ALL: Short Lived Character, Long Lasting Impact

[BetterForgotten]

Cassandra Rawlins for Y&R, if only because her house set lingered on for like 2 decades on the show after her demise.

I also feel like her story was a huge reason why Y&R took the #1 ratings lead outright as it coincided with it. 

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Edited October 28, 2024 by BetterForgotten

[kalbir]

1989 Cassandra was the #2 female after Cricket plus she was Bill Bell's new pet. I feel Cassandra got elevated due to MTS pregnancy leave and ED departure.

[BetterForgotten]

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Nina Averson stunned me as a kid, and was a huge reason why I followed Y&R especially closely during that era. She was so perfectly cast as Cassandra. She was only on for just over 3 years, but I remember feeling really sad when Cassandra was killed off, lol. 

[DRW50]

Cassandra's story is what got me into Y&R. 

 

Megan also made appearances all the way to the end of the show (the ABC version anyway), even though she easily could have been forgotten.

You're both right about Dominique. The character has crazy legs, especially when you consider the show chose to do little with Serena after PC yet still decided to give her a long-lost child (Cody). It was odd hearing Cody talk about wanting to be in Serenity, part of her complicated backstory that has outlived her and Katherine (who also used to go on about Serenity) by decades.

[Wendy]

Just a little tangent: I know Nina Arvesen from Santa Barbara, where she played Angela Raymond and ended up having a steamy fling with Jack Wagner's Warren Lockridge.

Ironically, she was on the show the same time as Eileen Davidson who was (mis)cast as the final Kelly Capwell.

Back on topic: Speaking of SB, I'd say Mary Duvall, she of death by a falling C, qualifies. Only on for a couple years, but she truly was Mason's first love and helped Mason go from sleazy scoundrel to semi-upstanding [he still had his issues!] individual. He long felt her presence after her death, and it even tied into his and Julia's lives intersecting and going forward from that story. Including the baby contract [since Mary died pregnant and Mason never got to be a father] and Mark McCormack's [as played by John Lindstrom] eventual remains being found almost two years after that and Mason having to go undercover in a church to clear himself via Sister Sarah/his presumed death during then/Sonny Sprockett DID, all leading to Mason reuniting with Mary in heaven before finally committing to Julia.

The character seemed to fade during Terry Lester's run as Mason, but Gordon Thomson's version alluded to her a few times, so the character was never truly forgotten.

Edited October 28, 2024 by Wendy

[DRW50]

Tom Baxter, AW. He is the reason Pat met and married John Randolph. He also caused scars that played a part in her killing another man years later. And Jamie choosing to write about her killing Tom led Pat to leave Bay City, nearly twenty years after his death.

[titan1978]

Between Cassandra and the stories surrounding Nina and David, I was so hooked on Y&R at that time. Would NA have made a stronger Ashley recast? I grew to love BE, but she never had a command of the scenes like Nina or Eileen.

Hard to dispute how important Dominique was and is to GH and the first year-ish of Port Charles, with very little time invested in her. And really she only took off with Scotty and then the baby story with Lucy. I found Mac way more interesting once he settled into the Ryan/Felicia story.

[Dion]

Danny Fargo is probably the other one from AW's early years. He was only on for nine months and while he probably wasn't mentioned very much, if at all after Bill died and Missy left for the last time, he was responsible for bringing in Sam Lucas (his accomplice in a gas station robbery) who in turn ended up bringing his sister Ada and niece Rachel onto the show...

And Walter Curtin was the prosecuting A.D.A in the murder trial that followed after his death.

[Liberty City]

Love and miss that set dearly; love that it burnt down, and Sharon had everything re-built, in record-timing, to be the EXACT same. Magic.

[Soaplovers]

Rose Deville on YR:

She appeared in two separate stints on the show in 1980 and 1986/7.

Her terrorizing Nikki and Nina led to long term effects on the show.

Nikki's marriage to Greg ended leading her to eventually strip and meet Victor..and the rest is history.

Nina lost her baby, was befriended by Cricket, and then Nina stole Phillip by becoming pregnant and creating the next Chancellor generation...plus help reignite the Jill/Katherine feud by making them join forces against Nina.

[BoldRestless]

How about rapist Derek Stuart on Y&R? Going through the trial inspired Cricket to become an attorney, and also introduced John Silva and longtime DA Glenn Richards to the show. I also suspect that the corporate yuppie revealed as a rapist was an inspiration for Michael Baldwin later on.

[Titus Andronicus]

Richard Cates was only on a few months of 1985, and in a transitional period.

The crooked cop storyline brought in Patch and had a double payoff, first with Cates dying and second with Miami. With Miami, you get the Pawn ... and the decades that come after.

[All My Shadows]

AMC: Amy Tyler, Ray Gardner, Billy Clyde Tuggle, Michael Cambias

[Paul Raven]

Rose DeVille was actually on Y&R 3 times. Her first stint in 79 was a warm up- she was running a teen prostitute ring out of an antique shop.

Chris Brooks and Brock were involved.

[DRW50]

That's a great pull.