Yes, and to be honest, Jacquie Courtney (whom I later came to adore, of course) originally played Alice as an overly-expressive teenager, like the bubbly teen girls in Bye Bye Birdie. It was a common sight to see in the media during the 1960s, perhaps, but apparently Irna didn't care the persona. It was only after JC toned down her portrayal that Irna dropped her plan of killing Alice off in a fire.
(Irna was so sadistic!🙄)
I think TPTB accepted that every writer/creator will have hits and misses. While some of her soaps only became successful after she left (AW and Love is a Many Splendoured Thing), or failed early on, ATWT and TGL continued to be monster hits and make a lot of money. The Right to Happiness and The Road to Life were also successful, long-running soaps. Considering so many shows fail to catch on at all, P&G probably thought it was wise to gamble on Irna, whose track record showed that she could hit soap opera gold.
I agree that Susan was never the focus of hot stories which caught on and ignited a lot of passion from the audience. Pat and Missy, and later Alice, were the attention-getting heroines of the 1960s.
IIRC, Susan returned to Bay City shortly before Bill and Missy left for California in 1969. (Bill later died off-camera in 1970.) It didn't take long for Liz and Susan to butt heads. Particularly when played by Audra Lindley, however, Aunt Liz was wont to berate and scream at everyone; it wasn't just Susan.
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vetsoapfan ·
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