Members dragonflies Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Wow, RIP http://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/emmy-winning-soap-writer-dies Emmy-winner Barbara Esensten, who created LOVING/THE CITY with James Harmon Brown and wrote for a slew of soaps including GUIDING LIGHT, PORT CHARLES, ONE LIFE TO LIVE, DAYS OF OUR LIVES, DYNASTY and ALL MY CHILDREN, passed away on November 14. Former GL writer Jill Lorie Hurst tweeted, "The wonderful GL headwriter Barbara Esensten died last night. Great boss, great girlfriend. Miss her already." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 Such terrible (and shocking) news. My condolences to Ms. Esensten's loved ones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ~bl~ Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 How old was she? I'm just asking because there hasn't been an official obit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DynamiteKiddo Posted November 15, 2012 Members Share Posted November 15, 2012 What a shame. And very shocking. RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jcar03 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Esensten was born on March 7, 1937 so she was 75. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AllMyDaysatGH Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Her last script w/James was the 9/14/11 episode of AMC RIP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 I'm sorry to hear this. I had no idea she was 75. When I saw her in a photo when she was GL's headwriter she could have passed for her forties. She was a big part of some fantastic moments at Loving, helped bring GL back from the dead, and helped bring one of daytime's best supercouples back to AMC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LeClerc Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Sad and surprising news. In amongst the many misses of Esensten & Brown's headwriting work on soaps there were some great stories (e.g. the Loving murders, Lizzie's battle with leukemia on GL, the return of the Hubbards on AMC). Her and JHB's writing got me hooked on GL (a show I had never given more than 30 seconds of my time) in 1997. And they did help save that show from cancellation at that time. A little of her background beyond her soap resume is outlined in this write-up: http://www.welovesoa...n-has-died.html Including Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 That isn't an exaggeration - GL was probably 98% done. They made 1997 exciting and while far from perfect, managed to combine the many disparate elements of GL in a way I had not seen in a long time, and would never see again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Same. Even I must admit how, in retrospect, Esensten & Brown were the last HW'ing team to write GUIDING LIGHT with any sense of compassion. Unfortunately, they were done in by so many bad decisions -- San Cristobel, Clone Reva, Phillip & Beth's "plane sex" that produced James, Annie Dutton overload -- that probably weren't entirely their fault, or their doing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members LeClerc Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 ITA! I was up bright and early every morning of my summer vacation from school in '97 to watch GL. It was probably the most engrossed I ever was in a soap, even though AMC will always be my show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Even when the bottom fell out and so much became about "Manny" and "Rassie", I still enjoyed more of the show than I didn't, and I kept watching. Once they were gone, the show very sharply changed, and as much as I respect Claire Labine and know what she faced and don't really blame her, the show became much more difficult for me to get through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JAS0N47 Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Here's my write-up on Barbara: IN LOVING MEMORY Barbara Esensten March 7, 1937-November 14, 2012 "Days of Our Lives" Script Editor, 2007 Barbara Esensten, who was a script editor for "Days of Our Lives" in 2007 has passed away. She died on Wednesday, November 14, 2012 at the age of 75. Barbara Jean Sills was born in Los Angeles, California on March 7, 1937. She started her writing career as a reporter for her college's newspaper, UCLA's Daily Bruin. After college, she married Jack Esensten and had three daughters, Teri, Randi and Deena. After her divorce, Esensten went on to a career in radio news. In 1987, she began her TV career and a long association with her writing partner, James Harmon Brown, as they were hired to write some scripts for "Dynasty." The writing duo would later write for "Loving" and co-create its spinoff "The City." They also wrote for "Guiding Light", "Port Charles", "One Life to Live", "All My Children" and spent six months at "Days of Our Lives" in 2007. She won a Daytime Emmy as a member of the "Guiding Light" writing team in 1993. Esensten is survived by her second husband, Michael Chambers; three daughters, Teri, Randi and Deena; and several grandchildren. A funeral will be held on Sunday, November 18, 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sheilaforever Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 The clone story was the only I EVER watched GL regularly. This was great television... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Faulkner Posted November 16, 2012 Members Share Posted November 16, 2012 Yeah, I was so disgusted with GL during the mid-'90s, especially after McTavish's run. B&E made the show feel something like GL again, even if that was short-lived. I liked Pharley, Rick/Abby, the early days of Annie's reign of terror. Good, diverse soapy stuff. It all went to hell, but for a while there it was must-see TV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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