teplin

I swear if DAYS would go back to its early '80s music cues I'd watch for that alone.

Many times in the past, I've seen an actor/actress on screen for what I think is the first time and I'll have a very positive feeling for them -- warm and almost familiar. It's only later that I realize or discover that they had some part on a soap that I've completely forgotten. Kathy Bates is one of these; Lois Smith and Valerie Mahaffey are others. I think Anna Stuart, too -- I loved her immediately on AW, not realizing 'til later I had watched her as Toni Powers on The Doctors. Julia Duffy, Alec Baldwin, Kathleen Turner, Kim Zimmer ... now them I associated immediately with The Doctors when they showed up on Newhart, Knot's Landing, Body Heat and Guiding Light!

Thanks for continuing to post background material on this thread, Carl! My local NBC affiliate didn't carry L&F/R4P, so I've always been curious about them. All I really knew before your postings was that Mac & Rachel made a crossover to one of them, and many of the actors eventually showed up on AW. Now, what do you mean about the actor playing Paco being a nice surprise? Is Chu Chu Malave someone I should know? (I love his name!)

I saw Bekins in something else not so long ago and he looked much better -- though yes, he's got gray hair! He was made up to look near terrible in Limitless. R.I.P, Helen Stenborg. She was a sterling example of some of the stellar theatrical talent AW employed in the '70s. Helga was not a major role, but it was pivotal, and Stenborg's bolstered Sven's villainy.

Just bumping this thread to say Richard Bekins (the definitive Jamie Frame) has a small role in the new Bradley Cooper movie, "Limitless." He doesn't look so good, but that's part of the plot. And his character's wife is played by Patricia Kalember (Loving's Merrill).

Carl, I don't really think it was a matter of Rauch and LeMay preferring "low-key" actors ... Connie Ford, Dorothy Lyman and Vicky Wyndham were hardly shrinking violets. And Beverlee McKinsey was quite vocal in her displeasure over unprepared actors. (Ask Nic Coster.) But with those four, it was all about doing the best work possible. With Reinholt, it was all about his personal demons. I think Courtney was a relatively calm presence, but R&L just didn't "get" her work (to the show's everlasting detriment, I think). As for the soap mags, I do remember them being much more independent. There were certainly a lot of fluffy profiles, but I have very fond memories of Afternoon TV, in particular -- it would run these very long, very detailed critiques of shows in the late 70s. Soaps got more superficial in the 80s, along with American culture in general, and soap mags followed suit. Soap Opera Weekly made some forays into critical thinking in the 90s – Ken Corday wouldn't even talk to them for awhile, he was so upset over something they printed. But those days are long gone.

AW and DOOL were "my soaps," but I was lucky to see a lot of special GL moments through the years, as I'd often stray from whatever NBC was programming in the 3:00 hour over to CBS. I can remember the first time I saw it -- it was the episode with Roger dressed as a clown chasing Rita through the house of mirrors to "Enough is Enough." I have such fond memories of Nola -- one of my favorite soap characters ever -- as well as Vanessa, Roger & Holly, Chris Bernau's Alan Spaulding, Diane Ballard, Reva, the Reardons, the blackout episodes and of course the divine Beverlee McKinsey as Alex. I think GL was consistently good longer than any other soap in the 30-some years I've been watching.

So sorry to hear about Geraldine Court. I thought she was a striking presence on The Doctors and AW, but the characters didn't do her any favors. She really shone with the writing on GL.

Lois Smith was also great on The Doctors for a couple of years in the 70s. Eleanor, I think her character's name was.

Ah! I do vaguely remember Carla Borelli as Mary -- that's why she seemed so familiar when she turned up on AW as Reena. I saw a little bit of the Phyllis-shoots-Mary storyline, but I still don't remember Karin Wolfe! From what I've heard, Josh Taylor was none too fond of Stanger, either.

I loved Stanger's Mary, her relationship with parents Bob and Phyllis, and her romance with Chris Kositchek (sp?). Fee's Mary was so far removed from Stanger's in appearance and temperament that I just thought of her as a different character altogether. She was totally forgettable, IMO -- although her death at the hands of the Salem Strangler ranks up there as one of my favorite soap episodes ever. I don't remember Karin Wolfe at all.

I never understood why the show didn't ultimately reunite Jake & Paulina. Their chemistry blew Jake & Vicky's out of the water. And boy, is that an ugly dress, Paulina!

Yes, that's Kathy Glass as MJ. I think the writers played to Turner's strengths in making Nola more cold, devious and blatantly sexual than her predecessor in the role, Kathryn Harrold. My memories are fuzzy, but I believe Harrold's Nola was warmer and more "relatable." Turner turned her into a real femme fatale, to great effect. I think Zimmer sort of fused the two portrayals.

I still think prematurely "aging" Doug and Julie – SORASing Hope and relegating Doug to the cliched father role – was the biggest mistake DAYS ever made. Yes, even bigger than that idiotic Melaswen story. They still had a lot of story left in them – SSH was still hella sexy – and DAYS pretty much forcing them out alienated a lot of longtime fans. Thanks for the Days with the Hayes column. Great fun!

I remember both "Bright Promise" and "How to Survive a Marriage" very, very vaguely ... nothing about the storylines, really, just a fond feeling for certain cast members ... Susan Brown, Dabney Coleman and Tony Geary on BP and Fran Brill, Rosemary Prinz and Jennifer Harmon on HTSM. I'd love to see both shows again.

Yep, that's the scene. I could just watch it over and over and over. I really miss VW and Rachel.

Strasser's Rachel was devious, but Wyndham's Rachel was terrifying. She'd flash those eyes and you knew a quake was coming. I missed that aspect of the character when she softened due to Mac's influence. She still had her moments, though -- there's a great YouTube clip in which she berates Carmen Duncan's Iris for doubting Mac's integrity after his death. That "Daddy" thing was "pretty sick," edgeofnik -- that was the whole point! (Oh, for the days when characters had complex psychological motivations and shades of grey.) And the ratings really began freefalling after BM left to do Texas. She was a huge draw -- and deservedly so.

I remember fans writing in to soap mags in the year before Connie Ford's death, complaining that Ada rarely appeared anymore. It was assumed to be ageism on the show's part, nobody knew Connie was sick. Such a great character and actress. I was gratified that the show brought back Nancy and Clarice for Ada's funeral -- Clarice was especially surprising, as she was a completely forgotten character. But she was an indispensable part of Ada's history for longtime viewers. I was always torn about Carl's redemption and romance with Rachel. I really enjoyed the evil Carl and thought Keating was a wonderful (if hammy) actor. The budding Rachel-Carl connection was beautifully written and performed, and anything that gave Vicky Wyndham major screen time was OK in my book. At the same time, I couldn't shake the feeling that the situation was an insult to Mac, and that Rachel really would never have allowed Carl into her life. Wyndham and Keating sold the hell out of it though. I remember the mini-controversy towards the end of the run when Brian Frons pointed to Carl & Rachel's popularity as symptomatic of what was wrong with AW. Ultimately, for me, the only downside of the relationship was Victoria Wyndham's unfortunate choice to adopt a faux-Shakesperean, airy-fairy accent. It drove me nuts!

It's so odd to read that so-and-so has been grouchy lately and someone else is depressed over the breakup over her marriage -- especially as it's just casually mentioned in the article. We haven't seen that kind of reporting in the soap press for a very long time!

Paul Michael Valley spent the decade after leaving AW auditioning for just about every soap role that came down the pike, on both coasts. I'm mystified as to why he never got cast. Maybe it was the "personal demons" quartermainfan alluded to. It's a pity, I thought he was great as Ryan, a classic soap hero. That storyline with Felicia in the attic was dreadful ... and interminable. I'm so glad you're enjoying Jake & Paulina, Cat. They are one of my all-time favorite soap couples. It pissed me off that they were thrown over in favor of Jake & Vicky, and Paulina was saddled with dull nice-guy Joe.

[quote name=CarlD2' date='23 October 2010 - 05:07 PM' timestamp='1287868053' post='892027] I think Beverlee could make anything work, I just mean would this have been true to her interpretation of the character. I don't think she ever commented on how Iris was written on the character's return under Carmen Duncan, but I think some of it might have made her pause. I think 90% of what Carmen Duncan's Iris did in her stint was out of character for Beverlee McKinsey's Iris. (One reason it was easy for me to treat them as different characters entirely.) The daddy fixation and emnity for Rachel remained, but little else. McKinsey's Iris was a lady of leisure, and she reveled in it, Duncan's Iris was a businesswoman. I could maybe see McKinsey's Iris secretly backing a Kirk Laverty-type character in his quest to take over Cory -- "for daddy's own good -- but no way would she take such an active role.

Interesting post, Sedrick. I didn't know Walker had been so disparaging of Phelps (albeit obliquely). It's quite surprising, given how most actors who've worked under sing her praises (A Martinez, as just one example). I quite liked Walker as Tangie, though her teaming with Newman didn't work. Of course, I also liked Genie Francis on DAYS, so what do I know?

Speaking of the hotness of Matt Crane and Tom Eplin, you should try to find a Cass and Kathleen in St. Thomas clip on YouTube. Stephen Schnetzer was hiding an amazing body under those business suits he wore all the time. I felt the same way about Robin Christopher that I felt about Carmen Duncan. Alicia Coppola and Beverlee McKinsey were such absolute perfection as Lorna and Iris that nobody else could come close. I grew to like both Christopher and Duncan, but in my mind, they were different characters who happened to share the same names and familial relations.

Have you seen any clips from the onset of the Cass-Kathleen romance? Those two were pure magic in their first go-round. The show even ponied up some big on-location bucks for them, sending them to St. Thomas (with Cecile) and Majorca (with Sally & Catlin). They even had their own big-time theme song (essential for supercouples back then): "If You Say My Eyes are Beautiful" by Whitney Houston & Jermaine Jackson. I can't say for sure, but I dimly recall that Julie Osburn only agreed to a limited run for her return. So the show deliberately stacked the deck in favor of Frankie.

CarlD2, the older woman in that Another World episode is actress Sloan Shelton, who in later years played Loretta, proprietor of the hair salon who hired Rachel 'round about the time Rachel and Carl became involved. Loretta served as a sort of Ada stand-in, and lent Rachel & Carl much moral support when Rachel's family was against them. I don't know who's she's playing in this earlier episode. Re: your "Scenes from the Set of Another World" SOD posting, isn't it amazing how much time went into soap tapings in days past? Now it's get 'em in and get 'em out. And the difference definitely shows on screen. I'd never heard that there had been discussion of a possible Pat-Sandy relationship. I can't see that being in Pat's character at all, but God knows a lot of AW denizens were acting out of character in those days. I remember the location sequences highlighted in your second SOD posting, with Rachel and Matthew being followed along the coastal highway. Seems hard to me to believe that William Grey Espy (Mitch) was ever "AW's most popular male star," as the magazine describes. Although that level of popularity would help explain why someone who possessed such amateurish acting skills was thrown in with the show's leading lady. Watch clips from that era, and you can see Vicky Wyndham trying to pick up Espy's missed lines and react to what is obviously mangled dialogue on his part. He was an amazing looking man, and the Rachel-Mitch-Mac-Janice tale was one of my favorites, but even as a kid I knew he was a bad actor. He was much improved when he returned years later and Mitch romanced Felicia, though still not a master thespian. I had always heard that Coster was notorious for not knowing his lines and would write them on little pieces of paper all over the set. I'm sure that would drive Beverlee crazy.