Author Judith Krantz has died

[I Am A Swede]

Author Judith Krantz, author of books like "Scruples", "Princess Daisy" and "Mistral's Daughter", has died aged 91

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-7173043/Steamy-romance-novelist-Judith-Krantz-dies-91.html

 

An author much in the same vein as Jackie Collins and Sidney Sheldon, the first thing that comes to mind for me is this song by Nana Mouskouri which served as the theme for the mini-series based on "Mistral's Daughter"

 

[Khan]

I still remember reading "Scruples" for the first time in eighth grade and being blown away by the decadence and melodrama of it all.  RIP Judith Krantz.

[kalbir]

Wow, three of the big four 1980s fiction authors are now gone: Judith Krantz, Jackie Collins, Sidney Sheldon. Danielle Steel is the only one left.

[All My Shadows]

I read Scruples many years ago and was obsessed. Any time I put it down, it was a struggle to function in the "real" world because the world JK created was just so lavish and exciting and fun. While my classmates were escaping into the world of Harry Potter and other fantasy characters, I found my escape in the type of extravagance found in Scruples and Hollywood Wives.

Greatest thing about JK is that she believed in the value of what she wrote. There used to be an interview on YouTube where she basically shut everything down and cut tf up because the interviewer used "trash" to describe the types of novels Judith wrote. She wasn't 'bout it, baybayyyy.

[kalbir]

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjoFtwSdRCzzv4olRU-_Tgg/videos

 

This channel has almost all the Judith Krantz miniseries (half of Scruples is missing).

[j swift]

Can someone answer this question for me - how many productions of Scruples have aired?

Of course there's the Lindsay Wagner 1980 version, although in hindsight she seems miscast as a fashionista

Then IMDB lists this 1981 version with Pamela Barnes and Dirk Benedict, that was totally new to me, and oddly places Dirk as Spider as the central figure - it's listed as a TV movie not a series

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Then, we've got the never aired daytime version produced by John Conboy in the early 1990s

And, finally there's a preview for the 2012 Claire Forlani version of YT, which seems to hit all the right notes of camp and drama, except it also features one of my least favorite actors Chad Michael Murry - But was it ever broadcast on TV? Because it looks complete, not just a pilot.

This all started because I was reading Clive Jones iconic takedown Ms Krantz's novel Princess Daisy in The London Review of Books.  His confusion about the hat is very funny

https://archive.clivejames.com/books/tiny-kisses.htm

 

Edited December 13, 2022 by j swift

[Franko]

The original miniseries aired Monday, Feb. 25, Tuesday, Feb. 26 and Thursday, Feb. 27, 1980, on CBS. The TV movie aired Friday, May 22, 1981, on ABC. The remake pilot from 2012 never actually aired on ABC. IMDB credits it as a "TV movie," but they've done that for sitcom-length pilots, too.

[j swift]

So, there was a miniseries and then a year later they made a TV movie?

This schlock has been adapted more times than The Great Gatsby

Thanks for answering my query.  Have you seen the 1981 version?

Edited December 13, 2022 by j swift

[Paul Raven]

The 1981 TV Movie was a pilot for a proposed weekly series.

The daytime version did not involve John Conboy. I believe Doris Quinlan (OLTL, TD) was exec producer.

Pat Falken Smith was writer and Susan Flannery the only cast member confirmed.

[j swift]

I just finished Scruples the Novel in order to understand all of the interest in the original tome (that's the beauty of Kindle, everything is on immediate demand).  It's a fun read, rather long, and oddly paced for a proposed soap.  There's a long backstory, then nothing happens except for a lot details about clothes, then the end of the book turns into a whole other story. 

Meanwhile, I still don't understand why anyone would name a store Scruples.  It's clearly inspired by the old Beverly Hills Store called Giorgio (where we used to go as kids because they gave out free candy), so you'd think she'd name it after Billy's husband Ellis or her first love Edouard.

The number of times that Krantz and Jacqueline Susann casually drop the "f" word as a homosexual slur is shocking by modern standards, considering their gay icon status. Just as her constant use of rape as a plot device that women need to overcome in order to find love sticks out like a sour thumb.

Thanks @Paul Raven I confused Krantz's Scruples with Secrets, the European TV series that Conboy produced (I also went back to read that thread on here).  Interestingly on YT, there's also a Danielle Steele miniseries titled Secrets; I guess it's not that unique as a title.

Edited December 13, 2022 by j swift

[Franko]

Nope, I've never seen the 1981 movie. I am intrigued about the idea of it airing on ABC, as 1981-82 was the year that Dynasty gradually became a hit.

The only thing I remember about the book is Billy learning French fluently because it was all that was ever spoken when she stayed with a host family. I remember more of the miniseries, like stroke victim Efrem Zimbalist, Jr. giving Lindsay a pep up message with his Scrabble tiles (U got clas, kid), or Gene Tierney lusting after Kim Cattrall.

[Soaplovers]

My fav JK novel and mini series was 'I'll take Manhattan '... and I think it would have made a good tv show..especially with the decline of print media.