Members DaytimeFan Posted August 29, 2007 Members Share Posted August 29, 2007 I'm wondering if anyone has any idea what Kay Alden's age is? I've seen pictures of her and she looks to be in her 50s but I'm just not sure. The reason I ask is when Kay spoke at MIT she mentioned that she had a successor lined up at Y&R and that her successor was still a part of the show (at the time both Janice Ferri Esser and Natalie Minardi Slater were still on board). With Janice Ferri Esser's defection to B&B (where Kay is now Associate Headwriter) I'm wondering if the successor Alden spoke of is in fact Ms Esser. Considering Ms Esser had been a part of the Y&R team since 1989 whereas Ms Slater has only been there since 1998 I'm curious? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Y&RWorldTurner Posted August 30, 2007 Members Share Posted August 30, 2007 I don't know Kay's age, but Janice Ferri Esser is more of Bill Bell's protege than Kay Alden's. Kay mentioned in that interview that she trained a successor when she initially took over the head writer position on Y&R, that would clearly be Natalie Minardi Slater, since Kay was named head writer in 1998 and Natalie was hired that same year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaytimeFan Posted August 30, 2007 Author Members Share Posted August 30, 2007 Good call, I totally forgot about Kay mentioning that she trained her successor when she first became HW in 1998 (I think that was a golden time for Y&R)...what a pity that Natalie remains at Y&R completely alone. That must be odd, surrounded by writers who don't appear to share the philosophy you were trained on. Natalie Minardi Slater really is the last bastion of the late, great Bill Bell. It also makes sense then that Janice Ferri Esser jumped over to B&B since she likely knows Brad and Lee Bell having worked with the Bells for nearly twenty years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members EricMontreal22 Posted August 30, 2007 Members Share Posted August 30, 2007 Id' call Kay Bill's successor myself--she was co headwriter for good chunks of the 70s and 80s with him Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted August 30, 2007 Members Share Posted August 30, 2007 Hi, saw an "age" question, so I looked it up quick in the public records...she's listed as Priscilla Kay Alden and is 57. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted September 22, 2007 Members Share Posted September 22, 2007 Well, Natalie Minardi Slater continues to work with writers who came to Y&R BEFORE LML. NML works with Eric Freiwald & Linda Schreiber. And up until the spring/summer, Janice Ferri Esser & Sara A. Bibel. If JFE's jump to B&B makes "sense", then why hasn't NML followed suit? If NML is only a Script Editor, then that's a much easier job than being an AHW, BDW or SW. Does anyone see an ex-Y&R writer returning if LML quits or is fired? Will CBS or SONY be holding any grudges? I fear that some of the cast & crew members who quit during LML's tenure won't be accepted back. Maybe that's why NML has yet to quit. Maybe she wants to be known as a writer who spent a decade on Y&R (1998-2008). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaytimeFan Posted September 22, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 22, 2007 I think Natalie Minardi Slater works as a script editor and breakdown writer...but I'm not totally sure. I don't think she's quit Y&R for B&B because Brad Bell simply doesn't need that many writers and Natalie needs a gig. If LML quits or is fired (either will do and pronto!) I don't see CBS or SONY holding grudges...especially as criticism of Y&R mounts. CBS knows that with Drew Carey taking over PIR they need to have a stable soap lineup in case PIR falters. SONY doesn't want Y&R to go down because it's a huge moneymaker. I've heard rumblings that Eric Freiwald, at 77, is about to retire. Who knows if Linda Schreiber would stay on since they're partners. I think Sandra Weintraub is still around and that's a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sylph Posted September 22, 2007 Members Share Posted September 22, 2007 Her husband is the Chicago businessman Vernon Nelson. I think they have two kids, but I'm not sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted September 23, 2007 Members Share Posted September 23, 2007 I think SONY might hold some sort of grudge. They're very powerful after all. Weren't they (SONY) the ones who told LML to kill off Drucilla back in April 2007? If so, was it b/c Rowell said she'd like to appear on B&B as Drucilla? Was Drucilla's death a hidden message to the cast/crew just like John Abbott's death in August 2006 (LML=new sheriff in town, betta take heed)? There's just something that isn't right about Drucilla's unexpected death & Sharon's near death (Sharon Case's contract was up for renewal around the same time of Rowell's exit)..... Yes, I forgot to mention Weintraub; she's still a SW. I also think Freiwald will be retiring in the coming months. He's almost 80 after all. Well, Y&R will be getting new writers before the year is over; their lacking in them with too many exits (Bibel, Cwikly, Lindsey, JFE, Abbott, Landau). As for Natalie Minardi Slater, I really hope she doesn't quit or is fired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DaytimeFan Posted September 23, 2007 Author Members Share Posted September 23, 2007 Yeah, I agree with you in regards to SONY's stance on Victoria Rowell...but I think that was Rowell specific because she came out and said what she wanted to say about her exit and the Emmys and all that stuff. That being said, I think the execs at SONY would happily forget their grudge against Rowell. After all, they didn't fire her, she quit. In regards to John Abbott's death...I know a lot of people think LML did it to send a message...but I just don't buy it...I'd been thinking that Jerry Douglas' days were numbered the second Gloria Fisher arrived in Genoa City (which prior to LML's arrival). The problem, of course, is that LML failed to capitalize on what could have been a rivetting storyline if she'd allowed Gloria to engage in a long war with Jack and Ashley in regards to John's estate...sadly she wrapped it up in a few weeks and then Boredwell came into the picture. But I digress. You say though that Y&R needs more writers and I couldn't disagree more. According to SONY's Y&R website the writers are as follows: head writer LYNN MARIE LATHAM co-head writer SCOTT HAMNER associate head writers JEFF GOTTESFELD & CHERIE BENNETT writers NATALIE MINARDI SLATER LYNSEY DUFOUR BERNARD LECHOWICK JIM STANLEY ERIC FREIWALD & LINDA SCHREIBER SANDRA WEINTRAUB creative consultant BERNARD LECHOWICK Aside from a replacement for Eric Freiwald (Trent Jones come on down! Kay Alden too!) I don't think Y&R needs more writers. If SONY and CBS are so insistent on keeping LML and her band of hacks employed I think they need to get used to writing as a team and having their scripts sound the same. Having a massive writing team just dillutes the scripts and makes things seem disjointed. Y&R always had a small writing team and it worked beautifully, it's like that old adage: too many cooks spoil the broth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stenbeck212 Posted September 23, 2007 Members Share Posted September 23, 2007 Holy moly, I'd never think that someone that age would be up for the pace of daytime writing, especially a 1 hour show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted September 23, 2007 Members Share Posted September 23, 2007 Eric Freiwald began his TV writing career in the 1950s. Since a significant amount of people begin their writing careers in their 20s, I think it's safe to believe that Friewald was born in the 1930s. He began writing on Y&R in 1985. His former writing partner was Robert Schaefer. Now his Y&R writing partner is Linda Schreiber (who began on Y&R in 2003). I'm really surprised Freiwald has yet to retire. But hey, if you love what you do, why quit. The man's got talent. "...writer Robert Schaefer, half of the Robert Schaefer/Eric Freiwald team, died December 14, [2006] in his Southern California home. A prolific television series writing team in the 1950s, Schaefer and Freiwald also wrote an enormous number of comic books...and working most diligently in a period from the late 1950s through the middle 1960s...Schaefer retired from writing in 1984." Source: Mark Evanier, The Comics Reporter, January 2, 2007. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 If LML is so hated, then why hasn't Freiwald retired? I do not think that LML is the monster she is perceived to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chris B Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 But look how many other people who have been fired. Go look at Toups' list for this year and last. It's like double or triple what all other soaps have. Just last month there were three changes to the writing staff. She also has a history from Knots Landing. Joan Van Ark (the series star) said on record that LML is the reason she left the show. It was JVA's spin off and LML had no problem getting rid of her. JVA said she thought they were purposely making fun of her and constantly testing her. They also refused any kind of dialogue. Several other Knots peeps said similar things. I think the Y&R set must be pure hell, but LML isn't going anywhere. It's now obvious Barbara Bloom is who brought her on and that they're friends. Why else is she on the Y&R writing staff, but not the other CBS soaps? LML probably had her choice of which soap she'd take over and naturally would take Y&R. Bloom hasn't done a damn thing for the other three which is very sad. Poor ATWT is in the gutter and it was doing so well in the ratings last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RuAsRuAnAu Posted October 9, 2007 Members Share Posted October 9, 2007 QUOTE (Chris B @ Oct 9 2007, 01:52 AM) But look how many other people who have been fired. Go look at Toups' list for this year and last. It's like double or triple what all other soaps have. Just last month there were three changes to the writing staff. She also has a history from Knots Landing. Joan Van Ark (the series star) said on record that LML is the reason she left the show. It was JVA's spin off and LML had no problem getting rid of her. JVA said she thought they were purposely making fun of her and constantly testing her. They also refused any kind of dialogue. Several other Knots peeps said similar things. I think the Y&R set must be pure hell, but LML isn't going anywhere. It's now obvious Barbara Bloom is who brought her on and that they're friends. Why else is she on the Y&R writing staff, but not the other CBS soaps? LML probably had her choice of which soap she'd take over and naturally would take Y&R. Bloom hasn't done a damn thing for the other three which is very sad. Poor ATWT is in the gutter and it was doing so well in the ratings last year. Wasn't Knots Landing an ensemble drama? Besides, JVA's run on Y&R was cartoonish. Extreme Makeover: Plastic Surgery Edition? You mention "they". Are you referring to LML & her husband, Bernard Lechowick? Is he just as "bad" as LML? Maybe a handful of those fired were b/c of budget cuts? Natalie Minardi Slater is still there, after all. Procter & Gamble chooses everything about their shows, and maybe they didn't want Bloom on ATWT & GL. Do you really think Bloom would want to write for Bradley Bell? Being a breakdown writer on Y&R is a no-brainer for her. As for the Y&R set being pure hell- LML likes to make her presence known. Two words: John Abbott. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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