Guiding Light Discussion Thread

[DRW50]

I would say it may have been because AW had never developed a popular younger generation the way GL did. Richard Bekins and Chris Rich were clearly popular, and Laura Malone too, but they didn't ever take off the way Beth/Rick/Mindy/Phillip/Lujack did, or, for an older group of characters, Alexandra and the Lewis family. That gave GL more cover with viewers, whereas AW just had, from about 79-83 or so, a never-ending sea of new families and characters, most of whom nobody cared about.

[KMan101]

Yeah, from the looks of it, GL had a lot more to fall back on than AW did in that time period.

I guess the purging of the vets in the late 70s and early 80s was a P&G thing LOL.

[DRW50]

If any of you were fans of Scott Bailey/Sandy, and you get Cinemax, then you may want to look for the "Femme Fatales" episode he was in a month or two ago. It's rerun a fair amount. It's not anything explicit but you can see more than you did of him on GL (and some use of a stethoscope that would probably shock Rick Bauer). The guy who played Manny on GH is also in it.

[Paul Raven]

[DRW50]

I have that somewhere, or used to. It's sad seeing that with Zaslow and Garrett. As awful as Rauch's era was for Holly I do wonder what his version of Roger/Holly would have been like.

[DRW50]

May 1956 TV Radio Mirror. This was one of their award issues. James Lipton was runner up for most popular daytime actor, radio and TV (radio was won by Sandy Becker, TV by Terry O'Sullivan).

Edited July 2, 2011 by CarlD2

[DRW50]

I wish some of Barbara Rodell's Leslie was available. I have read in more than one early 70's soap magazine that "thousands" of viewers wrote in angry letters when GL brought Lynne Adams back as Leslie. Rodell herself says this in one interview.

They also mention, in a July 1974 Daytime TV Stars, about unpopular stories wrapped up, that Leslie's trial for the murder of Stanley Norris was supposed to go on longer, but fans wrote in talking about how sick they were of the story, so it was quickly ended.

[Paul Raven]

Ethel Remey played Elsie years before becoming Alma on ATWT. I think years later (in the 70's?) Bert got news that her mother had died.I wonder why,after years of ignoring the character,they decided to write in her death?

[DRW50]

Was this when Bill Bauer was returning? Perhaps they wanted to emphasize a distant name dying and one returning.

[DRW50]

Please register in order to view this content

[Paul Raven]

[DRW50]

I'm glad they moved away from that yellow/red background.

Poor Ed Zimmerman.

[soapfan770]

How did Zimmermann die? Was he still in the role when he passed? I've read his successor Anthony Call had huge success on other soaps after leaving GL.

BTW a few years ago Lynne Adams posted a very strange video of herself of her talking about her work and love of the arts while taking a shower and then walking around her house with just a towel on.

Edited July 13, 2011 by soapfan770

[DRW50]

Is that video still around??

Zimmerman had a massive heart attack, I think. He was still on GL. He had also written a book and was doing theater work - I think he was on the road with a play when he died. It was a big shock. Then Theo Getz died only about 6 months later.

[soapfan770]

I looked for it but couldn't find it. It came out in 2006 or so and someone had posted it on the old WOST site. Hilariously strange.

That's a real shame about Zimmermann. How did th audience react? Was it as big as Chritopher Bernau's death in the middle of storyline?