ALL: Temporary Replacements

[SFK]

I remember reading that too, that DR was more of your downtown Dallas rich oil man's wife, in her smart suits and such, BBG in her sack dresses.

Yes, a couple of my drama teachers saw that original Broadway production of Cat, and petite plucky blonde BBG was playing against type even there. She caused quite a stir when she sashayed across that stage in her lingerie.

[YRBB]

Donna Reed wasn't hired temporarily, she was there for the long haul.

BBG's Miss Ellie was truer to the backstory of the character; Miss Ellie was supposed to have gone through the depression years, was a girl who grew up loving the land. In that respect, BBG was spot on in her portrayal of Miss Ellie, sack dresses and all. Am I saying that BBG probably just didn't want to bother with all the glitz and preparation required for a glamorous presence? Perhaps. But I always did appreciate that she was more ranch woman who happens to have money than rich old lady of the manor.

[SFK]

Yeah, I don't think her manner of dress was a "bad" thing, DR's good, just different interpretations of the character. When there was all that buzz about the Dallas movie, they were saying that Shirley MacLaine was tapped for Miss Ellie, and I just cannot see that by any stretch of the imagination. Even at her most dramatic, she is way too OTT for Eleanor Southworth. But again, they were going for a very modern take on a rich Dallas society matron, the women who dress like Opal on AMC as Jill Larson once pointed out.

Edited October 21, 2010 by SFK

[sands]

Daily TV Serials 4th Anniversary Edition - 1977

Ailing Actresses and The Women Who Wait In The Wings

Quite a few actresses were temporarily out of commision this year and for one reason or another, and substitute performers were brought in on the daily TV sets.

EMILY McLAUGHLIN (Jessie Brewer on General Hospital) was absent the longest. In mid- Novmeber she was rushed to a Los Angeles hosptial in critical condition, suffering from internal bleeding by ulcers. More than a thousand fans donated blood for Emily's emergency operation. Injuries were reported, and she returned to her soap oepra in early January,

During that six-week period, the role of Jessie was played by ANETA CORSAUT, who had never done daytime before, although she had been a regular on the first Andy Griffith nighttime series for six years. Aneta had guest-starred on countless other series' episodes, but had recently developed a career as a photographer.

Aneta donned Emily's nursing cap, primarily becasue of her startling physical resemblance to Emily. "I walked on the set on a day when everyone was praying that Emily would live." remembers Aneta. "Someone screamed, 'Oh my God, It's Emily.' It was quite eeerie, to put it mildly. I also used her dressing room and found it a very spiritual experience. It was difficult for me at first, because I know that everyone on the show practically worshiped Emily."

Shortly after Emily returned on the job and Aneta went back to the darkroom, VALERIE STARRETT(Diana Taylor) was hosptialized for an undisclosed surgical operation, and actress DAVEY DAVIDSON filled in until Valerie returned.

On the East Coast, JUDITH BARCROFT (Anne Martin on All My children) missed a few shows to attend her mother's funeral. And BEVERLY OWENS filled in for Judy. Beverly, you'll remember, portrayed Anne when Judy was previously felled by flu, about a year ago.

"It's fun, but, I always take over the role of Anne when something major is breaking loose in her storyline," laughed Beverly. "This time, Anne was fighting to keep her retarded child, and I cried every day. But I enjoyed it tremendously, because the people are so wonderful. What was most interesting was that ROBIN STASSER was playing Anne's doctor (Christina Karras). You know, I played her doctor on Another World, when she played Rachel Frame. So, we were old friends!"

On The Young and The Restless, LEZLIE DALTON portrayed the role of Laurie Brooks on several occasions while JAIME LYN BAUER was ill. And on One Life to Live, SUSAN MacARTHUR has been playing Jenny Siegel while KATHY GLASS has been undergoing extensive hosptial tests for an undisclosed malady.

How did the replacements score?

In our opinion, Davidson and MacArthur struck out. Corsaut and Dalton were sufficiently adequate. But Barcroft had best be on her guard, because Owen was pretty terrific. Coincidentally, the Y&R producers had been ready for several months to sign Dalton to contract if Bauer decided not to renew hers. Jaime, who had considered such a move, changed her mind at the last mintue, though, and will be on the show for another year. Unless...

Let's pray for better health (and no tragedies) for all the serial stars in the next year!

[DRW50]

Thanks so much for posting this article, I'd never heard of a lot of these replacements. So this was before Lezlie was cast on GL? I wonder if they cast her based on her work at Y&R.

Did AMC cast Beverly as Ann when Judith left?

Fascinating comments from Aneta. I'd love to see that. I never knew she was on a soap.

[Titus Andronicus]

She was also on Days in 1984 in a very short-term role as Blanche Dailey.

Here's one clip I found of her from Days. I hadn't been aware that she ever appeared on a soap, either, until I was watching clips from the Prism storyline and recognized her voice. Surprised me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmv6yMqqqJ8

Edited October 26, 2010 by Titus Andronicus

[Khan]

I don't think so. IIRC, AMC waited a few years, then brought back Anne from the sanitarium w/ Chris Pine's real-life mom, Gwynn Gillis, in the part.

Does anyone know whatever happened to Lezlie Dalton? She seems to have virtually disappeared.

[saynotoursoap]

No. Ann was written out in 1977. When she returned in 1980, Gwynn Gillis played the part. Ironically, Beverly was cast by Another World to replace Judith Barcroft when she vacated the role of Lenore Curtin in 1971. Before Beverly could tape her first scenes, Susan Sullivan left A World Apart, and AW dumped Beverly for Susan.

[DRW50]

I never knew that. Fascinating. Do you think they made a mistake? Or was the actress playing Ann not that relevant because the character was done?

Khan, I remember reading that Lezlie left GL for theater work -- perhaps she just stayed there.

[DRW50]

I was going to ask this here and in the SFT thread, but I was looking through a December 1973 TV Dawn to Dusk and they show a photo of Mary K Wells and daughter, and they list Mary as playing Joanne Vincente Tate. Was Mary Stuart ill at this time, or was that a goof or something?

[Cheap21]

Im surprised this wasnt mentioned but Dan Wells as Sami on Days when Alison Sweeney went on maternity leave. It was campy, a big WTF, but it actually worked

[SFK]

What was that all about, was she masquerading as a dude at the time?

[DRW50]

She was pretending to be a man to get revenge on various people.

[Cheap21]

Yep. Alison Sweeney ended up recording dialogue to go along with Dan Well's portrayal. Dan would talk but then you'd hear Sami's voice whenever she thought to herself. Here's a clip of her transformation into Stan

[DRW50]

It kind of reminds me of Doctor Who, when Frazer Hines was ill and they had to have another actor come in and they said that an alien machine turned Jamie's face into a different actor's.