AMCHistory

I know that he and Bob Woods are really good friends. I would love to have seen them play off one another.

Khan, this is so true. As much as those "front-row" vets were beloved by the viewers and at one time tptb, those six actors were not around when the curtain call came. Within the ten years from the 30th Anniversary we lost Ruth, James, and Eileen (seeing how fast each of them aged from the 2000 picture just breaks my heart. I had never seen that time phase before, but it really captures their loss of vitality). Then you had Julia and Ray, who were basically forced out by tptb (Julia refused to go recurring (rightfully so) and Ray took pay cut after pay cut before being forced out in the west coast move). Really, I shudder at the thought of who would take that front row. The six actors mentioned above were matriarchs/patriarchs of core families. They had tenure of 20+ years. Come 2012, that type of leadership and tenure just did not exist anymore. There were some characters in the recent past had they been kept/groomed could have taken one of those pillars. Off the top of my head, MEK and David Canary would have been front runners. Of course, Canary was too forced out in the move, and his presence sorely missed. I could have seen John Callahan's Edmund taking the Myrtle role. Wildwind in the mid-90's was so much fun in how it operated a Boarding House for Edmund's distant relatives, in-laws, and friends in need of a rood over their heads. I loved when Edmund's compassionate side came out. It was unfortunate that real life circumstances and network short-sightedness dropped Edmund from the canvas. Who else was worthy of the front row? Darnell and Debbi? Jill Larson? Vincent Irizarry? Who do you think would have gotten the front row had tptb kept on the trajectory they did pre-cancellation? Cameron Mathison? Thorsten Kaye? Jacob Young? All actors and characters that did not come into prominence until the MMT 2003 reboot. I guess my question to the group is along with Susan Lucci, who would have been the new "front-row" in 2012?

Jack, she is the only one being herself in the crowd of phonies. OC is so hard to watch because they do not know what they want to be. Do they want to be a story about SoCal suburban moms who go spray tanning and wear cocktail dresses to their son's games, or do they want to be about the over the top opulence of a LA/NYC life style. As a result, we have a sleu of characters who do not fit in either extreme and are just hamming it up for the cameras. Tamara and Vicki, coming on when the show had the earlier identify, can still fit that model. Heather fits the latter, closer to LA lifestyle. Gretchen and Alexis do not fit either. Not rich enough to own a real home, but over spending on clothes... that's not exactly a life style I want to play voyeur to. Especially Gretchen, she lives in a track home/OC townhouse with no solid means of income, a husband, or children. What does she bring the show?

Still breaks my heart. I am so happy to have her last appearance stills in high res. I got them from a kind newspaper editor. I only wish she could have spoken one word, maybe an, "Oh, Erica" for posterity. Nonetheless, we were blessed to have her when we did. Ruth got to say goodbye to AMC, which I think makes her so lucky.

It is nice to remember an Erica before she there was an "Erica Kane." Despite the fact that Susan was always front and center of the cast photos in the latter years, I think AMC paid respect to all their veterans. If you notice starting the 90's, the same vets were always featured in the front row of the formal group photos: Ray MacDonnell (Joe) Ruth Warrick (Phoebe) Susan Lucci (Erica) Julia Barr (Brooke) Eileen Herlie (Myrtle) James Mitchell (Palmer) It did not matter their height (though I am sure the photographers always found it hard to place someone behind the very tall Ray MacDonnell). I think it was a nice nod to those who had stayed with the show, through thick and thin for 20+ years (each of these actors premiered in the 70's). With other casts, those actors who played leading roles got the honor of being front and center; but with the AMC cast, it was as if they knew they had to step aside for true set of vets. Even the likes of David Canary, MEK, and *gasp* Cam Mathisonwho were arguably the higher billings were more often than not given front row billing. Of course, child actors seem to be the exception to the rule solely by fact of their smaller dispositions: 1995 L to R: Eileen Herlie (Myrtle), Tommy Michaels (Tim), Julia Barr (Brooke), Harold, Jamal Williams (Jamal), Phoebe Cutter (Amanda), David Canary (Adam), Sean Marquette (Jamie), Susan Lucci (Erica), Ray MacDonnell (Joe), Kevin Alexander (JR), MEK (Tad), James Mitchell (Palmer) 2000 L to R: Alexis Manta (Amanda), James Mitchell (Palmer), Ruth Warrick (Phoebe), Susan Lucci (Erica), Agnes Nixon (Agnes), Ray MacDonnell (Joe), Julia Barr (Brooke), Zachary Kady (Jamie) 2001 L to R: Zachary Kady (Jamie), Julia Barr (Brooke), James Mitchell (Palmer), Ruth Warrick (Phoebe), Susan Lucci (Erica), Eileen Herlie (Myrtle), Ray MacDonnell (Joe), Eden Riegel (Bianca) 2005 L to R: James Mitchell (Palmer), Ruth Warrick (Phoebe), Eileen Herlie (Myrtle), Ray MacDonnell (Joe), Susan Lucci (Erica), Agnes (Agnes), Julia Barr (Brooke)

Carl, you are posting some of the hardest scenes for me to watch. That era of AMC was good on paper, terrible on screen, compounded by the new shaky cam.

Agreed. I love that she is something like a Greek Muse in this story, giving the voice of viewer in her vignettes.

I feel like I rather watch RHOC with Heather Paige Kent and all her buddies, then the current harem of wannabes (sans Victoria whom I still adore). Heather's friends fit the genre much better in term so the direction it is all going (over the top spending, trips, etc.). RH is no longer about high-end suburban living.

So is your overall assessment that Lemay's run actually hindered and did not help the show?

I never thought of Lemary from your perspective vetsoapfan. He did praise a lot of his newly hired actors for working off the page, but panned Virginia Dwyer. He made it a point to pay up her ego, though never mentioned any of the members of the company complaining about her unlike Reinholt. That quote about people going to the back porch when times get tough is so true. My familiy's New York house is often vacant during the non-Holidays. One time, I was the first one back, and it was so eerie to see all the lights turned off and the furniture covered with dust catchers. I could imagine viewers feeling the same way coming back to a empty Mathews home without their beloved Mary their to offer a friendly welcome.

What I would do to have access to their photo archives. In spite of the fact that I have amassed a pretty good collection for use with my History Project website, individual cast shots of the 70's cast in good quality and color are so hard to come by... even if the character made it into the 80's. I was hoping to get some good shots with the 40th Anniversary, but they kept pretty recent in their "memorable moments" and "memorable couples." Neither Paul & Anne showed up as a memorable couple, nor did the death of Beth Martin, one of the most bone chilling moments I have seen on daytime. Probably second only to the death of Laura Cudahy.

SOD has been really slacking on their fact checking. Or perhaps just AMC, I cannot speak about the other soaps because I do not known as much about them. In not one, but two photo captions, the wrongfully identified Dr. Grant's second wife Caroline Grant (Pat Dixon) as his first wife, Nancy (Lisa Wilkinson). Nancy and Caroline look very different from each other. The grade 4 color scheme of the pages does not help. Though, guess I should find some solace in the fact that they even cover AMC anymore. I think the 1999 (actually 2000-2001 photo) is the best of the lot as everyone can be clearly seen and they are all looking at the camera. AMC seems to have a tradition of unfortunate cast photos. The first one especially, looks like a candid joke. Susan's mouth is open, and poor Agnes is falling over.

Shane was wonderful as Scott, but he was so asexual. My favourite romance for him was the one that wasn't with Anita Santos. I hated that he was the good guy who lost the girl. I liked Cosgrove's first run. In my head when I think of an adult Scott, it is he that I see. I hated that he left when he did because the Chandlers were growing really close at that time and spending a lot of time together. Scotty's absence was greatly felt. Also, one thing they did not revisit after Cosgrove's departure was his closeness with Liza. He stood by her as her Best Man at her wedding with Adam. They worked together, and she became very protective of his future and the women who sought to use him for his money.

The Crystal Ball happened the first week of January in conjunction with New Years and show's anniversary. Becca's last episode was Ryan and Gillian's finale wedding at Wildwind. She was watching over Sammy and Maddie. So technically, Michael Nader left the show prior to Abigail Spencer (by a couple of episodes), and both are in the above Crystal Ball photo. Here are some photos from the 2000 Crystal Ball contradicting the looks of some of the players above: Myrtle and Phoebe looking back on the scheme that brought them together: Hayley and Mateo working towards a reconciliation after Raquel's machinations: Alex tossing David down a flight of stairs: Of course the 2000 Crystal Ball was so well recorded because it served as the show's 30th Anniversary Celebration.

I wanted to share some cast photos from an issue of SOD I have. The first, 1973: Karen Gorney (ex-Tara) was missing. This was the time when so many of the leading ladies had the same darker complextion (Tara, Erica, and Kitty) 1976, also known as the end of the small repertory company feeling as the canvas would expand to accommodate the 1/2 hour to hour long expansion (characters from this expansion include Brooke, Myrtle, Benny, Donna, and Edna... all beloved long running characters): Actors who prominently bailed in response to the expansion were Judith Barcroft (ex-Anne) and the Franks (ex-Jeff, ex-Mary). Here is 1982: I have a version of this where Kathleen Noone (ex-Ellen) was edited back in. Also, Hugh Franklin is noticeably missing from this photo. You can see how inflated the cast became in the early 80's. Here is what is allegedly 1999: I am have a feeling that is actually 2001. Eden would not have been around for the 1999 Crystal Ball since she joined in the summer and the ball happens in New Years. For the 2000 ball, Mary Fickett was present as Ruth and Hayley had the famed "water fountain" hair-do. Great cast photo either way. I miss that Wildwind set greatly.

Great wishful casting! I would have played up the fact that Tim was older and was never at home. He went off to college and never turned back. It was in recent years that Janet spiraled out of control and that once happy childhood Amanda had with her extended family and friends was replaced by an increasingly unhinged mother.

I believe the only reason Aunt Liz was brought back was to take the place of Mary because of Dwyer's acting up. So, I doubt Liz would have been brought back had the Mary character worked out the way he envisioned.

Do you consider the "hunk" Scott to be Daniel Cosgrove?

While we are on the topic of Tom Michaels, here is a recent picture of him (Sept 2011) at one of the AMC finale parties with a very grown up Kevin Sheffield: Mr. Jorgenson has grown-up to be a very handsome man. I agree with everyone that Michaels should have been recast in any return. Though great as a child star, he never grew up into a compelling adult actor like his contemporary Kim McCollough. Fergus, though not amazing in his run as Tim, was actually very capable on Passions. I think he brought the right look and the right "swagger" to the role of a grown-up Tim. I was really disappointed to see Tim dropped in such a haphazard way. Especially since the teen seen leading man then became Andrew Riddings *shudder*.

But how great would an Alex Hunter like character been! Tim was a real trust fund baby, moreso than Scott, and on-par with JR. Just like JR, Tim has been so impetous as a child. I could only imagine what he would have done with the money he had from his turning 18. Also, it would have been great to see JR have a real ally. Tim considered JR his baby brother for a point, and their friendship was still strong when they both talked about loosing their mothers when Tim came back as a teen. He would have been in an awesome position between JR and Amanda, who so often found themselves on the opposite side of a battle. Plus, I could see him be a real thorne in Adam Chandler's side, kind of like the Paul Rudd role in "Clueless," the former step-son you never wanted never getting the hint that you do not have obligations to him anymore.

Golly, I love that book. I always wished we could have gotten an updated edition before the show went off air. Maybe had Pine Valley seen 50 years that would have or could have been the case. I tried to model my AMC History project off of that book. Warner did a wonderful job. My only gripe, there was not a single picture of Jennifer Bassey in the book, and she had been on the show off-and-on at that point for a decade in pretty major storyline. I mean, we got a headshot of blink and you missed him Lonnie Quinn.

I wish Tim Dillon got to make an appearance before AMC went off the air. Amanda was at the center of so many storyline, and she rally could have used her brother. Tin Man was also friends with Scotty, Frankie, and JR... all of whom were still on canvas. I love the feeling of characters growing up together on soaps. Heck, Amanda's own crush on Jamie is something that went back to their childhood in the 97/98 time when Brooke was spending a lot of time watching her. I also loved that Tim was the first one to allude to Janet's return to psychosis. It was the driver for him sticking around with Hayley after he finished his transplant with Enzo. He alluded to the fact that Janet was acting weird again; but Hayley chalked it up to his adolescent rebellion.

It breaks my heart how much I disliked Greenlee at the end of AMC's run. Up until 2004-2005, she was one of my top current characters. I was so fascinated by Rebecca's portrayal. I mean, so many scenes stick out in my head as to favourite AMC moments where she is a key player: Leo's death and receiving his leather jacket, confronting Erica about her father at the wedding that wasn't with Jackson, the first classic Kane family Valley Inn incident... she was so alive and raw. I think the character of Greenlee suffered also because of Budig. Often times when a popular actor returns to a show with demands about their character, that character begins to act out of character. Case in point, Dixie Cooney's 2006 return where Cady looked like she was large and in charge until TPTB got fed up. Or, Eden Riegel's short-term stints that had to be a plot driven PSA. Rebecca made it clear in interviews she had a lot of demands of her character to lock in a return. I hate to say it because there have been so many bad writers at AMC in recent history, but some stars have to remember to leave the writing to the writers.

It was from this article about characters that shared lovers/husbands. The Dimitri and Brooke picture was in the top corner. I had to do a bit of photo shopping to make it user ready. Feel free to save off a copy of what I posted before.

I'll hide in a hole. but at the initial onset of Greenlee/Ryan with Mathison's 2003 return, I was very much in support of the couple. I was still against him reconciling with Kendall because of all she had done in the last two years to hurt or family and so-called friends. Kendall was so unlikeable for me at that time, so Greenlee was a fresh breath of air. I think the organic piece of the relationship was their friendship through Leo. When MMT took it down the line of "psychic connections" is when my interests began to wane. I was still supportive of the couple when Rebecca left in 2005. Her exit performance was heart wrenching for me. My fondness for Greenlee only grew when she was away from the canvas. Seeing what they did with her first return, I wish she never came back.