Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[victoria foxton]

Fran had a long run as Peggy. Which was only glanced over by Alan. Would've loved to have heard Mort. Talk about his 1981 firing. Both Fran and Mort were great interviewees. But Miss Thang remains  a terrible interviewer. I wonder if youtube pays Alan? Because it's clear. He has no great love for soaps. It's probably monetary.

Edited May 20, 2021 by victoria foxton

[wonderwoman1951]

file this under be careful what you wish for. 20 minutes into an hour-long interview with coster — who’s been on a dozen soaps, starting when they were live and running through web series — and we’ve heard about about how he lives on a boat and teaches scuba diving to the disabled, along with doing plays with laurence olivier and elizabeth taylor — but not ONE freaking word about soap opera. 

 

i don’t know if my blood pressure can take listening to the remaining 40 minutes.

[Liberty City]

 

Alan is definitely a niche interviewer. Sticks to a format that I don't believe he likes to break. I remember when people used to cuss, and his heart would stop as if he'd never heard the word before.

[Forever8]

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SchfityThreeRetro uploaded an episode of Guiding Light from March 23, 1989. 

[vetsoapfan]

 

Unfortunately, Alan's egregious interviewing skills are what we are stuck with. I'm trying to be grateful that we get to see and listen to any of these actors at all, but Alan's interruptions, lack of historical historical knowledge, etc., are grating. 

 

 

Me too! I wouldn't say no to Millette Alexander, either.

 

 

Gentry's interpretation of Ed was perfect for how the character was being written at the time.  As the character softened and evolved, I did grow to adore Hulswit, who could exude warmth, but still had a temper just under the surface.

 

 

HA! I would love to be the one interviewing veteran actors from many different soaps. I would not interrupt them, I would not suppress or try to censor controversial opinions, AND I could ask questions from a first-hand historical perspective; none of which Alan can do. Of course, you, zanereed, and several other SON posters would be equally capable choices to lead the interviews.

 

 

This is true, and it was so frustrating to witness. After Simon's listless, lethargic Ed (and Richard Van Fleet's baffling version), I was thrilled that the show rehired Gentry. Unfortunately, he just did not click with anyone on screen. I knew he would not last long.

 

 

[Vee]

The WLS guy pulled off some very candid interviews over the years (including with Nicholas Coster), and unlike Alan Locher doesn't seem to consider the mid-90s to late 2000s and/or P&G to be his wheelhouse and a sacrosanct topic to not be disparaged. I wish we could get that guy in on it, but I have no idea what happened to him. Also, for better or worse Locher has connections and influence with soap stars to get them to do these streams that others don't always have.

I'm very grateful these streams came about in the pandemic and that's largely due to Locher, but someone who doesn't seem to have a relatively shallow knowledge base and a compulsive need to protect his past employers would be appreciated.

[robbwolff]

Great idea! Damon was the one who did the Coster interview and he would be perfect. My husband and I went with Damon and Roger, the other WLS guy, to see drag queen Dina Martina back in 2010. They were both very charming and fun guys. World Turns had just ended and they told us All My Children and One Life to Live were likely to be cancelled soon. Damon left WLS sometime after that. He’s now a major PrEP and HIV prevention educator.

[bboy875]

I loved hearing from Mart (my favorite Ed) and Fran. Disappointed that Alan brought up Mart working with 2 Leslie's (Adams and Rodell) but left out Kathryn Hays, the 2nd Leslie, and who had been at ATWT for about 2 decades before Alan started working for P&G 

[Bill Bauer]

 

"Listless" and "lethargic" are good words to describe his performance. PS always gave off the impression that he didn't really want to be there. Like he was just collecting a pay check. He always came off as aloof and disconnected as a result. He was, by far, my least favourite Ed and, yes, I'm including Richard van Fleet and Pat Collins in that group. LOL. 

[vetsoapfan]

 

Considering his unfortunate lack of historical knowledge, I figured Alan had no idea whatsoever that Hays had ever been on The Guiding Light. He didn't even know who Stefan Schnabel was; an actor who had been part of the show in the 1960s, 1970s, and into the 1980s.

 

Personally, I preferred both Rodell and Hays over Adams in the role of Leslie. I found them more likeable. (But I preferred Susan Oliver over Rosemary Forsythe as Laura Horton on DAYS, so what do I know? 

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)

 

 

Some snippy viewers have lambasted Hulswit for his weight over the years, but he was always engaged and gave solid performances. So did Gentry in the 1960s. Richard Van Fleet was good as Chuck Tyler on AMC, but woefully miscast as Ed Bauer. Still, I preferred RVF's aberrant version over Simon's simply because Van Fleet appeared to be paying attention, LOL. To give Simon credit, however, I definitely wanted Ed Bauer to be present during the show's final days, considering Ed was the longest-running character still (semi) relevant to the program. If TPTB did not want Hulswit or even Gentry to reprise the role when TGL came to a close, I was grateful that SOMEONE did it. (And even Simon was better to have at the bitter end than, say, Pat Collins.)

[Paul Raven]

 

 

 

[DRW50]

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[Liberty City]

Oh those '90s promos! GET IT ON!

[victoria foxton]

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[Forever8]

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Edited May 30, 2021 by Forever8