Look into the past: March 1974

[SteveFrame]

The Phil Brewer murder story was after the arrival of Mark Hamill as her nephew. That was the last of the Hursley's reign. She then remarried Phil after that and got drawed back into his life. So that was her big farewell story. She never had much to do after the trial was over in 1975.

STeve & Jessie's last story was when they got back together after her sexless marriage to Dr. Jim HObart. They remarried in 1977. They had been a couple since 1964 but had only actually been together maybe 3 or 4 years total before that.

Back to Jessie, I never understood why they couldn't have let Jessie and Lee get together. It wasn't as if they hadn't dated and weren't good friends. It would have been great to see her have been there for Lee after Meg's death and then his marriage and divorce to Caroline. He had definitely been there for her through the years. To me Gail would have been unnecessary. Monica could have been Jessie's niece.

Brooke Bundy played Rebecca North LeClair on Days. She is the one who had Dougie LeClair from sperm donated by Doug Williams. So her son is Hope's brother.

[SteveFrame]

The last time I remember Steve and Audrey being used more was when Tommy first came back on and ended up in the interracial storyline with Simone and got married. We saw more of them then. But even then it was more of a supporting role. And that is the way it should have been at that point.

I didn't expect them to drive story. But they should have at least been seen.

Audrey's older sister Lucille never drove story at all, but she was seen. She provided continuity. Jessie was hardly ever seen and same for Audrey. Only Steve was seen much at all.

[Sapounopera]

Was GH the only soap Douglas Marland wrote for and didn't create a big blue-collar family? Was that his original plan for the Spencer siblings?

As a child I was watching 1980-81 GH episodes on a German TV network. I adored Lesley, Traci, Diana, Laura, Monica, Lee and Heather I thought Brooke Bundy looked perfect and for some reason I couldn't get enough of Denise Alexander and Robin Mattson. I thought that Lee was sexy back then

[SteveFrame]

I think the original plans were for Luke and Bobbie and Ruby to be explored further. Of course he never got the chance as he and Monty disagreed over the direction of Laura's story. Marland wanted to explore more of Scotty & Laura but Monty was dead set against it. So Marland did what he was told and wrote Luke and Laura as the love story.

I can remember Ruby or Bobbie one referring to back them that there were more brothers and sisters. We just never met them.

[MarkH]

Lucille!

[SteveFrame]

Lucille was always one of my Mom's favorite characters and she never really had anything to do other than holler at the student nurses, and be confidante to Audrey and others.

I loved her though. I hated when they wrote her and Tom off.

[jinx_avery]

Janie Dawson was a Saint for putting up with Howie. They were also in one of the better murder mysteries, when Howie's mother killed Brooke Clinton, Scotty's half-sister.

[vetsoapfan]

Robert Cenedella was fortunate enough to have an extended, long-term story outline written by Agnes Nixon, when he first became head writer of AW. With that, and good dialogue writers, he appeared to be a good headwriter for awhile. But after Nixon's story ran out, and he was left on his own, his true hack-ness became apparent. His work was quite awful, and he was justifiably replaced. Yes, it was his work that Lemay criticized.

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, Pierre died quite early on in the show's run. I have an episode with him on his death bed, and Sally urging him to fight to live. His sister later threatened Sally for the devastation she had brought into Pierre's life.

Leslie Brooks was more of a Tracy Abbott-type character (shy, retiring, insecure around a glamorous sister), while Ashley was (originally) more along the lines of the secure, outgoing Lorie Brooks.

[vetsoapfan]

At Y&R's debut, Leslie Brooks was 25, Lorie (Lauralee) Brooks was 22, Chris Brooks was 19, and Peggy Brooks was 16. (I have the original press releases and story outlines from before the show premiered, as well as articles and news stories from its first few years.)

[vetsoapfan]

Peter had a heart attack and died. Although the original story outline had Heather as Diana's killer, the show switched gears in mid-course, due to Robin Mattson's popularity. In the end, it was revealed that (although even Heather, herself, was unsure about whether or not she had done the deed--she told Joe Kelly, "I have AMNESIA, Joe!"), it turned out that her mother, Alice Grant, had actually killed Diana Taylor.

[vetsoapfan]

Yes, she retired from acting, but only after being fired from GH. The network wanted Brooke Bundy brought over from DAYS, because they hoped to lure some DAYS viewers over to GH. Of course, this tactic never really works. They had done the same thing with Denise Alexander: snatching her away from DAYS during her contract negotiations with that series, hoping that she would bring viewers from DAYS over to GH. In the end, viewers who had watched all along never really warmed up to Bundy's Diana, and the character never enjoyed the immense popularity she had had while Starrett was in the role.

[vetsoapfan]

At the time, the network was putting pressure on GH to "youthify" the show. In an interview with Daily TV Serials magazine, Emily McLaughlin (Jessie Brewer) said that Douglas Marland had told her that he was was under orders from TPTB to "stop writing for the vets", and to concentrate on the kids and other, younger characters whom the adolescents in the audience supposedly wanted to see. He resisted, and still wove the veterans into the storylines, knowing their importance to the overall audience. Sadly, the later writers (after the excellent Pat Falken Smith was fired and a revolving door of hacks took over during the 1980s) were less interested in preserving the integrity and history of the show, relying instead on low-brow, campy science fiction dreck.

[MarkH]

Please please please put it on youtube!!!

Bless you. Oh, how I wish you could share these! Bless you!

[vetsoapfan]

Marland was gone before the Rose/Hutch saga began. Who wouldn't have a case of "the lusts" for Hutch LOL? He was a hunk and a half, with the absolutely TIGHTEST jeans any actor had ever wedged himself into on daytime!