**Hot take alert:** Mary Page Keller was basically playing Amanda Cory 1.0.

Think about it—Sally was constantly orbiting the Cory family. Her sudden shift to brunette? Totally tracks. She had Rachel’s spunky attitude, and Mac's mix of elegance and edge. I miss ingénues like Sally: stunning in a gown, but also sharp, confident, and emotionally grounded. Writers clearly loved the idea of a “Cory Princess,” and you can see them testing that archetype with a few characters before finally SORASing Amanda into the role.

As for Taylor Miller’s Sally? She was doomed from the start, and not just because of story mechanics. To make Britney sympathetic, Sally had to be sidelined. And let’s be real—I would’ve much preferred Sally heading off to visit Alice in Boston than getting run over in a plot cul-de-sac that went nowhere. But the show needed to pivot Britney’s character, and keeping Sally around would’ve made Britney the villain if she left with Catlin. Watching at the time, it seemed to be how the chessboard of soap plotting worked out, with story arcs, production realities, and actor contracts all colliding.

Julie Philips, Jennifer Runyon and Mary Page Keller were able to make Sally work even though the actresses were very different.  Taylor Miller could have worked with better writing.  Taylor was unhappy at AW so it was inevitable that Sally would be written out. When Sally found out that Catlin had slept with Brittany she and Kevin should have moved away.  There was no need to kill off the character.

Edited September 27Sep 27 by Efulton

It would have been wonderful to watch Taylor Miller and Jacquie Courtney in scenes together.  Those two actors would have had mother/daughter chemistry for sure.  And an on-screen relationship with Alice might have helped with Miller's acceptance into the role. I've never believed Taylor Miller was miscast as Sally.  But the recast came at a time when the writing for Sally was so drab.  Sally and Catlin had nearly become a super-couple, but then TPTB decided to reform Brittany.  And that decision threw-off the writing for Sally.  Plus putting Sally into the orbit of modeling, when she had never headed that direction in any way, was a strange decision -- especially for an actress the age of Miller at the time.   

24 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

It would have been wonderful to watch Taylor Miller and Jacquie Courtney in scenes together.  Those two actors would have had mother/daughter chemistry for sure.  And an on-screen relationship with Alice might have helped with Miller's acceptance into the role. I've never believed Taylor Miller was miscast as Sally.  But the recast came at a time when the writing for Sally was so drab.  Sally and Catlin had nearly become a super-couple, but then TPTB decided to reform Brittany.  And that decision threw-off the writing for Sally.  Plus putting Sally into the orbit of modeling, when she had never headed that direction in any way, was a strange decision -- especially for an actress the age of Miller at the time.   

100% in agreement with you!

The irony is, we’ll never really know if Sally was a re-castable role. Taylor Miller’s casting was so polarizing that it’s impossible to tell whether it was Mary Page Keller’s unique spark that made Sally work, or if the character had become iconic enough to support a fresh interpretation.

I mean, we could all name five actresses we’d love to see take a swing at Sally. But would it be more like Iris—where the recast still carried the DNA of the original? Or more like Sharlene, whose later incarnation felt worlds apart from her early days with Russ?

Personally, I adored spunky Sally when she first met Catlin—so much more than her rebellious detour with Denny or the Peter Brady phase (Clarice’s brother). But I genuinely have no idea what Sally would’ve been like as an adult who survived the crash. Given the (IMO) underwhelming returns of Jamey and Dennis, I’m not sure whether I would’ve been satisfied with a toned-down, less sassy version of Sally.

 

What happened is that AW hired Gillian Spencer (Daisy AMC) to be head writer, and she had created a long-term story with "Le Soleil." I suspect they were able to lure Taylor Miller to the show, because of her past working relationship with Gillian (they played mother and daughter on AMC). Spencer also created a long-term story for Brittany, as she was suppose to emerge from her mute-like state into a vixen that would be even badder than Cecile.

However after repeated battles with P&G, Spencer quit. And as Taylor Miller said "They (TPTB at AW) took a particular storyline (Le Soleil) and then cancelled it. Then they returned me to do nothing but bedroom scenes with Caitlin." Sharon Gabet (Brittany) storyline was also cancelled, and she felt instead of being a villian, her character was reduced to being a victim (wife abuse, rape, being put on trial for murder). Gabet, like Miller couldn't wait to leave.

So in the end, it all came down to the writing. 

27 minutes ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

So in the end, it all came down to the writing. 

100 percent agreement.

Additionally, in 1986 Taylor Miller must have been pushing 35 years old.  Amazing actress, but too old for Sally to suddenly become a famous model, in my opinion.  Uninspired writing for Sally after Miller was cast (borderline dreadful).  Still, if she wasn't working out, just write off Sally and Kevin.  Ludicrous to kill-off Sally.  Especially so soon after her cousin Julia Shearer had died.  Somebody in charge was clearly ready to say adios to the Matthews family.  

54 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

100 percent agreement.

Additionally, in 1986 Taylor Miller must have been pushing 35 years old.  Amazing actress, but too old for Sally to suddenly become a famous model, in my opinion.  Uninspired writing for Sally after Miller was cast (borderline dreadful).  Still, if she wasn't working out, just write off Sally and Kevin.  Ludicrous to kill-off Sally.  Especially so soon after her cousin Julia Shearer had died.  Somebody in charge was clearly ready to say adios to the Matthews family.  

 

If we’re playing Imaginary, Time-Traveling TV Executive: The Mobile Game ^tm, here’s the move: we tried recasting Sally, we tried a new direction, and none of it landed. There’s no reason to believe a third attempt would’ve worked, and her absence was already being felt. So—bonus round—kill her off, grab the five points, and bring in Lisa Grady and the other ingénues we eventually grew to love.

But here’s where it gets more layered. Suggesting that writing alone doomed Sally oversimplifies the process. Casting choices, actor availability, audience response, and behind-the-scenes dynamics all shaped the outcome. The fact that Taylor Miller’s version was so polarizing makes it hard to tell whether the character itself had lost momentum, or if Mary Page Keller’s original performance was simply irreplaceable. Either way, the decision to write Sally out wasn’t just a narrative pivot—it was a production calculus.

I tend to reject conspiracy theories about network vendettas against certain families or histories. I don’t buy that every choice was part of some grand anti-Matthews agenda. At the time, these decisions were reactive—based on ratings, contracts, and shifting story needs. Sure, in hindsight we can trace patterns, but interpreting them as intentional strategy implies a level of planning that’s never been substantiated.

 

1 hour ago, Tisy-Lish said:

100 percent agreement.

Additionally, in 1986 Taylor Miller must have been pushing 35 years old.  Amazing actress, but too old for Sally to suddenly become a famous model, in my opinion.  Uninspired writing for Sally after Miller was cast (borderline dreadful).  Still, if she wasn't working out, just write off Sally and Kevin.  Ludicrous to kill-off Sally.  Especially so soon after her cousin Julia Shearer had died.  Somebody in charge was clearly ready to say adios to the Matthews family.  

The people who took over the show at this time seemed to just want to slaughter anyone and everyone who was being written out. 

It wouldn't surprise me to find out if AW producers had vendettas against characters especially after the way Rauch and Lemay acted against Jacqueline Courtney until she died. However, I think Taylor Miller just was not well received and the execs panicked and killed her off.  They had the brilliant Sharon Gabet, and look what they did with her. It's insanity that they wasted her. Of all the shows, AW is the one show I wish I could go back and talk some sense into the execs and make them redo some of their idiotic decisions. 

3 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

What happened is that AW hired Gillian Spencer (Daisy AMC) to be head writer, and she had created a long-term story with "Le Soleil."

Spencer absolutely crammed Le Soleil with retconned and new links to Bay City. Their headquarters were the Chapin Estate where new doctor Chris Chapin's family had lived. Chris Chapin's father had been connected to Carl Hutchins and Donna's father in something to do with an Egyptian treasure. Chapin Sr had had an affair with Daphne Grimaldi who was searching the estate for something to do with the Egyptian treasure. Her current lover, Michaud Christophe, had brought Le Soleil to Bay City in order to reunite Felicia with her old lover (and his father) Edward Gérard, a famous movie star who had been out of the public eye for years. He hired Cass in some sort of executive position and started a search for an American spokesmodel for the company. Kathleen had a makeover (as part of what Le Soleil called a "visualization"). Michaud was instantly smitten with Sally (because she was glowing with love for Catlin) and hired her as the Le Soleil Woman.

Daphne took Nancy to Egypt which then led to Chris, Nancy, Marley, and Jake in Arizona in pursuit of the treasure, tormented by Carl.

Carl murdered Daphne and Cass was wanted for the crime. Carl also caused Kathleen's paralysis.

Catlin was jealous of Michaud's interest (and then when Michaud was written out, Le Soleil's architect Daniel's interest) in Sally.

Rachel and Mac were tangentially affected because of Nancy's involvement (not to mention Mac's near death encounter with a jar of Egyptian tomb dust) but also because Mac's nephew Neal was an undercover FBI (?) agent working the Egyptian theft case.

Donna felt entitled to some benefit from the Egyptian treasure because Carl had stolen her family's money and Victoria actually stole some jewels from the hoard.  

It may have been intended to be long term, but it was dispensed with pretty quickly in the end and wasn't really missed.

When Mary Page Keller contract expired and she wanted to leave, Thomas Ian Griffin had a year and a half left on his contract. The writers should have written them off together and give them a happy ending instead of recasting.

Instead Catlin finds hapiness with Brittany. Sally must've been rolling over in her grave!

If anybody’s interested, daily episode summaries from this time period are now available to read on AWHP.

Hopefully, more episodes to watch will show up someday 

19 hours ago, TheyStartedOnSoaps said:

What happened is that AW hired Gillian Spencer (Daisy AMC) to be head writer, and she had created a long-term story with "Le Soleil." I suspect they were able to lure Taylor Miller to the show, because of her past working relationship with Gillian (they played mother and daughter on AMC). Spencer also created a long-term story for Brittany, as she was suppose to emerge from her mute-like state into a vixen that would be even badder than Cecile.

However after repeated battles with P&G, Spencer quit. And as Taylor Miller said "They (TPTB at AW) took a particular storyline (Le Soleil) and then cancelled it. Then they returned me to do nothing but bedroom scenes with Caitlin." Sharon Gabet (Brittany) storyline was also cancelled, and she felt instead of being a villian, her character was reduced to being a victim (wife abuse, rape, being put on trial for murder). Gabet, like Miller couldn't wait to leave.

So in the end, it all came down to the writing. 

Stephen Schenkel was, I think, AW's worst executive producer. He had some sort of connection to Spencer I think because he brought her to AMC for his disaster run there as EP where Spencer was story consultant.  Spencer seemed dedicated to soaps and was a good script writer on Days, but not HW material by any stretch. And to pair her with tired Sam Hall was also a disaster. 

OLIVE!

I was in my teens watching the John/Olive relationship.  We'd smoke some "pot" and watch AW.

The denouement of that relationship came as no surprise, with Olive, a great B word character, wiping her face of John Randolph's slobbery kisses.  Pat had been so genteel and introspective in in comparison. 

When we saw poor John, accidentally, shoot Evan Webster, and listened to Olive freak out over the ending credits we turned to stone. 

I was all set to laugh at John saying  OLIVE! like Popeye. 

But the whole thing was scary and creepy, and the background music was like nothing I had ever heard.