teplin

I like Drake and I think he and Deidre were (and are) a good pairing. But I thought Wayne & Dee were better, and I was rooting for Roman & Marlena rather than John & Marlena. However, I continue to think Jed Allan was Dee's best screen partner --- she became a soap phenomenon after Don & Marlena broke up, but she never again reached the level of performance she did with Jed.

Renee Elise Goldsberry (Evangeline, OLTL) is in a Documentary Now! episode sending up the 1970 doc that chronicled the recording of the cast album for Stephen Sondheim's Company. It's quite good, especially if you've seen the original doc.

Same here. I never entirely bought Carmen as iris but I came to enjoy her very much. It was stupid to get rid of her when (and how) they did. She should have been there until the end.

Indeed. I remember watching it and wishing that it was still Lane Davies playing Mason.

The show didn't come right out and say so, but it was pretty obvious Sylvie was intended to be Jewish and that wouldn't have sat well with Iris, either.

I agree. I think a similar dynamic was in play with Susan Seaforth Hayes and Jim Reilly on DAYS.

Kale Browne was married to Raiders of the Lost Ark star Karen Allen for 10 years, with whom he has a son, and was allegedly sleeping with producer Jill Farren Phelps at one point.

I agree. I was very young, but I don't remember being upset at all that Mary Matthews was killed off -- certainly not like I would have been if DAYS had offed Alice Horton at that time. I think Courtney's Alice was the linchpin of the Matthews family. Her natural warmth and charisma somehow made the dull-as-dishwater male Matthews', Jim and Russ, a bit more interesting. With her gone, they just receded into the woodwork. (Bailey was okay opposite Laurie Heineman, because her nervous energy helped animate him, but his teaming with lackluster Janice Lynde was a bust.) It didn't help that the Matthews' that came in the wake of Courtney's firing, like Susan and husband Dan, were also boring. I loved Beverly Penberthy's Pat, but she had a different kid of dynamic with her family members than Alice. I still maintain that what Lemay did with Rachel, Mac and Iris was the best soap material I've ever seen, but getting rid of Courtney was a huge, huge mistake.

Park was in episode of Lifetime's creepy "You" series in the last week or two,. playing the father of the leading lady.

"Hiya, Iris!"

A Martinez appears in two or three episodes of this season's Queen of the South on USA. He's still got the unfortunate chin-pubes he was sporting on DAYS.

I think that's the case for all soaps the last 20 years or so -- the stories and production values are so bad, affection for the characters is pretty much all that's left. I don't blame the writers completely, the handicaps -- from network interference to performer guarantees -- have become pretty much insurmountable.

Soap actor/writer Richard Backus: Michael (Malone) and Josh (Griffith) were developing a late-night soap opera for the Fox Network to be broadcast at 11 pm. It would compete with the late-night talk shows and news programs and would offer a great alternative to those two genres. It was to be set in New Orleans and entitled 13 Bourbon Street. They very much wanted me to write for them, and I convinced the new executive producer at OLTL to let me out of my contact to join them. A cast was hired, a pilot was shot, a studio in Queens was rented, sets were built, and then the executive at the Fox Network who had hired Michael and Josh was,himself, fired and his replacement had to prove that everything his predecessor had okayed was worthless, so he canned the idea of the late-night soap. For a while, he decided it would be a primetime (once a week) show and we switched gears to write a weekly show. Then, after we'd written several episodes, he dumped the whole idea. It was a costly decision as something along the lines of $13 million dollars had been spent on cast, sets, etc. The pilot, which I don't think ever aired, was terrific, but the show was over. Michael was immediately hired at AW in hopes of rescuing that show, and, once again, he brought me with him. The executive producer balked at many of the wild ideas Michael had for the show which is too bad because some of them would certainly have attracted an audience. Finally, it came to a head and Michael was fired, and as his protege, I too was fired when my contract came up for renewal. Not too long afterwards, I was happy to hear that the executive producer was also fired, but the damage she had inflicted was already done. http://ryanshopesoapopera.proboards.com/thread/5001/richard-backus-barry-2009

The TV-movie that commercial is inserted into is from 1975. Here's Dolph in 1974. I think they just dubbed him in for the commercial actor. https://closerthanbrothers.files.wordpress.com/2016/05/screenshot5.png?w=656

Oops, sorry. That is definitely Dolph's voice -- but it is indeed not his body. They must have dubbed it in for some reason.

I don't believe that's him, no, and he's not listed in the cast on IMDB. However, Leon Russom (Willis #2, AW) is in the movie, titled "Judgement: The Court Martial of Lieutenant William Calley.

That really was a low point for DAYS. Who was writing then? I didn't realize Suzanne Rogers added Groom to her professional name for the short time she was married to Sam.

Alice Barrett (Frankie Frame, AW) had a bit part on the 5-27 episode of Showtime's Billions. She looked good. The episode also introduced Patti D'Arbanville (Christy Carson, AW; Selena Davis, GL) as the mother of one of the main characters.

Sure looks and sounds like her.

Lemay: "The next writers after her...and the producers...one producer in particular that I won’t get into, who still to this day has black hair, were becoming increasingly injudicious." JFP must be the black-haired producer, right? I swear I've seen Lemay complimenting her in the past -- and he consulted for her on GL and OLTL as well as AW.

John Brotherton (Jared, OLTL) guested on this week's Modern Family.

Heather's castmate Jamie Luner has been accused of sexual misconduct with a 16-year-old. http://www.tmz.com/2018/02/26/jamie-luner-melrose-place-accused-sexual-misconduct-underage-teenager/

Kevin Mambo (Guiding LIght) has a small role in this week's episode of the HBO pot dramedy "High Maintenance."

Susan Flannery Laura and Jaime Lyn Bauer Laura were like two completely different characters. Rosemary Forsyth Laura, who was the Laura viewers watched lose her mental stability, was much more like Flannery -- even as her grip on reality slipped, her persona was still largely cool and composed. Nothing at all the breathy, dithery Bauer Laura. I don't think I've taken Marlena seriously as a therapist since 1983.

Kasi Lemmons was also on Another World for a short time -- I believe, as a girlfriend of Reuben Lawrence.