So sad to hear of her passing.

She had a good take on Sally balancing out the more trouble making elements of her character with a sense of spirit/optimism during an odd period on Another World.

I just remember her as the object of affection on the first season of Charles in Charge, and being the replacement of Susan Olson in the Brady Christmas reunion tv movie... and a few years ago she was the ingenue in a wacky slasher from 1980 called 'To All A Goodnight'.

RIP

On 3/6/2026 at 7:00 AM, vetsoapfan said:

If Janet was ever referred to after she left, I missed it. She and Granny both seemed to disappear into oblivion.

I remember reading an article about (or interview with) Agnes Nixon years ago, in which it was said that Nixon's original intent was to write-off Janet for only a few months, and then have her return to AW. But Liza Chapman was killed during her time away from the show, so Agnes decided not to recast the role.

1 hour ago, Tisy-Lish said:

I remember reading an article about (or interview with) Agnes Nixon years ago, in which it was said that Nixon's original intent was to write-off Janet for only a few months, and then have her return to AW. But Liza Chapman was killed during her time away from the show, so Agnes decided not to recast the role.

That was nice of her but in the long run damaging to the show. Janet had more to give. If Lemay had known more of the show's history he would have had a field day with her.

I don't seem to find the character mentioned in the Minor Characters, Day Players, or Actor Guide on the AWHP, but bizarrely there was a doctor named Pamela Bondi in 1986 who was Chris Chapin's colleague and occasional confidante who made Nancy jealous. She is mentioned in the synopses.

Chris calls her in the lab here:

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/aw1986.html

I haven't found her named in the credits anywhere online but she was around for a few months. ETA: then I thought to check the Soap Hoppers thread here and I find that she was played by Susan Bigelowe who is not in the AWHP actor guide. https://boards.soapoperanetwork.com/topic/55788-soap-hoppers-the-soap-actors-and-roles-thread/page/74/#findComment-1609894

Edited Monday at 03:49 AM1 day by Xanthe
found actor name after all

@Xanthe Great spot. @mikeaw1978 @EddieAWHP if you're here this may interest you.

3 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

@Xanthe Great spot. @mikeaw1978 @EddieAWHP if you're here this may interest you.

All credit to @slick jones for having documented it!

4 hours ago, Xanthe said:

Jennifer Runyon has died. Variety did not mention AW.

Jennifer Runyon Dead: 'Ghostbusters' Actor Was 65 https://share.google/vIC5XiRxe5Y3FNkIT

I’m so sad to hear this. I loved Jennifer in every role I saw her play but especially as Sally Frame. For me Jennifer and Mary Page Keller were equally great as Sally.

4 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Mitchell Dru was also mentioned just a year or two before Mary Matthews died. I believe Pat (or was it Alice?) and Mary were having a conversation in the Matthews living room. Pat (or Alice) mentioned Uncle Dru in a passing comment. I'd love to see that scene again now, or to read the script.

Oh, that's cool. I love hearing references to long-gone past characters on soaps, since once they are off the canvas, they are rarely mentioned again.

When Susan Harney was playing Alice, there was a scene between her and Aunt Liz in Alice's living room, in which Aunt Liz said that she had recently received a letter from Missy. Alice replied, "I'm glad she's writing to you again."

I appreciated the fact that Harding Lemay alluded to the previously-strained relationship between Liz and Missy, and that Missy was even referred to at all. I was hoping it might lead somehow (i.e., Missy and Ricky returning to Bay City) but no such luck.

14 hours ago, Xanthe said:

All credit to @slick jones for having documented it!

Thanks for the mention. I'll have to add - 1986 to her.

21 hours ago, vetsoapfan said:

Oh, that's cool. I love hearing references to long-gone past characters on soaps, since once they are off the canvas, they are rarely mentioned again.

When Susan Harney was playing Alice, there was a scene between her and Aunt Liz in Alice's living room, in which Aunt Liz said that she had recently received a letter from Missy. Alice replied, "I'm glad she's writing to you again."

I appreciated the fact that Harding Lemay alluded to the previously-strained relationship between Liz and Missy, and that Missy was even referred to at all. I was hoping it might lead somehow (i.e., Missy and Ricky returning to Bay City) but no such luck.

It was interesting that Harding Lemay mentioned Missy in scripts so often, even before Liz returned in 1974. And after Liz returned, Missy was mentioned fairly often until Lemay left as head-writer in 1979. Lemay always kept Missy alive, even if she was off-screen. I've always assumed Lemay was teasing Missy's (and Ricky's) return, but just never got around to it.

17 hours ago, Tisy-Lish said:

It was interesting that Harding Lemay mentioned Missy in scripts so often, even before Liz returned in 1974. And after Liz returned, Missy was mentioned fairly often until Lemay left as head-writer in 1979. Lemay always kept Missy alive, even if she was off-screen. I've always assumed Lemay was teasing Missy's (and Ricky's) return, but just never got around to it.

After TPTB stupidly fired Jacquie Courtney, it would have been nice to have Carol Roux reappear as Missy. Yes, I know that's a pipe dream, but as you say, it did look like Lemay might have been teasing the character's return. He and Rauch probably would have gone for a recast, without even considering Roux, however. The recast Dan and Susan Shearer were so unappealing; I hate to think whom HL and PR would have foisted on us as the new Melissa.

1 hour ago, vetsoapfan said:

After TPTB stupidly fired Jacquie Courtney, it would have been nice to have Carol Roux reappear as Missy. Yes, I know that's a pipe dream, but as you say, it did look like Lemay might have been teasing the character's return. He and Rauch probably would have gone for a recast, without even considering Roux, however. The recast Dan and Susan Shearer were so unappealing; I hate to think whom HL and PR would have foisted on us as the new Melissa.

If Lemay was ever going to bring back Missy and Ricky, it would have been for the transition to 90-minutes -- and he chose not to. He did beef-up the Matthews clan a bit with Susan and Dan. But Russ was gone at that point (for about a year) and John Randolph was killed. So he really did have room for Missy and Ricky on the canvas too.

The actors recast as Susan and Dan were well known theater actors. And the actor playing Dan was actually a Scottish actor using an American accent. Dan was written as a little stodgy and seldom seemed to laugh or smile -- not unlike the exiting John Randolph in many ways. And Susan was written as such a neurotic (even though she was a psychiatrist), so she wasn't much fun to watch either. I think Lemay was trying to display the damage an interfering mother like Liz had done to her own daughter, but it was just too heavy to enjoy. I didn't dislike the actors, but thought Lemay made them a little too troubled for the people the audience to identify with.

I agree that Rauch/Lemay were unlikely to have cast Carol Roux as Missy. They had a problem with any actor who was proud to be on a soap opera, and they probably feared Roux might have "soap star syndrome". LOL. But I don't think the role was un-recastable. Actors like Denise Alexander or Jada Rowland could have made Missy's return successful.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Tisy-Lish

3 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

If Lemay was ever going to bring back Missy and Ricky, it would have been for the transition to 90-minutes -- and he chose not to. He did beef-up the Matthews clan a bit with Susan and Dan. But Russ was gone at that point (for about a year) and John Randolph was killed. So he really did have room for Missy and Ricky on the canvas too.

The actors recast as Susan and Dan were well known theater actors. And the actor playing Dan was actually a Scottish actor using an American accent. Dan was written as a little stodgy and seldom seemed to laugh or smile -- not unlike the exiting John Randolph in many ways. And Susan was written as such a neurotic (even though she was a psychiatrist), so she wasn't much fun to watch either. I think Lemay was trying to display the damage an interfering mother like Liz had done to her own daughter, but it was just too heavy to enjoy. I didn't dislike the actors, but thought Lemay made them a little too troubled to be people the audience could identify with.

I agree that Rauch/Lemay were unlikely to have cast Carol Roux as Missy. They had a problem with any actor who was proud to be on a soap opera, and they would probably have feared Roux might have "soap star syndrome". LOL. But I don't think the role was un-recastable. Actors like Denise Alexander or Jada Rowland could have made Missy's return successful.

Yes, I remember reading that the new Dan and Susan were theater performers. Although they may have been great in many roles, I found their interpretations of the Shearers to be off-putting and hard to warm up to.

I've long thought that Denise Alexander should have been cast as Missy if the show declined to go with Carol Roux. I had never thought about Jada Rowland in the role, but now that I think about it, she had more of a waif-like quality which would have suited Missy quite well.

6 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

I had never thought about Jada Rowland in the role, but now that I think about it, she had more of a waif-like quality which would have suited Missy quite well.

Agreed. Especially when she had long hair. Imagine Rowland and Irene Dailey In scenes together!

15 minutes ago, vetsoapfan said:

Yes, I remember reading that the new Dan and Susan were theater performers. Although they may have been great in many roles, I found their interpretations of the Shearers to be off-putting and hard to warm up to.

Lynn Milgrim was so bug-eyed on ATWT, I wonder how her theater work was.

Do you think she was better in her 1982 stint?