Bill Bauer

14 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

This article just makes me dislike Meg Ryan even more. "Reluctance to recognize her soap past" like she did porn or something. The contrast between hers and Julianne Moore's attitudes is glaring and Julianne had a lot more reason to be snobby (though she embraced her soap past). She was a much better actress than Ryan and had a much longer career. I have a feeling Ryan lucked into ATWT (based on her acting abilities at the time) so she should be grateful for it. Sorry for the rant but snobby attitudes just rub me the wrong way. 

On 9/12/2019 at 4:45 AM, Paul Raven said:

2 weeks ending August 6 1967/ 2 weeks previous/coverage

1. As The World Turns  10.9/39 (11.5/41) 99.3

2. Dick Van Dyke 10.7/50 (11.1/50) 98.6

3. Another World 9.9/35 (9.9/35) 97.2

4. Art Linkletter House Party 9.9/36 (9.0/34) 99.3

5. The Guiding Light 9.7/37 ( 10.1/39) 99.1

6. Search For Tomorrow  9.7/38 ( 10.5/41) 99.1

7. Andy of Mayberry reruns 9.6/50 (10.3/52) 96.2

8. The Doctors  9.1/34 (9.0/34) 97.6

9. Newlywed Game 8.7/33 (8.7/33) 97.8

10. Let's Make A Deal 8.6/31 (7.5/27) 86.7

11. Love of Life 8.3/34 (9.0/36) 98.4

12. To Tell the Truth 8.3/30 (8.3/30) 98.7

13. Beverly Hillbillies reruns 8.1/47 (8.4/47) 83.9

14. Edge of Night 8.1/32 (9.5/37) 98.7

15. Eye Guess 8.1/32 (7.7/30) 91.6

16. You Don't Say 8.1/32 (8.6/32) 87.4

17. Days of Our Lives 8.0/30 (7.4/28) 95.6

18. Secret Storm 8.0/31 (9.1/33) 98.6

19. General Hospital 7.9/26 (7.9/26) 98.1

20. Password 7.9/30 (7.8/30) 98.0

I'm surprised the ratings for Days of Our Lives were so low then. That was a really good time for the show. 

17 hours ago, j swift said:

 

Also, he repeats that old yarn about Eileen Fulton being accosted on the streets of New York by a fan who could not tell fact from fiction. I dislike that story because it diminishes the intelligence of soap fans.  Sometimes that mythical tale happened to Ms. Fulton in a supermarket involving a tomato and sometimes it happened on the street.  However, I would give a hubbard squash to anyone who could actually verify those events. 

 

 

It probably never happened. It was probably a PR ploy back in the day to get people to tune in to see what all the "fuss" was about and it turned into an urban legend over time. The reason for so many variations of the story is because writers and actors couldn't remember what the official story was supposed to be. I've seen EF recount the story of being slapped in the street by an obviously deranged person with a laugh and a smile. I doubt that anyone who had that happen to them would tell the story with a smile and a chuckle. Nor would they just brush it off and not have the person arrested. 

On 7/17/2021 at 12:46 AM, TVFAN1144 said:

Does anyone else hate what they did to the Dee Stewart character in the late 70s?  When played by Marcia McCabe as a teenager, she was often very humorous sort of like the Katie Parker character on Guiding Light.

Then, probably during the destructive Dobson years, she was suddenly God's gift to men.  Ian died while having sex with her (seriouslly?) and John Dixon and James Stenbeck obsessed over her.   And then there was romance with Brad Hollister and triangle with her sister Annie.   Between Dee and Brad, I don't know which one had a more "wooden" delivery.  

This period was definitely a low point of the series imo.

The only Dee Stewarts I really saw were Jacqueline Schultz and Vicky Dawson. I loved Vicky and couldn't stand Jacqueline. I don't know if it's the actresses or the way the character was written at different times. Maybe a bit of both but it may be my preference for Vicky. 

If Marland did that, he must not have cared much if his characters lived on after he was gone. He had to know that future producers would prefer to get rid of his characters than pay him royalties. He seemed like a genuine fan of the serial format so it looks like he would want his characters to continue on. Then again, perhaps he'd rather the characters leave with him than have them butchered and twisted beyond all recognition which is usually what happened in the latter days of soaps. A lot of the characters on ATWT towards the end were the same in name only. 

6 hours ago, MarlandFan said:

While I appreciate Alan coordinating all of these soap actor reunions, he can be a very frustrating interviewer. He interrupts a great deal - and at inopportune times. Suzenne was going to expand on several topics but at her slightest pause, he jumps in and cuts her off. I'm sure we could have learned a lot more about Louden and Morrison and the post-Marland era if he would just let her speak. She was game to talk about everything.  And it sounds like she had a friendship with Marland -- we could have learned about that as well. Again - I'm glad these interviews are taking place - but there are so many missed opportunities.

This is the main reason these interviews are so frustrating. I don't know if he does it on purpose to keep too much personal information from getting out or if he just doesn't recognize opportunities. 

47 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

 

How many times does a guest finish a funny or touching anecdote and his only response is, "that's crazy"? Let's just say I only watch for the guests.

This made me laugh out loud because it's so true and it grates on my nerves when he says that. He wastes so many opportunities to go deeper into something by just saying "That's so crazy". It immediately stops everyone from talking. How does one respond to "That's crazy"? It makes him seem simple. 

14 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

I thought Tonio hit his head during the struggle with Duncan in 1993/4 and died. 

I think this is most likely what happened. I mean, I know that happened due to Duncan talking about it later (Tonio hitting his head and dying) but I was just confused because the synopsis on the SoapCentral webpage makes it sound like he escaped and is in hiding. However, that doesn't really make sense because Duncan wouldn't be saying that he died if he escaped and Sabrina would have been worried about going back to Montega (which she wasn't) in the episode I just watched. The episode was Sabrina's last episode after a visit to Oakdale (Christmas 1992) and, in the end, she and Frannie were flying to Montega to live. No mention of Tonio. I think he did die. I don't know if I trust the SoapCentral synopses. The problem was that the actual "death" episode for Tonio is one of just a few missing from that time period. So, I thought I'd see if anybody had any first-hand memories of it. Thanks for the help!

I can't understand why the show never brought back Frannie and Sabrina. I really liked both characters and found them interesting. Much more interesting than most of the characters they filled the show with in its last decade or so. And I really liked Claire Beckham a lot!

5 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

He was fleeing from Duncan. He lost his grip on the rope ladder and fell into the ocean. Everyone thought he drowned and died. Later in 1994 he reappeared in Montage kidnapping Susan and Bob and demanded they operate on  him after being shot. Susan and Bob first refused but later operated on Tonio. It was to no avail as he died on the operating table.

Thank you for that, soapsuds. However, he didn't die on the operating table. I watched the episodes around this time so I'm sure of that. He survived the operation (Bob and Susan later grappled with having saved his life after he'd cause so much suffering). He came back to get Sabrina after Bob and Susan left Montega. Duncan was still there in Montega. He kidnapped Sabrina and Duncan followed after them. Tonio shot Duncan and then, at the end of the episode, Tonio was leaving and Duncan reached up and grabbed him. The episode ends there and the following few episodes are missing. Later, Duncan talks about killing Tonio. However, the synopsis I read said that Tonio survived and told Sabrina he'd be back one day and they don't have his status as "deceased". So I'm a bit confused. Did he really die or did Duncan think he killed him but he really survived?

Does anybody remember?

I'm currently watching the episodes which feature the "end" of Tonio Reyes. There are a few gaps in the episodes but, just going by the episodes, it looks like Duncan killed Tonio. However, when I was reading an online synopsis, it stated that Tonio escaped is apparently still alive. Does anybody know what really happened to Tonio? 

On 7/2/2021 at 11:59 PM, SoapDope said:

He comes across a self important and conceited. Most people found his writing terrible. 

His acting was just as bad as his writing. 

4 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Susan Bedsow-Horgan should have long ago been on a livestream from one of these podcasts discussing her work on ATWT in depth. Wagner too. It's negligence that they haven't been included.

 

 

 

 

I only got to see the last four, five minutes of the reunion and could tell immediately that it wouldn't be worth my time to go back and watch the whole thing.

 

Sometime last year, I mentioned that I wished that someone like Roger Newcomb would host or produce (and choose a host) something like this because he has more experience interviewing soap talent and knows a lot more about these shows, as he used to run the We Love Soaps blog. Unfortunately soap fans have become used to very little, so will be praising Alan to the hilt for offering such mediocre content.

Alan is a prime example that it's not what you know, it's who you know. 

3 hours ago, Mitch said:

I never understood why Lily's name was Walsh and not Guest. 

 

That, too, adds to the confusion. 

28 minutes ago, lilyredd said:

James Walsh was a rich old man Lucinda married after Lily’s adoptive father and Lucinda’s husband Martin Guest killed himself. James Walsh had a son who was the father of Connor and Evan with Edwina the mother. Walsh enterprises was founded by James Walsh senior and Lucinda built the company to a power pushing the son out. Connor and Evan came to town to take Lucinda’s company. She never knew the grandkids because they probably were babies and she had no relationship with Connor and Evans father. Connor and Evan blamed Lucinda for their father’s suicide- a copy of why Lucinda came to town and hated Whit McCall.

 

 

Thank you very much for that explanation, lilyredd. That makes sense the way you told it. I forgot about Martin Guest. I guess I was confused as well by the two suicides of two men connected to Lucinda who were never seen on the show. 

Does anyone remember the origins of Connor and Evan Walsh? I was reading an online synopsis and it's confusing. It said that Mr. Walsh, Lucinda's husband who killed himself, was Connor and Evan's grandfather. I thought he was their father. Does anyone know which it was? Unless Mr. Walsh was really old, I would think Connor and Evan would have been too old to be his grandkids. I know ages are all messed up on soaps but that seems weird. Then again, if he was their father, how could Lucinda not know who they were? I'm just confused. Anyone remember? 

8 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

I'd love to ask Alan Locher, "So, who was this 'priest,' named 'Father Ruthledge' who supposedly existed in TGL's early days?

 

Also, if I had been in the interview with KV and CAC, I would have been baffled too when Alan asked, "Did you ever work with Violet?"

 

Um..WTF was Violet?

 

Alan first stumbled around that name (it turned out he was referring to the character of Mrs. Violet Renfield, whom nobody actually referred to as Violet) and then admitted he wasn't sure of the actress' real name or how to pronounce it.

 

UGH! If he chooses to ask a question about a past character/cast member, shouldn't he have some, any, idea of what he's trying to talk about?

 

Alan claims to have been a longtime fan and publicist for P&G, and yet he so often proves that he has little knowledge of major facts.

 

 

That's just embarrassing. 

On 6/8/2021 at 10:23 PM, carolineg said:

 

 

That's an very interesting idea too.  I know Marlena ran a rape survivor group in the 80's.  It could have great tv for the survivors to share their stories with Marlena leading it.  But that's not a very Days thing to do.  

There was a serial rapist in the 80s so that's probably why Marlena started the group. I think his name was Ian.  It was kind of a gross story. I know Maggie was one of his victims. I found the whole thing disturbing. More disturbing than the serial killer storylines. 

36 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

I thought Cullen opted to leave the show and that was why Amanda was written off.  I know Pam Long said she couldn't imagine anyone but Cullen playing Amanda.

 

And didn't Amanda go into business with Josh as well?  

 

And I remember JC best from Friday the 13th part VI...she had more personality in that movie than she did as Morgan.

 

 

I didn't realise she was in a Friday the 13th. There were several GL actors in that series. Off the top of my head, I'm thinking Kevin Bacon and Amy Steel but I think there were more. 

48 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

When ATWT released Patricia Bruder from her contract in 1996, Ellen Stewart simply disappeared without explanation. Years later, she returned to Oakdale for Nancy's 80th birthday party, and that is when the show offered viewers the implausible explanation that Ellen had moved to Atlanta to do fundraising. Nancy spoke about wanting to donate, IIRC.

 

 

It didn't make sense at all. She could fundraise from anywhere, including Oakdale. 

 

 

OMG, I would have been crushed if they had fired Patricia Bruder and then killed off Ellen. I think, to be respectful to such a long-running character, they should have kept her on the show, of course, but failing that, she could have gone to live with/closer to Annie and her grandchildren. That's an explanation which would have made sense to me.

 

BTW, I also loathe when soaps just drop veteran characters without explanation and never mention them again. It is really disrespectful.

I agree that she should have stayed on the show but if they were determined to get rid of her I wouldn't be against the character dying. It would have been a dramatic, definite end to the character. I don't mind the death of long-term characters. For example, I didn't mind David Stewart's death because it was a way to celebrate and mourn the character. It's better than leaving characters in limbo with flimsy, and often nonsensical, excuses for their absence or family and friends simply forgetting they exist (which happened often on soaps). They could have given her a dramatic deathbed scene. Much better than having her move off to Atlanta which, as you pointed out, made no sense since she had no family there and could fundraise from Oakdale. Then, she never comes visit her family and her family just forgets about her and never mentions her again? That just seems more disrespectful to the character than killing her off.  

I believe, though I'm not 100% certain, that Ellen moved to Atlanta to further David's AIDS research. He had been living there working with the CDC. Although why she would move to Atlanta with David dead and her being a fund-raiser and not a scientist, I don't know. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense which is why I don't trust my vague memory. Although they may have just wanted an excuse to explain her absence. If they didn't want the character on the show anymore (or Patricia Bruder wanted to leave), I wish they would have just killed off the character. That would have been a more respectful end to a character that had been on the show since it's very beginning than to have her just fade away and never mentioned again. 

4 hours ago, NothinButAttitude said:

 

Have you tried https://classicsodatwt.tumblr.com? 

Thank you very much for the resource, NothinButAttitude.

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3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I see that Chris Cousins appeared in the role up to 1990, but SOC says Tonio had him killed in February 1991. The only reason I remembered is because I think it was mentioned in some of the clips where Bob confronts Tonio and is shot.

 

Here is a summary from Tonio's SOC/Soap Opera Central page:

 

Later, Tonio set his sights on the wealthy Sabrina Hughes. However, one complication was Sabrina's former fiancé, Colin Crawley. Another complication was attorney Blake Stevens, who was investigating some dubious dealings of Tonio's. Seeking to get rid of these obstacles, Tonio hired a hit man, Richard Tyrell, to kill both Colin and Blake. Under suspicion for the murder of Colin and Blake, Tonio decided to run off with Sabrina.

And thank you for that summary, DRW50.

Does anybody know a good website that has yearly synopses for ATWT? Or if there even is one? I'm trying to fill in gaps. Does anybody know off-hand what happened to the character of Colin Crowley? 

16 hours ago, lilyredd said:

There are enumerable examples of Lily being awful in a quiet manner. The one that stands out is her telling Lucinda she wished she had grown up poor. 

 

I remember a great line from Lucinda, "Lily has always been enamoured with poverty from afar". 

3 hours ago, Faulkner said:

Really good interview, and I’m glad you asked about streaming old episodes (the issue being renegotiating union contracts for residuals for cast and crew involved in those older episodes).

It didn't sound like it's an impossibility that we'll see the old shows again. Didn't sound probable either, but at least Corday made it sound like streaming all the shows from the beginning is something they're at least thinking about. 

On 5/12/2021 at 1:36 PM, kalbir said:

With Days being renewed for two more years, that means on Monday January 30, 2023, Days will have had a longer run than Guiding Light on US network television.

 

As of today, the 10 longest running daytime dramas on US network television are General Hospital, Guiding Light, Days, As the World Turns, Y&R, One Life to Live, All My Children, Search for Tomorrow (both CBS years and NBC years), Another World, B&B.

Is it wrong of me to hope General Hospital gets cancelled so that Days, and not GH, is the longest-running show? Sorry. I was never a fan of GH. Although I doubt either of them will surpass GL's 72 years. 

8 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

 

 

 

This is true, and it was so frustrating to witness. After Simon's listless, lethargic Ed (and Richard Van Fleet's baffling version), I was thrilled that the show rehired Gentry. Unfortunately, he just did not click with anyone on screen. I knew he would not last long.

 

 

"Listless" and "lethargic" are good words to describe his performance. PS always gave off the impression that he didn't really want to be there. Like he was just collecting a pay check. He always came off as aloof and disconnected as a result. He was, by far, my least favourite Ed and, yes, I'm including Richard van Fleet and Pat Collins in that group. LOL.