Paul Raven

Secrets debuted in the Dallas timeslot (fri @ 10,so it got an enormous sampling) I recall it got a 41 share and won its timeslot easily. Dallas at that time was scoring shares in the high 50's. The following night it moved into its regular slot of Sat @10 and it fell to something like a 21/22 share and kept falling after that.At that time Love Boat and Fantasy Island dominated Sat night and CBS had been an also ran for years. SOMH was developed as an 8.00 pm show and when Dallas exploded,CBS wanted another 10.00 pm soap so the whole concept was a little off. SOD had an article when the show debuted and if I find it I will post some more info.

The woman is Loyita Chapel who played Judy Wilson,who connived with Derek at Chancellor Industries. She is married to Bob Woods (Bo OLTL) and played Blaize in the 1888 storyline on that show.

Other interesting early characters included Dorothy Blackburn as Nurse Brown, Ruth McDevitt (who seemed to turn up in every 60's sitcom as a sweet little old lady) as Mrs McMurtie and Althea's mother Edna Hamilton played by Joanna Roos (who played Van and Meg's mom on LOL) ,Florence Williams and Margaret Baker. There was a character named Jessie Bartok, played by Jocelyn Somers,who may have been Kate's mother, Edward Kemmer as Stowe Phillips and Louise Lasser as Jackie. I have never seen any reference to these characters in synopses.

Yes,it is odd that L&F was pulled so quickly as most new soaps work out their kinks on air,for better or worse- by recasting, changing story and character emphasis. Starting all over again and making odd changes eg character names, hardly seems a recipe for success.

The WLS soaps article on line today in memory of Haila Stoddard 'Daytime Delilahs' mentions Joan Anderson on The Doctors, but, oddly doesn't mention the character's name. She played Nora, Maggie's sister. The only mention I have seen of this character is that she was at one stage involved with,or trying to steal Matt.It seems she married a character named Steve Lloyd, played by soap vet Craig Huebing. Joanna Petter is listed as playing Judy Stratton Lloyd,so i assume there was some connection to the Steve Lloyd Does anyone have any extra info on mid 60's TD?.History books only ever mention Matt and Maggie and then skip to Steve,Carolee and Althea.

Yes,I can see where you're coming from.re Trish. I wonder if Janice was approached or considered?

Trish returned years later? A few episodes for the Newman wedding.Did Chris/Trish get to do anything in the few scenes as the Brooks sisters re-united?

Angela was played by Liz Keifer,who was one of the big soap hoppers of the 80's,going on to roles on Days,OLTL,and GH before settling in as Blake on GL. Suzanne Zenor was Claire. Prior to that she was Margo on Days and was married to Ed Mallory (Bill) The story was bad because none of the actors were particularly interesting and all new apart from Leslie and away from Lorie,Lance and Lucas,.Les wasn't that interesting herself.I think she became less of a lead as the story went on because of the focus on Claire and Angela. Had it continued and robert and Leslie married,perhaps things would have changed. Compare it to the other stories highlighted.The Abbotts were also new but everything about them was way more compelling.

The build up to Cole and Victoria was great, but once they were married,they never had much to do until the whole Ryan/Nina thing kicked in. Cole's past should have been brought into play. Here's a summary of story from Jan 4th 83 SOD,late 82 onscreen-just before Leslie was written out-the last remnant of the Brooks storyline that carried the show for so many years. Jack/Patty et al Ashley learns that Mary is in hospital and says Jack should be there,but he feels he'd only be an added burden.Ashley is impressed by his depth of feeling and encourages her brother. The results of Mary's biopsy are not yet determined. Paul, in disguise, sneaks into the hospital chapel to pray for his mom.Later, Mary is given the all clear and Frank passes the news on to a relieved Paul. John tells an incredulous Ashley he's worried about how much dedication and long hoursJack is putting into the business. Ash spies Diane's portfolio and wonders what Jack is trying to pull. John explains that Diane was his choice .Ashley tells her dad to watch out for Diane.She then confronts Diane and says she'll spill the beans about Jack and Diane if she suspects anything is still going on between the two. Carl is stunned to hear from Mary that Patty wants to have a child. He tries to talk some sense into his daughter. Patty catches Jack off guard with her wish to have a child.He says maybe in a couple of years which devastates Patty. Jack threatens to have a vasectomy when Patty says she wants a child now. Nikki/Victor/Kevin Nikki is relieved when Kay warmly welcomes her but refuses to see either Victor or Kevin. Allison presses Nikki to move ahead with a divorce.Nikki starts experiencing abdominal pains and Kay and Allison provide support. At the hospital, Kevin, Victor, Douglas, Allison and Kay wait for news and are told Nikki has had a daughter. Kay says Nikki can stay with her. Kay tells Victor his feelings for Nikki and her daughter are obvious and the best thing for him to do is stay away. Allison overhears Kevin and Nikki discussing names and suggests Earl's mother's name - Victoria. Nikki is convinced Victor is the father but he urges her to drop the idea. Nikki is adamant and says she will have tests done to establish paternity. Victor implores Kay to talk to Nikki, but to no avail, as Nikki insists she'll go crazy if she doesn't find out the truth. Traci/Danny Traci is relieved to discover Gina is Danny's sister and not a girlfriend.She reverses her decision to handle his fan mail. Gina advises Danny to get closer to Traci as her family's financial backing could boost his career. Danny is shocked by his sister's suggestion and says he would never put his career above friendship. Danny invites Traci out to dinner as a thank you for all her help. Traci is ecstatic but plays it cool. Gina takes the opportunity to order flowers for Traci and have a bottle of champagne delivered to their table. Traci declares it the best night of her life! Robert/ Leslie/Angela Robert is concerned about Angela's reaction to his and Claire's divorce and seeks Leslie's support, which she offers unconditionally. Claire notices Angela is upset but she covers,saying she is recovering from a cold. Robert tries to explain his situation but Angela is unwilling to listen to his 'lies' and storms out. Angela ends up at The Golden Touch and George,the john who beat up Pam, tells Tony that Pete said he could have any girl he wants. George spies Angela, so Tony slips powder into her cola. Claire tells Robert she's concerned about Angela, but Robert says it's just her growing up. Claire is unaware that she and Robert are divorced. When Angela doesn't return, a worried Claire asks Robert to call her and he has to admit he doesn't know where she is. George, pretending to be a doctor, approaches Angela. Andy tries to convince Angela to go home ,but George insists on taking her upstairs to 'recover'. A frantic Andy alerts Paul,who starts a fight as a diversion so Andy can slip out, George attempts to rape Angela but Andy arrives and knocks George out. Andy brings Angela home.The next day, Robert tries calmly explaining things to Angela but nothing is resolved. Meanwhile Claire accidentally reads Robert's mail and discovers they're divorced. Paul Paul feels he's getting nowhere in his quest to clear his father's name.Tony informs him that Pete wants a meeting.He tells Paul that he feels Pam is trouble and wants her eliminated-today.Paul tries to buy time by stating his suspicions that Pam is working with someone else. He'll romance Pam to find out more info. When Paul departs,Pete tells Tony he wants Paul and Pam watched as one of them is lying and when he discovers who it is -they'll be killed.

According to Don Hastings WLS interview Irna did bring up the ratings when she returned in early 72. But then things worsened.Perhaps in response to the downturn,Irna instigated all those sudden story changes. It would have made more sense ,surely, to send Paul out of town rather than kill him off. Paul going to his grandmother-would that have been Betty's Stewarts mother?

John Conboy "the Ross Hunter of Daytime Television"- so true! Going back to David Birney, I always assumed he was offered better money by ABC to move to A World Apart, perhaps with the added promise of primetime roles. That is the only reason I could see him moving to a lower rated show. It seems odd that he would be asked to take a pay cut. Maybe someone else knows the true circumstances. Keep the classic stuff coming Carl!

Great article and insight into long ago soap times-although the writer might need a new creative team as well.Did people really write like that in the 70's? The underlying truths in this article still apply today-dynamic producing and writing teams who understand soaps.

I do recall at times that sometimes continuity went out the window as say,a couple went out for dinner supposedly on the same day as earlier episodes where time had moved on in another story from what was seen in the same earlier show. One day could last over a week at times.

B movie actor John Phillip Law (best known for Barbarella with Jane Fonda) was the first Jim. He didn't last long. He had zilch screen presence. As for the sickly sweet Jessica, the less said the better. Throw in John Abbott and Cricket to the mix for a total snoozeville experience.

Never heard of Melanie Pritchard in any synopsis or cast list,so she musn't have been too important-but important enough to be mentioned in this article. Another mystery to be solved...BTW the Nathan Walsh chaarcter was on thru the 50's and played by several actors.

SOD June 19th 1994 reported that 'negotiations are ongoing for Kerry Armstrong to play the new Tina Clayton On OLTL' Armstrong had a brief stint on EON as Tess and went on to play Princess of Moldavia on Dynasty before returning to her native Australia.

Natalie, Tom's 2nd wife came back but her past with Tom wasn't played out. She was trying to see her daughter Amy that Carol and Jay had adopted, That was in 81. Marland used Tom's past in Vietnam to create Lien,but that character was also forgotten. I can't see Justin Deas and Rita McLaughlin as Tom and Carol.Tom had been remade as a different character. Maybe Carol would have had to have been recast also.Anyway,Tom and Carol had well and truly put the past behind them in the 70's when their marriage failed.

Alice Barrett Frankie AW - tested for Siobhan RH and Allison TX Kimberly Simms Mindy GL - tested for Kelly SB Jeff Trachta Thorne B&B - tested for Jack Y&R and Frisco GH Paige Turco Melanie AMC - tested for Rocky LOV Mary Ellen Stuart Frannie ATWT - tested for Chelsea and Meredith GL Noelle Beck Trisha LOV - tested for Ryan RH Yasmine Bleeth Ryan RH - tested for Trisha LOV

Glenn Corbett was the only actor to play Jason. He has 2 stints on the show. I don't know if the actor wanted to leave but a recast should have happened. Iagree with Michael that Mona /Jason/Nola had a lot more story to tell. I like his idea of Mona and Nola fighting over a man. Perhaps Mona's ex Winston Croft could have returned and Nola make a play for him just to annoy Mona (and because he was rich). Then Nola might actually develop feelings for the old guy because he treats her so well. Maybe she marries him on the spur of the moment, devastating Mona. Mona retaliates by hiring a young guy to seduce Nola. Perhaps Barney and Mona could become an (odd)couple. Mona could try and change him -buying him fancy stuff and Barney could take her bowling etc. Jason reconnects with an old girlfriend now a doctor. She has a teen daughter. Years ago,Mona paid off her family to leave town and abort her child by Jason,but she didn't go through with it.Now father /daughter/mother have to sort it all out, All this stuff could going on that would change the dynamics b/w Mona/Jason/Nola.

She was on GL from 80-83, the length of her contract. As for TD, I think Ann was written out for a while then brought back,but her stints didn't total 7 years.

Obit for Geraldine Court. The Ruth Warrick connection is interesting. http://www.strausnews.com/articles/2010/11/24/new_york/milestones/passings/3.txt

I think he was offered less money and fewer appearances (no storyline) and he probably thought after 35 years why bother? Can't say I blame him. AMC really challenged ATWT while Days around that time was also falling off in the numbers. AMC went in direct competition in April 77 and obviously grabbed viewers.

I agree that killing off Mona was a mistake,but the decision was made. Looking back, I remembered that Maggie had a sister back in the 60's.I hate when characters are forgotten.Even if she wasn't brought back,she could be mentioned eg Maggie going to visit her etc Same with Carolee's mother and MJ's siblings.

ATWT fall from #1 was an interesting time as the formula that worked for over 20 years seemed to fall in a heap. Even back then Larry B was 'hostile' about the show. He obviously enjoyed the money and the atmosphere because he was always less than impressed with the writing.I think he was a true actor in that he relished the challenge of trying to make John a believable character. In a later interview, he recounted how ABC tried to lure him to their soaps by offering him primetime roles and he was astonished that they mentioned Love Boat and Fantasy Island as inducements.He said he wasn;t concerned at what John would as long as he could see some motivation for his actions. Wasn't Clarice Blackburn also a soap writer?

i guess they were referring to James and Marilyn Langley,Mona's secret son. I think I read somewhere that the Langley's would have children. It was a good idea to connect them to Steve and Carolee as immediately veteran characters are given something to do. Jason had been killled off along with Mona and Billy, but with the addition of the Langleys and the SORAS of Erich and Stephie the Aldriches were viable again.i would have loved to see where the writers took all these characters. I have asked before about James. How was his existence revealed? How long had Mona known about him and vice versa? What was known about his character?