Was Glaser fired or did he want to leave?

March 1985 SOD. John Kelly Genovese remembers LIAMST.

Famed television mogul Fred Silverman cut his eyeteeth as head of daytime programming at CBS, and his first "baby" was a house-produced serial loosely based on the Han Suyin novel and motion picture, "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing." What began as a curious combination of long-established serial talents who had never worked together, was soon to become a springboard for many young super-talents, both before and behind the cameras.

"Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" premiered September 18, 1967 as a New York-based creation of Irna Phillips, then the dominant figure in soap writing. Irna's other serials ("Guiding Light", "As the World Turns" and "Another World") were under the auspices of Procter & Gamble, thus a CBS house-produced show was a new frontier for her. Her then-subwriters, Jane and Ira Avery, had previously been head writers for "The Secret Storm" in the Roy Winsor Productions stable.

The show's early months drew a mixed reaction. Though many liked the smashing Victor Paganuzzi sets, the lush Wladimir Selinsky orchestrations and the energetic direction by Peter Levin and producer-director Tom DOnovan, Irna's two front-burning family stories left some viewers cold. One involved Mia Elliott (Nancy Hsueh), the Eurasian medical student daughter of deceased war correspondent Mark Elliott (the novel's protagonist), who transferred to San Francisco's University HOspital and stayed with her American relatives; her uncle, newspaper publisher Phil Elliott (Len Wayland), his conservative wife, Helen (briefly Grace Albertson, then Gloria Hoye), and their confused young son, Mark (David Birney was the most popular in the role). Mark was the male lead in the other important story, a triangle with free-spirited Iris Donnelly (Leslie Charleson, Bibi Besh) and her fragile younger sister, Laura (originally Donna Mills). Laura was a nun whose hidden love for Mark prevented her from taking her final vows.

Anxious for viewers to pick up the "habit" of viewing his new soap, Silverman insisted Irna drop the nun and the Eurasian. Ms. Phillips quit in a furor, and the Averys took over. They and succeeding head d writers defined what most who saw it fondly recall as "Love is a Many Splendored Thing."

Along with the Donnellys and the Elliotts was Dr. Jim Abbott (Robert Milli, then Ron Hale when the character returned years later), Jim was caught between his feelings for Mia and Iris until Mia was sent away, but then Iris and others in her circle became involved with the exciting Garrison family. Iris married dashing politico Spence Garrison (Ed Power, Brett Halsey) once he shook himself loose from his shrewish wife, Nancy (Susan Browning), Spence's virtuous mother, Margaret (Flora Campbell), had lost her wealthy husband, Chandler Garrison (William Post, Jr.), to a villainous younger woman, Jean (Jane Manning), whose affair with Mark almost cost him his marriage to Laura.

The show's structure became even more inbred as Helen Elliott, after Phil's death, married policeman Tom Donnelly (Robert Bur,r, Albert Stratton), Iris and Laura's brother (Helen's own son's brother-in--law!). Widower pathologist Dr. Will Donnelly (JUdson Laire), Tom's father, married Lily Chernak (Diana Douglas), mother of Dr. Pete Chernak (Vincent Baggetta), a brilliant neurosurgeon whose laser techniques restored Iris's sight in a compelling blindness story. Pete's younger sister, feminist doctor Betsy (Andrea Marcovicci), was torn between a married doctor and a paraplegic before chucking both for hippie Joe Taylor (Leon Russom).

It was toward the middle of the show's 5 1/2 year run that LIAMST enjoyed its greatest popularity, when John Conboy (later with Y&R and "Capitol"), was executive producer, Ann Marcus was head writer, and the principals were Charleson, Power, Birney and Mills. The performers were downright irresistible, the episodes were strikingly human in their treatment of romantic conflicts, and there was shortage of the slow, sappy moments which plagued other serials at the time. Though there were also the usual elements of crime and suspense, they were minor in relation to the more everyday love-hate elements depicted.

Sadly, the latter did not hold true. The show's most popular performers left for greater horizons, and the pivotal roles of Mark and Laura Elliott endured numerous recastings. Some of the replacement performers were successful, but the cast changes jarred a large portion of the audience to the point of channel switching. To keep remaining viewers hooked, the plots became less concerned with human dilemmas and more action-oriented, particularly when Joe Taylor was blackmailed by sleazy Senator Alfred E. Preston (Don Gantry) and his eccentric criminal benefactor, Walter Travis (John Carpenter). The final blow to dedicated viewers was the return of Jim Abbott as a villain, in a storyline involving Mark's drunken rape of his sister-in-law Iris, thinking she was Laura. Once a time slot change put the nail in the show's coffin, "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" was cancelled on March 23, 1973 along with another CBS-produced soap, "Where the Heart Is."

But the following week, John Conboy's new venture, "The Young and the Restless" made its debut, replete with unabashedly beautiful people and sets. It was, in effect, everything "Love Is a Many Splendored Thing" could have been had the show remained true to its title.

Edited August 21, 201114 yr by CarlD2

I didn't realize the Averys had been subwriters under Irna Phillips. In the 1960s, the Averys were mentioned in the Palm Beach social column whenever they were visiting Jane's mother, Helen. Before writing soaps, they had written some books about travel and eating around the world. Later, they transitioned into television and wrote 'The Secret Storm' for several years. Jane had been a model at one point in her life, and I got the sense the Averys lived a very affluent lifestyle and would have been at home with the residents of Woodbridge. While Jane's mother lived in Florida, the Averys lived in Fairfield County with their two daughters. Both girls got married in the late 1960s / early 1970s, and I've found little reference to the Averys after that.

Thanks for telling us more about the Averys. I didn't know any of that.

I wonder if that's true about many fans being upset with Jim returning as a villain. Didn't he leave as a villain?

February 1971 Afternoon TV.

Thank you so much for sharing this, Carl. Beverlee looks lovely in these photographs, I always preferred her with longer hair. The style she wore on Another World for most of the 70s made her look far older than her years, IMO. She was just exquisite. It is also interesting to read about her life in Oklahoma, which somewhat resembles the family origins of Steven Frame. I suppose this is why she successfully played Emma.

I can never get enough of these old articles, and actually purchasing the magazines now can be prohibitively expensive. Many are selling for over $50. I truly appreciate you taking the time to scan, type, and upload them for us.

I'm just glad people enjoy reading them. Aside from a few fleeting glimpses at WOST and some old AW snippets from the 70's I didn't have a lot of involvement in older soaps until a few years ago, so it's been amazing to find so many other fans who have so much info, episodes, etc. I always look forward to your material and your comments.

I agree that she did look older than her age on AW - someone I was watching with recently kept saying there was no way she was Mac's daughter.

I've never really seen her look the way she does in these photos - I especially like the one where she's holding her scarf over her head, on the last page.

I especially like the one where she's holding her scarf over her head, on the last page.

That may very well be my new all-time favorite photo of her, she is luminous. Thank you so much for this Carl, saynotoursoap has already said it best.

Is it bad that if I ever met James Earl Jones the first thing I'd ask him about was working with Beverlee McKinsey? She mentions Robert Hooks, that's who she did Dutchman with (which was later made into a film with Shirley Knight and Al Freeman, Jr.).

I thought she looked younger on Texas than she did on AW, but still a very aging style. She looked absolutely beautiful in these pictures though. Another reason I'd love to see this show. Such a talented cast.

There was a You Tube vid for a time that had a LIAMST episode centering on Julie, Ricky, Helen and Tom. Julie had Ricky over for dinner and Helen and Julie went at it over custody. I think Zaslow was in it, along with Judson Laire. It has never re-surfaced but it was a great treat to see that storyline.

A November 1982 Digest catchup on the cast. For some reason I couldn't get the first page to load but all it was was 1982-era photos of Veleka Gray, Leslie Charleson, Donna Mills, Ed Power. This was put together by Linda Susman.

Bev as Emma Ordway.

She looked much less attractive when Iris had short hair,

Edited August 29, 201114 yr by Paul Raven