I think Agnes Nixon was exclusively writing AW when Vicky Wyndham was on GL, but I could be wrong.

1970's SOD covers

1970's SOD covers

Do you have the AMC issue pictured above??

That's a great picture of Susan Lucci and Richard Shoberg on the last cover.

October 1978 Digest

Not sure if AMS posts here anymore but he may like this.

I've always liked Mark LaMura. He just has that Everyman thing going on, and I think it served him well on AMC.

Thank you so much for sharing, Carl! I'm glad you thought of me when posting that!

Mark is my ultimate soap crush, the character and the actor. He has this great vibe in all of the interviews from this time period and was living a very full, fun life. I love that he was definite in saying that he enjoyed working in daytime. Many actors at this time were very candid in their apathy towards their work on soaps.

I'm not too familiar with LaMura's off-screen life. Why did he leave AMC? Do you know if AMC ever asked him back for a longer duration and he was unwilling or if AMC just felt the character was done, save for brief visits to Erica and Bianca?

I read something about his wife disappearing at some point in the 90s? But then in the People magazine special AMC issue, he's in the "Where are they now?" section and I think it mentions a wife and 12-year-old daughter. I'm sure there's an interview out there (possibly in this thread) about why he left the show.

IDK if they ever attempted to bring him back full time, but he was definitely needed. After Mona passed, then Myrtle, we needed an "Oh, Erica!!" person on the show full-time, and I'm not quite sure Opal was it. Mark should have been Bianca's beloved uncle, not Jack.

I know, for example, that Nick Surovy wouldn't stay on as Mike Roy for more than 6 months or so at a time, which was why he was recast in the 80s and why Erica chose Jack in 1998. I wasn't sure if Mark LaMura had some sort of similar objection to coming back to AMC long-term or if AMC just couldn't be bothered. I agree with you - I would have loved to see a closer relationship between Bianca and her Uncle Mark.

I remember Mark LaMura was doing a play here in the Cleveland area about 10 or 15 years ago when everyone had to take cover because there were strong thunderstorms in the area, and I think the power went out at some point. I don't know if they continued the show after that.

AMC's 30th anniversary episode, also the end of the 1999/2000 Crystal Ball. I love the mix of old clips in with the current stories.

 

Ahhhh, the good old days of network MOW!!!! The ones Susan Lucci made always seemed to do very well in the ratings, too.