It had to start with Ken Corday. Writers came and went but Ashford was always shafted.

Gerald Anthony

Judith Light

Constance Ford

Ellen Parker

Ellen Dolan

Peter Simon

Jess Walton

Jeanne Cooper

Helen Gallagher

Kate Mulgrew

Michael Levin

Malcolm Groome

Sarah Felder

Ilene Kristen

Ron Hale

Nancy Addison

and many, many more

As much as I can't stand him currently, I don't think Tony Geary would stand a chance being hired as Luke if that part was being cast today.

I don't think Ryan Paevey would have been cast back then. He is hot, but his isn't a strong actor. Even Bell, who cast Shemar from GQ magazine wouldn't have left him onscreen this long.

Two talented ladies that I can see being hired in their prime during any soap era are Finola Hughes and Maureen Garrett. I just know they would have been cast!

It had to start with Ken Corday. Writers came and went but Ashford was always shafted.

Not an unreasonable point, but I partially disagree. It started with Langan and Reilly pushing for a new DAYS in the early 90s. MA didn't fit into their vision. Eventually, KC was sold on a certain vision, one that always led him to certain types of writers and producers. Those writers and producers would always succeed in convincing him that the show was better off without Matt, for whatever the reason was at that time.

The part that was about Ken Corday was this: he always saw Jennifer as the more important character. He saw Jack Deveraux as that guy Jennifer Horton married. He didn't remember Ashford's huge popularity, or the fact that in the J&J heyday the story generally revolved around Jack. When Missy decided to leave in 2006, they just fired Matt. KC couldn't envision Jack without Jennifer. They got rid of him even though Steve and Kayla had just returned. That was a huge story for Jack, and one that felt very weird without him being there for it. Getting rid of Jack, just as Steve and Kayla were finally coming back, was the final, ultimate insult.

They would never have fired Missy because Matt was quitting. The didn't get rid of Kristian Alphonso when Peter Reckell left. That is a form of treatment that is reserved for Matt Ashford. And it does come from Ken Corday. It's why a certain type of writer or producer will always succeed in convincing KC that getting rid of Matt is the right thing to do.

I agree with DRW's list. I was just thinking most of the early years' cast of Ryan's Hope. They would be considered too average-looking to be leads these days.

Nancy Addison was gorgeous but so tiny and practically flat-chested.
Michael Levin had a great body but wore a toupee and was in his mid-30s already and was more the dark, swarthy type than the beauty boys they look for now.
Looking at the old shows, I was kind of surprised at how many times Ilene Kristen's Delia was referred to (particularly by Mary and Jillian) as having this hot body that made men fall all over her. It sounded like they were talking about a bombshell, which is exactly what Randall Edwards' Delia looked like later.

Judith Light for sure. Here was this major character on OLTL, frontburner stories, romances, sordid soapy stuff...and she was overweight and average-looking back then.

Tony Geary was out-of-the ordinary looking back then and he wasn't intended to be a long-term hire. Luke was going to get killed off when he assassinated Mitch Williams for the mob, except that ABC wanted Asher Brauner for a new show so they changed it to Roy having to take Luke's place in the shooting and then getting killed.Then TG's popularity just grew. I guess he kind of became the accidental idol.

Edited to change name to Asher Brauner.

Edited September 15, 201411 yr by applcin

We can't totally bash models, though, either. The fact is soaps have almost always employed models - trained them from the ground up, made many of them great stars. Susan Haskell from OLTL started as a catalog model, I believe.

True. Ian Buchanan is another example. Worked as a Ford fashion model.

Edited September 15, 201411 yr by applcin

Not an unreasonable point, but I partially disagree. It started with Langan and Reilly pushing for a new DAYS in the early 90s. MA didn't fit into their vision. Eventually, KC was sold on a certain vision, one that always led him to certain types of writers and producers. Those writers and producers would always succeed in convincing him that the show was better off without Matt, for whatever the reason was at that time.

No, you're right about that, it started there. I think Corday had just adopted that mindset long ago and never shook it.

I can't get over Gary Tomlin's obsession with Shawn Christian, or with retconning anything (McPherson, etc.) that interferes with his frankly largely mediocre-at-best show. He seems like a lovely man, he cared deeply about my OLTL, but I just don't understand it.

Tony Geary was out-of-the ordinary looking back then and he wasn't intended to be a long-term hire. Luke was going to get killed off when he assassinated Mitch Williams for the mob, except that ABC wanted Wings Hauser for a new show so they changed it to Roy having to take Luke's place in the shooting and then getting killed.Then TG's popularity just grew. I guess he kind of became the accidental idol.

I'm confused - where does Wings Hauser fit into this equation? Chris Pennock from Dark Shadows played Mitch Williams. I had no idea Hauser was on GH.

I'm confused - where does Wings Hauser fit into this equation? Chris Pennock from Dark Shadows played Mitch Williams. I had no idea Hauser was on GH.

I'm sorry. Wrong actor. I should have said Asher Brauner was Roy DiLuca. They (AB and WH) remind me of each other.

Edited September 15, 201411 yr by applcin

I'm pretty sure that was Asher Brauner.

Wings Hauser was a blonde-haired, curly guy. Asher Brauner was dark and brunette.

Eric Braeden was old even when he started on Y&R 35 years ago.

Eric Braeden was 38 when he started on Y&R.

What did they have against Matt Ashford? He's handsome, charming, sophisticated, can sell sex when he wants to, etc. He's classic soap leading man in the Michael E. Knight meets Michael Tylo meets Lane Davies mold. Maybe I'm answering my own question. Is it because he isn't a monosyllabic himbo type? GH didn't do much better by him as Tom Hardy as far as I remember.

Eric Braeden was 38 when he started on Y&R.

He may have been 38, but he looked 48.

Eric & Meg Bennett circa 1980

Edited September 16, 201411 yr by SoapDope

What did they have against Matt Ashford? He's handsome, charming, sophisticated, can sell sex when he wants to, etc. He's classic soap leading man in the Michael E. Knight meets Michael Tylo meets Lane Davies mold. Maybe I'm answering my own question. Is it because he isn't a monosyllabic himbo type? GH didn't do much better by him as Tom Hardy as far as I remember.

Matt Ashford seems to be very polarizing. A lot of people love him. I, for one, despise him.

So many of the daytime greats would never be hired today (Lucci, Wyndham, Dano)...but I do think Jess Walton and Jeanne Cooper both would have made it, particularly Jeanne, given that the Katherine role was of a bitter old hag (don't think we've forgotten that MAB)...The Bell soaps always tended to hire beautiful people, irrespective of the decade, so their casts would likely be the ones where the actors would survive to the next generation.

Times change, so do casting choices of what shows look for in an actor or actress.

What past daytime and primetime soap actors would never be cast now days ? What current actors would have never been cast back then ?

I noticed that back then females were totally different. They were very mature and confident. Robin Strasser, Jaquie Courtney and Sharon Gabet are great examples of what I mean. The only actress today that would fit that category is Kelley Missel (SP?).

On that note KM was born in the wrong time. She would have THRIVED under the pen of Phillips, Lemay, Bell, Sleasar, Nixon, and Marland. RC just didn't challenge her enough and if he did by now her scenes would have been as Dynamic as JQ's nervous breakdown.

Edited September 16, 201411 yr by allmc2008