DAYS: Research finds out how the first "Days" death really happened

[will81]

Thanks Jason47 this has been so great to read. Thank you for sharing. I always heard that Julie's pregnancy was revealed during Susan's trial, but that could mean the audience knew before. Or it could mean Bill Bell left it until Julie absolutely had to be showing before he let anyone know.

[will81]

Re-reading it, David is moving to New York alone and Julie is looking for an apartment for him, not them. I doubt Julie's pregnancy would be known at this point, otherwise there would be no question of them being together and getting married.

I think Susan is assuming they will have children because at that time, that is what people did, married and had children. Julie wasn't a "modern woman" (as the term went) in that she didn't have career aspirations and wanted to be a wife and mother, so it seems more an assumption on Susan's part.

Plus David says this "You and I, Julie...we’ll have our own children. Maybe we’ll decide to live in New York."

I don't think the audience would know because it doesn't make sense that Julie would keep her pregnancy a secret from David, if the audience knew at this point, Julie would have told David straight away.

[Susan Hunter]

This is so good that it has raised a number of questions for me. When did Susan find out about David and Julie? It doesn't seem that Susan is that upset about David and Julie as a couple from the dialogue. Does Dickie's death start the real feud? From reading other stuff, Julie was the bad guy and Susan was heroine. So is Julie actively plotting against Susan this entire time?

Thanks again Jason. This episode summary alone is better than anything I've seen on soaps in the last 10 years.

[jam6242]

If I'm remembering correctly, David & Julie had been a couple first and almost eloped but her grandparents talked her out of it. David thought she had stood him up, got drunk, & had a one night stand with Susan, when she got pregnant. Julie and Susan were friends but I don't know whether Susan knew how deeply involved Julie and David had been. Susan married David just to give the baby a name and had agreed to divorce him after the baby was born. I don't believe Julie started scheming against Susan until Susan killed David. Julie was always portrayed as the bad girl but I always rooted for her, even though I did like Susan too.

[will81]

There is an episode on Youtube from Jul 29 1966 that basically has Julie recap everything leading up to Susan getting pregnant. It is called DOOL Summer 1966. A lot of flashbacks and exposition. From that episode Julie seems to blame herself and she and Susan are still friendly, though Julie clearly isn't happy. The sound is low so maybe use headphones.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hmt6Mo38-zM&feature=relmfu

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oh30J6wutcI&feature=relmfu

Here is part 3

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEsgbX9DKq8&feature=relmfu

[Susan Hunter]

Thank you very much for posting the Youtube clips, I had forgotten about that being on there. That episode is at the Paley Center along with a dozen or so others that end after Susan and David have been married a couple of months. The episodes I've seen has Susan still very hostile to David and the pregnancy. There is very little Julie/David interaction and Julie is still the sympathetic friend to Susan whom she calls Susie. Now I'm also really curious about when Julie decided that enough was enough and that she wanted David for herself and the affair began.

[will81]

I would assume it was after Susan decided to keep the baby and stay married to David, Julie and David assumed Susan would put the baby up for adoption and they would then divorce, leaving him free to be with Julie. Only a guess though as I have very little knowledge about Days in the 60's.

I think that all happened around Feb 1967 when Susan gave birth and Dickie was sick or something. Though it could have happened earlier, not sure.

[JAS0N47]

In today's update...episode # 388 (OAD: 5/17/67)...Susan confronts David!

http://www.jason47.com

[dc11786]

Once again, Jason, thank you for these updates. These have been fascinating.

I love how the show use to employ dramatic irony. In that first scene, John and Helen discuss the David / Julie / Susan situation completely unaware of the latest occurence in the story. It was a good way of recapping, while adding another layer to the story. Now, we have John's actual reaction to the situation, not just David's expectation of what he will say. John seems more interested in David's return to the family business than anything else. Jason, or anyone else, what did the Martin men do for a living?

I thought the mini-climax regarding the swing was excellent. It was a nice way to drag out what was happening. Now a days, this entire siutation would have played out in about two scenes. The incorporation of Marie into this story was also surprising, but it seems she and Susan had a bit of a friendship, something I was completely unaware of.

These have been great, Jason. I cannot wait to read the next installment of the Dickie saga.

[will81]

These are great Jason, and thanks for your website. It has been so informative.

I do wonder how long it was between this and the second death on Days, that of David Martin. Susan seems pretty ready to shoot him already.

[JAS0N47]

You won't be wondering too long.

In today's update, episode # 389 (5/19/67)...Dickie takes a turn for the worse

http://www.jason47.com

[will81]

Thanks so much for the update Jason. It feels like I am watching the show itself. It is great to find out how all this happened. Look forward to the next episode.

It does seem like David might be in for it soon.

[DRW50]

It's weird to hear Tom going on about how stable Susan is when her actions often seem far from that. I guess they were setting up the story of her killing out of temporary insanity.

How often did we see Susan's parents?

[will81]

Carl, I am not sure about Susan's father, but her mother was on the show before Susan was, her name was Diane Hunter and she had a romance with Mickey Horton. Not sure about her storylines other than that. Or how she left, or how featured she was during all this.

[JAS0N47]

Diane Hunter:

Coleen Gray...86 episodes

Jane Kean...9 episodes

TOTAL: 95 episodes

Richard Hunter

Terry O'Sullivan...52 episodes