Loved this GL promo...quick turn on the light campaign

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For whatever reason, aside from the Bert/Bill marital tumults, most of what I've read of the show in the 50s and 60s doesn't jump out at me, although the clips posted of Gillian Spencer's Robin, I devoured.

I've always found the 40s and 50s of GL the most interesting, being that it had Meta as the main heroine, with her marriage to Ted White, her shooting of him, and her eventual marriage to Joe Roberts with the interference of Joe's daughter.

December 1972 TV Dawn to Dusk (Ideal Publishing). Do any of you know more about Olivia Cole's role on the show? I know her more from her later appearances in things like Roots and Backstairs at the White House. I didn't know she was on GL. I'm surprised a soap magazine at this time would feature an interracial couple.

I believe Olivia Cole's character was one of the women involved with Stanley Norris. He was sleeping with her mother around the same time. I believe her mother was Freddy (Rick) Bauer's nanny.

Really? Wow. I'm surprised GL would tell an interracial story at that time -- even later on they often seemed reluctant to do so. Who played her mother?

Really? Wow. I'm surprised GL would tell an interracial story at that time -- even later on they often seemed reluctant to do so. Who played her mother?

I can't remember the actress' name but she later played the grandmother on "Family Matters!" And I think she played Nell Carter's mother on "Gimme a Break."

Edited December 15, 201014 yr by jam6242

Rosetta Lenoire?

I really wish I could see this story. I never knew Stanley Norris was involved in a relationship with Rosetta Lenoira. I thought it was just Lesley.

Who was writing the show at this time? I think Rittenburg was still producer?

Edited December 15, 201014 yr by CarlD2

Rosetta Lenoire?

I really wish I could see this story. I never knew Stanley Norris was involved in a relationship with Rosetta Lenoira. I thought it was just Lesley.

This was all going on while he was married to Leslie! I don't remember details but I do remember that Stanley Norris was one of the most "icky" characters I have seen. William Smithers was playing him when I watched (and I believe he was the last to play him) and I could never see him in anything else without having a negative reaction to the sight of him.

The rest of the article.

owners thusly: "We try to establish a friendly atmosphere in the store, and when the customers come in, we encourage them to browse, and we talk to them. It's very relaxed and pleasant. It's the New England way. Also, if there's something we don't have and we know of another store in the area, we suggest they go there. SOme of the other merchants in the town come in and have bought things from us. They've told us of their experiences and offered words of encouragement. It's a very friendly town."

This presents quite a change for New York born and bred Olivia. But she has traveled extensively enough to appreciate her lovely new home in Branford. A graduate of the academically superior Hunter High School in New York City, Olivia continued her education at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, England, from which she graduated with honors. Although she would have liked to have stayed on in London and acted, strict labor laws prohibited foreigners from obtaining stage jobs there, so Olivia returned home.

Moving from regional theater to regional theater, she polished and refined her talent. It was while she was doing some stage work in Washington, D.C. for the Arena Theater production of Pirandello's Six Characters in Search of an Author that she met Richard Venture. In June of 1971, they married. It made no difference to either one that Olivia is black and Dick is white. They share a common love of nature and antiquing. And both are exceptionally talented not only as performers but as craftsmen.

Both love their television work. As Olivia says, "Daytime television gives us more time together. With the regional theater, you're always going to this state or that state. Now we have this home life. We have two German shepherds and we can get home to them. And we can participate in the life of the community. We can go skiing, play tennis. You can have a life and not always be throwing the pots and pans in the back of the car."

Olivia and Richard fit into the New England life style. And they are amazed at the interest their little show has drown from people all around the country. Of course, as Olivia is quick to remind us, the shopkeepers' exposure on television hasn't hurt any. She says, "We've heard from ladies in Pennsylvania and Tennessee who have written offering their crafts. They're just beautiful; she sent photographs." She is always on the lookout for new, well-made, antique items.

But the mainstay of their merchandise is the goods she and Dick turn out. "I make stuffed toys," Olivia explains, "and pillows and footstools, loads of things. I've been really having a ball. I do work on the train into the city (a two hour commute one way) and I do work at the studio, waiting to go on. It fills up a lot of time and makes the trip seem much shorter. And it's a way of exploring all sorts of other talents."

She adds that Dick's hands are rarely idle, either. "Dick does a lot. He remakes sewing machines and turns them into tables and he antiques milk cans. And we also found one of those marvelous old RCA victrolas, you know, His Master's Voice with the crank, and Dick restored it, and that's in the store. It's jolly fun."

A lot of their best pieces come from homes in the area. Olivia doesn't mind sharing a trade secret with us to show how she acquires some of her bargains.

"There's a wonderful tradition in New England called the 'tag sale,' and just about every weekend during the summer, homeowners will clean out their attics or find some pieces of furniture they no longer want or what have you to sell, and they'll have a tag sale in their yard. Oh, the bargains you can find!

"Another New England tradition is the Congregational Church. In just about every town, especially along the shore here, there is a Congregational Church. And they have auctions and fairs. They have a chicken dinner and everyone has a great time .As a matter of fact, that's where we found our victrola."

But if you haven't the time to make your way through endless rounds of useless stuff looking for the one bargain, then a place like The Beehive is the answer. Besides, you'll never have a better chance to chat with one of your favorite actresses. Olivia couldn't be happier that some people drop in just because they know they will find her there. She is delighted with the friendly attention.

As she says, "Many people come to the store because they've heard that Deborah of The Guiding Light and Tom of The Secret Storm are at the store. I make these pillows, and one lady bought a pillow because she had to have something from Deborah. And she made me autograph the pillow. I tried to autograph the receipt," Olivia laughs, "but she insisted on the pillow."

Even the store's decor comes in for its share of admiration which pleases the Ventures, since they decorated it themselves. What's it like? There's red, white and blue striped fabric on the walls. And wicker furniture such as chairs to hold the pillows and other merchandise. But the real conversation piece is a huge cabinet which Olivia and Dick lacquered red while inside they applied blue and white, delft-like stick-on tiles. The effect is amazing.

When we spoke to Olivia, she was excited about another activity she and Dick were undertaking. In September, the two planned to add an acting school the The Beehive. They were seeking both teenage and adult students. Both are experienced teachers.

Oh, yes, when they find a spare moment or two, the couple are scouting around for a new house. Although they currently have "a charming little cottage now in a beautiful area, we are hunting avidly for a little old New England farm house with the porch that wraps around the house. We're keeping our eyes open for that prize."

Until such a home appears, they have cleared a lot of land around their present home and "we plan to have a vegetable and flower garden." For some close-at-hand farm atmosphere, they need look no further than next door; their neighbors raise sheep and have a rooster that crows loudly every morning.

If a Broadway play should appear on Olivia's horizon, she would happily consent to play therein. But she isn't pining for the stage. Her life is too rich and full. And she takes pride in Dick's many achievements. Just last season, she proudly declares, Dick "had the lead in Robert Anderson's play Solitaire, Double Solitaire and he was in Murderous Angels." He also recently completed a role in Paul Newman's new film, The Effects of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, starring Joanne Woodward.

That's enough acting for the Venture family. Olivia is becoming more and more involved with their store and is trying her hand at all kinds of new self-expression. She wants all her fans to know that if they are ever in the vicinity of Branford, Connecticut, there is a warm welcome awaiting them on Route 1, directly opposite the public library on the main street, in a yellow shop that looks like a house. She hopes the Beehive will become a guiding light for many new artisans and daytime television devotees.

- Amy Gordon

A black American woman at RADA in the '60s, I am so incrediby impressed by that and the work she went on to do at Arena Stage. She seems younger, but I can't help but wonder if she and Erika Slezak and/or Pamela Payton-Wright were at RADA around the same time. What a great article, so nice to learn more about her. I wonder if they're still together.

This was all going on while he was married to Leslie! I don't remember details but I do remember that Stanley Norris was one of the most "icky" characters I have seen. William Smithers was playing him when I watched (and I believe he was the last to play him) and I could never see him in anything else without having a negative reaction to the sight of him.

I've wanted to see this ever since I read about it - I remember the photo of Stanley and Lesley in his penthouse of whatever. I always thought it was odd that Lesley was taken from being in the middle of Bauer stories to suddenly marrying this wealthy man who was so evil. And then his relationships with his kids, those must have been interesting (especially the one with Holly). I also never understood how Barbara, who saw herself as such a moral crusader, tolerated being with him for so long. Unless Barbara was different back then.

So at the time did GL have more of a balck cast than they later on? I didn't realize that Cole was on the show for 2-3 years. IMDB lists her run as ending in 1971 but she must have been on through at least some of 1972.

I wonder why GL had this whole idea of these moguls and their black mistresses, which is such a touchy, volatile issue, but never directly confronted it.

I've wanted to see this ever since I read about it - I remember the photo of Stanley and Lesley in his penthouse of whatever. I always thought it was odd that Lesley was taken from being in the middle of Bauer stories to suddenly marrying this wealthy man who was so evil. And then his relationships with his kids, those must have been interesting (especially the one with Holly). I also never understood how Barbara, who saw herself as such a moral crusader, tolerated being with him for so long. Unless Barbara was different back then.

So at the time did GL have more of a balck cast than they later on? I didn't realize that Cole was on the show for 2-3 years. IMDB lists her run as ending in 1971 but she must have been on through at least some of 1972.

I wonder why GL had this whole idea of these moguls and their black mistresses, which is such a touchy, volatile issue, but never directly confronted it.

Well, Leslie had married Stanley on the rebound because Mike had married Charlotte Waring when he found out Leslie was pregnant with Ed's baby. And Ed cheated on Leslie with Janet Mason. I think Barbara was already divorced from Stanley when she first appeared on the show. My first memories of her are of her being involved with Adam Thorpe. The children were all grown.

The only other black character I remember from that time period was the husband of Olivia Cole's character, but I can't remember his name.

I know when Barbara first started she had a cooking show or something. That was dropped wasn't it?

I believe it was a newspaper column about cooking, but yes, that was dropped.