Love of Life Discussion Thread

[vetsoapfan]

 

I took acting classes in school too, and they were a hoot. I've always been able to cry on cue, and could weep very easily. My teacher told me that I was one of the best criers he knew, and that I could also faint convincingly. ROTF! Unfortunately, I was never able to get rich off those important skills. Very few employers seem to look for crying and fainting on a resume. 

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[jam6242]

Loved Liz Kemp as Betsy.  I never warmed up to Margo McKenna at all.

[amybrickwallace]

May Elizabeth Kemp RIP. She was a very pretty lady, and it seems like she was just as kind. I loved hearing about her as an acting coach!!

[Paul Raven]

New York Times Jan 31  1971

AT 9:20 P.M., last Dec. 5, Fred Stew art, a character actor who en joyed a reputation as a solid citizen of the theater world, was seated at his desk at the Actors Studio, jovially spoofing “On the Waterfront” with a fellow actor. A moment later, Mr. Stewart keeled over dead, the vic tim of a heart attack. His death at 63 was a grievous loss to the Actors Stu dio, which he had selflessly served as an actor, director, and producer with out pay since its inception. By way of earning his bread, Mr. Stewart had most recently been a regular member of the cast of the CBS‐TV soap opera, “Love of Life,” and his death was felt no less keenly by his associates there. In addi tion, it posed a serious problem with regard to the continuity of the show's story, which is normally developed some three weeks in advance of actual shooting.

What was to become of the charac ter portrayed by Mr. Stewart, Alex Caldwell, a retired pharmacist who ex erted a benign, fatherly influence on the more troubled souls involved in “Love of Life”? Was he to die, too? How was his absence to be explained? Mr. Stewart had died on a Saturday evening, On the following Monday, he was scheduled to rehearse, and then tape, another segment of the show. What was to be done?

A recent visit to the West 53d Street studio where “Love of Life” is taped revealed first the high esteem in which Mr. Stewart was held both as a man and as an actor. He was invariably described as a charming, courtly, warm hearted man who responded readily to the problems of other actors and con stantly reassured them or gave them advice that they valued. Physically, Mr. Stewart cut quite a debonair figure. He had a full head of white hair and a large white moustache, and was partial to houndstooth jackets, red vests, color ful scarfs, gloves, and always wore a boutonniere, which was his “thing.” As an actor, it was uniformly agreed that he gave no less to his role in “Love of Life” than he did to the more cerebral dramas in which he performed both on Broadway and at the Actors Studio. Despite the demanding schedule of a daily TV show, Mr. Stewart never once showed up unprepared, and if he felt that others had “goofed off,” he would let them but always gently.

*

The news of Mr. Stewart's death reached the show's producer, Freyda Rothstein, the following morning, a Sunday. Once she had recovered from her shock, she faced an immediate dilemma, which was how to proceed the next day, Monday, without Mr. Stewart, it was patently impossible to find another actor to replace him on such short notice, Should Mr. Stew art's scene be left out entirely? Should it be done at a later date with a re placement? What certainty was there that a suitable replacement would even be found?

Mrs. Rothstein went over the script at once and decided that with some re writing Mr. Stewart's lines could satis factorily be spoken by another member of the show's cast, Diane Rousseau. Mrs. Rothstein accomplished the re writing in about two hours, and that evening Miss Rousseau learned her lines and substituted for Mr. Stewart on Monday. On Wednesday, Mr. Stewart was again scheduled to take part in a scene, this time involving two other per sons, The problem was resolved by writing Mr. Stewart out of the scene.

Mr. Stewart had not been scheduled to make another appearance after that for almost 10 days. Now Mrs. Rothstein and her associate producer, Burt Brinck erhoff, were faced with the long‐range disposition of Mr. Stewart's part. An obvious solution was to have the charac ter, Alex Caldwell, die. This solution was rejected by the producers on a number of counts. It would, they felt, be capitalizing on Mr. Stewart's death. In a soap opera, a death provides an emotional climax to the drama un matched by any other event. To let Alex Caldwell die, and reap the dramatic benefits thereby, seemed to Mrs. Roth stein “too gruesome.”

There was another important con sideration. Alex Caldwell was a charac ter much beloved by the housewives who view “Love of Life” regularly and take the make‐believe very serious ly, often, in fact, assuming that it is reality. (The show has been on TV for 19 years and is second only to one other soap opera in longevity.) For the sake of the viewers, too, it was decided to continue the role of Alex Cald well, with another actor portraying him.

In the meantime, Mrs. Rothstein's phone had been ringing constantly with actors and actors' agents seeking to replace Mr. Stewart in the role. Mrs. Rothstein estimates that she auditioned at least half the available actors in Mr. Stewart's age category. She finally set tled on Charles White, an actor with im peccable credentials who also bore a physical resemblance to Mr. Stewart, especially in the matter of his white hair. What he lacked, a large white moustache, was supplied by the make up department.

*

On Dec. 18, 13 days after Fred Stew art's death, the part of Alex Caldwell was resumed with Mr. White in the role. It was the hunch of the producers that the transition would be made smoothly, and that the viewers would soon come to accept Mr. White as Alex Caldwell, as once they had accepted Mr. Stewart. No formal announcement was made of the change in casting—it was believed that the transition would more easily be effected if there was no announcement of the real‐life tragedy.

So far, the producers seem to have been correct in their hunch. Three or four letters have been received from viewers expressing their regret over Mr. Stewart's death, which they had read about in the newspapers, and about a half‐dozen phone calls. One viewer sent a sympathy card to Joanna Roos, who plays Mrs. Caldwell on the show. Otherwise, there has been no trauma in the life of “Love of Life.” It proceeds inexorably each weekday morning toward its 20th anniversary.

 

[SoapDope]

Tudi Wiggins appears briefly at 1:01

 

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[NothinButAttitude]

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[DRW50]

Unfortunately I think that's one of those harvester/repost channels.

[vetsoapfan]

I adore watching vintage soap episodes from the 1950s to the 1970s. It really goes to show that you don't need a lot of flashy gimmicks, sensationalism, or violence to entrance an audience. All you need is good, character-driven writing.

[amybrickwallace]

^ YES!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[amybrickwallace]

In the Retro TV rerun cycle of The Doctors, we are now seeing Chandler Harben as the new Dr. Rico Bellini in 1975 (Richard Niles originated the role in 1970). I know that he was on LOL the year after that and stayed until the show's cancellation in 1980. How was he in the role as Ben after Christopher Reeve left?

[danfling]

I never cared much for Love of Life, but I did watch it for a while.   I was in elementary school at the time.

 

I have some questions about a storyline.   I have asked this before (so forgive me for the repetition), but, if this was answered, I missed it.

 

Barbara (daughter of Bruce) was a single woman.   I think that she was either a widow or divorcee.  She lived with her child (?) or maybe alone in an apartment.   There was a single older man who had an obsession with Barbara.   I am almost sure that the man was European (German, perhaps).

 

This was probably between 1963 and 1965,   I do positively remember that Lee Lawson was playing Barbara.

 

Can someone share information about this storyline?    What was the man's name?    What actor played him?

[mikelyons]

I've enjoyed the episodes of Love of Life I've seen online from its first few years through the end of its run. Are there any other episodes from the mid-70s through the 80s? Their last opening title sequence is divine.

[amybrickwallace]

LOL aired its final episode on February 1, 1980...so you won't find many episodes of the show from that decade.

[mikelyons]

Yes, I'm aware of that. It was a typo on my end.

[All My Shadows]

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