The soap opera writers' discussion

[j swift]

@Paul Raven & @Neil Johnson were discussing Tom King's time at Another World in 1980.  From his IMDB he also wrote for Ryan's Hope and One life to live.  Does anyone recall the plot highlights from his times on those soaps?

[danfling]

Gabrielle Upton/Gillian Houghton has passed away.

 

Gabrielle Upton, ‘Gidget’ Screenwriter, Dies at 101

She also worked on several network soap operas as well as primetime series like 'The Loretta Young Show,' 'Ben Casey' and 'The Virginian.'

BY MIKE BARNES

 

 

 

 

 

 

FEBRUARY 24, 2023 8:39AM

Gabrielle Upton COURTESY OF GREER UPTON

 

Gabrielle Upton, who wrote the screenplay for the classic California surfing movie Gidget, starring Sandra Dee, Cliff Robertson and James Darren, has died. She was 101.

Upton died Sept. 13 in Santa Rosa, California, her daughter, Greer Upton, told The Hollywood Reporter. News of her death had not been reported until now.

A three-time WGA Award nominee, Upton wrote for such network shows as The Alfred Hitchcock Hour/Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Ben Casey, Convoy, One Step Beyond, The Bold Ones: The New Doctors, The Virginian, The Big Valley and The High Chaparral.

 

 

She also worked on several daytime soap operas during her career, including Guiding Light, As the World Turns, Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, The Secret Storm and Love of Life.

After Frederick Kohner took a crack at adapting his best-selling 1957 novel Gidget, the Little Girl With Big Ideas for Columbia Pictures’ Gidget (1959), Upton came on and received sole screenplay credit.

Directed by Paul Wendkos, the coming-of-age movie spawned several other Gidget movies and a 1965-66 ABC/Screen Gems comedy starring Sally Field.

Upton also provided the story for Robert Siodmak’s Escape From East Berlin (1962), based on a true story and starring Don Murray, Christine Kaufmann and Werner Klemperer. She lived in Germany while that film was in production.

Born in British Columbia in 1921, Upton acted and wrote radio plays for the CBC. She and her husband, actor and sound man Julian Upton, then moved to Los Angeles and worked at what is now known as Theater of Arts on Hollywood Boulevard.

Upton served as head writer on CBS’ Guiding Light for many years starting in 1952 and held a similar position at many other (soap operas).

In 1953, she wrote and starred on an episode of the CBS anthology series Schlitz Playhouse, then wrote for The Loretta Young Show, Ford Television Theatre and the drama Wire Service early in her career as well.

Upton also co-wrote the screenplay for the German-French thriller Tender Sharks (1967), starring Anna Karina, and came up with the story and script for Brown Eye, Evil Eye (1968), starring Hugh Griffith.

She often wrote under the pseudonym Gillian Houghton and specialized in medical, legal and suspense shows.

Survivors also include her son-in-law, John. Her husband died in 2016 at age 94.

 

[te.]

 

[danfling]

Here is writer Ted Post.    He wrote scripts for the primetime PEYTON PLACE on ABC and BRACKEN'S WORLD on NBC.

 

He is pictured with actress Dorothy Malone (Constance on Peyton Place; she was also on High Hopes).

 

 

[Paul Raven]

David Davidson was a writer I was not familiar with. He wrote The Brighter Day in 1961 under the name of Albert sanders.

Found this info in his NY Times obit from 1985

David Davidson, a novelist and author of about 100 network television plays, died Friday at the Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center's Neurological Institute after a stroke. He was 77 years old and lived in Manhattan.

Mr. Davidson, a newspaperman-turned-novelist, wrote his plays during what he called the ''golden age'' of television drama in the early and mid-1950's. They were seen nationally on such programs as ABC's ''Alcoa Hour,'' NBC's ''Elgin Hour,'' CBS's ''Playhouse 90,'' and NBC's ''Kraft Television Theater.''

One of Mr. Davidson's plays, ''P.O.W.,'' became the first production of ''The United States Steel Hour,'' broadcast by ABC in October 1953. Like many of Mr. Davidson's works, the play, about a group of American soldiers returning from the Korean War after having been captured and brainwashed, had a topical theme.

By the late 1950's, Mr. Davidson began to voice disenchantment with television as a source of solid drama, holding that scriptwriters, like the rest of the industry, had abandoned quality in a scramble for mass production and ratings.

The Federal Communications Commission held hearings on the subject in 1961. Mr. Davidson, serving as national chairman of the Writers Guild of America, told the officials that deteriorating standards and professional pressures had prompted him and some of his colleagues to turn out soap operas under assumed names.

 

His own pseudonym, it was later disclosed, was Albert Sanders.

In 1965, the American Broadcasting Companies supported a program to develop talented television writers at the Yale School of Drama. Mr. Davidson was chosen to initiate it as lecturer and writer in residence.

He later taught at New York University and the University of Iowa. In addition, he continued to write magazine articles and contributed to television series, including the recent ''Civilization and the Jews.''

Mr. Davidson came to national attention with his first novel, ''The Steeper Cliff,'' published in 1947. It was based on his experience with the American Military Government in post-war Bavaria in trying to revive a democratic German press.

Mr. Davidson was born in New York City and graduated from City College and the Columbia School of Journalism. He went to work at The New York Evening Post in 1933 and, five years later, he turned to radio, writing hundreds of scripts for some of the most popular serial programs of the time.

[Paul Raven]

The Post-Star

Glens Falls, New York • Sat, Jul 18, 1981

Writer turns actor at age 65

Why would an established and successful writer decide to turn actor at the age of 65? Robert Cenedella. now starring in the Lake George Dinner Theater production of "The Gin Game," had a special love of acting but in his early career, seemed better suited to writing. Now the career roles are reversed, and he is pleased to be playing the role of Weller Martin. the cantankerous rebel of the retirement set.

Cenedella remembers,"The first time I saw the play in New York City starring Jessica Tandy and Hume Cronyn, I knew I wanted to play that part. I found a part of Weller Martin in myself; there may be a little of him in all of us. 

Although spending the majority of his nearly 70 years as a writer ,Cenedella has always been dedicated to acting, serving as president of  the Drama Club at Colgate University and teaching high school in his hometown of Milford,Mass. He later became principal of the junior  high there, continuing his interest in drama as he directed several student performances at  the school.

At the same time, he developed his natural writing ability with several short stories and radio scripts. With the introduction of TV, Cenedella made the transition into the world of TV, becoming head writer for such soap operas as "Another World." "The Doctors." and "The Guiding Light." In the early 1960s,he completed his first full-length novel "A Little to the East" acclaimed by The New York Times as one of the outstanding books of the year.

After decades of writing, Cenedella decided it was time to try acting despite his age.He appeared in numerous off-off-Broadway productions. including "Passion of Dracula" and "Conflict of Interest." 

He also has played in films, notably in  "First Deadly Sin" with Sophia Loren and Frank Sinatra, soap operas and commercials, but he but says the stage is his favorite,  with "The Gin Game" being his first experience in dinner theater.

[ClassicsSoapFan]

Wasn't Robert Cenedella the creaor of Somerset?

I have always been curous about him. There is not a lot of info on him. He wrote for many soaps but his tenure was never long. Was he not considererd a successful wrier or just someone who was lucky to be hired and rehired at different soaps?

Edited June 17, 2023 by ClassicsSoapFan
mispelling

[danfling]

I think that NBC really liked Mr. Cenedella.  He wrote Another World after Agnes Nixon had departed, Somerset (which he created), The Doctors, How to Survive a Marriage and the serial Return to Peyton Place all on NBC.   I know that NBC did not own most of these shows (only The Doctors and How to Survive a Marriage), but probably was responsible for his being hired at Return to Peyton Place.

His storylines were excellent (in my opinion) on Somerset.

He also wrote for The Secret Storm and The Guiding Light.

[danfling]

This information about two writers appeared on the Search for Tomorrow page.   It was posted by RavenWhitney.

 

"Leonard Kantor was a prolific and successful television writer until his death at 59 (likely from HIV/AIDS) in NYC in 1984. He was brought in to The Doctors in 1982 to help young writer, Barbara Morgenroth, in the final six months of the show.  

"Doris Frankel was briefly head writer of Somerset with Winifred Wolfe in 74. It was a much talked about period when the writers focused on Ellen's May/December romance with a much younger man and the introduction of Carrie along with several other senior citizens.  i watched with my grandmother and it was smartly written and entertaining. Doris also wrote for AMC"

Any information about any of the writers is always appreciated!

[danfling]

 

 

 

Here is an obituary of the writer John Hess.   (It was written by Doug Martin, who obviously is not the character from Search for Tomorrow played by actor/writer Kenneth Harvey.)

It mentions that he worked on Search for Tomorrow in its early years, and I wonder what he did.   The show's creator was Roy Winsor; its first head writer was Agnes Eckert (Agnes Nixon); succeeding her was Irving Vendig.   So, how was he involved with the show?

John Hess, 85, Noted Writer; Created an Early Soap Opera

 

By Douglas Martin

• May 2, 2004

John D. Hess, a prolific writer who originated one of the earliest television soap operas, ''Love of Life,'' died April 15 at his home in New Hope, Pa. He was 85.

The cause was lung cancer, said his brother, Carl B. Hess.

Mr. Hess was the originator of ''Love of Life.'' ''Search for Tomorrow'' began three weeks earlier in 1951, and the two shows, both on CBS, were among the first daytime dramas to become long-running successes on television.

''Love of Life'' was broadcast until 1980, and he often wrote two or three episodes a week in the early years.

Mr. Hess also wrote episodes for many other shows over the years, including the comedies ''M.A.S.H.,'' ''Alice'' and ''One Day at a Time,'' and the dramas ''The Streets of San Francisco,'' ''The Rockford Files'' and ''Ben Casey.''

 

 

His play ''The Grey-Eyed People'' opened on Broadway in December 1952 and closed after five performances. In 1961, Mr. Hess wrote and produced a movie, ''A Matter of Morals,'' in Sweden.

 

Its distribution was limited because of objections by the Catholic Legion of Decency to a scene in which a fully clothed couple emerges from a bedroom.

Mr. Hess wrote fiction for The Saturday Evening Post, Colliers and other magazines. In 1961, he turned a story he had written for Esquire into a television comedy called ''The Wicked Scheme of Jebel Deeks,'' which was broadcast on Ford Startime to critical praise and starred Alec Guinness in his American television debut.

John David Hess was born in Chicago on April 17, 1918. He graduated from the University of Chicago Laboratory School and from Dartmouth, where he twice won the prize for the best original play. He spent a year at Yale Drama School before becoming a writer for WGN radio in Chicago.

During World War II, he was a tank officer, and he later assisted victims of concentration camps and helped relocate refugees. He wrote ''Move Out, Verify -- The Combat Story of the 743rd Tank Battalion.''

 

In 1946, he returned to WGN in Chicago and began his writing career. In 1954, he was named playwright in residence at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope. His plays ''The Facts of Life,'' ''The Better Mousetrap'' and ''A Perfect Frenzy'' had their first performances there.

His first wife, the former Jane Vosper, died in 1996. He is survived by his second wife, the former Mary Ann Van; his brother, Carl, of Manhattan; his sons Anthony G., of New Hope, and Oliver G., of Ojai, Calif.; and two grandsons.

[Paul Raven]

In a Feb 68 Variety article Irna Phillips talked about the importance of mentoring other writers to carry on the soap writing tradition.

Mention was made of Agnes (now at AW) Bill Bell (Days) and David Lesan (SFT) all who started with Irna.

It mentioned her current proteges John Boruff and Warren Swanson.

In looking at those names of course Agnes and Bill are legends.

But the others did not become prominent writers so the torch was not really passed on. 

Irna's daughter Katherine did not continue.

Bell mentored Kay Alden and Sally Sussman  but neither could live up to his legacy. Sally got to create Generations but it struggled.

Did Agnes really mentor anyone who went out on their own? Megan Mc Tavish?

I think it was hard for later writers to wield the sort of power those Big 3 had. TV had changed too much.

[j swift]

Harding Lemay derives a lot of humor and sympathy out of his portrayal Irna as a tyrant in his memoir.  But, that was only his experience, and it is easy to empathize what it might have been like for Irna to work with this guy who had never written a soap and was so critical of the source material that she created.

I barely recall Ken Corday's book, but obviously he didn't interact much with Irna, once he took over as a producer. 

And, I've never read Bill Bell's memoir, or watched all of his Academy interview.  So, what was his experience with her as a mentor? 

[Efulton]

Agnes Nixon mentored two of the best All My Children head writers - Wisner Washam and Lorraine Broderick. I always wondered what Wisner could have accomplished on his own on another soap.   He could have been the head writer to make Loving a success.

Edited August 12, 2023 by Efulton

[danfling]

I have wondered so many times why Wishner Washam never worked on Loving.

 

I read that Ms. Phillips mentored Warren Swanson.   Did he write for any other shows other than As the World Turns?    Possibly Somerset?

[danfling]

I looked for information about Warren Swanson.  I found this obituary:

 

NEWS

WARREN SWANSON, 66, ATTORNEY; WROTE SOAPS

By Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah and Tribune Staff Writer

Chicago Tribune

•

Published: May 17, 2000 at 12:00 am

 

 

Warren L. Swanson wore many hats--he was an attorney, a soap-opera writer and the co-author of well-known guides to Chicago. He dreamed up the idea of the first Easter Seal telethon and owned some prime real estate in the city.

"He was a Renaissance man," said his son, Sheridan Christopher. "He tried everything and he had a knack for it."

The 66-year-old South Loop resident who lived two doors away from Mayor Richard M. Daley died May 7 of a brain hemorrhage in Mercy Hospital and Medical Center in Chicago.

Mr. Swanson was born and lived most of his life in Chicago.

Mr. Swanson graduated from the University of Chicago and then Northwestern Law School. He at one time tutored former Gov. James Thompson through law school, his son said.

During the early part of his career, Mr. Swanson butted heads with the late Mayor Richard J. Daley. As one of two special prosecutors in a vote fraud probe 40 years ago, Mr. Swanson won convictions against three Democratic precinct workers who pleaded guilty to altering ballots in the 1960 election. Then, in 1968, when board members of a civic group he headed, the Citizens of Greater Chicago, decided to give the late mayor an award for "safeguarding lives and property" during the Democratic convention, Mr. Swanson resigned the group in protest.

But he considered himself a friend of the younger Daley and his wife, Maggie.

Mr. Swanson's partner of 17 years, Thomas Brown, called him "one of the finest attorneys I know."

 

Mr. Swanson helped the city of Palos Heights incorporate during the 1950s and then stayed on as the city attorney for 40 years.

 

Back in the '60s, many of the well-known TV dramas were being created in Chicago. An attorney friend who had been asked to write a courtroom drama for "As the World Turns" was not interested and so he passed on the job to Mr. Swanson who took the assignment and ran with it. He became the lead writer for "As the World Turns" and "Another World" and helped create 15 other shows, including "Somerset."

 

In 1977, Mr. Swanson joined forces with Steve Babecki and wrote a 38-page guide to Chicago-area museums, "Museums of Chicago."

 

Mr. Swanson also owned such properties as the building housing the Ann Taylor store on Oak Street and he once owned the Helene Curtis building in the North Loop.

 

Survivors also include a grandson. Services were held Friday; the family is planning a celebration of his life at an as yet undetermined date in June.