Paul Raven

It's interesting that OLTL went more in the sci-fi direction with the Ivan Kipling brain chip story than AMC. Agnes must have wielded enough power to say 'No, not happening'. Around that time they did the Cobra story, where Brooke's mother was some sort of crime lord, but I think that's the closest they got. RH got in the act with the Merit Kara,Egyptian treasure stuff. Again at CBS Bill Bell was having none of that and the closest GL got was Quint and the hidden treasure. Search had the Operation Sunburst /Hong Kong QE2 stories and ATWT, Tom/Margo/Mr Big. NBC had Days go the adventure/spy route and Stefano the super villian. Texas did the Hipotah story but AW stayed more grounded. But overall there was a major shift to more fanciful stuff post Ice Princess.

Well they had to be at the studio early and I don't think hanging around a train station at 6am in Winter would be anyone's idea of a good time. Thank goodness P&G weren't that cheap.

I think twins/lookalikes took off in the 80's. There had been a few twin/double stories in the past but in the 80's we saw Stuart/Adam AMC, Marley/Vicky AW, Frannie/Sabrina ATWT, Jonathan/Keith LOV, Tony/Andre DOOL, Jenny/Julie CAP,. You can probably add more. That trend continued into the 90's.

Virginia Dwyer lived until 2012. Had she not been fired in 75 would she probably have been axed sometime in the next decade. later when AW was undergoing one of it's regular revampings. Or perhaps having Mary still around would have kept the Matthews more prominent in the story. That might have meant Liz going earlier, as 2 older Matthews ladies would have been deemed too many. Birmingham Press NY Sat June 14 1969 Virginia Dwyer Orbits Another World by Harvey Peck The most successful daytime drama on NBC, Another World, has just passed the five year mark and gives every indication of being around as long as-network television. Virginia Dwyer, a veteran of daytime serials, who started back in the radio days, has been orbiting on Another World as Mary Matthews since the series started and the fact that she has chosen to renew her contract at every option time surprises even Miss Dwyer. "I've had running roles on other shows (The Secret Storm, Guiding Light and Young Dr. Malone) but there was always a desire to move on to something else. Here, every day is a new challenge and I think that's why we're so successful." VIRGINIA, a very attractive woman, has been at it so long she has seen herself suffering dramatically first as an ingenue and, in recent years, as a "mature" woman. She has also seen daytime dramas mature during that period. "I think the half-hour format motivated the change. It gave the writers more time to develop sub-plots and the actors and directors also responded to the expansion of ideas." Since the daytime serial is the last outpost of live drama on TV, it has the advantage of drawing its casts from the best actors trodding the. Broadway rounds. Another World is no exception. "I was doing very well as a radio actress when the ten inch tube arrived on the scene,"she recalled. "But I went over to New York's Channel 5, then known as WABD Dumont, and volunteered to work in live drama for little more than the experience. The lights were so hot my makeup melted on my leading man's clothes. But I was a television actress, and I've been at it ever since. " I was lucky. Today's youngsters are so talented it's frightening. I watch them on our show bringing their experience with the' 'method' or improvisational theater into play and inspiring all of us with their vitality. "But eventually they must leave and prove themselves in theater or motion pictures and it's a very rough road." Virginia points out that today's contracts for daytime actors are quite liberal about time off for other theatrical ventures. Her husband on Another World is played by Broadway veteran ShepherdStnidwicke who is currently appearing in London as one of the stars of Arthur Miller's "The Prize." "The writers simply eased him out and can bring him back as soon as he winds up in the. play," explained Miss Dwyer.. "He's a tax accountant in our story and, according to the script, he's off on a world tour for business and you can imagine how long that can take." "ONE OF THE principal factors, in what Virginia considers the turnaround in daytime serials from old-fashioned soap operas to top dramatic entertainment is respect for the audience. "There was a time when they laughed at the housewives at production meetings and practically tossed the scripts together. Now we think our daytime viewers are extremely intelligent and not just people seeking vicarious emotional thrills. Naturalism s the trend in daytime drama and the audiences appreciate the quality." When she's on call Virginia works from 7:45 a. m. until 5 p.m. at a studio somewhere in Brooklyn. "I couldn't find it on my own but they pick us all up with a- cab," she smiled. On radio she was often a mean, conniving young girl but on TV her face and demeanor have typed her as a nice lady. "I think I'll 'stick with it," she concluded. "Because after all these years in front of a camera I'm finally learning how to relax when that red light is on."

After departing AW as Cecile, Susan Keith tested for Betsy on ATWT in 81. Lisa Denton got the role.

Bud Kloss went on to work on Texas, but the seemed to disappear from soaps and in general. TV Radio Week, April 8,1979 All My Children’s’ producer departs-Lynda Hirsch The soap opera industry is in shock over the recent departure of Bud Kloss as producer of “All My Children.” Under Kloss’ tutelage, the ABC soap hit the No. 1 mark and has stayed there, or near that spot, for the past few years. The reason for Kloss’ exit? According to several sources, a group of ABC executives asked Bud to make a variety of changes in the show's “texture and design” — it seems being No. 1 wasn’t enough for them. The executives were inspired by the rapid rise in ratings on “General Hospital” since Gloria Monte took the show’s production helm. Kloss felt “All My Children” was fine as it was, and balked at the suggested changes. Then the executives balked at Kloss’ stubbornness and decided to release him from his contract. Kloss plans to become an independent producer. As for "All My Children,”Yom Winthers, who has directed ABC’s night time magazine, “20/20,” has been named the producer for the show. He also directed the David Frost interviews with Richard Nixon as well as a Sonny and Cher special. The first change on “Children” will be refurbishing the set, since some actors on the show feel the positioning of the sets often gets in the way of their movement. Others think too much time is spent on the sets. Says a cast member, “I’ve seen them stop tape to reshine a phone booth eight times, but they shoot right through when an actor stumbles over a string of words.” Several performers on “AMC” were strong supporters of Kloss, but others are pleased by the change. For those of you who wonder how important the producer is to cast and crew, just compare it to getting a new boss. Usually a new boss means changes, and presumably that’s what “All My Children” will get.

AS THE WORLD TURNS Grant Colman Attorney Konrad Matthaei August 1973-74 James Douglas 1974-81; March1983 1988-89; 1993; 1994-95

The Observer Dispatch Sun Jan 18 1981. King of Sudsers Builds Own Fantasy Islands By JERRY BUCK LOS ANGELES - Michael Filerman spent five years presiding over CBS' daytime soap operas. Now he is the man responsible for the explosion of nighttime suds. Filerman developed" Dallas" with creator David Jacobs, and at Lorimar Productions he is the co-executive producer of "Knots Landing" and "Secrets of Midland Heights" on CBS and "Flamingo Road'' on NBC. "When the networks saw that this form was successful they began coming to us and saying, "We need to get on the bandwagon too,'" says Filerman. The only prime-time soap opera that has escaped Filerman's personal touch is ABC"s"Dynasty " BEFORE the success of 'Dallas." the networks had made several attempts at nighttime soap opera. CBS tried with "Sons and Daughters" in 1974 and failed. The most successful of these was ABC's "Peyton Place," a sudser that ran for five years in the 1960s, up to three times a week "I think part the success of Dallas is that it's larger than life," says Filer man "Sons and Daughters' was a very middle class show and you couldn't take as much license with the stories you were telling. You couldn't have archvillain as with J.R "And I think part of the success of 'Dallas' is not only that larger than life actuality but the glamor. You've got the beautiful clothes, beautiful home, and all the toys that go with it. 1 think that's very much why, and it came along at a good time". Times are tough. You can't afford to go out and see a $5 movie every week. So people kind of liked looking at the glamor and the wealth of the Ewings. And the knowledge that for all their monev and power there's not a lot of happiness in that household. According to Filerman, the public finallv grew tired of the cop shows "I thank thev're tired of knowing how it s going to end. Seeing ear chases, helicopter chases. Supposedly cute repartee .between two good looking leads. He says: "The audience is interested in character relationship:. What goes on between people and among people, and not worrying how it;s going to end or how it's going to grow. People on serialized dramas change, their attitudes change, their characters change, their relationships change. And I think people are finding that's a little more interesting. l'm not saying that it mirrors life. No, it's drama and drama's not real life. It's "fantasy" ,and I think in these times we need a little fantasy in our lives. 1 think that has a lot to do with the appeal." "DALLAS" has come under attack from some for its sexual content, but Filerman says such shows simply reflect contemporary sexual attitudes between men and women "We're living in a more permissive society." he says Filerman insists, however, that the shows are net so much permissive as they are romantic. "I think there's a lot of romance in "Dallas " says Filerman. "Certainly there's infidelity, but there's fidelity in a lot of other areas. I mean Joan Crawford, Bette Davis, Barbara Stanwyck, all these wonderful stars of the '30s and '40s, they made their reputations in movies about just the kinds of things we're talking about now "Yes, we deal with the "seven deadly sins, but I think we deal with greed as well as lust, power, all the things that we sitting at home like to fantasize about." He adds, "And when people take them too seriously, I've got to say it's their problem We feel we're providing the audience with a little hit of escapist entertainment. You can't take these shows seriously. I mean, if you do. then you're in bigger trouble than we are " FILERMAN grew up in Chicago and got his degree in communications from the University of Illinois. He was working at the Commercial Clearing House briefing law cases. His life changed when he joined the Army Reserve and was assigned to the psychological warfare unit 'I had my degree and I wanted to get into television," he recalls. "I didn't want to go to some small town, I wanted to work in rny hometown and I got lucky. I met this guy in the Army Reserve named Fred Silverman, and he had a job at WGN-TV. He got Filerman a job at the station and when he went to New York for CBS, Filerman took over his job. After a few years Silverman asked him to come to New York. Filerman said no. He said no a second time. The truth was he was afraid to leave Chicago. The third time Silverman called and told him,'lf you don't accept this time you should see a psychiatrist." So he rnoved to NewYork and eventually became head of daytime programming for CBS. There's where he spent all that time studying soap operas. Filerman worked for several other production companies in Hollv wood before ending up at Lorimar in 1976. One of the first things he did was develop "Dallas " Filerman agrees that the development of the prime-time soap opera has about reached its limits. The next step is parody, and Filerman already has himself covered on that. He has a series in development that pokes fun at the night time shows the way "Soap" does at the daytime serials. Filerman. a bachelor, is asked if he watches TV' when he goes home at night. He sighs and says, "I read scripts. That's what I do."

I wonder how Gordon Russell would have faired at General Hospital? He was slated to take over as headwriter when he became ill. Now , it was clear he wanted to work alongside the EP. Not sure Gloria Monty would have been all for that considering Marland and Pat Falken Smith spoke of her domineering ways. Russell departed March 1980 and Peggy O'Shea took his place. So Russell/Hall had a long tenure. Despite that, they never seem to be recognized as a top writing team.

So Dani married at 19. Did she give up modelling immediately? Because 19 seems very young for her to be the acclaimed international model that they speak of. How old is Naomi supposed to be?

Nice to see a review/report on Capitol. It never seemed to garner much press or hype, despite a starry cast and lavish production. But somehow it all never seemed to gell. Was the premise too 'primetime' like for CBS daytime? I don't really know... THE JOURNAL-NEWS, SUNDAY, JULY, 3, 1983 ‘Capitol’s’ espionage storyline capital By LYNDA HIRSCH After a fairly low period, “Capitol” has now gotten back to some capital storylines. Watching CBS’s baby sudser has been gratifying these days, as opposed to mystifying. First off, the espionage storyline has wrapped up. While such stories might play in a two-hour James Bond flick, they are always confusing in soap opera. We were sorry to see Jeff Chamberlain as Lawrence Barrington exit the show, but his spy character was put up against the wall with no escape. Now for the good news: the return of Thomas the handicapped surgeon, this time around played by Michael Catlin, who brings a low-key sensitivity to the role. When the character exited last year, we received lots of negative response from viewers who felt the character had been abandoned. Also, Lana Wood and Kimberly Ross are continuing as a mother-daughter team (Fran and AmyBurke), which will create a long-overdue storyline for Matt, the athletic McCandless brother. Wood may be remembered in the nighttime version of “Peyton Place,” And at last, Paula Denning, the long-talked-aboutbut-never-seen wife of Sen. Mark Denning, comes on the show next week, portrayed by veteran actress Julie Adams. John Conboy, the producer, has managed to get the show in line in a short time. The hiring of Peggy O’Shea as head writer is an added plus, and the addition of Patricia Wenig as supervising producer has given the show polish and pace. Old pros like Constance Towers, Ed Nelson and Richard Egan continue to shine. Deborah Mullowney makes Sloane a many-leveled character. “Capitol” still has a few weak spots, most notably a few characters without direction; some characters who should be minor have been given too much to do, while some with endless possibilities remain in the background. But that is the nature of most soap operas, and “Capitol” looks and feels better than half of the soaps on the air.

The TV Book, Sundoy, December 29, 1985 Soapdom had unremarkable year by Connie Passalacqua Daytime soaps had an unremarkable year, at least when it came to major events: No new soaps premiered, but on the other hand, none were canceled, either. Throughout the year, bottom-rated "Search for Tomorrow" was rumored to be a sure goner at NBC, but even that show was recently given a reprieve (and a dynamic new producer, John Whitesell, ex-producer and director of "Guiding Light"). No new daytime soaps are scheduled to premiere in 1986, although ABC has two in development. Many shows took major soap opera innovations of the last few years, "such as location shootings and lavish special events, and played them to the max. The November "royal wedding" on "Guiding Light" of spoiled princess Mindy Lewis (Krista Tesreau) and Kurt Corday (Mark Lewis) was done so elaborately and presented so much like a fairy tale that it could have made even Princess Diana envious. Daytime's most popular couple, Bo and Hope Brady (Peter Reckell and Kristian Alfonso of "Days of Our Lives"), were wed in May at an enormous cathedral in England, with all the pomp and circumstance befitting a royal couple. But the dignity of the day was unintentionally ruined when Bo burst into song at the altar. As he serenaded his wife, Reckell sounded like Alfalfa of "The Little Rascals." Many shows literally broke the bank doing location settings. Perhaps the most beautiful of the year was the February excursion to Venice on "One Life to Live," followed closely by the November journey to the Grand Canyon on "Another World." The most effective, though, was the least glamorous - the February visit of "All My Children" to the Ossining Correctional Facility, featuring the ordeal of inmate Brooke Cudahy (Julia Barr), The most improved show of the year was certainly "One Life to Live," which made a dramatic comeback both quality and ratings-wise in the hands of new executive producer Paul Rauch. The Niki-Vicki plot line, featuring the incomparable Erika Slezak, was certainly the best of the double character story lines that were done on seven shows this year. We can only pray for more original story lines in 1986. Meanwhile, there's plenty of new talent to watch out for next year. Two performers especially to watch are Guy Davis (who plays Josh Hall on "One Life to Live"), the son of Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee; and Shawn Thompson (Simon of "Guiding Light"), a sassy Maxwell Caulfield lookalike. Looking back those lavish weddings and location shoots did nothing for the ratings or long term follow through. Kurt and Mindy were soon forgotten, OLTL in Venice had no consequences nor did AW Grand Canyon. The money would have been better spent on better writing and story. Connie was off with her predictions re Guy Davis and Shawn Thompson.

Chicago Story began airing Fri the week after the posted ratings. It began with a 3hr episode-not sure if this was just 2 90 min eps back to back? It ranked #66 for the week. On CBS Dulkes was #13, Dallas #6 and FC #9 ABC Benson #47 Barney Miller #48 Pheonix #46 Strike Force #50 I don't know what possessed NBC to order a 90 min series that would be difficult to schedule. The original plan was One of the Boys Fri@8 Chicago Story @8.30. I guess the hope was that Boys would do well and the Chicago Story would follow through and draw viewers away from Dallas. But that scheduling was dropped and Chicago Story was stuck on Sat and then Fri with ill matched sitcom lead ins. The only way I could see it working was @9.30 following a more adult oriented sitcom a la Cheers, But NBC had nothing like that on offer.

A planned Dorian/Danny romance. That would have caused ripples and ignited Larry/Dorian/Viki conflicts. ABC dropped it yet years later Dorian/Jason was allowed. That Dorian/Harry romance must have been very short lived. As for Robin, how long did her second marriage last? I don't think that Danny had much to do. But there were so many comings and goings and stalled stories in those years. Radio & Cable Week, Sunday, April 14, 1985 Actress: Don't make me nice By C. PASSALACQUA Syndicated writer Who is the real ‘Alexis of Daytime’? Almost all actresses who play villainesses on soaps aspire to that accolade. But all longtime soap enthusiasts know that all but one are pretenders to the throne. The title belongs to Robin Strasser, an expert actress whose innate understanding of the subtleties of villainy make her character, Dorian Lord Callison, on “One Life to Live,” much more believable than the scenery-chewing Joan Collins on “Dynasty.” “One Life to Live” airs daily at 2-3 p.m. on ABC. Her credentials, including a Daytime Emmy as Best Actress, should guarantee job security. Not so, says Strasser. “We soap actors don’t reach a plateau of merit and status and just stay there. All it takes is a new producer and a set of writers to say ‘you’re out.’ ” Indeed, “OLTL” has recently undergone such a change. Says Strasser: “I have the most respect for the taste of new producer Paul Rauch, but since he’s come on, Dorian hasn’t been working that much.” Strasser is upset over the cancellation of her story line about an older woman-younger man affair between Dorian and Dan Wolek (Ted Demers). “I was promised a hot, sexy, overdrive story,” says Strasser. “But the network slapped it down.” It’s puzzling to Strasser since such affairs are popular on nighttime soaps such as “Dynasty.” The network told me it would destroy the audience's respect for me, she says. “Well, they don’t have respect for me. You’re talking to someone who has made a career of playing people you don’t like. You can’t give the audience what they want! This is not a popularity contest! If you lose their ability to surprise them then you lose the ability to move them.” Dorian's current story line, her romance with blue-collar Harry O’Neill (Frank Converse), is a back-burner story, not in line with Dorian’s usually devious nature. “I was told by Rauch to make Dorian more vulnerable and to ‘warm her up,”’ she says. “But now I’m so warm and affectionate I could be Kathy Noone on ‘All My Children’! (Miss Noone plays the ultrasweet Ellen Dalton), for crying out loud. I don’t think the fans buy it.” Professionally, Strasser has a happy home life after a few years of domestic turbulence. After a messy divorce from actor Laurence Luckinbill (who subsequently married Lucie Arnaz), she married Richard Hogan, an ABC Sports executive.

De Priest said the show would focus on the Loves, McKinnons and Corys. McKinnons-Vince was recast, there was new MJ who was given a hooker past(totally out iof charcter and not suited to the actress) Kathleen left by the end of the year as did Jake, Cheryl came from nowhere played by an inexpperienced actress and Ben vanished. Loves- Donna was poorly recast and changed character, Nicole came and went, Peter got a personality transplant, Marley depated and Vicky was poorly recast. Corys- Mac and Rachel. Neal replaced by Adam, both of whom we'd never heard of. No Iris, no Dennis, no Sandy.Nancy left. Rumor of Pam returning but never happened. The show was a mess.