CBS Daytime Specials--After Hours

[Paul Raven]

The first special got a 29 share.

Based on that success,CBS aired another special in May 77,this time featuring David Haselhoff(Snapper Y&R,Kathryn Hays (Kim,ATWT),Tudi Wiggins and Michael Allison(Meg and Ian,LOL),Don Stewart(Mike,GL) and Meg Bennett(Liza,SFT)

Tudi and Michael performed a duet and she performed an excerpt from 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie',which she had appeared in on Broadway.

The whole company performed 'Singing in the Rain'.

I wonder how the performers were chosen.I'm surprised Eileen Fulton didn't get a spot as she performed regularly in the 70's and was one of soaps biggest names at the time.

[DRW50]

Hard to believe all these years later Michael Nouri and Meg Bennett are still around in soaps.

I miss the old variety show days, back before everything became so cynical and sneering and everyone started obsessing over what a jaded 14 year old might want to see.

It's weird that they had both Leslies in these specials. Jamie Lyn Bauer must have felt in her Sister's Shadow twice over.

I've seen a SFT Christmas episode from the mid-60s where Mary Stuart sang quite a bit, very moving religious/folk songs, but I'd like to see her in a glitzier setting.

I'd love to see that.

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

Thanks for that information. Interesting how the second special utilized the talents of stars from all five of the CBS soaps, whereas the first and third specials focused on two of them (Y&R and SFT/ATWT).

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

For those of us who were in this world at that time, the '70s carried on the banner of the big variety shows and specials throughout the entire decade. I can still recall watching "Donny And Marie" on ABC, especially the bumper breaks that included a rainbow. Sorry for going off-topic here.

[DRW50]

I watched a DVD a few months ago of Mitzi Gaynor specials which aired over that decade. Even that had so much more entertainment value than most of what you see on TV now. Now someone's idea of variety is a pop shrieker with dirty hair badly miming to Autotune about how she wants to show us her a$$.

[EricMontreal22]

Victoria Mallory of course had one of the leads in the 1973 original production of Sondheim's A Little Night Music (where she met her husband, the handsome Mark Lambert)--she sounds fabulous on the recording. Of course the soap star who was in that production who won the Tony, was Patricia Elliot.

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

Victoria was discovered by Y&R producer John Conboy after seeing her in a Los Angeles production of "Kismet". Apparently, Victoria had to take serial acting classes as a result of her winning the recast role. I have an article by Jon-Michael Reed about her replacing Janice Lynde as Leslie Brooks. Unbelievably, audience reaction to Victoria replacing Janice was not taken well by many viewers in the beginning.

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

Here's a screen capture of Victoria Mallory (as Leslie Brooks Prentiss) and Dennis Cole (as Lance Prentiss-Cole replaced John McCook in 1981) from 1982.

[DRW50]

To me Victoria fits the description of Leslie much better than Janice did, but Janice is such a unique actress, I guess people cottoned onto her.

I wonder if Janice ever regretted leaving -- I think that was the only soap role she was successful in, although she seems to have worked fairly consistently over the years.

[Paul Raven]

I recall an interview where Janice talks about reaching a near breakdown on Y&R - a combination of the intensity of the character and the working conditions at the time at CBS.She said that when the studio door closed behind her, it felt like prison doors trapping her.

So at the time she was glad to leave. A lot of that might have been her own attitude,but she returned to soaps in 79 for Another World and again in 83(?) for OLTL.

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

Janice went to OLTL sometime around late 1983-early 1984; I'm guessing maybe January 1984.

Back in the day, with on-screen main squeeze Brad Eliot (played by Tom Hallick):

[DRW50]

That's right, Janice was Laurel Chapin, wasn't she? I think she was killed off in 1985.

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

Jaime Lyn back in the day, with on-screen main squeeze Lance Prentiss (played by John McCook):

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

This Jon-Michael Reed article from November 1977 explains the "Singin', Swingin' & All That Jazz" special in depth:

[OldSchoolSoapFan]

And another Reed article, also from November 1977, about Victoria Mallory (ex-Leslie Brooks Prentiss, Y&R) and her replacing Janice Lynde.