I watched some of the Locher Room tonight. I missed the middle part. From what I saw, the director did most of the talking.

Janice Lynde did talk a bit about her time as Tracy.

She got the job because she was very close with Jennifer Leak from their Y&R days. Jennifer knew Janice wanted to go back to New York, so put in a word with Paul Rauch.

Paul told her he had created a role for her. She didn't know for years that Tracy had existed before her hiring.

She was instrumental in hiring Paul Katz (the pianist Dooley - also on tonight's show) as she knew they were going fast and she needed someone with a lot of skill.

She mentioned having a lot of problems with Tracy's open heart surgery. She had seen Bob Fosse go through open heart surgery and wanted to be realistic. They were not interested in realism. It was all done in a day. She wanted to have a scar. They wouldn't give her a scar. She mentions one time where she left makeup in her low-cut nightgown, with a scar put on, and Bob Calhoun started shaking her, saying that she didn't have a scar, this was not real life.

She also mentioned how terrified Carole Shelley was when she filled in as Iris.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by DRW50

Ahh, leave it to Alan. When Tom Lisanti finally mentioned the Matthews family and Beverly Penberthy, most of the panel began to comment. Obviously the panel members had opinions and memories to share. But Alan almost immediately spoke up and changed the subject. I appreciate Alan's interviews, but he does have a way of butting-in and changing the subject, just when things are getting good.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Tisy-Lish

6 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Ahh, leave it to Alan. When Tom Lisanti finally mentioned the Matthews family and Beverly Penberthy, most of the panel began to comment. Obviously the panel members had opinions and memories to share. But Alan almost immediately spoke up and changed the subject. I appreciate Alan's interviews, but he does have a way of butting-in and changing the subject, just when things are getting good.

It's a shame. They always keep to a time. The director did extend the time but only because he really wanted to talk about Dolly Parton.

I hope Lynde does an interview someday about her time on Y&R.

The scar story reminds me a blurb in SOD where Robert Kelker Kelley told the producers if they put a scar on him, they will need to show it every time he had to perform beefcake. They instantly dropped it.

Writers/Producers don't think things out like that long term and think viewers are too dumb to notice. I remember reading a 1977 Y&R synopsis where Lorie finds Lucas in Honk Kong by a tattoo on his arm with his name under it. Later on in episodes (I assume) and promo photos etc....there is no tattoo visible.

36 minutes ago, DRW50 said:

It's a shame. They always keep to a time. The director did extend the time but only because he really wanted to talk about Dolly Parton.

Yes, let's cut off discussion of the Matthews family and Beverly Penberthy to talk about Dolly Parton. I love Dolly, but she has absolutely no connection to AW, aside from working with the director. Sadly, Alan seemed a lot more interested in Dolly Parton, than a discussion of the Matthews family and Ms Penberthy. Was this re-direction intentional on Alan's part for some reason? Or is he just uninformed about the history of Another World?

Edited October 9Oct 9 by Tisy-Lish

I really enjoyed today's Locher Room. Director Barnet Kellman in particular was very interesting to listen to. Hearing all of their honest but not in any way nasty comments about Paul Rauch make me wonder if AW would have had more success in the 80s if Rauch had been removed in 1979. It sounds like his ego and personal problems began to impact his decision making.

23 minutes ago, Efulton said:

I really enjoyed today's Locher Room. Director Barnet Kellman in particular was very interesting to listen to. Hearing all of their honest but not in any way nasty comments about Paul Rauch make me wonder if AW would have had more success in the 80s if Rauch had been removed in 1979. It sounds like his ego and personal problems began to impact his decision making.

I do. The show improved immediately upon his departure (even if the improvement didn't last).

40 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Yes, let's cut off discussion of the Matthews family and Beverly Penberthy to talk about Dolly Parton. I love Dolly, but she has absolutely no connection to AW, aside from working with the director. Sadly, Alan seemed a lot more interested in Dolly Parton, than a discussion of the Matthews family and Ms Penberthy. Was this re-direction intentional on Alan's part for some reason? Or is he just uninformed about the history of Another World?

A part of me wondered if he was tying to avoid controversy, but I think he was just trying to end the interview as he usually keeps to a time limit.

1 minute ago, DRW50 said:

I do. The show improved immediately upon his departure (even if the improvement didn't last).

A part of me wondered if he was tying to avoid controversy, but I think he was just trying to end the interview as he usually keeps to a time limit.

Well yes, Alan always bends-over-backwards to avoid controversy (Why? I'll never understand). But the entire interview was about a very controversial era of AW. And if the time limit was the issue, then why the extended discussion of Dolly Parton?

14 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Well yes, Alan always bends-over-backwards to avoid controversy (Why? I'll never understand). But the entire interview was about a very controversial era of AW. And if the time limit was the issue, then why the extended discussion of Dolly Parton?

I think because the director pushed to keep going. I do agree there's no reason to avoid controversy in a case like this. I respect what Locher has done (and I forget sometimes this has been going on over six years) but sometimes he still seems confused or frightened by the interview process when it's not a personal subject to him.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by DRW50

IT does seem rather odd to want to steer away from negativity or anger when we are talking about 45 years ago. I get that he might want to protect the memory of P&G or the soaps especially GL and ATWT, but I think he needs to lighten up a bit. It also may be that he's not that versed in AW so he thought Dolly Parton was more important and had been told to lead the discussion that way.

8 minutes ago, chrisml said:

IT does seem rather odd to want to steer away from negativity or anger when we are talking about 45 years ago. I get that he might want to protect the memory of P&G or the soaps especially GL and ATWT, but I think he needs to lighten up a bit. It also may be that he's not that versed in AW

I do have the impression that Locher doesn't know much about AW. Regarding controversy, if the people involved are still living he might be worried about burning bridges, I suppose, even if the events are so long ago.

I picked up my copy of the book today. I jumped ahead to read about Laura Malone's early days. Eric Conger, who played Blaine's ex-boyfriend Buzz, says that Harding LeMay once came on to him but he turned him down.

16 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

I do have the impression that Locher doesn't know much about AW. Regarding controversy, if the people involved are still living he might be worried about burning bridges, I suppose, even if the events are so long ago.

I picked up my copy of the book today. I jumped ahead to read about Laura Malone's early days. Eric Conger, who played Blaine's ex-boyfriend Buzz, says that Harding LeMay once came on to him but he turned him down.

I tend to agree about clearly not knowing much with AW.

Conger definitely had a Marlboro Man type of appeal.

I'm glad you posted this as they mentioned a Malone story (I'm not sure if it is in the book or not). Laura was in a bikini scene and raised her arms, revealing armpit hair. Rauch was not happy and came onto the set, telling her if he had wanted a gorilla, he would have hired one.

Edited October 9Oct 9 by DRW50

I can tell Locher was a theater kid growing up.. I did some of the fall plays and spring musicals.. and I was around a lot of kids that acted just like Locher. Always having to be the center of attention, couldn't read the room, and didn't understand that the best interviews/conversations are ones that have a flow and you follow that flow forward.

Very few times watching his interviews has a guest managed to counteract that.

For example:

• Jay Hammer and Susan Pratt where she took over and was throwing out tea left and right

• Kristi Farrell (GL) was having trouble with her wifi connection and was throwing out little pieces of tea with Locher looking annoyed.

• My personal fav is when he asked Constance Mccashin (KL) about the role of women in the 80s or about playing a character that tolerated being treated badly with her saying as an actor, you can't interject your personal views/bias because it dilutes your ability to play the role).

• The interview where the actresses that played Morgan and Lesley Ann on Guiding Light had never met, nor worked together, but the two had a great rapport and it felt like they were asking one another questions about the other.

It sounds as though there was a lot of issues backstage during this era of AW and it would have been nice if Alan had maybe taken a step back and let the actors/director taken the reigns and just had a conversation reliving their memories. He's been doing this for over 6 years and he's shown no improvement in interviewing (and I've left a few comments on some of them chastising him for constantly interrupting instead of letting the guest finish their story and/or distracting them with an inane question from your list of questions... surprised he hasn't blocked me yet LOL).

I'm appreciative of everything Locher has brought forward. Would another interviewer have done this show or the one about the Texas book or interviewed Ellen Parker about her firing? He really has had some wonderful people and interviews. I think he's just risk averse with limited knowledge of other shows because his career was focused on ATWT and GL. Unless it's Paul Rauch or John Conboy, he doesn't really go into too much negativity. I do think he needs to listen and not worry so much about the time, but that also may be a guest things. Who knows?!?!

Tom mentioned that he interviewed some of the actors from Friends and Lovers, and For Richer or Poorer, did he interview Nancy Snyder?

Also, regarding the 90-minute format...

There is an interview out there thanks to Robert Sharp, who conducted it at the time for his campus network, when he was interviewing actresses Candice Earley and Robin Strasser (in 1981). He asks both actresses what their thoughts are on the 90-minute episodes Another World is doing. Candice Earley recalls to Robin Strasser Strasser's own thoughts about this at the time:

"I remember something Robin said, you might not even remember this, when you were on "All My Children", we were sitting outside the rehearsal room one morning, talking about "One Life to Live" and "General Hospital" going to 45-minutes, and "Another World" going to an hour and a half, and Robin said 'Well, couple years they're going to build a few more floors up on top of the studio and rent us all apartments there, because we'll be working 18-22 hours a day when soaps got to two or three hours". Robin confirms "Yes, I think most of us were very relieved frankly, not that we truly wished them ill, but if that 90-minute format had succeeded, it would have been murderous, because you cannot take the profit motive away from a corporate structure, it's just a fact you know, and if it had worked then we'd all be doing 90-minute soaps and then of course someone would come up with a two-hour soap. And we would be making it as we do in one day." Strasser goes on to share, "We make one of those shows, one "One Life to Live", one "All My Children", has to be made in one day. It's a five-day work week and it's on the air five days a week. No reruns."

I mean I can't even imagine even as an ardent soap fan, which I am one of many, I would have sat for that long to watch one show - cutting into shows that ran opposite that extended run time. And I have also been told, some of it was just filler - kind of like the random interaction shots at the end of soap end credits - like a character knitting for a few minutes, or another putting away groceries. To be honest, I wish the soaps were 30-minutes, as Bill Bell, creator, always believe that to be the sweet spot for televised serials.