Bright Promise

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These were neat. I think Paul Lukather is wearing the shirt he was wearing in the pic with Susan Brown (in the matching shirt).

Considine's character sounds interesting. He is described as a loner. I think I read he was the father of Ann's baby in an article on soaps from the 1970s.

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You're right - these are from the issue with the cover Paul Raven posted a while back.

I have some more interviews somewhere.

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January 1972 Afternoon TV.

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just darling for babies. I've loved a lot of names. But now that it is our baby, we just haven't found one good enough," she giggled, quite aware that just about every mother in the world has had such a problem, and that now it is her turn! Nevertheless, it is pretty sure that Pam and Michael will find a name in the next few weeks, and five will get you ten that if it is a boy, "Michael" will be in there someplace.

Another predicament that seems to be working out just fine is the conflict with her part as Sandy Jones on "Bright Promise." Sandy, as we all know, had a hysterectomy. It is interesting to speculate just how far the writers on the show listened to Pam's impassioned plea about over-population as they wrote the plot we have today on "Bright Promise." At any rate, Pamela realized that soon there would be quite an on-screen discrepancy between the story line of a barren Sandy, and a very pregnant Pamela.

"I went to Jerry Layton (the producer) right away, and he was very sweet about it. He said that the show would be as helpful as they could," about this amusing difficulty. Pam also couldn't quite understand how AFTER NOON TV found out about this delightful event so soon. "I only told my real husband Michael, then my screen husband Peter (Ratray) and then Jerry Layton, and then..." This gal, who has been an actress since the age of ten, doing "summer stock and winter stock in Pittsburgh" (her hometown) did not seem to realize one thing. Happy news gets out very quickly about a national favorite on a television series!

Pamela tried hard to fill us in on her career, but she quickly got back to that baby. "I really didn't know what was wrong," said Pam, "while I was up on location with Michael." Michael Macready, her young dynamic producer-director husband, was filming his latest movie "The Folks At Red Wolf Inn" and Pam went along to be with her guy and "cooked two meals a day for thirty people." ("\You've got to be awfully in love with your husband to do that, we'd guess!) "But I got so nauseous," admitted Pam, who is a terrific cook, "that I looked it up in a book, and it said that food, and food smells often contributed to nausea in the early months of pregnancy." Pamela laughed delightedly as she continued, "and that was all I was going all day long!"

Now that it's all out in the open, Pam and Michael have dutifully reported the news to all four grand-parents, Pam's brother and two sisters, and Michael's six brothers and sisters - a marvelous set of uncles and aunts and grandparents for my baby.

In the meantime, with two months waiting left, Pam divides her time between baby showers and driving her directors crazy by hiding behind very large handbags and over-size chairs.

"What Sandy can't do, I can," said an ecstatic Pamela Murphy as she hurried off to rehearsal with the biggest purse you could find in any department store. Well, after all! It's a woman's privilege to change her mind, isn't it?

- Abby Edwards

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Also from this issue.

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("A darling," said several of Dabney's co-workers.) Dabney generously supplied the photo of Jean and their two lovely children, which accompanies this article, from their personal scrapbook. Kelly is now 8 years old and Randolph is now 3.

When Dabney was (hopefully) pinned down to what he did like, since it seemed to us he had mentioned thousands of things that he didn't, it came as a relief that his lovely wife Jean and his two children are first on the list. He then chewed on that very wet, stubby cigar another moment before he admitted he also liked good music ("not rock, I don't understand it, good food, good booze, friends, and a vegetable garden he had just planted - "the first 'Victory Garden' since World War II."

Since he lives in the beautiful Pacific Palisades, an elegant area on the shores of the lovely Pacific Ocean, we asked Dabney if he does much swimming. "No," he said with a straight stare. It seemed inconceivable that a strong attractive man like that would never take a dip in the biggest piece of water on this whole earth, especially since it's just a few steps from his home. "Well, sure, I go in the ocean once in a while, doesn't everybody? But that's so 'Hollywood,' he said.

Our final question to Dabney Coleman: "Now that we know what you think of teachers, doctors, lawyers, writers, actors, politicians, etc., how do you rate yourself?"

There was a fraction of a pause and he said, "Well, at least I'm not boring...I hope."

He smiled, rose, and left for his rehearsal twenty minutes early.

Darn it, we'd meant to ask him one more question, and that was whether or not he might possibly like good poetry. a poem came to mind, buy that enchanting Scotsman, Robert Burns, that has these lines:

"O wad some Power

The giftie gie us

To see oursels

As ithers see us."

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Also from this issue.

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Regina Gleason looks like Bev McKinsey in that pic. I haven't seen that one before. Thanks.

Dabney Coleman does NOT come off across well in this interview at all. The interviewer tries, but I think it almost makes it worse.

Pamela Murphy's comments about the population explosion and how it relates to soaps was interesting since soaps have always been heavy in children / pregnancy department. I really wish this show had continued. It sounds like there was a solid core, but the show's ratings never exploded.

I've read Sandy had an illegitimate child, but I've never uncovered any details regarding that story.

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You may already know this, but I read somewhere that Anne Jeffreys was only on Bright Promise for 2 months.

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No, I wasn't aware Jeffreys was only on for two months. There was so much publicity about her joining the show; I know the articles about her span from March to July 1971. They must have been interviewing her up until the minute she was fired.

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November 6, 1984 Digest.

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There is some interesting details here I didn't know like Red Wilson being the foil to the Ann / Thomas pairing and the triangle between Howard / Ann / Sylvia. This must not have had much play since I've read Mark Miller, Howard, was involved in a movie production in the summer of 1971, which involved location shooting in Africa. I wonder if Anthony Eisley's character was brought in to fill the void while he was gone.

I didn't know Howard was Sandra's father. I guess Lesley Woods was the girl's grandmother then.

Thanks, Carl. I really enjoyed this.

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December 1970 TV Picture Life.

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Edited August 22, 2011 by CarlD2

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TV by Day July 1970