His reputation would've probably been ruined by what Monty wanted, and had he stayed at OLTL, I couldn't imagine him getting on too well with Paul Rauch.

Russell is one of the most unappreciated soap HW's in soap history, IMO. He left us way too soon.

What I've seen of that era of OLTL is tremendous. I wanted so much to hear more about his thoughts on that time of the show, because it's nothing to be ashamed off, the characters and stories of those years, at their best, wipe the floor with much of daytime or primetime. Marco Dane and Karen Wolek alone wipe the floor with them.

I've wondered sometimes what would have happened to OLTL if Gordon Russell hadn't passed away.

Although was I not alive back then (I'll be 30 in December), I think that the OLTL of today owes a lot to Sam Hall and Gordon Russell's stint as writers.

Not only did they pen the Karen Wolek hooker storyline, but they also created the character of Dorian Cramer Lord (originated by Nancy Pinkerton), as well as the Buchanan family. They also started the now famous Dorian/Viki feud.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sam_Hall_(writer)

I hope Sam didn't write OLTL circa 83-84, I have watched 30+ episodes on Youtube of that era and all I can say is that it seemed completely dreadful and BORING. The 1979-82 era seems insanely good. I think that husband and wife duo, the Corringtons (who later wrote Capitol) wrote OLTL during the 83-84 era.

Duh. I just checked Wikipedia. The Corringtons only wrote OLTL for 6 months during 83-84. Sam Hall did write OLTL with Edge of Night's Henry Slesar during most of that timeframe. Peggy O'Shea came in at the end of the 1984 era. Peggy O'Shea is one of the best headwriters OLTL ever had. Actually, I will say she was THE best writer (probably 2nd to Russell) that OLTL ever had. 85-87 OLTL was amazing in my opinion. O'Shea won the emmy for her work in 1985. This is back when Niki Smith was written like a human being and not a caricature. Tina befriending Niki, because Niki was so much more like her than Viki, was inspired. I loved the relationship between Tina and Niki.

I hope Sam didn't write OLTL circa 83-84, I have watched 30+ episodes on Youtube of that era and all I can say is that it seemed completely dreadful and BORING. The 1979-82 era seems insanely good. I think that husband and wife duo, the Corringtons (who later wrote Capitol) wrote OLTL during the 83-84 era.

Duh. I just checked Wikipedia. The Corringtons only wrote OLTL for 6 months during 83-84. Sam Hall did write OLTL with Edge of Night's Henry Slesar during most of that timeframe. Peggy O'Shea came in at the end of the 1984 era. Peggy O'Shea is one of the best headwriters OLTL ever had. Actually, I will say she was THE best writer (probably 2nd to Russell) that OLTL ever had. 85-87 OLTL was amazing in my opinion. O'Shea won the emmy for her work in 1985. This is back when Niki Smith was written like a human being and not a caricature. Tina befriending Niki, because Niki was so much more like her than Viki, was inspired. I loved the relationship between Tina and Niki.

Yeah, according to Wikipedia, here is the list of OLTL Head Writers from 1968 to the present:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_life_to_live (the list is toward the bottom of the page).

85-86 was an excellent era for OLTL, with all that Tina/Viki/Niki secret room stuff. It hadn't gone too far off the deep end yet, (even though i loved every second) I think Niki/Viki on the stand exonerating Tina is some of the best stuff ever.

Peggy O'Shea was born in London and is over 80 now. She appears to act every so often, according to her imdb page. I guess she wrote Capitol for a time before joining OLTL and had a well reviewed run there. It seems that Capitol and OLTL shared a revolving roster of the same headwriters from 83-84. Strange.

Although was I not alive back then, I think that the OLTL of today owes a lot to Sam Hall and Gordon Russell's stint as writers.

Quick, someone needlepoint that on to a pillow to add to Mr. Hall's collection.

Quick, someone needlepoint that on to a pillow to add to Mr. Hall's collection.

Ok.

Thanks for posting ! i had No diea he was still alive! i knwo he was hit hard when his wife passed on. He really seemd to largely keep the momentum that Gordon Russell had going--mostly. His pairing with Slesar prob didn't work that well when ABC briefly wanted OLTL to be mor eof a crime show but... Peggy O Shea WAS good she managed to keep Rauch's want for cxamp still quality and in control--when she left for some reason and her associate Michael Schnessel took over it went to Hell

I love interviews with old people. It's obvious that they don't care at all about pissing people off lol

Unless your'e Agnes Nixon who is such a Lady she still can be frustratingly evasive about certain things...

And yeah iut's a shame he says nothign about Gordon Russell or OLTL (wasn't Hall more of the HW and Russell under him at Dark Sahdows and then it was reversed at OLTL?)

I admit as a fan it's always disappointing to hear that someone doens't think much of their work that you enjoy but, meh, he's honest and fair enough.

"So You Want to Live in the County”. " WHat the Hell is this? some local soap I've never heard of?

And yeah iut's a shame he says nothign about Gordon Russell or OLTL (wasn't Hall more of the HW and Russell under him at Dark Sahdows and then it was reversed at OLTL?)

I admit as a fan it's always disappointing to hear that someone doens't think much of their work that you enjoy but, meh, he's honest and fair enough.

"So You Want to Live in the County". " WHat the Hell is this? some local soap I've never heard of?

From this source:

"So You Want to Live in the Country" is a soap opera billed as a humorous take on the daily interactions that take place in Rhinebeck between old-timers, weekenders and newcomers.

The writer, Sam Hall, is a former writer for the soap operas, "Dark Shadows" and "One Life to Live." Both shows starred Hall's late wife, Grayson. The Halls bought a home in Rhinebeck in 1979, and began staying fulltime in the 1990s.

So far, Hall has enough material for four episodes; he said the script is based on many of his personal experiences.

The project came about when Hall approached Kathy Hammer, president of PANDA, local cable access Channel 23, with the idea of a soap opera-like program, involving local talent and residents.

He then went about putting the project together, including securing a $10,000 grant from the Dutchess County Arts Council. The program will appear on PANDA, with air times to be set at a later date.

The show's producer, Aida Wilder, also a Rhinebeck resident, said "What makes this production unique is that the crew is made up entirely of local acting, and also film and television production volunteers who live in the Rhinebeck area."

In addition, local restaurants have generously provided free meals. Thanks to Gigi, Panda and Double O, the entire crew has been well nourished, as well as alert, thanks to coffee provided by Bread Alone.

The Rhinebeck Department Store supplied the production with clothing and Haldora's with accessories. Proprietor Haldora Bjornson, also appears in one scene, as the crew taped for over eight hours in her store.

Wilder said that besides airing on PANDA, "So You Want to Live in the Country" could also run on other public access stations in the Hudson Valley.

Wilder said she is hopeful the production will motivate others, particularly students in the community, to develop more original programming for the station.

Sam Hall also wrote Another World with Gillian Spencer for 8 months August 85-March 86

His shame of soaps disappoints me, and his delighting in telling a story about how he sabotaged the main character of "The Brighter Day" and seemingly not even knowing Irna Phillips's name (just "one of the legendary women of television") annoy me.

Irna Phillips took her creations seriously, and it's no wonder she apparently had little patience for the work of others when it involved stuff like this.

But I will cut some slack because he's 88.

Edited April 19, 200916 yr by jfung79