As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Bright Eyes]

When Amy's adopted daughter came to live with Chris and Nancy in the 70's, roughly how old was she?

IMDB also lists some actress named Claire Doyle as having played her in the late 70's/early 80's. I know the site's history with having incorrect information, but if Amy did indeed return after her initial stint, what, if anything, did she do?

Edited May 29, 2011 by Amello

[DRW50]

I have an interview with one of the Amy's from the early 70's - when I have time I'll put it up.

[jam6242]

I believe the Amy Hughes from the late 70s/early 80s was the little girl that Natalie Bannon Hughes had by Jay Stalling, not Penny's adopted daughter. That Amy was probably played by Claire Doyle. Carol Stallings adopted Amy when she was married to Jay (or maybe after Jay was killed). Penny's daughter Amy was Asian.

Edited May 30, 2011 by jam6242

[All My Shadows]

Loved that 1972 episode. It had been posted on WoST years ago, and the opening had been on YouTube for a while, but I knew sooner or later we'd get to see the whole thing there.

The long pauses, the tight close ups, the agony, the pain, the drama! That's the epitome of 70s soap to me, and I need more!! The only shame is that we'll probably never see these episodes in their full color glory.

[saynotoursoap]

Yes, he is Liz Talbot's brother, but the actor is Curt Dawson, not Peter Stuart.

Re: pretaping flashbacks. They did. The writers did have a general idea of key scenes that might need to be preserved. Those were indicated in scripts, taped, and archived for future use. If the scene was not preserved, the actors sometimes re-enacted the scenes.

Taping was not as uncommon as you might think on the live shows. Any scenes involving stunts were almost always taped on ATWT and Edge. Children under a certain age (under 3, I believe) were prohibited by law from appearing in live broadcasts, thus scenes with infants had to be taped. When an episode was pre-empted unexpectedly, ATWT (and Edge) had to tape an episode on the day of the preemption and continue taping for the next nine episodes until cast calls were used up. During the Watergate hearings in 1973, ATWT basically taped every single day for the whole summer to accomodate news coverage.

[DRW50]

It's great to see you posting her again. Thanks for letting us know more about the taping schedules. Wow that must have been a real headache having to tape so much in mid-1973, since the show was going through a lot of upheaval at the time.

Were you watching when this episode initially aired?

I was also going to ask about something I read from Marie Masters. She said that when John Colenback wanted out to do a play, they brought the entire family in and fired them. She said it seemed funny now but at the time she wasn't thrilled. This was, what, 1973 or 1974? Then she said she returned when they recast Dan. Did they also fire Ellen and David at this time or did she just mean they wrote out Dan, Susan, Emily, and Betsy?

[All My Shadows]

The thought of the possibility of those '73 episodes hanging out somewhere gets me excited. Some day!

I think I reading something about how when the big Stewart write-out was done, Dan took the girls out of Oakdale (to London, I think), and Susan, realizing that she was completely and utterly alone, decided to leave too. There was a supposedly very spectacular scene of Susan, alone in her living room, completely surrounded by the silence and loneliness.

[saynotoursoap]

These episodes are from September and December of 1972. Paul died immediately after Thanksgiving 1972, and Dan was shot by Joe Fernandez about the first week of December. Dan broke his arm in the fall after being shot. At this time, he was divorced from Susan, who married Bruce Baxter. Susan had agreed to give Dan temporary custody of Emily to Dan while she and Bruce settled into married life. Susan wanted to take Emily during Dan's recuperation, but Bruce subtly dissuaded her.

In January 1973, Dan was still recuperating from his broken arm and did not know whether or not he would ever be able to perform surgery again. David and Ellen convinced Liz that Dan loved her, and the best thing for his recovery would be for her to finally admit that she loved him, too. She did, and she and Dan quickly married. Meanwhile, Susan was convinced that Peggy Regan would be Dan's next wife. Peggy was Dan's housekeeper and watched over Emily. Susan decided to get pregnant by Bruce, thinking that once he knew that he would be a father, he would soften toward Emily and take her into their home. However, when Susan learned that Liz and Dan had married, Susan went wild. She went to Dan's house one day when Dan and Peggy were gone. Her pretext was to visit Emily, but she really wanted to have it out with Liz. Susan goaded Liz into an argument. While they were fighting, Emily wandered onto the second story landing. Liz realized that Susan had left the baby gate open at the top of the stairs. Fearing that Emily would fall, Liz ran up the stairs to close the gate. She tripped and fell, with the edge of the stair jammed into her side. She ruptured her spleen and was rushed to Memorial where Dan was to undergo surgery on his broken arm.

Susan's father happened to be the doctor on duty. He delayed Liz's surgery to calm down Susan, who hysterically realized she was to blame for Liz's accident. Dan was able to see Liz before she went into the operating room, and she told him that Susan had left the baby gate open, and that he was also the father of Betsy, not his late brother Paul. Dr. Burke tried to save Liz, but she hemmorhaged and died.

In February, Susan found that despite her attempts to become pregnant, she was not conceiving. She wanted Bruce to see a urologist, but he refused. Suspicious, Susan lied to him that her pregnancy had finally been confirmed. Bruce went into a rage and accused her of adultery. He could not be the child's father because he had a vasectomy years before while married to his first wife. He did not want children at all. Susan was furious and decided to have their marriage annulled immediately. Dan had gone into a severe depression having lost Liz and his surgical career. Then Ronnie Talbot wanted to take Betsy to live with Liz's family in England. Dan knew what others did not -that he was actually Betsy's father. Dan began drinking heavily and one night accidentally overdosed on sleeping pills and alcohol. This was around the end of February.

David found Dan and pumped his stomach. Ronnie had uncovered Liz's diary, which detailed her love for Dan, not Paul, as well as Betsy's parentage. Ronnie convinced Dan to get his life together for the sake of Betsy and Emily. Meanwhile, Susan turned her attention to getting Dan back. She reasoned that it would be easy to start over with him because of his weakened physical and emotional state. But Dan now felt nothing but hatred for her. He blamed Susan for Liz's accident and felt Dr. Burke's delay of Liz's surgery may have cost Liz her life. He did not want to wait around as he knew Susan would want Emily back since the temporary custody agreement was coming to an end. In March, Dan took Emily and Betsy and secretly flew back to England with Ronnie. The same night, Susan had vowed to make her move on Dan. She arrived at his house to reclaim her family, but when she let herself in, everyone was gone. She walked through the deserted home calling for Dan and Emily, but it was quiet as a tomb. The house had been closed and all the furniture covered with sheets. Susan stopped and looked desperately around the room which was now seemingly haunted. She said sadly, regrettably, "But who told them I was coming?" The camera pulled back as she stood there a sad figure, now alone and defeated,and the picture faded very, very slowly to black.

[DRW50]

Thanks again for telling us all of this. So Ellen and David weren't written out at this time?

This sounds like such heavy stuff - Dan really went through pure hell for months and months. I wonder if viewers felt cheated at not seeing more of a resolution.

I never knew of this Peggy. I wonder what happened to her, and to Susan's father.

[saynotoursoap]

Carl, I was watching at this time. In the 60's and 70's it seemed that everyone watched World Turns. My grandparents watched it. My mom and my dad watched it. At that time, I personally did not care for the P&G soaps in general. I loved Days of our Lives and Another World on NBC and OLTL and AMC on ABC. I began to appreciate World Turns in the summer of 1972. I was absolutely fascinated by Marie Masters and the quadrangle with her, Dan, Paul, and Liz. The pace was glacial, and the production somewhat hoary, but it was done in a way that was hypnotic. Marie was incredible. Her performances just blew me away, and I could not wait to see what she did next. Eileen Fulton's Lisa received all of the press and glory, but I thought Susan had so much more depth.

No, Ellen and David were not written out, but basically everyone else was. I believe I must have been on spring break, because I was at home and watching the unforgettable scene where Dan outwitted Susan, and her comeuppance was being left alone in that empty house. If I remember correctly, I believe most of the actors made their final appearances on that day or later that week. By the first week of April, Susan, Dan, Bruce, Emily, Betsy, Peggy Regan, and Ronnie Talbot were all gone. With Susan gone, her parents no longer made appearances either until Susan eventually returned to Oakdale.

[DRW50]

I wish I could see Susan's parents. So they were around again when Susan returned? When she returned in the late 80's they were never mentioned.

I love hearing your praise for Marie Masters. I'm glad she stayed to the final episode but I agree she never gained enough recognition. I think she is a wonderful actress, in that she can convey vulnerability underneath toughness and she has such a wry sense of humor.

She really isn't the typical Doug Marland actress, yet in the late 80's episodes you can see how he initially brought her in just for the anniversary, and clearly something in her work, even though Susan was just back as the acidic deadbeat mother, made him bring her in permanently. In 1987 and 1988 it's fascinating to see Susan go from this brittle outsider, commenting on the haves of Oakdale, to slowly befriending Bob, falling in love with John even though he would never really want her beyond convenience, the love affair with Bob, which was never written as Bob somehow being seduced by her, then finally her relationship with Larry, where she finally got to have her own identity and own relationship for the first time ever.

You usually just hear some of the bad of ATWT in the early 70's but it sounds like there was also a lot of good. I wish some of these characters from the early 70's, like Liz or Paul, had stayed a bit longer.

What did you think of Paul? I saw an interview with the last actor from when he was still on ATWT, and he had this awful, awful toupee. I will have to scan it to show how bad it was. After he was fired and killed off, he did another magazine interview (I posted that a while back) and he finally showed his natural hair.

[saynotoursoap]

Amy was a teenager in 1973. She had a flirtation/romance with hottie Peter Burton. I would estimate that she was supposed to be in the 15-17 age range, though she seemed much younger than late 20's in 1986 when she was resurrected during the Frannie/Sabrina story.

[DRW50]

Whatever pays the bills, Tom. It's nice to see him again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhJ8QUFUfW0

[Paul Raven]

Again thanks to Saynotyoursoap for these detailed posts. I wish there was more information on 1973 and 74 available.

This is a summary of Jan 79 from SOD

Joyce is cheating on Don with another lover,Peter. She arranges to meet him at a country inn.They are spotted by a furious Ralph,who tells her he should never agreed to Mary's request to keep quiet.When Don returns from his business trip,Ralph plans to expose Joyce. Joyce decides the only way to deal with Ralph is to get rid of him once and for all.She tells Don she wants a gun for protection,as ever since the robbery,she has felt unsafe.Don agrees to her request.

Jane is being blackmailed by both John and Melinda over the fact that Beau is unaware he is adopted.John wants money and power and Melinda wants Beau.Pregnant with Beau's child,Melinda wants Jane to break up Beau and Annie's marriage. Jane is doing their bidding by arranging for John to meet important people, and by sowing seeds of discontent with Beau and Annie.She tells Beau Annie doesn't want a child and that her career is more important than her marriage.

Sending Jay away on a business trip,Hank makes a move on Carol.Fending of his drunken advances,Carol smashes a bottle over Hank's head. Mary and Laurie insist Carol contact the police but she refuses,wanting to forget the whole thing. She doesn't tell Jay for fear he will lose his job.Carol explains her bruises away as an accident at home.

Alex sees Val's interest in young Kate as a sign she may be ready to get back into life. Kate has had a sad upbringing and now will not speak as a reaction to the accident that killed her foster parents. Alex thinks bringing Val and Kate together may be good therapy for both of them.

Alex goes to the farm and explains that Valerie is the only one Kate has responded to and vice versa, Val agrees to return to her nurses aide position. Alex is pleased to see Val returning to the woman she was.

Tina,wanting Grant for herself,tries to break up Grant and Lisa.Pretending to be Lisa's friend,she hints that Lisa's insecurities regarding Grant and Valerie may be justified.Lisa is gratetful to Tina,but wishes she could overcome her agoraphobia and leave the Colman home. Little does she know that Tina is faking this condition as a means of staying close to Grant.

Carol is again threatened by Hank whilst working late at the bookstore.Laurie comes to her rescue and this time Carol agrees to seek police help.Jay arrives and upon discovering what has been happening,heads to the construction site and beats up Hank. Hank presses charges against Jay and claims that he had consensual sex with Carol.He states that at the time of the second alleged attack,he was with his associate Jack,who will testify as much.

Grant tells Jay and Carol that things don't look good for them.

Annie,who is not enjoying commtitee work,is pleased to hear from Susan about a job in the lab.Beau shouldn't mind as it is a 9 to 5 position.Beau is not receptive and says the job will probably demand more than Annie realizes. Annie is surprised by her husband's stance,unaware that he sought advice from Jane, who reluctantly encouraged him to make objections, saying if he gives into Annie on this,she will continue to make demands.

Annie refuses the job but is resentful and wonders if Beau is the man she thought he was.

Doug has made an enemy of John by calling a halt to all research projects, thus preventing John from making a name for himself with the rich and powerful. John goes to Jane and request she speak to Doug's boss, and her good friend, Dr Endicott and request that John's project go ahead.John is sure that Jane's financial contributions to the hospital will result in things going his way. Jane has no choice but to agree.

[DRW50]

I guess they wanted to move Joyce into other stories, so just gave part of her story to this Tina? This is one of the few soap stories to ever address agoraphobia, although as with others it doesn't sound like it was ever really studied.

I think Doug was gone not long after this, as he was interviewed in a December 1978 SOD and they said as they went to press that he'd been fired. Who was he involved with again?

Valerie being passed among the various men of Oakdale, again. At least the show did not do what soaps now would do and have her sleep with them.

I'm still confused about Ralph returning in 1991 or 1992. I wonder if they just wanted Keith Charles and then realized he'd already been on ATWT. Did he have any story threads that carried through in his return?