2 hours ago, Soaplovers said:

It was during the writer's strike so listing the 'scab' would have been a kiss of death for their career. I'm not sure if any script writers on ATWT were working as scabs during the strike or not.

One of Marland's many trademarks was his love of writing gothic stories. The one's he wrote for GL were pretty good (seamlessly picking up where the Dobson's left off and creating his own), but I didn't think he successfully infused ATWT with that gothic sensibility. The closest he came was the Doug Cummings mystery and Lilith, but one was more of a mystery while the other bordered on camp.

Was it because ATWT didn't seem to lend itself to gothic storytelling like other soaps of the era like AMC or GL?

I didn't think of it being the scabs writing---that makes sense.

I just don't think gothic fit on ATWT. I think part of the reason was it's long standing sensibility and stability. Marland grafted Duncan/Shannon/and the McKechnie castle into Oakdale, but it was kind of contained to "the island". Even though other characters were woven into the plots, it always seemed isolated. And then the castle was converted into the Earl Mitchell Center

On GL, you've got an ever changing run of regimes and cast purges. Marland only wrote about a year and a half of Quint/Nola, and I daresay the more gothic elements probably would've disappeared once he resolved the Quint/Silas story. Long's southern gothic vibe stayed around as long as she had Reva.

4 hours ago, kalbir said:

Tad Channing was 1986 I believe. There were episodes of that storyline online in the early days of YT, but I think they are long gone.

Yes, it was indeed 1986, a year that was pretty stacked with storylines, coming off the Doug Cummings storyline. 1986-87 were jam-packed, with storylines being layered, overlapping one another (1986 was also the year that James Stenbeck returned from the "dead"). I miss that type of storytelling in daytime, although I'm not generally a fan of back from the dead storylines, that one in particular was novel at the time.

Edited May 11May 11 by DramatistDreamer

4 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

1986, a year that was pretty stacked with storylines

1986 and 1987 were the best years.

Nov 1978 Lynda Hirsch

“As the World Turns” might as well be renamed “As the Cast Changes,” as several cast members and characters have recently left the venerable CBS soap.

Ed Kemmer, who has played lawyer Dick Martin on and off for the last 10 years, is off again.

William Johnston, who once portrayed the Shadow on the famous radio series, departed with his character, Judge Lowell, not too long ago. In the storyline the Judge has decided to look over some New England property he owns; the business trip will be a permanent one.

In recent weeks, the evil charmer Nick Conway played by Doug Travis, dropped out suddenly when his plan to murder his wife backfired and he met his own deadly but Just reward.

Then, Michael Nader, playing Kevin Jameson the past few years, was replaced by Max Brown While Michael will miss the show, he has a lucrative modeling career to fall back on. Max Brown had once filled in for Mike when he was ailing. This new assignment on “As the World Turns” is Max’s first major serial role, but viewers will recognize him from dozens of national commercials.

Also, Dorothy Blackburn, who had been brought in to substitute for the ailing Ethel Remey, has left the program.

There are even more departures. After longstanding’ tenure as head writers of “As the WorlTurns," Ethel Sommer and Robert Soderberg have been replaced The husband and-wife team were let go by the producers for what is termed “irreconcilable differences.” Insiders claim those differences arose when producers demanded a more youthful look for the show, with contemporary storylines to match. Eugenie Hunt and Ralph Ellis, who have - helped with the show’s scripting chores for quite some time, take over as head writers beginning Monday. As for the Soderbergs, don’t be surprised if they turn up on another soap. You can expect even more changes for “As the World Turns" in the coming months

Kemmer, Travis were no great loss.

If Johnstone wanted to retire, Judge Lowell should have been given a proper send off.

And maybe Alma should have been killed off. That would have given Lisa a poignant story and be a nice tribute to that character.

In 79, Susan and Sandy and Dan were dropped. The show needed a housecleaning, but the new characters like Doug and Marcia were not the answer.

Edited May 12May 12 by Paul Raven

New York Post Monday August 20 1962

Soap Opera Star Must Go-A Death in the Afternoon by Bob Williams

There was no joy in Sudsville today. The sad news was out. TV matinee idol Mark Rydell, darling of the housewife for six years as the long-suffering Jeff Baker in the top-rated CBS soap opera, "As the World Turns, was not long for that long. He "dies" in an auto crash. Rydell could not repress sense of "shock," although he conceded that Jeff Baker had already lived a cat's quota of lives in his brief, unhappy span.

The mourning had already started. Jeff Baker's No. 1 fan—Rydell's mother was first to hear the news. "When I told her," said Rydell, "she actually broke into tears." Word of Baker's impending demise leaked out at a CBS party Saturday night for Jackie Gleason. Network sources said producers of the soap opera had been "uneasy" over Rydell's refusal to sign a long-term contract. Rydell confirmed the details. "They've been trying to get me to sign a contract for years," he said. "I've always had a verbal commitment. I've become Increasingly interested in directing, rather than acting. "I've been up to my ears in directing at Actors Studio. I've had to turn down a great deal of stage work and Hollywood offers. Frankly I feel emancipated."

Neither producer Allen Potter nor associate producer Lyle B. Hill could be reached for comment. Rydell said he was given a hint recently that there was an automobile accident in store for Jeff Baker. Then last week he got an advance script with the grim details . . ." The death certificate, as it were." Red-haired Rosemary Prinz, who plays Jeff Baker's wife, Penny, said she was stunned by the prospect of widowhood. "I'm sure I will somehow carry on bravely, however," she added. "I'm also in the accident. The makeup lady told me Friday she'd have some 'scars' ready' for me.*'

The love story of Jeff and Penny, very good for soap sales, has hardly served as a testimonial to matrimony. Their first marriage, a tonnage thing, was annulled. They later remarried with parental approval. Jeff suffered and vanquished the curse of alcoholism, beat a murder charge and later deserted Penny. She almost divorced him once. They were about to adopt a baby when their world took the violent new turn. "We'd been through practically everything possible," said Rydell. Jeff and Penny were actually about to be happy." "Happy families," Miss Prinz observed, "unfortunately do not sell soap."

*So Rydell was never on contract? That's surprising.

Variety review

AS THE WORLD TURNS With Helen Wagner, Don Mac- Laughlin, Hal Studer, Rosemary Prinz, Ruth Warrick, Anne Burr, Les Damon, Bill Johnstone, Joyce Van Patten, others; —Producer: Charles Fisher Directors: Ted Corday, Bill Howell

Writers: Irna Phillips, Agnes Nixon 30 Mins., Mon.-thru-Fri., 1:30 p.m. PROCTER & GAMBLE 'CBS-TV, from N. Y. (Benton & Bowles)

If anybody got the idea that Procter & Gamble was pioneering something by sponsoring the first half-hour soap opera, they were greatly misinformed or mistaken. There was an advantage of doing the first of the 30-minute soapers, but it may not prove to be of enduring importance. Weighed against it, the disadvantage is emphatic in nature. As the first of its kind to reach beyond a quarter-hour, “As the World Turns” has the potential, if only because of its size. of overwhelming the viewers and temporarily capturing their favor to a larger degree than its antecedents. But from the point of program content, 30 minutes simply require the writers to fill the usual amount of time with twice the usual amount of pap, as was so painfully evident in the preem (2) telecast.

If P&G were interested in innovations, it might have started by hiring a. staff of writers which hadn't remotely been connected with the old way of soap opera, a way much exposed over the years to the worst of critical barbs. Veteran scribe Irna Phillips and Agnes Nixon,the team responsible for the storyline, seemed to confuse quantity with quality. Depending on how they're counted, the pair contrived six or seven plots and they all came out in the all-expository first program. Evidently, Misses Phillips and Nixon didn't want to get caught short as the problem of creating situations got tougher with time.

Not all of the cast members were introduced in the initial undertaking on Monday, but the viewer met {Chris and Nancy Hughes, their three kids and a friend’s daughter, and it was through them that the future of the show was unravelled. The plots: (1) Penny Hughes, about 15 or 16, hates her mother Nancy; (2) Penny wants to go away for a week during spring vacation with friend’s daughter (her name sounded like Ellen Lowell), screener doesn’t learn why; (3) there is a grandfather, off on a farm someplace, for whom the Hugheses want to find a city home: (4) there is some planning to be done for the Hughes’ wedding anniversary; (5) 18-year-old Don Hughes is in love with a yet to be seen 20-year old girl name of Janice, and (6) the Hughes’ friends Jim and Claire Lowell have been separated for a couple of years, while (7) daughter Ellen is terribly melancholy about the rift. These were all given equal importance in the script.

There wasn't much directors Bill Howell and Ted Corday had to do, it appeared; the actors had to walk through their scenes by rote. Since none of the roles were demanding, it would be hard to judge the competency of the actors. Helen Wagner and Don MacLaughlin appeared as Mrs. Hughes and her lawyer hubby; Rosemary Prinz as their problem-daughter, Penny, Hal Studer as their 18-year old son, Don, and there were a | couple of others seen; the remainder of the dramatis personnae ,including Ruth Warrick, as Mr. Hughes’ sister, to appear at a later date.