77/78 was a time of change at OLTL. In addition to Pinkerton, Doris Belack and Kathy Glass departed along with Kathryn Breech and Jameson Parker. Was any of this discussed in the Jeff Giles book?
May 8 1977 The Soap Report Ax Falls at ‘Life to Live' by Jon Michael Reed.
NEW YORK — A couple of eviction notices behind the scenes at “One Life to Live” have produced explosive jolts and everyone is sitting on pins and needles. It all began two weeks ago during a week that will go down in soap lore as something of a mini-massacre.
On a Monday it officially was announced that Nancy Pinkerton had been axed from her four-year role as Dorian Cramer Lord and replaced by Claire Malis.
On Tuesday, producer Doris Quinlan was lunching when a crew member, who’d heard rumors, asked when she was leaving the show. Quinlan fairly choked on her artichoke at this biting news.
On Wednesday the entire cast, with the exception of George Reinholt (Tony Lord), drafted a letter to ABC programming chiefs, in which they itemized their grievances about the show, especially the lagging, repetitive pace of the show's writing.
AFTER THE taping of Thursday’s show, Farley Granger, the former movie star who had joined the show a year ago in a blaze of publicity as Dr. Will Vernon, was informed that he’d just completed his last'show. Far-Far, as he was lovingly referred to by his castmates, reportedly had a tough time memorizing his scripts. But he did possess an attractive screen charisma, which his replacement lacks. Bernie McInerney (last seen as Jack and Mary’s annulment counselor, Father Richards, on “Ryan’s Hope”), fine actor that he is, would seem to be an odd choice to portray Dr. Vernon, who should make female hearts go pitty-pat.
Then, on black Friday, came the cropper. Quinlan, who’d been futilely attempting to receive confirmation or denial from ABC executives about the rumors of her firing, finally received a priority telephone call, requesting that she please clear out her belongings because a new producer would be arriving on the set on Monday.
"YES. I WAS MORE than a little unhappy and surprised,” says Quinlan, who reportedly opposed the cast dismissals. “I don’t really want to throw sour grapes. After all, firings are part of the business. But I am upset about the shabby way it was done, especially since I’ve been on the show since its debut. I helped put it on the air nine years ago. It has the best cast, the best directors, and it’s been a rewarding experience. Why did it happen? I had been fighting with the network for the last few months to improve the writing of the show. The only reason they gave for my dismissal was that the writing was slow and tedious. And yet they kept the writers and axed me.”
OVER THE WEEKEND, everyone speculated about the unsettling goings on in the halls of ABC's corporate heaven. But on Monday morning, the smoke cleared a bit and Joseph Stuart descended to take over the producing reins of "OLTL.” Stuart had been director of daytime programming for the network ever since he was axed as the producer of NBC’s “The Doctors,” a program that won an Emmy award under his tutelage. Stuart is now wearing the shoe on the other foot. He strode onto the set and informed the cast that he wants to put together the best show possible. Alluding to the cast letter, Stuart, according to member, declared that “OLTL” complaint procedures “won’t exactly be handled as democratically — more like an enlightened dictatorship.” Then he added with a laugh, “The most important thing for all of us is to have fun, fun, fun.” It’s going to be a little difficult for those who fear that “Network” is alive and well and posing a constant threat to job security. But that's show biz...
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Paul Raven ·
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