Y&R: Old Articles

[YRfan23]

People say when Victor came on and wore his cowboy outfits it was in the height of JR Ewing, but also in 1980 on “One life to Live” that was when the Buchanan boys entered with their cowboy suits. I realized a Victor and Asa Buchanan kind of both came on with the same tyranical personality. 

Edited July 22, 2022 by YRfan23

[kalbir]

I think Victor got more "corporate" when Ed Scott took over as EP. The Newman Enterprises office set that we know today was set up and Victor dressed mostly in suits. During the H. Wesley Kenney years the horse rancher outfits dropped somewhat and Victor dressed more in sweaters and dress clothes, and suits became more frequent.

Victor's introduction in February 1980 was around the time Dallas was blowing up in popularity (JR got shot a month later). Yes, Y&R had wealthy businessmen before Victor (Phillip Chancellor II and Lance Prentiss) and Wisconsin has horse ranches, plus EB appeared in westerns before Y&R, but the Dallas influence was evident: wealthy businessman introduced as the new villain that lives on a horse ranch, has a long-suffering much younger wife, and dresses like a horse rancher. Bill Bell might have based the Newman ranch on a horse ranch near his vacation home in Lake Geneva and been familiar w/ EB's work in westerns, or perhaps CBS Daytime wanted to cash in on the Dallas craze (a year later Guiding Light introduced the Lewis family from Oklahoma that owned an oil company).

Here's a bizarre coincidence: the Dallas episode that aired Friday February 8, 1980 (the same date as Victor's first episode) was the first time Dallas hit #1 in the weekly ratings.

Edited July 23, 2022 by kalbir

[NothinButAttitude]

 

[Paul Raven]

[DRW50]

 

[Broderick]

I always saw that as a pretty sad waste of K.T. Stevens.  Like Miss Barbara Stanwyck, she was never an exceptionally versatile, captivating actress, but she was one of the few "leftover" actresses of Hollywood's "Golden Age" who was still working.  It seemed a shame to stick her with such a one-dimensional character, and then have her leap to her death, just to facilitate a terribly DULL trial, that dragged on forever, where we already knew the outcome.  ("Lorie goes free!!  Saints be praised!!  The old crone wasn't able to frame her!!)  Vanessa would've been more entertaining if she'd been more than a plot device.  (During this same time period, Henry Slesar at "Edge of Night" was having great fun with Kim Hunter -- another leftover from the golden age who was reduced to soap work.)  Bell just never seemed to TRY very hard with Vanessa, keeping her strictly a domineering old villain, and then using her death to drag-out a pretty dull story involving a pretty played-out heroine.    

Edited July 25, 2022 by Broderick

[kalbir]

@Broderick Vanessa Prentiss lasted 5 1/2 years, that's a pretty good arc for a villainess. K.T. Stevens didn't act much after Y&R but from what I've seen of her Y&R work, she had primetime soap matriarch energy. She was written off Y&R just when primetime soaps were taking off but for whatever reason a regular primetime soap role for her wasn't meant to be.

Speaking of Golden Age Hollywood actresses, was the casting of Dorothy McGuire as Cora Miller considered a big get for Y&R?

Edited July 25, 2022 by kalbir

[Broderick]

Oh yes, that was a big deal at the time.  It was kinda confusing to me, as I'd never heard of Dorothy McGuire before, but obviously I've seen plenty of her films now.   (If I remember right, it was always made clear that Dorothy McGuire had only signed on for a "limited engagement".)  

[Joseph]

Humm i actually loved this little tribute The Channel To K. T. Stevens, she's not an actress we usually think about when we Think about Y&R ao it's Grand Dames, but when you see her work you realize it's not her fault

 

I think she might've done a Nice Miss Ellie, but I don't know she also might came across as too tough, BBG was so good in Balancing both Traits, as the comment section on one of the videos mentioned She would've done an Excellent Ann Douglas, i can only Imagine Her and Susan Flannery Going Head to Head as Epic, that is if The character have been introduced sooner, i could see her in the drama During 1988-92 With The Cheating Eric Drama, her presence might've help us relate to Stephanie Better

Pity Dorothy wasn't willing to make a long Term appearence Cora would've certainly be a Good Addition to The Newman Household

Edited July 25, 2022 by Joseph

[Paul Raven]

KT was the daughter of director Sam Wood who directed some classic films (Kitty Foyle. Kings Row,Goodbye Mr Chips et al)and had been acting for 40 years or so-she started in radio soaps. Her son Christian Marlowe dabbled in soaps (Love of Life). He ex husband was Hugh Marlowe (Jim Matthews AW and many Hollywood movies in the 50's)

So quite the Hollywood family dynasty.

[slick jones]

Going through my notes to update "Hoppers" and I have two Y&R Questions...

 

A character named Scott Decker was portrayed by a David Ramsey.  I don't have a year written down for him. There's no mention of him for either of these two actors on imdb, either.  The first picture is an actor  from LOVERS AND FRIENDS/ FOR RICHER FOR POORER.

The second is famous for the Arrowverse.

If anyone can  help with a year for the character, it would help.

 

 

The second involves another role-- Phyllis Palmer  portrayed by Marla Adams. I have no date here, either, or character information.  Does anyone know anything about Phyllis? 

Edited July 26, 2022 by slick jones

[blueberrywaffle]

what event is this  ?XD

 

 

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[Broderick]

New CBS Serial Set for Spring Launch

November 1972

A new half-hour daytime drama series, titled The Innocent Years, is planned for presentation in the spring of 1973 on CBS.  The Innocent Years will be produced by Corday Productions, in association with Screen Gems. 

"The Innocent Years will be set in a mid-American city," said William J. Bell, who created the new serial, "and it will emphasize more the man-woman relationship than the life and death crisis situations used as the prime emotional force in many daytime dramas."  

________________________________________

New Name for Planned CBS Soap

January 1973

The Young and Restless Years is a new CBS soap soon to hit the airwaves.  Not much is being told about it yet, but here's a clue:  the original title was The Innocent Years.  We can guess that title was considered too tame for the projected goings-on.  

Four new shows are premiering on television this week:  The Bobby Darin Show, Here We Go Again, A Touch of Grace, and The Vin Scully Show.  Waiting in the wings are Barnaby Jones, Escape, The Tuesday Night Movie, and The Young and Restless Years.  

_______________________________________

New Soap Opera Starts Monday

March, 1973

Man-woman chemistry, young people, and music blend to form the dramatic elements of a new CBS daytime serial, The Young and the Restless, scheduled to premiere Monday.  

Genoa City, a mythical community with a population of 250,000 and located in upper mid-America, will be the home of the series.  The program's story will revolve around two of its resident families.

One family is headed by Stuart Brooks (publisher of the local newspaper) and his wife Jennifer.  They have four daughters -- Leslie, 25, an aspiring concert pianist; Lauralee, 21, presently away at school; Chris, 19; and Peggy, 16.  

The second family is made up of Bruce Henderson, a medical doctor, his wife Regina, and their two sons, Jim, 24, and Russell, 17.  An integral part of this family are Bruce's sister, Liz Foster, and her three children:  "Snapper", 24, a medical student; Greg, 20, a law student; and Jill, 18.  

Entering the lives of these two families in the premiere broadcast of the CBS serial will be Brad Eliot, a mysterious but self-confident and well-educated young man.  After leaving Chicago, Brad's car and all his personal belongings are stolen.  He hitches a ride on a truck which takes him to Genoa City and into the life of newspaperman Stuart Brooks, who hires him as a copy boy.  While alone at the newspaper office, Brad sees his own picture coming through in a wire photo story announcing that 'Dr. Brad Eliot burned beyond recognition in car accident and identified through a few personal belongings.'  He decides to remain "dead" and not to reveal his past to his new friends in Genoa City.  

The Young and the Restless will star (in alphabetical order):

Robert Clary as Pierre

Robert Colbert as Stuart 

Lee Crawford as Sally McGuire, a waitress at Pierre's

Brenda Dickson as Jill

William Gray Espy as Snapper

Dorothy Green as Jennifer

Mary Grover as Leslie

Tom Hallick as Brad

James Houghton as Greg

Julianna McCarthy as Liz

Pamela Peters as Peggy

Trish Stewart as Leslie

Additional regular cast members will be named as the program progresses.  

The series' producer is John Conboy, who most recently produced the CBS daytime serial Love Is a Many Splendored Thing.  William J. Bell created the show and also serves as head writer -- a capacity he fills for the serial Days of Our Lives.  Alternating as directors are Herbert Kenwith and William Glen.  

[I never realized they'd made it QUITE this far with the "rejected" titles of the show, publishing them as the official title.  I also never realized how "Mary Grover as Leslie" was hanging out there a week before the show hit the airwaves.  Funny that Bruce, Regina, Jim, and Russell are given priority over the Fosters, but none of them was cast at that point, one of them had a name change from Jim to Mark, and the other boy bit the dust before he hatched from the shell.]  

[Paul Raven]

The Hendersons did arrive (sans Russell) but never seemed to be presented as a major family.

 

[antmunoz]

Mary Grover, (Not) Leslie!

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