Edge of Night (EON) (No spoilers please)

[vetsoapfan]

I cannot praise Slesar enough. He was great at creating intricate, long-term storylines which kept the audience guessing right up until the last minute, and which wove most of the show's characters into the action. He was also wonderful at character development and relationships, and his handling of the Adam and Nicole love story, as just one example, proved he could write romance effectively. In short, he could do it all, and the viewers benefited from his genius for many years. His best story, IMHO, was the original Whitney-family saga, in which a deranged Keith Whitney/Jonah Lockwood terrorized Monticello. 

 

BTW, the critique of TEON was spot-on. We need some soap journalists today like Deborah Channel. I'd trade 10 Caroline Hinseys for one Channel.

Edited March 4, 2016 by vetsoapfan

[DRW50]

What I enjoy most about his writing at the point I watched was the female characters - almost all of them are complex and layered, even tragic heroines like April. It's interesting to me that in the era where "feminist" soaps got such attention, Slesar's work did not.

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, Slesar did not have his characters sit around pontificating about feminism and the need for equality. He showcased female characters who already WERE strong, capable, layered, interesting in their own right, and not just appendages on the arms of more dominant men. 

[Paul Raven]

In this interview Frances Fisher mentions EON

http://www.avclub.com/article/frances-fisher-on-ititanici-and-her-lost-comedy-ro-84886

The Edge Of Night (1976-1981)—“Det. Deborah ‘Red’ Saxon”
FF: [Laughs.] Oh my God. Well, that was back in the late ’70s, when we shot soap operas from beginning to end. We didn’t go set by set. So it was a fantastic experience, because we would all go to the set at 2:30 and watch each other’s scenes as the camera moved around the stage, helping each other with our scenes. It was a really great experience for me as a young actor and a lot of fun. We were truly a family, both cast and crew. And I really enjoyed playing that character because I got to do so many wacky things.

[danfling]

Actor James Douglas, who appeared during the last weeks of the show, has died.

[danfling]

Actress Rita Gam, who appeared on Edge of Night during the last years, has passed away at the age of 88.

 

[vetsoapfan]

Kudos to Frances Fisher for being respectful about her time on the soaps, when so many other actors (I'm talking about YOU, Meg Ryan) make a point of denigrating the medium. Fisher did great work on EDGE, and she should be proud of it.

[DRW50]

I agree. I hope someone asks her more detailed questions someday. She was terrific on EON, and Deborah got writing that many female characters never will.

[vetsoapfan]

The writing for Deborah Saxon was better and more versatile than a lot of what we see on primetime TV.

 

DARN! I have got to stop reading all these threads about cancelled soaps. It's making me so nostalgic for material we will never have the opportunity to see again; material that will live on in our memories, but SHOULD live on via DVD!

[DRW50]

April 1963 TV Guide review.

 

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[danfling]

Actor James Noble, who played Vic Price #1 on The Edge of Night in 1964, has passed away at age 94 following a stroke.

[DRW50]

April 1976 episode. I think most or all of this has been around for a while in poorer quality, but some was new to me. It's the episode with Serena Faraday's breakdown and confession. I must say I'd forgotten how on-the-nose some of this is for daytime at this point, especially when she details her physical abuse at her father's hands. Louise Shaffer is just superb. Phenomenal.

 

Was this her last episode?

 

[robbwolff]

Thanks for sharing this. It's pretty cool to watch this again after so many years. According to the Edge website, which is rich in details, the story culminated in March 1976. Apparently, the story wrapped in April. And I don't think this was Louise's last episode. The Edge site states,"Pretending to be Serena one last time, Josie said goodbye to Timmy and was committed to Greenhaven Sanitarium."

 

And I loved those Y&R clips at the end and how painful Lauralee Bell's acting was back in the 80s.

Edited May 31, 2016 by robbwolff

[DRW50]

Lee Godart ad around the time he joined EON (not sure who the woman is).

 

[danfling]

Here is an obituary for Robert E. Short:

Short, Robert E.

May 5, 1921 - Jul. 25, 2016

Robert Earl Short, 95, of Sarasota, formerly of Cincinnati, Ohio, passed away peacefully at home on July 25.

Bob served in the U.S Army Signal Corps Photographic Service in the European and Pacific theaters during WWII. After graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Cornell University in 1949, he joined Procter and Gamble Productions and began a distinguished 34 year career.

During Bob's tenure the Company developed many outstanding series which have become television classics: the original Dick Van Dyke Show, The Rifleman, The Rebel, and Car 54, Where Are You?

In Daytime, under Bob's leadership, P&G became one of the world's largest suppliers of television entertainment with shows such as Search for Tomorrow, Guiding Light, As The World Turns, Edge of Night and Another World.

Bob's vision, talent, judgment and taste were recognized by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in 1983 with an Emmy Award for Lifetime Achievement for "distinguished service to television and the public this medium serves."

Bob is survived by his wife Linda, his children Maralyn, David and Austin, grandchildren Kevin Feige, Lauren Keskinel, Alan, Robin and Tommy Short, Andrew and Jen Short and great grandchildren Ella, Erik, Ali and Leyla.
The family will have a celebration of his life at a later date.

Contributions in honor of Bob to MAP International or Bread for the World will be appreciated.

Guest book located at www.wiegandbrothers.com



Published in Herald Tribune on Aug. 7, 2016
- See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/heraldtribune/obituary.aspx?n=Robert-E-Short&pid=180888076#sthash.KJyAjBWn.dpuf