Paul Raven

It all comes down to the individual actor and their screen persona, what type of roles they want to pursue etc. Just like there has been an increasing resistance to straight actors playing gay (could we see the likes of Tom hanks playing a lead gay character on a major movie today?) so there is resistance to a gay actor playing straight in a big budget mainstream movie. A lot of the audience wouldn't buy it. And also, no gay actor has yet to reach that level of stardom. Look at Jodie Foster when she was a major star and not out. Her roles were carefully tailored to avoid any kind of male love interest. As for Rupert Everett, he comes off as very arrogant and maybe that attitude contributed to him not being able to capitalize on his initial success. I saw him at 'in person' when he was promoting a book and he was very prickly and combative with the poor interviewer. It was quite awkward and the consensus from a lot of the audience on the way out was not positive.

EON at #7! Probably never topped that rating again.

Who was the first actor on a soap to be open about his/her sexuality to the public while still working in daytime? Greg Rikaart?

Josh makes it up as he goes along, hence having to resort to the evil twin trope. It's easier than coming up with character driven stories. Just have a short term crazy villian cause trouble, who will be forgotten eg Ashland, Cameron, Jeremy Stark, Aunt Jordan

I wonder how PM felt about what is obviously a mandate to have MB featured the most almost every month. This stifles creativity if they have to keep coming up with Sonny stuff month after month for decades. Don't know why they think he is such a draw that he has to be the #1 character.

I recall reading somewhere that they had trouble keeping to budget ie too many characters per episode too many sets etc. Maybe someone else can add to this. The other thing I guess is that the ratings didn't improve in their year so their contracts weren't renewed.

Yep, like I said, clueless. Just like the Ricky Martin fans and way back to Barry Manilow and Liberace.

All in the Name of Love was a soap written for SOD with a new installment each issue.Not sure how long it lasted. I never bothered to follow it. All I remember is some very ordinary looking people posed as characters. Looked like the took some Kodak shots of the office staff.

Unless you were totally clueless, anyone interested in soaps and the actors soon worked out who was gay.

That Robin Strasser played Iris Ocasek on Secret Storm. I think Robin herself denied this.

Going off topic re Susan She has acknowledged that BITD she could be a extra at times, so it's quite possible she might have been in her mom's ear about ideas/direction for Doug/Julie bit maybe Elizabeth was strong enough to block it all out. Just specualtion, of course. I'm convinced Ruth Brooks Flippen was brought in due to some contractual or other mitigating circumstances to hold down the fort.

I guess it will depend on how CBS promotes it. A primetime premiere? If there is some name casting, that might help or some 'controversial' storyline.

that applies to most of the cast. The characters are written in broad terms and it's up to the actors to bring some depth and nuance, Some succeeed and others flop. I'm sure Bryton is the nicest guy on the planet but Devon is boring. Anytime Devon is onscreen with Nate, that is obvious.

The odd plot where a house crashed into the Reardon home creating Company Brought in older Phillip. Established that Rebecca Cartwight was the mystery guest at quint's house. Otherwise she pretty much continued/tweaked Marlands stories

@DRW50 Thank you for the feedback. Much appreciated.

Happy to find something new to post for Clear Horizon Tulare Advance Register,19 July 1960 International Three . . . two . . . one . . . zero . . . vacuum cleaners off! CBS-TV, in a new attempt to slow the housewife's routine, has come in with "The Clear Horizon" billed as our nation's first space age soap opera. As the network says, "It is the dramatic story of a young army officer and his wife, stationed at the site of the U. S. army's top-priority missile and rocket-launching project" at Cape Canaveral, Fla. I've spent a week tracking this daily 30-minute series, which left the launching pad at 8:30 a.m. PDT, July 11. So far, we've met a dozen characters, including the young army officer, Roy Selby, and his wife, Anne, played by Edward Kemmer and Phyllis Avery respectively, who are two pleasing performers. Recently transferred to - a cushy pentagon chair after a rugged stay In Alaska, Roy suddenly must choose one of three alternatives. He can accept transfer to Canaveral, refuse and hate himself for it, or resign from the service and accept a civilian electronics offer that would bring him a heavy annual payload of money. Of course, we know Roy will go to Canaveral, else there's no show, but he has been reluctant to tell his wife about his decision because she has been taking to suburbia like a Kennedy to a coffee klatsch. . Their active, well-adjusted son, Ricky, also doesn't want to leave his new friends in "Arlington, Va. To go or not to go has been the problem for the past week. Once Roy goes, he's undoubtedly going to run into his long-lost brother, who is in the army at Canaveral. His future commanding officer has a pretty young daughter and it seems reasonable to expect these kids to be among the high-potency, well-intentioned troublemakers who will mill around the story and help becloud the clear horizon. Script writer Manya Starrmakes slick use of the soap opera shorthand language, even though she's now dealing with the complexities of the missile-and-space era. The soap opera shorthand involves the use of timely phone calls to set a scene, brief wrinkled - brow conversations to the point of a dilemma, fortuitous meetings to heighten showdowns. You'll be pleased to learn that these techniques, well-known in the horseless carriage days of melodrama, haven't been discarded in the space age. One thing about this sort of shorthand: It doesn't always speed things along. Usually, it serves to add new complications to the main complication. Besides telling its age-old stories In Its new setting, "The Clear Horizon," digs the current dialogue about national purpose, which all to its credit. The emphasis is on dedication, both national and personal, and to sacrifice. The series is perhaps most unusual because it makes no attempt to sugar-coat life at Canaveral. From what I've seen of the enlisted man's off duty life at Canaveral, he'd be better off on Devil's island. The acting is low-key and generally acceptable, even though the dialogue frequently becomes unglued and careens off in different directions. While it's a space age soap opera, it still relies on the oldstyle fueling ingredients, too: Trouble, frustration and hope.

With that in mind... San Bernardino Sun, 29 December 1974 " Even in the best plotted television murder mystery, everyone from the producer to the wardrobe lady always knows "who done it," although the audience is often kept in the dark. In a unique twist, the writers and producer of ABC's daytime drama General Hospital, have plotted a murder mystery that will not only keep the audience in the dark as to who the culprit is, but the entire General Hospital cast as well. On the show airing Friday (3PM), Dr. Phil Brewer (Martin West) will be found slain in his hospital office. The perpetrator of the crime will remain a mystery to the audience and the cast and the crew of the General Hospital family for many months to come. Dr. Phil Brewer, evil gadfly and everybody s worst friend was due to vanish from the show dying under mysterious circumstances. But when producer James Young realized he had not just one hot suspect, but five believable, possible murderers, he conceived an original plan to titillate the cast as well as the audience. He decided to have each of the five suspects act the the murder before the cameras, lock up the tapes, and by means of skillful false clues, innuendos, arrests and suspicions directed at all five by script writers Jerome and Bridget Dobson and leave each of the cast members in suspense as to whether he or she had indeed "done, the foul deed." What producer Young and the Dobsons have done is create a series of plays with in a play five murders, convincingly taped, but with only one to be eventually shown on the air. The normally friendly, clublike intimacy of the General Hospital cast, some of whom are veterans of twelve years on the air, may well be disturbed by tiffs, accusations, whispers and general suspicions during the next few months. Only producer James Young and ' writers Jerome and Bridget Dobson will have access to the clues and know the true identity of the murderer. Only they will know whether it was hot-tempered Dr. Taylor (Craig Huebing), frivolous Augusta McLeod (Judith McConnell), quiet Jessie Brewer (Emily McLaughlin), happily married Diana Taylor (Valerie Starrett), or alcoholic Dr. Hobart (James Sikking), who snuffed out Dr. Phil's life.

The recent departure of Patrick Mulcahey at GH got m thinking of other headwriters who were dismissed/departed after 6 months or less. What were the reasons for the departure(if known) and what characters/stories did they contribute? AW Harding Lemay, September 12, 1988 - November 10, 1988 Brought back Iris and Vivian, revisited the Janice/Mac/Rachel story with Evan as Janice's son. Introduced Caroline Stafford, had Cass/Nicole call off their engagement. Replaced by Donna Swajeski who had been a scab writer. Never clear why Lemay got the ax-possibly because DW worked well during the strike and was a cheaper option.

Amazing to see all CBS and NBC soaps (bar Somerset) ahead of ABC. That situation would be reversed in 4 or so years with all NBC soaps at the bottom. Jackie Smith's arrival at ABC really turned things around.

We Love and Learn NBC: June 28, 1948 to Mar 23,1951 The plot of the new NBC daytime serial," "We Love and Learn," revolves around four permanent characters and the people with whom they come In contact. The principal character Is Mme. Sophie DuBellay, a former French peasant who became America's leading designer of women's clothes. The character Is unusual because in spite of her sumptuous setting and great wealth, Mme. Sophie remains as plain as she was before reaching her present position. Paul Tracy, leading male character. Is suave, sophisticated and wealthy attorney who numbers Mme. Sophie among his clients. Laura Andrews, Mme. Sophie's manager and Tracy's ex-sweetheart, provides most of the program's menace. The fourth, regular character Is Dixie Blake, red-haired, model who takes' all things, good and bad, as they come. Barbara Weeks plays Mme. Sophie; Arthur Vinton Is Paul Tracy; Sarah Burton is Laura Andrews and Ann Thomas portrays Dixie Blake.The current sequence of the series concerns a girl, a boy and the boy's mother. The girl Is Susan Brown, who works In Mme. Sophie's fashionable costume and accessory salon. She is In love with Jim Carlton, struggling young attorney who has been convinced by her mother that his marriage to Susan must wait until he has established himself financially. Mrs. Carlton, long-widowed mother of Jim, harbors resentment toward Susan in the belief that she Is stealing her boy. Sue Read Is heard as Susan Brown, Joe Helgeson portrays Jim Carlton and Charme Allen plays Mrs. Carlton. "We Love and Learn," which leans more toward comedy-drama than melodrama, has a continuing theme, but Is so written that each daily episode is complete in itself. This format makes unnecessary an opening synopsis or closing announcement to bring the story-line up to date daily. The time thus saved allows for almost two minutes more of dialogue during each broadcast. The program is written by Lillian Spinner and directed by Chet Gierlach. Dick Dunham is the announcer and Herschell Luecke is the organist.

Charme Allen As The World Turns Guiding Light

I'll add John and Barbara on ATWT. Both had been on the show for years and interacting to various degrees before getting into a relationship. Seemed like something to give 2 vet characters at loose ends a story.

AS THE WORLD TURNS Deniece Williams Deniece Williams August 18 and 22 1983 cameo, singer performed 'I'm So Glad It's You' and 'I'm So Proud'. Dr. Doug Cassen Nat Polen June 1956-66 husband of Claire,married her in 1958.His devotion to work leads to trouble in his marriage and Claire has an affair. Up on malpractice charges in 1962 when covering up attending to Claire's suicide attempt rather than dying patient Mr Rice. Cleared when Claire confesses the truth, resulting in a reconciliation.Father of Neil Wade by Judith Wade. Favors Neil at the hospital but is rejected by Neil when he learns the truth.Eventually reconciles with his son. Killed by Ted Rogers, grieving and angry husband of a patient Doug couldn't save. Chuck Henderson ????? Jan- ? 57 college student who dated Penny when in Oakdale. Penny thought Chuck was more interested than he was and was devastated when he announced his engagement to another girl. That led to Penny eloping with Jeff Baker.

I would add not keeping Harding Lemay when he returned in 88. He had been responsible for great success in the 70's and the stories he put in place looked promising. How it would have worked out in the long run -who knows? But he definitely deserved more of a chance than he got. Why was he dropped anyway? Was it a budget thing? Or was Donna Swajeski easier to work with/manage as wellas being cheaper? Shades of Mulcahey and GH...

ATWT March 76 The ruling in the custody case came through and the Ellisons retained custody of Teddy, Joyce and Grant's child. Joyce was in a car crash that may have been deliberate. Joyce's dramas continued to annoy Lisa. John was in trouble over trying to frame Bob over the death of Norman Garrison. He was asked to resign and refused.