On 12/26/2023 at 11:28 PM, AMCHistory said:

Danny Cosgrove was one of the actors marked as going places early in his AMC run. He was part of the hunk invasion all over the soap mags (Tanner, Jake, and new Scotty). Though his character was basically a side player on AMC, it’s positioned him to get a few teen movie roles and the 90210 gig, back when an Aaron Spelling placement still meant something! Of course, he bounced back to Guiding Light, and had consistent daytime work. I think his days run was so underrated, except for the dumb move of making him a villain when he really had great long term appeal with Hope  

 

What was so totally weird when the last of New York fell, Danny had worked on GL, ATWT & AMC, then next on DAYS. There were fans who actually said he was to blame for all the cancellations! They referred to it (as if it were a real thing) as the Danny Cosgrove Curse. I kid you not. I was nonplussed. I just wondered if they were really that superstitious, or what?! Perhaps the fans who are imbeciles?! 

1 hour ago, Paul Raven said:

and that awful syndicated series Love Stories

I barely remembered that show, so I looked up an episode on YT.  Clearly, KA did it for two reasons: 1) the money, and 2) Shelley Curtis, who worked on that show as well as on DAYS (and later, GH).  Otherwise, LS is the kind of slick, low-budget, New Age-ish program for single (white) people that could have existed only in the late '80's and early '90's.

6 hours ago, Donna L. Bridges said:

They referred to it (as if it were a real thing) as the Danny Cosgrove Curse. I kid you not. I was nonplussed. I just wondered if they were really that superstitious, or what?! Perhaps the fans who are imbeciles?! 

It was such a “chicken or the egg” comment. On GL, he was a bright spot in its final days, a welcomed and unexpected return since he had left for Primetime after his first GL stint. Let’s face it, the cancellation writing was on the wall. Same with ATWT. 

With AMC, I admit that abrupt ending was a shocker. The move to LA was supposed to extend the show’s life not end it. The writer made a concerted effort to attract back familiar faces like Budig, Cosgrove, and Reigel (who passes for YR). He played such a small supporting role in his AMC return, there is no way he could be blamed for cancellation. 
 

…and when it comes to the Ted McGinely comparison, the two men are very easy on the eyes. 

On 12/19/2023 at 5:39 PM, Faulkner said:

Michelle Stafford (along with Finola Hughes) was on Pacific Palisades and did a few guest spots between her first couple of Y&R stints.

What a flash in the pan moment of Michelle. She won an Emmy and the world was her oyster! Too bad that Spelling vehicle had no legs. A super bloated cast, with a vague premise. It was like they were running out of Westside towns to name shows after…

On 12/18/2023 at 10:31 PM, Khan said:

 

Maybe Jack Wagner?  From GH and SANTA BARBARA to MELROSE PLACE, then back to daytime with B&B.

 

This a great one. Jack and films and primetime, I was for sure that we would never see him in an extended run in daytime again! And there he was on B&B! He had quite the run too, many successful pairings. 

He’s back to Primetime now on Hallmark. 

7 minutes ago, AMCHistory said:

With AMC, I admit that abrupt ending was a shocker. The move to LA was supposed to extend the show’s life not end it. The writer made a concerted effort to attract back familiar faces like Budig, Cosgrove, and Reigel (who passes for YR). He played such a small supporting role in his AMC return, there is no way he could be blamed for cancellation. 

Of course it was shocking. He wasn't supposed to cancel AMC! He was supposed to cancel OLTL. On a whim, he decided to shitcan AMC, too! He almost did GH as well. 

I loved Pacific Palisades!!! 

 

Ray Wise

Began his career as Jamie on Love of Life in the 70's, moved on to decades of primetime with Twin Peaks finally giving him some recognition. Eventually returned to soaps in the 2010's on Y&R as Ian Ward.

On 12/23/2023 at 8:38 AM, Dr Neil Curtis said:

Debbie Morgan - Loving Pilot, All My Children, Generations, some guest gigs during/in between, Loving/The City, A motion picture Eve’s Bayou, Port Charles, a few more motion pictures and guest stints and back to All My Children. She pretty much was established prior to Daytime. 
 

I truly believe she loves working in daytime. 

This my girl right here. I think she has one more soap return left in her.

2 hours ago, DemetriKane said:

This my girl right here. I think she has one more soap return left in her.

Not B&B!

Daniel Cosgrove is a talented actor but the fact is any time he turns up a show is not far from the grave, lol. It's not his fault but it is what happens every time. There's no point in pretending otherwise.

26 minutes ago, Vee said:

Daniel Cosgrove is a talented actor but the fact is any time he turns up a show is not far from the grave, lol. It's not his fault but it is what happens every time. There's no point in pretending otherwise.

He has what scientists call "rotten luck," lol.

Here's my problem with Daniel Cosgrove: several of his past co-stars have talked in the past about how funny and charming he is IRL, but you never see any of that on-screen!  It's as if the moment the director yells "Action!" or says "and in 5...4...3...2...1," all the humor and charm leave his person completely.

23 hours ago, Khan said:

Here's my problem with Daniel Cosgrove: several of his past co-stars have talked in the past about how funny and charming he is IRL, but you never see any of that on-screen!  It's as if the moment the director yells "Action!" or says "and in 5...4...3...2...1," all the humor and charm leave his person completely.

I think Bill Lewis in his second run was the closest we got to his comedy/class clown persona. It wouldn’t not have worked for every character he played (eg strait laced murderer Aidan Shaw). 
 

Justin Hartley from Passions to Smallville to YR to THIS IS US and so on, so he went from Daytime to primetime back to Daytime and then bakc to primetime lol

18 hours ago, AMCHistory said:

I think Bill Lewis in his second run was the closest we got to his comedy/class clown persona. It wouldn’t not have worked for every character he played (eg strait laced murderer Aidan Shaw). 
 

Other things known about Danny Cosgrove: 

He has 4 daughters.

He can rap. 

Personally I found him personable & charming on both AMC & on GL. 

2 hours ago, dragonflies said:

Justin Hartley from Passions to Smallville to YR to THIS IS US and so on, so he went from Daytime to primetime back to Daytime and then bakc to primetime lol

And in a year or three, when the buzz on him has cooled off, Bradley Bell will be glad to give him a part on B&B.

ETA: Just saw the extended trailer for his new CBS series, "Tracker," in the WATN thread.  So, instead of three years, maybe ten or eleven?

Edited January 9, 20241 yr by Khan

On 12/19/2023 at 1:23 PM, Khan said:

I think Lucci knew she'd never land another, front-burner role like Erica.  Plus, I think she truly valued the time that AMC gave her to raise her children in her hometown and not be one of those actors who's always away on location or keeping hellish hours on some soundstage.  She could be the Face of AMC (and of ABC Daytime) and still have a somewhat normal life. 

But, yes, any other actress in her position probably would have seized the opportunity to branch out from soaps and try their luck with primetime - in Lucci's case, maybe a half-hour comedy? - or with movies.=

On 12/19/2023 at 4:17 PM, Mitch64 said:

Lucci is a smart cookie, she got more publicity off of never winning her daytime Emmy then she would have a second string role on a quickly canceled sitcom. Back in the day there were no Desperate Housewives type shows which mixed campy comedy with more serious moments and as she was not cut out for a sitcom or a serious drama, she was smart enough to stay. 

What I admire about Lucci is how gracious she is. She always played ball with ABC Daytime and was a reliable team player. ABC Daytime, in turn, rewarded that kind of loyalty and collaborated with her about TV Movies, all the while keeping her busy and front burner at AMC. Back in the 80s and 90s when it was owned by Capital Cities and later Disney under Michael Eisner, there was a certain level of rapport and respect between ABC Daytime and its talent that we haven't seen in 20+ years. 

Lucci also capitalized on her visibility by marketing products. All the while it seemed Susan really valued her personal life and having the time to devote to it to her husband and children and friends. When you look at her Instagram, she has a lot of very old friends who are loyal to her and have supported her in her widowhood - the time she spent with them, being Susan Huber from Garden City, Long Island, clearly paid dividends. 

On 12/20/2023 at 10:17 AM, kalbir said:

I am actually surprised ABC didn't try to make happen Susan Lucci in a short arc on Dynasty at the height of its popularity (Fall 1982 to Spring 1985). She had guest starred on Love Boat and Fantasy Island so Aaron Spelling was aware of her. Susan Lucci, the diva of all divas of daytime, vs. Joan Collins, the diva of all divas of 1980s primetime soaps, would have been the most epic diva battle ever.

Speaking of which, Susan Lucci and Joan Collins both appeared on a celebrity Family Feud special in 1982.

 

That was great fun to watch. At the very end, Joan gives Susan a pat on the back - time has proven both of them nice people. 

On 12/20/2023 at 11:23 AM, Khan said:

Watching the FF "Heroes vs. Villains" special, I notice three things:

1. The show's producers tapped Beatrice Straight to play on the "Villains" side, merely because they needed a fifth member there and did not know of anyone else who could fill that slot.  (Otherwise, I would hardly label her one scene role on "Network" as villainous, lol.)

2. It must be very early in Joan Collins' run on "Dynasty," before Alexis became the breakout character, because she gets about as much applause from the audience as Leonard Frey, Straight and Norman Fell do.  Lucci is the "villain" who gets the biggest round of applause (including shouts and cheers).

3. Did they place Straight between Collins and Lucci for visual reasons, or...? 

Given that both Joan Collins and Susan Lucci were on hugely popular ABC soaps (one daytime, one primetime), I think it could have been awesome if the network had worked out some sort of arrangement where the two could crossover to each other's shows.  It would not have needed to be anything major in terms of storyline, like Erica suddenly taking over ColbyCo or anything, but maybe just a brief cameo, like her showing up at La Mirage and having Fallon introduce her to Blake and Krystle, or Alexis showing up in NYC to ask her "old friend" Mike Roy whether he would like to ghostwrite her memoir.

As crazy as this sounds, I think they missed the (love) boat when they had Lucci on but did not have her play someone whom Gopher develops a little crush on.  Lucci's character wouldn't have needed to return his affections, though.  Just a little peck on his cheek at the end, telling him how she flattered she is and how very special she thinks he is, that's all.

That would have been fabulous. Both Joan and Susan would have had a sense of humour about it. The Carousel Ball had Gerald Ford appear as himself, if I remember correctly, there's no reason Erica Kane couldn't have shown up. 

On 12/22/2023 at 6:37 PM, Paul Raven said:

Donna Mills

Got her start in Secret Storm amd Love Is A Many Splendored Thing. Then Play Misty For Me , flop sitcom The Good Life, a slew of guest spots and pilots throughout the 70's before Knots Landing, TV movies etc before landing back on soaps with GH in 2014.

Donna is a hustler. She works very hard and seemed very interested in getting back into the entertainment business 10 years ago and saw a daytime soap as her way in. She won an Emmy and then started picking up Lifetime work, she did a VC Andrews movie for them last year that was their highest rated program.

On 12/28/2023 at 3:45 PM, Paul Raven said:

Kristian Alfonso

After making a splash as Hope on Days she left for primetime. Falcon Crest, guest spots and that awful syndicated series Love Stories. Then back to Days for the rest of her career.

And she had luck on Melrose Place where she played a Heidi Fleiss inspired madame - in my opinion the best work of her career.

3 hours ago, Khan said:

And in a year or three, when the buzz on him has cooled off, Bradley Bell will be glad to give him a part on B&B.

ETA: Just saw the extended trailer for his new CBS series, "Tracker," in the WATN thread.  So, instead of three years, maybe ten or eleven?

You assume B&B will be around that far in the future 🫠