Paul Raven

ATWT Just remembered Lisa's son Chuck who was for some reason killed off in a car crash in 77? There was zilch fall out and it meant that in the 80's when he could have sorased into a new young lead he was gone. Less for Lisa to do.

Eleanor Phelps Judy and Jane Jane Two on a Shoestring Manhattan Mother Valerie Thompson Light of the World 1946 True Confesssions 1946 Young Dr Malone Dr Ingrid Ekeland

re Patch McKenzie Days Victoria Wallis 1980

So basically every character that has been killed off since the 90's? Except Cassie?

Vivian Ogden Orphans of Divorce Annie Smith Juanita Hall Brenda Curtis Cleo

Re Templeton Fox I have her as Trudy Reynolds, a young heiress, on Kate Hopkins, not Hilltop House.

Days wanted Doug and Julie around but offered them contracts with fewer appearance guarantees and Bill and Susan were not happy with becoming supporting characters and left the show.

Beryl Vaughan Romance of Helen Trent Eunice Powell

Arthur Kohl Affairs of Anthony 1940 Midstream 1940 Stepmother 1940 Arnold Grimm's Daughter Jordan Lonely Women Simon Baird Story of Mary Marlin Arnold 1939 Sgt McKenna/ Arthur Adams Front Page Farrell 1946 Lone Journey Forest Rilling Guiding Light ? replaced by Sydney Breese 1943 David Harum 1950

Judith Lowry Woman in White Granny Barnes Midstream 1940 Guiding Light 1940 Last of the Lockwoods 1938 Masquerade Helen Norris

Helen Coule Lora Lawton Ilsa Borge 1947

I think Jacquie had already cut her hair when she was on OLTL.

Charme Allen Right to Happiness Young Widder Brown 1948 Romance of Helen Trent 1954 Backstage Wife Mercy Kimball Perry Mason Agnes 1947 Front Page Farrell 1953 My True Story 1955

The Story of Mary Marlin If the demand for concert singers hadn't hit a new low in 1934, the Story of Mary Marlin might never have come into being. In the fall of that year a gloomy young woman was bus riding along Chicago's lake front. She was facing the world alone, with a daughter to support, and had no idea about how she was going to earn a living. Jane Crusinberry had returned to America the year before after two successful years as an opera singer in France and Italy. She found that her friends were scattered, that the depression was in full swing and singers were turning to other fields in order to eat. And so she spent rather a desperate year trying to adjust herself. Miss Crusinberry took the bus ride one morning to ponder ways to bring in a regular pay check. "I'll write) said Jane Crusinberry suddenly aloud, to the mild surprise of nearby passengers, and she hopped off the bus to catch the next one back home. On the way, she sketched out a synopsis of the post -marital adventures of two typical American people. She rented a typewriter and set to work as soon as she reached her apartment; The story of Mary Marlin is the result. Born Harriet Jane McConnell in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Miss Crusinberry was a talented child who turned her hand to several different arts. She was soloist with the Episcopal Cathedral Boys' Choir when she was 12. Between solos and school work the youngster found time to write a play that stretched somewhere in the neighborhood of 30 acts and heaven only knows how many scenes. The drama was called "The Gatherers of Flame" and came to a grand climax when her hero suddenly ended it all by walking into the Ganges. When she was 15, Jane came to Chicago to audition for William Beard at the Chicago Conservatory of Music. He accepted her immediately as a pupil and in six months the youngster was singing professionally. In the years that followed her life was highlighted by marriage, the birth of a daughter, six years of study in Europe and the final return to this country. Miss Crusinberry sold her radio script almost as soon as it was out of the typewriter and the Story of Mary Marlin had an auspicious premiere by making its debut on the author's birthday, October 3, 1934. During its five years on the air the program has consistently maintained its rating as one cf the mostly popular dramatic serials, as well as one of the best known. Working on the theory that a story about the married life of two ordinary people would please listeners who didn't care for too much melodrama and radio fan who liked romance but not "mush" Miss Crusinberry built her story around the life of 35 -year -old Mary Marlin. Mary was born and brought up in Cedar Springs, Iowa, where she married her childhood sweetheart. The story began after Mary and her Joe Marlin had been married for 14 years; when Mary had begun to show her 35 years and Joe had found his law office partnership with David Post all absorbing. Then Joe fell in love with his secretary and asked for a divorce. Alone, unloved, Mary fled to New Yok rather than face the gossip of Cedar Springs and the pity of ¡her friends. There she met Mme. Henriette, a childhood friend who had become the foremost beauty specialist in the country. Through Henriette's influence and efforts, Mary set about recapturing her youth and beauty. One day, glowing, alive and charming, looking ten years younger, Mary was dining in a New York restaurant when her ex- husband met her for the first time since their divorce. After long months they were reconciled and became the parents of a son, David, who is now four years old. Joe was elected senator from Iowa and was sent to Russia on a secret mission. His plane crashed in the wilderness and since then no word has been heard either from or of him, although influential friends have detectives tracing the course of a mysterious white man into the interior of China. Present episodes are concerned with the search for Joe, who has lost his memory, and Mary's adventures. Mary herself has been appointed to her husband's place in the Senate, where she is carrying on Joe's ideal of "the great American dream." She is ardently supported by Joe's partner, David Post, who has fallen in love with Mary. Rufus Kane, labor leader, has also fallen in love with Mary and he and his mother are convinced that she will marry him if he defeats Mary's friend, Frazer Mitchell, for the presidency of the United States. Frazer's wife, Bunny, is one of Mary's arch- enemies, although she consistently manages to blind Frazer to her pretty meannesses and her love for money and power. Bunny's present campaign to keep her husband's faith involves a scheme to adopt a child of the slums, one "Tootle." Two other children are prominent figures in the current adventures of Mary Marlin, Timothy, a little blind boy who was ad0pted by Henriette, and young Bill Adams, son of life long friends of the Marlins. Timothy, at present, is living in the Marlin home. The title role in the Story of Mary Marlin is played by Anne Seymour, one of radio's leading actresses. A descendant cf the Davenports, dramatic "royal family" whose theatrical history stretches back to 1740. Miss ,Seymour made her debut when she was 12 years old, taking part in a banquet scene in Helen Hays' "To the Ladies." Her grandparents were both in the cast. Her first appearance, which brought her public attention, was in 1928 when she played in Channing Pollick's "Mr. Moneypenny." Before the play closed she had appeared in 13 different roles. Later she appeared on Broadway with Ethel Barrymore in "School for Scandal" and in other plays including "The Husband Habit" and "At the Bottom." In 1933 Miss Seymour came to NBC to take the lead in Grand Hotel. She took over the role of Mary Marlin in 1937. The Seymour talents are not confined to acting; she is an expert in the art of directing and stage setting; she's invaluable in organizing summer stock companies and she serves as consultant for an eastern school which has recently inaugurated a course in radio dramatics. Robert Grifin plays the part cf Joe Marlin, a role he has filled since the program first went on the air. Griffin began his career as a baritone soloist in "The Mission Play" in California and went from there into the Pasadena Community Playhouse. He was soloist at KNX in 1925 and later became head of the Homer Conservatory radio department at Kansas City. He left there to appear with ,Paul Muni in "This One Man" and went back to singing when the play closed. Griffin gave up singing in favor of acting shortly before he took over the role of Joe Marlin, currently he is rated as one of the most popular of NBC leading men. Four outstanding child stars appear In the Marlin cast: Patti Willis, in the role of Davey Marlin; Frank Pacelli, as Timothy Franklin Adams, as Bill Adams and Rosemary Garbell, as Tootie. Veteran character Phil Lord has the role of Frazer Mitchell and his wife, Bunny, is played by Fran Carlon. David Post is played by Carlton Brickert. An example of the popularity of Mary Marlin is the story of an enterprising merchant in Akron, Ohio, who discovered women shoppers frequently stopped in to listen to the serial. He set out a few seats to accomodate them and found, a week later, that the women had passed the information among their friends and he was forced to quadruple the number of chairs and benches for their use. The program was awarded a plaque as outstanding among radio dramatic shows by the Conference of Club Presidents and Program Chairmen, representatives of 350 midwestem women's clubs. And just to show how far- reaching the program can be, Carrie Jacobs Bond, beloved American composer, chanced to tune In to one broadcast several years ago and .became a regular Marlin fan. She became so interested, in fact, that she wrote the author, only to discover that years ago, when Miss Crusinberry was making a concert tour under her maiden name, Miss Bond had met the teenage singer and become interested in her. It was through her that Jane had met several people who had become instrumental in her study of opera. As a fan, Miss Bond has gone to the length cf writing a beautiful child's prayer, which Davey Marlin recites frequently in the program.

Neva Patterson Romance of Helen Trent 1943 (her radio debut) She was formerly a secretary at an ad agency Our gal Sunday 1948 Aunt Jenny 1954

Lewiston Maine Nov 1965 5 WABI CBS Bangor 6 WSCH NBC Portland 8 WMTW ABC Portland 10 am 5 I Love Luvy 6 Fractured Phrases 8 Where The Action Is 10.30 5 Real McCoys 6 Concentration 8 Never Too Young 11.00 5 Andy of Mayberry 6 Morningstar 8 The Young Set 11.30 5 Dick Van Dyke 6 Paradise Bay 8 Young Set cont'd 12pm 5 Love of Life 6 Jeopardy 8 Gypsy (gypsy Rose Lee syndicated talk show) 12.30 5 Search for Tomorrow/Guiding Light 7 Let's Play Post Office 8 Gypsy cont'd 1.00 5 Girl Talk 6 Weekday on 6 8 Ben Casey reruns 1.30 5 As The World Turns 6 Let's Make A Deal 8 Ben Casey cont'd 2.00 5 Password 6 Days of Our Lives 8 The Nurses 2.30 5 House Party 6 The Doctors 8 A Time For Us 3.00 5 To Tell the Truth 6 Another World 8 General Hospital 3.30 5 Edge of Night 6 You Don't Say 8 The Young Marrieds 4.00 5 Secret Storm 6 Match Game 8 Time for Action All stations followed network schedule except for ABC affiliate moving Never Too Young/Where The Action Is from 4pm to morning slot.

Allen Potter was the original AW producer so had some knowledge of the foundations of the show. I wonder whether he had much say in the writing or was one of many voices (NBC, Headwriter ,P&G) vying to be heard. Somebody had the idea to bring back Jacquie/Alice obviously thinking it would be good publicity and maybe lure back viewers as well as provide some continuity and structure. That wasn't communicated to Gary Tomlin, who claimed he wasn't aware of Alice and her place in the story. Sounds like the left hand didn't know what the right hand was doing. Would love a definitive BTS account at what went on.

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Well it was the 80's and many soap ladies fell victim to the perm plague in that era. I was never a fan of any of Victoria wyndham's hairstyles over the years right up to her final look with the straight dark locks. I think she had one of those faces that it was difficult to style for . It would probably take a real expert to come up with something that was really flattering. Some Rachel looks over the years.

Looking at those figures for Tommy some of them seem so random eg 2 appearances in May 73. What was happening that suddenly demanded Tommy's presence? It would be interesting to know the background. At least Tommy was a presence throughout the 70's so John Lupton must have been happy enough to appear from time to time. It's a pity he wasn't used in the 80's for Xmas visits or when Sandy was on the show. As to why Tommy wasn't used after 1970 in any meaningful capacity there could have been any number of BTS issues. Firstly with a half hour format there was probably no room for Tommy to get a new romance and storyline and budget was probably an issue as well. In the correspondence Jason posted between Betty Corday and Bill Bell I recall the subject of the budget coming up repeatedly. PS Jason, are those letters still available on your website? I looked but couldn't locate them.

JC was only 38 when she returned. Still young enough to be front and center. I guess the fact that she now had an adult child made them portray her as a more conservative type of character. Times have changed and now 38 year olds and older are now presented in a different light eg Laura Wright, Michelle Stafford etc.

The casting of some of these new characters was questionable in addition to the writing. Kellam and Max did the job as the villianous pair but neither of them seemed particularly magnetic in their roles eg there didn't seem to be anything appealing about Kellam that would make it understandable that Julie might be charmed by him. Joshua was too old and I recall that he was quite a dour presence. The Tod actor was simply not up to the task. Which brings us to Leslie who I guess was supposed to be the woman who finally was the perfect match for Chris but she seems dull in appearance and behavior. And Jessica, our new heroine and ingenue of the Horton family who should have been the spunky yet vulnerable teen was presented as the dowdy best friend type. Only Gloria Loring/Liz had any spark.

Sweet story - Erica and Melody crossed paths at a charity event a while back. Erica introduced herself to Melody and began reminiscing. She wondered how many of the crew might still be around eg Hank - the stagehand who got her top quality weed in exchange for a quickie BJ in the Television City parking lot. Erica said it was crazy spooky how Nikki's storylines would mirror what was going on in Erica's life at one time or another...when Nikki was dancing at the Bayou and Melody was pregnant IRL, Erica was 7 months preggers and stripping at a truck stop club outside of Oxnard. Just like Nikki, Erica got knocked up by one guy but married another dude and pretended he was the dad. She also had one boyfriend who stabbed another in the groin and was banging her sleazy gyno who had a crazy ex wife. She developed a pill addiction after falling off a donkey on a weekend in Tijuana and had a kid turn up she forgot about from when she was in a cult. She wrote her address on a napkin and told Melody she'd love to be invited to any Y&R events.

I like that angle very much Khan. Viewers were more invested in Don so the story would have been of more interest to them. As I mentioned earlier they just introduced another two 50 year olds to an aging cast. No reason Max couldn't have been a twenty/thirty something hot shot. And Tony Kingman came and went in an instant. I 'm starting to get a little wary of Maggie. Julie visits her and gets badly burned in a fire in her kitchen. She visits Marlena and DJ dies. Coincidence? - or is Mrs Horton out for vengeance against those she feels need to be punished??

Going way back to possibly the first of these was the killing off of Jo and Arthur's son Duncan on Search for Tomorrow. Not only was it a cruel blow to a beloved heroine that must have upset the audience it had no long term repercussions. It just meant that later on Jo had only one child to be involved and more limited story possibilities. And when Patti left she was alone. Then in the early 70's they had to give a 'ward' Bruce to fulfill that role when Duncan would have been of an age to play those stories. Also it was hurtful to Mary Stuart as Duncan was the result of her real life pregnancy and she pictured her child on camera when she mothered Duncan onscreen (when he was supposed to be in his crib etc but couldn't be seen)