danfling

Spencer's daughter was probably not introduced prior to the introduction of Nancy, but that may not be true. I wonder how much longer it would be before Kim Hale and Andy Hurley would be introduced? There was an actor who played Spencer prior to Ed Power. He was not listed in this cast list. (He obviously had already been replaced.) Sp had Chandler #1. Also, at some point, soap opera pioneer actress Flora Campbell was written in as Margaret Garrison, ex-wife of Chandler and mother of Spencer. It seemed to me that Love Is a Many Splendored Thing was frequently introducing new families to join the Donnelly family (after somewhat eliminating the Elliott family). There was the Hale family, the Garrison family, and the Chernak family.

I thought about the above post. I initially decided that this must have been AFTER the murder of Stephanie, since neither she, Debbie, Pamela, Dorothy, nor Dwayne were listed in the cast. (along with Grady Perette or Susan Forbes) Then, I decided that maybe this was between the period that the Susan #1 and Susan #2 (Bibi Besch). Now, I have decided that this was just before Lydia and Calvin were introduced. Ben and Nicole must have just been introduced. Eric, Stephanie, Debbie. Susan, and the Stewart family must have not been introduced at this time. Also, had Steve Prentiss (Conard Fowkes) already left the show? Neither Ruth nor Ernie were listed. Did Steve leave town prior to the revelation that Ernie had murdered Harry Constable or afterward? I guess if Ernie and Ruth were not listed, neither would Orin, Julie, or Maynard be listed.

Also Three's Company related, both Audra Lindley and Don Knotts had appeared on Search for Tomorrrow. (And Robert Mandan, who was one of the stars of Three's a Crowd, also appeared as a major character on Search for Tomorrow.)

This must have been right before the addition of Lydia (Jane White) and Calvin (Scott Glenn). Also, I am surprised that William Prince is listed, yet Leon Janney was not listed as Eric Barrington. Had Stephanie already been murdered by this time? And, what about Susan Forbes? Had she been introduced or already written off? I remember that Lydia was a private nurse hired to serve patient Phil Capice. Why was Phil unable to speak or walk, etc.?

I would love to read the article about Nancy Marchand and Paul Sparer (Love of Life and Somerset). Their daughter played Katie on All My Children (a waitress at Logan's, I believe).

Slick, can you (or anyone) tell me who Lily was? That show must have liked the name Lily because there was later a major character named Lily Chernak. Was Lily the daughter of Spence Garrison and Nancy Garrison? I had been thinking for years that her name had been Sarah, but maybe I am wrong.

Can anyone tell me who the character of Bill Kimbrough (played by Justin McDonough) was? Either Jack Crowder or Peter DeAnda became a playwright. I saw one of his plays. That picture of Ellen Holly, as beautiful as she looks, does not do her justice. She appeared much prettier on the show.

I had thought that Mary McGregor had played Susan much later. I am glad to know that it was during this time. This is obviously before Barbara Rodell replaced Audre Johnston as Jill. Gordon Grey must have just left the role of Ken, and I guess that had not hired Joel Crothers yet to be Ken #2. It is also before the introduction of Laurie Hollister, played by Linda DeCoff. This confirms that neither Barbara Rodell's Jill or either of the two actresses who played Laurie had any scenes with Gordon Gray (Ken #1).

Her entire run on Ryan's Hope is probably available. On The Edge of Night, she played the mother of Miles in a series of flashbacks (although it may have only been one flashback). She later returned to the show in another role during the final weeks of the show.

I don't think that Diane van der Vegh has acted since her episode of playing Ann on All My Children. Ms. Barcroft later joined the cast of Ryan's Hope playing a soap opera actress. After that, she played small, temporary roles on As the World Turns, The Edge of Night, and (again) Another World.

Judith Barcroft was a beautiful leading lady! She did not create the character of Ann, but instead was Ann #3. The daughter of a minister, she made her Broadway debut in Mating Dance with Van Johnson (which had one performance). She then appeared in Dinner at Eight (Nikki Flaks of One Life to Live was a fellow performer in that). She was stand-by actress in Neil Simon's Plaza Suite. Her husband who mentioned was the stage manager and a fellow stand-by performer in that. I suspect that they met, although they could have known each other previously. She first worked with Agnes Nixon on Another World, where she created the role of Lenore Moore. I don't know if the role was created by the show's producer (Irna Phillips) or Ms. Nixon. Lenore was paired romantically with Bill Matthews and, later, with Walter Curtain. After Ms. Nixon had the job on Another World to create One Life to Live on ABC, she created All My Children. Ann was the daughter of Phoebe English Tyler and Dr. Charles Tyler, the sister of Lincoln Tyler, the half-sister of the deceased father of Chuck's father, and the aunt of Chuck. She had been married to and divorced from a European nobleman. The role was played origianally by Diane van der Vegh, but I read that she was so nervous on her first episode that she vowed to never have a second episode. She was replaced by Joanna Miles (The Secret Storm, The Edge of Night). I am not real sure about some of Ann's early stories, as the show did not air in my area. I know that she was quickly paired with Nick Davis. Nick, as you know, was the biological father of Phil Brent. Phil's biological mother was Amy Parker Tyler, who was married to Ann's brother Lincoln. I believe that Ann took a job in New York City in advertising. I have seen a scene with her and Phillip, who had gone to New York and had some type of accident and was hospitalized there. Joanna Miles was playing the role at that time. Anyway, about the same time that ABC cancelled A World Apart, it was announced that Ms. Barcroft was assuming the role of Ann. This was rather important news, and there were television commercials in which Ms. Barcroft told the audience that she was going to be the new Ann. After Paul Martin returned to Pine Valley on the show after being a prisoner of war in Korea, he was attracted to Ann. Ann married Nick, who had never been successful in business. Nick owned a company that (as I remember) sold light bulbs. He hired Kitty Shea as his assistant. (Kitty was a failed movie dancer who had come to Pine Valley to look for her natural mother.) I don't know the exact circustances, but Kitty became pregnant, and Nick was the father-to-be. Kitty had a miscarriage, but she had an intense hatred for Ann. She tried to poison Ann, but this was thwarted. Ruth interviened, and Ann lived. Ann forgave Kitty, who underwent some treatment. Liincoln divorced Amy, and after a romance with Sidney, left town. When he returned to Pine Valley from Seattle, he and Kitty fell in love. Ann purchased The Boutique from either Amy or Sidney. Ann and Nick had a break-up following Kitty's pregnancy. She began dating Paul Martin. Ann was returning to Pine Valley in an automobile from New York with one of them, and she told the driver that she was in love with the other one. Whichever was driving crashed the car. Ann simply could never decde if she loved Nick or Paul. Finally, she and Paul were married (her third marriage). Ann became pregnant, and was almost murdered by Margo Flax Martin. She gave birth to a daughter named Elzabeth, and Elizabeth suffered SIDS and died. Ann became mentally unbalanced at this point. She was sent away to a mental hospital, and during this time, Paul became attracted to divorcee Ellen Tucker Shepherd, who had just returned to her hometown from St. Louis. As you mentioned, Wisner Washam was married to Judith Barcroft. He and Agnes Nixon were the headwriters of the show. He continued to write the show after Ms. Nixon stopped writing it. Their son, Ian Washam, was the first little boy to played Phillip Brent, Jr., son of Tara and Phil. When All My Children expanded to a full hour, both Judith Barcroft and Francesca James decided to leave. They both remained on the show until the show was able to end their storylines. (Ann was sent away to the sanitorium, and Kitty died.) When Ann returned later, actress Gwynn Gillis portrayed Ann. After about a year, Ann was killed in an accident that was intended to kill her husband Paul, who was the district attorney.

2 comments: I had either forgotten that Leslie Charleson had a sister who was a performer or had forgotten about it. I would love to see a photograph of her! I had not known that Donny Most had appeared on either Search for Tomorrow or Love of Life. He is a favorite of mine. (I do know that he was signed to be the star of Happy Days, but, after Paramount had Ronny Howard under contract, he was dropped into the supporting role of Ralph.)

I thought that Mary Finney had been on some soap operas, but I cannot find any that she was on. Does this name sound familiar to you, Slick?

Love Is a Many Splendored Thing had the best final episode of any cancelled soap opera or serial, in my opinion.

Also in the cast of Wish You Were Here (by Harold Rome) were Sidney Armus (All My Children), Stanley Groover (The Edge of Night), Phyllis Newman (One Life to Live), soap opera writer and actress Nancy Franklin, and Frank Aletter (one-time husband of All My Children's Lee Merriweather).

Lydia Bruce should have been considered (and she may have been - for all I know) for the Ruth Brent Martin, R. N. recast when Mary Fickett first vacated the role.

Actor Dick van Patten, who played Larry Renfrew on Young Doctor Malone in 1961 and 1962 has passed away. I hope to post an obituary later.

I remember the scene to which you refer.

Speaking of Somerset, Percy Rodriges played a police lieutenant. Do you know his last name? (This was during the introduction of Mitch Farmer.)

If I am not mistaken, Clem did get a write-off. He announced that he was leaving Riverside Hospital to practice medicine somewhere else. I think that the character played by Irving Lee (Dr. Evan Cooper) should have been a recast Clem.

I have known for a long time that the late John Colenback played Jimmy Hull on From These Roots. Does anyone have a description of this character or his storyline?

I don't think that it matters if the character played by an actor has a name or not. I think that it has to do with the number of words that a performer utters on camera.

I thought about this after I had seen the above advertisement with James Broderick and James Pritchett. They may have been castmates on As the World Turns.

Would you check, Slick, to see if Brenda Curran had any daytime soap opera roles?

Above, it was mentioned that Stephanie Braxton probably enjoyed going from the role of Tara on All My Children to Winter #2 on The Edge of Night. (By the way, I think that she was a perfect Tara - even though Karen Gorney was my favorite performer in the role.) It was probably also a joy to again work with Joel Crothers. They had played a married couple on The Secret Storm.