DAYS: Behind the Scenes, Articles/Photos

[Dion]

As I said back then my favourite part of the original possession is the Horton Cabin stuff when Mardevil tries to seduce John, and Kristen comes along and tries to throw holy water on her and then Marlena momentarily breaks free and takes off, pursued by the Devil all the way to St Lukes.

[Contessa Donatella]

I admit to having a few favorite scenes in Ron's version. Bill Hayes as the guy who had the devil in him & was attempting to let him move to Marlena, was just an incredible 3 days!! One of those days was part of their WGA award submission, which they won. 

Next I really liked the exorcism. Right after it, when Tripp dared the devil to leave Allie & come into him, which he did, and then Tripp threw himself forcefully out of a 4th floor window to fall to certain death. Last Angel Bo bringing Tripp back to life.

 

[Contessa Donatella]

12-14-65 Episode #26
Intro: same, star billing
21:00 
Quality: Slight green hue, problems with the intro, then settles down & is fine.
Location: Attorney Ferguson's ofc., the Horton's house
Cast: Mickey, Mr. Ferguson, Jane Sawyer, Alice, Tom
Mr. Ferguson: Are you here officially?
Mickey: I am here, been authorized by my father, to offer a settlement. He is very concerned about the Sawyers.
Mr. Ferguson: I can't believe this. Why don't you just turn it over to his insurers & let them deal with it?
Mickey: The whole idea of going to trial, which it would, because insurance wouldn't offer to settle out of court, is distasteful to him. And the charges you are bringing, my dad's just not that kind of doctor. 
Mr. Ferguson: Well, without something more than that lame statement that he was unavoidably detained, I cannot see this happening. 
Mickey: Would your clients then be at all interested in a settlement offer?
Mr. Ferguson: What amount of money would be offered?
Mickey: My faher is not a wealthy man but any reasonable amount would perhaps be possible. He'd really like to avoid the publicity. Even if he won at trial it would have been the topic of conversation for too long. You know my dad's reputation as a doctor!
Mr. Ferguson: I think so highly of your father that I will take this offer to the family. One thing, though, your mother went to see Mrs. Sawyer & asked her to drop this whole thing. Then, you come here, today, with this offer, it would be easy to say it looks like a guilty person's actions. Your mother has to stay out of this.
Mickey, obviously dismayed, shocked & completely caught by surprise, says nothing. 
At the Hortons, Alice is polishing something silver. Mickey comes into the room. Immediately he tells her she's angry with her. She thinks he's teasing. He lets her know it's definitely not a joke. She realizes he's serious & says, "What have I done?" He tells her she may have ruined his father's case. "You went to see Mrs. Sawyer, didn't you? Why did you do it?" 
Alice: How did you find out?
Mickey: Mr. Ferguson, I was just in his office making an out of court settlement offer & he almost did not consider it. You almost ruined Dad's case. 
Alice tries to explain. She wanted to talk to the older Mrs. Sawyer, but she wasn't available so she had to talk to the Sawyer daughter. She meant to impress upon them that Tom just isn't like that & he would never intentionally delay seeing a patient. 
Mickey: What did you tell her?
Alice: I told her that Tom didn't get the message timely because I had taken the phone off the hook.
Mickey: Did you tell her why you did that?
Alice: No, I couldn't because I did it because of Marie.
Mickey: So, you see, there was no point to your doing it!
Alice: Yes, I see that now.
Mickey: I've just made the settlement offer. But, you have to stay out of it & let your attorney handle things.
Alice: Alright.
In the next scene, Mickey is with Tom in another room. 
Tom: Surely they can't actually think I intentionally delayed seeing a patient.
Mickey: We're very lucky that Ferguson is doing this case. Any other attorney would see this as a chance to go to draw blood. 
Tom: Did you discuss a specific money amount?
Mickey: No, I just told him it would have to be a reasonable amount. I'm worried, though, because I am afraid the daughter is in this to get revenge on you. 
Tom finds this hard to believe. Plus, it won't bring her father back.
Mickey: It may be a consolation to her to make you suffer.
Shakespeare comes up for some reason. 
Alice enters the room, carrying a tray, laden with supplies for afternoon tea or coffee, says, "What does Shakespeare have to do with this?"
Tom, reflecting, says, "I can't stop thinking of that last time at the Sawyers & Carl had died. As doctors we never get used to losing a patient. And, only the day before I had seen him & he was so improved that I predicted a total & complete recovery. 
Mickey: Soon this will all be a memory.
In the next scene, we are back at Ferguson's office & Jane Sawyer has just arrived. 
Ferguson: Hello, Jane. Were you able to get away from work okay?
She indicates that it wasn't a problem. "You said you had something important to tell me?"
Ferguson: Mickey Horton was here earlier. He made a settlement offer. I need to discuss it with you & your mother. 
Jane: Mother's not well enough right now for such a discussion. She goes on & we realize she is angry about the settlement offer being made. 
Jane: So, Mrs. Horton comes to me & then the son comes here & tries to buy us off! This is a guilty man.
Ferguson: There are many reasons why people prefer to settle out of court that are NOT because they're guilty.
Jane: We started this to find out why my father died. We haven't found anything yet.
Ferguson: There are so many variables with a jury trial. You could end up losing, very badly. And, there's no guarantee that you'd find out anything new, anyway.
Jane: We turn down the settlement offer, flat. No deal. They could offer the full amount & my reply would still be NO. I want the trial, the publicity, etc.!
 

[Contessa Donatella]

11-30-65 Episode #16
Intro: All of these consecutive episodes of Early DAYS qualify for the Star Billing Blog.
Quality: Good. 
Location: Sawyer house, Horton's house
Cast: Jane Sawyer, her mother Mrs. Sawyer, Tom, Ferguson, Alice, Mickey, Marie
20:49
A woman opens the door to Tom outside.
Jane - You're too late, Dr. Horton. 
Tom - Carl is my patient. I need to see him.
Jane - I asked you to leave. 
Tom - Carl is my patient. I'd like to go upstairs.
Jane - The other doctor has already been here. You didn't come when we called.
Tom - I was unavoidably detained. I'm sorry. 
Jane - Well, now my father is avoidably dead.
Tom - I must see him.
Mrs. Sawyer lets Tom in & he goes diretly upstairs. She says to her daughter, "He feels terrible about this."
Jane - Mama, this is one time I'm not going to let you turn the other cheek. 
Their neighbor & attorney Mr. Ferguson then is at the door. Jane lets him in & he says his wife told him.
Jane - We called Dr. Horton, your friend, who you recommended to us & he didn't come.
Ferguson - Isn't that Tom's car out front?
Jane - It took him 3 hours to get here. If he'd come immediately my father would be alive.
Mrs. Sawyer - Janie, how can you know that?
Jane - Because Dr. Bell came right over when I called the Emergency & he told me that. Dr. Bell was absolutely shocked!
Tom comes down & says, "I came as soon as I could. I was detained. Mrs. Sawyer?
Mrs. Sawyer turns away from him.
Ferguson to Tom - What happened?
Tom - He had a massive hemorrhage.
Mrs. Sawyer - Thank you, Dr. Horton, Goodbye. 
Tom leaves.
Ferguson - If there's anything I can do, Mrs. Sawyer & Jane ... 
Jane to her mother - Why don't you go next door with Mr. Ferguson & I'll wait here for ... 
Mrs. Sawyer - No, I want to see to all the arrangements. I'll stay.
Jane to Ferguson - What Dr. Horton did was criminal. He is responsible for my father's death. 
Ferguson - Carl had a plan with a plot, didn't he? The lodge has all the information. I can arrange for an announcement in the newspaper.
Mrs. Sawyer says she's going upstairs to tidy up a bit & she leaves. 
Ferguson - She's holding up very well. 
Jane - Dr. Horton did this.
Ferguson - I'd get that idea out of my head if I were you.
Jane - I can't. I won't forget or forgive. We need to know my father's exact cause of death. Can you order an autopsy to be done so we can find that out?
Ferguson - Alright, I will. 
Jane - It might tell us if Dr. Horton caused this, might it not?
Ferguson - Yes, it might.
At the Horton's Alice & Mickey are beside Marie who is in bed, seems to be sleeping.
Mickey - Is there anything I can do?
Alice - Why don't you go on to bed?
Mickey - No, I think I'll wait up for Dad to get back. (He goes downstairs just as Tom is coming in the door.)
The two of them go into the next room.
Mickey - What happened?
Tom - I lost him. Carl Sawyer. A perforated ulcer. A massive hemorrhage.
Mickey - I'm so sorry, but Dad, you're not blaming yourself, are you?
Tom - If I'd gotten there sooner it might've been routine.  I've never had anything like this happen before. 
Mickey - Well, did you tell them why you couldn't come right away?
Tom - No, of course not. It was because of Marie. Now let's get one thing straight. No one is ever to know that Marie was near death tonight. We have to keep this to ourselves. He went on to explain that it's the kind of thing that people talk about & Marie would be devastated if people were to know.
Alice comes in & says she thinks Marie is uncomfortable. 
Tom leaves & goes upstairs to see.
Mickey fills Alice in on Carl Sawyer & his very upset family.
Alice - I'm a doctor's wife & with that comes certain responsibility.
Alice - Mrs. Sawyer made an emergency call & I answered the phone & I didn't tell your father!
Mickey - You can't blame yourself. When you found Marie on the floor, that was an emergency here that had to be dealt with.
Alice - How did your father take it?
Mickey - You know how Dad is. You need to go up to bed. You're exhausted.
Alice climbs the stairs.
Tom is with Marie who wakes up & says, "Dad?" 
Tom - You're going to be fine. Everything is back to normal.
Marie - Nothing will ever be normal again. Why did he do it? We had such plans! Nothing will ever be the same again. 
Tom - blood pressure, heart rate, pulse - all back to normal.
Marie - I just want it to be over.
Alice comes in & says, "Don't say that, sweet girl."
Tom looks out the window & says, "It's a new day."
Marie - It was supposed to be my wedding day. (She cries.)

[Maxim]

These descriptions are amazing. Thank you!!! 

[JAS0N47]

 

One correction: Her name is Jean Sawyer, not Jane:

 

16...11/30/65:

Cast: Tom, Alice, Marie, Mickey, Anna, Jean, Ferguson.

Sets: Sawyer Hallways & Stairs, Horton Hallway, Horton Study, Marie’s Room.

[Contessa Donatella]

Thanks, as always!!! 

[Titus Andronicus]

Unless one of the magazines from that era has gossip, I don't know if we'll ever get an answer for sure.

A February 7, 1980 television column in the New Orleans Times-Picayune hints that NBC had at least a hand in it.

"A major house-cleaning is underway on the NBC daytime drama Days of Our Lives. An NBC source says as many as a dozen actors will be leaving the soap between now and May 1 - "Leaving, dying, disappearing, going to college ..." He declined to say which performers would get the ax since "They haven't notified them yet.""

Yikes. Bet all of the cast members were on edge.

At this point, Rabin's in charge less than three weeks and while Laemmle's been hired, she hasn't taken over head writing yet.

So, looking at Jason's page, some of the departures over the first five months of 1980
January
- Peter Brown
February
- Eileen Barnett
- Cindy Daly
March
- Robert Clary
- Rosemary Forsyth
- John Lupton
- Margaret Mason
- Mark Tapscott
April
- Debbie Lytton
- Edward Mallory*
- George McDaniel
May
- Suzanne Zenor

* Jed Allan, in the July 1980 interview in the Oakland Tribune, said Mallory quit because he wasn't allowed to direct.  

Allan believed Bob and Linda were written out to give more scenes to Chris and Alex.

Spotted a midyear Lynda Hirsch column that suggested Harrower was let go because of falling ratings.

I'm of the mind that NBC brass panicked over the falling ratings, booted Harrower and got extremely desperate to get anything going. 

They were a few established characters that they absolutely couldn't touch, but everybody else was fair game.

Laemmle was a bad fit, but NBC might have been looking for someone who wasn't a soap person and she at least had an association with prestige TV even if her more recent stuff wasn't as popular.

Maybe they were having problems finding someone. Laemmle seems to have been technically hired before Wes Kenney quit, but the handling of the Pat Falken Smith situation from a couple of years earlier, plus however Harrower was being treated/Kenney being mad enough to leave couldn't have helped.

[Maxim]

I laughed so much watching these scenes... 

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[Paul Raven]

Days ratings had been drifting downwards for a few years and NBC daytime as a whole was in bad shape.

Harrower had failed to lift the ratings. ABC had forged ahead with more youthful stories and it was decided Days needed a revamp as it was top heavy with older and vet characters. 

Also Days had alot of popular couples Tom/Alice as the tentpoles and then Doug/Julie, Bill/Laura, Mickey/Maggie. The stories that tried to break them up had not been popular.

Now Don/Marlena had been married and the search was on to find a story for them.

So Days was definitely in a rut.

But Laemmle's stories and the castings were not the answer.

[Contessa Donatella]

I think Bill surprised some people with his performance!

[j swift]

I barely recall Ken Corday's memoir, but there was some juicy stuff about Harrower's tenure and the drama it caused backstage, including between Hayes's.  As well as friction between Betty Corday and Wes Kenney.

Edited December 16, 2024 by j swift

[Franko]

I'm not posting links because of copyright fear, but the same channel with the 1983 episode has two consecutive episodes from March 1993, plus the July 1, 1998 episode (which functioned as the Fourth of July episode, since NBC's Wimbledon coverage aired on July 2-3).

[Titus Andronicus]

Ooooooh, Corday's memoir is available for checkout on Internet Archive.

Unfortunately, Corday has some major flaws in his timeline and memories of this era.

He has Lisanti/Tomlin succeeding Harrower and not Laemmle.

He also has a meeting with NBC happening in January 1980 that absolutely couldn't have happened then because of the combination of people he said here there: Ken/Rabin/Lisanti/Tomlin.

Anyway, of that supposed January 1980 meeting: 

The four were to meet with NBC and Fred Silverman on January 3, 1980 in New York. Silverman didn't show. Instead, Silverman was said to have sent two New York Times literary critics to discuss Days. Ken had been told they had watched the show the past two weeks, but they didn't know a single detail about it.

- Somehow, Ken does remember that Rabin was a brand new producer for 1980.

- Betty Corday had a heart attack in November 1979. Kenny got sent to New York for this meeting - if it did take place when he said it did - because she couldn't go. 

[j swift]

Although, I didn't infer your comment to be critical, much like my thoughts on Harding Lemay's memoir, we must remember that recollections aren't always facts. As you likely know, he wasn’t aiming to write a definitive history of DAYS, especially with the anniversary book being published around the same time as his book.

Still, his poignant stories about the loss of his family will always leave me deeply moved. The account of his sibling’s passing is especially heartbreaking, and his candid reflections on his struggles with his mother during her time of dependency were incredibly brave. When people joke about Ken needing to retire and play golf—or more fittingly, the piano—I’m always reminded that running his family's business wasn’t his dream, but a responsibility thrust upon him. The fact that he's managed to keep things going is a real accomplishment that I admire.

I saw his first piano recital, not the one this year.  And I could tell that music, not producing, is his passion.  But, his cast seems to like him, and like many nepo-babies, he is maintaining the family tradition.

 

Edited December 17, 2024 by j swift