Paul Raven

June 1969 - one year in... Saturday, June 28, 1969-'One 'Life to Live'-Team Guides Characters in Daytimer By MERIEMIL RODRIGUEZ NEW YORK You don't have to belong to the big-breakfast bunch to qualify as one who wouldn't miss a daily serving of serial--with an "s" please. Millions of the faithful make the five-a-week daytimer in any of several forms a "must" item of their daily video diet. To the untutored, the continuing stories are "soap operas," but to the faithful they represent very real slices of life. TO EXAMINE this phenomenon, let's take one serial- ABC's "One Life to Live"-and view its development through the eyes of Agnes Nixon, creator of the program. It is seen in El Paso at 1:30 p.m. weekdays over KELP-TV, channel 13. Mrs. Nixorn, petite, blonde, and veteran of 16 years in the production and writing of video serials ("As the World Turns," " G u i d i n g Light," "Another World"), sees "One Life to Live" as a broad canvas on which its characters delineate their deep 'involvement. To Mrs. Nixon, this is contemporary drama in a metropolitan setting, drama dealing with basic emotions experienced by real people facing the modern world. She views their problems as those of a kind which could conceivably beset any viewer within the framework of his or her own life. "EACH PERSON in our story is fighting for what he wants in his life to live," she says. "They are not always facing outside obstacles, but more often forces within themselves." Working behind the scenes, in addition to the prolific Mrs. Nixon, is producer Doris Quinlan, who began her broadcasting' career as assistant director of the famed "Theatre Guild of the Air" radio series, later co-produced the hit "I Remember Mama" television program and subsequently produced "Young Dr. Malone," "Another World," "The N u r s e s " and most recently served as associate producer for the motion picture "Charly" for which its star, Cliff Robertson, won an Academy Award. In the writing of "One Life to Live," Mrs. Nixon is joined by Paul Roberts and Don Wallace, the latter also a director on the serial. Together, this knowledgeable team guides the characters through their plights and fortunes. One of the central plots of the serial concerns Victoria Lord, whose wealth and beauty are not to be envied. As a child, she witnessed her mother's tragic accident and, in later life, this shock caused Viki to suffer a dual personality. Gillian Spencer, who plays the role, says "As Niki, Viki's alter ego, she is fascinatingly different, a flashy creature who desires to gain control of the body she shares with Viki. It's like Joanne Woodward's role in 'Three Faces of Eve'." Gillian, whose TV credits include parts in "Edge of Night" and "Guiding Light," adds that romantic complications beset the troubled Viki and sexually attractive Niki. Caught in this quadrangle are crusading newspaperman Joe Riley, in love with Viki. His best friend, truck driver Vince Wolek, from the wrong side of the tracks, is drawn to Niki. Lee Patterson, Vancouver born actor with a broad stage and screen background, stars as Riley. (He also starred on ABC-TV's "Surfside 6" and "The Nurses.") Anthony Ponzini, a veteran of daytime serial dramas such as "Edge of Night" and "Another World," portrays Wolek. Patterson notes that a recent survey conducted by the network to indicate whether viewers preferred Viki to Niki indicated that the audience was equally divided on which of the two should become the surviving personality. Another dilemma for the "One Life to Live" scripters! Another plot line involves Viki's sister Meredith, who believes she is incurably ill. She breaks her romance with a doctor who subsequently falls into the hands of a scheming nurse -- and she conspires to win his affection through trickery. Lynn Benish, Michael Storm and Niki Flacks star in ths triangle. "We find the studio technicians engrossed in our daily lives," noted Miss Flacks, "and they're always taking sides with the characters. Most of them would prefer the doctor to reunite with Meredith and give 'Karen,' the part I play, her comeuppance. "When I walkon the set, they greet me with a hiss or two. I enjoy playing a meanie. For me, there's more meat to that kind of part." Moving to another stage of the many-plotted serial viewers find"Carla Benari, who for nine years passed for white, earning the enmity of her mother and a of close friend, a young black doctor whose pride stands in the way of his forgivingg her deception. Though there is a Negro police lieutenant carrying the torch for her affections, Carla would like to win back her doctor. Carla is played by actress Ellen Holly, whose television roles include performances in "The Defenders," "Dr. Kildare" and "The Nurses." Lillian Hayman, who won a Tony Award as "Mama" in the Broadway hit musical, "Hallelujah, Baby," plays Carla's mother. peter De Anda, the militant medic, is a co-founder with actor Robert Hooks of the Negro Ensemble, a theatrical group. He appeared in the film, "The Pawnbroker"; off-Broadway in "MacBird!"; on television in "N.Y.P.D." Jack Crowder, the police lieutenant, originated the part of Cornelius Hackl in the Pearl Bailey production of "Hello, Dolly!" Crowder has also appeared on television in "Run For Your Life," "Big Ben," 'Twilight Zone" and "Perry Mason." Off-Broadway, he appeared in "The Fantasticks." One of Mrs. Nixon's favorite characters on "One Life to Live" is Anna Wolek, a first generation American w h o made sacrifices, forsaking her own happiness to send her younger brother though medical school and to keep house for the older one. Doris Belak is Anna, Miss Belak joined the ABC production from " Another World" and "Edge of Night." A graduate of the American Academv of Dramatic Arts, she is married to Broadway producer Philip Rose. Newest member of the cast is Nat Polen, veteran radio and television actor, who portrays a widower with a teenage daughter. He courts Anna because he feels his young one needs the attention of a mother. Ideas, ideas and more ideas. Agnes Nixon is constantly engineering stories for "One Life to Life." "I write every day. plotting outlines act by act, scene by scene," she says. "Then Paul Roberts and Don Wallace take it from there. Finally, they turn in the completed scripts to me for editing. "Sometimes I awaken in the middle of the night with a story idea," she says. "I take the kids to the dentist and spend the time in the waiting room figuring out the situations to come on the show." Perhaps the feeling she has about "One Life to Live" Can best be described by one of the actors. "To me, it's opening night every afternoon." Agnes has the same feeling.

Glad you enjoyed it and it brought back some good memories.

Gretchen Walter Love of Life 1966

EW HOPE FLOODS 'SEARCH FOR TOMORROW By CLARKE TAYLOR NEW YORK-The floodgates are due to break open Tuesday on the fictional town of Henderson, USA, but regular viewers of NBC's "Search for Tomorrow" can take heart that the 34-year-old town is being devastated in order to save TV's oldest daytime drama. The flood, which viewers have seen coming in recent days, will result in only one fatality, but the lives and life styles of the survivors will be dramatically altered, and so will all of the soap's sets, and even its familiar theme music. All of this at a cost to sponsor Procter & Gamble of as much as $1 million over the next year in its effort to rescue the soap from drowning at the bottom of daytime drama's audience ratings. "At last there is a real ray of hope that there will be a tomorrow we've been searching long enough," said David Forsyth, who plays Henderson Herald reporter Hogan McCleary. Forsyth was one of several of the soap's popular actors who suffered colds and who were even hospitalized briefly as a result of last week's taping of the simulated flood to be seen Tuesday. The actors, including Mary Stuart, the reigning "queen of soaps," endured 150 gallons of "rain" water and a huge pool of 4-feet-deep water set up for the torrential scenes created in a mid-Manhattan studio. "Nobody minded," Forsyth said. In fact, he said that there has been a "180-degree turnaround" for the better in cast and crew morale, which he termed "dismal at best," until now. "The stories weren't going anywhere ... the characters were scattered all over the place . . . there was too little attention being paid to the show's history and continuity and there was barely any romance left," continued Forsyth -whose onscreen romance with Liza Sentell (played by Louan Gideon) was the last spark of romance in Henderson before the flood. "As a result, the public felt cheated," added the actor, who said this was evident from disgruntled fan mail and from promotional forays he made out among the public. It was this state of affairs, brought about, in the view of Forsyth and others on the set, by the comings and goings of five executive producers and several different writers over the past 2 years that resulted in increasingly low audience ratings. This, together with the fact that "Search" is one of the few soaps that has not expanded from a half hour to one hour. It was in such a climate that John Whitesell was hired last November set of "Search for Tomorrow.' as executive producer of the show. In just five years, Whitesell, 29, has moved from production assistant to director to producer, previously on "Texas" and "Guiding Light." "I was brought in with a mandate to make the show work, to keep our loyal audience and to find a newer, younger audience," said Whitesell, who also directs some segments of the soap. "To do this I felt I had to literally wash away the remnants of the past and build from scratch.

July 1980 News article Another long anticipated story development will occur on "Another World." Mitch has learned that he fathered Rachel's expected baby, while Rachel's husband, Mac, is unaware that he couldn't have fathered the child because of drugs given him by his deceased wife, demented Janice. The situation takes a couple of surprising turns in the next few weeks, with mischievous Miranda, who's been eyeing Mac lasciviously, taking matters into her strong and determined hands.

July 1980 Newspaper report NBC'S PLANS "The Doctors" has the most to lose if its plot-boilers don't work. The show is moving to a new time period next week to make way for the "Texas" series. "TD" has been losing ground steadily for the last half year, but hyped-up plot situations are being introduced in the hope of maintaining the existing audience and gaining new viewers in the show's new time period. As a first step, producer Doris Quinlan has signed Glen Corbett for a "return engagement" to "The Doctors." Corbett originated the role of Jason Aldrich three years ago, then he left the series when his contract expired. He eturned briefly last fall but the character soon was lost and presumably he was killed in a South Amercan aircraft accident. Now that Jason has been found and returned to the town of Madison, he'll be involved with a group of crazies who take over the hospital and hold hostages for ransom. The ringleader will be played by David Canary, also making a return to the show. Last summer he played cult leader Far Wind, who is now known as Warner. Sam MacMurray portrays head machine-gunner Norm, while Shelley Simmons, a "mob doll," is played by Harriet Hall, who last appeared on soaps as Andrea Moore on "Somerset."

Week ending Oct 24 1980 1. GH 37% 2. AMC 34% 3. OLTL 33% 4. Y&R 30% 5. ATWT 28% 6. GL 27% 7. RH 27% 8. SFT 24% 9. DOOL 20% 10. EON 18% 11. AW 16% 12. TX 15% 13. TD 15%

Helen Shields Just Plain Bill 'society girl' 1937 Joe Powers of Oakville 'female lead' By Kathleen Norris 'The Black Fleming' Gabrielle Charpentier Romance of Helen Trent 1945 Backstage Wife 1945 Our Gal Sunday Lora Lawton Helene Hudson My True Story Ellen Forsythe Mercedes McCambridge Arnold Grimm's Daughter Dorothy Tempest 1940 Barry Cameron 1945 Perry Mason: Honeymoon Murder Case Martha Smith 1950 Case of the Deadly Double Helen Henderson 1951 Requests Barbara Babcock Betsy Palmer Leslie Bevis Gerald S O'Loughlin Brad Pitt Joan Lorring Bess McCammon

July 66 newspaper summary Mrs. Marceau is distraught. Phoebe's girl friend, Liz, says Mrs. Marceau must not tell the police that Phoebe forged a signature. Rick had a record. Phil didn't want Phoebe to begin with. Liz's father, Art, and stepmother, Laura, have been to a party Laura didn't enjoy. They're having after party drinks at home. Enter Liz. She tells Laura she's all for hiring Rick Oliver for youth camp director. We are unable to bring you news of Cookie, Lee, and Ken. Except that whatever was bothering them at 2:30 still was at 3.00

July 1966 newspaper summary. Theodora Rostand was fighting mad. She is suing Dr. Powers over "considerable money" due Tia Van Allen, a simple, innocent girl from Samoa. J. Albert Gorsey, a shrewd looking lawyer, takes Theodora's case. She likes his assessment of the situation. "With the right pressure, this can be settled out of court."

July 66 newspaper summary "Like sands thru the hour glass, so are the days of our lives," goes the opening mood line. Macdonald Carey is the star of this serial. He wasn't on the day we looked in and saw Alice Horton chatting in her kitchen with Rusty about son Mickey, a lawyer who is becoming involved with Diane Hunter, his client in a divorce suit. Diane Hunter's daughter, Susie, is a good friend of Julie, Alice Horton's granddaughter. Before going to Julie's high school graduation party, Susie has a few unkind words for her mother. "I don't love you at all," she taunts the soon-to-be divorcee. Subsequently, Julie's Uncle Mickey, having noticed the lights were on, stops by to see Diane Hunter. She is depressed. He brings comforting words. "Deep down inside, teens love and need parents."

July 66 newspaper summary Lee called off the engagement with Jessie, manfully telling her she needs Phil now. At the hospital, Dr. Phil Brewer is excited, he has good news about the baby. Dr. Steve isn't so sure this is really a breakthrough, but Phil rushes right over to tell Jessie that "our Nancy" has improved. Lee visits nurse Meg. He's blue. Jessie belongs to Phil now. "They have the baby or their grief in common." Lost in the midst of time that Jessie was engaged to Lee Baldwin and later married Peter Taylor.

July 66 newspaper summary (slightly tongue in cheek) Donald Hughes, a lawyer, tells Sandra she will be getting her divorce from Roy McGuire in a week. Sandra thinks that's just fine, but doesn't like the prospect of going to court. The last time she was in a hall of justice, the judge gave her a year in prison with time off for good behavior. Roy McGuire is in prison. Sandra does not want him to have anything to do with their baby. Jimmy, when he gets out. Maybe she will marry Hal Harper. Sandra gets mad at lawyer Hughes when he informs her Harper will not be able to adopt Jimmy unless Roy McGuire gives his consent. Later, Sandra is seen leaving Dr. David Stewart's home with Dr. Bob (no last name). They sit on her front porch she talking about her son, he talking about his. For the sake of brevity, we leave out scenes alluding to Amanda, Neal, Sara Fuller, and Ellen. Also, we cannot explain what they were up to.

Newspaper article from Sunday Dec 29 1974. Life at 'One Life to Live - the filming of Episode 1561 By Bob Bender (A few weeks ago, The Sampler ran an article on why soap operas on television are so popular, from the point of view of a housewife. Bob Bender, former News Director at WBEC, knows what its like on the other side of the tube, after a recent visit to New York. Since writing this article, Bender has left Pittsfield for a broadcasting job in Ohio.) The warehouse-like building on 67th Street on New York City's West Side gives only a hint of the drama being played inside, daily. A marquee, reading "Watch One life to Live' on ABC-TV," is the only indication that the real home of Dr. Jim Craig, and the others who populate the serial, is here. When one goes past a guard on the first floor, and past double doors, next to signs reading "Silence On Air," a quiet green hallway leads to the dressing rooms, a few feet from the studios. Each weekday, the cast and crew of the ABC-TV serial "One Life to Live" gather to rehearse, block floor movements, set up camera angles, hold dry-runs, and finally tape the continuing story seen in millions of American homes each weekday afternoon. (WAST-TV in Albany broadcasts the show at 3:30 p.m. ) It is lunch-time; actors and actresses are having soup and sandwiches in the dressing rooms, and talk to a visitor about life in front of the TV cameras. In a few moments, they will again rehearse episode 1561, to be broadcast seven days later. Ellen Holly, who plays Carla Gray Hall, secretary to Dr. Jim Craig, has her hair tied back, with no makeup on. Her fair skin makes some people say she does not look like a black woman. Ellen's great-grandmother, Susan McKinney Steward, was the first black woman doctor to practice medicine in New York City. She has no questions about her blackness, and concentrates on her acting and writing. Appearing on television, she feels like a member of many families. A job as a soap opera actress has lots of rewards. "The theatre and acting are very chancey businesses, in which 90 per cent of Actors' Equity is unemployed at any given time," she says. The work is steady, and a character can be created who will become familiar to millions and millions of viewers. "You can walk into a supermarket and someone will come up to you that you don't know at all, and they'll say Carla!' because you're a real person and that only comes from constantly seeing somebody in that particular part, so it's kind of fun too." Ellen says she uses part of herself in establishing the character she plays. But, she is different from Carla, and uses only one aspect in establishing her character. The cast of "One Life to Live" performs on a sound stage, where several cameras will record the scene while a director will choose the shots from among the different points of view seen through the camera lens. Director David Pressman has gone over the 43-page script for the half-hour episode. The script takes up only the left-hand page. The blank half is filled with directions for camera locations, movements, actor positions, cues for the music which punctuates dramatic moments, and other information. Episode 1561 is divided into four acts. There are six commercials, a prologue and epilogue. It is a miniature play, except it will never be completed, as long as the characters created by Agnes Nixon and a stable of writers continue to turn out stories and characters to perform them. This particular show begins in the living room of Dr. Jim Craig, and, after the opening title and first commercial, moves to his office and back to the living room. Following the second commercial, the second act takes place in the reception room in a funeral parlor where a memorial service will take place for a character who died under questionable circumstances. The third and fourth commercials will run together. Act three will be set in the Craig living room and Jim's office. The fifth commercial wili preceed Act four in Jim's office. Finally, the final commercial, and the closing credits will be shown. The actors and actresses in the program worry about learning their lines, which is a daily challenge. It means studying lines each evening at home, in preparation for the next day. Nat Polen, who plays Dr. Jim Craig, commutes by train from Long Island each morning, and has to get up at 6 a.m. At home, every night, he has to find someone to help him learn his part. "You get the script and begin to work," he explains. "Whoever volunteers to be the victim that evening cues you. You trundle off to bed at a disgustingly early hour. You come in, clutching the script, hoping you'll absorb it by the process of osmosis. ' ' Some actors are able to learn a script easier than others. But even a "quick study" can have problems not faced by stage performers who deal with the same lines night after night. Ellen Holly used to learn her lines the night before. Now, she rehearses each morning with Al Freeman, who plays her husband on the program. (She is single in real life). They go over the lines in his dressing room. it's easier because you learn them more organically, by working with the actor you'll be seen with. You learn some kind of response that is similar to the response that you're going to get once the tape starts," she explains. Both she and Nat find the ease of learning lines depends on which of several writers produced the script. Nat, who wants writers given credits for an individual episode, says each person produces a different script. He says a well-written script is much easier to learn by heart. "The flow is more natural, the sound of the dialogue, the rhythm of the dialogue is something you can identify with. When the script is not written that way, the dialogue doesn't have a natural sound, and thoughts don't track as they should in life. Then it's difficult. But that portion of the brain that retains the printed word through sheer doing it over and over again is like working on the bicep of one arm. You develop a tremendous bicep, but you have no use for it. The problem is forgetting the dialog as quickly as you memorized it because the next day, you'll be saying something similar but not the same ' ' Three writers take turns preparing the scripts, but they rarely visit the studios. Polen thinks if each writer had to see his name on the screen as the sole author of a particular episode he would come up with even better scripts. The huge studio has several sets arranged next to each other or a few yards apart. During the commercials, cameras are quickly moved into position in front of the appropriate setting. During the rehearsals and taping, the directors in the control room are unable to see the stage area, and depend solely on a bank of a dozen monitors from which to choose the appropriate shot. In adjoining rooms, with their own monitors, video and audio engineers make sure their appropriate tasks are performed on cue. The director gives commands to the actors and technicians through headphones or a public address system. "Nat, don't cross in front of Michael until after you've given him that line. We're losing the shot in here because you're cutting too soon." An exasperated director looks over the script, i thought we worked that out this morning when we blocked it out." The cast and crew assemble in the ABC Production Center every morning. There is a discussion of the basic action to take place in the day's episode. Camera movements and placements are discussed, and a rough run-through is held. After lunch, a rehearsal is tried, and any problems cleared up. The taping for broadcast goes without interruption, like a live show, and is usually finished about 5 p.m. The performers on the program have played their characters for so long they are often identified outside the studios. Some people get the actor and character confused, forgetting the program is only a fictional serial. Ellen Holly says people have known her for so many years as Carla Gray that they develop a schizoid-like reaction. They know she is an actress, but still address her as Carla. Others have the same problem. She explained, "I remember Niki Flax, when she was on the show, playing a villain. She got a letter in which a woman said to her, 'I know you're only playing a part and it's not real life, but you so-and-so-and-so and then she laced into her as if she were that person." Nat Polen continually plays doctors. With his brown-gray, wavy hair and deep resonant voice, he looks like the chief of medicine he plays. Before One Life to Live," Nat was Dr. Doug Cassen, brain specialist on "As the World Turns." Then he was a chest and abdominal specialist. Dr. John Crager on "The Nurses." But his medical knowledge is strictly from a script. "I have no actual medical background at all, although the question is frequently asked because I've played a doctor in one daytime show or another, with rare breathers in other areas, for the past 20 years. It's always been a doctor for some reason. (I haven't got the rest of the article unfortunately)

Some 'revealing' shots of Jake Silbermann have leaked on the net. Seeing them, you realize he brought more to the part than we knew at the time...

Michael Minor One Life to Live ...actor/leading man (mid 80's)

Marland speaks about leaving GL. Having performed on a few soaps himself, he generally was unimpressed with the quality of the scripts he had seen. He was pretty sure that he could do better. And so, after attending a soap-writing seminar sponsored by Procter & Gamble, which owns many daytime dramas, Marland was hired as a writer on "Another World." He subsequently became head writer of "The Doctors," of "General Hospital" (where he created the fabled Luke and Laura characters) and, 2and a half years ago, of "The Guiding Light." It was on "The Guiding Light" that he achieved his greatest success, helping transform that video fossil into one of the liveliest, most imaginatively written programs ever to hit daytime TV. During his reign as head writer, "The Guiding Light" garnered many awards including two Emmys to Marland for his outstanding stories and jumped back near the top rank of the daytime audience ratings. An admittedly hopeless romantic, he often compared his work on "The Guiding Light" to a passionate love affair. He brought the program his own sense of style, charm and grace while reinforcing the presence of such discarded mainstays as matriarch Bert Bauer, the character played by Charita Bauer since the show switched from radio to TV in 1951. But in the classic soap opera tradition that he knows so well, Marland's love affair is over. The last 'Guiding Light" Installment supervised by him was aired a month ago, and a new head writer, the estimable Pat Falken Smith, is at the helm. "Sometimes something happens and you just fall out of love with a show," he said from his Connecticut home. "That sounds corny and melodramatic maybe like what someone would expect from a soap opera writer but it's the truth. Because in daytime TV, you're working seven days a week and if you really don't love what you're doing, you can't do It; it isn't fair to the show. Some people can take the money and run, I guess. But I can't, because I don't want to work that hard unless I'm in love." Surprisingly, Marland's falllng-out with the producers of "The Guiding Light" and with the sponsor, Procter &Gamble, had nothing to do with the usual writers' complaints about Interference with the creative aspects of the program. Beginning in January 1980, when he started as head writer, he said he was given a free hand to mold plots and characters precisely as he saw fit. The only problem was the "creative lethargy" of executive producer Allen Potter and his lieutenants. As far as he was concerned, the last straw came with the firing of actress Jane Elliot, who played the Marland-created character of Carrie Marler. He bitterly opposed the elimination of the remarkably complex Carrie role, for which he had just completed another year's worth of storyline. What troubled him most deeply about the dumping of Elliot was that producer Potter had told him (and Elliot) that the decision had been dictated by Procter & Gamble for "budgetary reasons," and that the money problem was the sole reason that her contract wasn't being renewed. Weeks later, however, he said he learned the truth that Potter himself pulled the plug on Elliot "because he said he found her to be 'a difficult actress'. Her firing was last straw for veteran soap writer Douglas Marland. the studio." Marland continued: "Potter lied to me, and it was one of many aborted decisions that I had to accept For awhile I thought I was crazy (for believing that Potter was so two-faced), but when I talked to other creative people in this business, I realized I wasn't." Once he reached his decision to quit "The Guiding Light," he recommended Falken Smith as his replacement. Although he isn't personally that well acquainted with her, Marland was very familiar with Falken Smith's work as head writer on "General Hospital" and, more recently, on "Days of Our Lives." In fact, Falken Smith's public feud with "General Hospital" producer Gloria Monty was even more bitter than Marland's own 1979 dismissal from "GH" by the dictatorial Monty. "I knew Pat had suffered through many of the same things I did at the hands of Gloria Monty and I wish you'd quote me on that. It makes you a cohort In this business. Even if you don't know someone, you have some idea of what they must have gone through working for that woman (Monty). We should have a club and meet at least once a year to compare scars and scar tissue." Marland doesn't expect to be idle for very long. He's already created a soap opera, "New Day in Eden," that'll premiere this month on cable and pay-TV systems across the country. He also spent eight weeks during the summer touring as an actor in a road company of "Gypsy." His agent is entertaining offers from several network soaps, and he expects to announce his next writing post very soon. Until then, he'll nurse the wounds from his shattered love affair with "The Guiding Light" and prepare for his next passionate soap opera romance.

A September 1978 'Tune in Tommorow' column from Jon Michael Reed officially announces the departures of Judge Lowell (William Johnstone) Alma Miller (Dorothy Blackburn) and Betsy Stewart (Suzanne Davidson). I know Betsy continued to appear, so I wonder if this refers to contract status-they went recurring?

Some mentions of storylines that never came to pass. No Secrets - Soap Opera Tells All At End Friday was a tearful day for soap opera fans. All of a sudden, everything was all over. "Where the Heart Is" and "Love Is A Many Splendored Thing" wound up their stories, said their goodbyes to CBS and left the air for good. Even here in the office, it was sad. A few gals, on-the-sly soap addicts, gathered 'round our tiny black and white to see whether Betsy, the doctor, would marry Joe, the social worker on "Love is A Many , . ." Even my sister, whose set doesn't pick up the show too well, called the office to listen to the parting moments over the phone. If you missed it, here's how the continuing story met its moment of discontinuation: the close-knit families of Donnally and Chernak, around whom the series has spun for the past five and a half years, gathered together to celebrate the wedding of Dr. Betsy Chernak and her beau, Joe. It was a happy time of rehashing memories and cementing facts. Laura, who had long wanted a child in episode after episode, had finally adopted a baby boy. Iris, who had for weeks agonized over telling her husband that their new baby wasn't his, decided to remain forever silent. And Angel, suffering from a terminal disease,stocially faced the end with the utmost bravery. As the guests at the reception quietly stole away in the show's waning moments, the character of Will Donnelly, the patriarch of the clan, faced the home audience and made the farewells on behalf of cast and crew. For Linda Wendell, watching the taped show in her New York office with the "Love Is A Many ..." cast, it was a sad moment. : "We were told Feb. 12 that the show had been cancelled," said the young producer of the ex-soap. "I called my writer, Ann Marcus, who was recuperating from major surgery in Los Angeles and we were both very upset. We decided to think about how to end the story, and a few days later, we'd both come to the same conclusion: we'd end on a positive note with the families together. Angel was already dying and there was no way we could reverse that." Mrs. Wendell took over the producer's , duties in December and had big plans for her show before she learned of its cancellation. . - , : "I was changing the policy, for one thing," she report- ed. "I wanted to move things quicker. They'd spent about a year on what we called the 'rape and tape' storyline, and that was too long. There's an old theory that people only watch 2.5 times a week, but we were going to gear to the positive and move like gangbusters." ' Story plans were firmed up through July. ' "We had three ideas which would have been so interesting," Mrs. Wendell revealed. "We had secured Inge Swensen, a wonderful actress, to play a nurse and we were going to follow a "Children's Hour" type theme, eventually working in a conspiracy against Betsy. "Angel was going to tell Pete to remarry after her death, but our story was going to find him rejecting the nurse Angel had urged him to marry. This nurse, Meg, has , been in love with Pete on the show and the story would find her in a broken heart situation. "And, lastly, we'd decided to bring back the Eurasian girl who was one of the main characters when the series began. She was going to be returning to the United States to look for her child - she'd been a doctor in Vietnam and had thought her husband and child were killed. She was to find out that her child had been adopted and was in this country a custody case would have resulted." It's all might-have-been speculation now. The ratings -a system Mrs. Wendell doesn't consider entirely representative of the audience had dropped and the show was given walking papers. Two months after stepping into the bosses' shoes, she was forced to tell the bad news to 80 people -cast and crew. "The whole group had such a warm relationship with one another. It was more than just a job. I have every confidence that each of the cast will do well they'll be scattered to the four winds and will probably never work together again." Brett Halsey (Spence Garrison) will travel to Paris and Rome for movie work, the producer reported. Al Stratton, who played Tom Donnally, will also do a movie. Vince Bagetta (Pete Chernak) has already been secured for a play with Valerie Harper (of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show") and Joseph Campanella. Andrea Marcovicci (Betsy) and Leon Russom (Joe), real-life sweethearts, will remain in New York for stage work. And so on. Everyone has plans. . And Mrs. Wendell? "I've got a seven-month-old son," she said." And I'll take some time off and rest for a while. I've got some -things pending." Still, the. demise is sad. Like a real-life soap opera,maybe?

The Doctors J. Albert Gorsey - Theodora Van Allen's lawyer 1966

NEW YORK — "Where the Heart Is" a new daytime dramatic series revolving around the affections conflicts and tensions found in the close-knit relationships of the IHathaway family and their associates and featuring such Broadway actors as Diana van der Vlis,James Mitchell, Diana Walker and Mark Gordon will premiere Monday 11-11:25 am in color on the CBS television network. "Where the Heart Is" will take over the Monday-through-Friday time period now filled by "Love of Life" daytime television's second longest-running dramatic series which will be presented at 10:30-11 am starting Monday OTHERS IN the cast of the new series include Stephen Joyce, Louise Shaffer. Gregory Abels, Terry O'Connor, David Bailey,Bernard Kates and Robyn Milian The setting for "Where the Heart Is" is the mythical community of Northcross-just two hours from New York City. Interwoven in the story are the 'strengths and weaknesses of the Hathaways as well as those of were their friends and business acquaintances'. Miss Van der Vlis plays Kate Hathaway, a woman of grace warmth and beauty who four year earlier was jilted by Roy Archer (Joyce) an actor-producer and opportunist who eloped with Kate's younger sister Alison (Louise Shaffer). Mitchell is seen as Julian Hathaway- Kate's older brother, a Rhodes scholar and chairman of the English department of Northcross College but a flunk-out in the world of human relations. Diana Walker plays Mary Hathaway, Julian's young second wife. Abel ls is cast as Michael Hathaway Julian's son by his first wife. Gordon portrays Ed Lucas, a native of Northcross who came back from the Korean War with a surprisingly large bankroll and opened an exclusive cocktail lounge just out of town. Terry O'Connor appears as Christine Cameron, a top-flight magazine illustrator and Kate Hathaway's best friend. Bailey plays Tony Monroe, a roving feature writer for a national news weekly who though married is romantically interested in Christine. Kates is seen as Arthur Saxton, a local real estate operator secretly working for a large building syndicate and 'Robyn Milan as Vicki Lucas, an 18-year-old with a decorous facade that hides a scheming mind

July 1978 While some 20 people looked on, a brown foreign sports car yesterday roared around a sharp, 90-degree curve on Fern Road, skidded into a gravel driveway and slammed against a shoulder-height dirt embankment at 30 miles per hour. When the car came to a halt, and the injured driver slumped down against the convertible's open door, several of the startled witnesses ran to the scene. But along with the cries of "Are you all right?" came an oddly elated remark from among a television filming crew. . ' "Beautiful, that was perfect!" yelled . Dick Pepperman, director of the ABC-TV soap opera 'Edge of Night'. Pepperman's reaction to the accident on Fern Road was not as inappropriate as it may seem, for the 'accident' was, in fact, the work of stunt driver Pete Hock of Basking Ridge who was employed yesterday to perform the dangerous crash for an actress of the Edge of Night cast. The filming crew of the successful soap opera yesterday came to the rural section of East Brunswick with the permission of the Director of Public Safety Frank Pasch to film a bogus accident for the show's character April Cavanaugh Scott, played by actress Terry Davis. The fake blood, the cracked windshield and even the painted-on skid marks at the accident site near the Fern Road water tower were all very convincing, orchestrated by the film crew for Edge of Night - a 22-year old television serial. But what was particularly impressive was the way in which the stunt driver performed the deliberate crash, going about 30 to 40 miles per hour around a curve with a 15 mph speed limit. According to the show's associate producer, Niles Goodsite, who moved to East Brunswick with his family almost three weeks ago, yesterday's filmed episode will be aired next Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. The accident simulation was so realistic that many of the film crew members thought the stunt driver was injured by the impact. However, after the signal to stop filming was given, Hock emerged from the 1976 Fiat "Spider" sports car which missed hitting of stand of paper birch trees by less than one foot with a smile on his face. "You've got to have control of the car when you go into that turn or you're in deep trouble." he said after the crash. Hock also works as a stuntman on the program "One Life to Live". Davis was filmed driving the sports car along Fern Road approaching the sharp turn, but the actual stunt of lodging the car in the dirt embankment was Hock's job. "We wanted to shoot the scene on a very rural road, which is in style with the fictitious town of 'Mayfield' in the show," Associate Producer Goodsite said. "My family and I moved out here recently, and I felt this location was perfect. Once the car was lodged into its position at the dirt embankment, the special effects people took over. A cracked windshield was in real life , plastic decal taped over the glass and the blood on the injured' actress' face and arms was provided courtesy of make-up. Later yesterday afternoon, township first aid squad members First Lt. Tim Bonsper and Captain Herb Lundin joined actor Jack Swanson in coming to April s rescue. "You know, people are going to get a little tired with April with this death wish of hers," Davis said after the accident scene s shooting. Is April seriously injured in the crash? We're sworn to secrecy. Tune in for the latest episode...

Secret Storm Toby Coleman...Lou Steele (not Lon Steeby)

Dec 15 1962 One of TV's veteran shows, "Young Doctor Malone," marks its 1,000th telecast Tuesday on NBC-TV at 3:30 p.m. With this impressive record in TV and many years in radio before that, the producers like to think of the show as starting its second thousand episodes. Still heading the cast are noted performers William Prince, Augusta Dabney, John Connell, Sarah Hardy, Peter Brandon, Martin Blaine, Lesley Woods, Nicolas Coster, Ann Williams and Chase Crosley. The program is the pioneer medical dramatic series on the air, having started on radio in 1939, and branching to TV in 1958. The current producers, Carol Irwin and Doris Quinlan, perhaps TV's only female producing team, were previously responsible for the long-run TV series, "I Remember Mama," and the telecast "Claudia" dramas. Richard Holland, who has been on the writing staff of the program, was recently elevated to the post of chief writer. "Young Doctor Malone" tells the story of the Malone family, the dedicated father, Dr. Jerry Malone (Prince), and his son, Dr. David Malone [Connell). Much of the action centers in Valley Hospital, where the 2 doctors serve on the staff. Many of the players on "Young Doctor Malone'' appear in Broadway shows while playing their roles on TV. The daytime schedule of rehearsing and broadcasting makes this possible. Next week's capsule dramas are: Monday -4 Faye looks bleakly at the future}; Tuesday — Stefan and Ted compare notes on Lt. Flagler's questioning; Wednesday —Thoughts of Christmas fail to brighten the Malone and Koda households; Thursday — David and Eve meet [after a long separation; Friday — Tracry is impressed with Jill's fortitude.

Feb 1971 Two Soapers Change Titles Hollywood (Special) Two of television's most popular Monday-through-Friday daytime dramatic serials will have a change of title, after March 1, with "Another World Bay City" reverting to its former title "Another World," and "Another World Somerset" becoming "Somerset." ' , "Another World is colorcast at 3 P.M. and "Somerset" at 4 P.M. "Another World" started on NBC-TV May 4, 1964. Another serial grew out of the storylines; it was set in a nearby locale and titled "Another World Somerset." This marked the first time that a daytime dramatic serial was the basis of a second serial The latter show started on NBC-TV March 30, 1970. Lyle B Hill is exective produc er of both programs. Joseph D Manetta is producer of "Another World" and Joe Kothenberger is producer of. "Somerset." Both programs originate in NBC s color studios in Brooklyn, N.Y. May 1973 "Somerset" has switched its opening title film from a winter landscape to a summer scene, with much greenery in view. Alan Posage, lighting director of "Somerset", has extended his talents by directing a segment of the series for vacationing director Joe Chomyn. Executive producer Lyle B. Hill of "Somerset" is teaching a course in acting at the Weist Barrow tv school in New York.