A bunch of ATWT actors paid tribute to him when he passed, right? Michael Park? I know CZP appeared to love him, as he centered the show around Barbara.
I don’t recall any of his so-called innovations, but I’m chalking that up to the feature writer not knowing soaps. At the time, I did like that at least he tried to ground Leah Laiman’s stories, most of which felt like half-baked gimmicks, in character (like Andy’s paralysis and Rose). He did bring buzz to the show during a time when it otherwise would have faded into obscurity. But man, did things come undone.