Look into the past: December 1972

[FrenchFan]

DECEMBER 1972

ALL MY CHILDREN

Written by: Agnes Nixon

Produced by: Bud Kloss

Nick refused to marry Kitty, pregnant with his child, because he was still in love with Ann. Kitty tried to get Mona to intercede but after learning all the facts behind Nick and Ann’s divorce, Mona agreed with Nick. Kitty threatened to embarrass Nick with her pregnancy if he continued to refuse.

Ann’s mental state was evident to Paul and Joe and Ruth were concerned with her. Her emotion strain culminated when she fled from home in fear of medical check-up by Joe and was found by Nick wandering in the streets. Paul was furious that Nick found Ann as he suspected his involvement in Ann’s condition. Ann refused suggestion that she see a psychiatrist and Nick persuaded Ann to meet him once more: they made love. He wanted to tell Paul but she wouldn’t allow it. Paul discovered that Nick had visited Ann at home and confronted her. She finally told Paul her divorce from Nick was a mistake due to Nick’s mistaken idea that he could never give her a child and Paul walked out.

Erica’s love affair with Jason was very important to her and she was possessive depite his affirmation that he didn’t want ties. Her roomate Margo tried to convince her Jason wasn’t the marrying kind but Erica wouldn’t believe it. Erica didn’t know that Margo’s daughter was Jason’s child. In Pine Valley for Tara’s baby shower, Erica saw her husband Jeff and they discussed divorce. Erica refused to waste career time in Reno so they would have tome to file for divorce in home state. She surmised correctly that Jeff’s rush is due to his involvement with Mary. Mary and Jeff were deeply concerned about their young patient, Tad, abandonned by his parents and in need of surgery. He feared his younger sister had been abandoned somewhere too.

Tara’s labor was long and difficult and she finally had a baby boy. In gratitude, Chuck agreed in naming the baby Phillip instead of Charles Tyler IV. Ruth was convinced the baby was not Charles’ but Phillip’s, but she said nothing. An army buddy of Phil’s visited Ruth and returned a book Phillip left behind in Vietnam. In it, Ruth found a letter starting with “My darling wife…”

ANOTHER WORLD

Written by: Harding Lemay

Produced by: Paul Rauch

Using the name Alice Talbot, Alice found a governess position in New York, caring for young Dennis Carrington who had a serious heart ailment. He was the son of prominent journalist correspondent, Elliot Carrington. Mrs. Goddard, the housekeeper, resented the friendship between Alice and her employer and Alice’s secrecy about her past. Alice finally called her parents and told them she was well but was trying to forget Steve forever.

Ted wanted to take the Chicago restaurant job if it was offered to him and sell the Fireside Inn. Steve warned him he would not allow Jamie to leave Bay City. Rachel still hoped that Steve would turn to her and with Jamie, she spent considerable time with Steve to Ted’s chagrin. She realized however that Steve was far from forgetting Alice.

Lenore, realizing that it was Bernice who was having an affair with John, confronted her to no avail. Lenore then confronted John explaining how Bernice told Pat that she, Lenore, was having an affair with John in order to protect herself. Lenore then told John of Bernice’s past involvement with Walter and Wayne in an attempt to swindle Steve. John confronted Bernice and she admitted she was once married to Wayne but insisted she had changed. John left her in anger and disgust to ocnfess the truth to Pat. Realizing the whole story was about to come out, Bernice dumped her boyfriend Mark, telling she was just using him. Furious, Mark accepted a new job in Washington, D.C., in order to get away from John’s law office. Desperate to see Pat before John, Bernice arranged to meet her at the Randolph home. Pat sneaked out of the hospital and fell asleep while waiting for Bernice. Mary alerted to look for a missing Pat and found Bernice’s body on the Randolph patio. Lenore arrived and they called the police.

Before she learned the truth from John, Pat implicated Lenore in Bernice’s death. Police Lt. Gil McGowan assumed Lenore and John were having an affair until a returning Mark set him straight. Contrite Pat was grateful for Lenore’s friendship but McGowan was still suspicious of Lenore. Despire John’s pleads, Pat couldn’t bring herself to forgive John for his infidelity.

AS THE WORLD TURNS

Written by: David Lesan & Irna Phillips

Produced by: Fred Bartholomew

When surgery patient Maria died of an embolism, her brother policeman Joe Fernandez, in shock, shot Dan. Dan recovered but he broke his arm when he fell and surgeons could not be sure if Dan would regain the use of his arm. Dan decided not to prosecute Joe. Kim, recovering from the same operation, subtly made a play for Bob whenever Jennifer was not present.

Susan tried to convincer her new husband to let her bring Emily to their home during Dan’s hospitalization but he refused. Susan was convinced she could find a way to convince himand Don ordered Tom to make a full investigation of Bruce’s background in preparation for the permanent custody hearing. David told Dan of Paul’s death from brain tumor. Ellen and David agreed that Liz should be free to be with Dan and helped him through this traumatic period. Ellen pressed Liz to tell Dan the truth about Betsy. Paul had left his money to Betsy and Emily.

Tom and Carol argued about marriage roles. Tom felt Carol should not be involved in his career decisions while she was adamant that she was entitled to an opinion. Nancy and Chris were overjoyed to receive a Christmas cable from Penny explaining she had gone to Switzerland to think out the problems she and Anton were having.

Don aksed Lisa to marry him. She realized she didn’t love him but would like to be a full member of the Hughes family again. He gave her a ring but she refused to wear it yet. She was in love with Wally but he told her he couldn’t ask her to marry him. Unkown to Lisa, Wally carried the guilt of having placed his enfant son out for adoption when his wife died in childbirth twenty years ago. He had tried in vain to locate his son. Don also ordered an investigation on Wally. Carol and Tom tried to help their friend Peter Burton to locate his biological parents. They introduced him to Wally but Peter couldn’t relate to Wally’s beliefs and disliked him depite all of Wally’s efforts to reach him.

DAYS OF OUR LIVES

Written by: William J. Bell

Produced by: Betty Corday

Susan decided against giving her child out for adoption and brought her hom intending to tell Greg that his brother Eric was the rapist in the park and the father of her daughter. However, Eric’s new closeness with Greg made it impossible for her to tell him. Susan named the baby Ann after Greg’s mother. Eric became very ill and in Greg’s absence, Susan rushed him to the hospital where he developed double pneumonia and didn’t respond to the treatment. He told Susan he was sorry and begged to see the baby. He inssited his mother would read his manuscript if he died but Susan was planning to bring the baby however.

On Doug’s advice, Scott was beginning to treat Julie with a heavy hand. The suggestion of firmness appeared to be correct but Julie still hoped that someday Doug would return to her. Doug and Scott encouraged Julie and Addie to mend their relationship if only for David’s sake if not their own and they agreed to try. Julie realized how much she loved David and was grateful she didn’t leave. Scott gave her an expensive fur coat for Christmas and she calculatingly gave Addie and Doug the portrait of Doug she painted. She learned Addie gave Doug a new watch to replace the engraved one Julie had given him last year.

Mickey, seeing Mary’s obvious interest in Bill, tried to encourage this relationship but Bill was unaware of Mary’s infatuation. Julie warned Mary that Bill was in love with Laura but Mary still turned down the marriage proposal of her longtime steady Burt. Laura and Bill were satisfied that their being apart convinced Michael that Bill was no longer a threat to his parents’ marriage and he had reestablished his relationship with his Uncle Bill.

THE DOCTORS

Written by: Eileen & Robert Mason Pollock

Produced by: Allen Potter

When Cathy refused to give Nick a divorce, he told her he would file for an annullment based on fraud inasmuch as she knew her expected child was dead when she married him. She tried to commit suicide but he found her in time and rushed her to the hospital where she recovered in the psychiatric ward. John assigned himself to her case in order to learn whether she had spilled the information that he had been able to walk since long. Cathy was wrongly convinced that Steve killed her unborn child and decided to strike back at him through his daughter Stephanie. Cathy blackmailed John into convincing Matt to let her come back to work in the hospital. She began by checking to learn when Stephanie will be in the hospital for her checkup. John felt sure that Althea would not leave him because Nick wanted nothing to do with her but she had told Maggie she was still planning to leave John as soon as his recovery is complete because she didn’t love him.

Toni was still convinced that she would turn out to be a tramp. Mike and Maggie couldn’t convince her it was not true. Dr. Vito McCrea, fired by Nick, left for good. Emma, Carolee’s mother, planned to marry her boss Andrew Winters and after a South America honeymoon cruise, would move to Wyndham Falls to run a flower nursery.

Mona provoked continual disagreements with Carolee and implied to Steve that the fault lied in Carolee’s unreasonableness. Mona disapproved of Carolee whom she felt was beneath Steve socially and Mona felt Steve should be in private practice. Steve tried to mediate but Carolee realized she got the blame in the end. Mona suddenly moved to the Parkview Hotel so Carolee appeared at fault again. To compound this impression, Mona sent Carolee a new car for Christmas, making it seem again that any misunderstanding had to be on Carolee’s part.

During a hospital mobile unit trip, Hank saved Matt from a drug holdup byu a junkie, but Hank was shot in the shoulder. His subsequent almost total arm paralysis made him despondent as he felt his surgical career was over. Nick tried to bolster his spirits and planned exploratory neurosurgery.

THE EDGE OF NIGHT

Written by: Henry Slesar

Produced by: Erwin Nicholson

Kevin, depressed by his job seeking failures due to his prison record, attempted with his friend Paulie to rob Claybank, the Hillyer home. Elly Jo covered her brother’s involvement in the aborted scheme making it seem that Kevin scared off the burglar. Orin was very grateful to Kevin. Joe gave Kevin a cub reporter’s job on the Monticello News. Kevin and Phoebe found their relationship deepening and Phoebe was forgetting her married boyfriend in Europe, Ashley Reynolds. Suddenly, Ashley arrived in Monticello and begged Phoebe to see him. Kevin was furious when Phoebe broke her New Year’s Eve date with Kevin to see Ashley.

Orin surprised Elli Jo and Lennie, the chauffeur making love and suffered a heart attack. She convinced Orin his entrance saved her from being attacked by the drunken Lennie and she continued trying to convince Orin she loved him in order to marry him. She resented Angela’s concern for Orin and told her Orin was her property. She was upset to learn that Liz was planning to return to Claybank with Jim to care for her father during his convalescence. Meanwhile, Simon Jessup, a con artist posing as a physic resarcher, learned that Orin’s new will named Elli Jo third in line after Liz and her expected child as heir to the Hillyer fortune. He told Elli Jo about the will and infered that all her dreams could come true.

Jake Berman arranged for and accepted a law partnership in New York City and convinced Nicole to come and work for him there. He realized she would never give up on Adam and marry him if Adam was around as a reminder. She agreed Adam had made it clear he wouldn’t consider marriage. Vic, Mike and Nancy convinced Adam he had been wrong and he decided to go to Nicole. Arriving late in New York on New Year’s Eve, Adam located Nicole at midnight. He proposed to her right in the middle of Jake’s proposal. She was overwhelmed and estatic.

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Written by: Frank & Doris Hursley

Produced by: James Young

Tom took his son Tommy and disappeared. Under assumed name David Smith, he went to Mexico. A heartbroken Audrey turned to her work for solace, placing her affections in young heart patient, Tony. Cardiologist Dr. Stewart tried to console her. He told her his wife divorced him taking their child away from him. Steve became aware of Dr. Stewart’s interest in Audrey.

Teddy conned Jessie into loaning him $3.000 and he was palling on much more. He convinced her to plan a skiing vacation with him and her niece and nephew. Niece Carol disapproved of Jessie’s closeness to Teddy so Jessie asked him to pay attention to Carol. He was pleased that he could flirt with Carol with Jessie’s approval. Steve was worried about Teddy’s influence in Jessie’s family.

Diana was still refusing treatment for her Hodgekin’s Disease as she didn’t want Peter to know about it yet. Phil visited to bring Tracy a Christmas present. Telling Diana how hopeless his life was since he became impotent, he realized he was not and forced her to submit to him. Diana was terrified as she couldn’t bring herself to tell Peter what Phil did to her and was afraid she could become pregnant from this rape. Meanwhile, Phil’s personality had changed and everyone wondered why he was suddenly so friendly.

Meg, attempting to repress her jealousy of Mary, was trying at the same time to find a way to get Mary out of her family’s lives. She was overjoyed to learn Mary would be away at Christmas, visiting her sick father-in-law. Lee saw Mary before she left and reaffirmed his love for her. Meg was deeply upset to learn Scotty gave identical Christmas gifts to her and to Mary.

THE GUIDING LIGHT

Written by: Robert Soderberg & Edith Sommer

Produced by: Lucy Ferri Rittenberg

Ken, believing Holly’s story that Janet and Roger were having an affair, left Janet. Nobody could convince Holly she might have misunderstood what she thought she saw. Ed checked Holly’s story and told Holly he believed Janet was saying the truth. Holly became furious at him. She then tried to convince her mother to stop seeing Adam as he is Roger’s father. Barbara refused. Barbara asked Ken to see Janet once more to listen to her side of the story. He refused even after Deborah insisted Janet had told her about Roger’s unwanted advances long before the Holly episode.

John was physically better but he secretly postponed his return to work. He felt everyone including Peggy was patronizing him and he felt he wasn’t free to be himself. Claudia told Peggy that John had a bad influence on her grandson and threatened to get custody of Billy. Mike assured Peggy that Claudia had no legal grounds to do it.

Charlotte testified she was pregnant with Mike’s child. She admitted she had no medical proof of her pregnancy but insisted she knew she was. She painted Leslie as a homewrecker. Mike’s testimony denied any opportunity for Charlotte to have become pregnant by him and led the court to grant the divorce. The court warned that if Charlotte had a child however, he could be named the father legally. The ensuing scandal caused Leslie and Mike great pain with crank calls, etc. Dr. Jackson blamed Mike for the whole situation. He insisted they postponed the wedding for at least a month but Michael refused.

LOVE IS A MANY SPLENDORED THING

Written by: Ann Marcus

Produced by: Chuck Weiss

Mr. Travis was hospitalized for surgery and Betsy was assigned as the resident on his post-operative case. Shortly after she gave Travis his prescribed sedative, he was murdered by an injection of insulin. Joe was questioned by the police about the death of Travis’ wife seven years before, but a letter produced by Travis’ lawyer and written by Travis himself explaining the case against Joe was untrue and that he, Travis, killed his own wife. However, Betsy admitted her knowledge of Travis’ hold on Joe and that admission provided the police with a motive for her to have killed Travis. When police lab reports showed only Betsy’s fingerprints on the hypodermic needle, she was arrested and charged with first degree murder. Due to her good character and reputation, she was released on bail.

Joe told Tom about the blackmail tape he was forced to make and Mark and Iris corroborated its existence and validity. Tom explained that without the tape the story was unproven. Mark pleaded that the information on the tape (the story of his drunken rape of Iris and the admission that Maggie was his child, not Spence’s) wouldn’t help Betsy but would destroy Laura and Spence. Iris insisted that the tape should be used if it could possibly help Betsy. Joe, convinced that Travis’ henchman, Simon Ventnor, was the murdered, searched his apartment and found the tape. He gave it to Tom who questioned Ventor and promised to accuse him of the murder in court. Ventnor insisted Travis was more valuable to him alive than dead. Tom learned from nurse Rita that Joe and Iris were both seen on Travis’ floor on the night he was murdered, as was a woman who argued with Travis. It was Joe’s mother but Rita didn’t know that.

Spence was very concerned over Tom’s refusal of his offer to help with Betsy’s defense and he was upset over Iris’ agitation over the whole situation. He felt that Iris was drawing away from him.

LOVE OF LIFE

Written by: Esther & Richard Shapiro

Produced by: Bertram Berman

Even though they still loved each other, Kate and Dan couldn’t reconcile because of his feelings about her daughter Rebecca and finally decided on a leagal separation. Dan’s mother and Rick joined forces to drive them apart permanently. Mrs. Phillips encouraged Dan to date Candy, his assistant and Rick helped Kate move into a new apartment, encouraging her to resume her singing career at his nightclub. While he was trying to impress her with his new maturity, Rick had not yet told her he knew Rebecca was his child.

Tess and Joe became engaged but any attempt to win Charles’ blessing was met with resentment. Charles would have liked Tess to choose Bobby. Seeing no chance to win over Charles, Joe insisted Tess marry him immediately without Charles’ approval. Tess and Charles had a showdown and she finally agreed to postpone the wedding until after the end of the year of mourning for her late Bill and Charles agreed to try to establish a better relationship with Joe. Joe unwillingly agreed to wait.

Bobby had completely won over Charles with his similarities to Bill. This “soul mate” identification convinced Charles and Tess to let Bobby have Bill’s unfinished Rock Opera and other music. What they did not know was that Bobby’s knowledge was information he and his accomplice Morgan learned from Bill when he was dying in North Carolina last year. They came to Rosehill to swindle Tess out of her insurance money. Bobby told he was there for his father but his father was already dead.

Vanessa and Bruce remarried in a beautiful ceremony at the Sterling home. They were sure their marriage would really last this time.

ONE LIFE TO LIVE

Written by: Agnes Nixon & Gordon Russell

Produced by: Doris Quinlan

Viki realized she could not choose between Joe and Steve if she was caught between them all day every day. The tensions ran high and they were jockeying for position with her. A slanted drug interest story by Joe which made policeman Ed Hall appear to be railroading an innocent kid, caused flaring tempers and even Joe’s apology and story retraction barely appeased Ed and Steve. Also contribuing to Viki’s difficulty was Steve’s admission that he was considering a job offer on a rival paper and might leave the Banner. Viki decided she had to go away to decide. Ironically, Wanda’s love for Joe was as obvious to Joe as Cathy’s designs on Steve were to him.

Larry, deeply upset about his wife’s reaction to Viki’s problems, felt her health would suffer unless she let up. Despite a good medical checkup, Merry collapsed. Jim explained only emotional strain caused the collapse, not the blood disease. Anna cared for Danny during Merry’s hospital stay much to Victor’s aggravation.

Eileen, depressed over Dave’s death, was unaware that Julie was using her mother’s depression as an excuse to avoid being alone with Mark, and having to face the fact that their mariage is suffering from her inability to have a satisfactory physical relationship with him. He protested but she insisted they put her mother’s needs first. However, she did love Mark but she couldn’t bring herself to face the problem.

Ed told Carla he loved her and offered her time to think out the situation. Meanwhile, Vinnie graduated from Police Academy and Anna held a large graduation party for him.

Not knowing Victor had already assigned Viki to cover the Greenfield avalanche disaster for the Banner, Steve allowed Joe to cover the story. Joe found Viki’s name on the hotel register when he arrived.

RETURN TO PEYTON PLACE

Written by: Robert Cenedella

Produced by: George Paris

Betty’s emotional state over reconciling with Rodney while she was carrying Steven’s child brought her close to physical and emotional breakdown. Complicating her mental state was Martin’s insistence that she convince Rod to leave fishing business and assume head of Peyton Company, Hannah and Steven’s insistence that she admit she loved Steve and left Rod, and Dr. Rossi and Selena telling her she must admit pregnancy or suffer complete collapse. Finally she told Rod she was in the earliest stages of pregnancy. Elated, he planned to move from the houseboat to a real home by the time the baby is born. They announced her pregnancy at Christmas Dinner. Rita was uneasy and felt that Betty never wanted to have a baby. Steven realized there was a chance the baby may be his but said nothing.

Gino, realizing his part in Allison’s kidnapping by Benny, tried to find them in New York but cracked up his car. Allison, unable to find Benny even after letting him think he had readdicted her on pills, convinced him to take her home to get warm clothes. Once there, she tried to hold him off with Elliot’s gun but he overpowered her and dragged her back to the lake cabin. He drugged her and, in hallucinogenic state, she found the gun again and shot at him. When Gino arrived, the cabin was in flames. Allison was brought into hospital by a passing motorist. In deep shock, she responded to no one. Doctors allowed her to go home, hoping time would bring her out of shock.

No one realized that Benny was actually Jason, who was sent by Benny to Allison with a note shortly after they were married telling her the marriage was a mistake. He did this to protect her from suffering through his fatal illness. When she mistook Jason for her husband, he decided to assume Benny’s identity.

SEARCH FOR TOMORROW

Written by: Ralph Ellis & Eugenie Hunt

Produced by: Woody Klose

Wade and Janet realized they were in love and wanted to get married, forsee serious problems with Liza. They learned Liza was dating fast and wild Randy to pay her mother back for becoming involved with Wade whom she saw as a threat to her dead father’s memory. Janet and Wade decided they would not see each other any more but were both miserable and lonely.

Realizing she was still in love with Scott, Laurie decided to leave Henderson. Eric was unhappy at leaving Scott who was the only father he had ever known. Kathy, pleased with Laurie’s decision, felt her marriage to Scott had a much better chance with Laurie gone. Kathy felt repressed in her career in Doug’s law firm and inordinately admired the working arrangements in John’s offices.

At Andrea’s insistence, Len hired John. The action drived another wedge between him and Patti. John convinced Len to file for temporary custody of Chris, calling Patti an unfit mother, due to instability. In Patti’s absence, Emily subtly gave the scoial worker on the case the impression that Patti was instable and irresponsible. Patti later broke down under the pressure of the interview. Len’s interview with the social worker was very favorable. The court ordered a psychic examination for Patti. Forced into it, Patti begged the doctor to help her keep her son. The judge asked Len’s attorney to consider dropping the temporary custody case in an attempt at reconciliation. John refused but Doug, Patti’s lawyer, was encouraged by this. Jo was convinced that some outside factor was breaking up Len and Patti’s marriage. She assumed it was Andrea, not knowing that Emily’s hand was behind the entire situation.

THE SECRET STORM

Written by: Gerry Day & Bethel Leslie

Produced by: Joseph D. Manetta

Brian, convinced by Amy that Kevin’s only reason for recovering from his injuries is their expected child, artificially inseminated Amy without Kevin’s knowledge. Only Valerie knew the truth. Kevin told Dan that if he was still paralyzed when the baby was born, he would heave Amy for her sake and her future happiness.

Belle, resentful since Dan’s imprisonment on drug involvement charge, was determined to make everyone pay for imagined slights to her. She complained to Dan about her difficulties and blamed his situation for her losing her reporter’s job. Attracted to Brian, she contrived to see him socially and is infuriated when he rebuffed her advances, saying he never plays around with married women. Kevin warned Brian that he is protecting his father’s interests while Dan is in prison.

Joanna, living with Robert, was put off by him every time she tired to learn anything personal about him. She did notice his interest in the Kincaid family however. He told her he only started a relationship with her to get close to Belle. He got a job as a lab technician sololy on the basis of his knowledge. Joanna took a waitressing job at the hospital to be near him. She decided to visit Dan and give him a chance to explain the drug involvement situation.

Aware of Laurie’s growing interest for Mark, Amy and Valerie tried to get her interested in Brian but Laurie was not interested. Mark and Laurie were both aware of the growing feelings between them, but where Laurie welcomes her feelings, Mark prayed for guidance to overcome them. He tried to avoid Laurie but Clay was very hurt by Father Reddin’s coolness as he saw him as a replacement for the father he had just lost. When Laurie and Mark togehter pulled one of his paritioners through his suicide attempt and subsequently had car trouble, they both realized the electricity of the feelings between them. He told her he could not be alone with her again. She decided to take Clay to California to visit her mother but when Mark called her to say goodbye, the tone in which he admitted he would miss her convinced her not to go. When she brought his Christmas gifts, she found Mark praying and realized the problems she represented for him. When he thanked her for the scarf she made him, they kissed for the first time but badly shaken, he left. He apologized and promised they would have a chance to talk. Meanwhile, Laurie and Amy realized that Riley got very uptight whenever anyone asked him about knowing Father Reddin before he became a priest.

SOMERSET

Written by: Henry Slesar

Produced by: Lyle B. Hill

Andrea, learning her illness was fatal, shut everyone out of her life, especially David whom she refused to burden with her condition. Her stepbrother Carter encouraged this action and tried to promote himself as Andrea’s eyes as he had secret debts to an eastern underworld syndicate and Andrea was about to inherit a huge fortune. Aware that Andrea’s condition improved in the hospital, Stan rehospitalized her in the hope she might be suffering a physical reaction to something in her surroundings. Carter’s chance remark that she might be being poisoned led Stan to call in a toxicologist who found that Andrea was being poisoned with a form of arsenic. Carter implied that the logical suspect is Andrea’s brother and heir, Dana. Upon learning that her illness may be reversible, Andrea reconcilied with David. Keeping the arsenic discovery a secret from all but David, Ben, Emily and Stan allowed Andrea to return home with Emily keeping an eagle’s eye on everything she eats.

Rex was found seriously injured in an appartment accident in the Delaney Brands warehouse after learning about plant manager Virgil Parris’ police records. Laura was convinced that Virgil tried to murder her husband but she had no proof. She was also sure that Leo was implicated and this belief caused great tension as Ginger and Tony were staying with Laura during Rex’s hospitalization. Stan finally told them Rex was paralyzed from the waist down. Lahoma was also convinced that Parris was to blame byt Sam would not fire Parris or use his record against him. The strain of Delaney Brands problems was seriously hurting the Lucas’ marriage. Parris visited Laura and threatened her if she continued to implicate him in Rex’s “accident”. Parris bragged to Leo how he killed Harry Johnson and tried to kill Rex. Leo was afraid too much violence was being used, the syndicate they both worked for wanted the takeover of Delaney Brands to be smooth and unobtrusive. Needing more influence over Sam, Parris terrorized Sam’s secretary into leaving town and Leo lined up Crystal Ames, also a syndicate regular, to replace her.

WHERE THE HEART IS

Written by: Claire Labine & Paul Avila Mayer

Produced by: Tom Donovan

Kate entered the hospital for a battery of diagnostic tests to explain her recent symptoms - blackouts and erratic beahvior. Kate was relieved to then learn she's in fine physical condition, but was shocked to learn she had to see Dr. Feldman, a psychatrist. Kate was apprehensive about the upcoming session and carefully prepared in advance the things she'd tell the doctor. When her release from the hospital is delayed, fatigue and nervousness caused her to once more lose control and Betty (that part of her which is uncharactertically sarcastic and bitter) emerged and behaved insultingly towards Amy and the floor nurse. When Kate regained control, she realized it happened again and cried out for "somebody in this place who can just tell me what's happening to me". At her first session, she couldn’t free herself to talk. Dr. Feldman used her fear that she was suffering from a series of embolisms as her mother did before her death to turn the conversation to her parents but she refused to say anything bad. Kate then protested her law studies wouldn’t allow sessions three times a week but Dr. Feldman cautionned her that problems are serious.

John stopped by to see Chris to learn the facts about her confrontation with Adrienne at the sanitarium. Chris told John the scene with Adrienne caused her to suffer a second withdrawal but Adrienne assured her it was to help her. Chris felt she owed Adrienne something and agreed to distance herself from John. Miss Butterfield stated that Adrienne knew what she was doing when she confronted Chris. Kate, meanwhile, told Hugh she was sure John was still in love with Chris and Chris with John.

Julian noticed Liz fliring with Bert, a fellow student just before class was to being. Feeling unwell, he arranged for Loretta to take over the class and went home. Liz tried to cut Loretta down in class but Loretta slashed Liz to ribbons by showing Liz’s lack of preparation. Liz complimented Loretta’s cleverness and implied that Julian was attracted to her because Mary was totally preoccupied with her baby. Meanwhile, Julian admitted to Mary he was suffering stomach pains for weeks. She called Joe and learning that Julian’s symptoms were classic ulcer symptoms, she asked him what could be bothering him.

Ed was worried about Vicky’s apparent retreat to her millhouse. She tried to make him understand she had found peace. Vicky told Carol she was moving out and Carol thought it was a good idea. Michael and Liz helped her move her things. Liz cannot understand the idea of living simply.

[DRW50]

Thank you so much for writing this up!

Lots of soaps here I know little about. I love the sound of some of Where the Heart Is, it sounds like complicated female characters whom we see in many different perspectives, not just their relationships with men.

That GH story about Diana having Hodgkins and being raped sounds horrible. I guess she really was the new Jessie.

So those were some of the big stories Secret Storm had near the end which were so controversial. Did Gerry Day and Bethel Leslie go on to anything else? The latter's name is familiar to me.

Who was Emily on SFT?

Was India gone from Somerset by this time?

I wish we could see this AW stuff.

I guess Tess was just about gone from Love of Life.

Return to Peyton Place's stories sound very melodramatic.

ATWT:

Well it's nice to know ATWT had Hispanic characters back then, too bad it's under such hysteria.

How long was David Lesan around?

[Paul Raven]

Thank you so much for these! Are they from Bryna Laub's newsletter? Will we see 73? (hopefully)

Bethel Leslie was an actress as well with roles including Maggie on TD and Ceara's mom on AMC.

Emily on SFT was played by Louise Shaffer (not only) and was the daughter of Dr Bob Rogers. She was mainly a spoiler for Len and Patti and went psycho and died in a fire.

This would have been at the end of Irna's tenure. I'm not sure about Lesan. He had worked on other soaps. Whether he stayed on the writing team after Irna was fired,I don't know.

[ER Tosh]

I did not know that pre-MEK Tad showed up this early. So they knew Tad had a sister back in 1972?

[Khan]

From THE DOCTORS:

"Toni was still convinced that she would turn out to be a tramp. Mike and Maggie couldn’t convince her it was not true."

[DRW50]

Wouldn't you love to hear Anna Stuart raging about being a tramp?

[Paul Raven]

Looking at the headwriters at this time got me thinking about the changes that occurred 73-75

*Irna was fired from ATWT and Robert Soderberg/Edith Sommer were brought over from GL.

*James Gentile was the new GL writer but it seems that when RTPP was cancelled in 74,Robert Cenedella was the new GL headwriter until he was replaced by the Dobsons in 75 (they came from GH).Cenedella had already replaced Day and Leslie at SS before his stint at RTPP.

*At GH, the Hollands were the new writers until the Pollocks were poached from The Doctors to headwrite GH.

*Robert Cenedella became the new DRS headwriter after his stint at GL.

* When WTHI was cancelled in 73,Labine and Mayer went to LOL ( replacing the Shapiros) and stayed there till 75, when they launched RH.

*Margaret De Priest was the new LOL headwriter but she then moved to TD replacing Cenedella.

*At SFT, Ellis and Hunt moved to ATWT to assist the Soderbergs and were replaced by Theodore Apstein. Gabrielle Upton who had headwritten SS before Day and Leslie took over from Apstein but was replaced by Ann Marcus who had been at LIAMST.

Talk about musical chairs!!

The net would have been on fire in those days dealing with all of this. Funny how recently, many posters complain about the same writers doing the rounds when it was happening back then also...

[FrenchFan]

I hope I will find 1973. I'm doing my best for it

[saynotoursoap]

Love of Life was not written by Richard and Esther Shapiro in December 1972. The headwriter was Loring Mandel, who was assisted by Nancy Ford, a playwright and also the wife of actor Keith Charles. At SFT, Ellis and Hunt were assisted by Bibi Wein and Jane Chambers. Chambers was an up and coming lesbian playwright. She is best known for Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, which was the first major stage success of actress Jean Smart from Designing Women.

To Paul Raven: Robert Cenedella was not replaced at GL by the Dobsons. The last headwriter at GL in 1975 before the Dobsons took over was James Lipton, who was assisted by Don Wallace. Yes, writers back then played musical chairs, too, but the difference was that the writers in the 1970's were talented professionals. The "writers" today are untalented, unprofessional hacks with teenaged mentalities.

To Carl: India was written out of Somerset in March 1972. On Love of Life, Tess remained on the soap for nearly another year. She was written out in the fall of 1973 after her trial for the murder of Bobby Mackey.

[saynotoursoap]

Also, the synopsis for Where the Heart Is comes from the final month of March 1973, not December 1972. It is obvious because Kate was hospitalized following Peter's death in the Prescott garage fire, which happened in February 1973.

[Paul Raven]

Thanks for the correction!

[Dion]

Interesting that Audrey is depicted here as being sought after by a Dr Stewart here as I had always assumed that by this time Dr Jim Hobart (Audrey's third husband) would have been on the scene...

And of course Jessie's nephew(Carol's brother Kent) was played by Mark Hamil.

It'd only get worse for poor Diana! her son Tracy died (though I'd always been led to believe that he died before the rape but he seems to be still alive at this point) and she of course did get pregnant from the rape (and I'm guessing she still had Hodgkins by this time) and her husband (Peter Taylor of course) rejected her after learning she was once again pregnant by Phil. This must of all happened in only the space of a few months!

Thanks FrenchFan for the summaries.

[DRW50]

Thanks. The actress wanted to leave right (the woman who played Tess)? Do you think her exit was OK or that she should have stayed?

I wonder if Jane Chambers being at SFT in that era was one of the reasons the show had a more feminist tone.

Geez. That sounds like way too much for me.

[Sylph]

So... I've always wondered: are Frank & Doris Hursley held in high regard as writers? Some of their most famous storylines?

[Dion]

I don't know if they were held in high regard (though when they were writing for SFT, Mary Stuart had them fired because they killed off Jo's son).

Some of their most famous storylines would include Jessie's marriage to Phil Brewer (a saga that went on for years as he cheated on her, raped her at one point, cleared her of murder, presumed dead in a plane crash but came back etc but Jessie would always take him back), Jessie's aforementioned murder trial (she was accused of killing her second husband but Phil proved she didn't, thus she remarried him out of gratitude), Steve and Audrey's romance and of course Audrey's murder trial which propelled GH to number 1 for a time in 1971.

I've also always found it interesting that they did an artificial insemination storyline with Audrey in 1967/68, which was one of the first times (if not THE first time) that a soap had done that.