Characters soaps seriously considered recasting at some point

[y&r_fan]

Eww.

[Wendy]

Direct linking is not working. It is on this page. Scroll to the ninth post down, posted by username capridge.

[ellabelle]

Interesting. IDK that Victor could really be successfully recast. I associate EB too much with that role. After everything AMC went through with MN and his drug addiction, YR was probably thrilled they dodged a bullet there.

[LoyaltoAMC]

According to Ruth Warrick, the network wanted her fired after her initial 13 weeks because they thought she was playing Phoebe as too broad a character. They thought she was a silly caricature. She decided to play her straighter...more mean and menacing, and that seemed to do the trick.

Ellen Parker said that the exec producer (Joe Willmore maybe?) didn't like her take on Maureen (they wanted her more ballsy, apparently), and wanted to fire her and replace her with predecessor Ellen Dolan. Must've been mid to late 80s after Dolan had already departed ATWT the first time. Supposedly he and Dolan had some secret lunch meetings to discuss this. Parker got wind of the situation and confronted the EP, essentially telling him she heard that he was trying to get Dolan back. I guess she convinced the EP to give her another try. Obviously nothing ever came of that.

[DRW50]

I think that was down to Ruth not wanting to play Phoebe's support of the war in Vietnam.

It's ironic, since the more bubbleheaded version of Phoebe is what many remember best.

[John]

When Judith Light gave notice of her leaving, OLTL actually recast Karen Wolek with future Loving star, Christine Tudor but decided to reunite Karen with Steve and have her leave Llanview.

[Cheap21]

Remember when SID was hinting that Alysa Milano could be coming in as recast Brenda

[CSF]

Didn't JDB consider recasting Erica Kane temporarily with Lisa Peluso while Susan was sick or in Annie Get Your Gun?

[SFK]

I've heard that, though I don't know if she was *seriously* considering it. Susan was sick and in AGYG at the same time. She missed the show we had tickets for due to illness. BTW, Roya would have made a much better Erica (though they were both too young). Long before she was Mary Smythe, I thought Anna Stuart was probably capable of a good Erica Kane facsimile had Susan ever needed a temp replacement.

[ellabelle]

I don't believe that for a second. Susan wrote that she got really sick right before AMC went on hiatus for Christmas, and that she managed to slog through the last few days on set before they went on hiatus, and then she could focus just on getting better so she could open on AGYG. If you watch the Crystal Ball scenes from 2000, there are a few scenes where you can hear in her voice how sick she sounds, but they managed to make her look gorgeous.

[AMCHistory]

Yes, it was so unfortunate they had to change parts of the 30th Anniversary to accomodate SuLu's illness. But could you imaigne any other woman playing Erica for such a critical milestone? Or, to have the episode air without Lucci featured? Heaven forbid, it would have been a catastrophe.

My favourite part of those episodes was how it ended with Joe and Ruth in bed at the Martin home, such a common site back in the hey day of AMC. I could watch Ray and Mary talking in bed for days.

[JellicleCat]

I thought Ellen Dolan didn't join ATWT until 1989? Didn't Bill Shanks (who played her "stepfather" Casey) stay a little longer than planned so he could share more screentime with her so the emotional impact of Margo helping him to die would be bigger?

[DRW50]

Yes. Dolan wasn't on daytime when GL asked her back.

Parker and Dolan lived in the same neighborhood, which is one of the reasons she found out about it. She went to the producers and said, "You want me to act this way? Then I will." They kept her.

[Chris B]

I personally prefer Ellen Dolan, she has more spark and comes off more likable than she was as Margo. I say this as someone who has only seen them in the Soap Classics DVDs and on various episodes on YouTube. Ellen Parker came off kinda frumpy and dull. I don't think they would've ever written Maureen off if Ellen Dolan stayed in the role.

[DRW50]

I think they probably would have written Maureen off no matter what, as I think JFP wanted to do a story about Ed as a widower.

She seems OK to me but I would say I prefer Ellen Parker in the role. I think Dolan worked better with Peter Simon and Jay Hammer, but Parker was a more complex character. I wish she'd dumped Ed (who was basically a loser) and gotten a life of her own.