watson71

Lemay certainly had his fans and detractors, but no one can deny that he provided viewers with years of entertainment and unforgettable characters while he was headwriter of Another World. Rest In Peace Mr. Lemay. 🙏🏼

I looked at the synopses for July 72 on the Another World Home Page. Could it have been Victoria Wyndham's introduction as Rachel when she was staying in a hotel with Jamie and Steve Frame stops by to visit them?

While "In This Life" made it to the final aired episode, there was another edit of the last episode that used the Crystal Gayle/Gary Morris "Another World" theme in the last few scenes of the episode. I wish someone would place this on YouTube.

19 years ago today, Another World aired its final episode on NBC- where has the time gone- it seems like yesterday...

Jacqueline Courtney and George Reinholt received top billing to be replaced by Victoria Wyndham and Douglass Watson In the mid-70s. The rest of the cast from the late 70s and early 80s would be listed in order of seniority. I can only only think of two instances when this did not happen. Stephen Schnetzer left the role of Cass in 1986 and returned in mid-1987. For a few months, he was listed at the bottom of the credits when he first returned. Then, he started to appear directly after Linda Dano in the credits a few months after his return. In 1986, Denise Alexander was listed at the bottom of the credits when she first joined the show. A few months into her run, she began appearing last in the credits as and DENISE ALEXANDER Mary McKinnon

Someone at NBC must have liked her- she was head writer on The Doctors (76), Days of our Lives (82-84), Another World (86-88 and 96), and Sunset Beach- while she had stints on other shows, she worked on NBC soaps for 20 years. I agree she is a mixed bag- she was the writer who killed both Sally Frame and Frankie Frame on AW. And practically every show she wrote on NBC there was a serial killer storyline.

Interesting- looking up a 1967 calendar- the soaps were off the air for 9 days- Wednesday, March 29 Thursday, March 30 Friday, March 31 Monday, April 3 Tuesday, April 4 Wednesday, April 5 Thursday, April 6 Friday, April 7 Monday, April 10 AW, and I guess the rest of the soaps, returned on Tuesday, April 11. AW was still a live broadcast at this time. On May 24, 1967, AW would make the transition to videotape from a live broadcast. I wonder if P&G and/or NBC made this decision so that AW could have episodes on hand and ready to broadcast in case there was another actors' strike?

Another World, and I assume the rest of the soaps were pre-empted from March 29 to April 10, 1967 due to an AFTRA strike. According to the Another World Homepage, when the show resumed on April 11th, Mitchell Dru caught the audience up on what was going on in Bay City: Dru: "Come in. Come in. How good it is to be back with you again. (HE CLOSES THE DOOR AND MAKES HIS WAY TOWARD A DESK WHICH HAS A NUMBER OF LETTERS ON IT, REPRESENTING LETTERS FROM VIEWERS) And when I say that I'm speaking, of course, not just for myself but for everyone who is a part of Another World. And we particularly want to thank you for the many letters you have sent, saying that you have missed us for we have certaintly missed being with you. As far as we are concerned, absence does, indeed, make the heart grow fonder, and we hope that is the case with you...We also want to assure you that during our absence, you have not missed any important developments in the story. Tomorrow, there is a Grand Jury hearing of the State versus Melissa Palmer Fargo. An event which, as Missy's counsel, I am not looking forward to with any eagerness. The District Attorney only has a circumstantial case against Melissa but it's a very strong one, especially since we have no true lead yet as to who might have killed Danny Fargo. That, you see, is the big question in all our minds. Who did it? There's the man who came to see Danny several times, you know, the man Danny called Sam whom Missy saw. But as yet we have not been able to find him, or even to learn his last name...However, Bill is going to Chicago immediately after the Grand Jury hearing to try to get some lead from the people there who knew Danny...Another thing that disturbs me very much, though I don't like to say this even to John Randolph or Bill, is the lie Bill's mother forced Lenore to tell the police about her engagement to Bill. For it was a lie, no matter how Liz Matthews tries to justify it. And I am sure Walter Curtin suspects that Melissa and Bill are in love and I'm sure he intends to ferret out that fact (DRU MAKES HIS WAY TOWARD THE DOOR ADJOINING THE LIVING ROOM) Mary's in the kitchen fixing lunch and Bill and Melissa are still in the living room, I believe, enjoying a few moments alone. (HE CRACKS THE DOOR, LOOKS OUT, AND THE CAMERA, FROM DRU'S P.O.V., SHOWS MISSY AND BILL SEATED TOGETHER ON THE COUCH TALKING EARNESTLY AND HOLDING HANDS) Yes, there they are. And we'll join them in just a moment." (FADE OUT)

Douglass Watson (Mac) is featured as Father Nature in these late 60s- early 70s TV commercials for El Producto cigars:

Yes in November 1983 at the opening of Leo Mars nightclub.

That could have been the reason. I'm not sure if he left on his own or whether the storyline dictated his exit so they could begin the Felicia alcoholism storyline. Aprea's second character, Alexander Nikos, started with potential- a Lucas lookalike with a vendetta against Carl Hutchins- Carl had an affair with Alexander's dead wife, Diana. After a few months, Alexander's storyline became a plot driven mess with Amanda posing as Hadley Prescott to interfere in Rachel and Carl's marriage, Alexander and Carl fighting on the top of penthouse roof causing Felicia to fall through the skylight, Alexander kidnapping Rachel, burying her in a coffin, in a church that was about to demolished, etc.

I always assumed they never recast Lisa because Jenna arrived in 1990 and Lorna in 1991. I would think with two daughters, Felicia no longer needed a niece.

I'll cut AW a little slack- the show had a little over a month from the time it was cancelled to the filming of its last episode. Carolyn the gorilla was a nod to the show's history- Cass, Cecile, and Felicia met Wallingford searching for David Thatcher's killer- Felicia and Wallingford were accidentally locked in Carolyn's cage. I would have featured this earlier in the last week rather than in the last episode. The video for Cass and Lila's wedding where each cast member spoke (to the fans), Grant being alive n Tanquir, Rachel's sweep of the Cory living room surrounded by pictures of her loved ones, and ending with Mac's last toast were all nice touches. However, more flashbacks would have been preferred! AWs and Guiding Light's endings were head and shoulders above As the World Turns ending- a show that had 9 months from cancellation to prepare filming its last episode. No flashbacks, veterans like Lisa treated like a day player, all to end with a cheap plastic globe spinning on Dr. Bob's desk. No nods to the show's history whatsoever. Had AW and GL had 9 months from cancellation to prepare filming its last episode- I believe we would have had more flashbacks and nods to past history.

54 years ago- on May 4, 1964- the continuing story of Another World premiered on NBC at 3:00 PM EST. "We do not live in this world alone, but in a thousand other worlds. The events of our lives represent only the surface, and in our minds and feelings, we live in many other hidden worlds" Happy Anniversary Another World! 🥂🎂🍾🎈🎉

For some unknown reason TPTB kept Jamie, Sandy, and Blaine permanently off the AW canvas in the last years of the show when the show could have used characters with pervious history on the show. Those three characters could have been heavily featured in Rachel's romance with Carl, etc. In 1995, the show's refusal to put Nancy Frangione's Cecile on contract spoke volumes about their care for the history of the series. Cecile was a pivotal villain on the show and should have remained on AW until it was cancelled in 1999. I would have much preferred to see a Cass/Cecile wedding than a Cass/Lila wedding in the last episode. At least a Cass/Cecile wedding would have used the show's history and backstory.

Miller left AW in May 1986 and returned to AMC later that year. I did not care for her Sally at all.

Mary Page Keller was my favorite Sally as well. I did not care for Taylor Miller as Sally, but TPTB should not have killed off the character. Sally was too important to the show. Sally had ties to the Matthews and Frames and could have driven years of story on AW. Had the character stayed on the show, Alice could have easily come back to Bay City, Aunt Liz could have been giving her advice, and Sally's son, Kevin, could have been featured as well.

Rhonda Lewin only played Vicky from September to December 1986. She never played Marley.

Could be- I thought some of his responses did not ring true, and I just chalked it up to him mellowing with age....

ATWT and GL were living on borrowed time once P&G abolished their Executive in Charge of Production position in 2005. This was the first tell tale sign that P&G was not interested in their last two remaining soaps. This position had existed the 1950s. P&G at the time turned over production supervision of both ATWT and GL to the executive producers. Then, in 2008, P&G removed their production logo from the end credits of both shows and allowed it to be replaced by the Telenext Media logo. Telenext was the media company who assisted in the production of the shows for P&G. It was as if P&G did not want their company named associated with either show at this point in time. Goutman had 9 months from the announcement of ATWT's cancellation to the actual broadcast to prepare the final episode. While storylines wrapped up, he did nothing as executive producer in the 9 months to make these final episode special. ATWT had more veteran characters in its cast then any show on at the time. They were used marginally. The way Eileen Fulton was used was criminal- she was treated like an under-5 day player. No flashbacks or special nods to the show's history in the storytelling. Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, and Another World had about 2 months from their announced cancellation to the final episode. Guiding Light had about 5 months from its announced cancellation to the final episode. ATWT's 9 months was unprecedented, and Goutman did nothing memorable to send off P&G's last remaining soap in style.

The link below is for a March 2018 interview with Harding Lemay. It is an interesting read, and it seems that he has mellowed with age. At age 96, he is probably one, if not the last, headwriter still living from the golden age of soaps. http://daytimeindulgence.blogspot.com/2018/03/exclusive-harding-lemay-interview.html?m=1

I also forgot to add that when Jill Farren Phelps became executive producer and Tom King and Craig Carlson were the headwriters, Harding Lemay was hired as a "consultant" and his name appears in the December 5th credits, so Lemay was there through much of Justine story. I'm just not sure how much input he had into the story, but I cannot see him approving of all of this plot- driven writing. 🤔😝🤔

There was a producer and writer change in the story- that is part of the reason it was so convoluted. When the story began John Valente was the executive producer and Carolyn Culliton was the headwriter. In June, Jill Farren Phelps became the executive producer and Tom King and Craig Carlson the headwriters. King was the headwriter of AW right after Harding Lemay left the show who penned most of the Janice Frame story in 1979-80.

The Harrisons were from Boston. When the Justine story began, the show went to great length to show flashbacks with different "younger" actors playing Spencer, Justine, and Carl to explain the backstory of Ryan's birth. You can can see the flashbacks in the clip below at the 40 minute mark: Carl had made mention that Rachel resembled Justine when he was revealed to be Ryan's father. After Grant shot himself to frame Vicky, the Harrison mansion that was purchased when they moved from Boston burned down in February 1995. At the time, Justine was living in France and viewers only saw her in shadows. Viewers did not Victoria Wyndham as Justine until April. Justine kidnapped Rachel and placed her in a hospital out of the country. Justine then assumed Rachel's identity. Later in the Summer of 1995, Justine purchased another mansion where she kidnapped Vicky and bricked her up behind a wall in the basement. Rachel and Justine did not come face to face until their altercation at the train trestle where Grant shot Ryan. After he was shot, Ryan fell into Justine and pushed her off the trestle where she was hit by a train. The show should have left Justine dead at this point. However, Justine did not die. She popped up a few months later in December at the grand opening of the Ryan Harrison wing at the hospital. Justine planted a bomb in the hospital that Grant deactivated. Justine broke into the Cory mansion was finally killed by Carl who faked a heart attack, then he stabbed Justine to death. A convoluted story to say the least, but you could see that NBC was pressuring AW to be more like DAYS in its storytelling. 🤔

Somerset Headwriters: : Robert Cenedella, March 1970 - December 1970. Henry Slesar, January 1971 - March 1972. Henry Slesar and Jane Lyon, April 1972 - May 1973. Roy Winsor and Robert J. Shaw, May 1973 - April 1974. Robert J. Shaw and Winifred Wolfe, April 1974 - March 1975. Don Appell, Doris Frankel, and Frank Salisbury, March 1975 - December 1975. A.J. Russell and Frank Salisbury, January 1976 - May 1976. Russell Kubeck, June 1976 - December 1976.