Jump to content

Gordon Russell's Work on OLTL


Recommended Posts

  • Replies 145
  • Created
  • Last Reply
  • Members

People often credit Agnes Nixon for bringing humour to soaps with AMC--but she really did it well with OLTL--allthese supporting, colourful characters she had--like Anna Wolek. Great stuff (of course when asked about fave characters, the ones she mentions from AW are always the two long forgotten supporting comic charactrs she created there first).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

They fired Doris? If they did that's crazy. I loved her L&O appearances.

I wonder how differently we might feel about some parts of OLTL if we didn't know the backstage politics.

Of course Jacquie Courtney all but invented the notion of backstage politics becoming public.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Not sure.

According to Wikipedia: Cathy married Tony Lord, Viki's half-brother, in 1976. But Tony was truly in love with Pat Ashley. Adding to Cathy's woes was the fact that Viki became pregnant herself, and gave birth to a boy Kevin in 1976; a boy who did not inherit the heart condition that plagued Megan. Cathy's mental state wavered at that point, and she became obsessed with having a baby with Tony. Unfortunately, Cathy miscarried, and at that point she went completely over the edge. She kidnapped Viki's baby and disappeared for several months. When she was finally located, Cathy was in a catatonic state and did not have the baby. Many more months went by before Cathy recovered sufficiently to tell what she did with Kevin (who was recovered after being missing for almost a year). After recovering from her breakdown, Cathy granted Tony a divorce and left Llanview.

Jim and Anna remained in Llanview to give advice to their friends for the rest of the decade. When the actor playing Jim died of a heart attack in 1980, the character was killed off as well. Anna remained for a few years into the 1980s, but faded away by 1983.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I have told this many times but in reintroducing a Wolek youth, I've always wanted them to do so by using first a tribute to Larry, then having him visited by Karen and Belack's Anna, who simply can't put up with his grandchild any longer. When Doris Belack washes her hands you know you've got problems.

I like to think Karen is still on the run. We can say what we will about today's Todd Manning, or what John McBain has done to Marty, but I think Karen is of the same outsider cast as those and other characters, including Tina, Carla, maybe Niki, Cathy, Marco, etc.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

I believe they did indeed. I don't have the book in front of me but IIRC, Ellen Holly claimed it was simple network hardball over Belack's salary or something. I don't remember the second actress' name but you can see her on Youtube. She's basically Carol Brady.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Yep, and when shortly after Cathy aged some and wrote that article about VD (I wonder if anyone actually still has a copy of the article Agnes Nixon wrote herself and ABC, at a huge loss, paid to have mailed out to anyone who asked--over 10,000! which shocked everyone). She then had a baby out of wedlock--a PLANNED one which was another soap first. But the actress complained that, despite being so liberated, she still lived at home. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Doris played Anna till 77.

Kathleen McGuire was a short term replacement until Phyllis Behar took over,

What is the story(if any)about Belack's departure?

If she left voluntarily it wasn't to get out of soaps as she played Nora on AW,Claudia on DRS and Beth on EON in the following few years.

Maybe she was over playing the same role?Or did it have something to do with Doris Quinlan's departure as exec producer?

When Quinlan signed on at The Doctors the first actor she brought on was Belack.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Members

Take a look at the blonde waif playing Cathy in '69 and the later ones. SORAS unbound.

I figured Dan was a story for later in the day after establishing the child, but that he was an absentee parent. And that Dan and Larry have rarely spoken since their rift over Brenda McGillis.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.



×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy