2 hours ago, chrisml said:

I've always said that Cali Timmins was unfairly fired from the role of Paulina. I thought she was far superior to Judi Evans. Timmins talks briefly about her time on AW in the Ryan's Hope Oral History book:

The reason I don't think it was unfair is because I believe the lore that they wanted Judi from jump but she wasn't available yet so they hired Cali temp. So to my way of thinking about it. it's extra work that she got to perform & be paid for that she would not have, at all, if Judi had been free from DAYS sooner than she was. 

Then, just personal preference, as subjective as that is, I prefer Judi. 

On the question of Grant, first & foremost I just hate that we lost Dack Rambo to the dam*ed plague. I really liked his Grant. But, I also liked Grant #2. More? Yeah, Dack. 

 

3 hours ago, chrisml said:

I've always said that Cali Timmins was unfairly fired from the role of Paulina. I thought she was far superior to Judi Evans. 

Michael Laibson (AW Executive Producer at the time) said there was nothing he or the writers could do to satisfy Cali unhapiness. So they felt it was best to let her go, if she was so unhappy. 

3 hours ago, chrisml said:

I've always said that Cali Timmins was unfairly fired from the role of Paulina. I thought she was far superior to Judi Evans. Timmins talks briefly about her time on AW in the Ryan's Hope Oral History book:

Thanks. I do like Judi and she made Paulina her own in time (aside from all the crying in those last few years), but Cali really is special. She is my favorite Paulina. Sorry to hear she struggled so much offcamera but I definitely can see where the set wasn't too happy by that point (and probably hadn't been for some time). In some ways I think it helped her work as she had such frailty as Paulina to balance out her schemes. 

Interesting to learn she was meant to be someone else's child. I wonder if she was meant to be Felicia's daughter?

31 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

The reason I don't think it was unfair is because I believe the lore that they wanted Judi from jump but she wasn't available yet so they hired Cali temp. So to my way of thinking about it. it's extra work that she got to perform & be paid for that she would not have, at all, if Judi had been free from DAYS sooner than she was. 

That is not what happened at all. Judi only moved to NY to be with her then husband, who was NY based. If it wasn't for her marriage, she would have never left "Days." Judi went to NY unemployed, and went on the audition circuit for various soaps. She originally auditioned for Marley/Vicky after Anne Heche left. She didn't get it, but at the same time TPTB were dealing with an increasingly unhappy Cali Timmins, who felt Paulina was victim. The solution was staring them in the face, as Judi Evans was available and would take the part of Paulina if offered.

That is what happened, TPTB solved the problem with Cali being unhappy, and getting a popular Emmy Award winning actress on their cast to boot. It seems like a win-win all around,. 

39 minutes ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

That is not what happened at all. Judi only moved to NY to be with her then husband, who was NY based. If it wasn't for her marriage, she would have never left "Days." Judi went to NY unemployed, and went on the audition circuit for various soaps. She originally auditioned for Marley/Vicky after Anne Heche left. She didn't get it, but at the same time TPTB were dealing with an increasingly unhappy Cali Timmins, who felt Paulina was victim. The solution was staring them in the face, as Judi Evans was available and would take the part of Paulina if offered.

That is what happened, TPTB solved the problem with Cali being unhappy, and getting a popular Emmy Award winning actress on their cast to boot. It seems like a win-win all around,. 

Thank you so much. I have wondered for literally years about how this all came about. I am more than glad that I brought it up & you were here & gave us the real skinny. 

 

In the Locher Room interview from five years ago that Browne, Coppola, Tucci, Barrett, and Stuart did, ABM and Browne about how they had planned an extensive storyline for Mac's character.  It was all plotted out and Douglass Watson went to work out in preparation for this big storyline. He couldn't get through half of the class (as he was a smoker) and he died right then. They had to rewrite the entire storyline at a moment's notice. I'm wondering if this is why Timmins's character was drastically changed. I just know that I think she was fantastic as this Paulina and I'm sorry she was unhappy with the character. She was a true professional because she never let it show. 

25 minutes ago, chrisml said:

In the Locher Room interview from five years ago that Browne, Coppola, Tucci, Barrett, and Stuart did, ABM and Browne about how they had planned an extensive storyline for Mac's character.  It was all plotted out and Douglass Watson went to work out in preparation for this big storyline. He couldn't get through half of the class (as he was a smoker) and he died right then. They had to rewrite the entire storyline at a moment's notice. 

This is what I have spoken of in the past, here. That storyline was meant to be all about Cory & its anniversary. 

Not only a smoker, but a chain smoker. He had that week for R&R. I think they said he went to a kind of a spa on a ranch & as soon as he got off the plane, signed up for an exercise class &  dropped dead of a massive heart attack.

 

2 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

Judi only moved to NY to be with her then husband, who was NY based. If it wasn't for her marriage, she would have never left "Days." Judi went to NY unemployed, and went on the audition circuit for various soaps. She originally auditioned for Marley/Vicky after Anne Heche left. She didn't get it, but at the same time TPTB were dealing with an increasingly unhappy Cali Timmins, who felt Paulina was victim. The solution was staring them in the face, as Judi Evans was available and would take the part of Paulina if offered.

I don't think Judi was married yet (Wikipedia says she married Michael Luciano in 1993 -- never mind, found the reference to her previous husband Robert Eth; but wasn't she also engaged to an AW producer or director while she was on the show?) and her Paulina actually aired slightly before Jensen's Vicky, but it makes sense that she could have auditioned for Vicky and been hired as Paulina. (Anne Heche's last airdate according to the AWHP was July 1, 1991. Jensen started on July 25th. Cali's last airdate was July 16th and Judi's first was July 18th.)

I'm also trying to think of why Cali would have been disgruntled about Paulina being Mac's daughter instead of another character's.  She mentions being excited to work with Victoria Wyndham but also a competitive backstabbing atmosphere.  Did she feel like she was fighting for storyline herself against other young blondes, or was it actors in other demographics she found toxic?

 

Edited July 7, 2025Jul 7 by Xanthe
Earlier husband

52 minutes ago, Xanthe said:

Did she feel like she was fighting for storyline herself against other young blondes, or was it actors in other demographics she found toxic?

 

All I know is that Cali felt Paulina was written as a "victim" (she did say in the Ryan's Hope book that there was no fight in Paulina) - she was getting more and more unhappy, as the writers were steering her character being forced to do Jake's bidding (even marrying him!). That is not a strong character, when the character is constantly being abused and manipulated by a man.

For Judi Evans, after playing a doormat on two different shows, it was refreshing to do a character like Paulina, because in her mind Paulina gave as good as she got when it came to Jake. 

20 hours ago, Xanthe said:

 (Anne Heche's last airdate according to the AWHP was July 1, 1991. Jensen started on July 25th. Cali's last airdate was July 16th and Judi's first was July 18th.)

Nothing but confirmation that AH's last airdate was July 1, 1991. We just celebrated it last week. If you recall Melroser Place pointed out that the pilot, in the video, called her by her real name instead of Vicky or Miss Hudson!

I was thinking of Anne's stated perspective at this point. I don't understand it so it's a challenge to describe. At the conclusion of her contract with AW she made plans to go back to a long-held ambition, to attend Parson's School of Design. Despite the success she'd had she did not consider herself an actress. And, apparently she did not see it as a worthy goal, to become one. Someone at the show gave her a copy of O! Pioneers & suggested she'd enjoy reading it. She began reading it. Her agent called her & told her that Jessica Lange was playing the lead in a movie of it & that they wanted her for a younger woman. Her agent apparently spoke very favorably about it. Anne asked if her doing so would make her an actress. She read for the part, etc. & was cast. The first day Lange was freaking out over having 8 pages of dialogue. Anne had been doing between 30 - 60 pages per day, with a dual role. I'm sure Anne had no idea who Lange was. 

 

Edited July 7, 2025Jul 7 by Contessa Donatella

13 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

All I know is that Cali felt Paulina was written as a "victim" (she did say in the Ryan's Hope book that there was no fight in Paulina) - she was getting more and more unhappy, as the writers were steering her character being forced to do Jake's bidding (even marrying him!). That is not a strong character, when the character is constantly being abused and manipulated by a man.

For Judi Evans, after playing a doormat on two different shows, it was refreshing to do a character like Paulina, because in her mind Paulina gave as good as she got when it came to Jake. 

That's peculiar to me because one of the things that I liked about Cali's Paulina was that even when Jake was blackmailing her she wasn't submissive. She wasn't afraid to tell him off and she worked to keep control and improve her position as much as possible. And of course she did shoot him. But if she was unhappy backstage and the producers were unable or unwilling to make her happy then I guess it was the best thing for Cali to leave.  

20 hours ago, chrisml said:

how they had planned an extensive storyline for Mac's character.  It was all plotted out and Douglass Watson went to work out in preparation for this big storyline.

We may never know, but it would be awesome to find out the original storyline they had planned.  Somehow Iris’ redemption figured into the storyline.

32 minutes ago, watson71 said:

We may never know, but it would be awesome to find out the original storyline they had planned.  Somehow Iris’ redemption figured into the storyline.

I recall reading an interview with Donna Swajeski (a year or two after Watson's death) in which she said she had plotted a big storyline for Mac, and it was the Red Swan mystery.  But when Douglass Watson died, she was at a loss -- not knowing how to go forward.  So she just plunged ahead with the Red Swan mystery and rewrote it in significant ways, with Mac being deceased.  Perhaps this is the reason the Red Swan mystery seemed so silly and empty to so many fans.  Franky, the entire plot rang false to me, and very un-Another World.  Perhaps the necessary re-writes after Watson's death took the integrity out of the storyline. Swajeski might have been wiser to scrap the entire plot, and write something else for Rachel and the Corys.  

Edited July 7, 2025Jul 7 by Tisy-Lish

1 hour ago, watson71 said:

We may never know, but it would be awesome to find out the original storyline they had planned.  Somehow Iris’ redemption figured into the storyline.

I don't know of any good reason not to believe it was supposed to focus on the Cory Publishing anniversary but of course that doesn't provide any detail at all. AWHP says it was founded May 4, 1964 which makes May 4, 1989 a 25th anniversary.

Edited July 7, 2025Jul 7 by Contessa Donatella

35 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

I don't know of any good reason not to believe it was supposed to focus on the Cory Publishing anniversary but of course that doesn't provide any detail at all. AWHP says it was founded May 4, 1964 which makes May 4, 1989 a 25th anniversary.

The Cory Publishing anniversary episodes were taping less than week after Watson died.  And it was more an event, less a storyline (similar to ATWT 30th anniversary week in 1986).  Of course there would have been a huge focus on Douglass Watson.  But I've never believed the 25th anniversary week was the "big storyline" Swajeski had planned for Mac.  Especially after I read the interview I mentioned in an earlier post.   

And regarding the mention on AWHP that indicates Cory Publishing began in 1964 -- that information is retcon to go along with what was said on the show at the time of the 25th anniversary week.  Eddie makes clear that whenever there is a lack of continuity with historical facts, he always leans toward the most recent revision, not the historical.  And I can understand why he does that.   

But when Mac moved his company headquarters from NYC to Bay City in 1975 (Lemay's Cory origin story), Mac talked frequently about how he had inherited Cory Publishing from his father, and even implied it was started by an even earlier generation of Corys. Mac was not a self-made man. The Cory's had been old-money New Yorkers. So the idea that Cory Publishing was literally started in 1964 is rather silly.  For example, Iris would have been an adult with a young son in 1964. And how old would Mac have been in 1964?  At least mid-40s, I'd suggest.   

Not attempting to argue here.  Just pointing out some issues with continuity regarding Cory Publishing 25th anniversary taking place in 1989.  To a detail-oriented person, it just doesn't add-up.   Or course, we are all free to believe whatever we wish.    

Edited July 7, 2025Jul 7 by Tisy-Lish