I thought I'd open since it's been a week. It still doesn't seem real.

Natalie actually stayed on till early 78 I think. Then Judith Chapman went on to a lot of primetime guest spots, landed a series -Beyond Westworld , that flopped. Came back to NY for RH during the writers strike before finally returning to daytime at GH as Ginny.

8 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Natalie actually stayed on till early 78 I think. Then Judith Chapman went on to a lot of primetime guest spots, landed a series -Beyond Westworld , that flopped. Came back to NY for RH during the writers strike before finally returning to daytime at GH as Ginny.

I know she was in HW, but too bad ATWT did move heaven and earth to bring her back as Natalie, instead of that woman they recast, Granted the storyline sucked but the Dobsons would have kept her on when they came back to rejigger things and hopefully a good storyline with John or James. 

14 minutes ago, Mitch64 said:

I know she was in HW, but too bad ATWT did move heaven and earth to bring her back as Natalie, instead of that woman they recast, Granted the storyline sucked but the Dobsons would have kept her on when they came back to rejigger things and hopefully a good storyline with John or James. 

I always thought Marland might have brought Natalie back during his reign as HW (played by Judith, of course).  He seemed to enjoy mining the past of ATWT, and Natalie would have been the perfect foil for Tom and Margo's almost perfect marriage.  Joyce Coleman also seemed like a sure return during the Marland era, at least for one big storyline.  But perhaps too many characters who had surrounded Joyce were gone before 1985, so she might not have seemed relevant to Marland.  

Marcy Breen #2

 

9 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Natalie actually stayed on till early 78 I think. Then Judith Chapman went on to a lot of primetime guest spots, landed a series -Beyond Westworld , that flopped. Came back to NY for RH during the writers strike before finally returning to daytime at GH as Ginny.

Thanks. For some reason I thought this was her exit and then the baby ends up being left on Carol's doorstep. It feels like they were rushing the story with the way Natalie's secrets were exposed.

2 hours ago, Soapsuds said:

Marcy Breen #2

Thanks. I'll have to try to remember that. She was a lot of fun as Marcy. 

Natalie left in Nov 77  so Judith must have had a 2 yr contract? Which I guess was unusual as it seemed 3 yr was pretty standard in those days.

Or maybe she really wanted to leave so they allowed it?

Natalie was popular and there seemed to be plenty of story left, so the 2 yr contract seems the most likely, as her exit seemed quite sudden.

I found two old clips in some files that don't seem to be on Youtube anymore as far as I could find. I'm not entirely sure on the date for the second clip. My file was listed as February 24 and the partial episode after it as February 27, but the version of the latter episode now on Youtube is March 2.

 

1976 Pt 5

Since Kim is adamant about a divorce, John starts drinking again. Betsy manages to get Dan and Kim together, but the air is strained, as each thinks the other ended the relationship.

‘Dan’s new patient is Valerie Conway, who crashed her private plane in a fog. Learning Valerie’s identity, Kim goes to the hospital and seems not surprised when Valerie refuses to see her. Kim explains to Bob that Valerie is her sister-in-law but to tell him why Valerie won’t see her would mean violating a confidence of her own late husband, Jason. Valerie later runs into Kim at the hospital, but says only that nothing has changed since Jason’s funeral. Valerie has told only Dan and Bob that she’s in town to settle the Conway farm, which she received in her divorce agreement.

Susan is surprised to find that her former patient Kevin Thompson knew Valerie before her visit here. John is delighted to hear that Dan is dating Valerie,but Susan reminds him that his problem with Kim isn’t Dan. Kim’s divorce is final, and she is busy planning her future when John shows up, accusing her of spoiling his life. She manages to get him out, but later learns that he has been drinking at the hospital and has been gone for long periods of time with no excuse.

Hearing these same rumors from Susan, Dan asks Kim about them. She explains that her reconciliation failed, and since then John seems to be taking his frustration out in alcohol. Nurse Holland tries to cover for John, but he finally shows up drunk for a medical meeting. When confronted, John angrily accuses everyone of trying to frame him, to steal his wife and his position, everything. John finally has to be restrained.

Susan, meanwhile, has confided to Kevin that she stole the tapes and ruined things between Dan and Kim. She is now terrified that John, in a drunken |rampage, will spill it all. Kevin tells her what she already knows-she has to tell Dan herself. Learning of John’s breakdown at the hospital, Susan refuses to see him. Dr. Strassfield presses Kim to see John despite her protests that it’s painful for her. But when she does, he asks her to leave.

Grant goes home to speak to Lisa and, finding Dick there, asks him to leave so he and Lisa can talk privately. Lisa angrily tells Grant that Dick is her guest, and Grant coldly tells her he’s getting out of her life right now. He walks out, and Lisa, furious at herself for handling it so badly, tells Dick to get out too. Dick seeks Grant out and apologizes for being in the middle. Grant accepts Dick’s words but drinks too much and forgets that he and Lisa are still separated. He staggers home and undresses and climbs into bed. Lisa returns shortly after and makes a bed for herself on the couch. Grant wakes up in the morning and finds her there asleep. He kisses her, and she wakes up responding to him. They quickly decide they have been silly and stupid and love each other very much. Grant insists they'll go away for a secluded reconciliation. Their friends and family are delighted at the news, but Joyce is badly upset by it.

Valerie checks out the Conway property and decides it has possibilities. She is aware that Jay Stallings shows eager interest in her holdings; he informs her he has a land development company and can help her with advice. Valerie is dating both Bob and Dan and is not a little amused by the rivalry she’s encouraging. Valerie begins to explain her coldness toward Kim. She contends that Kim found Valerie’s choice of men unsuitable and, unable to break them up herself, convinced Jason to pay the man off. He accepted the money and left town and died shortly after. Kim refuses to comment at all, as she had promised Jason she never would. Valerie makes less than a good impression on Dan’s children when she arranges a picnic, apparently ‘ignorant of children’s tastes in food. But she tries to overcome her initial poor impression, noting that Betsy in particular makes her disapproval of Dan’s interest in Valerie very apparent. Valerie arranges for Grant to represent her in her countercase against the air- plane rental firm when she sues for her medical bills.

When Jay gets an uncompleted call from Kilborne, he tells Tom he’s sure it was Natalie, and he is upset, as he has an imperative meeting on the West Coast and if Natalie tries again she will reach Carol. Tom encourages him to keep the meeting, and he himself goes to Kilborne. He locates Natalie in an out-of-town - motel, and she claims she didn’t make the calls. Tom assures her Jay is really out of town—he’s not just having his secretary say that to get rid of her—and tells her she’s risking Carol’s finding out. Natalie retorts that that’s why their marriage is over—he’s still thinking of Carol first.

All of Oakdale is shocked when Nancy and Chris get a call from the family farm informing them that Grandpa Hughes died in his sleep. The services are  held in Oakdale, and the entire town turns out to pay its last respects to one of its best-loved and most-respected citizens. 

***  I wonder what excuses were given for Don and Penny not attending Grandpa's funeral?

I wonder if Rosemary Prinz was asked? Surely she would have returned for one or two episodes to honor Santos. Viewers would have loved to see Penny again.

Judith Chapman made a movie  around that time Scalpel aka False Face which has become something of a cult item. I guess when Natalie was out of town Judith was making that movie.

3 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

***  I wonder what excuses were given for Don and Penny not attending Grandpa's funeral?

Penny sent a cable but there was no excuse for her not being there given. I guess maybe because she was in England that it was too far for her or something. 

Donald, who was living in California at the time, tried to make it but was the victim of that old "plane grounded by fog" soap trope. 

Thanks again @Paul Raven

Reading the summary I was briefly worried we were going to get one of those is-it-rape scenarios with Lisa and Grant. Thankfully not. The reconciliation seems like some of the more lighthearted material I've heard of with Lisa and Grant. I can see why he was likely her favorite partner with viewers (I can never remember if it was his choice to leave the show or not).

I love watching Judith McConnell and I think she could have been a natural fit for this "goddesses" era of the show. Still, I have wondered and still wonder about bringing her in at a time when the show already had so many women in her age range. It's clear with her resentment toward Kim and dating Dan and Bob, all central figures, that she was also a central figure early on, but when you are a new character, no matter how central you may be, I don't think it's a great idea to rely so heavily on unseen backstory to drive you. She already knew Kim, she already knew Kevin...what about time on new people she didn't know?

I wish I could see John's outburst scene. 

Edited June 24Jun 24 by DRW50

On 6/19/2025 at 9:08 PM, Soapsuds said:

Marcy Breen #2

 

This will be on in a little over an hour.

I'm up to late June 2001. Damian has convinced Holden and Luke are dead, meanwhile, he's kidnapped them to Malta. At their memorial service, returnees include, Iva, Seth, Caleb, and Cal. I don't buy the line that Goutman/Scheffer didn't care about history. I remember that Duncan comes back when Bonnie gets the worst case of SORAS since Tom Hughes in the '60s.

It seems clear that the reason older vets weren't brought back in later years only had to do with the budget, or lack thereof. We've seen so many Alan Locher episodes with the producers and writers of various soaps who all talk about how they were doing the best they could with half the budget they used to have. Too bad the soap opera community can't put blame where blame is due: Proctor and Gamble. They wanted out of the soap opera business and gave less and less money to their remaining soaps in order to help them tank.

38 minutes ago, adrnyc said:

Too bad the soap opera community can't put blame where blame is due: Proctor and Gamble. 

I think P&G has had plenty of deserved blame from fans. And I do blame them for some of the lack of interest in vets returning, although I do wonder if Rosemary Prinz or Pat Bruder were asked.

Edited June 27Jun 27 by DRW50

1 hour ago, adrnyc said:

Proctor and Gamble. They wanted out of the soap opera business

Procter and Gamble NEVER wanted out of the soap opera business.  It was the networks (particularly NBC and CBS) that wanted to stop doing business with Procter and Gamble Productions.  P&G Productions didn't always play along with network expectations, but it was always the networks that cancelled the shows, and always the networks that tightened the budgets.  P&G would still have nine soap operas on television, if they were in control.  And that's the truth!  Reporting live from Cincinnati....

Edited June 27Jun 27 by Tisy-Lish

On 6/23/2025 at 11:40 AM, Reverend Ruthledge said:

Penny sent a cable but there was no excuse for her not being there given. I guess maybe because she was in England that it was too far for her or something. 

Donald, who was living in California at the time, tried to make it but was the victim of that old "plane grounded by fog" soap trope. 

Hadn't Grandpa Hughes married Mrs Kilpeckni (or some-such name) around the time he moved back to the family farm?  So did Grandpa's new wife appear at the funeral?  Was there any mention of her in the that episode's script??