Y&R: Old Articles

[soapfan770]

Since we're also on the subject of Nina Arvesen, I'll share this retrospective story that Arvesen did with Bernews, a news organization out of Bermuda:

Edited January 27, 2014 by soapfan770

[DRW50]

Thanks. I wonder when that was from.

[YRfan23]

Thanks for sharing! She seems like a truly remarkable woman, it's too bad she probably won't do anymore soaps......I would leave to see a recent picture.

It's sad that all the actresses that brought this mysterious alluring presence and natural beauty to Y&R have all retired from acting Nina Arvesen, Diana Barton, even Kimberlin Brown has chosen to focus more on her designing then acting at the moment......

Edited January 27, 2014 by YRfan23

[DRW50]

[Aback]

I am loving the classic episodes.

Cassandra is just something else. So beautiful and so intriguing. I'm digging her. I'd love to see the actress again, I'm sure she's aged flawlessly. And I didn't know Mallett from GL was on Y&R! LOL

It's nice to see Leanna acting like a human being, not that cartoonish *thing* I had gotten used to see in the last decade.

I've never cared about Don Diamont's body but I have to say... the man was sex on a stick!

Woah, David Kimble looks exactly like a former boyfriend of mine! LOL I remember thinking he was just so ugly in the past, but now I find him quite attractive. It's amazing what they did with this character.

1990 Y&R was all about the money, I see. Cassandra's. Katherine's. Nina's. There were three plots running at the same time about a woman's money about to be extorted from her.

I know I'm in the minority but I just dislike the Jack and Jill recasts. I know it's an unpopular-borderline-blasphemy opinion, but I just think it has affected the writing for the characters so much. I find it excruciating to see PB interacting with a woman/potential partner. Or even worse-- trying hard to play the bad boy, with all the smirking and hand-waggling. And about Jess- I do think she is a good actress and a marvelous human being, but she brought this 'shrewish' vibe to Jill which I feel eventually led to Jill being played for laughs (I can see how it all started when she tried to seduce Victor... say what you want about Dickson's campy robot delivery but that would have never happened with her).

[will81]

Of the three big recasts around that time, Jill, Ashley and Jack. I would say PB was my least favourite. Lester played Jack as a arrogant, self absorbed player but had a complete rascal type charm about him that made you like his character. He could also do soft and emotional when he needed to. PB wasn't cut out for the bad boy Jack and it shows in the eps posted and Bell shifted the character accordingly.

I would say the same of Brenda Epperson's Ashley. Watching old clips of Eileen I forget how much attitude and fire she had compared with Brenda.

Jess, well I think she is a far better actor then Brenda was even in her first run, but Dickson was Jill. They definitely changed the character after Jess came on. It is only Jess' acting that I prefer, but the writing of the character and Brenda's interpretation were better to me.

[sheilaforever]

This gets said a lot and as I started watching Y&R with 1986 episodes it is definitely true that the character changed a lot as Dickson was playing a campy Jill to the hills at this time, yet with every 70s episode of Y&R you can see that her history was very different. And DIckson played it very different. And even in her last few months when Jill Foster Abbott got into business mode at Jabot with the men's line you could see dfifferent shades in her acting choices which Jess Walton continued.

[DRW50]

Jess is very, very campy in most of what I've seen of her first few years as Jill. To me this only truly starts to change around 1989 or 1990.

Edited January 29, 2014 by DRW50

[Aback]

Yeah, it was so obvious in the episodes recently posted here. I hate how recasts change character personality (which happens 99% of the times. I know it also depends on how much you enjoyed the original portrayer but that's for another thread). In that particular case I think that they knew PB was not able to pull off TL's Jack, but at the time PB was 'hot' because of his success at AMC, he was also younger than TL and there you have it.

Yeah, I'm not familiar with early Ashley, but I can see how the character became too soft with BE. The thing is, I think BE is so beautiful and so sweet, it's impossible not to like her!

Yes! I could not have said it better.

Yeah. I wish she had continued her phenomenal Brenda impression. I know it's an awful thing to say. But I just hate the way she snaps at people and suddenly starts to scream in every confrontation. She just comes off as insecure IMHO.

[DeeeDee]

She really begins to put her own stamp on Jill during the custody fight with Nina over Phillip.

[YRfan23]

IMO I seemed to notice more of a change to Jess's portrayal of Jill after the Victor affair and after she married John for the 2nd time and had Billy.....I feel like even after Phillip died she played Jill as more campy, but not a total imitation of Brenda like the first couple years.......Once she married John and had the affair with Jed I think Jill became just more of a bitch and less campy, which is kind of how she has played it since then (bad writing and all)

[DRW50]

I can't say I've seen this huge fire and personality in Eileen's Ashley, in the limited 80s material I've seen. She's very brittle. It works, but I don't think it damaged the Ashley character when they changed her for Brenda. It's not as if the material got any better when Eileen returned.

[will81]

Yeah maybe fire is the wrong word, she just had more attitude and was more snarky. Brenda was very sweet and stoic and firm. More a classic heroine.

For the record I don't think it damaged the character and I love Brenda in the role. I do think Bell sometimes tailored characters to fit actors which is what helped these recasts.

I think what I miss about Dickson's Jill is the more playful elements that Jess had more of in the beginning.

[cassadine1991]

Saw some clips of her, I noticed a difference

Edited January 30, 2014 by cassadine1991

[DRW50]

February 1975 TV Mid Day Stars