vetsoapfan

The funniest aspect of your comment is how accurately it captures Bert's character evolution. My introduction to Bert was in 1950, and she was a bit of a harpy back then. I say this with love, LOL.

That bugged me too. I also refrained from correcting the uploader, out of courtesy, but it was hard to control myself, LOL.

I imagine that the Brad and Leslie saga would have continued if Tom Hallick had remained on the show. Bill Bell often kept his supercouples entwined for many years if the actors stuck around. In 1978, however, when Tom Hallick made it clear he was quitting, Bell decided to switch gears and go with the 4-L drama. It made sense to me at the time. A "new" Leslie with a "new" Brad might have been a turn-off for the audience. It was better to have only one new actress (Victoria Mallory as Leslie) being absorbed into a story with three other charismatic actors who were popular and who had originated their roles. She stuck out less than if she had been part of an all-new Brad and Leslie pairing. Imagine if the new Brad had been a tepid actor too. It would have been a disaster.

I am happy to see Eddie here. His AW site is a treasure trove for AW fans, and I can readily attest to his friendliness, helpfulness, and generosity. I have bought various video items from him over the years and have always been thrilled with his material. It's great to know that the AW site is still being updated!

"Everything's always Marcia, Marcia, MARCIA!!!!" Put a sock in it, Jan.

Lance was more suave and sophisticated and had a laid-back, confident charm, whereas Lucas was less refined and had a quick temper, but was highly passionate and very loyal. Both men were quite appealing in their own ways, however, so choosing between them would have been pretty difficult. With Victoria Mallory as Leslie, the character lacked fire, substance and depth, so there was no real competition between such a restricted, colorless woman and Lorie, who was sexy, playful, witty, complicated, vibrant and fun. I would have no trouble at all choosing between Jan Brady from The Brady Bunch and Mary Richards from the Mary Tyler Moore Show, or between George from Seinfeld versus Oliver Queen from The Arrow, LOL.

Dear. God. In. Heaven. This first guy is HAF.

Actually, an aggressive female patient also tried to abuse "Jane" (as Leslie was called in the asylum because the authorities did not know her identity), which was quite daring for the time. She even stole Leslie's food. I was terrified watching the storyline. never knowing if Leslie would be sexually abused or starve to death. I hate to say this, but while I found Mallory to be beautiful, charming and a very talented singer, I did not feel her acting chops were strong enough to convey the character's deep and conflicting emotions. Leslie changed a lot when Lynde left and Mallory took over. Instead of being like a fragile fawn with deep, fiery emotion just below the surface, Leslie suddenly had less depth, less raw emotion, and came across as...pallid. Rona Barrett's Daytimers published a snarky comment about Lorie rather than Leslie being the new focus of the show, thanks to, "...Victoria Mallory's colorlesss portrayal of the part...." When Mallory first took over the role, TPTB had her suffer a miscarriage after her husband accidentally hit her in the stomach with a heavy suitcase. Jon Michael Reed wrote in Daily TV Serials that Y&R was trying to build sympathy for the "new" Leslie by making the character lose the baby, but so far it had not been really successful. All this to say that while Mallory was adequate in Four L-era, I think the storyline would have been more effective and dynamic with Lynde in the role. The men's conflict choosing between the passionate, exciting and vibrant Lorie Brooks, and the tepid, restrained and colorless Leslie Brooks was...hard to fathom.

In 1973, actress-singer Mary Grover was originally hired to play Leslie Brooks on Y&R, and filmed a few weeks' worth of episodes. Bill Bell did not think she was ultimately right for the role, however, and Grover was let go before the show premiered, with all her scenes reshot with replacement Janice Lynde. Mary Grover was pretty, and seems to be okay as an actress and singer, but I am glad that the show went with Lynde, who was mesmerizing in the role. Here's a sample of Grover's work on stage. And here are some clips of Janice Lynde as Leslie:

Yes, I remember this well. The show used long, flowing gowns to disguise JLB's condition. At least she said in the press that when she was pregnant and highly emotional, the crew was very protective of her and tried to soothe her nerves. Lezlie Dalton also subbed for JLB at this time. And speaking of the good old days:

He came across as very sweet and almost...noble, like Sam Groom as Russ Matthews on AW. I liked him a lot, but by the time McGillin took over as Greg Foster, the writing was on the wall and the original Brooks and Foster families were being phased out. I was revolted that the show hired the worst of all Gregs, Wing Hauser, to play out the story about Liz Foster's death.

Wasn't there also some drama about Victoria Mallory needing some time off during her pregnancy, but TBTB did not want to give it to her? She had to be in a wheelchair except when she was on-screen?

Fortunately for Kerwin, his skills as an actor improved as he got older. As Greg Foster, however, he was colorless and bland. They really did need to replace him, but Wings Hauser was atrocious in the role. Think: Greg Foster, Degenerate Slug and Serial Killer. Vomit.

Jeff Cooper was the other actor to play Derek, although briefly. Not much actually played out while Stoddard and Cooper played the part. Derek was introduced as a hairdresser/stud, and did some heavy flirting...but wasn't really used a lot until Bill Bell finally found the actor he wanted to settle on: Joe Ladue. Boy, his white pants were tight.

I will let y'all look, but be aware: Matthew Camp is mine. All mine.

William Gray Espy had quit as Snapper in 1975, which was a major blow to the show and a shock to fans. He was replaced by David Hasselhoff. Robert Clarke had failed to impress as Liz Foster's brother (and Lorie Brooks' biological father) Bruce Henderson, and he was replaced by Paul Stevens. Robert Clary had been written off as Pierre Rolland, but that was plan all along, and the actor jumped over to DAYS. Brian Kerwin was a terrible Greg Foster 2, and the show fired him. He complained about it bitterly in the press at the time, hurt that the show would recast the part without considering him to even audition to reprise the role The character just sort of disappeared, as I recall.

Janice did not leave a month after her back injury, as I recall. She was out for an extended period as per doctor's advice, but when she returned, she gave an interview in which she said that her storyline would then be very heavy, and she was ready for it. She remained on the show for quite a while afterwards. It's true that she had expressed unhappiness with the show and her role (in the press she acknowledged there were times when she "just HATED Leslie!"), and she also acknowledged that TPTB doubted the veracity of her back issues. At the time of her departure, the press reported that she had quit despite the show's attempts to keep her. That might have been a bunch of BS, of course; Bill Bell might have been fed up and wanted to can her (I would not be happy if an actress spoke trash about her character to reporters), but whether she was fired or quit on her own, the show (and Leslie) suffered after she was gone.

Maybe Erica Hope would have improved over time, like Melody Thomas Scott and Jaime Lyn Bauer did. Or she might have remained awful, but retained on the show for decades, anyway, LOL.

It may be been John Conboy who later said that Erica Hope could not walk and chew gum at the same time. She was not a good actress, but to be honest, When Melody Thomas took over, I thought she was pretty dreadful too.

Oooh! First dibs on Mr. Pointy!!! He can point anything he wants, my way!

I am saving them for a rainy day, after I finish my current stash of to-watch vids. Ahhh, the good old days. Y&R had so many charismatic, memorable stars during its first decade, like Trish Stewart (Chris Brooks), William Gray Espy (Snapper Foster), Janice Lynde (Leslie Brooks), Tom Hallick (Brad Elliot), Jaime Lyn Bauer (Lorie Brooks), and so many others. It was hard watching them all drift away.

I was a daily viewer of Y&R back then, and I saw Halsey's portrayal of John Abbott. He did not last very long. I felt he was miscast from the start, like Erica Hope as Nikki Reed, Patricia Everly as Peggy Brooks and Bond Gideon as Jill Foster had been. Still, he was not awful. Y&R has cast many actors who were way worse than Halsey, LOL.