GH: Classic Thread

[Contessa Donatella]

Yes, that's Tony Dow! He also has another ABC soap credit. He was the lead in the first attempt at a youth-oriented soap, NEVER TOO YOUNG. 

[victorlord75]

I am very grateful for the information.  Howie was such a dirt bag character.  The fact that I remember him 50 years later and no footage of him exists really says something.

I never heard of "Never Too Young", but it sounded good.

My mother used to watch GH on Channel 6, WPVI Philadelphia.  I remember "Dark Shadows" coming on after GH, but I don't remember what they did with the slot after Dark Shadows got cancelled.  Today, WPVI Channel 6 never moved GH to the network time slot of 2 p.m. Eastern, it is still on at 3 p.m. there like it had been for many years.

[Contessa Donatella]

NEVER TOO YOUNG was not only a soap but wall to wall pop music. In the timeslot you're speaking of it debuted in Sept. 1965 & aired till sometime in 1966. When it went off the air, DARK SHADOWS came on in that timeslot! Here's its first episode ... Personally I think it was both good & a good idea. 

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[victorlord75]

I enjoyed the clip of "Never Too Young" very much.  I saw in the end credits that Sybil Weinberger was the musical director of the show.  I think she also was for "Dark Shadows" for at least awhile.  I'm a weirdo like that.  I will read the end credits if I can!  Thanks for sharing.  I have learned so much from this thread in a very short time.

[Contessa Donatella]

One of the first things about me that was a bit different from some fans was that I always read the credits!!

[Dion]

The one thing I know that was mentioned about Heather's backstory is that Heather's father apparently used to beat her (she told Joe this in 1981). I could see Alice turning a blind eye to that while also being hypercritical of Heather during her childhood. Alice also seemed to favor Susan over Heather as well.

[Dion]

I had a quick look and the vide really seems to preface something like the Australian soap Paradise Beach (which also didn't last for very long but of course starred Ingo Rademacher)

*EDIT: I meant to say vibe not vide lol

Edited June 14, 2024 by Dion

[Contessa Donatella]

I think it was a soap that was before its time. But, a great idea! 

[Khan]

Ah, that kinda tracks with the backstory that I had made up in my head years ago to explain/rationalize Heather's behavior.

I figured that Alice's first husband (and Heather's biological dad) had walked out on them years before, and that Heather's stepfather was a drunk who had abused Heather sexually from the time she was a little girl.  Furthermore, I figured that Alice was a decent person at her core, but that she had felt overwhelmed by being left with a young daughter to raise and no money or support from her family.

In turn, because she was so busy ekeing out a living, Alice never had the time to give Heather the attention she really needed, turning Heather into a very needy child, who learned to "stretch the truth" if she wanted any attention from others. 

Also, Alice was always afraid of being left alone again, so when Heather, now a teenager, finally found the courage to tell her mother about the abuse, Alice called Heather a liar and believed the husband instead.  Even after Heather decided to leave home (by forging that recommendation letter that got her the job as Peter and Diana's nanny) and the stepfather ran off shortly thereafter with an underaged neighbor, Alice still believed that Heather was just a sick person who lived in a world of make believe rather than admit she let down her own child.

[victorlord75]

This detail being shared is a real find for me.  I have zero memory of the scene between Heather and Joe, but I am glad to now be aware of it.  

If I remember correctly, shortly before Alice was killed off, she was the one taking care of Jason, who was still very young?  I remember being upset when they killed the character of Alice off.  She had a splitting headache and was gone a very short time later.

Maybe the writers killed Alice off an an excuse to bring Jason around Alan and Monica more, but to this day, I view the very sudden way they got rid of Alice as a big mistake.

 

 

 

[victorlord75]

I have heard, but have not seen, the new GH character named "Gio", who is a prodigy with a violin.

In a Wikipedia article on actress Loanne Bishop, who played Rose Kelly, it says that she is a mezzo soprano and knows how to play a violin!

If Ms. Bishop is still acting, TPTB should consider bringing Rose Kelly in as one of Gio's former violin teachers that is as skilled with violin playing as she is making BLT's.

[titan1978]

I vividly remember Rachel Ames describing them as the couple that should have been together, and never was during that great 35th anniversary special.

I recall reading on this site an interview with Jackie Smith from way back where they credit another writer I had never heard of with creating the Quartermaines (at least Alan), and helping the stories during the Monty/Marland.

I think there must have been a lot of creative input happening by the incoming team before they were credited. Which is something I have seen on GH since. The transition between Labine/Guza and Guza’s late 1997 return were all preceded by him not being credited but by the show being set up how he wanted it as HW. Possibly also when Monty came back, there are a couple of weeks of shows that are way more her style before her relaunch than the prior regime. And we saw it this year with Korte/Marland.

Edited June 15, 2024 by titan1978

[depboy]

Hey all! I’m getting close to completing the classic episode summaries that I have amassed, and I will be sharing 1975 soon.  But I also wanted to take this time to share that after the summaries, I intend to take time to work on my website, with the intension of being an archive of GH history.  If I drop out, don’t be concerned.

[janea4old]

♥

[titan1978]

That sounds amazing! Thanks for everything you have done so far posted here. Those of us not old enough to experience the show back then are grateful for the new insights your research has given us!