danfling

I don't know how the casting of another performer in the Ricky Donnolly role would have made, but there was a STRONG resemblance to me between Donna Mills (Laura) and Shawn Campbell (Ricky).   I bet that had a lot to do with the selected cast.

I never felt that Guy Davis as Dr. Josh Hall was a miscasting at all.   I thought that he was great in the role.

I also never felt that the Danny-Jamie Sanders friendship was "gay-themed."

I am glad that you mentioned Mike (Eriq LaSalle)!   I had forgotten that he and Cord were friends, but I thought that he could have been utilized in an effective way (which never happened).

You also did not mention Bobby Blue (Blair Underwood).    I thought that the relationship between Bobby and Vikki was really good and was successful at showing the audience yet-another side of Vikki's personality.  Bobby would have been a good foil, later, against R. J.

Wanda was just beginning to have a romance with Virgil (John Fieldler)...

Irving Vendig (who had created Three Steps to Heaven and The Edge of Night) was the head writer for Paradise Bay (following the cancellation of The Clear Horizon).

The show's owner, Ted Corday, probably felt that it was in more capable hands than Morning Star, so he supervised that show more closely.

But CBS owned four of its own shows (Love of Life, Where the Heart Is, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing, and The Secret Storm).  

And, when promoting the premiere of Where the Heart Is, there were commercials featuring other actresses from The Secret Storm and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.

I had known that the very early soap operas had black backgrounds in their sets.    I am suprised that Search for Tomorrow in 1953, only one year after the 1952 debut, had sets that elaborate.

I read that "tea desants" were held in the summer or fall.   So, I wondered the airdate of this episode.

Both of these actors (Les Damon and Earl Hammond) were to later work with writer Irving Vendig on The Edge of Night - Mr. Damon as Ed Palmerlee and Mr. Hammond as the original Phil Capice).

Mr. Damon was also one of the actors who played Nick Charles on the radio verson of The Thin Man.

I was born in 1955, and I had not known before that bottles of dishwashing liquid detergent were purchased in a box with the bottle inside.

I do remember the name Katherine Babecki.   I had not realized that this was Katherine Phillips before now, I don't think.

It is a little like writer Cathy Chicos, who wrote All My Children.   She was actually Cathy Nixon, daughter of Agnes Nixon, after her marriage.

I am watching a rerun of To Tell the Truth, and writer Ira Avery (Love of Life, The Secret Storm, The Doctors, Search for Tomorrow, The Guiding Light, Love Is a Many Splendored Thing).

He was using the pen name Mavis Hathaway to write a new romance novel.

I had not known until this morning that acter/writer Ed Moore had created the role of Dr. John Hale on this show.

Mr. Moore was a terrific actor in my opinion!   He played a role on Love of Life (which I did not see) and was later on Loving as Steve's father.   I thought that the show (Loving) used him very effectively, but I would have liked it if he had been utilized even more!    He later was cast to play Mary Tyler Moore's husband on a primetime CBS comedy, but he was replaced by a bigger-name star.

Robert Pickering and Shane Nickerson had both appeared on The Guiding Light.

Shane Nickerson played Billy Fletcher (I think that Billy had been adopted by Johnny.).

Robert Pickering played Mike Bauer prior to being replaced by Don Stewart.   He was also on the serial Days of Our Lives.

 

Thank you for this information on the cast, writer and producer!

I want to ask about the pilot of Mary Worth.    For some reason, I am thinking that it was submitted to NBC, although I may be wrong.

Was this an attempt by the NBC network to own a serial, or did another company organize and produce this pilot (which starred Nancy Wickwire).

If this should not be on the NBC page, please forgive me!

David Jacobs, who created the primetime serials Dallas and Knot's Landing has passed away.

It is disturbing news that Nancy Frangione (Tara Martin Jefferson #3) has passed away.

This seems understandable because the network was airing five soap operas which were being produced in New York City:  Dark Shadows, One Life to Live, All My Children, The Best of Everything and A World Apart.

When Dark Shadows first began, it had a larger studio but was moved into the smaller one where Ryan's Hope was taped.

What was the first studio of Dark Shadows being used as after Dark Shadows moved and during this time following the premieres of The Best of Everything and A World Apart?

I thought that Ms. Francis did a very good job on All My Children.   However, her storylines began promising but fizzled before she departed the show.

Here's a TV Guide article from 1969 on Millette Alexander

This lady has a 17 room house, four children, six dogs, seven cats and a soap opera career, too -  by Judith Jobin

“Soap opera at its worst can  be black-and-white—but most of the time the characters are as a real and the conflicts are ones the average person really deals with. I’m proud of it and I'm livid because the industry ignores it. There are no Emmys for soaps!'

So says actress Millette Alexander—looking authentically angry—as she defends her membership in television’s much maligned soap-opera club. And it might smack of a case of sour suds if it came from a lesser talent. But by all accounts, Miss Alexander plays  soaps with a degree of involvement and intensity usually reserved, in an image-conscious profession, for more prestigious theatrical endeavors. The case in point is her latest role, a young, attractive lady doctor. For the past six months Millette has been feeling her way around the psyche of Sara McIntyre, M.D., one of the central characters on CBS’s The Guiding Light. Says producer Peter Andrews: ‘‘She’s quite an intelligent girl and she works very hard in preparation—much more than most. She always has a point of view—she has the whole edifice of her role constructed by the time she gets in.”

On the surface, the action is uncomplicated: Millette puts in upwards of 40 hours a week alternately clucking over patients and getting into clinches with a handsome colleague. But under the clucking and clinching is “much more than the words say,’ insists Edge of Night actress Teri Keane, who remembers Millette’s nimble portrayal of a dual role on that series. “She's complex. There's nothing surfacey about her acting.”” And a Guiding Light actor agrees, pointing admiringly to her ‘‘emotional quicksilver quality.”

But at this point, an inevitable question leaps out: after 15 years of landing television, Broadway and summer-theater roles with ease and regularity, why isn’t Millette Alexander more famous, a little closer to stardom?

“She could definitely have it if she tried,’ declares producer Andrews, confirming that her talent is widely acknowledged in the trade. Teri Keane agrees: ‘‘Absolutely. She's tops. But she doesn’t want it.” And Millette herself, recalling an early offer from 20th Century-Fox, confers a convincing air of distastefulness on the whole business: “They wanted me to sign a seven-year contract, move to California, become a starlet.I didn’t want to be locked in.” Her friend Ed Zimmermann explains: ‘‘l’d say she wants most to do good work.” Finally, Andrews points to her off-stage existence: ‘‘She thinks a lot about her home life.”

By any standard, it’s a life worth thinking about. At 35, she’s married to rangy Jimmy Hammerstein. He is the son of Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, is a respected director in his own right (most recently of a pair of off-Broadway Pinter plays), and was. undeniably a catch. They live in a 17-room Stanford White house in Nyack, N.Y., complete with a six-acre spread of rolling lawns, fruit-tree orchards, greenhouse, lavish swimming pool, and hilltop gazebo overlooking the Hudson River. Their four children are abundantly rosy-cheeked and well-fed. And they solved their servant problem by importing an entire family from Honduras—but the bargain included five more children and an  88-year-old grandmother, all of whom live-in.

After that the law of diminishing returns takes over and things look a bit raffish at the edges. There’s a bright red four-wheel-drive jeep in the driveway, and unwary visitors are assaulted by a friendly tangle of six dogs and seven cats. A tour of the interior turns up stray dolls and hobby horses, jars of freshly made fruit preserves in the kitchen, a pair of well-used pianos, an alarming assortment of electronic instruments and an open Dickens volume in the bathroom. Not to mention sound effects—the indecorous clatter of nine children, plus sputtering balloon sounds and Indian yells.

It all looks disarmingly like a television headache commercial featuring Millette as its miscast heroine. As keeper of the house and grounds, and Big Mama to that brood, she’s more like the earthy old lady who lived in a shoe than an other-worldly Cinderella. ‘‘! don’t even nose-count any more,” she laughs.

“She looks like quite a socialite,” says Teri Keane, ‘‘but she can get down there in the garden and weed!” And that’s not just a figure of speech. In off hours, Millette weeds with gusto, dips deeply into art and music (she’s a highly skilled pianist, also plays violin), finds time for exquisite needlepoint projects and generally has a disconcerting affinity for over-achievement. “She's got a helluva lot of energy,”’ says one friend, and another adds, “It must be pretty exhausting.”

Which raises a final question: How did an admittedly ‘“‘overly sensible’’ teenager from the Great Neck (Long Island) High School Orchestra find her way from first-chair violin to the center of such a helter-skelter life?

“I finally got sensible about myself,” she explains happily.

In the article above (about Millette Alexander) mentions producer Peter Andrews.   I don't remember ever hearing that name before.    I did watch The Guiding Light at the time that this article was published and may have seen the name Peter Andrews in the credits (but I don't remember).

In the IMDb, Peter Andrews has five acting credits:   two in 1966, one in 1967, one for 1966-1969, and one in 1972.   I suspect that all of these acting roles may have been on British television.

There is no reference that I have been able to find about producer Peter Andrews.

Here's a TV Guide article from 1969 on Millette Alexander

This lady has a 17 room house, four children, six dogs, seven cats and a soap opera career, too -  by Judith Jobin

“Soap opera at its worst can  be black-and-white—but most of the time the characters are as a real and the conflicts are ones the average person really deals with. I’m proud of it and I'm livid because the industry ignores it. There are no Emmys for soaps!'

So says actress Millette Alexander—looking authentically angry—as she defends her membership in television’s much maligned soap-opera club. And it might smack of a case of sour suds if it came from a lesser talent. But by all accounts, Miss Alexander plays  soaps with a degree of involvement and intensity usually reserved, in an image-conscious profession, for more prestigious theatrical endeavors. The case in point is her latest role, a young, attractive lady doctor. For the past six months Millette has been feeling her way around the psyche of Sara McIntyre, M.D., one of the central characters on CBS’s The Guiding Light. Says producer Peter Andrews: ‘‘She’s quite an intelligent girl and she works very hard in preparation—much more than most. She always has a point of view—she has the whole edifice of her role constructed by the time she gets in.”

On the surface, the action is uncomplicated: Millette puts in upwards of 40 hours a week alternately clucking over patients and getting into clinches with a handsome colleague. But under the clucking and clinching is “much more than the words say,’ insists Edge of Night actress Teri Keane, who remembers Millette’s nimble portrayal of a dual role on that series. “She's complex. There's nothing surfacey about her acting.”” And a Guiding Light actor agrees, pointing admiringly to her ‘‘emotional quicksilver quality.”

But at this point, an inevitable question leaps out: after 15 years of landing television, Broadway and summer-theater roles with ease and regularity, why isn’t Millette Alexander more famous, a little closer to stardom?

“She could definitely have it if she tried,’ declares producer Andrews, confirming that her talent is widely acknowledged in the trade. Teri Keane agrees: ‘‘Absolutely. She's tops. But she doesn’t want it.” And Millette herself, recalling an early offer from 20th Century-Fox, confers a convincing air of distastefulness on the whole business: “They wanted me to sign a seven-year contract, move to California, become a starlet.I didn’t want to be locked in.” Her friend Ed Zimmermann explains: ‘‘l’d say she wants most to do good work.” Finally, Andrews points to her off-stage existence: ‘‘She thinks a lot about her home life.”

By any standard, it’s a life worth thinking about. At 35, she’s married to rangy Jimmy Hammerstein. He is the son of Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, is a respected director in his own right (most recently of a pair of off-Broadway Pinter plays), and was. undeniably a catch. They live in a 17-room Stanford White house in Nyack, N.Y., complete with a six-acre spread of rolling lawns, fruit-tree orchards, greenhouse, lavish swimming pool, and hilltop gazebo overlooking the Hudson River. Their four children are abundantly rosy-cheeked and well-fed. And they solved their servant problem by importing an entire family from Honduras—but the bargain included five more children and an  88-year-old grandmother, all of whom live-in.

After that the law of diminishing returns takes over and things look a bit raffish at the edges. There’s a bright red four-wheel-drive jeep in the driveway, and unwary visitors are assaulted by a friendly tangle of six dogs and seven cats. A tour of the interior turns up stray dolls and hobby horses, jars of freshly made fruit preserves in the kitchen, a pair of well-used pianos, an alarming assortment of electronic instruments and an open Dickens volume in the bathroom. Not to mention sound effects—the indecorous clatter of nine children, plus sputtering balloon sounds and Indian yells.

It all looks disarmingly like a television headache commercial featuring Millette as its miscast heroine. As keeper of the house and grounds, and Big Mama to that brood, she’s more like the earthy old lady who lived in a shoe than an other-worldly Cinderella. ‘‘! don’t even nose-count any more,” she laughs.

“She looks like quite a socialite,” says Teri Keane, ‘‘but she can get down there in the garden and weed!” And that’s not just a figure of speech. In off hours, Millette weeds with gusto, dips deeply into art and music (she’s a highly skilled pianist, also plays violin), finds time for exquisite needlepoint projects and generally has a disconcerting affinity for over-achievement. “She's got a helluva lot of energy,”’ says one friend, and another adds, “It must be pretty exhausting.”

Which raises a final question: How did an admittedly ‘“‘overly sensible’’ teenager from the Great Neck (Long Island) High School Orchestra find her way from first-chair violin to the center of such a helter-skelter life?

“I finally got sensible about myself,” she explains happily.

Here's a TV Guide article from 1969 on Millette Alexander

This lady has a 17 room house, four children, six dogs, seven cats and a soap opera career, too -  by Judith Jobin

“Soap opera at its worst can  be black-and-white—but most of the time the characters are as a real and the conflicts are ones the average person really deals with. I’m proud of it and I'm livid because the industry ignores it. There are no Emmys for soaps!'

So says actress Millette Alexander—looking authentically angry—as she defends her membership in television’s much maligned soap-opera club. And it might smack of a case of sour suds if it came from a lesser talent. But by all accounts, Miss Alexander plays  soaps with a degree of involvement and intensity usually reserved, in an image-conscious profession, for more prestigious theatrical endeavors. The case in point is her latest role, a young, attractive lady doctor. For the past six months Millette has been feeling her way around the psyche of Sara McIntyre, M.D., one of the central characters on CBS’s The Guiding Light. Says producer Peter Andrews: ‘‘She’s quite an intelligent girl and she works very hard in preparation—much more than most. She always has a point of view—she has the whole edifice of her role constructed by the time she gets in.”

On the surface, the action is uncomplicated: Millette puts in upwards of 40 hours a week alternately clucking over patients and getting into clinches with a handsome colleague. But under the clucking and clinching is “much more than the words say,’ insists Edge of Night actress Teri Keane, who remembers Millette’s nimble portrayal of a dual role on that series. “She's complex. There's nothing surfacey about her acting.”” And a Guiding Light actor agrees, pointing admiringly to her ‘‘emotional quicksilver quality.”

But at this point, an inevitable question leaps out: after 15 years of landing television, Broadway and summer-theater roles with ease and regularity, why isn’t Millette Alexander more famous, a little closer to stardom?

“She could definitely have it if she tried,’ declares producer Andrews, confirming that her talent is widely acknowledged in the trade. Teri Keane agrees: ‘‘Absolutely. She's tops. But she doesn’t want it.” And Millette herself, recalling an early offer from 20th Century-Fox, confers a convincing air of distastefulness on the whole business: “They wanted me to sign a seven-year contract, move to California, become a starlet.I didn’t want to be locked in.” Her friend Ed Zimmermann explains: ‘‘l’d say she wants most to do good work.” Finally, Andrews points to her off-stage existence: ‘‘She thinks a lot about her home life.”

By any standard, it’s a life worth thinking about. At 35, she’s married to rangy Jimmy Hammerstein. He is the son of Oscar Hammerstein 2nd, is a respected director in his own right (most recently of a pair of off-Broadway Pinter plays), and was. undeniably a catch. They live in a 17-room Stanford White house in Nyack, N.Y., complete with a six-acre spread of rolling lawns, fruit-tree orchards, greenhouse, lavish swimming pool, and hilltop gazebo overlooking the Hudson River. Their four children are abundantly rosy-cheeked and well-fed. And they solved their servant problem by importing an entire family from Honduras—but the bargain included five more children and an  88-year-old grandmother, all of whom live-in.

After that the law of diminishing returns takes over and things look a bit raffish at the edges. There’s a bright red four-wheel-drive jeep in the driveway, and unwary visitors are assaulted by a friendly tangle of six dogs and seven cats. A tour of the interior turns up stray dolls and hobby horses, jars of freshly made fruit preserves in the kitchen, a pair of well-used pianos, an alarming assortment of electronic instruments and an open Dickens volume in the bathroom. Not to mention sound effects—the indecorous clatter of nine children, plus sputtering balloon sounds and Indian yells.

It all looks disarmingly like a television headache commercial featuring Millette as its miscast heroine. As keeper of the house and grounds, and Big Mama to that brood, she’s more like the earthy old lady who lived in a shoe than an other-worldly Cinderella. ‘‘! don’t even nose-count any more,” she laughs.

“She looks like quite a socialite,” says Teri Keane, ‘‘but she can get down there in the garden and weed!” And that’s not just a figure of speech. In off hours, Millette weeds with gusto, dips deeply into art and music (she’s a highly skilled pianist, also plays violin), finds time for exquisite needlepoint projects and generally has a disconcerting affinity for over-achievement. “She's got a helluva lot of energy,”’ says one friend, and another adds, “It must be pretty exhausting.”

Which raises a final question: How did an admittedly ‘“‘overly sensible’’ teenager from the Great Neck (Long Island) High School Orchestra find her way from first-chair violin to the center of such a helter-skelter life?

“I finally got sensible about myself,” she explains happily.

The composer of the theme for How to Survive a Marriage, Susan Otto, was married to Robert Isreal (the president of Score Productions).

I think that she also composed the theme for the syndicated version of To Tell the Truth with hosts Gary Moore and Joe Garagiola

Donna, two other actresses received star billing in opening credits on How to Survive a Marriage after the departure of Rosemary Prinz.

Joan Copeland and Fran Brill and one other (I cannot remember whom at this moment) received star billing on alternate days.

I wish that I could remember the third one!

I had not heard that (that the executive producer paid performers' fines).    Thank you for sharing that information!

How I hate that term!

I wonder why both of the actresses who played Viki were pictured together?

 

Could this picture have been made during the period of auditioning for the roles?  I recall that Ellen Holly (as Clara) did not appear onscreen until the second month of the show.

What is BITD?

I absolutely HATED the character of Gabrielle.   I did not care the the actress, either.   I must post, in fairness, that had this actress played some other role, perhaps I would feel better about her.

The show, to me, made the character unredeemable when she stole Delilah's business after she had returned from being kidnapped and then returning to Rafe.  (I adored the characters of Delilah and Rafe.)

The show should NEVER have brought her back.    The character, was, a good mother to her son, though.