DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[Khan]

I think so, too. Unless Sally Sussman wanted to throw everyone for a real loop and have her play Doreen Jackson.

[Gray Bunny]

Back in those days, I only had a handful of Digest magazines, mostly ones with DAYS on the cover. Since this was before the internet (at least for me), I definitely re-read and cherished the ones I had over & over.

[DRW50]

I was the same way - I re-read the best/worst of 1994 issue about 15 times.

[will81]

Hi Guys. I recently got my hands on some Daytime serial newsletters. I was going to do one thread with all shows, but it has taken a lot longer than I though to type up. So I thought I would add these to each individual thread, then maybe do one big thread with all shows. These synopsis are from 1973. AMC will be next, hopefully by tomorrow.

For those who don't know Mickey and Marty Hansen and Michael Harris are all the same person. The names were used interchangeably, usually depending on the scene.

1973

September

Julie, although dating Don, realises she is still in love with Doug. She is hurt by Doug’s angry words when she jokingly refers to their past affair, not realising that he is pre-occupied with Addie’s health. Meanwhile Julie is becoming aware that Bob’s attentions are more than casual, and, out of friendship to Phyllis, she tries to keep it light. She is deeply touched when Bob offers to pay for David’s military schooling as a memorial to Scott. But when Bob admits he hasn’t told Phyllis about the money Julie tells him she can’t accept the money under those terms. Bob says he will tell Phyllis and asks her to reconsider. Bob sees Laura professionally about his conflicting love for his wife and his attraction to a younger woman. Laura doesn’t mention that Julie told her that she feels Bob is growing too fond of her. Don is very jealous of all of Julie’s male admirers; Julie tells Don she needs a no strings attached relationship right now.

The Andersons are stunned to learn Mary has gone to South America. They now realise that she is trying to get over her feelings for Bill. Dr. Bailey, Addie’s obstetrician, finds her blood count is too high and orders a bone marrow test. He finds she has acute myelogenous advanced leukaemia and he tells Tom. Tom tells Addie and explains that chemotherapy can help control it, maybe for years. Addie insists Doug not be told, but Tom tells him, feeling he must know. Doug is shattered, but pretends he doesn’t know anything. Addie is upset to learn chemotherapy could harm the baby. Doug, realising what she’s thinking, stresses that she is the most important thing in his life. Michael is furious that Laura is considering selling Mickey’s law practice. He’s sure his father, missing now for months, will return and wants everything waiting for him.

Laura realises that Mickey’s clients need help now and is grateful when Jim offers to temporarily handle the practice. Since Jim’s ex-wife, and Mickey’s former mistress, Linda, disappeared with her child at the same time Mickey did, everyone assumes they’re together. Michael resents Jim’s offer, feeling it’s like saying Mickey is dead. Tom asks Laura to give up on Bill as it will be seven years before Mickey can be declared legally dead. Laura tells him she can’t do that. Bill, upset about Addie’s illness, tells Laura that life is short and they can’t wait any longer to be together. She replies that they are not the type to sneak nights together and says she will live with him openly. Michael tells Bill his mother could never be happy living with him while she is still married to Mickey. Bill begins to realise he can be a substitute father to Michael, if he gives up Laura. Laura tells Bill her need for him is as important as Michael’s image of her and they have to face reality.

Marty is becoming close to Maggie. Jay Livingston, an old friend of Maggies, is very protective of her and is suspicious of Marty. He confronts Marty, who assures him he would never do anything to hurt Maggie. Greg is extremely touchy about Eric’s novel, as he is sure everyone realises the chapter about the girl in the park is about his new wife Susan and that Eric is the father of her child. His embarrassment and hurt make him lash out at both Eric and Susan. Laura and Julie make him realise he may be driving Eric out of Salem and that it’s harder for Susan to hold her head up. Greg apologises to Eric, explaining his image of himself was shattered.

October

Julie began to feel more alone and depressed and started relying on Bob’s friendship more and more, seeing him often. When Phyllis returned from visiting relatives, she invited Julie to spend a week with her and Bob at their place on the lake. Julie convinced herself she was reading too much into Bob’s affection and felt they were like parents to her. Phyllis does feel like Julie is another daughter to her, but Bob admits to himself his desire for Julie and realises these feelings and emotions are hurting his sexual relationship with Phyllis.

Eric tried to avoid seeing Ann so as to remain emotionally unattached and Susan begins to sense this.

Addie, still convinced Doug wants this baby more than anything, continued to refuse chemotherapy. Marty is amazed when Hank points out that Maggie is falling in love with him. Doug, knowing Addie is sick and is refusing treatment makes an effort to let her know he loves her. Doug is stunned when Addie tells him he has never said that to her before. His constant declaration of love convinces her that he does love her, but she still cannot bring herself to risk injuring the baby by starting treatment.

Realising he cannot make any commitment without knowing what ties exist from his past, Marty tells Maggie he is leaving. Maggie is heartbroken but accepts his need to leave. Before he goes, Maggie begins to feel pain in her legs. Marty makes her promise to see a doctor, as there may have been a change in her condition. While on his trip Marty begins to have chest pain and gets off the bus at the next stop, which is ironically, Salem. He is then mugged and ends up at the hospital with an injured hand from the attack.

Laura, out to dinner with Jim, realises that Alice resents her having any social life at all. Knowing there will be gossip no matter what they do, Laura and Bill decide to date openly. Laura tells Tom that she is dating Bill and if and when Mickey ever returns, she will ask him for a divorce.

November

Marty registers at the hospital as Michael Harris and learns from the doctor on call that the scars on his leg and chest indicate bypass surgery. He assumes his amnesia could be a result of a post-operative stroke and agrees to see the heart specialist Dr. Tom Horton.

When Tom is delayed at the hospital, Marty decides to forget it and leaves town. Tom , bothered by the similarities in both name and EKG results between Michael Harris and his son Mickey, tries to find him at the motel address he left with the hospital. Learning he is gone, he checks the signature on the register and sees it isn’t Mickey’s handwriting, though he doesn’t know that Mickey signed with the badly injured hand from the mugging that brought him to the hospital in the first place, but Tom isn’t fully convinced and decides to keep investigating. Maggie sees her local doctor as she promised Marty. The doctor tells her the damage to her legs is still irreversible and un-correctable. Maggie is hurt by the news and Jay tries to give her hope that she will walk again and reminds her he loves her.

When Marty returns and tells Maggie he feels the farm is home and implies they have a future together, Maggie finally becomes content and happy again. Michael is less than pleased about Laura and Bill dating openly, that along with his guilt about his father’s disappearance has caused him to start skipping school and forge notes from Laura. Laura is shocked when she finds out what he has been doing, feeling she has failed at communicating with her son. Michael, now on school probation, tells Laura he is thinking about copping out on college, the way his father copped out on them, he feels Mickey hates him. Laura, unwilling to wait seven years to declare Mickey dead, considers filing for divorce on the grounds of desertion. Alice blames Laura’s dating Bill for his attitude and feels Laura should sit at home and wait for Mickey to return. Laura points out that Michael is the one who needs Mickey, not her.

Addie learns that Doug knows she is sick, and is convinced that his recent efforts to let her know how much he loves her were just his way of trying to convince her to have chemotherapy. Doug makes plans to build a house for Addie, who is still sure that he is playing the secrecy game to make her change her mind. Though her white blood cell count is high, she still refuses to have treatment until after the baby is born.

Phyllis and Bob hold a surprise birthday party for Julie and it becomes clear that Don and Burt are vying for her affections. Julie tells Don she is ready for marriage again, and Don admits he has healed from the death of is his wife and isn’t playing games anymore either. Don tells Julie the earrings, a gift from Bob and Phyllis, which Bob picked out, have real diamonds. Julie refuses to believe it, the Andersons are like parents to her. When Julie discovers they are real and cost $2,500, she confronts Bob and coldly asks if he is trying to buy her. Julie is stunned when Bob admits he is madly in love with her. He rages with jealousy when he sees her with another man and wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Anguished, Julie tells Bob to think of Phyllis and their second honeymoon cruise he is planning to take her on. Distraught over Bob’s deceit, Julie feels she can never face Phyllis again. Bob asks Julie to think it all out very carefully, and let him know what she sees in her future.

December

Marty and Maggie’s relationship deepens; Jay resents Marty’s presence, as he wants a future with Maggie. He plans to dig into Marty’s past as he refuses to talk about it. Tom can’t get Michael Harris out of his mind. He speculates that Mickey could have had a post-operative stroke that affected his memory. Laura learns she can divorce Mickey on the grounds of desertion one year from the day he disappeared. She and Bill plan for their future and he gives her a ring. Michael is suffering unnecessary guilt about his father’s disappearance and resents Laura writing Mickey off and moving on with Bill. He turns to his girlfriend Sharon for understanding and comfort and invites her to his empty house to study in the afternoons.

Alice feels Laura is wrong to divorce Mickey and uses Michael’s attitude to stop her, but Laura stands firm in her decision. Eric is torn between his growing feelings to connect to his daughter and his fear of hurting Greg’s marriage to Susan. Addie’s white blood cell count is up slightly and Tom tries to persuade her to start chemotherapy. He finally agrees to postpone the treatment until the baby is born. Addie wants her baby to be born perfect and also refuses inducement. Julie, still upset about Bob’s declaration of love, tries to avoid him and tells Phyllis about the honeymoon cruise. Phyllis is overjoyed and begins preparations for the trip.

Bob continues to press Julie, he insists he can’t be a husband to Phyllis any longer, and is planning to divorce her. Julie finally makes him realise she will never be the other woman in Phyllis’ life, and tells him to go home to his wife. Julie becomes more depressed when David writes to tell her he won’t be home for Christmas; he has been invited to Switzerland. Julie begins to feel better when Don invites her on a skiing holiday to Sun Valley, but Julie begins to realise she can’t get over Doug and what they once had together. She admits to Doug it is hard to see her mother carrying the child she wanted so much to give him.

Don and Julie’s skiing trip goes well, they stay in separate rooms. Don tells her he has an important question he wants to ask her soon. Bob, unable to go through with the honeymoon cruise, decides instead to cancel the trip. He tells Phyllis they’ve grown apart and lost each other along the way. Phyllis is devastated to learn she lost her husband without ever realising it was happening. Over her objections and pleas he moves out, telling her he needs time to work things out. She’s completely destroyed by this. On Laura’s professional advice Bob considers telling Phyllis there is another woman involved.

Edited May 19, 2012 by will81

[DRW50]

This is incredible! Thank you for this. Reading this gives more details than just a basic story outline. For instance, I never knew how much Laura fought to end her marriage to Mickey and not bow down to what was expected of her. It's very surprising to see, and would never be allowed now.

Who was this Jim, and Burt? I think I've asked about Burt before and got an answer but I just wanted to know more about him.

Julie certainly had a busy story, especially since the show was just a half-hour at this time. It is fascinating to read, so complex, even on the page.

Poor Phyllis had such a terrible life.

Mary was about 25 years younger than Bill, wasn't she? Which Mary was this?

[Paul Raven]

Thanks so much for this.As Carl said,the extra details are fabulous.The way Bill Bell wove all this together is amazing. I have never seen mention of the Jay character,who was a rival for Maggie's affection.I'm surprised he wasn't brought in later to create conflict for Mickey and Maggie.

Please,please post the summaries for all the shows.I will be forever in your debt!!!!

[DRW50]

They could still bring Jay back, it would give some conflict for Maggie and Victor.

Even what is plainly a B story (the mess with Susan) was intricately plotted.

I never knew about Mike and this girlfriend. For some reason I thought he didn't have any romantic stories until Linda.

[Bright Eyes]

I, too, am shocked at the mention of Mike having a girlfriend. I'm sure this Sharon was extremely minor as a character, but I always believed the Trish/Linda story was Mike's first foray into relationships. I wonder if Sharon might have been mentioned during that story.

Carl, I'm not positive, but I think Burt worked for Anderson Manufacturing. I also believe he and Mary were once engaged.

The real delight in these synopses are the small details never mentioned before, such as David being in military school and Mary having left for South America.

Thank you so much for posting these will81.

[jam6242]

Thanks so much for the summaries! I was watching in 1973 but I was in junior high/high school so I could only watch during school breaks. There had been a lot of pre-emptions that summer because of the Watergate hearings. The early 70s are still my favorite era of Days. I would so love to see it again (all of it this time!).

I don't remember Sharon so I don't think she had a major story with Mike. I do remember Jay. Again, I don't think he was a major character, just someone to cause some conflict for Mickey and Maggie. I also remember Burt Atwater and he was involved with Mary at one point. I'm pretty sure Karin Wolfe was playing Mary at this time. I hadn't remembered that people thought Mickey had run off with Linda!

[DRW50]

So Burt went from Mary to pursuing Julie. It seems like at this time Julie and Mary were sort of close to the same age. Then Julie was aged quite a bit in the late 70's thanks to the odd decision to make her a grandmother. And then, thanks to that odd Melinda Fee casting, Mary somehow caught up with Julie in age. Too bad they didn't do more with Mary and Julie, especially with the whole father figure gone wrong relationship of Julie and Bob.

It seems like Bill Bell reused some of his Julie ideas with Jill (Philip father figure, David, like Philip Jr, in military or boarding school - to some degree, Derek as Doug with Jill/Katherine and Addie/Julie).

[will81]

Thanks guys, glad you like it. I am working on AMC and that should be done within the day. Carl Jim was Jim Phillips, Linda's husband and father of her child. Though not sure if they were still married at this point.

[JAS0N47]

Thanks Will! I didn't have any of the 1973 synopses yet, so they are a welcome addition to my "Days" archive. I have the weekly synopses from June 1976 onward, but I still need to fill in some of the monthly synopses from 1974, 1975 and the first half of 1976.

FrenchFan posted a few awhile back from 1974, so here are a few of those that were already in my files. If you happen to get January & February 1974, that would fill in those two missing months!

MARCH 1974

Days Of Our Lives

Written by : William J. Bell

Produced by : Betty Corday

Jim’s detective found Linda was living with a man in Boston but he is not Mickey. Bill begged Laura not to let her guilt feelings destroy their love. At “Marty” ’s urging, Maggie visited Dr. Strothers in Salem to see if her paralysis could be cured. In Salem, she overheard Laura and Tom discussing Mickey’s disappearance and realized Mickey was Marty. She learned he has a wife and a child but accidently saw Bill and Laura kissing. She came back to the farm horrified and feared Mickey might remember his life. Ironically, Dr. Strothers told Tom his patient left before he could tell her she could be helped.

With Greg working evenings, Susan spent time with Eric for his book. She did not realize his writing is autobiographical.

With Addie’s remission, Julie was shocked when she realized how much she wanted Doug and her together again. She told Don she then wished to marry her but he refused. She ran into Bob and told him that if she wanted her, she would marry him. Ironically, Phyllis came to Julie for advice about Bill’s divorce request. Largely on the basis of Julie’s advice, Phyllis decided to give Bob his divorce. Julie told Addie she would not destroy her future. Julie and Bob visited Doug’s place announcing ther were eloping to Portofino. Unable to explain this to Phyllis, Julie mailed her a letter. Phyllis told Laura that she couldn’t take it if Bob remarried right away. In Portofino, Julie and Bob married but their wedding night is a disaster. Phyllis found the later and hysterically smashed up Bob’s studio.

APRIL 1974

Days Of Our Lives

Written by : William J. Bell

Produced by : Betty Corday

Maggie was having nightmares about Marty being Mickey Horton. Dr. Strothers wrote saying surgery could help her wal again but she felts she could not risk going back to Salem. Later, she saw she was late by the calendar and Marty and see were sure she was pregnant. Marty ordered a law correspondance course and Maggie fearedhe might be begin to remember he was a lawyer. Tom hired a detective to locate Mickey which upsets Bill.

Elderly heart patient, Ivy Howell learned her sisster was ill and penniless in Paris ans asked Greg to go with her to bring her home. This angered Susan terribly. The night before leaving, Greg even spent the night with another Curtis patient, Amanda Howard whose husband’s recent death causer her deep depression. He convinced her to see Laura to discuss why she called herself Miss Howard. Neil had been telling Amanda she needed a psychiatrist because she felt guilty over the fact she was having an affair before her husband’s death. Meanwhile, Susan was resentful of Greg’s departure and her daughter, Ann was burning up with fever. Ann had a rupture appenidx and Bill was called to do the surgery. However, Ann had peritonitis and went into a coma.

Julie’s family was quite off balance by her sudden elopement with Bob. Addie was shocked to learn that Julie did not believe she never knew Julie and Doug were in love when she married him. When Bob learned Phyllis of his remarriage, she sarcastically told him she already new. She refused his financial help. Julie was touched by Bob’s generosity. At Doug’s place, Phyllis confronted Julie. Mary, Bob and Phyllis’ daughter came home and was stunned to learn Bob’s marriage. Mary and Julie accidently met and Mary accused Julie of long range plan to trap Bob and take him everything he got.

JULY 1974

Days Of Our Lives

Written by : William J. Bell

Produced by : Betty Corday

Doug was devastated when the police told him Addie was killed by a car. She died saving their baby Hope. Doug asked Alice to take Hope. Julie received a letter from a mother saying that despite all their problems, she loved her. Julie felt Doug blamed the baby for what happened to Addie. Jeri Clayton, a former singer agreed to sing at the club during Doug’s absence. But one night, her husband Jack accused her of having an affair with Doug.

Neil begged Amanda to assume their affair and she refused to see that he was witholding any real commitment from her. Neil had forbidden her to tell Laura he was the man. Greg took pity on Amanda when Neil canceled a date and took her to Doug’s. She was crushed to see Neil with another woman. She even picked up a bottle of pills but Greg arrived and she told him she only took two pills. Then she told Neil she saw him with the other woman and he tried to use passion to soften her.

Phyllis admitted to Laura that the accidental shooting of Mary was indeed an attempt to kill Julie. She admitted she needed help and realized her fear of growing old alone. She also realized the portrait she painted of Julie was actually of herself and her illness. Julie and Phyllis destroyed the portrait.

Tom was sure that the farmer in the newspaper could not be Mickey but after learning the farmer Marty Hansen was from Brookville, he travelled there. He confronted Maggie and when Marty arrived, Tom recognized his son. Maggie begged Tom to let Mickey alone after she admitted she knew he had a wife and a child. Tom talked to Mickey who said he did not care about the past. Tom couldn’t help but see how happy Mickey was. He left very unsure of what to do. Meanwhile, Michael was getting used to the idea of Laura marrying his uncle Bill. Tom told Laura about Mickey’s new life and she said things had to remain like that but she felt she had to see him herself. Maggie was making initial application for adoption of a five-year-old boy when Laura arrived at the Hansen farm and Mickey told him how happy and contented he felt with Maggie as his wife.

[JAS0N47]

Sharon Reynolds, as played by Monica Gayle, was supposed to be a bigger character. They even had her do some promotional photos for the show, but she was phased out after just 4 episodes. Guess she didn't click with Mike. She only aired on 11/23, 12/4, 12/14 and 12/17.

Jay Livingston (Larry Delaney) was Maggie's first boyfriend (whom she had dated off-screen before meeting Mickey). He had 3 brief stints on the show:

9/73: 2

10/73: 3

11/73: 3

12/73: 4

1/74: 10

11/76: 2

12/76: 1

2/79: 3

Edited May 19, 2012 by JAS0N47

[will81]

Hey Jason. I found Jan and Feb 1974, but it is only one piece of paper from a garage sale, and it only has Y&R and parts of a couple other soaps. I will post the Jan/Feb 1974 Y&R stuff today in that section. I am working on getting more, hopefully be able to get the rest of it soon. Will definitely post as soon as I get it.

[DRW50]

Monica Gayle seems to have made some naughty type movies before DAYS (nothing explicit). I wonder if that might have hurt her.