3 hours ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Also prior to paying attention to GH they'd had Babbin & Arley at AMC & OLTL. Just not as dire!!!

Babbin and Arley didn't arrive at their respective shows until the early 80's.

14 minutes ago, Paul Raven said:

Babbin and Arley didn't arrive at their respective shows until the early 80's.

Oh, sorry. Got my timing turned completely around. Thanks for the heads up. Still, my point was that ABC did have concern about their whole lineup, during this timeframe. They were not just somehow picking on GH. They had legitimate concerns. 

On 6/6/2024 at 6:47 PM, Khan said:

I agree - and by all means, please feel free to share any more memories from that period that you feel comfortable sharing with us.  So much of GH pre-Marland is not otherwise known to those who weren't alive to see it (myself included).  Any info. on that time would be greatly appreciated.

I am very appreciative for your gracious approval to share any memories of pre-Marland GH.  Here below is something that really upset me, as a child who was around while my mother was watching "her story".

Dr. Lesley Williams was very reluctant to treat patient Florence Grey.  She had an affair with Florence's husband while still in college, and it was essential for Lesley to get help to NOT to let Florence's husband into Florence's room while Lesley was there, because Lesley did not want to see the husband again or to upset the patient.  So Lesley enlisted the aid of Jessie to keep the husband waiting at the nurse's station until Lesley could slip out of the patient's room.  Of course, the plan failed spectacularly, as the impatient husband burst past Jessie, came into the room and locked eyes with Lesley (cue long organ music, fade out).

Now comes the part that upset me as a child.  Florence's father was rich and the owner of a large department store.  He caught wind of who Lesley was and her role in upsetting his daughter, and he would pick arguments and threaten poor Dr. Williams at every turn.

The man who played Florence's father was Edward Platt, the man who played the "The Chief" in the "Get Smart" reruns I watched, and I did not like to see "The Chief" being mean!

 

 

On 6/6/2024 at 2:36 PM, victorlord75 said:

All these small memories show how seemingly details mattered to loyal viewers.  They are nice memories.  I won't burden the good readers here with too many more.  Thank you for letting me share.

This kind of individual shared history and wealth of experience and knowledge is why I stay on this forum. Please never apologize let alone thank us, we should thank you.

Edited June 8, 20241 yr by Vee

16 hours ago, victorlord75 said:

I would assume that it was probably around late 1974 that the network became dissatisfied, because by 1975, they axed Jim Young as the producer and replaced him with Tom Donovan, who was probably the worst producer GH ever had.

In some ways, hard not to agree. But members of the cast liked him and said he was more innovative than Young.

Denise Alexander said he updated the studio and made it more functional, including improving the sound and cameras. Having come from DAYS she was shocked how bad those things were at GH. Lesley Charleson (a friend of his and hired by him) also described him as being very strong, similar to Monty without the attitude.

He had terrible writers. If Marland had arrived when he did I wonder what GH would look like today. Or if it would even be on? It has coasted many times over the years on that cultural impact it had from Monty/Marland/PFS.

Were the Dobsons fired or did they quit? They have such a singular style, but it really comes alive on GL from everything I have seen/read. Maybe Bridget felt more constrained to keep GH as it was as far as tone due to her parents?

37 minutes ago, Vee said:

This kind of individual shared history and wealth of experience and knowledge is why I stay on this forum. Please never apologize let alone thank us, we should thank you.

I agree 100% with this @victorlord75!

We need perspectives like yours to bring those times to life. Soap fans carry a torch for their shows, especially the ones not airing anymore. There is so little reliable information about the earlier eras, let alone someone sharing how the shows made them feel, connect with characters and stories. Please continue to share!

12 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

In some ways, hard not to agree. But members of the cast liked him and said he was more innovative than Young.

Denise Alexander said he updated the studio and made it more functional, including improving the sound and cameras. Having come from DAYS she was shocked how bad those things were at GH. Lesley Charleson (a friend of his and hired by him) also described him as being very strong, similar to Monty without the attitude.

He had terrible writers. If Marland had arrived when he did I wonder what GH would look like today. Or if it would even be on? It has coasted many times over the years on that cultural impact it had from Monty/Marland/PFS.

Were the Dobsons fired or did they quit? They have such a singular style, but it really comes alive on GL from everything I have seen/read. Maybe Bridget felt more constrained to keep GH as it was as far as tone due to her parents?

My impression has been that Donovan fired the Dobsons and had them replaced by the Hollands.  I believe it was the Hollands who created the character of Laura Vining.  Lesley's husband Cameron Faulkner financed getting the Vinings out of town, but I don't know if that plot point belonged to the Hollands or the Pollocks.

Edited June 8, 20241 yr by victorlord75
Improve clarity

14 minutes ago, titan1978 said:

Were the Dobsons fired or did they quit? They have such a singular style, but it really comes alive on GL from everything I have seen/read. Maybe Bridget felt more constrained to keep GH as it was as far as tone due to her parents?

The Dobsons left GH by their choice. Her parents told her constantly that she was not a competent writer & that no one else but them would pay her to write a show for them. And, while Bridget & Jerome were at GH they had to write what Frank & Doris said. 

I forget the exact circumstances but Bridget was in a one-on-one setting with whoever was in charge then on P&G soaps. And she said to them, did they remember her, that she was the girl who did thus and so at such and such a meeting. And, they said,of course they knew who she was, that they had been watching her & her progress & wondered if she was ready for her own show yet or whether she just wanted to stay at GH. Well, Bridget was flabbergasted that anyone, unknown to her, was following her progress, and that they thought she could be a HW on her own. And they interrupted her thoughts to say that of course it was possible that she might not want to be a HW, preferring to write dialog, for example. Finally, she managed to find her voice & express that she would love to HW for a P&G soap. And that is how she got the first HW job for herself & Jerome out from under Frank & Doris's thumb! 

Frank & Doris were truly horrible to Bridget. They never watched her work. They said they knew if they saw her work, poor as it was, that they would be disappointed & they didn't want that. 

I'm sorry to have gotten a bit off of GH. 

7 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

The Dobsons left GH by their choice. Her parents told her constantly that she was not a competent writer & that no one else but them would pay her to write a show for them. And, while Bridget & Jerome were at GH they had to write what Frank & Doris said. 

I forget the exact circumstances but Bridget was in a one-on-one setting with whoever was in charge then on P&G soaps. And she said to them, did they remember her, that she was the girl who did thus and so at such and such a meeting. And, they said,of course they knew who she was, that they had been watching her & her progress & wondered if she was ready for her own show yet or whether she just wanted to stay at GH. Well, Bridget was flabbergasted that anyone, unknown to her, was following her progress, and that they thought she could be a HW on her own. And they interrupted her thoughts to say that of course it was possible that she might not want to be a HW, preferring to write dialog, for example. Finally, she managed to find her voice & express that she would love to HW for a P&G soap. And that is how she got the first HW job for herself & Jerome out from under Frank & Doris's thumb! 

Frank & Doris were truly horrible to Bridget. They never watched her work. They said they knew if they saw her work, poor as it was, that they would be disappointed & they didn't want that. 

I'm sorry to have gotten a bit off of GH. 

I was unaware of all of this.  Thank you for setting things straight.

3 minutes ago, victorlord75 said:

I was unaware of all of this.  Thank you for setting things straight.

You are very welcome. I was concerned to be contradicting you. 

Thanks for the info on the Dobsons. Of everyone involved in bts soaps, I think Bridget’s life would make an incredible tv show. That relationship between her and her parents is so harsh and complex.

There are memos from the show addressing network execs concerns that DA was being wasted during her early days.  The actress herself is said to have been distraught at her lack of a central story. The Grey storyline seems to have been the solution to putting Lesley into the thick of things.

On 6/8/2024 at 10:33 AM, titan1978 said:

Thanks for the info on the Dobsons. Of everyone involved in bts soaps, I think Bridget’s life would make an incredible tv show. That relationship between her and her parents is so harsh and complex.

LOL, you are right about that. If ever there was a toxic relationship between parents & daughter, theirs is probably the most toxic but also amazingly interesting. 

Patrick Mulcahey's life would make an amazing story, too, since when as a teen he first told someone he was gay, they had him institutionalized for years until he was old enough to legally get himself free. 

1 hour ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Patrick Mulcahey's life would make an amazing story, too, since when as a teen he first told someone he was gay, they had him institutionalized for years until he was old enough to legally get himself free. 

What??!!  

2 minutes ago, I Am A Swede said:

What??!!  

Yes, PM was in a mental institution from the time he was ?teen (15? 16? Unknown) until he was either 18 or 21, whichever was the legal age in that state. (I think CT.) At that time he took action to get himself released. I believe that he confided his newfound belief that he was gay to a counselor at his school. But, there's no way he could have been locked up in a mental ward without his parents also being a part of it. He has spoken openly about this. And, god bless him, when he talks about it, it is not with bitterness or rancor, rather he tells fascinating stories about the people he lived with. One, a black teen drag queen whose stories are wonderful, hilarious, even life-affirming. 

On 6/5/2024 at 2:55 AM, Paul Raven said:

General Hospital

In 1977, Irving and Tex Ellman had a 6 week writing stint but accomplished a lot- they wrote in Kin Shriner as Scotty and began Scotty/Laura, introduced Alan Quartermaine, David Hamilton and Nurse Dorrie Fleming. Also killed off Diana's  daughter Martha, thus paving the way to Diana adopting Steven Lars. and dropped Terri Webber Arnett (never to return) One misstep was the Lana/Lisa story which Doug Marland wrapped up when he arrived.

Then Richard & Suzanne Holland were there for about 10 weeks and killed off Mark Dante's wife Mary Ellen and introduced Lamont and Katie (Mark's next love interest)They otherwise pretty much continued the Ellman's stories.

Doug Marland arrived in January and pretty much tweaked what was already happening rather than make major changes immediately.

 

I thought this post from the Short Lived Head Writer thread was so good that I have quoted it here because it relates very well to the posts here recently about GH's darkest period in the ratings.