As regards Frank Latimore's quick move to GL, I don't know if Soap Central's dates are correct,but it's quite possible as there have been many instances, particularly on NY soaps, of actors moving quickly to another show.

Perhaps as soon as he was informed Ed was going to be killed off, Latimore put out the word he was available, or began auditioning.

I'm sure there was alot of networking in those days and maybe he had an in with someone at CBS or P&G and landed the job.

Interesting to read that Sondergaard played the role for only 8 eps.This sort of info isn't available otherwise as she is listed in cast lists as having appeared in 76,which gives no indication of how long the actual stint was.

Another fabulous actress from the 40's,Anne Revere is also listed as playing Marguerite that year. Does anyone know how many eps she was in?

And little Christian in the Hawkins photo,of course grew up to be Christian Slater and also appeared in RH as DJ LaSalle.

I think Anne was only in a handful of episodes. Sister Mary Joel was a very short term character before vanishing for ten or more years. Another actress, I can never remember her name (not Sylvia Sidney), just finished up a temp run as Mary Joel.

Soapnet running these for so long is a great way to figure out dates or at least number of appearances. I wasn't even sure if Gale had been in eight, as it went by so fast. I wish more soaps had hired such brilliant actresses in short-term roles the way RH did early on.

From the April 14, 1981 Digest.

I think they planned to kill Nell off at this time all along but the killing of Ed did seem very random, and rushed, and had little followup, so I wonder what happened there.

I know I read somewhere years ago that Ed Coleridge was killed off because the decision had been made not to kill off Frank. So, perhaps, it was a budget issue?

As for Nell, she was killed off, b/c Diana van der Vlis (sp?) suffered from asthma and her health was making it difficult to continue on in the role (although, Claire Labine would bring her back years later, toward the end of RH, as Sherry Rowan).

That's interesting. I never knew that. If they were going to kill off a character for that reason then I would have killed off Johnny. Nothing against Bernard Barrow but I think Johnny was more disposable - he was only there to bluster. Ed had a lot of stories left with the Coleridges. There were so many fascinating moments with the family, especially his creepy relationship with Faith.

I thought they planned to kill off Nell all along. They didn't? Wow. What might have been. I loved Nell. I never have watched the bits of her as Sherry that are on Youtube, as I didn't want to spoil my memories of Nell, but I will soon.

From the January 27, 1987 Digest.

September 22, 1987 Digest.

Before Ryan's Hope hired Nancy Barrett to replace Faith Catlin in the role of Faith Coleridge, Kathryn Breech was offered the part.

AFTERNOON TV STARS - AUGUST 1977

Excerpt from

Kathryn Breech: I wanted to do it myself...

One of the things Kathryn considers luckiest of all in her life is her role on “One Life to Live”.

She'd only been studying with Herbert Berghof at his studio for a couple of months when she was cast in a workshop production. The wife of one of the producers of “Ryan's Hope” spotted her obvious ability, and informed her husband that he might have a perfect new Faith Coleridge. At just about the same time, the “One Life to Live” people expressed interest in her for the Karen Wolek role. ”I wanted very much to create a role, not replace someone else,” Kathryn explains, “so I chose the 'One Life' offer."

That's fascinating. Considering how long she lasted at OLTL I wonder if she regretted turning RH down. I wonder how she would have been.

If she didn't have an unprofessional reputation from her time over at One Life to Live, perhaps they would have considered Kathryn again when Catherine Hicks left the following spring.

Jackie Zeman auditioned for the part of Reenie Szabo

Jon-Michael Reed's column - Tune in Tomorrow

April 21, 1979

She also operated a health club in New York before she auditioned for the role of Reenie Szabo on “Ryan's Hope” which she lost. But that led to an “under five” (under five lines) part as a waitress on “One Life to Live”. A six-month contract in the regular role of Lana McClain on the same show extended to two years until the character kicked the bucket. Four days later she was shipped out to the West Coast where she became Bobbi on “GH”.

That's interesting. I think she would have been good as Reenie, and I wonder if she would have ended up playing Brooke, since her work as Reenie helped get Julia Barr that part.

30-second Star Slips Onto Set Of `Ryan`s` Soap - 1987

30-second Star Slips Onto Set Of `Ryan`s` Soap

Chicago Tribune September 6, 1987

by Steve Daley

When I walked into the ABC studios on West 66th Street in Manhattan, a security guard took a break from monitoring the television testimony of Lt. Col. Oliver North before the Iran-contra committees and handed me a key.

``He sure got them boys talking to themselves,`` the guard cackled.

``Sign this release and make sure I get the key back when you`re done.``

The key opened the door to my dressing room in the studios where ``Ryan`s Hope`` is produced. I was there as what is known in the soap-opera trade as an ``under-five.`` According to a wily network publicist, I would have no more than five lines of dialogue, just like Bruce Willis on ``Moonlighting.`` Yes, David Addison had once been an under-five security guard on the daytime melodrama, now in its 12th season.

Devotees of ``Ryan`s Hope`` (11 a.m. weekdays on ABC-Ch. 7) know that one of the constants in the ever-changing world of the soap opera is a character named Jack Fenelli. He`s an investigative reporter, see, and has been with the show since its debut in 1975.

Spending 12 years with a daytime soap is akin to managing the New York Yankees for a decade, and just about as likely a proposition. But Michael Levin, the actor who plays Fenelli, owns a sense of humor and a background in legitimate theater. The former would aid in him in his afternoon with me; the latter wouldn`t help either of us.

The dramaturgic conceit was that I would observe the making of a network soap opera, and play a small but crucial role in the production. The show`s writers, always prepared for the contractual disputes, unexpected pregnancies and calls from prime-time producers that thin soap-opera casts on short notice, had little trouble finding a scene for your present hero.

In the demanding role of myself, I would espy Fenelli dining with a dishy blond in the Italian restaurant of your nightmares. Typecast, I would descend rudely upon the table, interrupt the conversation, be introduced by good old Jack and ultimately be put down and dismissed by Emily, the lady in question. But first, the dressing room, the makeup department, the rehearsal and the rapid-fire production pace of the daytime soap.

Cybill Shepherd may get her own trailer with hot and cold running attendants on the set of ``Moonlighting.`` The stars of ``Ryan`s Hope`` get gray, windowless rooms with a view down the hall of the Hudson River. A few minutes spent in the airless confines makes you feel more a nominee for a root canal than an Emmy award.

Trooping through the warren of dressing rooms, you come upon a walk-through rehearsal and a gaggle of actors sparring with director Henry Kaplan and pages of dialogue delivered that morning. There isn`t much talk of motivation as the actors block their scenes and drop-kick lines.

``There`s definitely a day-at-the-office atmosphere to doing these things,`` said Levin, who owns three daytime Emmy nominations for his work at ABC. ``They do get done in a hurry, and you have to be consistent with the work. The demands, the number of scenes and pages of dialogue are a little different than they are in any other format.``

On the July morning in question, Oliver North and talk of an impending strike by the Directors` Guild (which was avoided at the last minute) were the preferred topics of conversation. Kaplan, executive producer Joe Hardy and producer Felicia Behr were shooting and taping scenes from three different episodes; the shouting match between Ben and Lizzie bore little or no relation to the family discussion among Ben, Maggie and Bess Shelby (played by Gloria DeHaven) or the restaurant scene featuring your correspondent, wearing his own suit.

Which brings us, inevitably, to costumes.

The women in soaps, particularly the younger women, are lavished with pricey-looking gear, often the snug and abbreviated variety. My erstwhile colleague Jack Fenelli was supplied with a dashing khaki suit for the restaurant scene and Emily Hall, played by actress Cynthia Dozier, was resplendent in a stylish about-town frock.

On Levin`s instructions, I walked into costume and confronted a middle-aged woman born with a cigarette in her mouth. ``You the under-five in the restaurant?`` she growled. Before I could answer, she told me the suit looked fine.

Makeup went about the same way; soap opera is the art of the possible, so dusting me with a little face powder was about as far as the cosmetology crowd cared to go.

I had spent an airplane ride and a frenzied night in a New York hotel room straining to memorize and organize lines like, ``Hey, Fenelli, very impressive series on foster care`` and, ``Well, keep up the good words.``

Sitting in with Kaplan and Felicia Behr as the scenes were being taped, it became clear to me that the integrity of the soapy dialogue was a sometime thing.

Making TV shows on the fly doesn`t leave much room for the fine points, and while some actors were scrupulous with the script, others kind of snuck up on the gist of what was being said. As long as the improvised dialogue was connected to the story line and the other actor`s cue arrived in recognizable shape, the cameras keep rolling.

As it happened, my moment in the spotlight came and went quickly when you consider that I had been on the premises since 8 a.m. and it was now 4 in the afternoon.

The process is straightforward: a ``dry rehearsal`` to figure out where the bodies are and how to get them from one place to another. That`s followed by much milling about and protracted discussions with cameramen and technicians, and a roll-your-own lunch.

After lunch, with perhaps seven or eight scenes to complete, a dress rehearsal is put on tape, and rarely is it done more than once. Fainting spells, acts of God or a complete memory loss by an actor are about all that will derail the process.

Time is money in the soap-opera trade, and the schedule posted in the morning gets done inside regular business hours. After dress rehearsal and a discussion, or ``notes,`` with the director, tape starts rolling and patience starts waning.

At one point in the afternoon, as an actress wandered through her lines, freighted with melodramatic pauses, Kaplan turned to his producer and, only half-kidding, said, ``Tell her not to act so much.``

The answer to the inevitable question is, no. I didn`t mess it up. Fenelli, Emily and I had our little Italianate moment, and we only had to do it once. The director expressed modest approval of my debut, and his assistant told me I could vacate the premises. The actors shook my hand, perhaps already thinking about the next day`s regimen.

I hurried back to Chicago with my mouth shut, curious to see how many of you watch a modestly rated soap opera at 11 in the morning. The episode aired two weeks after the July 9 taping. You called, you wrote, you made fun of my suit and my haircut.

You know who you are. But your secret is safe with me.

Thanks. This is great. Starts out a bit cynical but has a nice ending. I guess he was on at the time of that story with Jack and Zena.