Paul Raven

Mark Harmon wasn't exactly a cheerleader for the show. Tlmes-News, Twin Falls, Idaho Friday, August 7,198 Flamingo Road suffered typical first-season jitters By Jerry Krupnick Newhouse News Service NEW YORK "- Getting over that first year hump is the toughest part. -• For Mark Harmon and the rest of the Flamingo Road cast, the initial season of NBC's entry in television's night time soap opera sweepstakes was filled with anxiety and doubt. 'We worked very hard last year." Harmon said recently "trying to find consistency within our-characters of which there was very little. Whatever we were able to bring was from within ourselves, not through something that was written. It was hectic, but I think that will all change." The problems "Flamingo Road" ; faced are those most new dramatic series face. The actors must get to know each other, the writers must flesh out their parts, the audiences must develop a viewing habit that will brlng them back for more. Complicating the picture was the the actors strike last year, which kept the show off the air until almost the middle ofof the season. So Flamingo Rood had to accomplish these goals in a much shorter time frame. Insiders at NBC said the decision to renew the series was a close one, made at the last minute. According to one report, the final choice was between bringing back "Lobo" or giving Flamingo Road" a second season. What will "Flamingo Road" be like this coming season? "I honestly don't know," Harmon said, and I'm even more curious about It than you are. It's my career right now, after all. There has been a shakeup with the show, however. The staff, the writers, everybody but one of the producers was let go at the end of last season. We're going back at the end of August, now that the writers have settled, and we shall seer: "They did try to get a 'bible' together in a general outline of the storylines for the season , but I know that It will change, now that Grant Tinker has taken over NBC." How will Grant Tinker change "Flamingo Road? "I think he is interested in upgrading the network's quality as much as he can, and In those terms I think there's a possibility at least that "Flamingo Road' will be looked at very carefully. *But I have no Idea in what direction it will be going. haven't heard anything. I'm hopeful however that it will be handled better. Was it handled that badly last year? No, no," Harmon said, "It's Just that I would love to think you can do wonderful programming and that people would be conditioned to watching it. I genuinely am a fan of the bottom five or six shows on the weekly Nielsen list and hope that rub off on 'Flamingo Road' a little bit. I have never tried to make our show anything than what I believe it Is - a fun and enjoyable fantasy - but If people can find a very thin vein of reality within the characters we portray, terrific. Harmon, 6 feet, bIue-eyed, the all-American type continually made it clear that he is a far cry from Fielding Carlyle, the character he portrays in Flamingo Road. "Fielding is confused and weak torn between what he wants to do and what life expects of him. As a result, he makes a loveless marriage with the town vixen because it will advance his political career. And he constantly goes back to Lane Ballou an ex carnival dancer who has captured his heart. "He's a rat." Harmon concluded "and when the camera's not rolling. I'm sure not Fielding Carlyle. I have my own style. I try to give him his. But I'm not trying to make him something he's not. There have been things I've tried to do all year with my character, and hopefully I've pulled some of them off. I worked very hard keeping Fielding unpredictable. At the same time. I tried to make him believable to the extent that people can find a quality there they either love or hate - anything as long as they don't fail asleep". Hopefully, that's what 'Flamingo Road' is about. People can turn on their sets for an hour and fantasize along with these characters, beautiful .women and all that kind of stuff - anti they just go along with it. Turn it off after the hour and wait until next week. We're talking about formula stuff. The fact that we've been renewed for 24 shows must mean we're doing—something right.

Greenfield Recorder, Tuesday, July 24,1984 Susan Sullivan She wants to avoid being perfect on Falcon Crest' by JERRY BUCK Associated Press LOS ANGELES - The soap opera is the devils playground, where the villains have all the fun and the good guys are miserable. But you'll never persuade Susan Sullivan of that. Miss Sullivan stars in CBS' hit opera "Falcon Crest" as Maggie Gioberti, who is good but certainly not goody-goody. That would be carrying goodness too far. "Maggie and her husband Chase have a unique love going for television," she says. "It's certainly unique for this kind of show. It's much harder to write for the good guys, but I think that would take away something fundamental if we changed. Still, I'd love to see us have a knock-down, drag-out fight, the kind of fight where you make up and go to bed." The series is about a large family in California's ' Napa Valley, where many of the diverse family members spend as much time plotting intrigue as they do producing wine for the Falcon Crest label. The essential difference, however, comes from the fact that "Falcon Crest" was created by executive producer Earl Hamper, a novelist turned screenwriter who brings to the show the values that made "The Waltons" a family favorite in the 1970s. "I think Earl's influence is such, his integrity, that even the bad guys have a vulnerable side," said Miss Sullivan. "It gives them a reality. So if you're cast as a good guy the first thing you have to do is find your bad guy side. "I think the audience is more sophisticated than people give them credit for. I think people will turn-off a character who is too perfect to be believable." This Is not the first soap opera for the blonde actress, who worked part-time as a Playboy Club bunny while attending college in New York. First she was in ABCs "A World Apart" and then spent four years in NBC's "Another World." "In 'A World Apart' I played a naive character who* constantly fought with her father," she said. "I would leave the studio with residual anger. And now I play a nice character and some of her — this sounds woowoo." After a silence she added, "Her values are not that different from mine." This past season Maggie had a brain tumor, and Miss Sullivan said she drew heavily on her own experiences during her father's fatal illness three years ago. "He died of cancer and he spent part of his time in a hospice connected to a hospital," she said. "A hospice loosens the hospital visiting restrictions. For instance, you "can even bring pets. My father died at home, which the hospice arranged. I was drawn to the. hospice program and I've become a spokesman for the movement. "So when Maggie had a brain tumor I went to Earl and suggested using a hospice. But they felt that would make it look too grim. So I had a brain tumor, an operation and recovered in four shows." Many changes are in store for "Falcon Crest" in the new season — after a May ciiffhanger in which the entire cast went down in a plane. It's already well known that Mel Ferrer's character won't survive the crash. In fact he's now at work on a movie for CBS called "Seduced." Cliff Robertson's character is obviously another casualty since Robertson flies to New Zealand this month to work on a movie and in September goes to Tunisia for another film. Maggie, who already has a sister who's a former prostitute, gets a father this fall. "They're looking for someone now," said Miss Sullivan. "I want a very young father. It's disconcerting to play a grandmother at my age, so I need a young father." Miss Sullivan, who graduated from college in 1966, said she thinks any changes in the fall will be for the best. "You have to have new story lines each year and in order to do that you have to juggle people. It seems cruel, but sometimes it works out best." She herself was juggled out of the ABC comedy "It's a Living" and replaced by Louise Lasser. "ABC felt I was too straight," she said. "That was originally what they wanted, then they felt they needed a more offbeat character. But that wasn't the answer, either." Last April Miss Sullivan played a lesbian dying of cancer on the stage in "Last Summer at Bluefish Cove." Before Miss Sullivan, who is single, left for San Francisco to do the play she had a talk with her costar, Jane Wyman. "Jane told me romance would come when I least expected it," she said. "That's an old cliche. Twenty years ago if anyone had told me I'd be this age and unmarried and with no children I wouldn't have believed them. . "But on the plane I was reading my lines from the play script, and like all actors I'd underlined all my dialogue. Behind me someone said, 'If you underline all the lines you won't know where the "ah has" are.' I turned around to see this handsome, interesting man and we sat together the rest of the trip." She now regularly dates the man, whom she identifies as "Tony, a criminal lawyer." Miss Sullivan has a history of saying- "no" three times to various projects she's done. She turned down a regular role in the ABC series "Rich Man, Poor Man, Book II" three times. She said no to "It's a Living" three times and she said no to "Falcon Crest" three times.. She laughed and said, "It's amazing the way I've turned down things three times before doing them. Tony'd better start asking me to marry him so I can turn him down three times.''

Gannett Westchester Newspapers Entertainment Friday. September 17, 1982 Falcon Crest' mixes Waltons sugar with Dallas spice by Fred Rothenberg NEW YORK - If .a television show blends the wickedness of "Dallas" and the wholesomeness of "The Waltons," it's bound to Interest viewers on both sides of television's picket fence. Indeed, CBS' "Falcon Crest" is the most popular survivor from the 1981-82 season. But it had a lot more going than a mixed marriage from two disparate families. It also had "Dallas" as a lead-in program on Friday nights, the best life insurance policy in the business. And from an artistic standpoint, its executive producer is Earl Haraner Jr., a soft-spoken Southern storyteller who contributed scripts to "The Twilight Zone" before gaining widespread fame as creator of The Waltons." "Every TV script should begin with 'Once upon a time,'" says Hamner. "It should have a beginning, middle and an end. 'Falcon Crest' is like a book with different chapters, with satisfying experiences within each chapter." Hamner resists suggestions that "Falcon Crest," with Jane Wyman playing Angela Channing, the scheming matriarch of a sprawling California vineyard, is just a more refined vintage of "Dallas" and its villainous J.R. Ewing. "Some people say that Earl Hamner has betrayed his commitment, as if 'Falcon Crest' is something shabby," Hamner says. "I think it's a valid exploration of human characters and family situations. The public gets vicarious thrills from watching the rich take pratfalls and suffer. Richness seems to magnify drama." Despite the similar tax brackets of the Ewings and Channings, Hamner says "Falcon Crest" is actually more country cousin to the Waltons, a close-knit family from Virginia during the Depression. Hamner was also the narrator of that long-running hit, which drew on recollections from his childhood. "I never intended 'Falcon Crest' to be seamy, nor has it been. We do human drama that seems to please big audiences because of legitimate conflicts: traditional family vs. fractured family, power vs. weak, wealth vs. poor. A lot of'Dallas' comes right from the groin. I've always written from the heart" Hamner says his intention was to bridge Tennessee Williams and Lillian Hellman. "Angela (Miss Wyman) is like Big Daddy from 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.' Her passion for land and that way of life is akin to* plantation owners before the Civil War." Angela was not created as a female J.R., says Hamner. "My thinking was that there haven't been many good roles for women on television. Traditionally this Machiavellian role would have been filled by a man, Angelo, and it would have been rather ordinary." Hamner's interest in wine has strong family roots. His ancestors were Italian vintners who were brought to the United States by Thomas Jefferson. But the Virginia soil wasn't kind to the grapes, and three of his relatives returned to Italy. "One stayed and married into a restrained Baptist family," he says. Hamner began peddling a TV series about wine in 1976 after taking a trip to the champagne district in France. His concept was to have families from California and French vineyards swap homes. CBS rejected the idea because the idea had already been done — without much success — in "Fair Exchange." "But they thought a series with the wine industry as a background would work," he says. Hamner himself owns vineyards near Sacramento,, although he's never seen the property. "It's a good, investment," he says. But not as good as having a second-year series that combines elements of two successful CBS shows and is positioned strategically to follow television's biggest series ever.

SCHENECTADY GAZETTE TV SECTION 1973 Janice Lynde has never been a loser and she is now awaiting the verdict on her audition with a symphony orchestra as eagerly as are several million television viewers. Janice portrays Leslie Brooks, an aspiring concert pianist in Screen Gems' "The Young And The Restless" daytime-serial for CBSTV 12-2:30. As Leslie, she recently auditioned for the position of concert pianist with the Mid-America Symphony Orchestra and it will be another four weeks before she and the viewers will know the resu!ts. Although scripts are written well in advance, one of the keys is to let the characters develop their own situations and "never, never do we divulge the information to the actors," according to producer John Conboy. "That way the cast looks forward to each week's scripts as eagerly as does the audience at home watching the story unfold," explains Conboy. "I can hardly wait to find out what happens," laughs the lovely Janice. "I hate to lose anything even if it's on the show." .Janice, who draws an unusual amount of fan mall, has had a thorough education in music and is one of the few concert pianists to turn actress and portray a concert pianist on television. She is one of the few actresses in the business who has to learn her lines and rehearse music at the same time each day Janice started piano studies at the age of five in her home town of Lake Charles La., desiring some day to be a concert pianist. But when she was 15, Janice started studying voice, hoping to be a dramatic coloratura in grand opera. She returned to the piano for a while when she lost her voice following a tonsillectomy. She was so good that she often soloed with the symphony orchestras of Dallas, New Orleans, Houston and others. ''My voice finally returned," recalls Janice. "I was majoring in opera at the University of Indiana and had a scholarship to the Julliard School of Music when a talent scout for Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians persuaded me to leave school. They made me an offer of soloist with the group which I couldn't turn down." Janice admits that although she still studies she had become bored with opera and piano. "There was a lack of freedom and creativity in opera. It must be done exactly the way it had been done for 200 years. And piano was too one dimensional. I really wanted to be singing and dancing. And I've become a big 'belter,' singing the pop thing my way." After her stint with Waring and success as a background singer and dancer in New York, Janice struck out on her own. Her first major role was in the national stage company of "Butterflies Are Free" followed by the Broadway rock musical, "The Me Nobody Knows." And she played the lead role of Eve in the Broadway production of "Applause."

That was a booze heavy episode. Literally every character was drinking.

Thanks for the extra info. I'll add Margo and Tom and 'Mr Big' on ATWT.

Soap BUFFALO COURIER-EXPRESS, Sunday, December 23, 1979 Jon Micheal Reed Recent serial screen deaths caught viewers by surprise. But the departures reflect a philosophy about soap opera writing. Mary Ryan was bumped off this month, just as her sister Siobhan married the mysterious Joe Novak. Before Siobhan met Joe she had almost fallen into the arms of Mary's husband, Jack. To complicate things, Mary's murder was at the hands of underworld thugs who may be connected to Joe "Actually, we had been building up to Mary's death for some time," says "RH" cocreator and co-headwriter Claire Labine. "WHEN YOU have a happily married couple like Jack and Mary, you lose plot flexibility. We couldn't separate them romantically. The audience wouldn't have accepted it. And frankly, as writers, Paul Mayer and ! were unecqual to the task of keeping them married and still providing a viable front-burner story for Jack, who has maintained incredible appeal to the audience. Implicit in Labine's statement is the fact that the writers have never been able to recover from the loss of actress Kate Mulgrew, the original Mary. Mulgrew went on to a night show as Kate Columbo, while "RH" went through a series of actresses who never quite captured the vibrancy that Miss Mulgrew brought to the role. In all fairness to Nicolette Goulet, the most recent Mary, the writers were negligent in "pick up on" her special acting qualities. Not that she is crying about her axing- immediately she signed a contract with "Search For Tomorow" to portray Kathy Philips, a role she'll assume within the next two weeks INCIDENTALLY, the tragedy of Mary's death and the solemnity of Sobhan's wed ding was. comicaliy relieved with a fantastic dream sequence in which Delia fanta sized she was being romanced by an oil sheik, complete with a scorched desert, a wind blown tent and a woebegone camel .Only "RH" could get away with that.

BUFFALO COURIER-EXPRESS, Saturday, March 1, 1980 [TV Page) 'Children' Plays Up Daisy's Appearance by Jon Michael Reed The All My Children audience could smell the plot herring a mile away, or at least months ago when ruthless tycoon Palmer Cortlandt began raging and flying off the handle at the mere mention of his "deceased" The scent grew stronger when Palmer's daughter Nina and her beloved beau, Cliff, began questioning the circumstances of Daisy's death. Then Myra, the mysteriously domineering Cortlandt housekeeper, arranged a seance so Nina could "speak"" to her mother's spirit. By this time, the smell was positively overwhelming. The rotted herring, or, rather, the rotted corpse of Daisy Cortlandt was revealed not to be a corpse at all. She's very much alive, secretly quartered in Myra's servant bedroom. DAISY, of course, is Myra's prodigal daughter, a girl from the wrong side of the tracks who married, then ran away with a lover from Palmer and her infant daughter. All these years, she's been paid through Palmer's hefty bank account to play dead. And when should Daisy make her long-awaited "appear- ance" but at Nina's 19th birthday party, which was a masked ' ball extravaganza the likes of which haven't been seen in soap annals. THE BALL, incidentally, was taped on location at a bona-fide Victorian mansion with long, dark, threatening corridors and involved a. full orchestra, nearly a hundred extras, and virtually every "AMC" character bedecked in dazzling array. Although one would have thought that this type of Gothic mystery plot had been washed . out of soap opera linen by now, it has attracted a huge and deliriously "glued" audience. In the hands of a soap-writing veteran like "AMC's" Agnes Nixon, this old-turkey plot has turned out to be a surprisingly young and juciily appealing one. Add a dash of old fashioned, pure and innocent romance between Nina and Cliff, and the old as-the-soap-opera hills recipe has turned out to be a gourmet treat. BUT THE MOST savory ingredient in the whole stew is the casting of, actress Gillian Spencer as Daisy. Gillian is no stranger to soap operas. For the past few years she's been a dialogue writer for "As the World Turns" and briefly for "Guiding Light." Prior to that, she was in front of the "ATWT" cameras as Jennifer Hughes, Dr. Bob's late and lamented wife. And even earlier she portrayed Vicki Lord Riley on "One Life to Live" before Erika Slezak inherited the role. In her previous soap incarnations, Gillian was a gentle, delicate-as-a-flower heroine, although she received "training" for Daisy when she played Nikki, Vicki's "trampy" splitpersonality on "OLTL" for a spell. This time out, as Daisy, Gillian has an even greater opportunity to project a wdrnan with a "'trollopy' past and a devilishly naughty nature, She's playing it to the hilt and "AMC" couldn't have made a finer choice. Welcome back, darling Jill.

~-BUFFALO COURIEREXPRESS, Sunday, November 22, 1981 Jon Michael Reed A NEW YORK masquerade ball is being taped for "One Life to Live" that will "unveil" at least one long-kept plot secret and introduce a couple of new or returning characters to the Llandview scene. The episodes are scheduled to air at the end of this month. Joining the soap at that time will be actress, beauty book author and cosmetics spokeswoman Arlene Dahl, as Mimi King's cocktail singer-pianist mother, Lucinda. "OLTL' producer Joe Stuart says, "Arlene Dahl will portray a character whose primary goal is to see her daughter married to a wealthy Buchanan. We spent several months casting the role and are delighted to have someone of Ms. Dahl's experience and stunning good looks join the show."" Stuart also crowed that his show is firmly entrenched as the No. 2 daytime serial and in recent weeks came close to toppling "General Hospital" from the No 1 spot. The masquerade ball will take place on an elaborate new set that represents Asa and Samantha's home. Nearly $20,000 was spent on costumes for the special party sequences. Also at the end of this month, the character of Tony Lord, Pat Ashley's one-time lord and master, will resurface after a two-year absence. Tony will be played by Chip Lucia, since the original Tony, George Reinholt, wasn't available or, for that matter, wanted. (Reinholt's Peck's bad boy reputation among daytime circles hasn't won him a tender spot in the hearts of soap producers.) Ilene Kristen, the original Delia on "Ryan's Hope," will portray Georgina, Tony's auto mechanic sidekick. Andrea Evans-Massey has been informed that her character of Tina Clayton will be shipped off to college in December. Andrea became a 'hyphenate"" when she married her costar, Wayne Massey (Johnny Drummond), last year. Under any name, Andrea's Miss Goody-Two Shoes interpretation of Tina was at cross purposes with the writers' intentions for the character. Tina progressed from a teen tease to a young adult vamp, but Evans-Massey never quite matured into a believable temptress. *Wayne and his character of Johnny, meanwhile, will become further involved with the character of Becky Abbott, played by Mary Murray, following Mary's temporary leave-of-absence from the soap to star in the Broadway revival of the Neil Stmon musical, "Little Me. *Well Andrea got a second chance and proved them wrong.

Ellen Foley also appeared on OLTL. Lucy Ferri Ritenburg was a huge part of GL's first two decades. She finished up in 1974.I hope she enjoyed her retirement. I wonder if she kept watching or made a clean break? THE DAILY NEWS, TARRYTOWN, NY, UKDAY, SEPTEMBER 24. I967 NEW YORK-Lucy Rittenberg is one of the most unlikely looking and best qualified television producers you will ever come across. For the past 17 years, Lucy has been associated with the daytime drama, The Guiding Light, beginning as a production assistant. Today she is executive producer. The spry and slender Mrs. Rittenberg looks quite like a healthy young sapling. And one can almost see her being buffeted by the variety of windy problems that blow daily through the world of soap operas. "Oh yes, you have to have a certain resiliency to stay in this business," Lucy admitted. " I know many people, producers and directors mainly, who can succeed with other types of shows, even the best, but would crumble here. "Most are rock hard and demanding like any good executive. But you can't be like that in daytime dramas." Lucy again reminded us of the sapling who takes the wind and bounces back while the staunch old oak is uprooted and blown into the sea. "People have often asked me what the secret of the daytime dramas is: what makes the audience relate so much to the actors and the situations. If there is a good answer to that, it must be an all encompassing one. "I hate to say that our whole production crew is like a big family. It's so corny and trite, but there is no other way to say it. And it is that that makes the show. And any other show like this one. "If you don't have a well knit, completely coordinated an d smooth running machine to put on a 15-minute or half-hour show every single day, you are never going to be successful. Not because you won't get a show on the air. "Anybody can get a show on. But getting one that will hold the audience is the trick. It is a total effort from scenic design ers to script writers and carpenters to cameramen." Mrs. Rittenberg knows what she is talking about and she learned It the hard way. She came to New York to become an actress and like the thousands of other bright-eyed and disappointed youngsters, wound up a secretary instead. Fortunately, she was gal Friday to a lady radio producer who introduced her into the wonder world of the soap operas. "I've seen all kinds of changes," she admitted, "right from the radio-TV transition, to the introduction of tape and now into color. "And I've lived through every joy and tragedy known to the human race and a few unknown . . . not only in the story lines, but in the lives of all the people in the crew with whom you must be on close, even intimate grounds. "And sometimes when the 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. grind, five-daysa-week, starts to eat me up. I wonder what I'm doing In this crazy business. "But that lasts for about five seconds. The thought of being in any other business scares me stiff. I love this. I really do."

@DRW50 Thanks for the thanks. Glad you enjoy them.

They need to get rid of the gambling table and refurnish/redocorate. That would be an immediate improvement. Have Vanessa say the room needs a makeover and Joey reluctantly agrees.

We got the motel room for Jacob. That size set could be used as a reception area for the clinic.

Is there a Hawkins Falls thread? Maybe years back. I think every show should have it's own thread. HF was long running in it's day. A humorous look back at 1978. Readers give own version of daytime Emmy awards By LYNDA HIRSCH TV/Radio Week July 23 1978 Now that the official daytime Emmys have been handed out, it’s time for us to bestow some awards in categories the TV Academy didn’t see fit to recognize, categories that were suggested by readers of this column. Now for your total enjoyment, we present the Daytime Column Readers Drama awards. And remember what follows is the opinion of this column’s readers, not necessarily that of the columnist. Drug Pusher of the Year — Denise Cavanaugh (played by Holland Tyler) on “Edge of Night.” Her supply of pain-killers makes its way into every tea cup in Monticello. Can't Say a Line and Hold a Prop at the Same Time — “Edge of Night’s” Nicole Drake (Jayne Bentzen) wins this one. Seems the actress dropped the top of an ice bucket while stumbling over a line. Nobody's Indispensable — “Ryan’s Hope,” for recasting the roles of Frank, Mary and Faith — within a few months of each other. But it’s not over yet. Mary Carney, who replaced Kate Mulgrew as Mary Ryan Fenelli, has recently left, and may have been replaced by the time you read this. Most Fertile Town — Genoa City, the site of “Young and the Restless,” where every one night stand results in a pregnancy, including those stemming from the short-termed but fecund love affairs of Philip and Jill, and Lance and Les. Smallest Electric Bill — “Young and Restless,” for having the darkest sets on television. Medical Breakthrough of the Year — “Another World,” specifically to Pat Randolph (played by Beverly Penberthy) for having twins after a botched abortion had led to a hysterectomy. Fountain of Youth — John Randolph, also of “Another World,” since he looks as young as his children. Although John lost a grown daughter nearly 10 years ago, before he fathered twins who are now over 21, John himself has hardly aged a day. Don’t you wish they bottled the secret? Widowhood Is Bliss — “Search for Tomorrow.” In 27 years, Joanne Vincente has lost three husbands and one longtime boyfriend due to violent death. Her friends, John Wyatt and Stu Bergman, are widowers. Stu's daughter Janet is also thrice a widow. Jo’s recent admirers, Chris Miller and Greg Hartford, can consider themselves lucky to have left Henderson with their skins intact. Best Brief Appearance in Established Role — Bernie Mclnenerny, who had the misfortune of stepping into a part created by matinee idol Farley Granger. Despite viewer rejection of bis portrayal, he gave a really fine performance as Will Vernon on “One Life to Live.” He deserves another shot at daytime stardom in amore appropriate role. What a Difference a Day...or Year...Makes — “General Hospital. In one month, the part of Monica Webber has aged several years while Diana Taylor became younger by an equal number. Next year they may decide to bathe Audrey in their fountain of youth and Rachel Ames (Audrey) and Leslie Charleson (Monica) can simply switch roles. Diana also gets the “Stella Dallas Mother of the Year” award, since no character in recent memory has consistently wanted motherhood more, while enjoying it less. Don’t Take My Gusto Away Award— “Young and the Restless,” since more beer is consumed on that show than on any other. Where characters on some shows talk about their problems over a cup of coffee, these folks simply reach for a six pack. To compensate for this indulgence, they are fanatical about people not smoking. Once again, thanks to all of you who responded. We must get together like this next year

That random scene where Elon is on the phone at Orphey's. I'm thinking 'Why is he there'? But then we had that poorly staged scene with the reporter (whose acting was off) all in Chelsea/Madison's face, so that Elon could intervene. It seemed unnecessary. And then Joey at the casino then for some reason at Caffeine Fix, so he could be menacing to Smitty, then back at the casino. Huh?

BUFFALO COUKIER-EXPRESS, Sunday, June 6, 1965 Psychotic's Role Very Challenging "WHEN I signed for my part In 'Flame In The Wind," says Nancy Franklin, seen as Liz Grey In the ABC daytime serial, "producer Joe Hardy's Instructions to me were explicit: *Don't play the part of Liz Grey . . . become her.' " Till that minute, Nancy believed that actors borrowed mainly from their own experience in developing a character. "But Liz Grey smashed that theory. She is an institutionalized psychotic—something completely new to me." When she left Hardy's office that day, she knew she had just taken on the most challenging role of her career. She had played a wide range of characters on Broadway and TV. "But in developing these parts I was able to relate the characters to people and events I remembered. But Liz was different. Now I knew what Joe Hardy meant—Liz had to spring solely from my imagination. "IT WOULD be easy to play a hopeless, incurable psychotic," Nancy adds, "but Liz has a rational existence as well as her fantasies. She's a complicated woman of many layers, suffering unreasonable fears. I want her to evoke compassion among viewers, rather than become merely an interesting depiction of psychosis." Most of Nancy's effort takes place off camera . Actors usually develop and convey a feeling through dialogue and contact they have with each other In a scene. But most of Nancy's scenes are played alone.

Happy to have found something new on this short lived soap. From selling soap to starring in a new soap opera seems like a logical step. But it took Jeanne Baird several years to make the switch. Jeanne is still remembered around some ad agencies as “queen of the commercials” because of the number of selling jobs she has had on TV, including soap company accounts. “Mostly such chores were done in between acting jobs in the movies and on TV,” Jeanne explains. Since “Ben Jerrod” is the show NBC hopes will help the network to dominate afternoon TV programming, it has thrown the usual soap opera budget away for this series. It started by acquiring Michael Ryan, former star of the “As the World Turns” series, to be the title star, and it signed veteran character actor Addison Richards as co-star. Because this is the first soap opera regularly telecast in color, NBC decided to use its vast color facilities in Burbank, Calif. Production executives, including director Fred Carney, Art’s brother, were sent out from New York. Jeanne furrows a beautiful set of eyebrows when “Ben Jerrod” is described as a soap opera (a term pinned on such serials because originally they were sponsored only by soap companies). “We don’t call them that out on the Coast,” she says. “They’re daytime dramas, and they are as tough to do as anything I’ve ever done for television or the movies.” Jeanne, who portrays Richard's daughter, has many TV credits. “I’ve done * Bonanza’ , ‘Today’ , ‘77 Sunset Strip’ , ‘Perry Mason’ , ‘Hennesey’ , ‘Four Star Playhouse’ and lots of other shows,” she says. Her movie work includes “Get Out of Town,” “The High Cost of Loving,” “The Drill Instructor” and “Andy Hardy Comes Home.” In the “Ben Jerrod” series, Jeanne is Agnes Abbott, daughter and secretary to former Judge Abbott, who is| practicing law, but not very successfully. Ryan, as Jerrod, is a young criminal lawyer seeking a more meaningful way of life. From that triangular starting point, “Ben Jerrod” has problems inside of problems. In private life, Jeanne has very few problems. ' “But a couple of big assets,” she says. “My husband, Bill, and our two year-old daughter, Victoria.”

One trend not specifically mentioned, and an offshoot of the action/adventure supercouple trend was 'Love on the Run'. It began with Luke and Laura and pretty soon there were couples leaving town to escape criminals and search out some mystery. Offhand I recall Peta and Melissa on Days, Blaine and Jerry(or Joey)on AW. I think Texas had a couple on the run(can't recall who) Any others?

Think Billy looks better with shorter hair-Nikki with the bouffant - not so much.

BUFFALO COURIER-EXPRESS. Saturday Feb. I5 1977 Only Top-Notch Performers Are Tolerated By Viewers By Jon Michael Reed Serial viewers who have a tolerance for mediocrity in other areas cannot abide a bland screen personality. The scripts can be weak. The sets can be shabby. But the performers on daily TV serials must be top-notch. And it's not always easy to find the necessary talents. Casting a single role on a soap opera may require more than a hundred auditions before the ideal image is found. Paul Rauch, the executive producer of both “Another World” and “Lovers and Friends-” takes justifiable Emmy Award-winning pride in the script and production quality of his shows. He’s also exhilaratingly boastful that his serials are studded with the best actors too. I ALWAYS LOOK for actors who have solid theatrical training and background, not necessarily TV experience.” says Rauch. A few of the stellar stars in his soap opera firmament include Broadway theater giants Anne Meacham, Douglas Watson. Irene Dailey -Louise, Mac and Liz on “Another World”), Nancy Marchand. Stephen Joyce, John Heffernan and Margaret Barker (Edith, George, Lester and Sophia on "Lovers and Friends”). “All actors are basically selfish.” states Rauch, who is a former actor. “But performers who were nurtured on serials, who haven't done anything else, are generally more spoiled than others. The kind of fan adulation that soap actors receive tends to inflate the egos of undisciplined performers. They resist the idea of an ensemble effort and they usually only enjoy playing the climaxes of a story. An actor trained in theater, on the other hand, only knows how to hit peaks, but how to ride valleys. They usually have impeccable vocal skills and they're able to retain dialogue' a skill that's vitally important in serial work where a miniplay is rehearsed and taped every day. Those who survive Rauch's meticulous scrutiny invariably .find themselves repertory members of Rauch's and his head writer Harding Lemay's family. Nancy Marchand recently advanced from a subsidiary character (Therese Lamonte) on “Another World” to be the matriarchal lead (Edith Cushing) on “Lovers and Friends.” ABOUT FOUR YEARS ago Beverlee McKinsey played a few performances as the minor “countrified ' character Emma Ordway on "AW.” Months later Lemay, who'd seen more than a promise of star sparkle, created a new and this time, major role for Bev — rich, bitchy, conniving Iris Carringtons. Two years later the then small role of her father, introduced for an intended three-week role. The 240-pound hired for the role was indisposed at the last minute and Douglas Watson was quickly called in to substitute. During a party scene the show's leading character, Rachel (Victoria Wyndham) was introduced to Iris’ pappa. and Rachel happened to run an alluring eye up and down Mac’s noble frame. He responded with a seductively suggestive glance. In that brief moment Lemay had a flash of story inspiration that had been generated between the two actors, and he called Rauch with a new story projection. Today Mac and Rachel are one of the most popular screen couples on the daytime tube. And it wouldn't have come to pass had it not been for the actors. “Discovering that rare chemistry, watching it feed and stimulate the story, that's the joy of casting superior talent,” concludes Rauch. * That story re Mac contradicts what is reported in the AWHP. Robert Emhardt played Mac for various scenes over a year before Douglass Watson came on full time.

Does Joey's casino have a name? Maybe if they showed an establishing exterior shot, we might get more of a sense of the place, apart from the ugly back room. I was just watching a BBC show called The Cage, set in a casino., so of course there was a proper set. But what they also set up scenes with footage of roulette table, slot machines, cards being dealt, dice rolling etc in fast cuts. Maybe BTG could do something like that.

I think it's a combination of things. They are risk averse. And the thinking that what worked in the heyday should still work now. So instead of Billy Flynn and Roger Howarth being new characters, they are recasts so the same stories can be told again. They can point to the Rosales and Fen/Anna etc and say 'that didn't work, viewers want to see the vets' when that type of thinking can sabotage new characters from the get go. They are so desperate to continue Newman v Abbott that they'll do dumb stuff like retcon Claire and get her involved with Kyle just to keep that rivalry alive , as the did with Billy/Victora and Noah/Allie. And then there is the financial side-the salaries for Victor, Nikki, Jack, Nick, Victoria, Phyllis and Sharon, although reduced over the years, would still take a good chunk of the budget, so they want to get their money's worth. And the ratings are stable so why bother shaking things up? On the positive side, they seem to have more extras at Society and GCAC and more movement in those scenes so those establishments seem more active, rather than the empty tomb like spaces previously.

Brett Halsey Y&R/GH/SFT etc as well as movies, primetime has written several novels. Yesterday's Children was semi autobiographical as it dealt with an aactor who had been working overseas and returned to the US for ajob on a daytime soap.

Jon Michael Reed Aug 7 1976 HOW IMPOLITE it was — not to mention ingraceful — of “Guiding Light” to film Mart Hulswit, Ed Bauer on the show. in a bathing suit. Bet that was one time Mart was grateful the tapes were wiped!

I still think they need to work on the scene endings. eg When the family was gathered around Anita and she stated she's learned that she loved her family and Vernon more than ever, there was a distant group shot and the scene stopped. For the culmination of the story I would have liked to see reactions from Dani & Nicole, some sweeping music and finish with a closeup of Vernon/Anita embracing. The scene feels underwhelming because of the direction.