GH: Classic Thread

[Vee]

Didn't Gail only come on just before Marland and Monty?

One thing I do feel upon looking at a lot of the late 70s and early 80s is that they kept weaving Steve, Audrey and the Hardys into story, even if it was only community crisis stuff like the later big disaster storylines. They were a comforting constant presence, even without story; maybe that did change later. Steve and Audrey were very rarely around when I started watching. But I don't know how much more heavy story you could've pushed for them or for Lee in the 80s and 90s.

[DRW50]

I think so, yes. 

The main phasing out of the Hardys and especially the Baldwins started around 1984 or so, I think, culminating in Monty writing the Baldwins out. I'm not even sure if they got an exit. 

[amybrickwallace]

Wasn't Audrey's son, Tom, being groomed as a leading man for some time? Despite being the son of a legacy character, Tom never seemed to have the relevance of other male characters of the time like Robert Scorpio or Sean Donnelly. 

[Vee]

Tom could easily be the elder hunky doctor these days. That's a role they intended for Scott Reeves as Steve/Stephen Lars, but that didn't go very far because he was a C-player in Guza's world. You could also very easily bring on Tommy/Tom III, his son with Simone.

(I personally would make Gina Tognoni play the dreaded Dr. Sarah Webber, but that's me.)

[DRW50]

That and Scott Reeves sucks.

[amybrickwallace]

Who could you see playing Tom? I know Matt Ashford is on DAYS again, but he never seems to stay there too long. I am stymied.

[titan1978]

IIRC, Rachel Ames was no longer on contract during part of this period too.

 

We saw Steve at the hospital, but they didn’t have many scenes until Wes Kenney’s era as EP, when Tom Hardy and Simone became part of the story, and even then, those two were B or C storyline characters most of the time.

 

When you watch the first few Monty years, we see folks like Lee and Gail and the other original vets quite often.  Even Jessie has her little story with Dan.  I think loosing Jeff hurt Steve and Audrey.  And Monty moved away from recasting major roles,  so Jeff wasn’t likely coming back.  Recasts were so strange to me because I grew up paying most of my soap attention to GH- and by the time I was old enough to know what was going on Monty just didn’t recast parts.  When someone left, the story moved on.

I’ve recast Jeff as Robert Newman around here before, and I could see him as Tom too.  Plus I think he would make a better romantic foil for someone like Genie Francis or Nancy Grahn.

[amybrickwallace]

I like that idea, and I think he and Genie would be an inspired pairing. Is Robert Newman based in LA now or is he still living on the East Coast?

[Forever8]

According to his episode on the SOD podcast last year. He said he was still on the East Coast but if a role on a soap that meaning would turn up he would consider it.

[amybrickwallace]

There you go! Someone should put a bug in his ear - and in GH's!!

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[titan1978]

While I have not seen many full episodes of GH from its original decade, when I do it’s very interesting how unsoapy the actors were.  Lots of subtle work, and while characters like Jessie are subjected to various traumas, I’ve never seen a clip or episode of her acting hysterical.  Or Rachel Ames.  Certainly not John Beradino.  Emotional sure- but not the high levels of emotion that become more and more popular in soap acting in the 1970’s.

 

Was Denise Alexander as Lesley the first lead on GH that was more soapy? (I love her by the way, I think she is a good actress, but Lesley is much more a traditional soap lead of the more emotive type compared to Jessie, Lee Baldwin or Audrey IMO).

Edited July 9, 2021 by titan1978

[amybrickwallace]

From your description, she probably was. All I have seen and heard of GH in the 1960s and early 1970s (which admittedly isn't much), it seems that the acting was very straightforward. It was drama, not melodrama. Plus, John Bernadino hadn't really been a pro actor for all that many years when cast on GH. He had been a pro baseball player. It's hard to imagine anyone else as Dr. Steve Hardy.

[Paul Raven]

Doug Davidson?

[amybrickwallace]

Hmmmm...maybe.

[Vee]

You need a hunkier guy to play Tom, IMO. He's not that old, lol. There's a zillion soap stars out there who could do it, but you are absolutely not in the Robert Newman, Doug Davidson zone. (And I think Robert Newman is still very hot.) Think 10-15 years younger IMO.

Jeff Webber OTOH, you could get any number of older guys. I feel like the show has always held out hope Richard Dean Anderson will return someday - it's never gonna happen IMO.

Edited July 10, 2021 by Vee