The Road Of Life

[JackPeyton]

Has anyone even heard of this soap opera? it was on in the 50's and i cant find anything on it other than imdb and this video-

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Edited September 22, 2010 by JackPeyton

[JackPeyton]

This Procter and Gamble soap opera, broadcast on the CBS network, was based on the radio soap opera of the same name. Don McLaughlin and Virginia Dwyer played the same roles on the television version that they had played on the radio version. Virginia Dwyer, lead actress on this series, and Walter Gorman, one of the directors, were married to each other in real life.

-from imdb

http://www.classicthemes.com/50sTVThemes/themePages/roadOfLife.html

[BFORE02]

I have 3 episodes of the soap in my vintage soap opera collection.

[DRW50]

From Schemering's book.

December 13, 1954 - July 1, 1955 CBS

The radio version of The Road of Life had been popular since 1937 when Irna Phillips and Procter & Gamble decided to bring the drama to television. Replacing The Seeking Heart, the serial focused on three generations of two families, the Brents and the Overtons, and their long feud in the town of Merrimac. Don MacLaughlin and Virginia Dwyer, who had starred on the radio version, repeated their roles as Dr. Jim Brent and Jocelyn McLeod, the foster daughter of rich Malcolm Overton.

Since this was a medical drama (remembered chiefly for its opening; "Dr. Brent,...call surgery. Dr. Brent,...call surgery"), poor Jocelyn was afflicted with every dread disease known to man and some never known, including "rubimortis," and the dreaded "Meniere's syndrome." On the short TV version, spiteful Sybil Overton was furious that happily married Jim Brent did not return her affections. She had Jocelyn arrested for "technically" kidnapping Sybil's child, then had Jocelyn classified as an "undesireable alien" when Jocelyn returned from Samoa after medical treatments. In one of his earliest TV roles, Jack Lemmon had a short run on the show as a supposedly nerves-of-steel surgeon. His stint his chiefly remembered for a tense operating room scene in which he turned to a nurse and barked, "Give me the hypodermic needle!"

Although Road of Life was cancelled on television in less than a year, it continued on radio until 1959. MacLaughlin later starred for over a quarter of a century as Chris Hughes on As the World Turns. Dwyer played Mary Matthews on Another World from 1964 to 1975. The show was written by Charles Gussman, produced by John Egan, and directed by Walter Gorman, who was Dwyer's off-screen husband. Nelson case served as the narrator. It ran daily for fifteen minutes at 1:15 P.M., E.S.T., following The Inner Flame.

[soapfan770]

In addition to Schemering, here's what Matt P. Smith wrote in Soap Opera History

[Paul Raven]

In the 1940's,whilst playing Dr Brent on radio, Don MacLaughlin was also doing the leads in a Western- 'Tennessee Jed','David Harting,Counterspy', and a show beamed to the armed forces- 'Chaplin Jim'.

No wonder many radio performers disliked the advent of TV where they had to work harder and were limited to one role.

[DRW50]

In a radio interview several years before he died Larry Haines talked about this and how he used to go from playing a romantic lead to a psycho killer a few hours later.

I really think America lost a lot when they decided to just shun radio drama.

[BFORE02]

I have episodes of The Road of Life for my complete list of Vintage Soap Opera Episodes email me at [email protected]

[DRW50]

April 1955 TV Radio Mirror

Edited March 5, 2013 by CarlD2

[slick jones]

This is what I have for this show's cast. If anyone can fill in any blanks, thank you.

THE ROAD OF LIFE

December 13, 1954-July 1, 1955

Merrimac

Mooch Beasley.........

Stu Beasley........

Francie Brent ....Elizabeth Lawrence

Dr. Jim Brent....Don MacLaughlin

Jocelyn McLeod Brent........Virginia Dwyer

John Brent.....Bill Lipton

Frank Dana.........John Larkin

........Chuck Webster

Reggie Ellis........Dorothy Sands

Constance Fuller..........

Gordon Fuller.......

Sybil Overton Fuller.............Barbara Becker

Judge Hartsole..............

Armand Monet........Michael Kane

Lil'Monet.........Elspeth Eric

Ada Overton.....

Conrad Overton..........Charles Dingle

Hugh Overton...........Doug Parkhirst

Malcolm Overton.............Harry Holcombe

Pearl Snow..........Hollis Irving

Byron Unger, attorney................

Narrator......Nelson Case

Surgeon........Jack Lemmon

????????????............Teri Keane

Thanks for any input!

[dc11786]

According to an article from "Radio-TV Mirror," Mooch was played by Frank Behrens.

Teri Keane was on the radio version of "Road of Life" in the late 1950s as Jocelyn McLeod Brent. She may also have appeared on the television version, but I don't know for sure.

I think Gordon Fuller was dead prior to the show premiering on television. I'll look again. In the television version, the main plot was the complicated love affair between Sybil Fuller, Jim Brent, Jocelyn Brent, and Armand Monet. Sybil was attempting to have Jocelyn sent back to Samoa, where she had been living prior to arriving in Merrimac. Jim and Jocelyn plotted to convince Sybil that Jocelyn was in love with Armand Monet. The hope was that Sybil would reveal her role in the scheme if she felt Jocelyn was no longer a threat. Complications to the scheme included Lil Monet, Armand's estranged wife, and Jocelyn's pregnancy.

Later, Sybil was involved with Randy Ogden, a financier, but that was when the show was radio only.

[Paul Raven]

Television debut of the radio serial which has been on the air for l7 years; using the same cast as the radio show. 'Both radio and television shows will be separate until January when the radio program will be pre-recorded from the TV show of the previous day. Current radio shows are recorded three weeks in advance. The program stars Don Maclaughlin as Dr. Jim Brent; with Virginia Dwyer, Dorothy Sands, Barbara Becker, Harry Holcombe, Bill Lipton, Elizabeth Lawrence, Michael ram, Elspeth Eric and Hollis Irving. Road of Life replaces The Seeking Heart in this time spot

 

Edited August 31, 2018 by Paul Raven

[DRW50]

Please register in order to view this content

 

This is one I hadn't seen up before:

 

 

@slick jones @Paul Raven @vetsoapfan@dc11786

Edited October 1, 2018 by DRW50

[vetsoapfan]

 

Thank you for the heads up!

Edited October 1, 2018 by vetsoapfan

[Paul Raven]

Great Thanks!!

 

That Sybil is something else.

 

Funny how episodes of a short lived show surface...would be great if other similar shows eg Hotel Cosmopolitan or The Seeking Heart turned up

Edited October 1, 2018 by Paul Raven