Another World

[Efulton]

Joe Gallison was under contract at One Life to Life when Somerset was launched.

[vetsoapfan]

There were many questionable and/or pointless story and character decisions made at that time.

There have been different reports on this situation. Some contend that Joe Gallison wanted to be done with AW. Others say it was not his choice for Bill to be killed off, but TBTB felt there would more more storyline fodder for Missy in Somerset as a young widow. Still others point out that he was on OLTL when Somerset began, and just wasn't available to return to AW as Bill anyway. This makes the most sense, IMHO.

Gallison continued in daytime for years, on OLTL, Return to Peyton Place, and DAYS, so I doubt he would have willingly turned down a chance to return to a leading role on a popular soap, only to remain  in the world of soaps elsewhere. His current employment tied his hands. In any case, with conflicting stories on why Bill was killed off, I doubt we will ever have a definite answer to the mystery after 54 years, alas.

 

Edited Tuesday at 02:56 PM by vetsoapfan

[Reverend Ruthledge]

I think this was the decision to kill off Julie Bauer on GL. When they moved Mike to AW, having him a new widower opened up a lot of storyline possibilities. That, plus the fact that Sandra Smith probably wasn't interested in playing the character again. 

[TheyStartedOnSoaps]

The reason you have shut down twice is NOT because of "Another World" videos - it is because of the City Lights interview with Beverlee McKinsey - yes you had the blessing of Scott McKinsey to post it. But you did not have the permission of the company who holds the rights to the library of interviews from City Lights - the company sells clips & whole programs from their library and will ask YouTube to shut down any account that uploads material they own - which is the McKinsey interview. 

So you could start a third YouTube channel and upload Another World videos without being affected - but the minute you upload that City Lights interview you will get shut down again - so just don't upload the interview and you will be fine

Edited Tuesday at 03:11 PM by TheyStartedOnSoaps

[Contessa Donatella]

Thank you very much for this information! As it happens, the first time it was a 3rd party but a company on behalf of DAYS OF OUR LIVES. But, you could be totally right about this most recent time. And, again, thanks! 

[Jdee43]

Bill and Missy are an example of how a spinoff can ruin popular characters from its mother show. It's a shame Bill never came back from the dead, and that Missy never returned after Somerset. Both were forgotten after playing such a big role on the show in the 1960s.

Killing off Lee was definitely ridiculous.

I wonder if Carol Roux (Missy) and Barbara Rodell (Lee) might have any footage of their years on P&G soaps. I'd imagine also that younger actors, teens, who appeared could have footage too, for the memory or if they wanted stuff for their reel.

[Contessa Donatella]

Surely you are mistaken! I'm sure none of us could imagine Paul Rauch being behind someone being fired.

 

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[Mona Kane Croft]

If that is correct, then that would be the reason he didn't return to the role.  

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, but P&G could have recast the role if they had chosen to. So it's hard to say whether they wanted to kill off Bill Matthews to facilitate a new story for Missy, anyway, or if they had hoped to include him on Somerset if Gallison had been free and interested.

I hate back-from-the dead plots, but I found it to be a blow to the Matthews and Randolph families to lose Lee Randolph and Bill. Both clans were basically wiped out over the years. If Bill had ever popped up alive, I would not have objected too strenuously.

[Mona Kane Croft]

Interesting you mention this.  Were you watching AW in 1978-79?  There is an apocryphal story (which I saw and almost believed at the time) that Lemay was planning to bring back Bill. Even though the viewers knew Lemay did not like that sort of drama and that it was unlikely, many fans were convinced it was happening.  You may already know this but -- around the time Iris found out she was adopted and left Bay City for a lengthy period, Susan Matthews returned to town and announced she had divorced Dan Shearer. She and Liz seemed to have unusually frequent conversations about Bill -- especially since Bill had seldom been mentioned since Irene Dailey assumed the role of Liz around 1973.  After a few weeks, Iris was reintroduced while vacationing with her wealthy friend Millie Marbury at Millie's house in St Tropez.  Millie's boyfriend was a younger man, a gigolo named Giorgio.  Iris detested Giorgio, thought he was taking advantage of Millie, and ridiculed him behind his back.  Giorgio's background was a mystery.  Meanwhile back in Bay City, Liz and Susan (among others in the Matthews clan) continued to bring Bill into conversations.  And many fans were beginning to believe there was a connection between Bill Matthews and Giorgio.  Everything seemed too coincidental. That much is all true, because I remember it well.  

Here comes the apocryphal part: So it may or may not be true.  Some fans remember a scene in which Liz Matthews calls Iris at Millie's house in France.  Iris, Millie, Giorgio, and Millie's maid are on the terrace overlooking the ocean.  Liz's call comes through, and the maid answers the phone.  After a few seconds the maid announces something like the following, "There's a call for Mrs Bancroft. It's a Mrs Matthews calling from Bay City."  The camera catches Giorgio's reaction, and the look on his face indicates something strange. Does he recognize the name??  That's the end.  Nothing ever came of it, and obviously Bill never came back from the dead.  Iris returned to Bay City, and the Matthews clan stopped discussing Bill.  I want to make clear that Eddie from the AWHP has most of the scripts from this period, and he has not been able to find a scene in which this happens. I do not directly remember watching this supposed scene, although I have heard and read the story so many times, sometimes I think I do remember it.  

But even if that apocryphal scene never occurred, there is still some evidence that Lemay had something cooking for Bill Matthews.  Sadly, we do not know what.  Did he really have plans to bring back Bill, and then changed his mind at the last minute? Remember, just a few months earlier, Lemay had been encouraged to write the Sven storyline (even thought he did not want to engage in that sort of drama), and it had brought AW to the top of the ratings.  Was he being pressured to do something over the top again??  Or was he simply planning to use memories of Bill in some other plot, but still decided against doing it?   We will probably never know.

Sorry for the lengthy post.  But your mention of bringing Bill back from the dead made me remember all that stuff from 1978-79.  Crazy, huh?

 

Edited Tuesday at 08:07 PM by Mona Kane Croft

[DRW50]

 

[vetsoapfan]

Although I was no longer watching and recording AW every single day in 1978-79 (I had become disenchanted with the show after the cast purge of 1975), I did tune in from time to time.

I remember the speculation about Bill Matthews potentially being alive, that nothing ever came of it, and that the entire business just faded into oblivion.

One curious scene I recall vividly had Susan Matthews out at Alice's house in the country.

Alice cheerfully suggested that as an outing, they could go boating on the lake.

Susan visibly flinched and looked away, distressed.

When asked what was wrong, she quietly reminded Alice that her brother Bill had died in a boating accident, which resulted in her being resistant to engaging in that sort of activity ever since. She spoke about how much Bill's death had affected her, because loved him very deeply. Then, almost in a reverie, she murmured, "Sometimes I think I loved him...too much."

Um...what the heck was THAT supposed to mean?

The show never elaborated on what Susan was implying, and she never said anything like that again (as far as I saw/heard), but I wondered what kind of can of worms Harding Lemay might have been toying with there.

 

Edited Wednesday at 01:21 AM by vetsoapfan

[Efulton]

I have no idea if the information on The Somerset Register was validated but the following sounds logical to me.

https://web.archive.org/web/20120821215207/http://awinsomerset.com/index.html

From Bay City to Somerset

Initially, plans were made to bring four popular characters from Another World to Somerset as the stars: Joe Gallison as Bill Matthews, Carol Roux as Melissa ‘Missy’ Matthews, Jordan Charney as Sam Lucas and Ann  Wedgworth as Lahoma Lucas.  All four were very popular and it was felt that the Alice/Steve/Rachel storyline was popular enough that Another World could withstand the loss of a few characters without losing ground.

However, by July 1969, both Gallison and Roux had left the series — the former to join ABC’s One Life to Live, the latter to try her luck in Hollywood.  Despite this, Hill was determined that both actors would, with suitable enducment, be willing to star in the new series.  While Hill went about courting Gallison and Roux, Cenedella was charged with writing the show's story "bible" and creating the first six month's worth of plots.

 

Lyle B. Hill, Executive Producer

During the mid to late sixties, Lyle B. Hill developed a solid reputation as a thoughtful and considerate producer of daytime dramas, someone not only efficient but who actually liked and sympathized with actors.  After spending three years on As the World Turns, Hill accepted an offer from NBC in 1967 and went on to Executive Produce Another World and Somerset for a total of ten years.  His entusiasm and ability to cast appropriate actors served both series well and led him to launch a part time career as lecturer on the subject of acting at various universities, and to teaching acting technique at Weist-Barron in New York. 

Having sold the concept of the new series based on the four leads from Another World as the show's main attraction, Hill worked overtime to persuade both Gallison and Roux to join the series. Gallison was interested but unable to get ABC to release him from his contract.  Cenedella compensated by killing his character off, thus giving Roux's character a reason to return to Bay City.  However, it was now vital that Roux return.

At first, Roux was reluctant to move back to New York City, in part due to a new romantic relationship in her life with a rock musician, but also because she was in the midst of what she referred to as a seven-month "sit and think" period. However, Hill and producer Sid Sirulnic wooed her by offering a clause for her contract that allowed her to leave after six months on the show.  Roux relented at the start of 1970 and moved back to Manhattan.

[Mona Kane Croft]

This seems to be what I read many years ago, which led me to believe TPTB originally wanted Gallison and Roux to star on Somerset.   And it provides the rationale for the decision to kill off Bill Matthews, requiring Missy to spin-off to Somerset as a young widow.   So, thank you for posting this.  

Edited Wednesday at 02:21 AM by Mona Kane Croft

[Efulton]

You are welcome!!