That interview reminds me of a story Kay Alden told. She said that when she first met Bill Bell and interviewed him, he was surprised she was so enthusiastic about soap writing. He had been interviewed by a journalism class shortly before and they pretty much dismissed that he wrote soaps and and ripped him apart. They thought people in soaps were low life trash.

Sun April 2 1978

Soap Report ‘Search’ Troupe Is Switched by Jon Michael Reed.

NEW YORK - Out one soap door and in another is a serial-performing habit or hazard. Peter Simon played Scott Phillips on “Search For Tomorrow” since 1968. Scott's romantic foil was fellow attorney and future wife Kathy Parker, portrayed by Courtney Sherman. Peter and Courtney played their love scenes off camera and were married after divorcing previous mates. thrice. Recently. Peter departed “Search" and is starring in off-Broadway's “P.S. Your Cat Is Dead." His leading lady in that show, incidentally. is Claire Malis (Dorian Lord on “One Life to Live”).

MEANWHILE. Back on “Search,” Courtney finds herself with a new screen husband in the person of Peter Ratray. who only a few months ago was playing Quentin Ames on “Another World."

“Search" has had lousv luck finding suitable writers for the past year or more. Scriptors have come and gone in a thrice.The situation was once so unbearable that several cast-members raised cane about the material they were given. Now, Henry Slesar has been named headwriter. Slesar has scripted “The Edge of Night” for many years and will continue on that show also tackling",Search’s" headaches and heartaches. At least until he breaks. Writing one serial is tough enough, let alone two concurrent ones.

WITH SLESAR'S arrival three performers have been given the heave-ho. Lenka Peterson (Evelyn Reedy), Tina Orr and Bob Rockwell (Meredith and Greg Hartford) departed last week. Rockwell, you'll remember, was Mr. Boynton on the “Our Miss Brooks" TV series in the 1950s. but his character's romance with “Search” heroine Joanne Vincente failed to make the grade. Taking up the slack on “Search" will be two new arrivals that bear the kinds of odd-ball names Slesar is known to be fond of, Chance Halliday (Donna's ex-Mr. who will be played by George Shannon) Chance's sister. Kylie Halliday. portrayed by Lisa Buck.

That writer liked to use the word "thrice" a lot, unless that is a typo. I don't think I have ever met a person in real life that used that word in a conversation.

Gena Rowlands won an Emmy Award for portraying Mary Stuart (yes that Mary Stuart who played Jo on SFT) in the TV film "Face of a Stranger" - Here is her acceptance speech below where she thanks Mary Stuart for her wonderful life story she was able to portray on-screen.

THE JOURNAL-NEWS. SUNDAY. NOVEMBER 22, 1981

'Search' writer in search of a Job by Lynda Hirsch.

After a seven month stint as head writer for “Search for Tomorrow,” Don Chastain, who started on the show as an actor, has been released from his writing duties. Don, who portrayed Max Taper before stepping into the role of head scripter, was let go one day after he had turned in his first long-term storyline projection. Says Don, "I enjoyed my tenure as head writer and felt I contributed much to the show in terms of storyline as well as taking a different route in telling the stories. What bothers me most is that nearly all the work I did in the past seven months was with storylines and characters I had not created. To be sure, I added my own touches, but I was anxious to work on storylines and characters that were my own.

“I was particularly excited about a storyline which I had written for Travis. For years this virile, powerful character has been following his wife Liza around like a puppy dog, and I decided to create a story that could be truly his.” The story — Travis in outer space, complete with actual NASA footage Don had obtained and had stored in his apartment. Would it have worked? We'll never know because it's doubtful the plot will ever be told.

Explains Chastain.' We had the go ahead, everyone seemed very excited and suddenly the enthusiasm began to wane.'

Chastain feels he was let go for several reasons. "Because I joined the show as an actor, I was never considered an adult. It seems the higher ups considered themselves the adults, and then there are actors, and I was one of the actors. My friendship with the actors was not considered good by higher-ups either. For one thing, they thought I wouldn't be able to cope with writing a friend off the show. I tried to explain I was an adult and could handle professional and personal relationships with the actors.

Chastain proved his point when David Gatreaux who played his brother Garth, was killed off. " I didn't want the character togo and gave them several options, but I was overruled. At first I think David, who is a marvelous actor, thought it was my decision. One day I took him aside and explained. If it had been my decision to axe him, I would have told him that, too.

That was my other problem-too open, I rock boats, say what I think.

One time, for instance, I was congratulated for a scene I had written in which Liza loses the child and custody is given to Cissy. Several execs from P&G were sitting there and when the saw the reactions between the characters of Cissy, Liza, Travis and Lee, they were mesmerized. One of the the P&G execs stood up and said, That’s what I mean! That’s great writing!’ But I told him, I didn’t write that.It was not on paper It was the actors. They did it.’ The man was trying to be kind to me by congratulating me, but I didn't want that. I wanted the truth told, that the actors had figured out the right emotions.

Chastain have been too “different.” Different? Well, he did an inebriated Stu Bergman see a giant rabbit, but Chastain offers, “It was Halloween.” And Ellie did run away with the chef. “Billie Lou Watt had already left the show. We had several options, the usual things — terminal illness, car accident. One day my writing associates and I started to joke around about her running away with the cook. But suddenly out of the joke came the idea of Ellie having needs that the chef could fulfill and Stu being heartbroken when she left. I think the telephone call between Stu and Ellie with both taking the blame was wonderful, and it grew to get out of that silly joke about Ellie and the chef.

Don admits that his main trouble was cranking fact, out the material. “We made our deadlines, but it was tough. We were told, ‘The other writers always got out on time without any trouble.’ Well, not to put down the other writers but we were striving for quality, for every scene meaning things. It was months of total work, 14 hour days, seven days a week. I had one Sunday off in seven months, and I literally walked around the the apartment in circles, thinking, I know there’s something I should be doing being today. I can’t possibly be having a day off.

Despite long hours, heated discussions, having to get rj(j of characters he liked and exhaustion, would Chastain like to write another soap? You bet. in fact, his serial ‘Rainbow’s End” just might end up on our CBS. But for now he's looking forward to playing jazz in a Paris bistro and finding a place for the 6,000 feet of NASA footage that he was down going to use for the “Travis in Outer Space” storyline.

Mmmm...I can think of a place for that footage! Let's see -Travis in outer space (is that even a story?) Using a joke to write off a beloved vet character and barely making deadlines. Gee, I wonder why Chastain was dropped.

Those 7 months included him writing during the strike. Like others before and after, he was probably given the headwriter job as a thank you for stepping in, with the hope it might work out. But it didn't and he got dropped at the end of his cycle.

Thanks @Paul Raven

Do we know anything about that Rainbow's End serial proposal?

I'd LOVE to see the projections Don Chastain submitted that got him fired. To an extent, I get what Chastain was thinking with Travis in outer space. You could easily do a crisis style story during sweeps month, but it wasn't sustainable. It was merely an event. In a post Ice Princess world where the show was doing the jade necklace story, I think there was a way to build tension in the marriage of Travis and Liza over Travis desire for adventure. I just don't think that was the route to get to that point.

Chastain seems like he could do some decent character work when in more grounded stories, but that was more than likely working off Harding Lemay's blueprints that gave him that edge. It's just wild to me that he openly speaks about working during the strike in the press given the union.

I believe Rainbow's End was set in the rock industry.

What head writer and executive producer do you think could have saved SFT from cancellation?

It would have been interesting if someone like Gloria Monty had been tapped for EP to save the show.

I have been going back an looking at the shows last 2 years and the obvious big blow in 1985 was the loss of Sherry Mathis. The re-cast mid story is jarring you almost think it's a different character with the name Liza. Louan Gideon was all wrong for the part, but at that point I don't think the audience would accept anyone else besides Mathis.

I suspect a lot of the re-casting took place because the actors were pretty much abandoning a sinking ship.

Sherry leaving was a blow, but because of all the cast changes around her, there wasn't anyone else to step into that role. She was a reminder of better times.

Only Marcia McCabe had any kind of longevity at that point and Sunny had yet to have a proper romance after years.

Had there been other established characters eg Laine, Renata etc, still around, Liza could have been rested for a while.

The revolving door of Lloyd Kendalls didn't help.

Didn't Jo one run for mayor of Henderson?

And my favourite soap opening theme of all time is the pipe organ version of this show.

11 hours ago, SoapDope78 said:

What head writer and executive producer do you think could have saved SFT from cancellation?

IDK whether anyone could have saved SFT, but I do wish H. Wesley Kenney or Al Rabin (EP) and Pat Falken Smith (HW) had been given an opportunity.

13 hours ago, SoapDope78 said:

What head writer and executive producer do you think could have saved SFT from cancellation?

Perhaps the Corringtons could have returned after they left TEXAS. They seemed to have a good deal of success while they were head writers at SFT.

Yes, Lloyd was re-cast quickly in a few short years. Why did they have a hard time keeping an actor in that role? I'm surprised Robert Reed signed on for a soap role. I would think he would feel it was beneath his "talents" the way he felt the Brady Bunch was. Surprisingly the BB was some of his best work. Just about everything else I have seen him in he comes across as pissy and annoyed.

Some great choices for writers and EP's listed above. It would have been cool if someone like Bill Bell had bought the show and revamped it. Maybe brought it back to CBS if necessary.

Sherry Mathis was really was great as Liza. Liza did take a hard hit when Travis was gone.

Do you think Travis could have been re-cast successfully when Rod Arrants decided to leave ?

3 hours ago, SoapDope78 said:

Yes, Lloyd was re-cast quickly in a few short years. Why did they have a hard time keeping an actor in that role? I'm surprised Robert Reed signed on for a soap role. I would think he would feel it was beneath his "talents" the way he felt the Brady Bunch was.

Peter Haskell who originated the role was commuting from LA to NY to work on SFT. After a few years, he got tired of the grind and accepted a role on the LA based soap "Rituals" so he could be closer to his family. Joe Lambie, the next actor was reunited with his old "Edge of Night" producer Erwin Nicholson. When Nicholson left, I guess Joe decided to follow him out the door. In terms of Robert Reed, when you get older the parts are more limited. He didn't last long either, as I think he was written out after 13 weeks. He was difficult behind the scenes of the Brady Bunch, and I could see him being even more difficult on a soap, due to its fast pace.

It's interesting that the only time Robert Reed appeared to be at ease in front of the cameras was when he did "The Brady Bunch Variety Hour," lol.