GH: Classic Thread

[Khan]

What exactly was the Lana/Lisa story all about, lol?

I remember reading somewhere that Douglas Marland didn't like the Steven Lars plot and that the only way he could get out of it was just to have Heather go full villainess - hence, the LSD stratagem.

[Paul Raven]

Lana had a split personality. Obviously the story was intended to be long term but Marland wrapped it up in February.

Marland may not have liked the Steven Lars story-I guess he found it too contrived that the baby would end up with the Taylors but he must have realized that there was a lot of potential for ongoing drama and kept it going the rest of his stint. Pat Falken Smith did the same.

Am I right in stating that Gloria Monty was no fan of Mary O'Brien's Heather?

Robin Mattson got a daytime career out of that role.

[Vee]

I know Tony Geary (and maybe others) talked about Monty giving O'Brien and others hell on set. I thought she did a very good job in all the material I've seen with her.

I thought the Lana/Lisa twin saga (where IIRC Jeff though he was tangled up with twins but it turned out to be DID) and the tornado that killed Diana and Peter's daughter and brought in David Hamilton all kicked off around the same time. But it sounds like from what's been recently discussed that maybe one set of brief writers (Elman?) brought in Lana/Lisa earlier. By the end of the year I think Marland had arrived just before the new year, introduced Bobbie and kicked the split personality story out. I remember we were wondering not long ago if maybe the prior writers had introduced "Nurse Barbara" (as she was initially called onscreen) just before Marland, but Jackie always claimed it was definitely him who introduced her.

I remember a bit of posted archival material - probably on here, probably in this thread but I can't remember - seeming to detail the swift wrap-up of the Lana/Lisa story but I can't put my hands on where and what it said.

Edited June 10 by Vee

[DRW50]

I can see why Marland didn't love the Steven Lars storyline, although it made for some very dramatic material. 

Still disappointed, if not surprised, that when they finally brought Steven back, it was with tiresome Scott Reeves, 15 years past his prime (and he wasn't much in his prime either).

[Khan]

Now that you mention it, @Paul Raven, I think that's EXACTLY why he said he didn't care for the story.  At least that's what I'm recalling atm, although I might be wrong.

Also, I recall reading in some other, long-forgotten book about the soaps that when Marland arrived at GH, he realized that the show was still working off the long-term projections from the last several HW's.  I think that's why what he (and Gloria Monty) were able to do with the show was so remarkable, because they really had inherited a mess, lol.

[Vee]

The one thing I liked about that was that they made him part of the firmament - had him hosting the Christmas party at GH and singing to the kids, going by Steve Webber, etc. It just felt appropriate given the legacy. But yeah, he was only cast to give Steve Burton's buddy a job.

I'd probably bring Steve back recast sometime but I always struggle over who's more viable, him or Tom Hardy. You can't really have both.

[victorlord75]

I do not know what to think about Monty vs. O'Brien, and here comes my spotty memory again.  I could swear to reading somewhere that O'Brien was asked back and declined, thus paving the way for Robin Mattson.

On an unrelated subject, I have read that Gloria Monty loved father-son and mother-daughter scenes, such as Lee and Scotty, and Lesley and Laura.  But hands down, my favorite parent-child duo was Alice and Heather.  The screaming matches between Alice and Heather kind of followed the same formula:  Alice would threaten to go to whoever Heather was scheming about to spill the tea, Heather would threaten Alice and make Alice back down, and then, Alice would walk away with her panties in a bunch.  

I ate the stuff up, every time, I loved it!

 

 

 

[cassadine1991]

Would be fun to know when Gene Palumbo’s material stopped and Norma Monty’s started

[Khan]

Just one more reason why I needed a storyline that explained the source of all of Heather's problems (and no, I'm not talking about poisoned hips either, lol).  What happened in that girl's childhood to make her the way she was?  Like most characters created by the Pollocks on all their shows, it seems like Heather came in scheming from the very beginning without any real explanation as to why.

[victorlord75]

I do think that Marland tried to establish that Heather did not have the patience to wait for the benefits of a strong marriage to materialize over time.  I remember a scene where Steve and Audrey discussed that.  While that does not compensate for lack of information, it certainly helps to establish motivation.

[depboy]

Nothing says "Happy Holidays!" like being murdered with a geode paperweight. 

December 1974:

Monday, December 2, 1974: The day of Peter and Diana’s reaffirmation ceremony.  Phil tries to talk privately with Peter, but Peter refuses to see him; Jessie and Phil argue, and Phil tells her that Peter has been fooling around with Augusta.  Jim makes an appointment to see Phil; Phil is patronizing with Jim and calls him a drunk; Jim gets angry and accuses Phil of telling people at the hospital that he was drinking; Phil tells Jim to pull himself together and to meet him tomorrow night and he’ll figure out a way to help.  Lesley helps Diana get ready for the ceremony.  Diana and Peter celebrate the reaffirmation of their marriage.

Tuesday, December 3: Phil insists on meeting with Peter tonight; Peter grimly agrees to avoid having Phil tell Diana about Peter’s relationship with Augusta; they will meet in Lesley’s office. Lesley and Lee worry about Jessie’s health and that she is overworking when Jessie cancels a dinner date with Lee.  Joel shows Lesley the geode which has helped straighten his desk. Audrey comes home to find Jim drunk; he tells her he’s going to meet with Phil tonight; Jim feels like a fool for having expected Phil’s help, and he wants to tell him a few things.  Peter tells Diana he has to see Phil tonight to get it over with.

Wednesday, December 4: Audrey tells Jessie that Jim is bitter and angry with Phil.  Diana remembers Phil saying that he never raped her; she is upset and worried about the meeting between Peter and Phil; Diana arranges for Mrs. Morgan to stay with Martha.  Diana and Jessie are surprised to see each other working; they are both worried.  Audrey begs Jim not to go to the hospital to see Phil; to calm her, he lies and says he won’t go.  Phil tells Augusta this is the night he plans to tell Peter about her child.

Thursday, December 5: Diana begs Peter not to see Phil; Peter is irritated that Diana chose to be on duty tonight.  Lesley and Joel have a happy time; he suggests they move to an apartment together; Lesley rejects this idea; Lesley is called to the hospital on an emergency call.  Phil goes to Lesley’s office to wait for Peter.  Jim remembers the time Phil called him a drunk; Augusta begs Peter not to meet with Phil; Peter goes to Lesley’s office and Phil tries to be pleasant, but Peter is in no mood to be cheery.

Friday, December 6: Phil tells Peter that Augusta is pregnant with Peter’s child; Peter doesn’t believe him; Phil threatens to tell Diana; Peter hits Phil, telling him he’ll kill him if he goes near Diana.  Lesley arrives at the hospital with an emergency patient; Jane is assigned to help care for the patient.  Peter, very grim, comes from the office; Diana, Augusta, and Jessie see him; Diana rushes to him, but he leaves immediately, despite her concern.  An upset Jim leaves on the elevator, Augusta sees him.  Jessie feels that Phil has precipitated some sort of crisis. Augusta leaves the nurses station to answer the call board.  Diana, drained and utterly miserable, leaves in a hurry.  Augusta returns to the station, very upset.  Lesley thanks Jane for helping with the emergency patient.  Jessie, worried about Diana, goes to Lesley’s office to see Phil and find out what happened.  Henry offers to take Jane home; Jane goes to Lesley’s office and finds Jessie on her knees in front of Phil, who is on the floor.  Jane rushes to get Steve; Steve finds Jessie and Phil in the office – Phil is dead.

Monday, December 9: Steve tells everyone that Phil is dead and he asks that the police be called.  When Kira learns from Steve what happened, she insists on coming to the hospital. Police inspect Lesley’s office; Steve calls Lee.  Ross Jeanelle, the assistant D.A. calls the D.A., Chase Murdock; Ross tells Chase he wants to investigate the case.  Kira argues with Steve when he urges her not to ask too many questions of the people on the floor.  A policeman tells Augusta, Henry and Jane that the case looks like murder.  Peter arrives home with a swollen, red hand.

Tuesday, December 10: Ross tells the police he wants a fix on the time of death and a list of everyone who was on the floor; he refuses to answer Kira’s questions and goes to see the body.  Jim comes home drunk and passes out.  Diana comes home and finds Peter staring into space; Peter is too upset to answer Diana’s questions.  Jessie comes home and is too distraught to talk to Lesley.  Lee is brought up to date.  Ross tells Steve that Lesley’s office is to be sealed off.  Jane reveals to Lee that Jessie and Diana were upset about Peter meeting with Phil.  Diana and Peter both can’t sleep.

Wednesday, December 11: Lesley and Joel discover the office is sealed off and that Phil is dead.  Jim wakes up from a nightmare.  Ross and Chase discuss the plans for investigating Phil’s death.  Steve is annoyed that Kira wants to conduct interviews in the sunroom.  Peter is stunned to learn that Phil is dead.

Thursday, December 12: A shaken Peter tells Kira and Steve that he and Phil had an argument.  Steve cautions him not to say any more.  Jessie refuses to discuss Phil's death with Lesley.  Lee talks to Steve about the investigation, Steve tells him that Peter and Phil argued that night.  Lesley tells them that Jessie is acting strangely and refuses to talk about Phil’s murder.  Audrey tells Jim that Phil is dead; he is privately sweating it out when Audrey says that she is terribly glad that he didn’t go to the hospital to meet with Phil.

Friday, December 13: Jim is so fascinated and frightened of Phil’s death that he is afraid to drink.  Augusta tells Jane that she never wants to work on the floor of the hospital where the murder happened ever again.  Peter tells Diana that Phil is dead; he admits to hitting Phil. Jessie tells Lee that Phil’s recent behavior spoiled any happy memories she had of him.  Kira reports on Phil’s death on the news;  Augusta can’t bear to watch; Jim is fascinated, much to Audrey’s concern.  Peter tells Diana that when he hit Phil, he wanted to hurt him; his mind was filled with such hate he blocked everything out; he tells Diana he thinks he killed Phil.

Monday, December 16: Joel gives Steve material to review in order to select a candidate to replace Phil in the cardiac unit.  Cameron learns that the investigation he launched into Lesley and Joel has yielded information.  Ross tells Jane that he wants to question her.  Steve annoys Ross when he is reluctant to answer questions.  Diana is defensive when she finds out that Steve told Ross that Peter and Phil argued on the night Phil died; she insists it had nothing to do with Phil’s death.

Tuesday, December 17: Chase ascertains that Phil died of a head injury.  Jessie’s doctor urges her to take care of her health, to no avail.  Ross questions Jane about what she saw when she found Jessie with Phil dead at Jessie’s feet.  Ross talks with Joel who is reluctant to answer.  Peter remembers Phil telling him that Augusta is pregnant with his child.  Diana begs Peter not to tell Ross that he might have killed Phil.

Wednesday, December 18: Diana is upset when Jane tells her she was questioned about the argument Peter and Phil had.  Ross warns Peter that everything he says will be subject to verification.  Cameron and Joel have an awkward meeting in which Cameron says that he plans to help the free clinic.  Peter tells Ross that Phil raped Diana and that’s how Diana got pregnant; he also admits that he hit Phil.

Thursday, December 19: Kira comes to Lee’s office and explains that she wants to know about the personal relationships on the seventh floor; she says that Phil’s death will become a national story.  Jim hopes no one saw him on the seventh floor the night of the murder. Lesley is irritated because Joel is suspicious of the reason Cameron wants to help the free clinic.  Peter asks Augusta if she is pregnant with his child.

Friday, December 20: Lee asks Steve for permission to tell Kira about the relationships on the seventh floor.  Augusta lies to Peter that she is not pregnant.  The coroner report shows that Phil was murdered – by two blows to the head with a blunt instrument.  Peter admits to Diana that he told Ross that he had punched Phil.  Jessie dreads talking with Ross.  Diana, shocked to learn that Phil didn’t die accidentally, tells Ross that she saw Phil alive after Peter left the hospital.

Monday, December 23: Ross asks to have everyone on the seventh floor fingerprinted. Cameron gives Lesley a Christmas gift: an endowment fund for the free clinic.  Kira speaks to the coroner; he tells her that Phil died by two blows on the crown of the head with a blunt instrument.  Ross questions Jessie, but she gets angry when he asks her how many children Phil had by Diana.  Kira broadcasts the results of the autopsy.

Tuesday, December 24: Jessie gets Steve to promise to tell the Christmas story this afternoon.  Ross shows Chase the geode paperweight from Lesley’s office; there was a bit of Phil’s blood and a clear set of fingerprints on it.  Jim asks Augusta not to mention that she saw him on the floor the night Phil died.  Lee invites Jessie to spend Christmas with him.  As everyone gathers in pediatrics to listen to Steve tell the Christmas story, Ross checks off their names.  He turns to Lt. Todd, saying that every one of the prime suspects are there -- someone in this room killed Phil Brewer.
 
Wednesday, December 25: Steve tells Jessie he is annoyed by Kira making a public spectacle of the hospital for the sake of having stories to broadcast.  Ross begins fingerprinting everyone.  Jim arrives and goes to Steve’s office; he wonders if he could take Phil’s place in the cardiac unit, but Steve is forced to let him down; Ross stops Jim to fingerprint him; Ross notices Jim’s hands are shaking.  Joel and Lesley exchange gifts and kiss.  Ross calls headquarters and asks that a tail be put on Jim.  Audrey and Lucille are waiting for Al to fix the plumbing when Jim arrives and says that Steve turned him down.  Jessie talks to Lee and Scott, who leave them to go see a girl; Lee reminds Jessie that they were engaged to be married nine years ago; he tells her that she is making his Christmas merry.

Thursday, December 26: Ross goes over his list of people who were on the seventh floor the night Phil died with Augusta; she remembers Jim asking her not to mention he was there; she tells Ross the list is complete.  Diana tells Peter she told Ross that she had seen Phil alive after Peter left the hospital; Peter is incredulous, asking why she didn’t tell him this before, he was afraid he’d killed Phil.  Ross tells Chase that Peter can no longer be considered a suspect.  Augusta admits to Peter she is pregnant with his child.

Friday, December 27: Ross congratulates Kira on her ability to uncover supposedly secret information; he gives her another bit: fingerprints have been discovered on the murder weapon.  Diana asks Peter if it is possible for a person who has done something violent to forget they had done it.  Augusta gets the name of a doctor who would be able to perform an abortion in another city.

Monday, December 30: Lesley makes an appointment for Jessie to see a doctor, but Jessie refuses to go.  Jane finds Augusta packed and ready to leave town; Augusta won’t tell her where she is going.  Jessie, utterly distraught, remembers finding Phil dead.  Steve tries to make Kira understand how he feels personally responsible for his staff.  Jim has a nightmare in which he murders Phil.

Tuesday, December 31: Chase asks Ross why he is having Jim tailed, Ross says Jim was unusually nervous when he fingerprinted him.  Lucille tells Audrey she will suggest to Joel that he hire Jim to replace Phil; Audrey begs her not to do it.  Ross questions Diana, building on the fact that she left early the night of the murder.  Dan Oberlin comes to see Joel at the free clinic; his wife wants to have their first baby at home, but he’s worried and wants to bring her to the clinic.  Ross questions Jim and Jim is surprised that Ross knows that he went to see Augusta.  Jim says that she asked him for some medical advice, but he can’t divulge what it was.

[victorlord75]

This was excellent and @depboy, I cannot thank you enough for sharing.

I marvel at two things when I view the stories on GH from December 1974 here.  ALOT happened in a half hour episode and the story was distributed among so few people compared to the soaps of today.

It is tough for me to remember that Steve and Audrey spent alot of time apart in the earlier days of GH.  Jim Hobart was played well by Mr. Sikking, an excellent performance playing a vicious drunk.  If I remember correctly, he drove Audrey to try to commit suicide?

My mother, who I've mentioned in earlier posts here always thought that Steve and Jessie should have become romantically involved.  Steve was very interested in Kira, but as I remember her, she reminded me of Barbra Streisand in "What's Up Doc", and that is in no way meant as an insult to the actress playing Kira.  Rather, I am trying to point out how poor a match she and Steve were.

There is a YouTube clip of a GH episode from 1975 showing the detective mentioned here, and the actor portraying the detective was the same guy who played Wally on "Leave it to Beaver".

Now, if I am reading this right, the suspects in Phil's murder were Jessie, Peter, Diana, Augusta, and Jim Hobart.

This proves how my memory could get fuzzy.  I would have sworn that Howie Dawson was involved with this too, but maybe as a child, I couldn't tell Jim and Howie apart.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 11 by victorlord75
Changing "fussy" to "fuzzy", changing "two" to "too"

[Contessa Donatella]

Tony Dow? 

[victorlord75]

@Contessa Donatella-I think that is his name.

 

[depboy]

Tony Dow is indeed the actor who played Assistant DA Ross Jeanelle!

Howie wasn’t a suspect, Ray Girardin was actually off of the show by this time after not being able to negotiate a new deal with the show.