45 minutes ago, Mona Kane Croft said:

Unfortunately during this era, nearly all the soaps had begun gradually been getting rid of their servant characters.  Probably for budget reasons, but perhaps also because someone decided they were not interesting or not necessary.  So Vivian returned to AW in 1988 and stayed for about two-years (working for Iris). Also the Cory's had another maid (forget her name) still on the show for about the same length of time. And of course Bridget lasted a few more years on AW. After that, servants were seen on soaps more and more rarely, unless they were directly related to an important storyline -- and then they might appear, but only minimally.  As I recall, Y&R's Ester was the only servant character to truly survive the purge -- perhaps because Ester had become more of a fleshed-out character who interacted with characters beyond being a servant.  Plus, giving Ester a daughter on the show probably increased the character's chance for survival. I realize Ester is no longer a servant at this point, since Jeanne Cooper's death.  

I was sorry to see all the servants disappear from American soap operas.  I thought they added depth and believability to the shows, and provided a working-class perspective to the workings of the wealthy family's households. 

On ATWT Lucinda had a special thing with & for her butler whose name I believe was Matthew. What Liz Hubbard would do is engage him in conversation ultimately forcing him to say more than 5 lines. That way he'd be paid more. It was a game to her.

 

12 hours ago, Xanthe said:

If it helps, the AWHP has daily synopses for the period Shanks appeared in 1991 and I see the character Mark Allen mentioned on 4 specific days: April 10 & 16, May 1 & 2.

http://www.anotherworldhomepage.com/aw1991d1.html

I have not found any video online with those dates but there could be undated or compiled clips.

Thank you very much!

1 hour ago, Xanthe said:

Categorizing Bridget as merely a servant is a bit off since she was of course Victoria's foster mother. But that is probably a disservice that the show did to the character since even after Bridget got herself hired at the Love Mansion as part of the scheme for Vicky to impersonate Marley she remained there in a servant role for several years. Did she stay with Donna after Vicky moved to her own apartment? I can't remember whether she was with Vicky and Jamie in their early married life or if she really only moved in with Vicky later.

 

I'm pretty sure that initially she stayed at Donna's. later, of course, she was definitely with Vicky.

This is the final episode of an Australian soap, A Country Practice, where the episode is a kind of a long-running montage. Right at 1:14 Carmen Duncan can be seen, but it's very quick, blink and you just missed her.

 

2 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

This is the final episode of an Australian soap, A Country Practice, where the episode is a kind of a long-running montage. Right at 1:14 Carmen Duncan can be seen, but it's very quick, blink and you just missed her.

 

As always, thank your for sharing this. I adore CD, so it's a pleasure seeing her even for a second.

And... I want to use this occasion to say something.

Let us all wish a big "Happy Birthday" to our very own @Contessa Donatella. I'm writing this here, because I know this topic is her home-base. I wish you nothing but happiness, health, prosperity, love and wink-wink - Harding Lemay's entire Another World tenure! Even if it's only in our dreams. Happy Another-Worldly Birthday sweetheart! First - Never change, Second - ignore the jealous people and the haters and Third - savor that youthful curiosity and love for research you possess. You are a true soap opera-champion. Cheers!

@MaximOMG!!! You'll really make me blush! Thanks so much! I'm really excited about my birthday, which is not usually the case. There's just something about turning 74 "years young"!!! I remember when I was a callow youth that I thought I would not live past 18. Now, of course, I feel gravitas, if that makes any sense at all. Well, again, many thanks!

On 1/31/2025 at 8:36 PM, Maxim said:

Mary and Vince are finally breathing a breath of fresh air after the end of the Pilara / Reuben fiasco. The storyline culminated in a happy ending, that I'm not fond of... My husband disagrees with me, he likes the resolve. I do not.

As time went on I found Reuben very appealing as a character, but I did resent the introduction a bit since caring about Pilara seemed to be a bait-and-switch situation. I don't mind red herrings and fakeouts and shaggy dog stories in general but it would have been better not to just discard Pilara altogether once Reuben's introduction was completed. 

2 hours ago, Xanthe said:

As time went on I found Reuben very appealing as a character, but I did resent the introduction a bit since caring about Pilara seemed to be a bait-and-switch situation. I don't mind red herrings and fakeouts and shaggy dog stories in general but it would have been better not to just discard Pilara altogether once Reuben's introduction was completed. 

Clayton Prince had a lot of talent and charisma and Reuben had so much potential. Here is an interview with Clayton about his time in Bay City. He talks about how plans for his character changed from being Pilar's abuser.

Part 1

http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/awt_interviews.html

Part 2

http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/awt_interviews.html

I do recall his introduction and he was borderline abusive and didn't he start a fire that burned down Mary's place?  I think it was by accident and I think it was done as a way to write out Vince and Mary.

Shame Rueben/Josie never became a thing.

I also loved Reuben and Josie. They had great chemistry. It's too bad the show didn't go there further. I suppose in the day it would have been "risky", but hell, AW needed something to get people talking...in a good way! 

1 hour ago, Efulton said:

Clayton Prince had a lot of talent and charisma and Reuben had so much potential. Here is an interview with Clayton about his time in Bay City. He talks about how plans for his character changed from being Pilar's abuser.

Thanks for sharing these links as even after all these years I had never read any of those interviews. I'm very glad that site was able to get in touch with so many people and that the site is still up.

Seeing Les Brandt talk about Nancy Frangione and Charles Keating as if they were still alive reminds me of how many we've lost over the last 15 years. 

Les' idea of what Maggie and Rafael would be doing now is not one I would agree with, but he's putting more thought into them than AW ever did. 

Clayton seems like a nice guy, and I appreciated all his backstage stories of the support he got while also sharing his frustration at how little was done with the character. Then as now, black characters seemed to just be kept in tiny boxes.

49 minutes ago, Soaplovers said:

I do recall his introduction and he was borderline abusive and didn't he start a fire that burned down Mary's place?  I think it was by accident and I think it was done as a way to write out Vince and Mary.

Shame Rueben/Josie never became a thing.

 

40 minutes ago, Melroser said:

I also loved Reuben and Josie. They had great chemistry. It's too bad the show didn't go there further. I suppose in the day it would have been "risky", but hell, AW needed something to get people talking...in a good way! 

He mentions the nasty letters the studio received, which likely ended any plans they may have had. Not surprised...and they'd probably get the same reaction (or worse) now.

Josie's friendship with Reuben was maybe the only time I found her character interesting.

Edited February 11Feb 11 by DRW50

26 minutes ago, Melroser said:

I also loved Reuben and Josie. They had great chemistry. It's too bad the show didn't go there further. I suppose in the day it would have been "risky", but hell, AW needed something to get people talking...in a good way! 

Count me in as another fan of Reuben & Josie.

Clayton Prince's comments highlight why so many stories are so flat or truncated because TPTB are so afraid of alienating the bigots. They give in so quickly to the hateful viewers. Clayton Prince is so charismatic and talented (was also that way in the original Hairspray) and it's a shame that we were denied a good storyline for him. Apparently, these bigots were more comfortable with Josie pretending to be stalked by someone than being in a romance with Reuben. 

1 hour ago, chrisml said:

Clayton Prince's comments highlight why so many stories are so flat or truncated because TPTB are so afraid of alienating the bigots. They give in so quickly to the hateful viewers. Clayton Prince is so charismatic and talented (was also that way in the original Hairspray) and it's a shame that we were denied a good storyline for him. Apparently, these bigots were more comfortable with Josie pretending to be stalked by someone than being in a romance with Reuben. 

They assumed that bigots would absolutely boycott the show and they would lose viewers while reasonable people wouldn't boycott if they didn't. The most unreasonable people often get this type of stranglehold because of their intransigence. So maddening.

I'm not sure how I excited I would have been about Josie and Reuben specifically (I was more invested in the earlier possibility of Thomasina and Hunter Bradshaw) because she was so skittish about everything (and to be honest I had a hard time caring about girls whose career aspiration was to be a model). But in principle I would have had nothing against the concept.

5 hours ago, Efulton said:

Clayton Prince had a lot of talent and charisma and Reuben had so much potential. Here is an interview with Clayton about his time in Bay City. He talks about how plans for his character changed from being Pilar's abuser.

Part 1

http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/awt_interviews.html

Part 2

http://www.anotherworldtoday.com/awt_interviews.html

Thanks very much for these. I wonder whether the shift occurred after the storyline started airing or just between casting and writing. I think it would have been more effective if the audience had known the truth earlier even if Mary and other characters had misunderstood, rather than letting us believe that Reuben was abusive.

 

1 hour ago, chrisml said:

Clayton Prince's comments highlight why so many stories are so flat or truncated because TPTB are so afraid of alienating the bigots. They give in so quickly to the hateful viewers. Clayton Prince is so charismatic and talented (was also that way in the original Hairspray) and it's a shame that we were denied a good storyline for him. Apparently, these bigots were more comfortable with Josie pretending to be stalked by someone than being in a romance with Reuben. 

It's not called show fun, it's called show business & it is one. Any knowledge of the concept Of Organizational theory, a term from Sociology, will tell you how conservative the US business model shows it to be. Yes, this is 2025 but the leadership in these businesses is more conservative than even in an earlier phase. 

I find it both disgusting & also a bit depressing. But it is the way things are.

Edited February 12Feb 12 by Contessa Donatella