Another World Discussion Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

That's okay. It's enough that you know you were thought about!!

[Xanthe]

I like most of your ideas but I don't know whether I can see this since most of my frustration with Laurence Lau's Jamie was his stodginess. He was less stiff in some respects than Chris Bruno but I don't think I have my head around what kind of character Dennis should be. I was aware of and just kind of accepted Jim Poyner in the rôle but don't have much of impression.

Do you envision any particular storyline for Dennis?

[Paul Raven]

@Xanthe Mentioning LL as Dennis was only in terms of him being cast at that time and aligning more with Jim Poyner's Dennis , rather than any great love for the actor,

Dennis was a sensitive type-growing up in the shadow of a domineering mother, having a heart condition etc .But upon returning in say 1986, he could have been cast and written differently.

As for story,for fun, I wrote daily outlines for AW for that time period. I had Vicky and Dennis involved, causing Iris much angst. Vicky got pregnant by Jake who was trying to rebuild his marriage to Marley. So Vicky decided to have an abortion to solve the whole mess, but was in a car accident before she could do so and the pregnancy was  discovered and Dennis of course believed he was the father. Much drama ensued!

[Xanthe]

Thanks! The idea of Dennis as a reckless rich racecar-driving playboy that Marley was attracted to despite her better judgement that they went with was good in theory but juxtaposing him with the much hotter IMO Byron Pierce spoiled that for me. If Dennis had been ridiculously hot or charismatic that might have made more sense but neither Chris Bruno or Laurence Lau would have worked for me.

[DRW50]

 I did get to watch most of the Richard Bekins Locher Room today. 

He still looks great for being a few months from 70.

He mentioned being from California and said he wasn't sure why he was hired for a New York show, but he stayed in New York from then on, and still lives there. 

He talked about Maude as one of his first TV roles. He said he was intimidated by Bea Arthur, but Rue McClanahan was very nice. 

He screen tested for the Hardy Boys and lost out to Parker Stevenson. 

He didn't screen test for AW, they just hired him after his audition.

His first scene was with Constance Ford in Ada's kitchen and had a lot of props. He said she was a wonderful mentor and so helpful to him. He also spoke highly of Nancy Frangione and Chris Rich. (Locher said Chris played Blaine - wrong) He also mentioned Rick Porter. He was asked about Kyra Sedgwick and just said she was great and fun. 

He said he could never read the crawl/teleprompter as he's nearsighted, so he had to memorize his lines. He mentioned that he and others changed their lines if they didn't like something, but Beverlee McKinsey and Douglass Watson never did. He also talked about the heavy tape schedule during that year when Jamie was on constantly, as scenes were shot continuously then. He said after he finished his brief role on GL, Beverlee called him, and she called him again a few other times after she moved to Santa Barbara. 

He said he'd still be glad to do a soap (he mentioned GH).

He said he isn't really in touch with anyone he worked with at AW, as many have died, or they didn't stay in New York.

He mentioned working with Meryl Streep in a film, and more about his theater and primetime career. He said his favorite primetime roles were on shows like L&O. 

He said he didn't really know how popular he was as Jamie until the response he got in an airport. He mentioned how popular the show was in Canada. 

They joked about how often he would be shirtless or in his underwear as Jamie.

He talked about putting a lot of his insecurities into Jamie, and how he would have dreams as Jamie, in the Cory living room set.  

He said his favorite story, of what he remembered, was the dynamic between Jamie, Rachel and Mac. He knows people enjoyed his scenes with Rachel.

He mentioned being gay and how it just wasn't talked about. He never opened up to anyone about being gay. He regrets it but just wasn't ready. 

He said he left AW because he wanted to do other things. He said Constance Ford and Paul Stevens encouraged him to leave and told him if he didn't, he'd be stuck there forever like they were.  He had saved all his money at AW so was able to just go into residential theater for a long time. 

He didn't really say much about his ATWT or OLTL roles (he mentioned possibly being a love interest for Robin Strasser on OLTL).

He lived in the same apartment from ages 25-65 and then moved to the West Village. 

He said he's not sure if he will be able to go to AW's 60th anniversary or not.

Nothing that detailed, but even with the usual issues with the Locher format it was nice to see him, and I got the feeling he was surprised to even still have fans after all this time.

Edited April 17, 2024 by DRW50

[Contessa Donatella]

Thanks for sharing!

[DRW50]

Oh he did also talk briefly about Paul Rauch - just that he was someone that had a big reputation or people were afraid of, in so many words. (paraphrasing)

And he said for favorite TV, he mostly likes to watch TCM.

[Khan]

OMG, yes!  Yes, yes, a thousand times, YES!!  IDK where Bekins would fit on the current GH canvas, but if I were Elizabeth Korte, Patrick Mulcahey, Frank Valentini or Nathan Varni, I'd make the room!

Thanks, @DRW50, for that recap!

[DRW50]

I could see him being a good partner for Laura, or Tracy, or Alexis. Or another Jeff Webber recast. 

[AbcNbc247]

Does he know that so much of his run as Jamie is available to watch on YouTube? 

[DRW50]

That was addressed near the end of the interview. He didn't until a few people in the comments mentioned it and Locher read them (for instance Locher didn't know that a lot of 80-81 episodes were put out by P&G back in the late '00s). Locher did mention the Youtube episodes that are available.

Edited April 17, 2024 by DRW50

[AbcNbc247]

Thanks!

[Xanthe]

Thank you so much for this. I am just starting to watch and his voice feels so familiar even now. 

[Soaplovers]

Hospital admin... the heavy at GH.   

[Wendy]

Richard Bekins also (along with Thad Luckinbill) appeared in the series finale of Law & Order: Criminal Intent, playing the father of the murdered victims, identical twins. (Both played by Luckinbill.)

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1942450/