Lynda Hirsch talks about Paul Rauch

[marlenadlc]

I believe it all. I knew both Rauch and Linda for decades and this all rings true to me. Paul is a great artist; he also can be a great terror. I've personally experienced both sides. But in a time of economic recession he's the guy you go to to do the muscling. Actually, having him at Y&R when cuts must be made must be quite convenient right now for whoever owns Y&R.

Consider this: The show looks beautiful now, some days with the music and all it is a piece of art. I'm not usually a Y&R fan but I am now, because I love to watch Rauch work; his senses of the visual and the classical just jump out at me. On the other, hand Paul is 75 years old. Experience now the last of the really great daytime (industry) characters!

Marlena De La Croix a.k.a. Connie

[Sylph]

But see, Marlena, you've just said it yourself: it doesn't come from him, he just executes Sony's wishes. And it suits them to have him. Plain and simple. This is not Paul Rauch's vengeful rampage.

[Ann_SS]

Marlena puts in her two cents! Connie, thanks for adding your thoughts, especially since you supported my take on the situation. LOL!\\

No one said that it was. What has been said is that Rauch's fingerprints, how he does, is all over the situation.

[MarkH]

Well, one thing I'll say: People have had really mixed opinions about Rauch's influence at OLTL, SB, GL.

But as Ms. De La Croix says, Y&R is a work of art. Now, it was pretty dang good under Ed Scott too...and for that matter under Jon Conboy.

Right now, though, Y&R is elevated in its game. Moreover, some actors and actresses are giving the performances of their career (e.g., Sharon Case...heck, I'd even say Jeanne Cooper). I think these things can be reasonably attributed to Mr. Rauch.

So, if at 75 this is the closing chapter of his daytime influence, I think this whole experience allows him to go out on a high note.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Rauch was not brought in by Sony/CBS. Maria said in her interview, I think with either one of the mags or her first interview with Nelson, that she and Rauch worked together on a failed soap for NBC, so they knew each other from before, and brought him in to consult at Y&R initially, and he then became her Co-EP when Griffith was fired.

Michael Grazedei recently said that when his contract was being renewed, it was Steven Kent at Sony who dealth with, not Rauch of Maria. I think it's pretty clear Rauch's only role is handling the day to day production and working with the actors on a day to day basis for the work he has to produce.

[MarkH]

Exactly. Thank you. This is consistent with everything I have read.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

For one thing, she calls the replacement actor "John" Muhney in her published report, when his first name is Michael. I'm not saying her whole article is a lie, but she basically took what Nelson printed and blamed Rauch for it all.

[MarkH]

Yes, I could find NO original reporting in the Hirsch report.

[SteveFrame]

I never once said that it was Rauch's vengeful rampage. I said it was his signature.

I agree with what Marlena said and have said so. Rauch puts out a beautiful product. And he has made Y&R look beautiful.

I am just saying that there is more to the story that Hirsch put out than many want to believe because there are too many coincidences to it.

Just because he rules with an iron fist does not make him a bad man. I have listed the man with the best of the daytime producers many many times, but at the same time the man was not perfect. I am not going to sit down and worship at his feet and think he is perfect just because he puts out a great product.

He is not a God - he is a human being.

I don't think there is one person who has been involved in daytime who has been wonderful that didn't make some mistakes along the way including Irna Phillips, William J. Bell, and even Agnes Nixon had her clunkers. But they were great for daytime but again they weren't perfect.

I don't know why some people are put on pedestals and your not allowed to ever say anything bad about them. Even if he is behind this stuff it doesn't make him less of a producer or Y&R less of a show.

It's just a fact. But as usual until some actor speaks out like Ellen Holly or Lillian Hayman or Maeve Kinkead did then we won't know. Luckily at AW it didn't take them long before they started speaking out.

And as far as the comment goes about there being 2 sides to every story - yes I do know that. But the ones who have loved working with Paul Rauch were also his faves who were given the story and the praise. I.E. Victoria Wyndham has never said a bad thing about Rauch but thanks to Rauch she became the star of AW something that would have never happened if her competition has not been fired. I love Wyndham - always have - but she owes Rauch for her career big time.

Remember also that even his cohort in his crimes at AW turned on him in the end. Lemay has had several disparaging remarks about Rauch since he left AW.

But again I want to make it clear that I think Rauch has been good for Y&R, but I don't believe he is innocent in all this as some want to think.

[SteveFrame]

But to tell you the truth how do we know for sure there was any original reporting in Braco's reports either. Anyone can say they have an anonymous source but what is funny is the anonymous source hasn't been quoted anywhere else. And who knows could it have also been an ex-cast member again like it was with the report about Thomas-Scott. Branco's total report could be based on gossip itself from someone that wasn't even on set.

Again I point out if you believe Branco about the Nelson thing then why would you not beleive him when he points out that Maria and Paul are behind the contracts on Y&R. Because the very first line of his report on Thomas Scott attributes this all to them.

So which time is he telling the truth and how in the world does one know when he is telling the truth and when he is not??????????

[brimike]

You don't know. Which is why I tend to subscribe to the "he's making it into a bigger scandal than it really is" theory.

MTS/Bells/Rauch/Sony are having contract negotiation issues. The same way they have a hundred times before. That's all I really need to know. All of this sexism/who's to blame/who walked off set/etc speculation is just that - speculation. Like you said, anybody can say they have an anonymous source - and that anonymous source might be another actor who heard from a few different actors what happened, but wasn't even there themselves. One actor says "hey, did you hear...?" the same way we do on message boards, and suddenly it's nothing but gossip and statements said with such declarative authority that "there must be some truth to it".

Blech... the whole thing just makes me nauseated.

[SteveFrame]

I look at all this the same way as the ABC stuff.

Several on message boards have said that none of the shows have nothing to do with contracts on ABC - that is all ABC and Frons.

Yet is seems that OLTL always has tense negotiations all the way several years while the other shows don't seem - even AMC which is considered the step-child.

What is funny is that OLTL is the show that has had tense negotiations for a long time now and they are the ones that have the best budget which means that to me someone somewhere has had to saving money. And that seems to me that Valentini has been playing hardball with the contracts for years and has helped to save money whereas GH and AMC have not been that strict until recently.

I also don't think that it is all ABC because you have shows like OLTL and GH who have been dumping vets right and left and you have had AMC be allowed to hold onto so many big paying vets on contract for years and years now.

So even there it just goes to show that something is different somewhere. So I think even there the Execs have something to do with it. They might do ABC's bidding but it is them playing hardball and doing the dirty work for ABC.

And I think that is all that is going on here. This is not as it was stated I was saying the vengeance of Paul Rauch. I think he is only doing what Sony wants him to do. They put him there to do the dirty work. And it happens to be something he is good at doing.

That is just like I think Goutman only does P&G/Teletext's dirty work but Goutman gets all the blame. But again I think it boils down to some people are easier to believe bad things about than others. And some times they do ask for it.

And I will be the first to admit that I have a long history with Paul Rauch. And it is easy for me to believe that he is heavily involved in this. Again I just can't buy Sony pulling out the three names of Wyndham, Dano and STuart from their asses.

As Marlena said when you need dirty work done in a tough budget time Rauch can get it done where a lot of producers can't.

[Ann_SS]

SteveFrame, ITA about the ABC stuff. I am always amazed when the widespread belief that the EPs at ABC have no power and that is all Frons. The differences in how the ABC soaps negotiate with their cast indicates that the EPs are playing a major role in how negotiations occur.

Okay, I'll concede that I am wrong. This means that the Bells are directly responsible for what Rauch is doing which is consistent with their support of all the firings that LML did under her watch.

It is not pretty clear that Rauch is not playing a role in the casting decisions or some of the contract negotiations. Branco and Hirsch's column along with similarities to Rauch's previous stops indicate otherwise.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I never saw Nelson print anything about Rauch at Y&R in regards to this, but Hirsch's column seems to blame everything on Rauch, and she uses all of the information Nelson's essentially printed in his column.

When Rauch joined Y&R as Co-EP, the CBS press release said Rauch was only in charge of overseeing production of the show. We know Steven Kent at Sony deals with the contracts, so I don't see how Rauch or Maria are the ones to blame for that situation. They could, of course, do a better of lobbying for a fairer contract for these actors though.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

http://www.soonews.ca/loadvideo.php

Click on the "Daniel From The Y&R" option at the side of the player to see Graz's interview. He talks about doing contract negotiations solely with Steven Kent from Sony.