Jan 18 1981 - Jon Michael Reed
It's very hush-hush right now, but very soon it's probable that another famous one will bite the dust in soapland. And it’s another case of moving out the "old’’ to make way for the "new.” Helen Wagner has portrayed Nancy Hughes on “As the World Turns” since the original pilot was made andThe series debuted April 2,1956. Wagner met recently with the producers and writers of the show to renegotiate her contract.
After being one of the character spokes on “ATWT” for nearly 25 years, financial considerations weren’t a major negotiation factor. The actress pulls a hefty salary, as befits her long-running status on the show. However, she was concerned that the character has been progressively shoved in the story background and has, on occasion, been required to “act silly and out of character," according to an observer.
WAGNER REPORTEDLY asked for assurance that her character would become more prominent in the story, and the writers dismissed her request. In retaliation, Wagner announced she won’t be re-signing her contract, which expires in several weeks' Wagner was bom in Lubbock, Tex., and trained to be a singer. Early in her career, she appeared with the St. Louis Municipal Opera, as well as in Oscar Kammerstein's musicals, “Sunny River”, and “Oklahoma.” She also toured in Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, playing the mezzo leads. Despite occasional tours in plays such as “Streetcar Named Desire” with Lwith Lee Marvin and “A Lion In Winer,” Wagner has devoted her career life to “ATWT." It is, therefore, a sad comment on the current state of the soap opera business that “ATWT" would callously allow one of its guiding forces to take a hike.
THE OLD FOLKS on soaps are dispensable when the focus shines on younger characters. In turn, it’s economically necessary to build a new and younger audience. But in the process, all too often, viewers who have invested decades in a soap must sit by and watch their “loved ones” get the short end of the stick in story preference. Wagner still has a few weeks under her present contract, and there’s a faint possibility that she may swallow her pride. But at this point, it appears that Wagner and Nancy Hughes won’t be around on the daytime tube, which also leaves in question the fate of Nancy's husband. Chris, played by the only other remaining original cast member of “ATWT." Don MacLaughlin.
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Paul Raven ·
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