Members DRW50 Posted April 26, 2020 Members Share Posted April 26, 2020 Great find! And such beautiful quality too. Interesting how the show really didn't seem to go for glossy looks in casting. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members amybrickwallace Posted December 20, 2021 Members Share Posted December 20, 2021 I love how dramatic this photo is: Please register in order to view this content 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danfling Posted May 3, 2022 Members Share Posted May 3, 2022 David Birney, who appeared on The Best of Everything (I do not know that name of his character.) has passed away. He is a victim of Alzheimer's Disease and died on Sunday. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted May 4, 2022 Members Share Posted May 4, 2022 I've always been puzzled about David Birney and Best of Everything. Did he actually appear or is it one of those misprints that became accepted? Was it the case that Birney was in contract talks with CBS and not happy with what he was offered and ABC swooped in and offered him more money w/o really having a role for him,similar to what happened with Denise Alexander a few years later? Perhaps he was placed into Best of Everything but when that show was cancelled he was switched to a World Apart to see out a year contract? Have we ever seen anything in print from the magazines of those days that talk about this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danfling Posted May 4, 2022 Members Share Posted May 4, 2022 (edited) I only saw The Best of Everthing once when I was on vacation in a town that had an ABC affiliate. (My market did not carry The Best of Everything or - initially - A World Apart or All My Children). I had not remembered (or had possibly forgotten) that Mr. Birney was listed as having joined the cast of this show after he departed from Love Is a Many Splendored Thing as the second Mark. It seemed VERY odd to me that he would have departed a highly rated show at the time and not go to California to appear on nighttime network shows or in movies. (I know that he appeared on the CBS comedy with Bibi Osterwald from Where the Heart Is Bridget Loves Bernie, and that show began in the fall of 1972,) That is about all that I know of his association with The Best of Everything and the ABC nework. It was my thought over the years that this show was owned by ABC (which, I think, it was along with A World Apart). However, I have heard that there was some connecton to Twentieth-Century Fox (which had probably owned the original motion picture of the same name). The show's executive producer (Don Wallace) and headwriter (James Lipton) worked on Twentieth-Century Fox show after the cancellation of The Best of Everything (Return to Peyton Place). ABC had aired the primetime Peyton Place (which had been produced by Twentieth Century-Fox). It seems to me that ABC was trying to publicize that The Best of Everything was to feature three stars from Hollywood (Gale Sondergard, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Patty McCormick) and two stars from the popular CBS soap opera schedule (Robert Gentry from The Guiding Light and David Birney from The Best of Everything). Harold J. Stone had played the lead on The Nurses, and Geraldine Fitzherald had appeared as a star (along with Eileen Fulton) of Our Private World, both shows having been aired by CBS. A World Apart also seemed to hire a lot of soap opera veterans (some, such as James Noble, Elizabeth Lawrence, Anna Mignot and Jane White, all of whom had appeared on CBS shows) plus a lot of new comers such as Matthew Cowles, Dorothy Lyman, Susan Sarandon, Heather McRae, and Clifton Davis. (Also, after Don Wallace and James Lipton began working on Twentieth-Century Fox's Return to Peyton Place on NBC, Katherine Glass from The Best of Everything was cast as Alison McKenzie.) Plus, I can imagine that the show's executive story editor, Irna Phillips (also the mother of the show's creator/headwriter) would have loved having a former star of Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (the last show on which she had created for CBS) on this new show. According to Wikipedia, the show's production company was Twentieth-Century Fox. However, new upon reading of Wikipedia's enty on A World Apart, David Birney is listed as having played Oliver Harrell on that show. I am probably wrong about which of the shows Mr. Birney appeared on. I do remember that, by the time I was able to watch A World Apart on the new ABC affiliate in my market, Mr. Birney was no longer on the show. Edited May 4, 2022 by danfling 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members slick jones Posted July 30, 2022 Members Share Posted July 30, 2022 Please register in order to view this content THE BEST OF EVERYTHING CAST LIST AND CHARACTER GUIDE MARCH 30,1970-SEPTEMBER 25, 1970 ABC NEW YORK CITY Mrs. Bang...M'El Dowd Anne_____ Carter...Diane Kagan Mike's needy, bitter, invalid wife Mike Carter...Jean-Pierre Stewart Married to Anne, in love with Linda Ginny (Tate) Curtis...Gwen Mitchell Stenographer, sympathetic ear to all ___ Dedario ??? Connie Eaton Connie Eaton Singer Kate Farrow...M'El Dowd Steno pool supervisor--older tense woman Josh Jordan Owned the building the characters lived in ...John Rust . ..Peter Harris Kim Jordan...Katherine Glass Daughter of Joshua and Violet; had a crush on Dr. Eddie; dated Randy and redeemed him; blamed for the LSD tainted chocolates; Violet___Jordan...Geraldine Fitzgerald... Ran the apartment building with Joshua Amanda Shalimar Key ...Gale Sondegaard Wealthy, ruthless head editor Dexter Key...James Davidson Amanda's (?grand?)son; wealthy; had a fling with April that left her pregnant until she lost the baby Joanna Key...Bonnie Bee Buzzard Dexter's free spirited sister Barbara Lamont...Rochelle Olliver Neighbor in the Jordan House; depression Johnny Lamont...Steven Grover Son of Barbara and Ken; ate LSD tainted chocolates Ken Lamont...Barry Ford Wanted to leave Barbara and get custody of Johnny April Morrison Stenographer-- blonde and "rattled"; had a fling with Dexter that resulted in a lost pregnancy; desired by Ed ...Julie Mannix . ..Susan Sullivan Dr. Ed Perrone...Victor Arnold Doctor, liked by Kim though he was more interested in April; shared a basement room/lab with Kim Greg Porter Terry O'Sullivan Fred Shalimer...James Karen Amanda's wealthy brother Gary Warren...??????????????????? Linda Warren...Patty MacCormack Stenographer that was desired by Mike Carter Mrs Wilson ??? Parents, Randy Mr Wilson ??? Parents, Randy Randy Wilson...Ted LePlat Gang member/guy from the wrong side of the tracks; blonde, motorcycle riding tough guy; reformed by Kim's affection and left the gang; killed Craig ??? Minister ??? Squirrel Gregory Rozakis Crazy gang leader that blamed the Jordans for Randy leaving the gang; broke in and left the LSD tainted chocolates in the lab to set up Kim ?????????????????? Alex Alexander 4/1970 Robert M. "Andy" Anderson David Birney Jane Alice Brandon Robert Gentry ... Lloyd Holar Jill Melody Douglas Norwick Roy Shuman 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Paul Raven Posted November 9, 2022 Members Share Posted November 9, 2022 Larry Rosenthal an Emmy award winning composer was responsible for the score of Best of Everything. The show did not use organ music which was still prevalent on most soaps of the time. Another example of the high production values the show appeared to have. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members te. Posted September 15, 2023 Members Share Posted September 15, 2023 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bright Eyes Posted September 15, 2023 Members Share Posted September 15, 2023 Only seeing her for barely a second, I already hate Kim. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danfling Posted September 15, 2023 Members Share Posted September 15, 2023 Why would you hate Kim, of all the charcters? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members danfling Posted February 16 Members Share Posted February 16 (edited) This show was produced by the late Don Wallace. He had extensive prior soap opera experience after having worked on The Edge of Night, From These Roots and One Life to Live. He pioneered location shooting when he was directing The Edge of Night. Why was this show so unsuccessful? (Of course, I realize that James Lipton was not known for splended writing.) Did this show use many scenes taped on location as had been used on The Edge of Night? Edited February 16 by danfling 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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