Love of Life Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

Was Ray Wise still playing Jamie at that time?

Do you think they were right to write the characters out?

[Vee]

I've always been curious about this show. I assume the Labine/Mayer episode is no longer on YT; I can't find it, anyway.

[DRW50]

I think the only one on now is the one with Melinda Fee and John Gabriel from 1970. That and some from the 50s or early 60s. You've seen those at archive.org?

You probably already saw this but a few pages ago I posted a story outline that would have run through a year and a half of the early 60s. Some of that didn't ever happen, but still, some of the stories that did seem daring for the time.

Edited November 17, 2010 by CarlD2

[dc11786]

I assume Charles and Diana Lamont had more to do in the late 1960s/early 1970s. Charles was the father of Bill Prentiss, the show’s younger male lead. I’m sure there was conflict between Charles and Bill as I believe Charles had abandoned Bill’s mother. The Lamonts were the Sterlings’ neighbors, which also put them in that comfortable position.

My understanding is Charles developed sexual dysfunction under Labine & Mayer, which led to Diana Lamont’s cougar affair with Jamie Rollins. Jamie was reeling from the loss of his daughter and the breakdown of his ex-wife Sally. Jamie and Diana were to have a child, but Diana miscarried the baby due to the machinations of Ben Harper. In turn, Charles turn to virgin school teacher Felicia Fleming who was being terrorized by a rapist. This all played secondary to the epic Ben Harper bigamy plot.

I think the real problem for Charles Lamont was when Charles’ story was shifted from secondary to a frontburner potboiler. The affair between Felicia and Eduardo wasn’t going to carry the show. As a heroine, Felicia couldn’t have another man’s baby and be someone the audience could root for. And how can one root for Charles when he was a paralyzed cuckold who hadn’t been accepting of her sexual frigidity? I don’t think they could accept that, but the writers tried. When they realized they couldn’t make it work, Felicia was punished for her indiscretion by death. A bit harsh, but soaps were (still are?) morality plays. I don’t think “Love of Life” was the kind of soap where this plot could have played out front burner and worked.

If “Love of Life” had continued past 1980, it would have been nice had Charles stuck around. His grandson Johnny Prentiss was ripe for younger lead male status in the early 1980s with his childhood buddy Hank Latimer prime to be his friend/rival as Dennis & Jamie were on “Another World” and Phillip & Rick were on “Guiding Light.” Charles should have stayed around long enough to be Johnny’s talk-to until the show recasted Tess Kraukeur Prentiss with a soap veteran who could have taken up Meg Hart’s role as Rosehill’s neglectful mother role. I may be wrong, but I just don’t think Charles was leading man material from what I can gather.

I think writing off Jamie Rollins might have been a mistake. Jamie worked as a foil to Ben. He was sort of the fourth leg the show needed to keep around. A recast wouldn’t have killed the character. Jamie was a lawyer, a moral tent pole for a show built on the nature of good and evil. He was the Vanessa to Ben’s Meg. I think Tom Crawford wasn’t suppose to fill this role as he was an upright young man who was involved in the Ben/Betsy/Arlene drama as Betsy’s brother and Arlene’s potential suitor, but even Tom lingered until Marcus came in and made him a bit more morally ambivalent.

Plus, Jamie had history to mine. Imagine the damage Ben Harper could have done by bringing Jamie’s ex-wife Sally into town unaware she was still not with it. They could even had Sally kidnap baby Suzanne thinking she was her own dead daughter. However, when Ben Harper returned to town, Gabrielle Upton decided she wanted to redeem Ben and make him more a romantic lead.

Diana and Jamie were both casualties of Upton, I believe. Both left town in December 1976 around the time Upton arrived. Upton inherited a rather stale canvas, which she desperately tried to breathe life to in the year and half or so she was there. I think she was finding her bearings toward the end, but it had been a long road. If Upton had been given another six months, I think the show might have worked.

[DRW50]

dc thanks for all this insight and information. I read it over and over, the details are so rich, and you have so many great ideas. You're right that this may have been too much for LOL viewers, for the type of show that LOL was, a very strict black and white show.

Was Jamie recast after Ray Wise left?

I saw that there is an LP that Gene Bua recorded in the late 60s. I wonder if it was successful.

[DRW50]

From the January 1972 TV Dawn to Dusk. (Ideal Publishing Corp). LOL turns 20.

[DRW50]

Also from this issue:

[DRW50]

[Paul Raven]

Catching up on last season of Mad Men last night and there was Ray Wise in a small scene-he's still working almost 40 years later.

[DRW50]

He was on LOL for a fairly long time by soap standards wasn't he? 5 or 6 years? He was one of a number of actors, especially in the 70s, who managed to transition out of soaps, even with all the hype that you can only be on a soap for a short time if you want a career.

[Paul Raven]

Just read about actor Richard Higgs who played Andrew Marriott.He committed suicide in late 1977.When he didn't show up at work,Ron Tomme went to his apartment and discovered the body.

Higgs also played Dan allison on The Doctors.

Ron Harper took over as Andrew.

[DRW50]

That's horrible. Why did he kill himself? Did they know?

I saw a magazine interview with Harper earlier in that decade, talking about his many loves, or whatever.

I have some stuff from 1972 or so I will post soon if you're interested. They mention in there that Gene Bua was fired because they thought it would improve the story. I wonder if it really did.

[Paul Raven]

Apparently Higgs had been depressed for some time and had spoken of suicide.Notes were found in the apartment referring to his intentions dated a year previously. He was 47 years old.

This is always so difficult for friends and co workers.Back in 77 there was probably less awareness than these days,but even now,there isn't a lot others can do.

Please keep posting.

I haven't posted much lately as I have other stuff (renovations,setting up a new business etc)going on,but I check SON daily.

[DRW50]

That's awful. How long was he on LOL?

I always miss your posts as you have such insight into soap history but I'm glad that positive things are keeping you away from SON. I'll upload stuff when I can and hope you'll have time to read it.

[jam6242]

Wow, I didn't know about this. I don't remember Higgs on Love of Life but I remember him well on the Doctors. His character committed suicide on that show. Thanks for posting.

Edited December 19, 2010 by jam6242