1971 Robin Strasser interview, photos

[DRW50]

July 71 Daytime TV. Sterling's Magazines, Inc

[EricMontreal22]

Thanks so much for that!

Kinda sad that some five years later, Luckinbill (who I only know from the play and movie of The Boys in the Band--which of course also stared a future ABC daytime star--Peter White from AMC) and her split.

It's amazing how Robin somehow looks EXACTLY the same, and very very much differently.

[TC]

And then Luckinbill went on to marry Lucille Ball's daughter.

[DRW50]

[EricMontreal22]

I hate the stereotype that women either have to pick their families or their careers--but Robin seems like someone who (this is unfair of me, I know) has been career driven, that the whole article feels like she's trying to convince herself. Of course we know both can work (for women but ALSO for men)--and I think Susan Lucci is an obvious example of that,but...

[Paul Raven]

These articles were always on about career vs marriage and Women's Lib etc. I guess it speaks of the times and the readership.

[DRW50]

It's a bit strange to read this Robin and then knowing of the one later on but of course that was a long time ago and she did seem to fight hard for her marriage (didn't she leave AW in part to be with him more).

Luckinbill was the BITB character who left his wife for Keith Prentice (the slutty photographer), right?

Such dated material, that movie is (although not as dated as we may want) but the performances in that movie stay with you.

It's interesting to hear a bit about her AW run. Never knew Lena Horne was a fan. I like what Robin says about the struggle. AW had that class system which really made it stand out. I think Robin has also imbued that in Dorian. And Wyndham kept it with Rachel for a long time.

So I wonder if this is when Rachel was first hitting the big time. I remember Lemay, probably not too long after this, saying that student loved Rachel and couldn't relate to Alice.

I don't know much about this Brian Blake that Rachel was involved with. How long was he around?

[EricMontreal22]

Yeah Luckinbill played the once "straight" character in Boys int he Band (and the one who it turns out is the only one who has a successful gay relationship). Peter White played the straight guy who crashes the party (and prob isn't straight--it was a role I played in college so I know the play pretty well--the script we had had been slightly updated by Crowley the author--in his own handwriting, but not much--I do think sadly a good chunk of it is still relevant, though a good chunk is also almost laughable now. They made it a bit less about blaming your parents lol. There is a sequel froma few years back with some ofthe old characters and new young characters at a party and it's probably awful, but I've always meant to read it).

It's interesting that back then there seemed almost less of a stigma to hire actors identified with gay roles than there was in the 80s and early 90s--I guess due largely to the AIDS scare.

I know they played very different parts in the character's life, but I honestly think I woulda vastly prefered her Rachel (and I've only two episodes) to Victoria's (and I've seen a lot of her stuff including at least half a dozen from the Lemay years). Even back then I find her VERY mannered, ironic as I think lemay found her less so.

[DRW50]

I think Robin is a more eclectic and interesting actress (and much more subtle than she gets credit for, perhaps because she often goes OTT), so I think she might have been a more interesting Rachel...I do think Victoria played a lot of aspects of Rachel which Robin never really did, so who knows what the difference would be. I really want to see more of the era when VW's Rachel was a real bitch, because I think she likely would have played that full out; I love that photo where she's about to punch Aunt Liz.

This was a transitional time for Rachel anyway, I think at the time of this interview. Sometime in 71 or 72 was when Alice left for a year and Rachel was getting involved with Ted Clark, who was supposed to be a man she deeply loved.

[SFK]

Okay, would have loved to see Robin playing a black slave. Wow.

I love the pic where she's pushing Nick on the toy truck, so pretty. I wonder if she scoffed when she read them call her kid "husky". I also wonder if either of them still own that land in St. Lucia. I don't think they stayed at this house in B'klyn for long. They bought a townhouse on the Upper East Side, Robin ended up buying Larry out upon their divorce and she lives in that house to this day.

I've seen an ep or two of VW's Rachel at her bitchiest and she is scary in a way Robin couldn't pull off, like the type of bitch who would slice your face.

[DRW50]

I'm surprised RC or someone else never worked that in during one of Dorian's "I'm very culturally sensitive" periods...

I didn't know she still had that house. I guess she was wise to keep it while she was working in California. BTW, I posted a few weeks back about Robin's role in some Thelma Todd biopic starring Loni Anderson. Not sure if you've seen that or not.

VW's Rachel could be terrifying even when she was a heroine. The soaps missed a trick not bringing her in to play a psycho. Or as mentioned in the past, bringing her on OLTL as Melinda.

[DRW50]

An interview with Robin in the January 1972 TV Dawn to Dusk (Ideal Publishing). A lot of fans might have already heard this but some was new to me. The photo was just a stock photo of her at this time which has been seen a few times before, but if anyone wants to see it again I'll post it.

[Doyen]

She looks like Melissa Fumero in those pictures.

[DRW50]

You're right.

I didn't notice the resemblance as much until Melissa's last few returns.

[TC]

I was thinking Shanelle Workman.

Interesting that Robin was in the stage version of The Impossible Years. I loved that movie as a kid but it's total trash. My mother didn't think it was appropriate viewing at the time. I wonder who Robin played.