Ryan's Hope
From Author Tom Lisanti's Instagram
PAGING DR. FAITH COLERIDGE MIGHT HAVE BEEN
I interviewed actress Tracy Brooks Swope who played Chris Wylie on Another World in 1982 for my upcoming book, Another World: The Drama Behind Daytime’s Only 90-Minute Soap. She talked about her time as Liz Hathaway on Where the Heart Is prior and how that almost led to a role on Ryan’s Hope.
For the last year or so, the head writers were Claire Labine and Paul Mayer who really liked me. When they created and began casting Ryan’s Hope, they invited me to sit down with them and casting director Shirley Rich. They offered me my choice of two roles. I had to decide between Faith Coleridge and Mary Ryan. I would have loved to have played Delia, but they thought I was too classy for it. I chose Faith because she was a doctor. I know they also cast from Where the Heart Is Diana van der Vlis [as Dr. Nell Beulac] and then the great Louise Shaffer, who I loved, came onto the show [as Rae Woodward]. [Bernie Barrow who played Johnny Ryan was also on Where the Heart Is.] But I began to get offers to do prime time shows in California, so I didn’t do it. That was a mistake and I should have done the soap.”
The roles of Faith and Mary were constantly being recast and when asked if the creators ever reached out to her again, Tracy replied, “No, they did not. I think they were unhappy with me for walking away from the show."
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