danfling

Yes, both Dan and Betsy appeared at the same time.   As I meant to say, Betsy was the person to whom Dan would ask for advise in his attraction to Brooke and the attraction that Devon had for him.

Dan was a student at Pine Valley University, and Betsy had already graduated from nursing school by the time that she came to Pine Valley to work at the hospital.  That would mean that Betsy was probably older than Dan.

Dan, then Betsy, came after the death of Mary and after Jeff had moved away from Pine Valley.  Dan left town prior to the departure of Betsy.

All three of them were gone when Katie came to town.

I think that this is the way that the Frame family on NBC's Another World were introduced by Agnes Nixon.

 

Steve came to town first as a wealthy man who would mention his family back home.   Later, Janice came to town but then left.    Steve continued to be a character.   I cannot remember if he had been pronounced dead by the time that Willis came to town or not.   (I think that Steve may have still been on the show.)   Later Otis (who changed his name to Vince) and Sharlene came to town.  The sister named Emma appeared briefly, and her daughter (Steve's niece) Molly came to town later.  Molly's sister Frankie was seen later.  Jason also came later.

Agnes Nixon only had Steve on the show while she wrote it.  Other writers added these other relatives.

 

It was said by actor George Reinholt when he first joined the cast of One Life to Live (as Tony #1) that Agnes Nixon was great in that she would mention things about her characters that meant really nothing but later would provide a mechanism to add new characters to a show years later.

I think that members of Ava Rescott's family on Loving were gradually added in the same manner.

 

 

I think that Scott Glenn (Calvin Brenner on The Edge of Night) could have been either Dr. Ed Bauer or even Michael Bauer recast.   (especially when Robert Gentry left the role as Ed)

I have long wanted to read a good biography or article about Margaret DePriest.  Has anyone else seen one?

The character of Betsy never had too much storyline.  When she was first brought onto the show, she was the third of the Kinnecott characters to come to the show.  Mary had already died, but Dan was already on the show as Brooke's boyfriend (after she had broken up with Benny Sago).  Betsy served as a character in conversation with Dan, and she was also the best friend of Sybil Thorne (who was constantly scheming to try to grab Dr. Cliff Warner).

 

Also, Dr. Jeff Martin returned to the show around 1975.  Robert Perault was then playing the role.  The show hinted that seeing Betsy (and that she looked so much like Mary) would be hard for Jeff.   Also that Jeff would be attracted to Betsy (although, to me, Carla Dragoni and Susan Blanchard - the second Mary- looked nothing alike).

 

And, when Dr. Jeff Martin returned to the show, he had a number of scenes with Erica.   They both affirmed that neither of them wished to revive their relaltionship.  (By the time that Mr. Perault had been replaced by James O'Sullivan as Dr. Martin, the character was falling in love with Dr. Cristina Karras and Erica wanted an annulment from their marriage.  He had begun to hate Erica again.)  I wonder if the original idea was that the show would have a Betsy-Jeff-Erica triangle?

Betsy later fell in love with Wally McFadden, who had reconciled with Devon.  Because she and Mary were both portrayed as being noble, Betsy left town to avoid being "another woman" who was breaking up a married-with-a-child couple.   She had tried to date Rick, but she was really in love with Wally.   (By this time, Jack Magee had left as Wally - I heard because he wanted an increase in salary.   Two more actors were placed in the rolek, and the third Wally was okay, but Wally and Devon later decided to leave Pine Valley with Bonnie.)

 

A number of years later, a fourth Kinnecott sibling (Katie) was brought onto the show as a romance partner for Joey (who, I think, was married to Emily Ann at the time).  However, the character soon left town.

 

 

I remember seeing this episode when it first aired - which was in August or September of 1980.

Don Scardino sang on Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.

Nancy Barrett sang on Dark Shadows.

Millette Alexander sang on The Edge of Night.

Larry Keith (and later Candice Earley) sang on All My Children.

I may have posted questions about this performer in the past, so, if I have, please forgive my repetition.

I am curious about John Fitzpatrick.  He was the original Willis Frame on Another World.   His role was suddenly recast with Leon Russum as Willis.

 

I am also curious about Gregory Ables.   He played Michael Hathaway on Where the Heart Is.  (He briefly played the Ryan's son-in-law, Art, on Ryan's Hope).  I think that he became a Buddist, but I am curious about what he has been doing in the 21st century.  He may also have been an acting teacher.

On A World Apart, the Sims family were an iconic family.  I enjoyed the African-American family.   I never really figured out how most of the other characters fit into the story.   Susan Sarandon's character was not the typical heroine, in my opinion.

 

On Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, the Donnelly family was an iconic couple.   Jean Garrison (Jane Manning) was an iconic villainess (in my opinion, the best ever from daytime television).  Spencer Garrison (Ed Power) was an iconic leading man.  (I think that he was more iconic than David Birney, but Mr. Birney got most of the publicity.)

On Where the Heart Is, Allison Hathaway (Louise Shaffer) was an iconic character (another villianess), while her sister Kate (Diana van der Vlis) was an iconic heroine.  Mary Hathway (niece-in-law to both Allison and Kate) was an iconic ingenue.  (Diana Walker played that role.)   And, I think that Michael Hathaway (played by Gregory Ables) was an iconic leading man.

Approximately what year did Papa Bauer come from his original home to the United States?

Did he meet Mama Bauer here or did she imigrate with him?

Was their religion mentioned?

Somerset was also mentioned on The Edge of Night.

Before the Another World spin-off series began airing, Laurie Ann Karr was being kept there (in Somerset) while the syndicate may have been a danger to the Karr family.

Khan, I watched faithfully when Pyramid aired on ABC.   I believed (and still believed) that the celebrity guests were all genuine in wanting his or her partner to win as much money as possible.

The show, when it aired on ABC, was the first game show that I had ever seen which featured daytime performers.   Stephanie Braxton (The Secret Storm, All My Children, The Edge of Night) was the first one that I saw on that show.

I have never watched an episode of Press Your Luck, though.

The serialized version on the radio was created by Irna Phillips and produced by Frank and Anne Hummart.  The soap opera was broadcast from October 5, 1942 to June 9, 1944 on CBS.   Its sponsor was General Mills.

This was posted elsewhere:

 

Betsy Brentley, who had auditioned for the role of Kitty, later was Mrs. Norman Mailer.

This was posted on It's about TV:

 

MMatinee Theater was an attempt by NBC to present a quality, five-days a week daytime dramatic anthology series; it was the first hour-long daytime series on television. NBC spared no expense in the effort, spending nearly $75,000 per week on the program, which was broadcast live and in color and was heavily promoted; ultimately, the cost became prohibitive, and NBC would cancel the program in June of this year. Today's production, "The Makropoulos Secret," is an example of the diverse programming the network was trying to establish. Based on the 1922 Czech play by Karel Čapek, it's likely more people today are familiar with it because of the opera by Leoš Janáček, which premiered in 1926. Matinee Theater was a bold experiment even during the Golden Age of Television; imagine trying something like it today. The listings are from the New York State edition, which clearly does not include New York City.

Lisa Howard was the first actress to play Louise Grimsley Capice on The Edge of Night.   This was posted yesterday on It's about TV:

 

I" It was in the January 25, 1964 issue of TV Guide that I first became acquainted with Lisa Howard. That was the issue that looked back at TV's coverage of the JFK assassinations; I've written before about how I grew up with that issue, reading it over and over until I was familiar with the most obscure programs (several of which have since wound up in my video collection), knowing that this was a gateway to a time that I was a part of but only vaguely remembered. In that issue was an article by Alan Gill about the "ever-persistent" Lisa Howard, a reporter for ABC, accompanied by a picture of a redhead wearing a vivid shade of red on her lips. It was a very effective photograph, not the kind of thing you're likely to forget. The article discussed her transition from soap opera actress to political activist to reporter, particularly her headline-making interview with Fidel Castro. Since I'd committed the contents of that issue to memory, I filed the name Lisa Howard there as well.
 

There haven't been many opportunities over the years to use that information. Howard appears in ABC's JFK assassination coverage, but aside from her daily show she doesn't show up as much as you'd think she should, given her credentials. Indeed, her story takes a tragic turn; after being fired from ABC and suffering a miscarriage, she fell into a deep depression and committed suicide in 1965 at the age of 39—less than 18 months after the TV Guide article appeared.

All this is background to a fascinating article by Peter Kornbluh in Politico, "'My Dearest Fidel': An ABC Journalist's Secret Liaison With Fidel Castro." Without even seeing the story, bells were going off in my head, and I had an idea who that journalist would be; clicking on it merely confirmed my suspicion.

It's a brilliant piece of long journalism, the kind that we don't see often enough anymore, documenting the details of how Howard became an intermediary between Havana and the White House, a story of politics and intrigue worthy of any spy novelist. And, befitting a spy novel, there's a romance between Howard and Castro, which makes the story even more intriguing. In some ways Howard reminds me of Dorothy Kilgallen, another famous female reporter of the time, one who covered the big stories (and, in the case of Dr. Sam Sheppard, was part of it), saw herself as part of history, and died under tragic circumstances from an overdose of pills.

You'll want to set aside some time and read this; whether or not you've ever heard of Lisa Howard, and no matter what you think of Fidel Castro, you'll be pulled into the narrative, and hard-pressed to stop before you get to the end. And as an added bonus—think of it as the companion to the article—here are a pair of YouTube videos. The first is the Howard-Castro interview as presented on ABC, while the second offers an interview with Peter Kornbluh, author of that Politico story.
 

   

Would I have even noticed this article had I not read that long-ago TV Guide profile? Kornbluh writes that while at one time she was one of the "most famous TV journalists in the United States," today "almost no one remembers Lisa Howard." I remember Lisa Howard, though, thanks to that issue from over 50 years ago. Like so many things I've run across over the years, it's part of the permanent record. TV  

January 13 was the anniversary of the premiere of Kitty Folye on NBC.

This appeared on It's about TV:

 

"On Monday, it's the debut of the daytime serial Kitty Foyle (2:30 p.m, NBC), which surely must have one of the more distinguished pedigrees of any soap opera. It begins with the 1939 best-seller by Christopher Morley, which tells the story of a white-collar girl who falls in love with a young socialite, and includes such touchy subjects as out-of-wedlock pregnancy and abortion. This was adapted into a 1940 movie (toning down some of the book's racier parts), which won a Best Actress Oscar for Ginger Rogers (and created a fashion trend called the "Kitty Foyle Dress"), and then a 1942-44 radio serialization created by soap opera giant Irna Phillips. In was inevitable that it would eventually make it to television, which it does here, becoming NBC's first half-hour soap. Strangely enough, the TV version of Kitty Foyle doesn't do too well; soap opera historian Ron Lackmann speculates that "perhaps the story was too familiar, or perhaps once the basic story was told, there was nothing else to say about Kitty and her problems." The series ends after only five months. "

I am wondering what the reason was for Michael Stroka to leave his role as Dr. Quentin Henderson on The Edge of Night.

She was the domineering woman who wanted to be domineered.

Tom did realize that Erica would never be the wife that he dreamed of.   However, it was Tom (in my opinion) who was best for Erica and was the true love of her life.

I don't think that Erica ever located the man who could or would dominate her.

The question of the true love of Erica Kane.  To me, the love of her life was Tom Cudahy.  They should have reunited, although I doubt that the two performers (Susan Lucci and Richard Shoberg) would have enjoyed the repetition.

Hugh was killed in a car accident.   His body was identified as John's.   John was actually in the hospital but was assumed to be Hugh.  Later, when John was able to speak, he identified himself, and it was then known that Hugh had been killed.

One of the stars of Can Openers is Josh Casaubon (Hugh Hughes on One Life to Live).   Also seen is David Rasche (Ryan's Hope).

When Nicolas Coster was playing Anthony Macona, which actress was playing Samantha, Julie (Julia) Montgomery or Dorian LoPinto?

Yes, Mary K. Wells as Louise did eventually disappear in the same way that Phil had disappeared earlier.

After I had posted above about Ray MacDonnell, I started thinking that his departure probably came at the time his contract with The Edge of Night was expiring.   The show probably thought that he would be renewing, but he suddenly decided to depart.

I can also imagine that the show was not sure how much Phil would be used in future storylines, so the show did not if it should recast the role or to leave it dangling.   Perhaps they thought that All My Children might not be a success (after all, there had been no soap operas airing in that timeslot before then) and that Mr. MacDonnell may again become available to return to his role.

The retention of Louise made more sense probably because Louise was the daughter of Winston and Walter Greaza was still appearing on the show.   Also, sometime during this era, the actress who had played Mattie for so long (the second actress in the role; I cannot think of her name right now) had died.   But, Mattie was recast with Katherine Meskill assuming that role.

Mary K Wells did leave the show, probably when her contract ended.   (Maybe they decided to drop her, or maybe, she decided to leave.)  She became the third actress to play Nola Hollister on The Secret Storm.  After being written off The Secret Storm, she was cast as Hannah Cord on the Hollywood serial Return to Peyton Place and remained on that show during its entire run.

This was the same role that Ruth Warrick had played during the primetime version on ABC.  I wonder if Ms. Wells could have played Phoebe on All My Children (the role filled by Ms. Warrick).  That would have lead to some good soap opera trivia.   Mary K. Wells and Ray MacDonnell playing a married couple on The Edge of Night and then Ms. Wells playing Phoebe and Ray MacDonnell playing Dr. Joe Martin.   (For those who do not remember, there was mention of a romance between Phoebe's step-daughter Ann and Dr. Joe Martin at the beginning of All My Children.   Kate Martin was hoping that they might become romantic, and maybe Dr. Charles Tyler did also.    Phoebe hated Ann's relationship with Nick Davis.)

And, I understand that All My Children did try to initially hire Kay Campbell (Rose Pollock #3 on The Edge of Night) for the role of Kate (which had been created for her).   She had already retired and did not want to return to work.   Two other actresses were cast as Kate before Ms. Campbell decided to return to acting.

All My Children later considered replacing Ruth Warrick in the role of Ruth.   The new actress would have been Hailia Stoddard (from The Secret Storm).

And, considering that Ruth Warrick was initially told that she was too young to play the wife of Dr. Tyler.   So, it was decided that she was to be the second wife of Dr. Tyler, mother to Charles, Jr. but step-mother to Ann and Lincoln.

 

 

 

The departure of Martha Marceau, as badly as it was handled, was better than the departure of the character of Phil Capice.    Ray McDonell left the show to join the cast of All My Children.  Mary K, Wells as Louise remained.  Phil was always somewhere else when Louise appeared.

I remember one particular time when the show opened with Ann Flood as Nancy yelling from the front door of the Karr home saying,  "Bye, Louise and Phil...."