In this piece, they say Michael Levin almost left the show in 1979.

Michael Levin enjoys his honest role

By John M. Goudes

March 28, 1980

Michael Levin, reflecting on his four-and-a-half years with the Ryan clan, describes his character Jack Fenelli on Ryan's Hope as " brutally honest and brutally independent."

Levin believes he has been fortunate to be a part of Ryan's Hope since it's inception. He appreciated it's off-beat nature which leaned heavily on the melting pot flavor of New York City.

"We started with the premise of honesty in the problems most people face," said Levin. "Problems were not on such a grandiose scale. Now were more a standard soap, full of involved plots and big incidents, but we are still trying to hold on to what we had and balancing somewhere in the middle."

In his view of the whole daytime picture, Levin think soaps are currently in a period of transition; and the changes, especially in the area of technical production, are exciting.

"What's ironic," said Michael, " is that on Ryan's Hope we've been doing "Jaws", "The Godfather", and "King Kong", while one of the most popular films of the year, "Kramer vs. Kramer", has the basic ingredients of a soap opera."

Michael contends that although the Syndicate shoot-out at Ryan's bar and his slow-motion dream sequences are exciting, action is very difficult to do within the confines of a soap where you have to turn out a new show every day. In addition, he feels there is a danger of getting overly involved with trappings rather than content.

Levin frankly admits that he has felt confined every now and then on the show and almost left last year but claims his current situation is terrific.

The challenge has helped him sustain his character. He calls creators-writers Claire Labine and Paul Mayer, anytime to make suggestions. They may not always take his advice, but they listen, and that's what it's all about for down-to-earth Michael Levin.

Thanks for sharing this. I wonder why he almost left.

Thanks for sharing this. I wonder why he almost left.

I couldn't begin to guess why, although, I think he seemed had a love/dislike relationship with acting on a soap.

Nancy Addison

Julia Barr

Soap Opera Digest

June 30, 1987

Soap Opera Weekly

October 29, 2002

I'd never seen that photo of Louise Shaffer before. I'm glad she felt Kimberly ruined her character.

It's funny that Muenz's comments imply the movie stuff started long after he began on the show. One of the first scenes was the Jaws ripoff. I don't know how many people have used that or King Kong as a reason for the show's decline but I will always blame Kimberly and the mob, along with misuse of core characters like Roger, Delia, and Faith.

Thanks for sharing all this.

May 1988 Digest

Frank was gone by the time Faith got involved with Ari, wasn't he? I saw some magazine which recapped spring 1982 RH and they had a photo of Frank and Faith and it said he was upset about her relationship with Ari.

Then again they also showed a photo of Richard Muenz, who hadn't played Joe Novak in almost two years.

Frank was gone by the time Faith got involved with Ari, wasn't he? I saw some magazine which recapped spring 1982 RH and they had a photo of Frank and Faith and it said he was upset about her relationship with Ari.

No, that doesn't make sense. The story never made it to spring; it was over, and Ari killed, in late February of 1982.

I found Claire Labine's reply in this newspaper Q & A odd. She sounded as if Melinda's (Nancy Valen) illness was the first real illness that the show ever did - - like she had fogotten that Nell's condition and Ken George Jones' sickness were also real and also fatal.

SOAPS by Lynda Hirsch

March 10, 1988

As a nurse I am stunned how inaccurate some of the medical stories are while other shows are pretty much on the mark. Don't all shows check their facts before they put a health story on the air? K.P., Pittsburgh

　

Whenever a medical story line is used on a soap, medical advisers are consulted. Most producers feel it is important to get the major facts straight, but they all admit when it comes to good story line over medical accuracy, story line wins every time.

Claire Labine, Ryan's Hope head writer, recently had a character suffer from a chemically induced cancer and readily admits she is sorry she chose a realistic illness. "Over the years networks have not wanted to use actual ailments when a characters was going to be killed off. A few weeks into this story, I knew why. It was quite painful to watch a character you care about die - it is even worse when it is a realistic ailment which touches so many lives. We had to get out of this story as quickly as possible. Which meant we had fewer scenes between Melinda, who was dying, and her husband Patrick."

Edited February 18, 201213 yr by safe

The magazine came out in May/June 1982, so I was just assuming on timeline. I guess it may have been early winter for them.

Perhaps she meant a condition with a specific name.

Ron Hale (Roger) received a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on January 7, 2012.

Daytime Emmy Nominated actor, Ron Hale, will be honored with the 340th Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars. The star will be unveiled during a star dedication ceremony on Saturday January 7, 2012 at 3:00p.m. at 445 North Palm Canyon Drive. Robert Alexander, President of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars, will preside over the event. The public and media are invited to attend.

Any ABC soap fan worth their bubbles recognizes the names "Roger Coleridge" and "Mike Corbin." These are two staples of ABC daytime history brought to vivid life by the talented and fascinating actor Ron Hale, who was named as one of the “Best 50 Soap Actors Ever” based on rankings by 15 different soap critics and journalists who have covered the genre over the past 35 years.

It’s been 45 years since Ron Hale unpacked his one suitcase in New York City and went to his first class at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Primarily a theater trained actor, daytime work helped support Ron’s theatre work. As a young actor starting out, Ron Hale was cast on “Search for Tomorrow” playing Walt Driscoll. That was followed by his role in the television series “Love is a Many Splendored Thing” where he played the role of Dr. Jim Abbott.

Some of Ron Hale’s other career highlights include playing the role of Sturgis in “All The President's Men” (1976) as well as his long time role on “Ryan's Hope” playing Roger Coleridge (1975-1989). That was followed by his role on “Port Charles” were he played Mike Corgin (1997-2003) as well as playing Mike Corbin/Michael Corinthos I on “General Hospital” (1995 - 2011).

Ron Hale has many nominations and awards for his tremendous body of work including 2 Daytime Emmys Nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor for Ryan's Hope in 1979 and 1980 as well as the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Villan for Ryan's Hope in 1986.

"We are proud to honor Ron Hale with a star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars", said Bob Alexander, President of the Palm Springs Walk of Stars.

The Palm Springs Walk of Stars, founded in 1992, has honored 339 individuals with a Golden Palm Star placed on the sidewalks of Palm Springs. Show business Honorees must have made an impact worldwide in the area of show business. All other star honorees must have contributed to the charm, worldwide prominence and name recognition of Greater Palm Springs.

Also in attendance were former Ryan's Hope co-stars Daniel Hugh Kelly, Geoff Pierson, Ilene Kristen, and Judith Chapman.

Sorry if this was already posted somewhere else on the forum -- I've been having a lot of computer trouble lately.

Edited February 19, 201213 yr by safe

That's great! I always wanted to see Ilene and Ron together again. I guess this is the closest we'll get.

Robert Finoccoli (Pat #3) plays Senator Tom Cranston in the independent film, Molly's Girl

http://www.mollysgir....com/index.html

The last info on Robert was that he was a business manager in Iowa (where this film was made)-- looks like he has resumed his acting career

Ellen Dolan (Margo from As the World Turns) plays his wife Ginger

Good for him. I hated his work as Pat but I'm glad so many RH alums are always doing well.

I feel the same way. He wasn't a very likeable Pat, but it's great he's pursuing his acting dreams again.