10 hours ago, Nicholas Blair said:

I saw the last year or so of WTHI when Labine & Mayer were writing it, and it is one of my favorite soap viewing experiences ever. However appropriate the Love of Life-like title once may have been, it couldn't have been more wrong in tone for the sophisticated storytelling of Labine & Mayer. Tracy Brooks Swope was great, one of my all-time favorites, and I kept waiting for her to turn up on another show--RH, maybe. Liz Rainey at first seemed like a good girlfriend for the nice Michael Hathaway (the excellent Gregory Abels) and then little by little seemed more and more off until she became a seriously disturbed person. Very good writing and acting to match.

Why Gregory Abels was never chosen as one of the many Tom Hughes recasts on ATWT remains a mystery to me.

Louise Shaffer, smart and funny, was just wonderful, all that a sympathetic semi-villain should be. I was not a big fan of David Cryer as Hugh Jessup (OK, but a bland villain) and, having seen Joel Crothers as the villainous Lt. Nathan Forbes on DS, had the fantasy of Joel Crothers and Louise Shaffer as a trouble-making couple.

I was also not a fan of Peter McLean, ditto on SS, and ditto when they briefly brought him onto Somerset. An OK actor, but not to my mind a romantic lead, especially for younger women like Delphi Harrington or (on SS) Barbara Rodell. I'm sorry the lovely, raven-tressed, and very talented Delphi Harrington never got another romantic lead on a soap, although she did get some character parts. As the pregnant Christine she was the main sympathetic female character for the last year. Despo had a good turn as Christine's aunt who had come from Greece to look after her. I think Despo had come to the US to play in the musical ZORBA!

I did not see much of the Kate/Steve storyline, but Diana van der Vlis was certainly a fine actress. James Mitchell was as solid as you would expect, and Priscilla Pointer was always interesting as the therapist who seemed sympathetic at first but then with layers of manipulation. As a DS fan I knew Lisa Richards, who was fine, although the notion of a dangerous crazy lady coming back all cured did not ring true.

I would give a couple of fingers to be able to see Diana Van Vlis Playing the Multiple Personality Storyline 

I missed the climax of the big storyline about Christine (Delphi Harrington) being stalked by someone who felt she ought to be punished because she was an unwed mother. The viewers knew fairly early on that the stalker was Will Watts, a rather mousy middle-aged man played by Robert Symonds. I believe I saw the episode where Will Watts had broken into Christine's house. Then a couple of days later there was an almost offhand reference to "that maniac that Chris killed." There were few if any flashbacks in those days.

Of course Chris had a great deal of trauma from the event, and that fueled the next big plot, the custody for Chris' little girl which had been fathered by Hugh Jessup (David Cryer).

Not having seen the earlier years, I was startled to read in the recaps that Loretta Jardin may have been, at least originally, somewhat mentally challenged. I had the vague impression that she was one of Julian's colleagues at the university, although this may have been an unwarranted assumption. As played by Alice Drummond during the last year, Loretta was quiet, intelligent, and kindly.

As RH fans know, Alice Drummond played Susie, the wife of the guy on the cruise who blackmailed Delia into having sex with him because he knew she was faking her injury. This hilarious performance undoubtedly helped her get the opportunity to play other blue-collar New Yorkers, as in HIDE IN PLAIN SIGHT and an even larger role in AWAKENINGS. But I'm sorry I didn't get to see Alice play more characters as bright and interesting as she undoubtedly was in real life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 27, 20214 yr by jam6242

Those are darling clippings, especially the photo of Diana Walker and the Dolan family. 😊

14 minutes ago, amybrickwallace said:

Those are darling clippings, especially the photo of Diana Walker and the Dolan family. 😊

Haha---yeah, that one's cute.

Just now, jam6242 said:

Haha---yeah, that one's cute.

He probably was the youngest actor on the CBS payroll at that particular time. 😂

Love all those clippings! Many thanks.

This show always fascinates me. Glad to see some new memories from people. 

@Joseph I don't think the multiple personality storyline lasted very long. I have a couple of scripts from the final months (mostly from late January / early February 1973). The main thrust of the story is Peter Jardin's accident in the garage. He had gone out to start up the snowblower and ended up lighting himself on fire. Labine and Mayer were telling their first child in peril medical story. In the few episodes I have, it is pretty brutal. Peter doesn't die from the fire instantly, but lingers on for DAYS. It is touch and go for several days before Peter perishes at some point. In the last script I have, Peter is still alive and is being visited by a classmate who has clearly taken a romantic interest in Peter. This comes after Steve Prescott has delivered a long speech about the things that he worries Peter will never get to experience like his first love. This was intended to let the Prescotts know that Peter had lived a very rich life despite how short it would turn out. 

I'd imagine Kate's mental decline would have only last a few weeks between mid to late February until the show's final week in March. 

@Nicholas BlairThanks again for sharing memories. Labine is one of my favorite soap writers. I was able to her her speak several years before her death at a local high school. She had fond memories of Diana van der Vlis. I was disappointed when she alluded to the fact that she hadn't kept any of her material from her early soaps days, but had planned on donating her "Ryan's Hope" material to the WGA. 

@slick jones I always enjoy your cast lists. I think Christine Cameron's daughter was named Katina without the R. I always thought it was Katrina, but I have now read it was was Katina named after Christine's best friend, Kate.

The details about Barbara Jessup and Harry Rowsky were interesting. I forgot that those early days had more of an underworld presence. The secondary families on the show, the Jessups and the Prescotts, intrigue me so I was happy to learn a bit more about Barbara and her husband.  

3 hours ago, dc11786 said:

 

@slick jones I always enjoy your cast lists. I think Christine Cameron's daughter was named Katina without the R. I always thought it was Katrina, but I have now read it was was Katina named after Christine's best friend, Kate.

The details about Barbara Jessup and Harry Rowsky were interesting. I forgot that those early days had more of an underworld presence. The secondary families on the show, the Jessups and the Prescotts, intrigue me so I was happy to learn a bit more about Barbara and her husband.  

Credit where credit is due...  A kind member of the old school soap press sent me a pile of cancelled soap cast lists.  Amongst the papers was a three page outline of WTHI  story bullet points, two pages of LOL story points from 64-68, and a page and a half of long forgotten Secret Storm bullet points.  His assistance really was amazing.

The Ronsky details came from a former viewer in my FB group.  He's also filled in a lot of the LOL character tidbits.

@Nicholas Blair  Your detailed descriptions of stories are wonderful.  If you ever check the casts in the cast list threads, and can fill in any blanks or want to add tidbits about characters, please feel free to share.

 

On 10/9/2021 at 1:35 PM, slick jones said:

Credit where credit is due...  A kind member of the old school soap press sent me a pile of cancelled soap cast lists.  Amongst the papers was a three page outline of WTHI  story bullet points, two pages of LOL story points from 64-68, and a page and a half of long forgotten Secret Storm bullet points.  His assistance really was amazing.

The Ronsky details came from a former viewer in my FB group.  He's also filled in a lot of the LOL character tidbits.

@Nicholas Blair  Your detailed descriptions of stories are wonderful.  If you ever check the casts in the cast list threads, and can fill in any blanks or want to add tidbits about characters, please feel free to share.

 

Thank you. Those cast and character lists are so helpful.

I appreciate everyone sharing memories here, this is my #1 cancelled soap I wish to see the most given what I have read on it. 

On 10/9/2021 at 12:23 PM, dc11786 said:

This show always fascinates me. Glad to see some new memories from people. 

@Joseph I don't think the multiple personality storyline lasted very long. I have a couple of scripts from the final months (mostly from late January / early February 1973). The main thrust of the story is Peter Jardin's accident in the garage. He had gone out to start up the snowblower and ended up lighting himself on fire. Labine and Mayer were telling their first child in peril medical story. In the few episodes I have, it is pretty brutal. Peter doesn't die from the fire instantly, but lingers on for DAYS. It is touch and go for several days before Peter perishes at some point. In the last script I have, Peter is still alive and is being visited by a classmate who has clearly taken a romantic interest in Peter. This comes after Steve Prescott has delivered a long speech about the things that he worries Peter will never get to experience like his first love. This was intended to let the Prescotts know that Peter had lived a very rich life despite how short it would turn out. 

I'd imagine Kate's mental decline would have only last a few weeks between mid to late February until the show's final week in March. 

@Nicholas BlairThanks again for sharing memories. Labine is one of my favorite soap writers. I was able to her her speak several years before her death at a local high school. She had fond memories of Diana van der Vlis. I was disappointed when she alluded to the fact that she hadn't kept any of her material from her early soaps days, but had planned on donating her "Ryan's Hope" material to the WGA. 

@slick jones I always enjoy your cast lists. I think Christine Cameron's daughter was named Katina without the R. I always thought it was Katrina, but I have now read it was was Katina named after Christine's best friend, Kate.

The details about Barbara Jessup and Harry Rowsky were interesting. I forgot that those early days had more of an underworld presence. The secondary families on the show, the Jessups and the Prescotts, intrigue me so I was happy to learn a bit more about Barbara and her husband.  

Can you please share your treasures (scripts) with us? 

The only things I have ever seen of this show are these title cards:

Articles from May 23, 1970, and December 8, 1971.