As The World Turns Discussion Thread

[Paul Raven]

Thanks for posting, particularly the 60's and 70's shots.

Sadly,in the early 70's Marco St John's wife was murdered in their apartment while he was performing in a play.

[TVFAN1144]

Love these pictures. Who is the couple in the second photo on the TV prevue cover?   First I thought Dusty and Lily but don’t think so

[victoria foxton]

That was Frannie Hughes and Kirk McColl.

[Paul Raven]

April 1979 Jon Michael Reed

NEW YORK -Sad news. Ethel Remey portrayed Alma Miller, troublesome Lisa's mother, on "As the World Turns" from 1961 untll last fall when she was temporarily replaced after suffering a stroke. The replacement actress was soon sent on a world cruise. But the show will pay tribute to Ethel, who died in late February, by having a memorial service for "Alma," who apparently died while away.

Did that ever happen?

[soapfan770]

 

Not sure, but oddly the same year the show acknowledged Judge Lowell’s death.

 

I was just reading ATWT recaps from July-October 1977 about Chuckie Shea’s death and how Lisa become suddenly obsessed with Bob again but the story gets dropped by year’s end. I had read somewhere that Fulton asked to get Chuckie killed off so Lisa could be ageless but was that true? 

[j swift]

IIRC, that is origin of the urban myth about Ms. Fulton's "anti-grandma clause."  There was a press story at the time that Eileen did not want Lisa to appear to be old, so she had written into her contract that she could never be a grandmother.  However, when she returned to the role after her hiatus in the late 80s, that whole issue was cleared up as just a rumor.  Audiences worried that Margo would never have a healthy pregnancy due to Eileen's contract, but Eileen herself assured that it was just a rumor, and she had no influence over Margo or Tom's fertility.  

Much like the myth that Susan Lucci's mother was Phyllis Diller, the question about Ms. Fulton's grandma clause was written into SOD at least once a year, and they responded that it was a myth every time.  Now, it may have either been true in the past, or it may have been a PR stunt on behalf of Ms Fulton (apparently the rumor comes from a joke that was in Eileen's cabaret act about Chuckie's death), but it was no longer true once she returned to the show.

Edited February 22, 2023 by j swift

[Mitch64]

I don't think so...I know that when Fulton was doing a play in 85 they wrote her off to go visit her mother..and Tom clearly is asking how "Grandma" was doing and it wasn't Nancy. Weird that they just had her Mom just disappear. Did they have Judge Lowell die? 

[Vee]

On the other hand:

 

[slick jones]

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   Yet again....

[j swift]

The way I interpret that clip is that she's confirming my recollection.  By the time she returned there was no "grandma clause."

[Vee]

I was under the impression you were saying the grandma clause was entirely an urban myth and rumor. That's not true; Eileen is on video saying she had it written in after watching what happened to Barbara Berjer (among others, like Patricia Bruder's Ellen, etc. - the insanely accelerated life cycle of Irna Phillips soap heroines and their rapidly-aged children in particular is a whole other topic unto itself). By the time she returned in the '80s it was gone from her new contract, yes, but it did exist for some time and it did ensure she did not become a grandmother or matron like those other vital women over 25-30.

Edited February 22, 2023 by Vee

[j swift]

Agreed, my recollection was based on SOD Q&A section from the 90s when people would ask if the clause was still in place.

Along the same lines, I was trying to recall if anyone has ever verified the story about a woman throwing fruit at Eileen Fulton at the supermarket.  I think she told it on Donahue, and in a few interviews, but it never rang true to me, more like a tall tale based on what people may have said to her on the streets of NYC, rather than an actual event.

Edited February 22, 2023 by j swift

[Darn]

Do you have some sort of vendetta against the truth?

[Vee]

We've all been wrong before! Let's let it alone.

[slick jones]

He has an allergy to truth.