"Secret Storm" memories.

[MissPalmer]

You can buy it and give him a friend's US address to send it

[Joseph]

It's way to do it! Then maybe convert and share Please

Please register in order to view this content

!

[FrenchFan]

Why not ? If anyone is willing to receive it and share the episode with all of us.

[MissPalmer]

I wish I could but I also live outside US...although I have a friend who is an expert in soaps who will be glad to do it

[danfling]

Unfortunately, actress Rita McLaughlin (Wendy Porter #1 on The Secret Storm) passed away on Monday, the 26th.

[FrenchFan]

Oh I didn’t realize she was on The Secret Storm.

[All My Shadows]

I'm so confused as to why it's almost 2023 and we still have soap fans who absolutely refuse to share these extremely rare episodes with others or have a million and one reasons why they just can't bear to find out how to share. No one's making money off of this stuff anymore.

[danfling]

Ms. McLaughlin's first soap opera was The Secret Storm.  I was cast as Wendy Porter.   It was later felt that the actress had too innocent of a quality.    I think that this character was to have an affair or contemplate an affair with Peter Ames.   So, the show replaced her.   She later was on As the World Turns as Carol Demming.

[AMCOLTLLover]

Either they have reasons why they can’t or they take hundreds of dollars from u

Please register in order to view this content

[Paul Raven]

Variety reports in September 1968, that  CBS president Frank Stanton ordered that all CBS be 'integrated' and that black characters depicted would be on an economic par with the white characters.

Secret Storm, having a bistro set at the time, added a black singer.

Reaction was immediate and there was an 'unbelievable amount of hate mail', according to a staff rep, and ratings dipped.

However, after that initial reaction, negative mail fall to a trickle and ratings rebounded.

[danfling]

I do not remember any African-American singers being on the show around 1968.

I do know that actress Frances Foster appeared on the show.

The only African-American character that I can remember from the show is Issac.   Issac (cannot remember if he had a last name) worked with Robert Lamders at his garage.   I suspect that Frances Foster may have played his mother.

 

As a matter of fact, I remember no African-American performers on the two other CBS-owned soap  operas that I watched.    Love Is a Many Splendored Thing (which, it seems, should have had many more Asian performers that it did) did hire Avis McArter (and she went on to briefly replace Lisa Wilkinson as Nancy on All My Children).  I do not remember any from Where the Heart Is, although I did not watch the show all the time.

I do seem to remember that there were African-American performers on Love of Life.   I did not ever watch that show.    I think that Irene Cara, Damon Evans, maybe Adam Wade, Ja'net Dubois, and others appeared at one time or another on Love of Life.

[Paul Raven]

On June 23 1969, CBS took over Secret Storm from Roy Winsor Productions.

Shortly after Chuck Weiss was appointed Executive Producer and Bernie Sofronski Assistant Producer.

Ediie Layton was made music director and Michael Onofrio and Portland Paget were new directors.

Rosemary Murphy and Barbara Rodell were new castmembers and Haila Stoddard and Judy Lewis returned as Pauline and Susan.

Were there new writers also appointed -perhaps Bethel Leslie/Gerry Day? Or did they come later?

[danfling]

I am not sure when Ms. Leslie and Ms. Day began writing the show, but I do know that they were writing the show when Sean Childers and Mickey were introduced.  (one of the best storylines of the show, in my opinnion)

 

I could tell, as a 13-year-old child, that something about the show was different.  I noticed this change before the first episode was over.     

As I seem to recall, this episode under new ownership was the day that Willifred Hollister (Bernard Hughes) passed away.

Shortly after this, Linda DeCoff was replaced by Stephanie Braxton as Laurie Hollister.  She had played a blind girl on an episode of Love Is a Many Splendored Thing when Iris (Leslie Charleston) was playing the blinded Iris Garrison.

Joel Crothers had already replaced the original actor who had created the role of Ken.  

[dc11786]

It looks like John Hess was headwriter until July, 1969 after having the role since March, 1967. 

I believe Barbara Roddell also assumed the role of Jill Stevens in June or July of the same year almost immediately after departing "Another World."

[FrenchFan]

In the « remembering Woodbridge » article :

It was now June of 1969. The show's ratings had continued to dip when Lou Scofield replaced John Hess as headwriter. But when Roy Winsor had replaced Scofield with Don Ettlinger, the audience began flocking back. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough for CBS. The network leased both Love of Live and The Secret Stormoutright from American Home Products and gained control of both shows, while the idealist genius of Roy Winsor was no longer called for. Roy Winsor was forced to close his office, and The Secret Storm was to endure countless different writing regimes before the real end came.

Or had it already come in June of 1969?