Just my opinion but I thought Hugh Marlowe was a horrible actor. He delivered his lines like he was a sports broadcaster or something. He was monotone and, as others have pointed out, always flubbed his lines. I didn't necessarily dislike him, I just found him kind of grating. I think they should have gotten rid of Jim instead of Mary (although I don't think they should have gotten rid of either). 

I enjoyed Hugh Marlowe as Jim but Virginia Dwyer and Mary should have been there until the end.  There is no denying Harding Lemay was talented but his arrogance and ego (along with Paul Rauch's) did long term damage to Another World.

3 hours ago, Bill Bauer said:

Just my opinion but I thought Hugh Marlowe was a horrible actor. He delivered his lines like he was a sports broadcaster or something. He was monotone and, as others have pointed out, always flubbed his lines. I didn't necessarily dislike him, I just found him kind of grating. I think they should have gotten rid of Jim instead of Mary (although I don't think they should have gotten rid of either). 

 

I have mixed feelings about Hugh Marlowe.  He was well cast and lovable as Jim, but he really struggled with his lines.  He stammered and huffed, often to the point of embarrassment.  And his difficulties certainly had NOTHING to do with Virginia Dwyer. He seemed lazy, and tried to phone-in his performances, but he was not skilled enough to do it well.   Beverly Penberthy was quote as saying the actor who played her father (she did not use Marlowe's name) was a former movie actor who only took the job on AW because he had a late-in-life child, and needed the money -- and that he did not try very hard on the show.   

 

Virginia Dwyer played the matriarch of the entire show, and performed in that role extremely well.  Lemay just didn't like her, because he wanted Mary Matthews to be more troubled, and create difficulty for her family.  Dwyer resisted that change in character, so Lemay just brought back Aunt Liz, and wrote Liz the way he wanted to write for Mary.  After he saw that the recast Liz was successful, he killed-off Mary.  Can you imagine Mary Matthews suddenly behaving like Aunt Liz??? That's what Lemay wanted.   

 

Edited January 12, 20214 yr by Neil Johnson

10 hours ago, Bill Bauer said:

Just my opinion but I thought Hugh Marlowe was a horrible actor. He delivered his lines like he was a sports broadcaster or something. He was monotone and, as others have pointed out, always flubbed his lines. I didn't necessarily dislike him, I just found him kind of grating. I think they should have gotten rid of Jim instead of Mary (although I don't think they should have gotten rid of either). 

 

The very best actor in the role of Jim Matthews was Shepperd Strudwick, IMHO. Like you, I did not dislike Hugh Marlowe; I simply found him monotone and one-note, and his inability to deliver his lines well was distracting. Still, Jim Matthews was the show's patriarch, and I never would have gotten rif of him. I would have simply used him less often and given HM fewer lines. As the matriarch of the show AND an original cast member, firing Virginia Dwyer because Harding Lemay had a hair up his backside was egregious.

 

9 minutes ago, Soapsuds said:

 

Oh goodie...the friends of Jill reunion.  Yikes.

Well, let's hope Jill doesn't make a surprise appearance. 

 

The Nick/Maggie/Sofia triangle is one of my clearest memories from that time

Edited January 13, 20214 yr by AbcNbc247

16 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Well, let's hope Jill doesn't make a surprise appearance. 

 

The Nick/Maggie/Sofia triangle is one of my clearest memories from that time

Gross! Actors from the worst era of AW.

27 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

Gross! Actors from the worst era of AW.

Which is where my memories of AW begin. I was only 4 years old but I can still remember the lead up to Frankie's murder and then my Mom telling me to go in the other room and watch something else lol she probably knew it was gonna be violent and she didn't want me to see it.

 

I'll still watch. It's always nice to see AW get remembered.

Edited January 13, 20214 yr by AbcNbc247

8 minutes ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Which is where my memories of AW begin. I was only 4 years old but I can still remember the lead up to Frankie's murder and then my Mom telling me to go in the other room and watch something else lol she probably knew it was gonna be violent and she didn't want me to see it.

!995-99 was bloody awful. Not the best time to be a AW viewer. I started watching around 89. Even though Swajeski was middle of the road. With some great moments here and there. It was Masterpiece Theatre compared to what came after. Ryan, Bridget and Frankie all murdered in a one year period . Frankie was never one of my favorites. But her murder was utterly disgusting.

Edited January 13, 20214 yr by victoria foxton

7 minutes ago, victoria foxton said:

!995-99 was bloody awful. Not the best time to be a AW viewer. I started watching around 89. Even though Swajeski was middle of the road. With some great moments here and there. It was Masterpiece Theatre compared to what came after. Ryan, Bridget and Frankie all murdered in a one year period . Frankie was never one of my favorites. But her murder was utterly disgusting.

Yep. The sabotage was unbelievable. Half of the suits wanted AW gone, the other half wanted it to be a DOOL clone. Throw in Jill, who hates older women and has an obsession with turning soaps into primetime shows and it's a recipe for disaster. 

 

I was rewatching the show for a while. I got up to the whole Cody Mercer saga. Overall, I didn't necessarily hate 95-96, but it didn't feel like I was watching AW at all.

Edited January 13, 20214 yr by AbcNbc247

1 minute ago, AbcNbc247 said:

Yep. The sabotage was unbelievable. Half of the suits wanted AW gone, the other half wanted it to be a DOOL clone. Throw in Jill, who hates older women and has an obsession with turning soaps into primetime shows and it's a recipe for disaster. 

 

I was rewatching the show for a while. I got up to the whole Cody Mercer saga. Overall, I didn't necessarily hate 95-96, but it didn't feel like I was watching AW at all.

AW became very dark in those years. I still watched. But it got harder and harder to enjoy it.  The sad thing is that towards the end. AW was getting better. 

Nic Coster (Robert Delany on AW) announced on Facebook a couple of days ago, that his memoir will be released very soon -- within weeks, I believe.  In an earlier FB post, a few months ago, he did promise a couple of chapters about his experiences on Another World.   He doesn't talk about AW much on FB.  But he has commented he loved working with Susan Sullivan, did not enjoy working with Beverly McKenzie, and liked Harding Lemay's writing.  He has never commented (on FB) about the actor firings of 1975, the atmosphere in the studio, or George Reinholt (with whom he shared many scenes).   I hope we get lots details in his book.   

Edited January 15, 20214 yr by Neil Johnson

I can't wait to read it! In addition to daytime, he was in tons of primetime episodics. He'll have tons of stories.

It'll definitely be an interesting read, and to get his take on everything. According to Lemay, he didn't often learn his lines and relied on Beverlee McKinsey to get him through their scenes, and that was the reason why he was let go from AW. However, in his interview on We Love Soaps, Nic Coster says it was decision to leave the show, because Paul Rauch wouldn't allow him to have time off to appear in a play that he wanted to be in.

 

It does make you wonder though. Maybe all those dramatic pauses he took in that scene where he destroyed Iris' portrait weren't for dramatic effect, and he was just trying to remember his lines.