Guiding Light discussion thread

[antmunoz]

Funny to hear Paul talk about Danny originally being a “Santo” and being Italian...until Saundra Santiago was cast. LOL  And later George Alvarez. I guess he forgot Jaime Passer, Tony #1. 
 

But Mick Santo, never Santos, was played by Juan Hernandez. 
 

So...I guess the ethnicity was ambiguous until Carmen made it official. 

[victoria foxton]

A very rare glimpse of GL 1972. 

 

[antmunoz]

Funny to hear Paul talk about Danny originally being a “Santo” and being Italian...until Saundra Santiago was cast. LOL  And later George Alvarez. I guess he forgot Jaime Passer, Tony #1. 
 

But Mick Santo, never Santos, was played by Juan Hernandez. 
 

So...I guess the ethnicity was ambiguous until Carmen made it official. 

Any idea when Bert moved to her late 70’s house, the location of many of Xmas episode?

 

The placement of the “front door” here is rather ridiculous. 

[victoria foxton]

I don't know. Only started watching in 1989.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

I don't believe Bert ever really changed houses, but perhaps the set had some minor changes over the years. I feel pretty sure it was always supposed to be the same house.  Although I wasn't watching at the time, I was told that even when the show changed locations from Selby Flats to Springfield, the Bauers didn't change houses.  That's sort of a miracle, isn't it?  LOL.  So the history of the Bauer house would be interesting.  It's possible it was "supposed to be" the same house Bert and Bill lived in at the beginning their marriage.  Or it might even have originally belonged to Papa and Mama Bauer. Who knows?  Considering it was still being used until almost the mid-1980s, the set may have originated in the early TV episodes.  But I am aware there were changes to the set over the years.  

Edited June 20, 2020 by Neil Johnson

[antmunoz]

I gotta disagree. The set used for Bert’s house in this clip and the Papa funeral episode in no way resemble Bert’s of the late 70’s. 
 

Just wondering if she moved onscreen or she just suddenly had a new house. I know. It happens.  Company changed interiors all the time. 

 

Did Papa have a house?  I’ve only seen him living with Meta until 1966, then Bert. 
 

I’m sure the Bauer house was the same in LA and Springfield because they just started calling the location Springfield. I don’t believe any of the revisionist history that the entire cast moved to the Midwest. Retcons happen. They “always” lived in Springfield. Kinda like when the Spauldings had “always” lived in Springfield, in the family mansion. Please. I saw Alan and Elizabeth move to town and BUY that house. 
 

 

Edited June 21, 2020 by antmunoz
Spelling

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

I don't disagree, but maybe I wasn't clear..  As I mentioned, the set changed, but I think it was always supposed to be the same house.  Bert didn't move to a new house.  Her set just changed.  Just like when the Cory Mansion on Another World got a new set.  Mac and Rachel didn't move to a new house.  It was still the same house -- the set just changed.   

 

And yes, Papa and Mama Bauer had a house -- at least on radio. Not sure exactly when Mama died, and what happened to their house.  Did Bill and Bert move-in with Papa?  I know for sure, there was a short period in the early-to-mid-1960s, when Papa moved-out on his own  to a small apartment. Later he moved (back?) in with Bill and Bert.   

 

It's interesting that the Bauer house (Bill and Bert's) on GL was never as iconically recognizable as the Hughes house (Chris and Nancy's) on ATWT or the Matthews house (Jim and Mary's) on AW.  Perhaps because the Bauer house was based on a very simple set from the early-years?  While both the Hughes and Matthews sets were created later, and featured more memorable detail. Who knows?  

Edited June 21, 2020 by Neil Johnson

[antmunoz]

Papa’s living with Meta and Bruce in 1960. In 1966, when they move to NYC, they talk about taking him with them but Bert says she wants him to stay with her and Bill. 
 

I agree with you—the set just changed. But God, that 1972 house is so awful and fake. 

[Bill Bauer]

 

Bill and Bert lived in Papa and Mama's house with Papa and Trudy. Although Bert hated it and was always wanting to move into her own house with Bill. She pushed Bill to buy a house they couldn't afford and borrow the money from his brother-in-law Ted. This caused a lot of financial stress on Bill and was one of the things that started his long battle with the bottle. After Ted was killed by Meta, Bill and Bert were forced to move back in with Papa Bauer in his house. Bert was not happy. They weren't in their new home for long. Just a few months. I don't know when they got their own permanent place. Probably when Mike was born in 1951.

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

So, do you think perhaps the house inhabited by Bill and Bert near the end of their marriage was Papa Bauer's house?  And if so, was it the same house Bert inhabited in the early-80s?   Despite set alterations, of course.   

[Bill Bauer]

 

I don't know for sure but I suspect that Papa and Mama's house didn't survive the transition from radio to TV. Just a guess. 

[antmunoz]

How dare that materialistic bitch Bert want her own HOUSE?

 

Ross and Blake were raising three kids in a hotel room at The Beacon, for God’s sake. 
 

Now that’s called losing your set but MAKING IT WORK. 

[Mona Kane Croft]

 

So do you mean that jokingly?   Of course, no sets transitions from radio to TV.   Radio had no sets.  

 

[Bill Bauer]

 

 

LOL. I mean in the fictional world of the story. I think by the time the show premiered on television, Bill and Bert had bought their own house and Papa was living with them. 

 

 

Well, she actually was very materialistic back then. It wasn't so much that she wanted her own house it was that she was pushing Bill to buy a house he couldn't afford in Beverly Hills. Bert had a lot more ambition than Bill. Bert was way too ambitious for her time. In today's world, she would have just gone out and got the things she wanted. Back then, though, the husband was the one who was supposed to be the go-getter. The problem with Bill and Bert's marriage is that she always wanted way more than Bill did. So she used her ambitious energy into pushing him. It was an interesting dynamic to a story that couldn't be told in 2020. Back then, a woman was expected to be just a supporting housewife. In today's world, Bert would probably become the CEO of a company. Because it was the late 40s/early 50s she just pushed Bill (instead of supporting him) because of her extreme ambition. They were extremely mismatched but loved each other on a certain level. Bert was actually more suited for Ted White back then and Bill even mentioned it. Bert loved Ted White's ambition and wealth. She didn't care that he was such an ass. Interestingly, even though they were siblings, Bill and Meta were much closer to each other and more compatible than Bill and Bert were. In fact, Bert was very jealous of Meta because of the closeness she had with Bill. And of course Meta was so unsuited for Ted that she wound up killing him. If they hadn't have been siblings, Bill and Meta would have been a better match and Ted and Bert would have been a better match. 

Edited June 21, 2020 by BillBauer

[NothinButAttitude]