Happy to have found something new on this short lived soap.
From selling soap to starring in a new soap opera seems like a logical step. But it took Jeanne Baird several years to make the switch. Jeanne is still remembered around some ad agencies as “queen of the commercials” because of the number of selling jobs she has had on TV, including soap company accounts. “Mostly such chores were done in between acting jobs in the movies and on TV,” Jeanne explains. Since “Ben Jerrod” is the show NBC hopes will help the network to dominate afternoon TV programming, it has thrown the usual soap opera budget away for this series. It started by acquiring Michael Ryan, former star of the “As the World Turns” series, to be the title star, and it signed veteran character actor Addison Richards as co-star. Because this is the first soap opera regularly telecast in color, NBC decided to use its vast color facilities in Burbank, Calif. Production executives, including director Fred Carney, Art’s brother, were sent out from New York.
Jeanne furrows a beautiful set of eyebrows when “Ben Jerrod” is described as a soap opera (a term pinned on such serials because originally they were sponsored only by soap companies). “We don’t call them that out on the Coast,” she says. “They’re daytime dramas, and they are as tough to do as anything I’ve ever done for television or the movies.” Jeanne, who portrays Richard's daughter, has many TV credits. “I’ve done * Bonanza’ , ‘Today’ , ‘77 Sunset Strip’ , ‘Perry Mason’ , ‘Hennesey’ , ‘Four Star Playhouse’ and lots of other shows,” she says. Her movie work includes “Get Out of Town,” “The High Cost of Loving,” “The Drill Instructor” and “Andy Hardy Comes Home.”
In the “Ben Jerrod” series, Jeanne is Agnes Abbott, daughter and secretary to former Judge Abbott, who is| practicing law, but not very successfully. Ryan, as Jerrod, is a young criminal lawyer seeking a more meaningful way of life. From that triangular starting point, “Ben Jerrod” has problems inside of problems. In private life, Jeanne has very few problems. ' “But a couple of big assets,” she says. “My husband, Bill, and our two year-old daughter, Victoria.”
By
Paul Raven ·
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