Bill Bauer

Thanks, Paul. So great! Still ambiguity on whether Rose and Ellis were really married. LOL. Yes, as vetsoapfan mentioned above, we would all be grateful for anything you're willing to share!

The Guiding Light and One Man's Family are my favorite radio shows. Anything about those two shows would be appreciated. Especially, as you've noted, The Guiding Light. Thanks.

Thank you, Paul. I love your posts. This one is fascinating and a little strange. First of all, it's strange that they would refer to Ellis as a Christian. He was an atheist. It's also strange that they said Ellis and Rose were married. According to all the reference material I've read, he offered to marry her when she got pregnant by Charles Cunningham but they never married. It says "living as the wife" so perhaps they just said they were married. Although I've never read anything that even hinted at them pretending to be married either. Everything I've read, and the material in my collection, all indicates that he just offered to marry her but she refused. The only thing that seems accurate for sure is that Abe had influenza. He died from it. Then again, as I've pointed out before, I don't know which is the most accurate--these articles printed at the time or the recounting of today's history books.

Yes, that's him and he seems to be having a temper tantrum in that photo so that could be the smoking gun. LOL. Good find indeed! Who is that very 70s-looking kid on the far left? Would that be TJ Werner?

If I had to place a bet, I would say it was probably Gary Hannoch. Courtney seemed to regret saying the name. I think she didn't want to call out a certain actor so she might have acted like she wasn't sure. She and PS both kind of seemed like they regretted bringing the story up.

It sounded like it was before PS came on the show and so it wouldn't be Damion Scheffer. They also seemed to indicate it was Freddy Bauer although, as I said before, it could have been Billy Fletcher. I don't know any other little boys that were on the show until Phillip Spaulding came on board. Courtney remembered it first as Freddy but then wasn't sure. Who knows?

Very much so. They made a lot of use of the location being on the coast. People falling off cliffs, fog, foghorn sound effects, etc. The night Meta shot Ted, they played it up being very foggy. They had Meta wandering around in a literal fog while she was in a mental fog with the foghorn sounding in the background. In fact, when she shoots him, the last thing you hear in the episode is the foghorn sounding. It's pretty haunting. One family lived at a place right on the coast called "Land's End". They also played up the Hollywood aspect with several of the characters being in show business. Selby Flats was a modest part of town but the more ambitious characters strived to live in Beverly Hills.

I get the feeling hanging out with Anne Heche over a few martinis would be either the greatest experience ever or a living hell. I doubt it would be anything in between.

Thanks for that, Paul. If you'll notice in my episodes above, I have episodes that feature Peter Manno, Dr. Jonathan McNeill and Reverend Gaylord. Also, Ed Prentiss is the MC to several of the episodes.

Yeah, this was one of those legendary stories that they were recounting. PS wasn't there when it happened. They were just talking about Charita Bauer and he brought up an old story about her. They were talking about a child actor. PS was talking about how everyone hated the child actor but you could tell Courtney was trying to be more diplomatic and said she didn't remember that part even though that was the point of the story. Although I'm surprised they would consider killing off Freddy Bauer. It might have been Billy Fletcher that they were talking about. That's the only other kid around that time, I think. You can see Gary Hannoch as Freddy Bauer in the Papa Bauer funeral episode even though he doesn't do anything but color in a coloring book.

I just watched the interview. It appears to be Gary Hannoch who they are referring to. He played Freddy Bauer from 1972 to 1976.

Pure speculation but I wonder if it had something to do with Kelly popping up as Ed's godson and replacing him as the "stud" of the show?

Although my personal favorite Ed was RG, I MUCH preferred MH over PS. RG's Ed was a smart-ass but he owned it. PS's Ed was kind of a passive-aggressive, smug smart-ass. MH was by far the most likable. I thought maybe he quit acting after GL and that's why he never came back but his list of credits go up to 1995.

Here's a list of my collection of the radio version of The Guiding Light(1937-1952). This is mostly for you, Paul Raven and Dion. But it's really for anybody that might find this helpful in reconstructing the radio story timeline. It's an augmentation to the history books. -2/15/37. Reverend Ruthledge, Ellen, Ned and Mary discuss current events. Ned is jealous of the attention Ellis Smith is giving Mary. -7/5/38. Reverend Ruthledge expresses his concern to Rose about her having an affair with a married man. Charles and Reverend Ruthledge discuss philosophy and Ned, who has run away from Five Points. -7/7/38. Ellis tries to dissuade Rose from continuing her affair with Charles. -7/11/38. Celeste is filing for a divorce from Charles and hires a detective to find out if he’s having an affair. Charles and Rose make plans for the evening unaware that they’re going to be followed. -7/15/40. Rose and Charles are having dinner together. The president of the publishing company is thinking about proposing. Mp3. -7/17/40. Rev. Ruthledge talks with Ellis Smith who has been blinded in a fire. Rev. Ruthledge questions Ellis’ cynicism and challenges him to find his guiding light. Mp3. -8/23/40. Charles Cunningham talks with Rose Kransky about their future together or lack of it. Mp3. -2/26/41. Torchy visits Judy Shea, the woman who scarred her face, in jail. Mp3. -6/10/41. On the day before Ned and Mary’s wedding, Myra (aka Torchy Reynolds) tells Martin Kane that she’s over Ned and interested in Ellis Smith. Martin is willing to wait until she’s sure. Mp3. -10/41. Norma Greenman is neurotically jealous of Rose and Edward. Mp3. -10/22/41. Reverend Ruthledge talks with his secretary, Laura Martin, who is a kleptomaniac, about missing items. Ellen, the housekeeper, wants to leave the parsonage because she’s upset about Laura. Mp3. -12/8/41. Jacob Kransky confides to his mother that he’s thinking of giving up his plans to become a lawyer. Rose comes home and is upset about something that happened at the Greenmans. Mp3. -10/27/43. Greg Warner stops by Claire’s apartment and is surprised to see Tim there. The two have an awkward first meeting and size each other up. Mp3. -10/28/43. Claire returns home after Tim has left. Greg expresses his jealousy to Claire. Greg tells Claire his wife is divorcing him but Claire says it’s too late. Greg wonders about baby Ricky. Mp3. -1/5/44. Tim visits Claire and Ricky in Claire’s apartment and they talk about Jonathan and Nina. Mp3. -6/7/44. D-Day episode. Reverend Gaylord gives a sermon. Mp3. -8/10/45. Angie and Peter make small talk at breakfast. Peter has decided to confess all, even if he is disbarred. Mp3. -1947. 1 episode. The introduction of Charlotte Wilson. Mp3. -1947. 5 minutes. Charlotte has a singing audition. Mp3. -8/14/47. A sermon for the new school year. Mp3. -9/25/47. Dr. Jonathan McNeill and Rev. Matthews discuss the car crash that left Frank Collins paralyzed and killed Betty and Michael Collins. Rev. Matthews visits Julie in her hospital room and reminds her that she had planned to leave Frank and the kids to remarry Ray Brandon. He then tells Julie that Frank will be an invalid for life. Mp3. -9/47. Julie is distraught over the death of Michael and Betty. Rev. Thomas Andrews tries to get her to pull herself together for the sake of paralyzed Frank. Mp3. -10/13/47. Martin McClain is upset that his daughter Susan has started seeing Roger Collins, the son of Ray Brandon who had tried to kill him. -12/23/47. The police are suspicious that Frank Collins’ death isn’t an accident. Martin and Julie are worried because Roger and Susan are missing. -6/14/48. As Sid and Charlotte get ready for their trip to San Francisco, Charlotte tells Sid she suspects Ray is lying to her. Ray secretly goes to Trail’s End and Roger tells him about Julie’s strange behavior. He thinks she’s suicidal and doesn’t know she is faking her blindness. Mp3. -9/49 Non-broadcast farewell tribute to Irna Phillips as production moves to NYC. Mp3. -9/18/49. Charlotte has a breakdown after a visit from Meta. Meta has gotten custody of Chuckie and Ray and Charlotte are moving. Mp3. -1/10/50. Ray sits alone in his house with his thoughts as Charlotte is in the hospital due to her barbiturate addiction. -5/5/50. Bill is going to work for Ted. Bert bashes Meta to Trudy. Mp3. -6/5/50. Ted and Meta argue over parenting styles for Chuckie. Meta is upset that Ted wants Chuckie to take boxing lessons and is taking him on a camping trip. -6/12/50 thru 3/13/51. 197 consecutive episodes. Episodes #791-988. Bill starts drinking and meets Gloria. Trudy and Meta fight over Ross. Chuckie dies. Meta shoots and kills Ted. Meta’s trial. Mp3.

In the latest episode I listened to, Ross ran off to San Francisco to avoid having to be a witness in Meta's trial. He told Trudy that he was going to "maybe" return to Selby Flats but, if he did, he would move to a different part of town. This sounds like his exit but I'll keep tuned and let you know. I do know that Mary is a VERY minor character in 1950/1951. I have almost a year's worth of episodes and she's only feature in maybe three episodes. So, she's ready to make an exit. Whether she does that with Ross or not, that's a different story. Bert was introduced in 1948. Production moved to NYC in 1949 when Charita Bauer took over the role.

You're welcome! I'm just happy to find someone who cares about the subject matter! Actually, not as many characters were lost in the move from Los Angeles to New York City although most of the actors didn't make the move. Everybody was pretty much recast. The move from Chicago to Los Angeles, however, saw the mass exodus of characters. When production started up in Los Angeles, The Guiding Light was pretty much a new and different show. When production started up in New York City, it was pretty much the exact same show just with different voices (a new Papa, a new Bert, etc.).

I hope you got all your questions answered. Dion did a good job of recounting the history. Although I don't think Ross and Mary got married. Ross just moved off by himself. I'm not 100% sure about that. I'm currently relistening to those episodes (it's been a while since I listened to them) and I'm about to get to that part. I'll let you know. The above post clears up another bit of misinformation I read. I had always read that Ned Holden delivered the friendship lamp to Dr. Matthews but the article you posted said it was a divinity student (which Ned was not). Again, who knows for sure since we don't have that episode but I'm tempted to go with something that was published at the time. Yeah, Ray was in that prison Dr Matthews went to to speak and when he was released from prison shortly afterwards he became the central figure in the story (before Meta, and then the rest of the Bauers, were introduced). He was framed for the crime and was going to kill the guy who framed him but had the added soapy complication of the fact that his son started dating the guy he was going to kill's daughter. He pulled a gun on him but didn't go through with. Martin (the guy who framed him) later confessed on his deathbed. Ray had studied law while in prison and that's how came to be Meta's lawyer when she was on trial for murder. The mother of Ray's son, Julie, had gotten remarried and had two kids with her new husband. At first Julie wouldn't let Ray see his son Roger but then, eventually, Julie wanted to get back with Ray. She was planning on leaving her husband Frank to pursue Ray when Frank and their two small children were in a car accident which killed the kids and left Frank paralyzed. Julie felt forced to stay with Frank and when his wheelchair slid on wet pavement and he went off a cliff, Julie confessed to killing him out of guilt. It was later ruled an accident. Ray's son Roger and Martin's daughter Susan got married and had a baby girl. Julie moved in with them and made their life hell, even faking blindness to garner sympathy. When Roger saw Julie standing at the edge of a cliff, he assumed she was suicidal because a blind woman would never get that close to the edge of a cliff (not realizing she could see). Julie was one of soap's first psycho bitches. There's a funny "fake episode" the cast made for Irna as production was moving to NYC where the actress introduced herself at the end as "Julie Collins: girl bitch". Anyway, the story of the Collins family, Ray and Charlotte and Roger and Susan was the focus of the show in 1947 and 1948. By the time the production moved from Los Angeles to New York City in 1949, the Bauers had become the main focus although Ray and Charlotte remained characters on the show until 1951.

This sounds right, dc. I do know that the "new Guiding Light" started with the story of Ray Brandon. I also know that Jonathan and Claire were probably the only characters to survive the transition from the old Guiding Light to the new Guiding Light and the transition from Five Points to Selby Flats. Focus didn't stay on Jonathan and Claire for long, however. Although they remained characters, the story was more focused on Ray and his attempts to rebuild his life with Charlotte as well as his psycho ex-wife Julie and all the drama she brought to the table. Ray, Charlotte and Julie were the central characters in 1947 until Meta and all the Bauers took over the story in 1948. I read that she killed off the character of Reverend Ruthledge because the actor didn't want to continue in the role and she didn't want anybody else playing it. That sounds very Irnaesque but I wonder if she couldn't legally bring those characters into her "new Guiding Light".

I read that the Bauers were first called "The Baums" from a history book. Whether it's true or not is anybody's guess. I don't think any of us were alive back then to listen first-hand. Unfortunately. I would tend to think that it's true because it seems way too random a piece of information to be made up.

Hey Paul, Thanks so much for posting that. This clears up some ambiguity about the character's death. I had read that he died during WW2 while he was serving in the war as chaplain. The above article seems to clear that up and the character actually came back from the war and died sometime in 1946. That's what I suspected as I couldn't understand why it would take Ned over a year to deliver the friendship lamp to Dr. Matthews. I'm much more likely to trust something that was published back then than a history book. We know how unreliable those can be. Thanks again. I'm thinking the death of Rev. Ruthledge and Jonathan and Claire's move were the catalysts for switching locales which happened in either late 1946 or early 1947. I don't know. Just conjecture. But this article helps. Where did it come from?

Yes.

Yeah, there was a lot of revisionist history being written in the latter days. They introduced a character who was supposed to be Rev. Ruthledge's grandson who had the last name Ruthledge who everybody knew of because Reverend Ruthledge was so famous in Springfield. Even though Rev. Ruthledge only had a daughter and even though he was way too young to be Reverend Ruthledge's grandson and even though Reverend Ruthledge didn't live in Springfield. I guess it was nice of them to give a nod to the origins of the show but I don't see the purpose since the only viewers who would even get the reference are soap history geeks who would know that they completely butchered history in the process.

That is correct. The Bauers were never in Five Points. The move to Selby Flats happened in 1946. The first Bauer, Meta, didn't appear until 1948. The Bauers never knew Rev. Ruthledge.

I've never read anything about a flood. The move from Five Points to Selby Flats happened after Rev. Ruthledge died. His adopted son Ned brought Rev. Ruthledge's friendship lamp to his best friend in seminary, Rev. Charles Matthews, who was living in Selby Flats. Thus, the locale switched. By that time, most of the original characters had been written out and, I believe (though I could very well be wrong about the timing) that the transition happened in 1946 when The Guiding Light was off the air for a little bit. So, when they returned, it was just a whole new setting and cast of characters with the only thing really surviving from the previous story being the friendship lamp. The only characters (I think) who transitioned to Selby Flats (Ned didn't stick around) was Claire Marshall and her new husband Jonathan MacNeil and maybe a couple of characters who were in their orbit. I'm not sure about that but the story during that time period was mostly focused on them. The Ruthledges and the Kranskys had been written out. The exact years are a little fuzzy because I've read that Rev. Ruthledge died in WW2 (he was an army chaplain) but Ned didn't take his friendship lamp to Selby Flats until 1946 which was a year after the war ended. Maybe it just took him a year to get around to it? I think they just had Jonathan and Claire move to Selby Flats perhaps a new job in a hospital for Jonathan. But the transition was smoother and more realistic than the transition from Selby Flats to Springfield. In that transition, the entire cast practically moved together to Springfield. I would like to know the answer to that one as that move was always more mysterious. I've never read anything about it being about Bill getting a new job. I did read, I believe, something about Paul Fletcher getting transferred to a new hospital in Springfield. Why the Bauers went with him, I don't know. They may not have even tried to explain it. Perhaps they just started referring to their town as Springfield. That would have been 1966, I believe. Although the cast was not that large at that time, it would be less implausible that everyone would follow Paul out to Springfield than it would be in later years but it's still implausible and I wonder how they explained it (if they did at all). The history books are pretty silent on the subject on the move to Springfield. I would assume that Paul got the job in Springfield, moved with Robin and Johnny and then told Bill about a job so the Bauers moved there too. I don't know. At that point, the Bauers and the Fletchers made up most of the cast. There was probably an exit/entrance for peripheral characters . Just speculation. Personally, I didn't like the locale changes. I wish they would have just left it Five Points. I was partial to that town.

I wrote a serial for one year when I was in high school (as a way to escape the hell my life was at that time). I had an audience of one (a friend I gave the scripts to). It was laughingly bad. I was a teenager, after all. But it was a lot of fun to write. Since I was only working with one year's time, I crammed what would normally happen in about 20 years on a regular show into that one year. The amount of tragedy that this central family suffered in just one year's time was pretty unbelievable. Then, to top it off, in a nod to my love of disaster movies, I ended the whole thing in a big earthquake destroying the city and killing off half the cast of characters. It was pretty morbid (which matched my mood back then) but, again, great fun to write. My friend loved the story, though, and has kept it all these years. As a joke, I killed off her favorite character in a "fake" script and then told her it was a joke and the character didn't really die. Come to think of it, I could have a job at Days of Our Lives right now.