephen Demorest quit unexpectedly in 1994 from network and/or Phelps interference not because Nancy was pregnant. Stephen came back four weeks later and stayed until his contract was up in Dec 1994. Nancy has two bio girls (Claire and Julia born in 1992 and 1997, respectively). I believe Stephen has an older daughter who's 43, Kat. Nancy gave birth to Claire in March 1992 which is why she took a sabbatical and recommended Broderick as her replacement. She came back after 1 year and they worked with Broderick as Reilly had departed after his two year contract ended to take over days for the first time. When GL was cancelled I corresponded with Nancy Curlee and she wrote back and had fond words for GL. In response to my query about why she never joined another writing team, she confirmed that she consulted for ABC daytime in 95-96 and was slated to take over GH as head writer from Guza (who was at GH after Labine for a few months but had to leave for Sunset Beach) or Labine (she didn't specify) in 1996, but she found out she was pregnant with Julia in 1996 and Riche had to go with Iacubuzio/Whitesell (disaster) then Culliton (disaster) before Guza returned. Curlee was diplomatic about Phelps in her interview with Locher a while back, but she never worked for Jill or any producer on soaps again; Demorest worked in soaps for years after GL and was never hired by Phelps either. I don't have evidence or facts but I believe they wouldn't have worked for Phelps again, given how she handled head writers in subsequent years.

I watched Curlee/Demorest era and loved it. I continued to watch through early McTavish then had to stop; it was so bad. I remember at that time NC quit being flabbergasted by Phelps' deconstruction of the writing team (and merry go round of writers she brought in and out before she was fired). I recently tracked the credits from this period.Here's what happened with the writers (give or take some exact dates) after Curlee quit and Demorest was brought back to finish his contract. 94- to March 31 1997 Mulcahey added as co head March 3 with NC/SD NC/SD last episode March 15 Courtney Simon moved to breakdown writer March 17 Leah Laiman added to script writer list March 21 April 6 Millee Taggart added, Leah Laiman moved to breakdown writer along with Jane Atkins Courtney returns to script writer April 11 Jeanne Glynn added to breakdown writers April 18 Stephen Demorest returns as co head with PM and NWW May 4 Jane Atkins and Jeanne Glynn move to script writer list June 6 Taggart/Laiman join co heads Mulcahey/Demorest/Watts July 14 Jeanne Glynn no longer in credits as script writer July 19 Lisa Connor script writer for one episode August 10, August 25, August 31 Jeanne Glynn returns as script writer Sept 2 Patrick Mulcahey last episode as co head writer Sept 12 Tom King added to script writer list although I believe he was breakdown writer from the start Sept 16 Jane Atkins last listed as script writer September 26 Jeanne Glynn back on contract as script writer October 26 Taggart/Demorest become co head writers, Watts moves back to getting sole credit as associate head writer, and Laiman gone. November 14 Craig Carlson added to script writer list although I believe he was writing breakdowns. Nov 21 Joyce Corrington added as story consultant listed with Watts Conforti, Carlson, King listed together as outline writers Nov 28 Millee Taggart no longer co head Doug Anderson added to outline writer group with Conforti/Carlson/King Dec 12 Doug Anderson becomes sole head writer with Watts continuing as associate head writer Demorest gone Peggy Sloane added to breakdown writers along with Confort/Carlson and King Corrington moved to script writer list 1995 March 2 1995 next available credits on youtube with the following changes Brown/Estensen, Corrington, Simon no longer on staff as script writers (only Newman, Myles, Glynn) April 24 1995 Sloane and Watt are co heads with Anderson Betsy Tooker and Kathleen Klein are now script writers with Myles, Glynn and Newman May 18, June 1, June 2 MT Squerciati listed as script writer May 26 Judith Jenkins added as breakdown writer (PHELPS LAST EPISODE!) May 29 Laibson in as EP July 14 (Anderson's last episode as HW); no script writer listed. Anderson may have written his final script July 17 McTavish listed as head writer and shares title card with Watt/Sloane as co heads; July 28 McTavish's first writer fired, Kathleen Klein ,with whom she worked on AMC. Bad blood? August 7 Peggy Sloane last listed as co-head August 8 Pete T. Rich returns as script writer August 23 Victor Miller returns as co-head listed with Watts/sharing title card with McTavish King/Carlson out as breakdown writers (they moved to AW to co head write) Kathleen Kennedy added as breakdown writer August 28 McTavish gets sole billing before it scrolls to Miller and Watt Sept 5 Ralph Wakefield added as script writer September 13 Lynda Myles last listed as script writer May 1996 N, Gail Lawrence has replaced Judith Jenkins as a breakdown writer Sharon Epstein has replaced Betsy Tooker as a script writer October 25 at least through Nov 7 Miller/Watts become head writers (McTavish out) November 21 Last episode credits that included Ralph Wakefield Miller/Conforti listed as HW Dec 6 Michael Laibson last day as EP Dec 9 Paul Rauch listed as EP 1997 Early Feb Loren Segan added as script writer March 31 Brown/Estensen first episode as HW

You're in the transition period after McTavish fired. I think her last episode was around 10/17/96 then Miller/Watts are interim head writers for a few weeks after which Miller/Conforti are head writers until Brown/Estensen first episode on 3/31/97. Miller and Conforti do a great job cleaning up McTavish's mess.

A Little to the East earned relatively positive reviews when it came out. The New York Times’ reviewer wrote, “The characters he has created are entirely believable, particularly the first and second generation Italian-Americans whom he understands so well. By the kind of fictional magic that is all too rare, he makes the story of Joe Monti seem a matter of great importance. The result is a book as provocative as it is convincing–a ‘first novel’ that should win an enthusiastic audience.” Cenedella also gained some attention as a novelty, being a first author at the ripe age of 53, with both a grandson and an infant son (from a second marriage). He soon returned to television, however, writing mainly for soap operas, including “Another World,” “The Guiding Light,” “The Secret Storm,” and “The Doctors.” “If a writer ever says soap operas are crap, or mysteries or romances are crap, as in I’m just doing this crap to make money,” he once said, “well, crap is what they’ll write. It’s not the category that makes it art, it’s the care you put into writing it.” Cenedella was a firm believer in discipline as the key to writing. As his son recalls in a 2010 tribute, the only writing advice he had to offer was: “Seat of the pants to seat of the chair.” He lived and died by this principle. After he died in Tucson, Arizona at the age of 90 in 2002, his son, helping with the estate, went to clear out his father’s office: “Then my eye fell on the barrel of his Selectric. There was a piece of paper in the typewriter. I looked at it. It was page 27 of a new novel. My Mom said he’d been in the office the day before he died, typing away.” A Little to the East is available in electronic format on the Open Library: Link. His son lists GH and OLTL as shows RC wrote but I don't believe he was ever credited for those shows. So that may be a mistake on the son's part.

Long should have know better than to agree to work under Phelps. Of course, Long was never successful other than on GL. Her SFT was awful; it was clear that she and Walsh hadn't even watched the prior six months under Tomlin. SB was wretched under her and Rauch. I wonder if she was ever offered Another World which could have been a good fit.

Louise Rozett wrote today's GH script https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2188808/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/louiserozett/

Skyy Sandifer wrote another Days script (Thursday 6/19 episode)

Simone Hawthorne under contract since March at Days as a writer (assume script writer) per her linkedin profile. https://www.linkedin.com/in/simone-hawthorne-69879911/ I would imagine her name will appear in the contract credits in Jan/Feb timeframe given that the first week of March the show taped up to Dec 30 episode.

Buget probably has a big part in all of the backstage shuffling. Also, it would be hard to fire the main source of the show's weakness i.e. (IMO) that MVJ is not a gifted head writer and really struggled out of the gate with the storylines. Changing up break down writers and script writers is what execs do when they don't want to (or can't) fire the head writer. Look at Y&R with Griffith. He's gotten rid of so many qualified writers and the show is as boring and bad as it has been since he returned as head writer. Maybe tightening/repositioning the writing team will help MVJ in the second season.

Has it been confirmed that he's playing Cane?

Margaret DePriest and John Whitesell created Jason (this Frame was never mentioned by Harding Lemay). He was introduced to pair him with Denise Alexander. Depriest was out four weeks after Jason debuted and Whitesell was out a few weeks later. Sheri Anderson wrote the show for 8 weeks (Feb 1 to March 31) then the writers' strike episodes started. Chris may have only had a one year contract and I'm sure he was expensive. Swajeski/Laibson went in a different direction. Denise Alexander started as Mary in August 86 (created by Depriest) and left around the time Jason was murdered (Feb 89). Perhaps, Denise quit and they decided to get rid of Jason at the same time. Both actors must have commanded a huge salary and with dwindling ratings, the show probably was already in budget cut mode and used the funds for other actors/sets etc. I never thought Jason or Mary fit in. Totally unnecessary characters, especially Jason but I liked Chris in the role. Never got into Mary.

Jazmen Darnell Brown updated his LinkedIn to show a new job and that his contract with Beyond the Gates ended in June with Season 1. Interesting... https://www.linkedin.com/in/jazmendarnellbrown/ Lynn Martin is also out at BTG per her new linkedin update and related post, https://www.linkedin.com/in/lynnmartinwriter/ Danielle Page, Sara Bibel, Judy Tate and Teresa Zimmerman still show active jobs at the show on their Linkedin profiles So from original writers, the following are out Guza, G Martin, Brown, L Martin In Giddens In Thomson but we don't know if she'll be on the writing team

Christian Streaty wrote her second freelance script today on Days. Surprised they gave the first funeral episode to a newbie.