Today (January 2) is the anniversary of the premiere of Password on CBS.

Which show had left the schedule?    Was it the Hollywood serial Full Circle or had some other show come in between Full Circle (if, indeed, Full Circle had been broadcast in that timeslot) and Password?

I do know that Love Is a Many Splendored Thing took the place of Password in 1967.

I wonder if the episodes of both Return to Peyton Place and The Best of Everything are in existence.  

NBC considered airing this show in the 1960s?   I never knew that.   I do remember, though, that NBC had rights to the show after CBS cancelled it.   (And, I am thinking that American Home Products re-purchased it from CBS).

 

I think that CBS should have hired Harding Lemay to write the show after he left the shows on NBC.  He could have used the same practice of hiring many theatre performers to appear as characters on the show and kept the veterans who, in his opinion, were great.

I had never liked the character of Tracy or (especially) the actress.   I do remember, though, that Tracy and Danny did not leave the show together.   Tracy left Monticello first.  I seem to remember that Danny rejected her after her behavior with Noel became known.

Johnny left town also, and I seem to think that Laurie Ann was committed to a mental institution.   Johnny left with their son (Mike's grandson), and that is a character who could have been used in the show later (but was another character that soap opera writers seem to forget).

Phoebe was indeed murdered, and I think that her death scene was quite well acted!  I did not want Kevin to lose Phoebe to Dr. Chris Neely, but I really liked the character of Dr. Neely and regret that he was on the show for such a short period.

Kevin moved on to Raven (her first marriage and his second).  Raven was not faithful to Kevin, and the couple eventually divorced.   Jaime was not the son of Kevin, but it (at first) was assumed by all that he was.   His name comes from Kevin's relative (the first one on The Edge of Night) Julie Jamison 

Kevin borrowed a car from some other character (maybe Draper) and was killed in a crash.   Initially, the people in Monticello had thought that it was Draper (or whoever had lent the car to Kevin) who had been killed.

And, oddly, both Danny and Kevin were almost connected to my all-time favorite character on the show, Deborah Saxon (the step-daughter of Geraldine).

When Deborah was first introduced on the show, Danny had begun working for her father (Antony).  Maybe he wanted her to link with Danny, or maybe he was opposed to such a pairing.   (I cannot remember because I was a senior in college and trying to complete my work.   Therefore, there was little time to watch my favorite show at the time.)

But, Danny decided to leave town rather suddenly (maybe it was said that he and Tracy were trying to reconcile), and it was then that the character of Beau Richardson was introduced.  Antony had told Danny that there were only three people who had elevated to his position (Beau, Rainey, and then Danny).  One should remember that Deborah at the time was being written as a spoiled vixen.

And, oddly enough, Kevin and Deborah had both been living in the Whitney mansion after his separation and divorce from Raven.  One of his very last scenes was a scene with Deborah in which it looked as though they were about to enter a romance and that they were attracted to one another.    It was then that Kevin drove away and was later killed.

I thought that was a very odd ending for the character.

 

 

 

 

Antonio was my favorite male character on One Life to Live.  I loved him with Andie!

My second favorite male character was Cordero.   Coincidently, both characters were Latino.

Joe also interacted with Richard Abbott, who was Victoria's first cousin.

I loved Tina and Greg when they were together!

In one of the first commercials on the ninety-minute episode of The Edge of Night (its premiere on ABC), the actress playing the policewoman looks an awful lot like Mari Gorman, who played Taffy Simms on the show.

Also (later in the episode) in the commercial for Roman Brio cologne, that is certainly Joel Crothers, who played Dr. Miles Cavanaugh on the show.

The episodes that I would love to see again are the thirty-minute episode in which Donald May spoke the only lines (and there were no commercials) and the one in which Mike and Nancy seperate (due to Beau Richardson).

Paul, although there were no African-American storylines on All My Children for the first years, there was initially an African-American character.   

I had initially seen the character of Lois Sloane listed as one of the original characters on All My Children, and she was played by Hilda Haynes.    I could find nothing about the character.   I only surmised that Lois was the first character to leave the show.   

I have since been told that Lois was a nurse who worked alongside Ruth Brent at the Pine Valley Hospital.

(Interestly, the nurse Ramona was the first character on Ryan's Hope to leave the show.)

Maybe Ms. Holly was referring to Hilda Haynes as Lois when she mentioned the African-American characters who appeared in the early episodes of All My Children.

I fully agree that the African-American soap opera viewers flocked to watch One Life to Live and that they helped the show against its competition.    The Edge of Night, its CBS competition, was #2 in the ratings at one time after the premiere of One Life to Live.   After that show was moved, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing was cancelled after it was being broadcast opposite One Life to Live.  There were several more shows which may have aired in that time slot following the cancellation of Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (Iu have forgotten all of them, but The Vin Scully Show and maybe The Secret Storm come to mind), but One Life to Live remained a ratings success.

I also think that the African-American audience remained loyal to the Gray family and to One Life to Live.

I did not learn of Ms. Holly's statements about her strange telephone calls and her below-average salary until after the cancellation of the show (although I had read her auto-biography, I do not remember these accusations).   I have ever since learning of these two things wanted to ask other minority performers who appeared on One Life to Live if these things happened to them: David iPendleton, Lawrence Fishburn, Al Freeman Jr., Herb Davis, etc.

I would also love to ask some of the minority performers who appeared on All My Children the same thing:  John Danielle, Avis McArther, Lisa Wilkinson, Charles Brown, Patricia Dixon, Roscoe Orman, etc.

 

 

 

 

During the time that the late Michael Hawkins was playing Mark Elliott #3, which actresses were playing Iris and Laura?

But I was glad (and still am) that the pairing of Joey and the daughter of Tina and Cord was dropped rather quickly (if there indeed was a pairing rather than an attraction).

I enjoyed Bruce Michael Hall in the role of Joey, and I am glad that he was cast in the role.   I wish that he had remained on the show for a longer period. 

i just viewed an episode of Ryan's Hope on YouTube.   In it, the third actor was playing Dr. Patrick Ryan.   Please help me:  I cannot remember the name of this actor.   Who was the third Dr. Patrick Ryan?   To me, he resembled or reminded me of Malcolm Groome, but the actor seemed very inexperienced.

Miss Godlieb was one of the best soap opera producers, in my opinion.

I also give credit to the writing of the two headwriters at the time.

Linda Dano, who later played Gretel on One Life to Live and other roles, was also in The Montefuscos.

Ellen Holly departed from the show during the early 1980s.   Her character had been an actress who later changed careers to a medical secretary ( to good friend Dr. Craig).  The character had always been interested in civil rights and events, so the news that she had graduated from law school and become a lawyer was not that much of a suprise to me.

Ms. Holly had also been an uncredited writer on the show.   When she returned, she had written a storyline which would have included a murder, and her character would have been involved in the story.   The show accepted the story proposal.   According to Ms. Holly's autobiography, the printed proposal was probably placed in someone's drawer and never really considered.

Ms. Holly initially was given a story.  Her character had a romance with football player Alec Lownes, played by the late Roger Hill.    (The two of them, I understand, also were a couple in real life.)   This, and her past marriage to Ed Hall resulted in the show's portrayal of Carla as a woman who was in the middle of a struggle as to which of the two she loved.   In addition, the new character of Courtney Wright (Phylicia Ayers Allen) was attacted to Ed (who was also attracted to her.    And, Sadie was certainly hoping that Ed and Carla could get back together.

Alec was a player for the Llanview Cougers, a professional team owned by Asa Buchanan.  (I had assumed that retired professional football player Tom Cudahy, on All My Children, had also played for that team, but I am have learned that this was never said.)  Mario van Peebles played Doc Gilmore, a fellow player on Roger's football team.   (Mr. van Peebles later appeared on All My Children.)

Alec also began a nightclub, a part of the story that I had forgotten about until YouTube refreshed my memory.  So, many of the scenes in which Carla appeared were in that nightclub.

After the storyline with Alec Lownes ended, the show brought back the son of Carla and Ed, who had become a doctor (Dr. Josh Hall).  

The character of Courtney was dropped when Ms. Allen was cast in the primetime Cosby show on NBC.   The conclusion of her storyline (what little there was) seemed very rushed and was shown only days before the premiere of the Cosby program.

So, with Alec and Courtney gone, most of Carla's scenes were with Al Freeman, Jr. (Ed) except, of course, when she was shown practicing law.

She was the attorney in the murder case you mentioned.   I think that it was when Clint was accused of killing Dr. Marcus Polk, but I get some of the murders confused.

Ms. Holly learned from Paul Rauch that her contract was not going to be renewed, and she wrote in her autobiograpy that she then experienced a not-typical-for-her drinking benge.   She missed a taping of an episode of the show due to this, and her lines were given to Louise Sorrell, who also played an attorney on the show (Judith Sanders).

Ms. Holly did return to the courtroom trial.   She called Victoria "Victoria Riley" rather than "Victoria Buchanan."   Although this could have been due to a bad memory, I tended to think that this was an intentional way to remind viewers and the show' producer that Carla had a long relationship with Victoria and the other characters.

Before the murder storyline and the news of her dismissal, Paul Rauch had ordered Ms. Holly to do two things:  to take voice lessons and to shorten her hair.    Ms. Holly wrote that she had always in her career been complimented on her speaking voice, so it was insulting that Mr. Rauch would suggest that she needed outside help with this.      I will say, though, that her shorter hair was very becoming and made Carla look more like a typical lawyer that she had previously.

This is my own opinion, and it is speculative.   Don't consider it as known fact:   I think that the show's writing staff had originally intended much of the Sanders family's storyline to be given to Carla and Ed.  That was before her dismissal from Paul Raunch.

Carla was given a send-off, but I am not sure if the chronology that Ms. Holly wrote about in her autobiography was correct.

What I remember is that Carla and Sadie were sitting in a restaurant.   Carla announced to Sadie that she had been offered a judgeship in (I think) Arizona and that she was accepting this offer.   She asked Sadie to travel west with her.   I cannot remember if Sadie initially agreed to leave Llanview or not, but they rose from the table and were walking out of the restaurant.   She passed by a table where Dr. Dorian Lord Callison was sitting.  (Actress Robin Strasser, incidentally, had African-American relatives and may have been one of the friendliest members of the show's cast to the minority performers) spoke to Carla.   Ms. Holly said "Goodbye, Dorian."   (another reminder that Carla's history with the show was so lengthy and important).

However, I have seen the scene that is on YouTube.   I missed that scene back in the 1980s.

I think that the writers had been leading up to that Dr. Josh Hall would be the person behind the dope ring that was using the women prisoners at Statesville Prison.    He would have had the association with Warden Perkins (father of Allison).  This part of the story was eventually given to Jamie Sanders, who was a medical student.

As I recall, eventually Jamie took his mother as a hostage or a captive.    I think that Josh would have taken Carla in the same way.

The grandmother, Sadie, would have played a role in this story.   Instead, Elizabeth Sanders was introduced.   She was sympathetic to Jamie and shown to be evil.    Sadie would not have been portrayed as a criminal or as siding with her grandson.

With Lois Kibbe on the show playing Elizabeth, comedic scenes were more natural.   I especially remember the scenes with Elizabeth and Tina.

 

 

Both Josh Hall and Jamie Sanders had fathers with some influence (Ed, in addition to being in the police department, was also a former candidate for Lt. Govenor - as Herb Callison's running mate).   Both Josh and Jamie had attorneys as mothers.

I had only thought that Love Is a Many Splendored Thing was the third daytime drama for Ms. Beesch.  (The Secret Storm, The Edge of Night, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing - She appeared on Somerset later.)

What were the other two shows on which she appeared?

I have been sent a message that Ellen Holly, an actress who appeared on One Life to Live for seventeen years, has passed away.

At the time when Tracy Delmar (who was later revealed to be Charlotte Waring) was introduced and played by Victoria Wyndham, which actress was playing her "Aunt" Sara.

In my opinion, Leigh Lassen would have been good as Alice on Another World.   However, I am glad to read your opinion about this recast.

(I do think that Susan Harney was great in the role and am sorry that she did not remain on the show.)

The show and network were trying to "attract a Black audience" or a general audience with all races of viewers?

I may be repeating an earlier post, but I think that Frances Sternhagen (who has recently passed away) would have been wonderful as Dr. Julia Hoffman (as well as the other roles that were played by Grayson Hall) on Dark Shadows.

I think that I saw her once in a film playing a psychiatrist.

The noted actress Frances Sternhagen has died.   She played Jesse, the mother of Mark and Stace Reddin on The Secret Storm.  

Here is the obituary from The Secret Storm:

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FILE - Actress Frances Sternhagen attends the premiere of “Julie & Julia” in New York, on July 30, 2009. Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93. (AP Photo/Peter Kramer, File)

She was nominated for Tonys four other times, for starring or featured roles in “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” “Equus,” “Angel” and “Morning’s at Seven.” In 2013, she played Edie Falco’s mother in the off-Broadway play “The Madrid.”

“I have been very fortunate,” Sternhagen told the Daily Breeze of Torrance, California, in 2002. “And I think a lot of that is because I’m considered a character actor — which really means you can do a variety of things. It doesn’t mean that you can’t do leading parts, because I have. But you’re not limited to playing yourself.”

In a 2005 review of “Steel Magnolias,” then-Associated Press drama critic Michael Kuchwara called Sternhagen “one of the treasures of New York theater, able to invest any role she plays with considerable sympathy. Here, she turns what could be a throwaway part into one that provides much laughter — and applause.”

FILE - Actors Tom Aldredge, left, and Frances Sternhagen celebrate the opening of their play “On Golden Pond” in New York on Feb. 28, 1979. Sternhagen, the veteran character actor who won two Tony Awards and became a familiar maternal face to TV viewers later in life in such shows as “Cheers,” “ER,” “Sex and the City” and “The Closer,” has died. She was 93. (AP Photo/G. Paul Burnett, File)

She kept up a flourishing career while at the same time raising six children. She always said her family came first — commuting from her suburban home in New Rochelle while acting on Broadway — but admitted that touring and movie and TV work sometimes took her away from home.

“I remember telling my older daughter when she was about 13 that sometimes I felt terribly guilty that I wasn’t home all the time,” she told a Gale Group reporter. “And my daughter said, `Oh, Mom, you would have been impossible if you were home all the time.′ I’m sure she was right.”

TV viewers knew her as played the rich grandmother of Dr. John Carter (Noah Wyle) in the long-running “ER.” On “Cheers” she was the know-it-all mother of postman Cliff Clavin (John Ratzenberger). “She was just impossible and great fun to play,” she told The New York Times. The role brought her two Emmy nominations.

More recently, she had a recurring role in “Sex and the City” as Bunny MacDougal, the strong-minded mother-in-law of Charlotte (Kristin Davis), which brought her her third Emmy nomination, and played Kyra Sedgwick’s mother in “The Closer.” Soap opera fans in the 1960s knew her in “Love of Life” as Toni Prentiss Davis, who carried a gun and went mad.

“I must say it’s fun to play these snobby older ladies. It’s always more fun to be obnoxious. I have known women like that, and I can imitate them, I guess,” she told the Los Angeles Times in 2002.

Playwright Paul Rudnick on Wednesday called her “a wonderful actress, capable of the highest comedy and deeply moving drama.” She was, he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “an indelible presence.”

In “Equus,” opposite Anthony Hopkins and Peter Firth on Broadway in 1974, she originated the role of the mother of the troubled youth whose shocking act of violence against horses sets the drama in motion, earning her a Tony nod.

In 1979, she appeared in the original Broadway production of “On Golden Pond” in the role of Ethel Thayer that Katharine Hepburn won an Oscar for in the film version. “I feel very close to Ethel,” Sternhagen told the Times. “She reminds me of my mother and I took to her immediately.”

Sternhagen was one of three actors to handle the title role over the long off-Broadway run of “Driving Miss Daisy,” another stage role that became an Oscar-winner on screen, this time for Jessica Tandy.

She made her film debut in “Up the Down Staircase” in 1967. Among her other movies: “Hospital,” “Two People,” “Fedora,” “Bright Lights Big City,” “Misery,” “Doc Hollywood,” “Raising Cain” and “Curtain Call.”

Sternhagen was born in 1930, in Washington, D.C., where her father was a tax court judge. As a child she loved to perform — she recalled herself as “a shameful show-off” — but she never considered an acting career. She entered Vassar as a history major, but a friendly teacher suggested another direction: acting.

“Even though I was acting in college,” she told the New York Daily News, “it hadn’t occurred to me to major in drama.” But when it was noted that she was doing “C” work in history, Sternhagen switched to drama.

After graduation she taught drama, modern dance and singing outside Boston, earning $2,000 for the year before deciding to pursue work in the theater.

“I thought I would try it, see if I liked it, and then get out,” she told the Times in 1981. “But you never get out. It’s an addiction, because it touches your emotions, because it’s where you want to live. ... I think those of us who can stay in it are just plain lucky.”

She met her husband, actor Thomas A. Carlin, while appearing in a production in Maryland. He died of heart failure in 1991.

She didn’t let her pregnancies interfere much with her work schedule, explaining that as an only child, “I always longed for a big family.’

“I was lucky,” she told the Times. “I usually didn’t show a pregnancy until the sixth or seventh month. I was afraid to stop acting, because if I stopped I would never start again.”

“I can’t say it’s been easy. There have been quite a number of things I haven’t done. You make choices and have to stick with them.”

She and Carlin had four sons, Paul, Tony, Peter and John, and two daughters, Amanda and Sarah. She also is survived by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

“A celebration of her remarkable career and life is planned for mid January, near her 94th birthday,” said a statement from her family. “We continue to be inspired by her love and life.”