Oh, and an interesting tidbit I learnt about Nancy. She was only 32 when they promoted her to HW at GL, which means she's 50 now.

*AHEM!* Who told you that?

*AHEM!* Who told you that?

You did of course, but why bring that up.

Got anymore personal info, you spy!

Here's a recent interesting article I've found that quotes Nancy. Guess who it's written by? MICHAEL MALONE! So weird, I didn't know those two knew one another. I have an old SOD issue from 1995, where it talked about Michael stepping down and that ABC wanted Nancy and Stephen to take over the reigns at OLTL, that would've been good had it happened.

It's an article Malone wrote about the town of Hillsborough, North Carolina, where I believe he resides.

Nancy's quote:

http://www.visitchapelhill.org/locations/hillsborough

There’s a way in which the town makes everybody feel comfortable and connected, as if they’d gone home to visit their grandmother. Resident Nancy Demorest (Emmy-winning former head writer of The Guiding Light) put it this way: “Living here takes me back to childhood, when I traveled by foot on broken sidewalks to friends’ houses. Folks here in town work hard. But if you hit the doorbell at just the right time, somebody MIGHT come out to play.”

Hey Nancy, how about doing some "hard work" as headwriter of any given soap again?

Look what Marlena Delacroix had to say about Nancy Curlee:

Marlena says: Thanks for the terrific letter, Jonny. I agree totally with you that Jim never got enough credit for the very early 90’s Guiding Light for which some soap critics writers reward ‘full credit’ to Nancy Curlee When I interviewed co-headwriters Jim/Lorraine Broderick and Stephen Demorest in 91 at the GL studio, Curlee had just left for maternity leave. She was never mentioned once in the interview, and I never heard about her “legendary” status until more than a decade later here on the internet.

BTW, does anyone have that interview?

Edited October 15, 200817 yr by Sylph

Look what Marlena Delacroix had to say about Nancy Curlee:

But it is understandble why Curlee and Demorest get most credit for this period in GL history. They were there for a good couple of years, Reilly and Broderick weren't. Also, Curlee was the cloest thing Pam Long had to a Co-HW during Long's final stint with the show. In some credits, you'll see Curlee listed after Long, Trent Jones as well.

Reilly left in 92, and the show continued to get better.

Broderick stayed on for a little while longer, but she left by mid 93, and it was just Nancy and Stephen writing. When Nancy left in early 94, the show wasn't the same anymore, and Stephen was still there. How would Marlena or Jonny explain the shift in quality?

Reilly can get some credit for the stuff that happned in 91 and through mid 92. I don't see why Nancy and Stephen shouldn't get most of the credit from 91 to 93 though, they were there the longest and knew much more of GL's rich history.

Also, when Patrick Mulcahey gives interviews about this time, he only speaks of Nancy and Stephen. If Reilly had so much influence, why hasn't someone spoken about his contributions to the show? Mulcahey doesn't strike me as the type to omitt someone's work.

Edited October 15, 200817 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

But it is understandble why Curlee and Demorest get most credit for this period in GL history. They were there for a good couple of years, Reilly and Broderick weren't. Also, Curlee was the cloest thing Pam Long had to a Co-HW during Long's finals tint with the show. In some credits, you'll see Curlee listed after Long, Trent Jones as well.

I'm not questioning her status, I'm amazed that Marlena Delacroix is. Note those inverted commas that come with legendary.

I'm not questioning her status, I'm amazed that Marlena Delacroix is. Note those inverted commas that come with legendary.

Curlee only had one writing stint, so I can admit that she's far from "legendary." Irna, Agnes, and Bill are legendary.

However, Curlee's overwhelming contribution to GL during this time was evident. Nancy and Stephen were the ones guiding that show. GL didn't suffer when Reilly or Broderick left, but when Curlee left in 94, GL lost a certain sophistication and complexity to its writing that was there before, and I don't think it's a coincidence.

And if we're willing to give out so much credit for this period, than JFP should be included as well. She had a heavy hand in a lot of the exection of these storylines during this time. Someone should interview JFP, so she can tell us who was really in charge during this time.

I can understand what she means too. The GL internet community has lionized Curlee after the fact with a whole lot of inferior stories and regimes past us. It certainly makes it easier to be objective. But also, take a good look at the RATS database, at comments made from online posters when these shows were airing. Truth be told, many of the comments echo exactly what we say even today. Stories and characters are boring, stupid, etc. Hell, they even had nicknames for various characters. The show was "getting away from its core." That's not necessarily a critique against us posters, but even then, we felt we weren't getting the quality of storytelling that we deserved or feel we deserve. To be fair, they also praised many of the moments and storylines that we love today and ratings rose during the early part of their tenure, so there is strong evidence that the general audience also loved the show at the time. However, as a whole, the Curlee/Demorest tenure is looked upon much more favorably than when it was really happening.

I found this SOD interview with Curlee, Reilly, and Demorest from November 26, 1991. SOD doesn't specify which writer said what, but coins them as "GL Writers." The interview focuses only on Nick and Mindy, sadly.

Also at this link, you'll find interviews with Agnes Nixon and Donna Swajeski regarding a particular couple from AMC and AW at the time.

http://www.network54.com/Forum/390270/mess...%3B+Alla+Korot)

GUIDING LIGHT

Nick & Mindy

GL is in the unique situation of having three writers – Nancy Curlee, James Reilly and Stephen Demerest – share the head writing post. While they may not always agree, when it comes to Nick and Mindy there’s no dispute.

SOD: When Vincent Irizarry first decided to come back, how many combinations did you toy with?

GL Writers: “Two. There was someone we considered – not a strong woman on the canvas, but someone who seriously needed a fire lit under her – but we settled on Mindy for a variety of reasons, partially because everybody assumed that a straight line would lead Mindy to Mallet, which is always an interesting possibility, but also because Mindy was in a place where she was receptive to seeing somebody dynamic and strong. There are also real delicious possibilities because of her acrimony and history with Alex.”

SOD: Does this match remind of Lujack and Beth in any way – almost like borrowing a little bit of history.

GLW: “Lujack and Beth were both very raw teenagers, and we have to address these people as people in their late twenties and early thirties, people with more baggage, more developed. There was much more naïveté with Beth. Mindy is a woman who’s been battered and disappointed, but she has tremendous resilience. I can see now as I’m speaking how you’re drawing the parallel, but this is its own story and it’s a fresh story. There’s a very interesting relationship between Nick and Lujack, but in terms of his romantic life, he shares qualities with Lujack – his empathy and toughness – but he’s a very different character. Lujack/Beth was the bad boy falling in love with the virgin.”

SOD: Will Nick care that Mindy and Roger were an item?

GLW: “Nick will show exactly what he’s made of when he’s asked to confront this. It will show what kind of man he is.

SOD: Are Mindy and Roger over for good?

GLW: “Nothing’s ever over for Roger. He never lets anything go easily. But Roger’s got other fish to fry right now.”

SOD: What made you think Nick and Mindy would have chemistry?

GLW: “You just have to look at those two faces and know that that’s going to be hot stuff. She’s really hot and smart and has all kinds of dimensions. We love the idea of [putting] the two of them in a room and seeing what happens.”

SOD: What makes these two right for each other?

GLW: “They are both people who have been through twists and turns, and are now at a crossroads. Nick is at the brink of learning things that will pull the rug out from under him, and Mindy’s at a place where everything she’s trusted is being threatened. If they had met two years before, they would have had a two-month relationship, but now they’re more vulnerable and interested in carving out something that’s going to matter. Mindy is the first woman Nick’s said ‘I love you’ to and meant it.”

SOD: What will be the conflict down the road? It can’t be Alex forever.

GLW: “That’s true. Alex will pull out all the stops, and the one weapon she uses will really surprise the audience. When [Nick and Mindy] are two people on the brink of having everything they ever wanted, something will come at them like a bat out of hell and they’ll have to make some choices.”

Edited October 29, 200817 yr by Y&RWorldTurner

Looking back, I kind of see the Alex/Nick/Mindy unconventional triangle as a spin on what Lemay did on AW with Iris/Mac/Rachel. Only this time, you had the mother who tried to ruin her son's relationship, and the mother who had an intense rivalry for her son's affection with the woman he "loved."

Edited October 29, 200817 yr by Y&RWorldTurner