Paul Raven

July 1963 Irving Vendig is one of the most successful men in TV, but he lives in Sarasota, Florida, and rarely bothers to come to New York. Vendig and his associate, James Gentile. write the popular, long-running CBS soap opera "Edge of Night. Mr Vendig has been turning out well polished daytime misery for the past 25 years, and he is considered the best in his field. Playwright Marc Connelly calls "Edge of Night" one of the best written shows on TV. and fan mail has come in from the likes of Tallulah Bankhead and Shirley Booth. Many a top exec, bedded down with some minor ailment, has become so enthralled with the ti-nibles of "Edge of Night" that he has procrastinated and lengthened his illness hoping to see the end of a plot. But Mr. Vendig's show is one that never ends. I asked Irving whether he responds to audience criticism of the show. "I get quite a bit of mail," he replied, "and Jim and I go through all of it. We do not change the situation to please the fans, but years of experience have taught me how to interpret the letters. If we get a batch of threatening mail telling us that if we don't do some-thing the listeners are going to turn us off and never watch again . . . then we know we re right on the ball. In fact, such letters are a tipoff for us to slow the pace of the series. Conversely, complimentary letters mean we have to speed it up." Vendig. who used to write "Judy Jane," and "Perry Mason" on radio, always used an apprentice to assist him in the grind Thirteen years ago. he was shopping around for an assistant , when James Gentile was suggested to him by a mutual friend, a University of Florida professor. Jim was working in a Florida radio station and Irving refused to see him, but requested a copy of anything he had written. Gentile sent him an article on aitificial insemination and Vendig saw something in the style and quality, and offered the young man an apprenticeship at $50 a week. "During the first year I had him writing dialogue, but I don't think I used a sentence a week," continued Vendig. "Then, as he progressed, I gave him more and more responsibility--and money--and now he is a full partner. At the time. I was doing 'Search for Tomorrow.' a 15-minute show, and that's where Jim really started " Vendig and Gentile are now interchangeable writers. The training was so complete that they do not have to collaborate on individual scripts. ' We each write three-day sequences." explained Vendig "Then we edit each other. We work anywhere from 45 to 60 hours a week, so please don't picture us loafing on our lawns in Florida." They do not come to New York for conferences. Their sponsors go to them. The series is generally plotted as much as four years in advance, but there's always room for changes This time, they came to New York because they were requesting more money from the sponsor. They were very impressed by a young actress who portrayed a minor running role for about 15 shows "We liked her so much we want to write her in. Now this entails a budget increase because we will need more sets and production money to tell her story, so we thought we'd have a better chance appealing for it in person. Naturally, this means writing ahead, but all our vacations and side trips require that New York always has three to four weeks of completed scripts." continued the 59-year-old native of Holly Springs, Mississippi Vendig is a bug on plot structure and that accounts for his reputation as the best in the field He runs one main plot and one sub plot and develops them in such a way that when a main crisis is resolved the minor one is in a position to bloom "Characterization is also vital," he said, "because our audiences must believe that these people exist. We do not want stereotypes, but living, breathing people with real problems." Irving's daughter, a former actress who appeared on one of his shows, is married to a doctor and Irving quite frankly admits that her childhood problems often cropped up in the show Gentile has a wife and three youngsters who are also used as models In addition to "Edge of Night." Vendig is currently working on a play He is writing it alone, but he said that when it's finished partner Jim will come in for the rewrites. I noted that Irving winced when I advertently used the cliche ' soap opera," and he obviously prefers the more acceptable term "daytime drama." ' Performers on my show are more famous than the biggest night-time stars " he concluded "Wherever they go they are greeted not by stage name but by character name One of my actresses summed it up beautifully when she said that she's a celebrity in every restaurant but Sardi's."

Goutman seemed to have very strong beliefs on what was needed for the show to survive. And fair enough that he had a vision...but it seemed to be based on attitudes that prevailed even though ratings continued to fall. Emphasis on younger, newer characters not neccessarily connected to core, neglect of characters who could and should be part of the canvas,focus on fast moving stories that don't deal with character motivations and reactions and often have little long lasting impact, quickie romances, marriages and divorces and lots of character comings and goings. I recall an interview with Goutman who flicked through all the channels available and said for a viewer to stop and stay on ATWT there had to be an attention grabbing event within the first few minutes so they might stay tuned.

I guess that was more a reflection of other actors' demands. Some fought for billing status in contract negotiations and others were not so interested. Wasn't Susan Lucci always part of the standard credit crawl? I would have expected to see and Susan Lucci as Erica..

Helen was off for a short time in her first year,but I believe Nancy was used heavily throughout the 60's and 70's. Rosemary Prinz would have been featured heavily in her 13 years on the show. Penny had 3 marriages in that time and plenty of angst.

The first Diana (Valerie Starrett was 10 years older than Brooke Bundy) and a better match to Peter.

Re Bright Promise Actor Joseph Disante lists BP on his resume.

More requests Lane Davies Nick Benedict Joe Lambie Hunt Block Patrick Tovatt Stella Stevens Woody Brown Andrew Massett Kevin Dobson Gil Rogers Martha Scott

Or Maggie's sister Nora returns...

Re the Carolee situation. How much advance warning would they have had that CC planned to leave? Her taking off seemed out of character. Should Carolee have been killed off? Carolee Campbell was adamant about not returning so why not move on? That would have opened up story for Steve as a grieving, vulnerable widower . Ann could have manipulated him into marriage. Then later he meets another woman and has to disentangle himself from Ann.

Days in 1980 definitely needed fresh blood as the cast was top heavy with actors/characters that had been on for years. But to dump so many in such a short time and then front burner the newbies was a textbook example of how not to revamp.

Just watched the 'Althea falls through the window' stunt and must say it was very clumsily staged. I know we are talking about something from years ago that was constrained by time and budget, but it was a fail for me. Firstly Althea was at most a couple of feet of the ground. Then Eleanor clumsily spills coffee on her hand (Lois Smith just randomly jerks her arm) and falls back into Althea,causing her to lose her balance and smash through a large window. It was not a clear sheet of glass but rather wooden framed panes,making up the window. No way would a knock into that cause the whole thing to shatter. It would have been more believable for Althea to lose her balance,fall forward and knock her head into a table corner. Rant over...am I being too harsh? What did others think?

You asked... Millee Taggart Roberta Leighton Pat Crowley Jean LeClerc James Karen Margo McKenna Sheperd Strudwick Charles Cioffi Delphi Harrington Maurenn Anderman Mark Arnold Stephanie Braxton

Synopses mention Ed dating Elizabeth Archer and Rita Parks in 1980. Jack died in a plane crash in Asa's private jet in mid 1980.

Love these! One correction - Patsy Pease was on SFT 79-82

Nancy is welcomed home from the hospital As the World Turns-1965

When Robert arrived in Bay City in July 72, he stated his wife and child had been killed in a car smash the previous week .According to the AWHP he left Somerset in March 72.

Here is a list of various Tom Hughes over the years, their birthdate and their age when they first played Tom, Tom was born in 1961 Frankie Michaels 1955 age 10 in 1965 Richard Thomas 1951 age 15 in 1966 Paul O'Keefe 1951 aged age 16 in 1967 Peter Link 1944 age 25 in 1969 Peter Galman 1945 age 24 in 1969 C David Colson 1941 age 28 in 1974 Tom Tammi 1945 age 24 in 1979 Justin Deas 1948 age 32 in 1980 Jason Kincaid 1952 age 32 in 1984 Gregg Marx 1955 age 29 in 1984 Scott Holmes 1952 age 35 in 1987 So Tom had a big jump in age in 1969 but then slowed down throughout the 70s.

July 1972

Big big hair showdown b/w Monica and Dawn ...

My next requests Thaao Penghlis Lezlie Dalton Terry Davis Dorothy Stinette Philece Sampler Patsy Pease Lauren Koslow Tom Wiggin Meg Myles Alice Hirson Peter Haskell Chris Holder

When I went to post this article, discovered the show did not have it's own thread. So all things Ben Jerrod now have a home. Tide Turns in Soaper Outlook By Cecil Smith Los Angeles Times April 1, 1963 Three new soap operas take the air today (no, no, this is NOT an April Fool joke on the nation!), and I was wondering if there were any major changes in the old soaper. So I dropped by NBC in Burbank where one of the new serials, BEN JERROD, was in rehearsal. It was a nostalgic visit because this was the studio where the noblest experiment in daytime television history once held forth, the distinguished MATINEE THEATER. Actually JERROD and companion soaper out of New York, THE DOCTORS, are replacing another NBC daytime experiment, THE MERV GRIFFIN SHOW, and attempte to bring "Tonight" out in the daylight. It was a pretty noble try, too - an intelligent, articulate, stimulating hour that the housewives conscientously avoided. Joe Hardy, who produces JERROD for the Ben Winsor organization, a prolific maker of daytime serials (LOVE OF THE LIFE. SECRET STORM) said he thought Griffin's hour was a splendid daytime show. I asked why it failed. Joe shrugged. "I think the daytime viewer needs a hook," he said. "She won't stop her work to watch just a show - no matter how good - but she will pause if she's involved in a story to see what happens, how the plot unfolds. Griffin had no hook." Continue reading... Hardy says there have been enormous changes in soap opera - particularly in the writing. "Check the scripts of LOVE OF LIFE in 1951. There's a world of differnce in the ones we do today. We don't write down to the audience - I don't think you can anymore. And we deal with serious adult and controversial themes. "For instance, when all that fuss was raised last year when THE DEFENDERS did its abortion story ("The Benefactor"), we were doing an abortion story on LOVE OF LIFE. We didn't have a complaint." First Color Soap Opera BEN JERROD is the first soap opera to be done in color. Another - and more shocking - innovation is that it has no organ music. It's musical bridges are handled (and quite effectively) by a guitar and percussion instruments. But a soap without that ever-lamenting organ! Times have changed. The setting of BEN JERROD is a small New England town, to which Ben, a successful corporation lawyer, has returned because he wants to be closely involved with people, rather than faceless corporate bodies. He immediately gets involved in a murder - these soaps don't fool arond, boy! Playing Ben is a handsome lad from the New York stage, Michael Ryan; Jeanne Baird is his girl Agnes, and the inevitable father figure, elderly Judge Abbott, is played by the splendid character actor Addison Richards. Although Hardy says name actors, or stars, are not important in serials - the audience identifies with the character, not the actor - at least one well-known performer seems to turn up in every soaper. Fred Scollay, for example, is in THE DOCTORS, and John Beradino, the onetime ballplayer, is the central figure on ABC's new serial, GENERAL HOSPITAL. Serial Appeal is Universal The soap opera concept seems universal. In England, CORONATION STREET, a twice-a-week serial, is the top show on television - it is said that Queen Elizabeth is an avid fan. The Spanish station here, KMEX, does a daily serial produced in Mexico City. The difference is the Mexican stories end after eight or 10 weeks and a new story with a new cast begins. "Actually, we do the same," said Hardy, "except that our central characters don't change. This murder story on JERROD will last about 10 weeks, then we'll pick up another story, a land fraud case. Then another, each one of a different kind of case." The crews taping BEN JERROD are already deeply involved in the plot. They keep asking Hardy who the murderer is. But he won't tell.

Great to see the thread up and running again! Petronia's character on OLTL,Harriet - what was her story?

This was Pat Falken Smith's writing (with much' 'input' from Gloria I'm sure). Was this one of the first stories where a villianous character got away with a crime ? Alan was planning murder, but he certainly was not charged. Was he made to suffer in any way? John Kelly Genovese critiqued this storyline in Afternoon TV and wasn't happy in that the viewer wasn't sure who they should be rooting for... Maybe that was deliberate, in that each character had their point of view or was it just muddled? Anyway, it seemed the harbinger of things to come in the 80's and beyond, where characters routinely were not punished for their crimes.

It was like the entire cast was standing in a line to distract Alan. Probably one or two would have been enough...