Gordon Russell HW

[TC]

I wasn't aware of that. It explains a lot.

[Cat]

Well, as long as he's happy. Although I heard he went through a period of homelessness.

He seemed like such a charismatic and strong presence from the clips I've seen of AW at that time.

[Khan]

Poor GR. I've seen a few clips of him on ANOTHER WORLD. He probably wasn't the best actor ever to come along in soaps, but I could understand why so many thought he was so appealing. Too bad, though, his personal problems seemed to always get in his way.

[Khan]

Yep. Tony was one of the relatives whom Viki visited the last time she was in Heaven.

[Chris B]

I always assumed Jackie Courtney was good to work with since she lasted so much longer on OLTL. Had no idea of all the drama surrounding her. You know, it just makes me sad hearing about classic OLTL. As a major Ryan's Hope/Dark Shadows fan, that shows me that ABC (as hard as it is to believe) was once a great place for soaps. Everything I've read about OLTL from the 60s-80s seems like must-see TV. Problem is, it's so difficult to find older episodes that it'll forever be a mystery.

I was reading my Soap Opera History book and it just makes me sad to think I'll never see Return to Peyton Place or Behind the Screen or All That Glitters or The Survivors or an episode of Y&R with Lorie Brooks. I always love getting tidbits from viewers watching then, but it just makes me sad and jealous. Look at what we're stuck with today. This is why right now primary soap lineup is:

Peyton Place

Dark Shadows

As the World Turns (1985)

and soon Ryan's Hope from the beginning

Still, all is not well in the classic arena. I had to dump Falcon Crest which is one of the most plot driven disappointments I've ever seen. I was also extremely disappointed in the one episode of Our Private World that I have. I'm digressing too much already, but I'll discuss that dreadful primetime ATWT spin-off another day.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

So sad he died relatively young, he was very close to Agnes Nixon and she thanks him every chance she gets. He was probably OLTL's equivalent to Wisner Washman, you know, Agnes's true successor and #1 protege.

His years at OLTL with Joseph Stuart as EP is considered the golden era of the show. I wish I could see more of that era.

[EricMontreal22]

Exactly--in that fabulous oral interview with Agnes that is up on Youtube she's asked about many people. Agnes is polite to a fault but you can kinda tell when she's being polite and when she truly means it--she;'s asked about workign with Doug Marland on Loving and you can tell there was tension there (I'd still like to know the real story and why he left so early) but she's too ladylike to say--but with Gordon her face she beams up.

That's why I find it so infuriating when some OLTL fans--especially in the past used to complain she abandoned the show for AMC. She really groomed him for the job and he did an ACE job (she also was a big resource, Malone ahs said, when he joined in th eearly 90s answering and helpign anyway she could).

What led to this question was I watched two back to back episodes from May 1980, shortly before Russell left and they were just such fantastic examples of classic soap. No HUGE moments liek the great Karen Wolek trial scene I've seen so many times just many interacting scenes and characters--early Buchanens who were new, Dorian, Vicki, a very young Tina, Jenny and her bastard of a husband, "Mario"/Marco, Karen Wolek with Larry having a welcome home party with her friends, Pat not wanting to go cuz of her history with her child, Carla Grey (who I'd never seen before)--and jsut fabulous fabulous soap opera. I've seen a LOT of 80s OLTL but most of it is from the Rauch era which was great but was very over the top and huge--in 1980 they still had a perfect mix, even with theBuchanens starting to dominate, of different levels of income, race, and types of stories.

E

[EricMontreal22]

Awesome post!

One small kinda correction--Russell was still writing early on with the Buchanens though by the time Asa appeared in Summer (?) 1980 I think Sam Hall had nearly completely taken over. The Spring 80 eps I mentione watching have Gordon as head writer and the material really feels like his--and he seems to do a decent job of mixing the Buchs in with everyone else (I still think the Buchanens were suggested by someone at ABC to compete with Dallas).

Sam Hall is a talent himself (I guess he's still alive?) and I know with Dark Shadows I think he wrote much of teh later stuff including both movies? I'm not sure where him and Russell's writing ont hat show divided though they also worked together. Either way I *do* agree that Russell seemed to keep him grounded. Of course the sci fi elements later were partly GH's influence but while OLTL was stillvery good it did get mor eand more cartoony. (Don't forget when Ivan Kipling came back and implanted Larry with a chip he also came back with a BIONIC ARM!) It's interesting that in the early 80s there was some rating turn around--briefly Henry Slesar from Edge, for less than a year, was added as Sam's co HW and it got more mopb related. Then I believe Paul rauch and the Texas team of the Corringtons were broguht in and Sam Hall briefly went to AW--the Corringtons were NOT popula rand seemed to have lasted about 8 months then Sam Hall and Peggy O'Shea (who had been on the team since the late 70s) came in under Rauch.

Rauch obviously asked for more and more fantasy, rich characters, camp, etc. By the time Hall retired (?) around 84 or 85 Peggy O'Shea was in charge and I think the show, while not as great as it was in '79, was still pretty strong. It really was when she left (was she fired? she didn't seem to work anywhere else) and her associate Michael S Schenessel came in that the camp and everything completely took over and the show IMHO lost its identity (even if it was a lot of fun sometimes)

But yeah I really feel that Gordon Russell in his way deserves to be talked about the same way Harding Lemay or Doug Marland are... Shame he isn't

[EricMontreal22]

The eps I've been watching were before that but it seems like they're going for a Bo/Pat coupling with Clint already getting interested in Vicki (and Dorian interested in him as well and Tina's new to town "father" intereste din Vicki as well... Poor widow Vicki )

Cat--I'm with you. The more I find out abou tthe 70s the more I realize it really is the era/time of soaps that suits my soap viewing sensibilites the best. Such a shame so much of the 70s has been literally erased or not saved. I know many have a fondness for the 80s but for me it's the 70s...

[EricMontreal22]

Still, all is not well in the classic arena. I had to dump Falcon Crest which is one of the most plot driven disappointments I've ever seen. I was also extremely disappointed in the one episode of Our Private World that I have. I'm digressing too much already, but I'll discuss that dreadful primetime ATWT spin-off another day.

Well there always were some bad soaps--there's a reason it didn't last...

But wait... I didn't knwo ANY episodes of Our Private World existed!!! bad or not I've been dieing to see that! tell me more

And yeah I think the mid 70s all the way to the mid 80s, ABC was really at the top of its game and maybe THE place to be soap wise (I knwo that'll be argued, but for me anyway...)

[Jonathan]

I always wondered why Douglas Marland was never given an on-air credit as "Creator" for Loving. It was just Agnes Nixon's name.

[EricMontreal22]

Oh! but he was! The original tv movie pilot and ALL of the first year Douglas wrote (one episode used to be on youtube but was removed, and before I could save it ) he had a co creator credit. I heard when he left he ASKED for it to be removed, it wasn't removed because of some sort of vengence. I know that ABC was a bit disappointed in the show and maybe they asked for changed Marland didn't want? but I also think that despite their many shared qualities, Marland and Nixon found working together surprisingly hard. Pity as the first year of that show seems classic to me--onscreen anyway.

Loving has lotsa fishy history. Early announcements said it was to be co create dby Agnes Nixon and novelis Dan Wakefield! Dan of course wrote the incredible 1976 book All Her Children about his extreme love for AMC and was a huge huge fan of it. He was a well regarded novelist (Starting Over,Going All The Way, both made into movies, etc) and also created the late 70s primetime show James at 15, which I've never seen but many have said was a MASSIVE influence on Dawson's Creek--with a few almost too close paralels (Dawson's creator Kevin Williamson admitted as much). But something happened--I heard Dan just wasn't as up to writing a daily show as he thought, and Marland was in sometime before the premier instead.

[Vee]

The thing about Gordon Russell was I grew up as a huge Dark Shadows fan and came to believe that of their two de facto "head writers" in the later years, Russell and Sam Hall, that he was the 'hack' of the two - his scripts seemed so stock, so autopilot, just about the latest ghoul or death or action scene. But really, I realized you can't blame Russell or Hall, since they had to just keep churning out schlocky story after schlocky story according to an insane production schedule and Dan Curtis' mad whims. So of course when they went into more traditional daytime, they did very well at OLTL. Ellen Holly was also very complimentary of them in her book.

I do wish OLTL today had more of a link to those core families of the '70s, but I understand why it's an issue. But I also can't begrudge the '80s, for all its sins; it gave us Tina, and so many other iconic characters and stories which for better or worse OLTL is so often identified by. And I think Ron Carlivati has given us a good mix of that wild spirit as well as social consciousness and earthy stories.

Speaking of Carla, check out her throwing Phylicia Rashad shade for coming to a party with Ed Hall!

[Jonathan]

I love that book, "All Her Children." I have a few copies. I emailed Dan Wakefield a few years ago telling him how much I loved his insight into the soap. This was around the time of the Bianca/Miranada saga. I asked if he still watched the show and he replied that he had not watched it in years. But said he would tune in to see what all the hype was about. (I'm sure he's not watching now given that it's a snoozefest.)

[TC]

JAMES at 15 was a fantasic show. Very inrtospecttive for primetime.