Ryan's Hope Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

What was that meant to be?

[Forever8]

It was supposed to be a video for the upcoming interview of John and Sandy Gabriel for next year with Locher that somehow disappeared. 

[Forever8]

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Real-life husband and wife duo John and Sandy Gabriel will join me live in The Locher Room on Friday, January 8, 2021 at 3 p.m. EST. The duo will share memories from their time playing Seneca Beaulac on Ryan's Hope and Edna Thornton on All My Children.

[gimmetoo]

Amazing how long John Gabriel lasted on RH considering his character who was never directly tied to the Ryan's.  Sandy also had a short-term role on RH shortly before she started AMC.

[Chris 2]

Fans of RH who watched on Soapnet know that the reruns always ended in late 1981 and always cycled back to the beginning. So we never got a chance to see Ilene Kristen return as Delia, as well as new actors taking on the roles of Frank and Pat.

 

I found some episodes on YouTube that start in 1982. They have what must be one of Randall Edwards’ last episodes as Delia, plus one of Ilene’s first episodes back.

 

https://youtu.be/bQUAavJiFDA

 

 

[amybrickwallace]

Did Ilene leave again in 1983 of her own volition or was she fired? Of course, the next time she came back (1986), she stayed until the cancellation.

[Franko]

I think it was in Waggett's Book of Lists that it was said Ilene was fired because of gaining weight (which she claimed was a side effect of some medication). The experience, if true, must have been sobering and humiliating. In the OLTL oral history, she mentioned staying a certain size to keep being hired.

 

[Chris B]

The weight gain story is unfortunately true, which was common back then. It’s pretty shameful that they’d do that to someone who was an original cast member and popular in the role. I never saw Robin Mattson as Delia, but I can’t see why they’d go out of their way to recast any role they didn’t have to. The show was FULL of recasts. 

[Sean]

ABC's issues with Ilene Kristen's weight made it into the press at the time, which seems absolutely horrifying. ABC was on her case about her weight even before she returned in 1982, including during her recurring stint on One Life to Live that immediately preceded her return to RH. This is from a February 1982 Jon-Michael Reed column:

 

When the character of lady mechanic Georgina Whitman surfaced on "One Life to Live" three months ago, she was intended as an "interim buffer'' to re-introduce the character of Tony Lord. Now, the show's writers have "extended" the character to become more active. But the actress originally hired to portray Georgina has been dropped. Actress Ilene Kristen was the original Delia on "Ryan's Hope." She left that show to pursue off-Broadway interests. Her return to the soap world as OLTL's Georgina signaled a willingness on her part to combine soap acting's financial security with her outside interests. Unfortunately, Kristen gained noticeable pounds to her girth between soap stints. A "OLTL" source claims that Kristen was cautioned to lose the flab or risk her job.

 

Last week, "OLTL" announced that Nana Tucker will take over the role of Georgina. Interestingly, Tucker is also an "RH" alumna. She played a Jewish girl, Nancy Feldman, who had an ill-starred romance with Catholic Pat Ryan. Tucker later portrayed Darcy Collins on "The Doctors." Kristen, meanwhile, is rumored to be negotiating with "RH" to resume her role of Delia. The current Delia, Randall Edwards, is, according to another source, "tired of the part and not afraid to let her displeasure show." Edwards garnered an Emmy nomination last year and was a delightful Delia.

 

If his reporting is accurate, ABC essentially fired her from two shows due to her weight. I seem to recall another column around the summer or fall of 1983 suggesting that ABC sent her to a weight-loss retreat, which would have been only a few months before her firing. If you watch the 1983 episodes that are on YouTube, it's essentially the only period of the show's run in which Delia is marginalized while the character is still on the canvas. (Based on the recaps available for 1982, Delia was still integrated into a number of the stories until the Crystal Palace shuts down in early 1983.) I'm assuming that's because ABC had issues with Ilene Kristen being front and center. 

Edited December 24, 2020 by Sean

[victoria foxton]

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A bunch more episodes are in this channel. 

[te.]

 

Let's be real, this is still the case today. Any time a potential "lead" (especially if they're still considered for romantic pairings) change their appearance in a noticeable way producers and showrunners freak out. Just look at the [!@#$%^&*] Freddie Smith got for his weight gain and how his storylines changed once he started fluctating in weight; it's just that they're being less vocal about it these days.

[amybrickwallace]

Poor Ilene. From what relatively little there is of 1983 RH up on YouTube, Ilene didn't look fat to me. Maybe weight gain is more visible on people like her who are so petite. 

[gimmetoo]

Ilene's portrayal of Delia could not be more different from Randall's.  Ilene's Delia was more manic, Randall's more sympathetic.  I loved the resemblance between Randall and Jadrien Steele as Little John.  They could easily have been mother and son.  

 

As much as I love Robin Mattson she was all wrong as Delia.

 

Anyone know why Randall was so unhappy as Delia ?  Had her romance w/ Roscoe begun before she left ?

Edited December 24, 2020 by gimmetoo

[amybrickwallace]

Does anyone know exactly how Robin Mattson came to get the Delia role? She was in between stints as GH's Heather and SB's Gina - two of her best characters/portrayals. There's not much of her on RH available on YouTube, but she just wasn't Delia. Didn't she only last 6 months on RH?

[Soaplovers]

Delia regressed even more once Illene came back.  She even said in 1982 that she struggled to play Delia because she was in a different place than back in 1979.

 

My late mom watched a 1981 episode..and wondered who that person was (i.e Delia).  When I told her that was Delia..my mom didn't believe me since 1981 Delia seemed put together and wasn't a hot mess at least on the outside lol