Contessa Donatella

On soap operas:
MLH: What can take soap opera's place?
LEMAY: Nothing.  Because nothing touches human beings as much as other people's stories, dramatically told.  I think it will swing back to what it was.
MLH: Is the soap opera in its present form going to survive the millennium?
LEMAY: I hope so because it is a great form. It is the only form in which you follow a story day by day.  You can follow a woman's pregnancy as we did with Ada for six or seven months.  I think soaps will survive if they concentrate on that aspect of them that you don't get anywhere else, the human aspect, the great empathy.  The late Gilbert Seldes once wrote that people watch soaps as if they were listening in on other people's lives.  That is what they should be.  -- Harding "Pete" Lemay

"On the serial form" I believe with all my heart that this form is the most compelling and the most important form in television: the power of a serial to illuminate and to inspire, to help people in real, fundamental psychological ways, and to provide role models, to provide a sense of family if they don't have a family. All of that is overwhelming, and it's a tremendous responsibility. --Claire Labine, Creator, RYAN'S HOPE, former Head Writer, GENERAL HOSPITAL THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO WORLDS WITHOUT END THE ART AND HISTORY OF THE SOAP OPERA (1997) Harry N. Abrams, Inc.

On 9/8/2019 at 11:39 AM, Khan said:

 

Which was appropriate, since their budget had been slashed to the price of a Big Gulp.

 

If CBS (or, more accurately, Les Moonves) had not cancelled ATWT, I think there would have been a mass exodus of actors on the level of "The LOVING Murders," with many veteran characters being bumped off by a serial killer (or natural disaster -- but, more likely, a serial killer, since murdering them would be cheaper than staging a tornado) in order to cut costs and maybe generate some buzz for the show.

 

I also think there would have a combination of relocating production to Stamford, CT and increasing the taping schedule to somewhere in the neighborhood of 8-10 episodes per week -- again, in order to cut costs.

I think it is entirely possible that CBS was behind the "Fruit basket turnover": AW's EP John Valente went to ATWT; GL's EP JFP went to AW; Michael Laibson took over at GL, leaving Larry Caso he with so much tenure) out in the blamed cold and then, one more thing to slip in, Les Moonves selected Stern & Black for ATWT. How terrible is this?!!! Among other writers, Jean Passanante said that this had a seriuos affect on the Writing Teams!

There was a rumor at "Another World" that Richard Culliton couldn't stand Charles Keating, thought he was an ugly old man and had him fired. Now, Charles was not only incredibly talented and giving, mentoring the younger cast, etc. but he was the sole romantic interest for Rachel. He was also a huge fan favorite. If it was Culliton who got him fired, he did us no favors! Before the calendar year was out, they had hired Charles back.

AGNES NIXON

The Emmys 1981. I was sitting backstage in the Waldorf-Astoria grand ballroom, waiting for my cue. I was the Recipient of the Trustees Award for excellence in production. Barbara Walters: This is a very special occasion with the Emmys and the Trustees Award. The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Trustees Award recognizes achievement in television so extraordinary that it is rarely presented. Previous winners include General David Sarnoff, William Paley, Leonard Goldenson and Edward R. Murrow. Today marks some firsts. The first presentation to a writer. The first presentation to someone in the daytime part. The first time in history it has gone to a woman. The recipient today everyone must know by now is Agnes Nixon. "I thanked everyone beginning with Irna, who had never been given any such awards!"

Aggie valued Wisner Washam as a writing partner, wrote families, dialogue, social issues stories and especially Bianca well.

Claire Labine with her son & daughter, from her haunts in Park Slope, Brooklyn, worked with Wendy Riche to make magic for several years at "General Hospital". She was good at dialogue and at characterizations. She loved Crystal Chappell both at OLTL and later at GL, calling her a "peach" of a girl. She had a half hour soap that she & Matt pitched that was an urban setting around 14th Street. Instead Wendy Riche's "Port Charles" got the gig. She struggled for a year each at OLTL and at GL.

On the audience
We had a focus group on AS THE WORLD TURNS, right before I left. There were two groups, one of younger women and one of older women. When I left that room, I was so happy to write for those people. They were so smart. They really knew what these characters were like, and they liked them being complex and hard to read. They were very sophisticated; I think of them as the people who like a big, thick book to read that you can look forward to going back to every day. —–Richard Culliton, Head Writer, General Hospital

When Claire Labine & her partner were at "Ryan's Hope" I believe that they won 10 WGA Awards!

6 hours ago, victoria foxton said:

Speaking of the devil. Some of this awful ConWest run has recently been upload. I tried watching but it's all so flavorless. At least they still had sets.

OMG, well, I did love GUsh. And I still miss Ben.

James Lipton from INSIDE INSIDE:          

In the course of the decade following my service on "Another World," on my own and using what Irna taught me, I head-wrote a covey of soap operas: "Guiding Light" in two two-year tours; "Love is a Many Splendored Thing," "Return to Peyton Place;" "The Best of Everything," which I created for ABC; and Capitol.
          In the last years of her career, Irna trained three writers, all emerging at the same time. I was the runt of the litter. The two who mattered, and whose work matters today, are William Bell and Agnes Nixon. I chose to leave the soap world, and they remained---and reigned. Bill Bell who died in 2005, was the creator of "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful". Aggie Nixon created "One Life to Live," "All My Children and "Loving." Their five shows have been on the air collectively for 154 years, so, clearly, Irna taught them well, and they learned well.
          They were right to stay, and I was right to go. But I'm deeply indebted to that world because it quite simply made everything else possible until the night in October 1976 when Leonard Bernstein called, and everything changed again.

Victoria Wyndham:

    VW: Well I pitched the last two years we were on. They often used me for story, long-term story, not just for my own character often but also for other characters.

Q:  They would turn to you for ideas?

    VW: Yes, because I’m a writer also.

Both Victoria Wyndham and Charles Keating wrote at AW whether they got paid very much for it (They did not.) or whether they were credited for it or not (which I do not know).

We Love Soaps: Why do you think after 20+ years of trying to cater to the younger generation, only to see ratings fall, that the networks still push for this?

Harding Lemay: There’s no explanation. One of the things I found very difficult about the network people was that they come from a different background. They come from business. They have no idea what goes into writing and what goes into character...or even what goes into life.

We Love Soaps: But even from a business perspective, your show was number one for much of the 1970’s. And the number one show now for the past 20 years has been THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS, which traditionally features multigenerational stories.

Harding Lemay: I’ve always been baffled by the network mind. But then, I’m baffled by the producer’s mind, and usually the director’s as well.

On 9/7/2019 at 10:43 PM, Khan said:

Nothing -- and I mean nothing -- will ever be as bad as Peapack.

About PGP toward the end: I am in the minority many places but I enjoyed the last 2-4 years of GL including Peapack, all of the new music (I had Kati Mac albums long before GL used them.) the two good examples of story (Jammy & Otalia), outdoor work, digi-cams, product placement, etc. I read an interview with Vicky Wyndham where she talked about pitching the idea of product placement to PGP/NBC long before June 1999. Her perspective was that PGP was a natural for product placement instead of "fixed" commercials & ad space. At that time PGP "sold" more than anyone else except for cars & the burst of mobile phone companies.

This is why I remain a fan of Ellen Wheeler, Jill Lorie Hurst and other writers. I am steadfast in my belief that CBS pushed the "new production model" on GL & that they pushed a slowed-down narrative form on ATWT. Back then, there had been a LA Times article where CBS had asked the Bell Empire to create a new soap (or two) to replace "the Chantilly" soaps of ATWT & GL. Well, PGP rose up on their haunches, their back legs & fought CBS tooth & nail to prevent that. PGP prevailed to a certain degree *but* CBS indicated changes would have to be made at ATW & at GL. Since PGP no longer had their traditional position of Executive in Charge of Production (since MADD's retirement) it left Goutman & Wheeler to fight CBS on their own, not a good position.

At the end of AW, Goutman was in fine form fighting for that show, but something happened around 2004-ish where Goutman stopped being as proactive for his show. He gave a Q&A to Digest's Jen Lenhart where he indicated that he knew what was best for his show & he didn't need any fan mail, etc. Startling.

Pete Lemay: I learned it very quickly from Connie Ford [Ada Davis]. Connie would cut.  She was playing a very laconic woman who wasn't verbal. You'd give her a speech that went on for a page and she'd say, "What's all this?" and cut it down to one line and she would do the rest with a look. I learned it very quickly because, boy,  was she wonderful!

Pete: Years later I asked P&G's Bob Short why they even hired me when I didn't like any of the 5 or 6 shows they gave me to sample and he said that they thought everyone else would want me!

Pete about the gay story he had planned: One of the reasons I think it would have been successful is because we were very careful in the casting. We got a very good young actor, a very normal, straight, young actor. And he was very ingratiating. And also the audience had known the characters since they were toddlers. You weren’t introducing a new character saying, “Here’s a gay guy.” You were saying that this character, who they had known since he was a baby, was gay.

Pete: He was a twin. I wanted him to confide to his sister that he had just started college and had fallen in love with a boy. And they all agreed with it. It was all in the script. I had not signed the renewal of my contract yet. And once I signed it they pulled out the rug from under this story.

We Love Soaps: Who was “they?” Who exactly made this decision?

Harding Lemay: Procter & Gamble, probably.

We Love Soaps: How did they communicate that to you?

Harding Lemay: I got a call from Bob Short, who always
leveled with me, saying, “We’re just not going to do it, because we don’t think the audience would appreciate it. They’d turn over to GENERAL HOSPITAL or something.”

(And, so, there went one of soaps' famous/infamous stories that was going to be done way back in the day, even further back than the story that Claire Labine pitched between Holly & Olivia in 2001. And, the first gay story had to wait for AMC's Bianca.)

Those of us who are very fond of Pete Lemay hear him, here, talking about P&G, about Irna Phillips, about writing plays, about writing soaps, about his personal memoir "Inside, Looking Out", about Irna being furious when he said he had no idea what soaps were, about Irna training him & Bill Bell & Agnes Nixon, about using a staff or not using one, about Doug Watson, about Connie Ford, about Susan Sullivan, about working directly *with* actors, about Beverlee, about Paul Rauch, about Anna Holbrook coming from the stage, about Anne Heche, giving several years to the show but then being too good and having to move on, about half hour shows and about hour shows, about the homosexual storyline that was planned but then dropped by P&G, about Ada having a late-in-life pregnancy where Rachel was 'there' for her, about 'Lillian Hellman's dialogue is not her best thing and neither is Arthur Miller's', about George Reinholdt & 2 other actors that were considered a problem, ... Then, in the next paragraph, those of us who adore Pete Lemay but can't stand Jill Farren Phelps have a real dilemma as Pete names her the best producer he has ever worked with! Yikes!

Yet he did not know about Frankie Frame or Maureen Bauer until the next interview he gave & he was appalled when he found out.

More of the Pete Lemay ...

 I was the first writer to take a soap to an hour.  I was eager to do it because I wanted to write longer scenes.  I wanted to write a scene that you build as you do in the theatre with the beginning of the conflict, escalating that conflict, and resolving it more or less if you could within one scene so that you get an emotional play.  We did it for the first year.  We were very successful.  Now they have taken that six minutes between commercials, and chopped it up into two or three scenes, three usually, sometimes four, and what I really wanted was a six minute scene. 

His line about Anne Heche was odd because she was headed directly to the Parsons' School of Design & just fell over into a show biz career by accident. Of course, there is her talent.

When Lemay praised JFP he had not yet found out about Frankie Frame & Maureen Bauer. He didn't like them when  it came up in a WLS Interview.

Donna Swajeski's Writing: AW 1989-1992 (as was said), PC 2001-2002, GL 2005-2009 (a major contributor to "Otalia"), and AMC 2010-1011. I believe she is in some kind of children's work now.

Anyone know who wrote "Jammy"? I loved that story. Only the death was terrible. Ellen & Jilly & Swajeski wrote "Otalia" which was very fine storytelling.

I figure that Ellen Weston inflicted Sandy & that darned sock puppet on the show. Of course, she did more/bad, too. ::Maryanne Carruthers, Carrie Nye,  having the young adults go tunneling & then fall through a hole, Eden getting Ben to act as a male escort, Ben committing suicide, (I never got over missing Ben.) Conboy hired WRESTLER Marty to play Shane. Conboy overspent his budget. Thank God "ConWest" was only there for a single year's tenure.

5 hours ago, chrisml said:

I think a lot of performers and writers don't have the same reaction to JFP that most viewers do. I'm reminded of Erika Slezak raving about JFP's tenure on OLTL which surprised me since the women characters became so dumb and desperate under JFP. These actors and writers don't get (or choose not to get) how much JFP ruined so many soaps for viewers. As a viewer, she ruined AW, GL and OLTL for me. 

So, clue me in, what did Slezak have to say about JFP?

On 10/2/2010 at 11:42 AM, Cheap21 said:

what did people think of Heather Rattray who played a recast Lily for 4 years in the early 90s? Would people have preferred she return when Martha left or did they end up preferring Noelle over Heather?

 

Speaking of Noelle, I know people would rather have had Martha but was Noelle herself as Lily hated? Did people eventually coming around to at least accepting her? From what I saw, she wasnt bad at all and I think some of the animositiy against her was simply bc she wasnt Martha. She seemed good as an actress and was a decent Lily to me

I did not like Heather in the distant past. And, I did not like Noelle in the recent past. I just liked Martha & I was mad that whole time!

1. For what it's worth, this is Aggie's IMDB Trivia:
2. She became ABC's overall daytime consultant in October 2000.
3. It was her hand that opened the All My Children (1970) photo album on the opening montage sequence from 1970-1989.
4. When she went into labor and had to go to the hospital to deliver one of her children she brought her Dictaphone along so that she could continue working. 
5. During the 1960s she simultaneously wrote both Guiding Light (1952) & Another World (1964). This led to a few minor problems such as in the 445th episode of Another World (1964) she wrote in the script that the scene takes place in the coffee shop of Cedars Hospital.

9 minutes ago, chrisml said:

I think a lot of performers and writers don't have the same reaction to JFP that most viewers do. I'm reminded of Erika Slezak raving about JFP's tenure on OLTL which surprised me since the women characters became so dumb and desperate under JFP. These actors and writers don't get (or choose not to get) how much JFP ruined so many soaps for viewers. As a viewer, she ruined AW, GL and OLTL for me. 

Amen, isn't that the truth?! Between what she actually does *to* the shows and the FOJs (Friends of Jill) she can ruin so much. Frankie Frame, Never Forget! Mo = Reardon by birth, Bauer by marriage, Roger's only friend, Michelle's mother by circumstance and tentpole/legacy character, ...

A few weeks ago I was in this active, even congested, Facebook Guiding Light folder & the topic of conversation was Jill Farren Phelps. All of a sudden with no warning "Nancy Wiliams Watt" proceeded to tell us how wonderful Jill was, what a good friend, how much she loved Guiding Light & had contributed to it. I slipped off to look her up & saw that she was a retired  GL Writer, so I turned on my polite mode with her. Most people there did not bother! Since then I've seen Jill Lorie Hurst take up for JFP and Nic Coster take up for JFP. This amazes me.

MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WITH MALIGNANT MELANOMA

ABOUT JACKIE COURTNEY, FROM HER DAUGHTER:

My mother was first diagnosed with malignant melanoma on her right cheek in the fall of 2004. Luckily, the cancer had not spread, and no further treatment was necessary after her surgery at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.

About to undergo a gall bladder operation in March ’10, a shadow was discovered in my mother’s lungs during routine pre-surgery tests. Unfortunately, it turned out to be the melanoma rearing its ugly head again. As before, it was removed (along with her right upper lobe) at MSKCC and had thankfully not spread. We hoped it would be at least another 5 years before anything resurfaced. However, in August ’10, she began to lose control of her left hand and arm, and the worst news hit: the melanoma had metastasized to the right parietal lobe of her brain, forming five tumors. Three were removed through surgery, and radiation was recommended to follow.

September and October were extremely stressful and frightening for my mother. Having brain tumors really played havoc with her life and even had her questioning her sanity at time. My mother planned to celebrate the end of her radiation treatment by visiting me and my partner in Michigan for 12 days. In addition to the cancer, she had been taking care of my grandmother with dementia 24-7 for the past 4 years…she knew she needed a break and looked forward to a vacation. Regrettably, her doctors had not revealed her true prognosis, that it was unlikely for her to live more than a few months (which is clearly stated on the AIM site…I just didn’t know about it at the time). Right before she flew out, one of her doctors did tell me over the phone and urged me to convince her to spend whatever time she had left with me in Michigan as we had always been EXTREMELY close. My mother was a bit in denial when I broke the news (NOT a position I ever thought I’d be in!), but she agreed. Unfortunately, she took a turn for the worse only a week into her visit, and Hospice was immediately called in. Two months to the day of flying out to Michigan, my mother departed this life, joining in Heaven so many of her beloved relatives and friends who had predeceased her.

My mother truly touched everyone she met. She was known for her beautiful smile, which genuinely lit up a room. She was also routinely recognized for her hearty laugh…though she was quite the giggler, as well! Jacquie had no problem being goofy and vulnerable. So many casually uttered statements immediately sparked a remembered tune, prompting her to burst into song (typically accompanied by me and even my grandmother–it’s a family “trait”). Likewise, my mother’s catalogue of “inside jokes” with friends and family was vast. She lived to make others happy and more comfortable. She was continually seeking that “special something” to brighten a loved one’s day. Even as her own income dwindled, she continued to donate money to various charities. In her last months, donating to melanoma research and education was something she urged everyone to do. No matter her own situation, she always felt there was someone less fortunate. Indeed, Jacquie was generally self-effacing, never believing she was very special…yet to those of us who loved her, she was extraordinary. I, for one, feel beyond blessed to have had her for a mother for 40 wonderful years.

Jennifer Desiderio, daughter

Just heard about this new movie, A Case of Blue.  And who would have a lead role, but Stephen Schnetzer (Cass)!  The showrunner for the film sent along a link to the trailer, as well as movie and FB links.  SS has a beard, and it looks like an interesting flick for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_AlG6QTTQdc
https://www.acaseofblue.com
https://www.facebook.com/ACOBfeaturefilm/

6 hours ago, Franko said:

Maybe she was happy to be out of the limelight, but it's a shame a beautiful, charming personality like Jacqueline Courtney didn't segue into a later in life career as a character actress.

She died at the age of 64 of metastatic melanoma; born Sept. 24, 1946- -died Dec. 20, 2010.

I was wondering what in the heck happened on this Feb. 14th, 1992 in or around Springfield?

16 hours ago, DRW50 said:

@vetsoapfan I thought you might like this. I found it in a longer reel and made a clip of it.

 

 

I thought it was so sad that she died as young as she did of skin cancer.

1 minute ago, Paul Raven said:

What has this to do with AW?

Oh, I'm so sorry, I got discombobulated. It should be under GL. There was some discussion earlier about killing off characters on GL. I messed up & ended up on the wrong thread.

"Some people don't like killing any character on a soap, but I believe that the death can be as important as the life if it shakes up the town and spins great story for the characters left behind. This was one of those cases." - Jill Lorie Hurst, GL, Otalia, Gus's death

(I knew I'd find these quotes I was looking for! Although I still think "End Days GL" had a high body count: the infant Max, Gus (even though it propelled Otalia story & EW thought long & hard about it after learning that Ricky was leaving, Tammy which was heart-breaking in the extreme, and then Coop, OY VEY) <Pause.> How many *is* that? That's 4 -- and they all 4

stung like the dickens!

WLS: What, in your mind, is your finest moment?

Jane Elliot: No question about it. "Guiding Light." The story [head writer] Doug Marland created for me was just so good and so rare. Thanks to Doug, I learned who I was as an actor. He stretched me. He pulled me. And I rose to the occasion. He made me look good and I made him look good. ... But, to play Carrie Todd, I had to go very, very deep. And it wasn’t just because of her madness. She was a fully fleshed out, fully realized character living a really rich life. It was a very complete role. And I loved playing opposite Jerry verDorn [Ross], the most generous actor I’ve ever worked with. It was a once in a lifetime thing and I knew it at the time. No 20/20 hindsight necessary."