Loving/The City Discussion Thread

[Milly Heller]

Is this real?

http://www.dvdbestonline.com/showc.aspx?id=1130

[SFK]

Uhhh, I dunno but that looks real sketchy, especially seeing as how they've combined the soap with the MTV reality series of the same name. I wouldn't buy it, you're better off doing legal and legitimate tape trade.

[Milly Heller]

It does look sketchy...I really want to find tapes of Loving/ The City!

[DRW50]

From the March/April 1992 Episodes, ABC's in-house soap magazine.

[DRW50]

From the September/October 1990 issue.

[DRW50]

Also from this issue, an interview with Jacqueline Babbin, known mostly for her AMC work. I know this has all been asked and answered before, but anyway - how long was she producer of Loving? What were the changes she made, and do you think they were good or bad?

Edited January 7, 2011 by CarlD2

[MichaelGL]

She produced East of Eden? Isn't that the racy cable soap Douglas Marland penned?

[DRW50]

That was New Day in Eden.

[SFK]

OMG, I totally remember this interview and thought she looked like the Professor from Gilligan's Island. Hindsight is a cool thing b/c I didn't even know who our Connie was back then nor did I ever really look at by-lines. I'm not so good at placing names with bts regimes but I think I can say with some confidence that I enjoy this lady's work, at least what she brought to AMC (I think she "gets" Agnes Nixon, her humor and attention to detail, how the "little things" like Bonkers can mean so much... and she has exquisite taste in... cats.)

[DRW50]

From the May/June 1992 Episodes (belongs to ABC, obviously).

The page with text only I put in black and white, sorry.

[DRW50]

[juniorz1]

You know, I know that Celeste Holm is an Oscar winning actress and all, but I just never warmed to her on 'Loving'. To me, Augusta Dabney was the only Isabelle Alden, but I even preferred Patrica Barry's Isabelle to Holm's version.

Does anyone else remember that there was a painting in the Alden mansion- I can't remember if it was of Isabelle or of Cabot and Isabelle- but it was in the main living room and that they made 3 different versions of the painting while each actress played the part? Can someone back me up or am I totally crazy?

[DRW50]

I've never seen her as Isabelle so I can't say, but I did like Augusta Dabney. I was surprised when I read that Celeste was even on Loving, especially in something beyond a guest spot.

Pat Barry got on my nerves on GL, so I'm not sure how I'd react to her here.

[SFK]

Yup, earlier in this thread I mentioned how my mom quipped about Isabelle's face in the picture changing three and four times. It was a big full-bodied portrait of them both, not unlike Carmen Duncan Iris' portrait of her and Mac.

I wasn't really good at judging the nuances between the various Isabelles as a kid. Celeste, and I'm sure the white hair helped, had the most ethereal quality to me. I'll say this though, she did nothing in particular to annoy me, but Patricia Barry *felt* like a recast, at least to my younger mind. The way I'm almost positive Janis Paige must have really *felt* like a recast replacing Dame Judith Anderson. It was my first time noticing Patricia on the show when my mother made that comment, but she had the disfigurement story to explain her change in appearance. Of course like Max on OLTL or even Ellen Wheeler returning to the role of Marley on AW, it was weird that Augusta Dabney would return to the role as she was pre-facial transformation Isabelle, YET, she wasn't playing Isabelle when that happened, Celeste was, so it worked in it's own way.

That's a lovely apartment, Central Park West. Here's their building: http://www.thecityreview.com/uws/cpw/cpw88.html

I know she remarried to a much younger guy, don't know if they're still together. All Some questioned his intentions (see: Martha Raye).

[DRW50]

They were still together as of March 2009, when she said she was retiring.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/story/holm-retires-at-92_1098264

That made my mind boggle when I read a piece on her wedding and her friend of 75 years was a big part of the ceremony. 75 years! Some friends I got sick of after 75 minutes.

I didn't know there was an unaired TV pilot of Meet Me In St. Louis. Wikipedia said that in 2009 when a benefit was held for her they screened this.

SFK you seem to remember all this well (you probably already saw that article too). Do you remember a Wizard of Oz fantasy, with Kate as Glenda? I have a writeup on that in one SOD somewhere. I wish I had more Loving stuff. Items like beauty tips from Laura Sisk don't quite cut it, especially since Laura is so popular here...