Tisy-Lish

Does anyone remember exactly when Lisa became wealthy? I know Whit McCall and Eduardo Grimaldi had been a multi-millionaires, but I believe Lisa was already wealthy before she met either of them. Am I correct about that? When I was a kid in the 1960s, I remember thinking Lisa had been working-class, then became more or less middle-class when she married Bob. So she must have inherited wealth from one of her husbands, but I can't remember any who were wealthily before Whit McCall.

Eileen Fulton and Ethel Remey. This photo is likely from the 1970s.

Never knew about Lisa's father being around, but anything is possible. Wondering if that can be confirmed... I remember Lisa and Alma from the mid-1960s, and Alma was a widow by that time. Not sure how many actresses played Alma, but the longest running actress in the role was Ethel Remey. Perfect casting and a great foil for Lisa's shenanigans.

Hell yes. No Erica or Rachel without Lisa. Trouble-making daughter, long-sufferring working-class single mother. Lisa and Alma were there first.

Eileen Fulton will forever be one of the true queens of daytime. Rest in Peace, our old friend.

Yes, the idea that Laurie Heineman was one of AW's lead actresses in 1978 was, at best, questionable. I would submit that the four lead actresses of AW in 1978 were Vicki Wyndham, Susan Harney, Beverlee McKinsey, and Beverly Penberthy. And only Wyndham and McKinsey got Emmy worthy material to play that year. Hineman was a supporting actress, in my opinion. I can say the same thing about Irene Dailey winning lead actress in 1979. During Dailey's entire run on AW, Liz Matthews was never a lead. I'm not sure even Audra Lindley's Liz would have been considered a lead in the 1960s. I loved Aunt Liz. And Irene Dailey was an amazing actor. But Liz was not a lead role.

I believe both Larry and Clarice were written off with no good-byes, exit scenes, or mentions in the scripts. They later returned for Mac's funeral (1989), which was the first time it was ever mentioned they had previously moved away. Clarice returned again for Ada's funeral (1993).

Sadly until the ratings go down, and Y&R loses first-place -- we are probably stuck with this situation.

One of the things I love about BTG is, the show is grounded in reality and believability. It's not about some over-the-top garbage we have been fed from other soaps since the early-1980s. Yes, a couple of the characters are OTT, but the storylines are still believable. Even the reveal of Martin's secret is believable. BTG doesn't need an international spy syndicate, or moustache-twirling Euroro-trash villains to be the bad guys. The extended Dupree family certainly cause more than enough trouble for themselves. And isn't that exactly what Harding Lemay was trying to write on Another World nearly fifty-years ago? MVJ is a genius of the post-modern soap opera.

Absolutely agreed....

I agree. It seems we have all more or less figured out Martin's secret, and nothing about it is particularly scandalous. And perhaps the audience is headed for a let down. But if there are more details -- especially details that do not paint Martin in a positive light, then we might be surprised and possibly even revolted. And that would be a good thing...

Good point. The entire mystery has become so convoluted, that thought didn't even come to me. How did Smitty even know the man in the park was Kenny???

Great point. And yes, I was remembering Salem Place. It has probably been the longest running outdoor set on a US soap. But unfortunately is wasn't permanent. So it disappeared. I think American soaps are ready for outdoor sets that last throughout the life of the show. But paying for those sets is going to be the problem. Unless they exist on the studio's property.

Yours is actually a pretty wise response. Sadly.

Does anyone think an American soap opera will ever have a large permanent outdoor set, as some of the British soaps do (Eastenders for example)? I know it would be prohibitively expensive, unless/until the production and funding model of American soaps changes. Still, I think having consistent outdoor sets (as soaps have long-running in-studio sets) is important to the future of the genre. Mind you -- not the most important thing. The most important thing is good writing. And the second most important thing is good acting.

Okay, strange murder mystery. Because NONE of the visitors from Genoa City are going to jail for murder. So doesn't that leave only one possibility? Aristotle's (oops, Cane's) nerdy little assistant -- I can't remember his name. What other character on the French estate is expendable?

Thanks for that information. I'll assume you are correct. Another site suggested Phoebe's first husband was named Matthews. Now I'm wondering if both could be true. Was Nixon head-writer in 1987?

As I said, I'm not suggesting any of this is literal. And definitely not saying that Nixon based Phoebe on Liz. But on the other hand, since the AMC bible was written before Nixon wrote for Another World, certainly Agnes learned a lot from her time writing for AW. So it would make sense that her time at AW had some influence on what finally became AMC on ABC Daytime. And especially her experience writing for actors like Robin Strasser, Audra Lindley, Connie Ford, Judith Barcroft, Michael Ryan, etc. I'm confident Nixon took much of what she learned from her success at AW, and transferred that wisdom to old/new creation, All My Children.

AW fans have discussed similarities between characters written by Agnes Nixon on Another World, and somewhat similar characters she created for All My Children. Some long-term AW fans have suggested that AMC's Phoebe Tyler was an exaggerated version of Audra Lindley's interpretation of Liz Matthews. Well, I learned something interesting today. Phoebe Tyler's first husband was named Matthews. So Phoebe's name was Phoebe English Matthews Tyler Wallingford. Isn't that a strange choice for Nixon to make, especially with all the fan comparisons between Liz and Phoebe? In a BIZARRO world, it would almost be like Liz moving to Pine Valley and marrying Charles Tyler, then becoming an alcoholic and... I'm not suggesting any of this is literal. But after being such a successful head-writer on Another World, I doubt it was a coincidence that (just a few years later) Agnes Nixon used the name Matthews for a major character on AMC. Makes me wonder if Nixon ever pursued Audra Lindley to play Phoebe. Hmm.

Ruth Warrick has said in a couple of interviews, and I've read in one or two soap opera history books, that a few months after the premiere of All My Children, Agnes Nixon was ready to fire Ruth because she was not happy with the way Warrick had been playing Phoebe. In Warrick's interviews, she explained that at that time she was told this by a friend/confidant, and not directly from Nixon. So Ruth immediately made changes in the way she played Phoebe, and apparently these changes made Nixon happy, because she was not fired after all. So, does anyone know what changes Warrick made to her interpretation of the role? And in what ways she changed her acting style? And more specifically, can anyone describe how Warrick had been playing Phoebe before she heard about her impending exit, and what changes she made that ultimately saved her job?

And at least we finally get a little romance on this soap. It's weird, the only characters JG ever writes truly romantic scenes for are Michael/Lauren and Danny/Christine. And I'm not sure any of those four actors are on contract. JG seems to have absolutely no interest in writing romance for any of the contract actors. What's wrong with him?

As I said, everyone is free to believe whatever they choose to believe. But it seems to me, you are just making excuses for bad writing. Why in the world would anyone do that? And please don't tell me, "it's just a soap." Many many soap operas have had superb writing, and writing that respected the history of the show(s).

Thank you for the information. Very helpful. But still no name of the city Fairmont Crest is within? Or is it in unincorporated Prince George's County? If that is the case, I don't think it has been mentioned in a script. Sooner or later, a future head-writer will give the city a name.

I think it has been mentioned in a script or two that Fairmont Crest is in Maryland. But I could be wrong. However, if Fairmont Crest is actually inside DC, would Martin be a senator? Does DC even have a senator?

Thanks. But I believe when she used the word community, she was likely referring to the gated community (Fairmont Crest), not the city. I could be wrong, of course. Several soaps have started off without naming the city in which the action takes place, but eventually (even years later) the city always gets a name.