Somerset Discussion Thread

[FrenchFan]

To be fair, Weaver only appeared a few months as Avis. It was a small role, before the show got cancelled.

[danfling]

I have heard that Warren Beatty will not even ADMIT that he appeared on Love of Life.  I also heard that Kim Delaney (Jenny Garner Nelson on All My Children) would become strange if her role on All My Children was even mentioned in her presence.

[Vee]

Kim must've gotten over it, since she was practically keeping Agnes Nixon afloat during the AMC farewell special on The View in 2011. Agnes was holding onto Kim for dear life and crying on her shoulder throughout, and Kim was comforting her constantly. I've never forgotten that.

[Contessa Donatella]

I am almost positive that Kim Delaney over the years was fine to very fine with their being discussion of AMC & of Jenny & Greg & the explosive death & even Opal! Sometimes what ya hear is not up to snuff!

[danfling]

Here are two pictures of actor and writer Doug Chapin (Tony Cooper #1 on Somerset).  The person pictured with him is actress Carol Kane.

 

 

 

Edited March 25, 2023 by danfling

[danfling]

I do not think that this was reported in 2019.  Actress Gloria Hoye (Teri on Somerset) passed away. Evidently, from the obituary posted below, soap opera director Carol Sedwick was her daughter-in-law.

 

Gloria Hoye Scott (1925-2019)

Gloria Hoye Scott died peacefully of natural causes on July 3, 2019 at the Hospice of the Fisher Home in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1925, Gloria was the daughter of Richard and Louise (Rauherz) Hoye. She began her professional acting career in the USO, serving in the Pacific during World War II. Her success as an actor spanned decades, starting with numerous roles on stage including performing with Robert Redford in The Highest Tree, which ran on Broadway in 1959. She also had a long career as a soap opera actress seen on The Brighter Day, Secret Storm, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing, Somerset and more. She was a devoted member of The Actors Studio, studying with Lee Strasberg alongside Paul Newman, Marilyn Monroe and others.

Later in life, she studied at the New York Botanical Garden and enjoyed a second career as a landscape designer in New York and Connecticut. Before her move to Massachusetts last November, Gloria spent all her adult life living in Manhattan. She loved New York with a passion, whether walking in Central Park, enjoying fine restaurants (and fine wine), or taking in the city's rich offerings of theatre, film, dance, music, galleries, and museums. She loved to learn about new things, so she studied the Arts by reading voraciously, and going to performances and lectures whenever she could. She traveled throughout the world with friends and family and took great joy in simple and sophisticated pleasures: fresh flowers, cashmere, hand-written notes, good coffee, and salted caramels, to name a few. She appreciated beauty and excellence, be it a piece of music, a talented actor, or a breath-taking view. She was a seeker, and often ahead of her time in her thinking and tastes.

Gloria is survived by her children Michael Patrick (Carol Sedwick) and Laura Patrick (Martha) as well as her two grandsons, Ian and Durrell. Her family would like to thank the staff at Linda Manor Assisted Living and the Hospice of the Fisher Home for their dedicated and compassionate care in Gloria's final months. The Williamsburg Funeral Home was entrusted with her cremation. A private celebration of her life will be held in New York City in the fall. Donations in Gloria's memory may be made to The Actors Fund.

Published by Daily Hampshire Gazette on Jul. 11, 2019.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by danfling

[Jermsie]

The jingles story -- under Slesar -- was written to be more of a complex psychological story of a woman on the edge of sanity.  But when  he was let go and a new head writers was brought in, they turned the story  around and went with the Aunt 

[danfling]

I think that the Jasper Delaney storyline may have been Mr. Slesar's best - although he did not initiate the sotyrline from the beginning.  

I wonder how this would have been if it had been written by Robert Cenedella instead.

[jam6242]

From September 1976.

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[DRW50]

Thanks @jam6242 . Wish I could see some of her Somerset work.

[Mona Kane Croft]

I know that in Cenedella's original storyline projection, Robert Delany was supposed to die fairly early in the series.  I don't know if Jasper's death was a substitute for killing-off Robert, but it is possible Slesar decided to save Robert and dispense with Jasper.  

[danfling]

Here is another death of a performer from Somerset which was not widely reported in 2020.   Len Gochman was in the original cast as Peter Delaney.

 

LEN GOCHMAN Obituary

GOCHMAN--Len, actor, theater producer, and voice-over performer, died peacefully in Manhattan on February 7, surrounded by family and loved ones. Len will be remembered for his kindness, warmth, and generosity. He was 89. After graduating Dartmouth College in 1953, Len served in the U.S. Army. Early in his theatrical career, he worked for the singer Pat Boone, managing the star's fan clubs and publicity. After playing a small role in the 1960s Broadway production of "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," Len was offered the starring role of J. Pierrepont Finch in the show's Australian production. After a year in Australia, Len returned to the U.S. to perform his signature role in numerous productions. His other Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include "Finian's Rainbow," "Don't Drink the Water," "Dear Oscar," "A Little Night Music," "Tuscaloosa's Calling Me . . . But I'm Not Going," and "The Survivor." He also appeared in the TV shows "Another World," "Somerset" and "Law and Order," among other television and film productions. During the 1970s and '80s, Len's engaging voice and prodigious talent led him to become a leader in the voice-over industry. His warm, natural approach could be heard on many blue-chip corporate narrations and TV commercials, including for Jaguar, Delta, Ford, Crest, T. Rowe Price, and the U.S. Army. Len delighted his children with his professional character voices such as the Snack Pack horse. Later in life, Len applied his advertising skills to writing, directing, and producing commercials for Academy Sports + Outdoors stores, founded by Max and Arthur Gochman. Len's passion for theatre never waned. For 30 years, he was an active board member with Celeste Holm of the Creative Arts Rehabilitation Center, which later became Arts Horizons. He also served on the board of The Schoolhouse Theater in Westchester, NY. For many decades, Len worked side by side his wife, Marita, translating and producing several plays by the renowned Swedish playwright Lars Noren. Len is survived by his beloved wife, Marita; as well as his six children, their spouses, and his twelve grandchildren: Michael, Bettina, and Karolina; Debi, Paul, Jeff, and Nick; Doug; Todd, Amy, Andrew, and Henry; Marika, Ray, Ella, Jonas, Wini, Beck and Sofia; and Johanna, John, Mikaela, and Addy.

Published by New York Times on Feb. 20, 2020.

 

 

 

[danfling]

Pamela Toll (Pammy Davis on Somerset) is another performer from Somerset who passed away in 2020.   I can't remember that her death was reported either.

 

Obituary for Pamela Toll

Pamela Barbaro Toll, actor, teacher, mosaicist, and screenwriter, passed away peacefully with her family in Easton, MD, on August 31st after a years-long struggle with Alzheimer's. She was born in Paterson, NJ, in 1948 to Doris and William Toll. She is survived by her daughters, Arianna and Tiolina, by her loving companion, Phil Lambert, and by the family she made everywhere she went. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in her honor to For All Seasons Behavioral Rape and Crisis Center, 300 Talbot Street, Easton, MD 21601, where she led creative workshops and served on the board.

[danfling]

Actress Dorothy Stinette, who was brilliant in her role as Laura Delaney Cooper on Somerset, passed away on October 23.

 

Here is the obituary from the Wichata Eagle:

 

Dorothy Stinnette Obituary

Dorothy Stinnette

May 22, 1928 - October 23, 2023

 

New York City, New York - Dorothy C. Stinnette, born in Wichita, KS, May 22, 1928, passed away in her Manhattan apartment October 23, 2023. A private graveside prayer at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Wichita was her final request. Raised in Kansas on a street called Broadway and with the name Dorothy, it seems early in life her destiny would be 'the yellow brick road'. Indeed, she excelled in theatrics at Wichita East High, pursued her bachelor's degree at Northwestern University, and began her acting career with a move to NYC in the early 1950's. Always proud of being a 'working actress', she loved the stage and the many roles she played across the country. Early in her career she had a part in Murder, Inc., served as a back up to Ginger Rogers in Hello Dolly, and was a permanent cast member in such television programs as The Edge of Night, Loving, and Somerset. She was hardnosed Mrs. Hatcher in the nostalgic McDonald's commercial of the late 1980's. Dorothy always gave generously of herself to her career and to her friends and family. Preceded in death by parents Owen and Stella (Smith) Stinnett; siblings Grace (Atherton), Owen Jr., Helen (Watson), and Paul; and beloved nephew Larry Watson and a niece Cherie Branson. She is survived by nephews Mike Stinnett and Danny Stinnett and his wife Cheri; Great nieces Deidra Branson and Emily Stinnett (Cruz) and Great nephew Graham Stinnett (Melica); and Great-Great niece and nephew Ruthie and Lionel Stinnett. Our thanks to the medical staff at Bellevue and NYU Langone Hospitals and Riverside Premier Rehab Center for the months of care needed so that she could return to her apartment. Caregivers from Home Instead watched over her 24/7 during her final month and Calvary Home Hospice provided additional support the final week of her life. We thank them for the compassionate care that fulfilled her wish to reach the end of that yellow brick road while in her apartment. Dorothy was well known for her love of animals. The ashes of her last two dogs will be placed in her casket before burial. Donations in her name would be welcomed at North Shore Animal League America, Port Washington, NY, a no kill shelter that she supported.

Published by Wichita Eagle on Oct. 29, 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

[danfling]

 

I had never heard of this film:  Another Nice Mess You've Gotten Me Into.

One of the featured performers on the movie poster was Dihan Williams (Crystal Ames of Somerset).

Here is a review of the film:

 

 

If online remarks about this obscure comedy are any indication, people were so eager to laugh at Richard Nixon’s expense during his campaign for a second term as U.S. president that the few cinemagoers who caught Another Fine Mess in theaters recall it fondly. Alas, time has damaged this film more than Nixon’s infamous CREEP (Committee to Re-Elect the President) ever did, if one believes allegations that CREEP helped prevent Another Fine Mess from being widely exhibited. Written and directed by Bob Einstein, who cut his teeth writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (Tom Smothers produced this movie), Another Fine Mess portrays Nixon and his vice president, Spiro Agnew, as old-time comedy duo Laurel and Hardy. Literally. The actors portraying Nixon and Agnew mimic the comedy duo’s slapstick antics, with Nixon incarnating the grumpy Oliver Hardy while Agnew represents the idiotic Stan Laurel. To hammer the analogy, Einstein periodically cuts to film clips of the real Laurel and Hardy. Stupidity reigns in Another Nice Mess. A running gag involves Secret Service agents disguised as ferns, and one bit features agents reacting to out-of-control flatulence. In the most elaborate scene, Agnew delivers so many offensive malapropisms during a state dinner that he causes a visiting dignitary to declare war. And in the “highlight” of the movie, Nixon and Agnew get wasted on pot-laced cookies. Throughout Another Fine Mess, the jokes are obvious, the performances are weak, and the production values are pathetic. It’s also confusing that masterful mimic Rich Little has top billing, since it’s not clear whether Little portrays Nixon throughout the film; the actor with the most screen time does a weak approximation of Nixon’s voice, whereas another actor appears as Nixon in brief interstitial bits, commenting on the movie as it unspools, and that performer gets Nixon’s voice right. Anyway, sorting out who did what isn’t worth the trouble, because this dated flick is a comedy footnote at best. Einstein later portrayed daredevil character Super Dave Osborn, and fellow Smothers Brothers writer Steve Martin plays a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it supporting role.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by danfling