Another World Discussion Thread

[denzo30]

Very interesting. Awesome stuff to read. I do know that Robin Strasser and Connie Ford were very close and Strasser even credits her abilty to act to Connie Ford. Robin did play the role for over 5 years. That is a stretch of time for daytime roles

[DRW50]

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Edited February 24, 2014 by DRW50

[DRW50]

video gone

Edited February 24, 2014 by DRW50

[toml1962]

With respect, you are incorrect. Reinholt's last episode was the very same one in which Mary died. See:

MARCH 28, 1975 (EP. #2708)

Rachel wished Steve a good journey when he phoned to arrange to say goodbye to Jamie. Steve told Alice the project was his opportunity to leave his mark on the world when she was sad about leaving their house, even if it was only temporary. Steve and Alice phoned Mary and Jim with their news. Jamie told Steve the house wouldn't be the same without him. Steve said goodbye to Jamie, then Alice made ready to take Steve to the airport. Jim woke up from a nap to find Mary had passed away in a chair on the terrace.

Jamie: "[THROWS HIMSELF IN HIS ARMS] I'll miss you, Dad."

Steve: "And I'll miss you."

Jamie: "[HE LOOKS AT STEVE] Bye, Dad..."

Steve: "Bye, son... [JAMIE TURNS QUICKLY AND GOES OUT]

Jim: "[HE KISSES HER] Thank you, darling..."

Mary: "For what?"

Jim: "For sharing my life... I've been wondering what I would have done without you."

Mary: "We don't have to wonder things like that, do we? Now, you get your rest-"

Jim: "I'll just give Pat a ring. You want to talk to her?"

Mary: "Yes, I'll be right in. [JIM GOES INSIDE. MARY RISES AND LIZ GOES TO HER]"

Liz: "Oh, Mary."

Mary: "What is it?"

Liz: "Do you realize what a lucky woman you are?"

Mary: (Exit Line) "Yes, I do... And I'm grateful to Jim for making my life so much easier than most people's. Now, do you want to say hello to Pat?"

Liz: "No, you and Jim talk to her. I'll go find some more shells for that necklace for Marianne. Give them all my love, will you. [sHE HURRIES OUT, AND MARY STARES AFTER HER THOUGHTFULLY, THEN GOES INTO THE HOUSE]"

Alice: "Darling, can we just walk around the house once before we leave?"

Steve: (Exit Line) "Sure... I'm going to miss this as much as Jamie will. [HE TAKES HER HAND AND THEY GO OUT]"

'ST. CROIX TERRACE. THE SUNSET IS REFLECTED ON THE TERRACE. JIM ENTERS, STRETCHING.'

Jim: "Mary, I didn't mean to sleep so long... I thought you were going to wake me. [HE LOOKS AT HER. SHE'S IN THE CHAIR, WITH HER BACK TO HIM, HER HEAD TURNED TO ONE SIDE.] Mary? We should get ready for dinner. [HE GOES TOWARD HER AND THEN STOPS, STARING AT HER. HE SEES HER MAGAZINE FALLEN TO THE FLOOR AND THE TEA GLASS SHATTERED BY IT.] Oh, no! Mary! Mary! [HE GOES TO HER, AND THEN TURNS TO LIZ, WHO'S COME TO THE DOOR]

Liz: "What is it, Jim?"

Jim: "Call a doctor, Liz... Something's wrong with Mary! [HE LEANS OVER MARY, AND LIZ BACKS AWAY SLOWLY, THEN TURNS AND HURRIES INTO THE HOUSE]"

[DRW50]

That seems so cruel to fans.

[toml1962]

That set was a hotbed of tension for years. Lemay HATED all of the following actors: George Reinholt, Jacquie Courtney, Robin Strasser and Virgina Dwyer. He said Dwyer never bothered to learn her script but relied on the teleprompter, which was true, but she was very good as Mary. He also claimed Strasser and Courtney were bad actors. I cannot imagine many people agreeing. Finally, he felt Reinholt was overly egomaniacle. On that score he was correct.

Lemay was a big supporter of Victoria Wyndham, and wanted to make her the star of the show - one way or another, he succeeded. But within a year of firing all those actors, the shows ratings went down by around 700,000 viewers, and in three years the show fell from its #2 position and never really recovered.

1974-1975

1.As The World Turns 10.8

2.Another World 9.7

3.Days Of Our Lives 9.7

4.Search for Tomorrow 9.4

5.All My Children 9.3

6.The Doctors 9.0

7.The Guiding Light 8.5

8.General Hospital 8.5

9.Young And The Restless 8.4

10.The Edge Of Night 7.6

11.One Life To Live 7.4

12.Love Of Life 7.0

13.Somerset 6.0

14.How/Survive A Marriage 5.7

1975-1976

1.As The World Turns 9.4

2.Another World 8.9 – down .8

3.Young And The Restless 8.6

4.Search for Tomorrow 8.3

5.Days Of Our Lives 8.3

6.All My Children 8.1

6.The Guiding Light 8.1

8.The Doctors 7.3

9.Love Of Life 7.2

10.General Hospital 7.1

11.One Life To Live 6.8

12.The Edge Of Night 6.7

13.Somerset 5.9

14.Ryan's Hope 5.7

1976-1977

1.As The World Turns 9.9

2.Another World 9.0 – up .1

3.The Guiding Light 8.9

4.Young And The Restless 8.7

5.Search for Tomorrow 8.6

6.All My Children 8.2

7.Days Of Our Lives 7.8

8.Ryan's Hope 7.3

8.One Life To Live 7.3

10.General Hospital 7.0

11.The Doctors 6.9

12.Love Of Life 6.3

13.The Edge Of Night 6.2

14.Somerset 5.2

15.Lovers And Friends 2.9

1977-1978

1.As The World Turns 8.6

2.Another World 8.6 – down .4

3.All My Children 8.4

4.Guiding Light 8.0

5.Young And The Restless 7.8

6.Search for Tomorrow 7.5

7.One Life To Live 7.2

8.Ryan's Hope 7.0

8.General Hospital 7.0

10.Days Of Our Lives 6.9

11.The Doctors 6.5

12.Love Of Life 6.0

13.The Edge Of Night 5.2

14.For Richer, For Poorer 3.9

1978-1979

1.All My Children 9.0

2.General Hospital 8.7

3.Young And The Restless 8.6

4.As The World Turns 8.2

5.Guiding Light 8.1

6.One Life To Live 8.0

7.Search for Tomorrow 7.6

8.Another World 7.5 – down 1.1

9.Ryan's Hope 7.2

10.Days Of Our Lives 6.8

11.The Doctors 6.3

12.Love Of Life 5.8

13.The Edge Of Night 5.8

14.For Richer, For Poorer 2.1

Amazing how egos and power struggles can destory a successful show.

Edited May 28, 2012 by toml1962

[DRW50]

I never understood the issues Lemay and Rauch had with Strasser, as I thought she only returned until they could find a replacement. You'd think she was some burden they were stuck with.

Margie Impert was before their time wasn't she?

[toml1962]

I believe (other will know better than I) that Lemay came on as headwriter when Cenedella was busy with Somerset in late 1970. I also believe Rauch came on in 1971 before Strasser left. Certainly both where around when she came back for five months to replace Impert.

On the one hand, they did some great things for the show, but the suggestion that Dwyer and Courtney were ruining the show by being old-fashioned, 1950s style actors was absurd. Also absurd was the notion that Dwyer threw Hugh Marlowe off balance when she changed her lines. Marlowe was well-known for going up on his lines, and it continued for all the years he stayed on the show, and it got worse over time.

[Susan Hunter]

From Lemay's book, it was Rauch who asked Strasser to come back because Impert wasn't working out and I believe they needed a strong Rachel to finish out a story while they were looking for a suitable recast. The only thing Lemay says in his book is that Strasser (I'm paraphrasing from memory) was great at playing the villain, but he wasn't convinced that she could play what he had planned for his version of Rachel.

Who knows if he was right or not. I believe Strasser played a "good girl" on AMC, but the character didn't work out.

Did Rauch work with Strasser at OLTL?

I have a new respect for Victoria Wyndham, after discovering that Reinholt and Courtney were hostile to her.

[DRW50]

Rauch and Strasser had a bad relationship at OLTL, which she said she mishandled (of course he won't say that). Her airtime and wardrobe steadily worsened, with her last story being one where her daughter stole Dorian's boyfriend. Robin quit. A few years later Rauch met with her for lunch and they mended fences, but she declined a return.

[toml1962]

Neither Reinholt or Courtney had anything against Wyndham at the onset. It was the eventual re-jigging of the character that they felt did not ring true. Plus IMO, reading George's lengthy comments on the subject, he did seem to be jealous that Lemay and Rauch were trying to make Wyndham the star of the show. Only natural I suppose. The fact is that within a few years, the show lost its ground and never got it back - not really. Its funny but I never felt Wyndham was right for the part, which is why they needed to change the role of Rachel. Rachel became Alice, and her stepdaugher became Rachel. All rather silly because there was nothing to fix on the show - number two for years, all they did in the end was bring it down. I never watched the show beyong 1980 despite admiring the intensity of the drama.

From what I have read and heard, Wyndham was very much like Susan Sullivan - very ambitious. Courtney never was and did not usually stand her groud. But when it came to the characters, she wanted to remain loyale to who and what the characters were. I admire when actors take their work seriously.

As for Strasser, her role on AMC lasted three years so I would not think it was unsuccessful. The only reason she left was because she was offered the role of Dorian. In fact, I recall seeing her on AMC one day, then a few days later on OLTL and the soap zines of the time noted that fact of her switching gears from a gentle role of Christina Karras to a more complext one of Dorian. Although I have never forgotten Nancy Pinkerton in the role - she was really amazing - Strasser has never phone in a performance. One need only look at her work on AMC to know she easily could have played the "changed" Rachel, as her Rachel was anything but one-dimensional.

IMO Rauch was a creep, and reading his book was an exercise in trying to find the truth behind HIS ego. I don't think he liked having to battle himself in the form of Reinholt. Both were tremendously arrogant, even if talented.

[DRW50]

It's always so tough for me to know how to respond because I've seen so little of Robin's Rachel. The little I have seen is great, as she plays up that vulnerability and that clawing. I think Wyndham played that too, especially when Rachel felt cornered, but I can definitely see where she was a big change for the character.

Robin was so OTT in OLTL's last years but she did love the character. I think Wyndham said she mostly only stayed at AW in those last years for the fans.

[Susan Hunter]

I read an interview where Wyndham says she had reservations about taking that Rachel part because she had just finished playing Charlotte on GL, a very Rachelesque character, but Lemay and Rauch convinced her to take it.

Wyndham was the only Rachel that I have ever known. I watched a Strasser episode at the Paley Center many moons ago, something about Liz seeing Rachel and Steve having lunch at a private club. It was definitely Stasser's part, there was no doubt about that, and you're right, she was anything but one dimensional. However, Wyndham did a pretty good job before the character transformation in the few scenes that I've seen her in. Somewhere on Youtube there is a scene of Wyndham fighting with Irene Dailey's Liz about Alice's House and she throws in a line about Alice never giving Steven any children. It was brutal and so very good.

If you can, would you elaborate more on this. Did VW not plan to stay with the show long? Thanks!!

[DRW50]

I always wonder if for a while she played Rachel nastier than Robin did - Robin's work has so much more vulnerability, from the little I've seen.

[toml1962]

I guess I felt that Wyndham saw her as one dimensional and played it that way, whereas Strasser played her as vulnerable under the skin. Wyndham's Rachel, in those early years, was often quite full on. I too have seen that episode where she fights with Liz. Not sot say that Strasser would not have been as angry playing it. Just felt that Wyndham's take was less broad. I think this is why she tired of the role. In order to get her to stay, Rauch and Lemay changed the role. That is why Lemay's book is laughable when he says he thinks Strasser did not fit his future vision. In 1971 he did not HAVE a future vision. Otherwise the character would have chaged right away, as opposed to the sudden switch in 1974/75. THAT was the reason why some of the actors objected - it was so obvious.