Paul Raven

Jil Clayburgh,who played Grace Bolton in 1969 has died aged 66.She was the mother of Len's child Chris,whom Len and Patti adopted.

Reading a SOD interview with Einar Perry Scott who was playing Nels,James assistant on ATWT at the time(1982) and he staes that he played Alan Sterling on Love of Life. Checking various sources and none of them have him listed in that role. The actors listed as playing Alan are Dan Ferrone,jim Bayer, Dennis Cooney and John Fink. So,did he also play the role for a short time(weeks/months) and it has never been noted or did he use the name Jim Bayer for that role. i ask that because on IMDB Jim Bayer has LOL as his sole credit.while al the others have multiple credits. Anyone know more?

Anthony Cannon/Tom are a bit of a mystery to me as he is not featured much in synopses I have. I think he was a Nick type character and interacted with Althea. Maybe someone can clarify this. My feeling is he was brought on with much expectation but maybe didn't click with Althea and new writers dropped his character.

I believe McConnell made quite an impression on GH as Augusta,written by the Dobsons.i don't know whether she chose to leave or it was decided the character had run its course. Yes ATWT had Kim,Lisa,Sandy,Susan,Val,Joyce etc I guess having so many 'aging' characters,many who had been around for years contributed to its stodgy rep. The only younger character throughout the 70's were carol and Natalie,until Dee and Annie were Sorased in 76.

Sheila was the maid and possible love interest for Tom,but when the Dobsons arrived,I think some past with Steve was created but then she was dropped. Doug was involved with Annie and his estranged wife Marcia had a past with Dr Jeff Ward,who also had designs on Annie.So a Doug/Annie/Jeff/Marcia story played out thru 79.

This was during the Hunt /Ellis regime.Val,Alex and Rachel left shortly after and i think Marlands stint soon kicked in.

Seems the Val/Morgan 'romance' was convenient for both of them. I remember watching John in the 70's and always found him a little creepy. In the 25th article,the Maria Pettit character is new to me. i have never seen mention of that actress or character, was that because it was in fact quite minor,despite her appearing in the photos.Or were there plans for that character that didn't pan out? There was a lot of hospital drama during that time.There was already Dr Rogers and Gary Walton as doctors,so how did Dr Pettit fit in ?

What was the deal with Susan Oliver as Laura? Flannery left big shoes to fill and obviously Oliver didn't work out. does anyone know more as to why her stint was short lived and unsuccessful? Once Bill/ Laura and Mickey/Maggie were married off there was never any strong story for them. One question I have covcerns Maggie's paralysis. At what age was she paralyzed? I ask this,cos I wondered if they could have brought in a child for her that perhaps was given away due to her condition. That would have opened up a can of worms,especially if Maggie was reunited with the child and the father...

AW didn't really follow up on Rachel as an artist-another example of the show's inconsistencies. I agree Philece would have made a better Nicole.. Just for fun,who do posters think cxould have been cast as Donna in 87? Maybe Sofia Landon?

Wow, Erwin Nicholson would have some stories to tell. I have mentioned before that he was never moved from Edge, even when the ratings fell and then when Slesar was dropped. Looking at the article reminded me that in the 1958 credits shown on YouTube, there was producer named William Marceau-the same name given to Mandel Kramer's character. Edge did the same with the Phil Capice character,naming him after an exec working on the show.

Again thanks for this and the many other articles you are posting. anything from the 70's is always fascinating to read. I had read before about the 90 min ep. i wonder how it rated? If it had done well I'm sure all the shows would have gotten on board. It actually might not have been a bad thing to run 60 min or 90 min special eps every so often to coincide with special storylines. Similar to when primetime would do 2hr eps for sweeps. There was talk od Days doing a 90 min special when they did the concert with Gloria Loring and Marlena shooting Stefano. Poor Gerald Gordon-he had high hopes and never landed a good primetime or movie gig. He went back to daytime on low rated GH and made little impression. It was surprising when he was brought back in the early 80's.

Gregg Marx was the last David and he worked without a contract after his expired.I remember this being reported in SOD and him saying that he hoped to stay but had to wait and see. it does seem crazy to cast off David but I think there were a few factors in play. The show seemed to want to divorce itself from its roots and the characters that were popular in the 70's.Also because David had been heavilty SORASED he had been through a lot of story (2 marriages etc) and maybe it was felt the character could be rested. I'm sure quite often when characters are dropped, there are vague plans to bring them back,but as time goes by,they are forgotten. The show was going in a new direction and losing David also meant a connection to Julie was lost, thus lessening her importance and making the dropping of Julie less important. I think Patty Weaver's contract was up and she was approached by (or approached )Y&R and quickly moved on to the role of Gina.I think Bill Bell was very flexible in his forward planning and if say, Wes Kenney said Patty was available and interested he would quickly come up with something.

Marla returned to Y&R for Katherine's 'funeral' a little while back and still looked good (older of course). And she made more impact with a few lines than the likes of Stafford can manage in a whole scene. Dina should be back on Y&R causing trouble!

Ben was such a wasted character on AW. He was never brought back for unknown reasons.

Kyle Secor was on SB as Brian Bedford. i think this recast was during the time that Forsyth departed. and a recast was considered.A few months later he resumed the role.

This from a 1987 SOD interview with Paul Decker director of daytime casting for NBC Jane Sibbett (Jane SB) tested for Adair (SFT),Kelly and Laken (SB) Jennifer Ashe (Meg ATWT) tested for Kelly and Laken (SB) Megan (DOOL) Mary Beth Evans (Kayla DOOL) tested for Laken (SB) Lynn Clark (Lily SB) tested for Jane (SB) Philece Sampler tested for Gina (SB) Nicholas Coster was originally slated to play CC on SB,but he was unavailable for the debut as he was still on contract to OLTL so he became Lionel Judith McConnell (Sophia SB) tested for Augusta (SB) Thom Bierdz (Phillip Y&R) tested for Ted (SB) and Ben (AW) Ross Kettle (Jeffrey SB) tested for Jerry (SB) and Justin (DOOL) before landing the role of Jeffrey. That role was originally Cody and was written as a big strapping western type who would contrast to Mason.It was redeveloped into Jeffrey to suit Kettle. Rick Edwards (Jake SB) tested for Cody (SB) These actors tested for Ben McKinnon (AW) Jon Hensley Todd McKee Terrell Anthony Kyle Secor For Catlin (AW) Ethan Wayne Jack Wagner Thomas Ian Griffith (Catlin AW) tested for Cagney (SFT) as did Peter Boynton (Tonio ATWT) These actors tested to replace David Forsyth as Hogan on SFT Lane Davies Gregg Marx John Sanderford David Haskell Jeffrey Meek

From SOD July 7th 1992 40 Years of GL weddings 1952 Bob lang/kathy Roberts Dick Grant/Kathy Roberts 1954 Joey Roberts/Lois 1956 Jim Kelly/Lila taylor 1957 Mark Holden/Kathy Roberts Dick Grant/ Marie Wallace 1959 Paul Fletcher/Anne Benedict Mark Holden/Ruth Jannings 1960 Bruce Banning/Meta Bauer Mike Bauer/Robin Holden 1961 Alex Bowden/Robin Holden 1963 Mike Bauer/Julie Conrad 1964 Paul Fletcher/Robin Holden 1965 George Hayes/Jane Fletcher 1967 Ed Bauer/Leslie Jackson 1968 Marty Dillman/Peggy Scott Johnny Fletcher/Charlotte Waring 1969 Johnny Fletcher/Peggy Scott Lee Gantry/Sara McIntyre 1970 Mike Bauer/Charlotte Waring Joe Werner/Sara Mcintyre 1971 Stanley Norris/Leslie Bauer 1972 Ken Norris/Janet Mason 1973 Ed Bauer/Holly Norris Mike Bauer/Leslie Jackson 1976 Roger Thorpe/Peggy Fletcher 1978 Ben McFarren/Eve Stapleton Dean Blackford/Sara McIntyre Gordon Middleton/Amanda Wexler Ed Bauer/Rita stapleton 1979 Roger Thorpe/Holly Norris Alan Spaulding/Jackie Marler Justin Marler/Elizabeth Spaulding 1980 Ben McFarren/Amanda Wexler Alan Spaulding/Hope Bauer 1981 Adam Thorpe/Sara McIntyre Kelly Nelson/Morgan richards Justin Marler/Jackie Marler 1982 Ross Marler/Carrie Todd Mark Evans/Jennifer Richards 1983 Ed Bauer/Maureen Reardon Quint Chamberlain/Nola Reardon 1984 Billy Lewis/vanessa Chamberlain Phillip Spaulding/Mindy Lewis Warren Andrews/Leslie Ann Monroe Tony Reardon/Annabelle Sims HB Lewis/Reva Shayne Phillip Spaulding/India Von Halkein 1985 Kurt Corday/Mindy Lewis Kyle Sampson/Maeve Stoddard 1987 Josh Lewis/Sonni Carrera 1988 Alan Spaulding/Reva Shayne Fletcher Reade/Maeve Stoddard Rick Bauer/Meredith Reade Will Jeffries/Mindy Lewis 1989 Alan Michael Spaulding/Harley Cooper Hawk Shayne/Sarah Shayne Rusty Shayne/Rose McLaren Josh Lewis/Reva Shayne Phillip Spaulding/Blake Lindsey Alan Michael Spaulding/Blake Lindsey 1990 Roger Thorpe/Alexandra Spaulding Rick Bauer/Beth Raines 1991 Billy Lewis/Nadine Cooper Phillip Spaulding/Beth Raines Giancarlo Marino/Francesca Vizzini 1992 Alan Michael Spaulding/Eleni Andros Hampton Speakes/Gilly Grant

I just discovered that Chris Connelly released an album 'The Boy From Peyton Place' in 1965. More details and some groovy PP photos at this site http://dougsploitation.blogspot.com/2010/03/return-to-peyton-place-part-2.html

Ena Sharples must be Top 5! Ena Sharples must be Top 5!

As of Oct 17th Hollyoaks will be screening for the first time on free to air in Australia. the episodes will begin from Sept 09. The schedule is as follows 10:00 Coronation Street 10:30 Emmerdale 11:00 Hollyoaks New to 7Two 12:00 All My Children New Time 1pm is Martha Stewart.

This is fantastic stuff!! Thank you Carl. I have to get my hands on this book. This behind the scenes stuff is gold! So there were plans to bring back Meg in 63,which for whatever reasons didn't happen till 10 years later. I'll have to read up to see if this Alan/beatnik girl thing came to pass. With everybody contributing stuff, this is becoming the definitive place for Soap history.

In the 1940's,whilst playing Dr Brent on radio, Don MacLaughlin was also doing the leads in a Western- 'Tennessee Jed','David Harting,Counterspy', and a show beamed to the armed forces- 'Chaplin Jim'. No wonder many radio performers disliked the advent of TV where they had to work harder and were limited to one role.

From The Boston Globe Dec 81 Dissatisfaction on the part of wealthy contributors may have been a major factor in changing the direction of the show. The giant CBN organization in Virginia Beach, Va., depends heavily on contributions amounting to $58-60 million a year. Said [Roy Winsor]: "I understand that the heavy hitters, especiallyfrom the South and Bible Belt, were not happy because the show did not preach born- again salvation. Television Christians like Pat Robertson depend on contributions. [bob Aaron] and I were not interested in a daytime serial for those who have received a born-again message. We simply tried to produce a secular serial about a Christian family." Last September, Aaron, Winsor and two writers were fired at the instigation of Dr. Pat Robertson, the CBN chairman. Bob Slosser, executive vice-president and CBN board member was brought in, along with David Hummel, another CBN insider, who became the show's executive producer.

So the view of Henderson was just some stock footage? Was it a montage of scenes or a picture of Jo's house? Re Melba Rae (Marge Bergman) A quote dealing with her death. It seems rather than make a big deal of it, they chose to hardly deal with it onscreen. I find it surprising they took this approach. "We are going to let the audience assume that her husband is a widower and we will make occasional references to the fact that Marge has passed away",said a spokesman. Apparently she died on a Wednesday,and appeared on taped episodes that aired Thursday and Friday. On Monday,a eulogy was aired at the end of the following Monday episode. This would have been quite a shock to viewers in those days. Also, I was reading some synopses from 81 and Dr Bob Rogers is mentioned,so Carl Low did keep appearing after 79.

That is Jean Arley. She went on to produce OLTL. I wonder what her ethnic background is. I will try and dig out the SOD article where she talks about the changes at OLTL.