The description of his "looking like a Stephen recast" confused me.   Who is Stephen?

 

1 minute ago, danfling said:

The description of his "looking like a Stephen recast" confused me.   Who is Stephen?

Likely referring to Steven Carrington from Dynasty.

5 hours ago, danfling said:

The description of his "looking like a Stephen recast" confused me.   Who is Stephen?

 

Steven on Dynasty.

San Bernardino Sun 27 July 1983

"The Hamptons," on ABC at 9 p.m. today, sounds like the result of a class theme project at an Eastern boarding school on "What my parents did this summer." This new series is a five-part, prime-time sudser under the steerage of executive producer Gloria Monty, the woman who added zip and zest to daytime soap "General Hospital." It aspires to be an East Coast answer to "Dynasty," but lacks the style and production budget of that hit serial 

Set in East Hampton, Long Island's answer to Palm Beach, the action revolves around the passions and intrigues of a pair of supposedly oldline Eastern Establishment families. In reality, the production gives us what yearround residents of the Hamptons, Martha's Vineyard and even the Jersey shore will instantly recognize as summer people. They're the chic, aspiring, self-anointed beautiful people who save courtesy and consideration for their own kind. "The Hamptons" echoes this same self-absorption and unspoken disdain for the common run of prime-time television fare while being much more presumptious and shallow than the average series.

TV soap queen, Monty, is force behind series. She is one of the most important people in television, a source of great financial pleasure for ABC. But many people have never seen or heard of her. This is Gloria Monty, one of ABC's soap-opera bosses. Monty is the producer of "General Hospital," the most-watched show on daytime TV. She's the producer of "The Hamptons," which begins an experimental summer-time run tonight. In 1978, Monty was chosen to revamp "General Hospital," which was doing poorly. She changed its style, throwing in action. She tightened the pace. And she aimed younger. "Our stories became more upbeat. There's a lot of youthful optimism." The result was a No. 1 daytime hit. So Gloria Monty has become an important figure In network TV. She has a fresh three-year contract and a chance to try a summertime experiment.

What we end up with is standard serial fare characters and situations that could be plunked down anywhere, be it the Hamptons or Fire Island, and nobody will notice the difference or care. In fact, both the production and audience might be more comfortable if it did take place on Fire Island. As it stands, "The Hamptons" is a strange hybrid. It is faster paced, somewhat less talky than daytime soaps. It also is not as glossy or smooth as prime-time serials. Ambition, greed and lust which, on this show, may end up all being the same thing are the motivators trotted out for tonight's premiere of the Chadway and the Duncan-Mortimer families, the dynastic owners of a prestigious department store chain. Michael Goodwin plays Peter Chadway, the somewhat egalitarian managing director of the store. Leigh Taylor-Young is his sensuous wife Lee. Bibi Bersch is Adrienne Duncan-Mortimer, sole heir to the Duncan half of the empire. John Riley is her younger, social-climbing husband Jay, who has manuevered himself into presidency of the store. The episode's dramatic catalyst is the hospitalization after a serious stroke of Goodwin's father, co"The Hamptons" has a budget that's not primetime "I'd say it's quite a bit less," Monty says frankly but is above daytime  levels. It has a couple of modestly known stars (Leigh Taylor-Young and Bibi Besch) and was filmed on location, not in a studio. The attraction, Monty says, will be the mood of the Hamptons and the intrigue of business and romance. There also will be sex, of course. Appropriately, Monty says it will be in the newer style. "We have younger people in the cast, so we have a different kind of sex. It's more eager, friskier." 

07/27/83 - 13.8/25

08/03/83 - 9.2/17

08/10/83 - 8.9/16

08/17/83 - 10/18

08/24/83 - 9.6/17

It normally didn't even keep it's repeat lead-in of Fall Guy, which was usually around a 13-ish rating.

THE JOURNAL-NEWS, SUNDAY, JULY, 24, 198

Bibi Besch—On a sudsy run through summer By LYNDA HIRSCH

Bibi Besch, the aristocratic blonde actress who was born in Vienna, Austria, and has spent most of her years appearing in such soap operas as “Secret Storm,” “ Somerset,” “ Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing” and “Edge of Night,” as well as dozens of prime-time movies, feature films and plays, is dipping into prime-time soap opera for the second time as she stars as Adrienne Duncan-Mortimer on ABC’s short-term summer soaper “The Hamptons.”

Miss Besch’s first prime-time soap was the spectacular flop, “Secrets of Midland Heights.” “I really didn’t understand why that show didn’t work until recently. Then some people explained that the characters on ‘Midland Heights’ were ordinary, and no one wants to look at ordinary characters on a prime-time soap. When they come home from work, they want to see people who are fabulously wealthy and who do fabulous things. I really believe ‘The Hamptons’ has the potential for a long run. “My character is an alcoholic woman so rich that she can say and do anything. I think the saying and doing anything with no one talking back to her would be wonderful, at least for a while.”

Besch, daughter of actress Gusti Huber, who created the role of Anne Frank’s mother in the Broadway play “Diary of Anne Frank,” began acting in her early years, but isn’t thrilled that her 13-year-old daughter Samantha has the same 'thought in mind. “I’ve been discouraging her from an acting career, although she’s beginning to wear me down. The reason I’ve been discouraging her? I think acting is full of great disappointments. I’ve had them throughout my career. I wanted desperately to be a renowned Broadway actress, and while I did do some Broadway roles, it never really worked out for me. That’s why I moved to Los Angeles.

No sooner did I get to L.A. than I was offered a part in a Broadway comedy to star Dick Van Dyke I was thrilled. I told all my friends and relatives the news. I dashed off to New York. And while waiting for the play to begin, I received a call that it was going to be postponed for one week Then two weeks. Then forever. I have to say that was my biggest disappointment in the business.”

A single parent, Besch admits sometimes it s hard raising a daughter and being in show business “There are trade-offs. For example, when Samantha graduated from grammar school, I was on location in Rome and couldn’t make it back for the ceremony. But a week later, she flew to Rome and spent the summer with me. I don’t think many girls Samantha’s age would get a chance like that. “I think Samantha understands my absences, especially as she grows older, and I try to have her with me as often as I can. I’ve turned down roles when I thought I would be away for too long, but sometimes the financial situation makes it necessary for me to be away for long stretches of time.”

ABC and Besch hope “The Hamptons” has a longer run than its proposed five weeks. It’s slated to run right after the highly-rated “Fall Guy” on Wednesday evenings and right before “Dynasty." Although “Dynasty” is hotter than hot in its initial run, in reruns it’s near the bottom of the Nielsens. “I understand they’re going to look at this closely, and if it’s a hit during the summer, then during the second season ‘The Hamptons’ could be slated for a long run. I think the character of Adrienne is fascinating and I could live with doing her for years and years "

THE JOURNAL-REGISTER Medina. New York, Wednesday July 27,1983

ABC Unveils The Hamptons By JULIANNE HASTINGS

NEW YORK (UPI) - ABC's sizzling hot summer series "The Hamptons" premieres Wednesday night with enough sex, old money and power to make those nouveau riche cowpokes in Texas look like a bumbling bunch of greenhorns. The five-part dramatic series, which will air Wednesday nights from 9-10 p.m. EDT, focuses on a ruthless power struggle between two old-line Eastern famines for control of their jointly owned department store empire. There's also Nicholas Atwater, a Jay Gatsby-type character — mysterious, handsome, and wealthy beyond imagination — who jumps into the fray for his own, dark reasons, which are melodramatically revealed at the end of the first episode.

The action was filmed on location in Manhattan, on Long Island and in Westchester County, N.Y. — the latter needed because a Hamptons country club nixed a request to allow filming on its grounds.

Episode No. 1 opens in the midst of that ancient summertime Friday ritual — the mass escape from Manhattan. First we see Jay Mortimer (John Reilly), president of the Duncan-Chadway department store chain, arrive at his apartment in a limousine to pick up his older wife, Adrienne (Bibi Besch), sole heir to the Duncan half of Duncan-Chadway, and her college-bound daughter Tracy (Holly Roberts). Mom's not in the limo yet, so Mortimer puts a lusty hand on fair Tracy's knee. "Hi beautiful," he leers. Talk about starting a weekend!

Next a high-powered lady lawyer (Kate Dezina) and her doctor boyfriend (Phil Casnoff) are spotted running toward each other along a crowded sidewalk, embracing, kissing and dashing off to then weekend love nest.

Finally , Atwater (Daniel Pilon) clambers into his Jet Star helicopter and heads for his new summer place, the sprawling Beach Manor complex, which actually is the Dupont Mansion in Old Westbury, N.Y.

Pan of East Hampton and the Coastline: Old man Chadway seen watching girls in bikinis playing volley ball on beach. The department store mogul turns, starts to climb steps to house, collapses — with a stroke. There goes the store!

A station wagon pulls up in front of the house and out jumps Chadway's son Peter (Michael Goodwin), managing director of the chain his father co-founded, his faithful wife Lee (Leigh Taylor-Young) and his Yalie blond son Brian (Craig Sheffer).

After everyone gets settled in - old Chadway at the East Hampton Hospital — there's a lavish dinner dance where everyone gets together and the viewer gets a good idea of what's to come. And there is still more storyline in this first episode to be told. The costumes and sets are storybook gems. The cast is attractive and the show's timeslot makes it the lead-in to ABC's popular "Dynasty," giving soap addicts a consummate, two-hour fix. But if all goes as planned, how do you make a winter series about life in a summer resort?