Barbara Rodell (Lee Randolph), July 6, 2017
Barbara Rodell (Lee Randolph), July 6, 2017
"I have not forgotten about your request and will get back to you ASAP. Can you send me the website your friend or who has the info concerning Another World? If he has any tapes with me I would like to have some. I did have tapes but they were all ruined in moves years ago from L.A. back to NY...Actually I will answer your specific question about my character of Lee when I replaced Gaye....I actually do not think it was after she had run away and come back. My first scenes which were almost the whole show that day was between me and my father [John Randolph] and I don't recall any mention in the scene of my running away and returning. I was not told about the presiding happenings very much about Lee's past and only that the future (from Agnes Nixon, who chose me to take over the role of Lee) and that it involved a very strong actress who could handle the ups and downs to come as when she was given the LSD etc....Hope this info is helpful to you and if you think of anything else I will let you know."
Soap94 and Soap95
I threw together a highlight reel and got the organizers (with whom I'd collaborated on the trivia page of the event's guidebook) to show it in the lobby. A crowd of about 12-15 shifting people watched it, with interest running the gamut from peering closely throughout to occasionally glancing over a shoulder. People were saying things like, "Oh, that's the old Vicky. Remember her?"
I also had a duo-tang with interesting print-outs from the AWHP which I made sure made the rounds of the room.
I supplied the music, and told the sound engineer which songs to play (mostly the AW theme).
Every single star who saw their character file was interested all on their own. When they realized what they were looking at, they didn't just look at it, they read a big chunk of their file.
The friend I came with was a friend of Steve Schnetzer's and introduced us, having told Steve about me and my AW work previously. Steve gave me a great smile and said, "This is the maniac!" I nodded, said, "I'm the expert... And here's the proof...", and plopped down the duo-tang on the table. I pointed out the character files (I'd printed out those of the actors appearing that night), then the page on opening lines. "Do you have her first line?" Steve asked me of Alice. "Yes," I said, pointing, "right there. I also have it on tape." Alice peered at her entry. "Do you have his first line, too?" she asked. "No," I said, "that was in 1982, before I was watching." Then I indulged my personal passion for the freeze frame and asked Steve, "You know freeze frame endings?" "Yeah." "Well, you've been in more freeze frames than any other actor in the history of the show." "Wow." "I keep a list of them all, and I make a list of who was in the most each year. Most years it's Vicky, but in 1991 you were in the most freeze frames, the year you had that big story." Steve said something about how monumental that story was. Then I pointed at the page and told Alice, "You've been in 104 freeze frames since you've been on." Alice said, "Wow." and Steve said, "Way to go, Alice." I said, "When you break the 100 mark that's cause for celebration." I asked Alice, "I wanted to ask you. In January I sent you a tape in the mail, of the Cass and Cecile story from 1986--" "Oh, was that you?" "Yes. So you got it?" "Yes." "Did you enjoy it?" "Yes I did. And I'm sorry, I'm very slow answering my mail." "Oh, that's okay... Vicky Wyndham found out about my videos and she wanted to see them, so I arranged to send them to her manager." "Really?" "She said she would get the Procter & Gamble executives over to her house to watch, so they could get a sense of history of the show." "Unfortunately the new regime doesn't care at all about history." "I know. That's too bad." Then I was showing Alice some of the other pages. "Those are Exit Lines." Alice looked at the page dutifully, then after a moment realized what she was seeing. "Wow," she said, poking her nose at it and reading a few entries. "You'll have to put Ryan's exit line in there," she said. "Yep." I asked Steve, "I wanted to ask you about Wallingford. Was his first name Wally, or was that just a nickname of Wallingford." "He only had one name." I was disatisfied with that answer, but let it go. I asked Steve, "Do you remember when the show had you make fun of your son Max?" Steve smiled, remembering. "Yes," he said. "In 1988, with Anne Howard...?" I said and Steve nodded. Alice, signing an autograph for someone, peered at him and asked, "They had you make fun of him...?" Later Alice was telling us about a scene that probably hadn't aired yet. "Sharlene asks Luisa where she was, and she says with her playmate Julia, which is my daughter's name." We said goodbye, and once again Steve was very nice.
The line to Joe Barbara's table was impossibly long as he was being besieged by female fans.
After standing in Kale Browne's line, I said to him, "I hear you know a lot about the Internet." "Yes, I do. I'm not on as much as I used to." "Have you ever seen the web site for the show?... It's on the World Wide Web..." "No, I don't think so. See I don't go on the web for the show. What's the name of it?" "Well, it doesn't really have a name, just an address, which is a location of where to find it." "So what's the address?" "Well, it's monet, uwaterloo, ca, eddie, aworld.html... " Kale shook his head. "Well," I said, "I have these print-outs. This is your character file, this and the next page." "Wow... 1986, is that when I started, I wasn't sure." "[pointing to the Spouses line] Those are all your marriages to Donna." Kale looks at it and laughs. "Is that really all the times... [reads some more]." "Did you know that you had a scene with Brad Pitt?" "Yes, I do actually. Someone named Dave sent me a tape recently and I watched it." Kale was very nice, too.
Finally I stood in Tom Eplin's line. "I wanted to ask you about the Internet," I said, "I hear you know a lot about it." "Yeah." "I'm wondering if you've ever seen my web site. I've done one for the show." "Yeah..." That threw me. "I created it," I said. Tom: "[eyes wide] Really? That's wild!" "So you've seen it... Did you really look at all the links?... According to the stat log, 4000 people logged in to the site in the month of September [this was a slip of the tongue. The site was *logged into* 4000 times]." Anyway, I wasn't convinced Tom knew what I was talking about, and I didn't stay long. Frankly, I didn't think I had enough X chromosomes to be of any interest to Tom E.
Lisa Kirshner
Guitarist at the College Campus, 1978-1979.
Hi Eddie
I was the singer in the Campus Coffee Shop on NBC's Another World for over a year, from circa 1978-1979. It all began in November 4, 1977 when I was doing a show called Out of Our Father's House, at Riverside Church in New York City, appearing in the role of a ballad singer with guitar. We did Out of Our Father's House at Riverside Church, at the White House during the Carter Administration, and on WNET Great Performances. The production was directed by Jack Hofsiss, who had won the Tony Award as Best Director, for the Broadway production of Elephant Man. Jack was involved with NBC and was working with Paul Rausch, an icon in Day Time Drama and Producer of NBC's Another World . One night Jack told me that I should call Paul Rausch, as he been in the audience, and had said to Jack, "I want her on the show". I called him at Another World, and an appointment was scheduled for me to audition for him in his office. I brought my guitar and sang as many songs as he requested. He seemed very pressed for time, and looked at his watch, so I did not know if I was going to be cast at all. I was asked however to fill out some paperwork. Shortly thereafter, I received my first call to report to the set. A night or so before the date, someone was sent to my home from SCORE Productions to teach me the song I would be singing on set in a day or two.
Mel Bernhardt, director of the 1978 production of Da! on Broadway, was directing the episode on my first day. "So what are you singing today?" Mel asked. I sang the song I had been taught and he said, "What is that?" I answered that it was the song written for the show by SCORE Productions. "Sing something else" he said. I had just finished writing a song which was in my head, called Will He Be? It was the first thing I thought of so I sang it and Mel said, " Do that one". That was the beginning of a run of recurring shows for which I would be scheduled as needed, and on which I continued to sing my own songs. There were shows for which I was paid, and yet I had not been on set on those dates, and that is how I discovered that I had appeared in dream sequences I had never seen.
After a while, I was invited to join the cast in the limo that picked the upper west side actors up at Argo Coffee Shop on West 72nd Street. It was a nice chance to get to know various actors with whom I was appearing, and I was happy to have that ride with my guitar, all the way out to Brooklyn. The actors I talked with most, included Richard Bekins who rode out in the limo, and Kathleen Widdoes, whom I later met again on the set of The Guiding Light, when I was a recurring under-five in a week of appearances as a chorus member. The run of shows I did on Another World, ended at some point in 1979, or perhaps even 1980, and some years later, I received a royalty check from Broadcast Music Inc, which indicated that there had been re-runs of Another World in Australia. And indeed, the re-runs were on Australia's Channel Nine and Ten.
- Lisa Kirchner, New York City © 2017
Magazine Scoops
[The more interesting sections from the soap mag reports originally reprinted by Usenet's Kim Coy.]
"It's going to be E.R. meets NYPD and Cheers," promises Jill Farren Phelps. "We're going to create a new neighborhood which includes the hospital, a police department and Carlino's Restaurant. Set designers are working hard on a new set that will be a first for AW. We're going to create an environment on the show. It's going to have three permanent sets and within each set there are going to be lots of little sets. One is going to be the hospital, one is going to be the police department, and one is going to be Carlino's restaurant. "It's a very creative thing that we hope will allow viewers to see people interact," explains Jill. "Everyone will either become a doctor, a policeman or a waiter. I like to think of it as E.R. meets NYPD Blue meets Cheers."
Plans are underway to convert one of the show's two studios into a neighborhood set. We are creating a new environment," Phelps said. "When I first started watching the show about six months ago I had a hard time understanding who was related to whom and who was married to whom. It became obvious that to make the show more viewer-friendly, we needed to create an area where a lot of characters could interact. We have three prominent sets, and within each set there will be lots of little sets. One will be the hospital, one will be the police department, one will be Carlino's restaurant, and in the midst of that, there will be a neighborhood. I like to think of it as ER meets NYPD Blue and Cheers."
Watch for: AW has a casting call out for Gabe McNamara, a Boston cop who investigates the shooting of a Bay City officer. Insiders say AW had been considering Kin Shriner (ex-Scott, GH).
AW is looking to cast Sofia and Danieli, Joe's younger sibs, but no actors have been signed yet.
Previews & Predictions: Watch for Felicia to find herself in the throes of an exciting sexual rebirth. A new "addiction" storyline is in the works - but this time it won't be alcohol wreaking havoc.
Character watch: Another hunky, handsome man in blue is on the way: Watch for police-guy "Len" to make the scene.
AW headwriter Carolyn Culliton and associate head writer Lorraine Broderick asked to be released from their contracts. AW's new head writing team consists of Sam Ratcliffe, Craig Carlson, Tom King and Janet Iacobuzio. Carlson and King were brought over from GL when Jill Farren Phelps made the move from Springfield to AW as executive producer. Former AW head writer Harding "Pete" Lemay has rejoined the show as serial consultant. Lemay's last soap job as was story consultant for GL.
AW's Paul Michael Valley's (Ryan) sizzling love scenes with Jensen Buchanan (Vicky) melt the screen - but surprisingly
his first love scene as an actor was with another man!
Here are more memorable firsts in Paul's life.
FIRST CHILDHOOD MEMORY: "I was living in Edina, Minnesota, and there was this huge rainstorm. The whole street had turned
into a river and I was sitting on the sidewalk, watching. Everybody said, Don't go in there because it's really dangerous."
FIRST SCHOOL MEMORY: In North Dakota when I went to kindergarten, it was so cold that when we walked into school we'd take
our mittens off and they would pinch our hands, checking for frostbite. Then we'd take our hats off and they'd pinch
our cheeks."
FIRST TIME IN TROUBLE: "I remember saying a dirty word and the woman down the street told my mom. It was so humiliating,
having my mouth washed out with soap."
FIRST CRUSH: "Katherine Holiday in Fargo, North Dakota."
FIRST EMBARRASSING MOMENT: "When I was 8 we had just moved to Connecticut. I turned to my mother and said, 'How am I going
to find friends? It's summertime and I can't go to school to find my friends.' Mom had just moved in herself and had four
kids running around so she sort of blithely said, 'Oh. I don't know, Paul, why don't you just go door to door?' So I walked
around the neighborhood, knocked on doors and said, 'Do you have any 8-year-old boys I could play with?' "
FIRST KISS: "In fifth or sixth grade, we were sitting in a circle playing spin-the-bottle. I remember feeling nervous, sick
to my stomach. and trying oh-so-hard to be oh-so-cool and not geeky.-'
FIRST LOVE: "Kristen Steele. It's the first time I remember kissing being a really pleasurable thing as opposed to going
'Ooh, I'm kissing.' "
FIRST JOBS: "I did a lot of yard work when I was a kid. I'd knock on a door and say `Would you like your leaves raked?' At
the end, getting $5 was the coolest thing in the world, immediate gratification."
FIRST PLAY: "My first show was Annie Get Your Gun. I could sing so I was given the lead and all my buddies were doing it,
all of my best friends and we just had a blast."
FIRST LOVE SCENE: "The very first time I kissed somebody onstage was with a man, my best friend Doug. I was in my third
year at Julliard, and it was a play called Spring Awakening. The only healthy, loving, sweet, romantic relationship in the
entire play was between two boys. It was so funny when we found out we were going to play these lovers. We said, 'We're
going to have to smooch each other, dude. That's going to be weird. We did it and it was okay. I said, 'Man, you've got to
shave!' It was a hellacious experience."
FIRST SCREEN TEST: "It was for the role of LINC on ATWT, and I was awful. I had auditioned a few times, but I hadn't really
grasped TV cameras. I remember being overwhelmed and not doing a very good job. It was that constant state of feeling like
you want to throw up."
FIRST APARTMENT: "It was an unheated basement apartment in Washington, DC, that was absolutely infested with thousands of
cave crickets. The cave crickets are big and long and they have four-inch-long antennas and they're white. They're
attracted to heat, so when it was cold they would come into this unheated basement apartment because it was still warmer
than outside and my bed was still warmer than the apartment. So I'd wake up with cave crickets all over."
FIRST DAY ON AW: "The ever-famous entrance on horseback. I showed up at Prospect Park at 5 in the morning and had to get on
a horse. I had lied through my teeth that I could ride. There was this really weird wonderful, nightmarish, daydream mixture
of everything - the best, the worst, the happiest, the saddest. I was so elated because I was a working actor."
Timothy Gibbs portrays ANOTHER WORLD's Gary Sinclair
Had things worked out differently, he might have been Evan Frame or Joe Carlino. But Timothy Gibbs isn't one to play Monday
morning quarterback. "I figured that was it, they had seen enough of me," he says of the two AW roles for which he had
unsuccessfully screen tested. "And then, out of the blue, I got a phone call asking me if I would do this role."
AW headwriter Carolyn Culliton says "We are going to start him out very slowly. He is the instructor at the police academy
where Josie is in training. He is a real tough guy. She has this vision of him as a strict disciplinarian, but what the
audience will see is that he is privately struggling with his sobriety."
"Joe and Paulina" doesn't quite roll off the tongue with as much ease as "Jake and Paulina" did for all the many years that Jake (Tom Eplin) and Paulina were a hot item. But give it some time. The buzz around the studio is that this twosome is being groomed to be the next big thing. Yikes! The pressure. The pressure. "You get nervous because a lot is riding on it. You know it, but you can't think about it," says Judi.
Dave Gibbs, brother of Tim (Gary) does a short-term stint in Bay City beginning next week. Dave, who also appeared on Seinfeld, will play Officer Tibbs, a Bay City police officer. While the brothers are best of friends, they're looking forward to clashing onscreen. There's a scene I have with my brother where he bawls me out, says Dave. That should be exciting, it's always been a dream of ours to work together and it's coming true. The Gibbses will be marking soap history as brothers who have worked together on the same soap.
Engagements: Ryan proposed to Vicky, giving her a stunning Claddagh ring, while Grant gave Lorna his mother's antique locket as a symbol of his love.
Q: Whatever became of the first actress who portrayed AW's Loretta? Can you tell me why she was replaced? Where is the
character now? (B. King, Prince George, BC)
A: The second actress to play Loretta, Susan Mansur, took over when the first Loretta, Sloane Shelton, was trapped in
Florida because of a hurricane and couldn't make it back to the studio in time for taping. The character is back in New
York City, still running her hair salon.
Christine [Tucci, Amanda Cory] had never met Jill Farren Phelps (the show's newly installed executive producer), who
wasn't officially at work on the show yet. "So I can't take her decision personally--although," she admits, "it's difficult
not to...." It's also difficult to understand why she was let go. "I was told it was because there was no story for me--but
everyone in daytime goes through times when there's no story, and I had a huge one for about nine months. I was also told
that they're making a lot of cuts because of money, but considering I'm one of the lowest-paid actors on the show, I think
that's sort of BS."
The situation is almost as hard on Christine's fiance, Paul Michael Valley (Ryan). "He's really upset. I feel bad for him,
because he's in a very difficult position. He has to go in there now knowing that I'm not going to be there...." And
knowing that he's about to begin a working relationship with the executive producer who just fired his fiancee. Yeah--but
again, he's handling it like I am, the best he can, in the most professional way he can," she says.
Charles Keating told us Carl's recent charade posing as a madman isn't the first time he's been called on to play a lunatic. In 1977 the actor appeared in Peer Gynt at a theatre in England in which he played "a wonderful character called The Pen. I had an asylum scene where I kept saying, "I'm a pen, write with me,'" recalls Charles. One day after slitting his throat, The Pen was granted his request. "The other patients turned him upside down and wrote with him," recalls Charles. To make the "ink" flow, "I got a condom and put a fair amount of fluid in it. Then I took a very fine flexible metal which I stuck to my skin and I stuck the condom to that. When the time came, I pierced my neck and the blood spurted out. The audience would get sick. I loved it," enthuses Charles. "It was great!"
AW fan Tom Freeman will always remember October 11, 1993. That's the day he tuned in to watch his favorite soap, and airing instead was an episode of Sally Jessy Raphael. "I called our local affiliate, King Television in Seattle, Washington, and found out they had canceled Another World because of poor ratings. I was devastated," admits Tom, who's been a loyal viewer for 20 years. "It felt as horrible as when Douglass Watson (MAC) and Constance Ford (ADA) died only this time, I lost all my friends." So Tom decided to fight back. He created the Another World Fan Brigade, an organization through which he and other members pressured King to get AW restored. "After creating a frazzling quantity of phone calls for the switchboard operator and letters galore to the station management and their parent company, King has finally relented. AW is to return to Seattle this fall!" beams Tom.
Now that AW has finally cast the 3-year contract role of Sofia, Joe's sister, with newcomer Dahlia Salem, viewers can look forward to an intriguing storyline as producers plan to mix and match its younger teens. Look for Maggie's friend Pam to set her sights on Nick, while Sofia gets hooked on Tomas. Meanwhile, Maggie will turn to Joe's brother Danieli, a role which still has to be cast.
Also, there are casting calls in the works for two contract roles of 3-year duration. One is for a young woman named Aisha Burrell, who'll be a love interest for Chris Madison. Aisha is an exotic dancer by night, attends college during the day and also works at a beauty salon. The show is also seeking a young actor to play Bobby Reno. As SOM recently reported, the show has been casting the man who got a cornea transplant when Ryan died.
The show is casting the 3-year contract roles of Annie Russell and Ross Falconer. Annie, a blonde, blue-eyed young woman, is smart, playful, and traditional. Her only problem is balancing a career with the demands of home life and her husband. (Sounds like the recast of Josie to us!) She's scheduled to start airing in Dec. In Dec. or early Jan. Ross, a handsome young man who could be dangerous, come to BC looking for love, a home and a family. He's responsible, strong willed, and a risk taker. (SOM)
Jacqueline Courtney (Alice Matthews Frame)Dear Carolyn, from reading your one-on-one article with Paul Rauch (Sept. 7) I felt very upset. Although you chose not to mention names it was obvious to me and any longtime fans about whom you were speaking. I am extremely offended by Mr. Rauch's statement that I was "guilty of outrageous, outrageous bad behavior." Admittedly I was young at the time and may have been swayed to a degree by George's (original Steve) strong opinions (especially since we had worked together so long) but I don't believe I was ever guilty of outrageous bad behavior. Mr. Rauch further asserts that all the "writers, directors and fellow actors put up with an unbelievable amount of aggravation from them." However, I never had any problems with any of the directors nor with any producer prior to Mr. Rauch. As for the writers, to my knowledge I had no problem with them except head writer Harding Lemay. He always disliked my protrayal of Alice but that's a writer's prerogative. I also had no indication that any of my fellow actors were upset with me. I agree that I refused to do the "falling in love with Steve's brother" story because I was defending my character and the Alice/Steve love story of so many years. I felt Alice would never fall for Steven's brother so quickly after his death. I had integrity. I realize now that for many actors on many shows integrity does not come into play. They compromise their characters and accept totally implausable stories. I am not chiding anyone for making that choice: it just wasn't mine. When you grow up playing a character for such a long time the character can become a part of you and it can become very personal. At least it did for me. In your article Mr. Rauch also claims that "several months later the hour show premiered and the audience forget all about them." I have to disagree. I can't speak for George (Steve) but I still have people coming up to me and remembering me as their beloved Alice. Mr. Rauch attempted to recast the character several times but was unsuccesful. Of course the show went on. I would never be so arrogant as to think it wouldn't go on without me-- it just wasn't as easy as Mr. Rauch would like people to think. I realize this letter is long but I hope you find a way to print it in its entirety and give me equal time, if not for me then for all my still-devoted fans who knew who you were talking about and how Mr. Rauch maligned me.
Thank You,
Sincerely,
Jacqueline Courtney
Email Excerpts, Another World fan Dan Ahearn (1966-1975)
April 2013
"So many questions: I don't know the exact answers to all of them but can probably rule out a few things. Susan Trustman's last day on the show was before the AFTRA strike. She fell off a stool in her kitchen reacting to what she thought she heard in Lee's conversation with John, that being that Lee was about to reveal that she had seen Mike Bauer and Pat in the park in a romantic embrace. The strike ended April 11th and episodes resumed with Pat off camera in the hospital with a broken arm. John was having one-sided conversations with her and the Pat character was off the show for a few weeks until Beverly Penberthy could transition from where she lived in Michigan to New York to take the role. May 12th as her debut as Pat does not sound right to me. I think it was more like late April because Missy's murder trial began May 5th and she was present for all of that. Also, it was Beverly in a phone conversation with Joe Gallison upon which Audra Lindley eavesdropped to obtain the damning evidence that Missy was pregnant, which she provided to Walter Curtin. I distinctly recall Pat's voice (Beverly) coming over the phone into Liz's ear where she says to reassure Bill: "Mother says it's a completely normal pregnancy."
"I think she [Liz] left the show to fly out to California in advance of Bill & Missy, who were being written out of the show and moving there, to find them a house. When she returned a few months later, Nancy Wickwire was in the role."
February 2015
"Yes I do clearly recall Billy Dee Williams on AW. His part was small but I have one recollection of him & Walter Curtin (The prosecuting DA at Missy's trial) seated at the table in the courtroom and Billy Dee remarking that he could not help glancing over at Missy & feeling sorry for her and cold callous Walter telling him he need not. He would have been on the show between May 5th and June 27th 1967, the dates during which the trial ran or perhaps a little before May 5th."
"Don't recall much of Caroline Johnson's exit except that it may have happened off camera. I recall Pat telling John she had fired her after she went up to the attic and found all of Pat's clippings about her murder trial. Then she returned and kidnapped the twins. Or I may have missed that episode as I was in college then and could not always watch it."
September 2016 (Multiple)
"Yes Judith [Barcroft as Lenore Moore] was in the role throughout her trial and I think till right after her baby was born. But she was DEFINITELY there on March 5, 1971 when she was acquitted so whoever is telling you she was not is dead wrong. I think she left in May but not sure and I have no recollection of that temp who filled in for her but I missed some of those episodes during the trial because I had to stay late at school for some reason, though it killed me."
Hope that helps."
"Honestly don't recall if Judy was still on the show when Dru left. I don't even remember the party. I seem to recall though that he was only going on a long voyage, around the world maybe and I really thought he'd be back but other than a postcard Mary placed on her mantle once, I don't think he was ever mentioned again. I hear the actor retired to live in Spain till he died in 1990...He was a treasure and I missed him terribly."
"Not sure if I saw Dru's farewell party or not. I probably did but don't recall it. Remember, we are talking nearly a half century ago though some things even further back I guess I do recall oddly. Like your Gaye Huston question: Yes, after Lee finally told John about Pat & Mike and he had a chance to talk to Pat about it, she thought for sure he would throw Pat out. Instead he tried to reason with her and told her that he forgave Pat(what little there was to forgive) and that because she loved Mike, she placed all the blame on Pat and conversely, because he loved Pat, he placed the blame on Mike. But she would not listen. She ran off to Bedfordtown, and while on the way stopped for a sandwich. The place was crowded and while there she ignored her food and read a letter from her college, (addressed to her father) informing him that her grades were slipping. Then she burned it up in an ashtray. Lahoma appeared, Possibly her debut and asked to share Lee's table. That's how they met, with Gaye still in the role, one of her last scenes, I think. I also vividly recall that Lahoma asked Lee for her untouched sandwich if she was not going to eat it and Lee said she was definitely welcome to it. Lahoma was not doing well financially."
"Emily Mason was the daughter of the Randolph's next door neighbor. Her mother was a work-a -holic and had a heart attack form overwork. John & Pat took her in (Lee had just died) and it looked like they were going to adopt her but then she went off to college the end of summer '69 and was never seen or heard from again or even mentioned. By the time Pat discovered she was pregnant, Emily was long gone. At least these are my recollections."
"....I am recalling Flo's last scenes a bit differently. Flo and Madge came to Bay City for Flo to confess. And I know she was in Bay City when Missy was freed. She was staying at Liz's house. I have a vivid recollection of Flo being there when Liz got home from Mary's where there was a big celebration being held which was ruined by Liz causing Missy to tumble down the stairs. She did not push her but she caused it to happen unintentionally. Liz got home and told Flo that Missy had had an accident. Flo's asked you mean with the car? Liz said no and explained just what happened (not though that she had caused it.) Flo was very distraught and said to Liz that she had wished harm on Missy for taking Danny away from her and cautioned Liz against ever wishing harm on anyone because when it happens to the person, you feel terrible."
"Too bad we can no longer purchase those reels [at Bowling Green]. Always wanted the one from 4/11/67 when Dru stepped out of character the day the AFTRA strike ended and answered a knock on his door, opened it and said to all of us out in TV land, "Well, come on in we've missed you." The he sat down and "spoke" to us all assuring us we had not missed any developments in the case of just who killed Danny Fargo. And when he was done, invited us into Mary's kitchen(as you must know, he lived with the Matthews in the in-law apt. orig. occupied by Granny Matthews) to see what she was cooking. It was SO delicious. Give anything to see that again or at least read the dialogue he spoke."
"An article I found within the pages of a Chicago Daily News TV GUIDE with Judy Barcroft & Paul Mooney on the cover from July 1973. If you can read it it states Judy's last day on ANOTHER WORLD was the March 18, 1971 taping which was probably broadcast a week or so later which puts her in the role for Lenore's Mar. 5 acquittal. This should put to rest any question of which actress was in the role that day."
"Dru was an absolute treasure. I just adored Uncle Dru. Susan Trustman's last episode: Pat was up on a stepping stool in the kitchen with John & Lee. It was a very tense scene and somehow, Lee was about to spill the beans to John about Pat & Michael. Pat reacted and spoke out to silence her, lost her balance and fell. Then the strike hit. When it was over, Pat was kept off camera while in the hospital with a greenstick fracture in her arm. This was largely because, I would think, Beverly had to re-locate from Detroit to take the role. So Bev's first scenes were with her arm in a cast. I recall Lee's was blamed for the accident and for a while got the deep freeze from Alice, who wanted to know what Lee's problem with Pat was. Lee assured Alice that she did NOT want to know."
"No story lines actually revolved around Dru but he became heavily involved in the story lines of others. And yes, the third week of April is about right for Beverly's debut as Pat. That line about Missy's pregnancy I do remember well. Quite sure it was spoken not with her on screen but rather Liz hearing the line over the extension as she picked it up to listen in on the conversation Pat and Bill were having. What a bombshell that was. I recall Liz's thoughts being spoken out after that (like voiceover) and her saying something like, "Do they actually plan to pass the child of that ody (Danny Fargo) off as my grandchild???"
"I knew director Len Valenta had some episodes but after he died his niece, who made Lenore's wedding eps available said she discarded them."
"Yes I vaguely recall Jane Overstreet now. I remember Caroline telling her all about the man she loved named John. That plot though was so corny; I mean the evil housekeeper poisoning her employer because she wants her husband and kids for herself. Another cheesey plot was Susan falling in love with her mother's companion Fred. Robert Cenedella was a fine writer of dialogue but an inferior head writer. That's why the ratings slumped during his tenure."
November 2016
"I seem to have clear recollections of Charlie & Madge with her as well. Either I am wrong or they joined her later. I do know that Madge (Doris Belack) stayed on in the role for another year till she joined OLTL because I read that Agnes Nixon liked her so much she wanted to keep her on the show. She and Ada became close friends. Her remaining in Bay City was justified by her stating she felt guilty about Bill not finding Missy when he was looking for her in Chicago and she wanted to remain in town until she saw them married. In fact she was at Missy's wedding to Bill. I know that because I have the script for that day."
"Murial Williams [Helen Moore] was more important at times than at others. For the first year with the Catherine Corning story and then with the engagement of Lenore to Bill we saw a lot of her. Then I recall in early 1968, she was off the show; not written out just never around till she came back for Lenore's wedding and then she was off again, I think they said staying in Florida and came back before the Wayne Addison story got going. Yes after Mary's death, there was some inkling of a romance between her & Jim and I think Ada but neither got off the ground. I recall Helen going to visit Jim and telling him not to let Liz thwart any romantic interest he had in any woman, as she was trying to do."
May 2017
"I do recall Bobby Doran [Jamie Frame]. He was a good actor I thought and played well against Dennis. I do recall people saying that these were two of the most unattractive boys they could have found but they were just average looking, not glamorous by Hollywood standards."
"I stopped watching regularly in 1975, furious that Mary was killed off but did watch sporadically after that like I recall the Sven storyline when he killed someone and hid the body in the boathouse, Rocky I think was the victim and I remember John & Olive and when he killed Evan and that is the last thing I recall ever seeing."
June 2017
"The scene when Bill picks up Missy upon her release was all music, no dialogue and done very artistically with a shot of the sun shining behind a huge tree and things like that. If I recall correctly, it began with Bill escorting Missy thru the prison, past the guards and out into the sunlight. Very tender and beautifully done like most soaps back then."
July 2017
"Well I recall Dr Thornton fairly well in some hospital scenes with Alice but I don't recall if they dated. Don't think so since Alice was mostly on the show for comic relief it seems often just making lighthearted remarks and just skirting the main storyline. The assistant DA during Missy's trial often just sitting in court next to Walter was played by a black actor, actually soon to be famous Billy Dee Williams so I don't know who this Alex guy was."
"The essence of Lenore: Judy Barcroft was so elegant and poised, much more so than any other actress on soaps at that time. She possessed a classy and dignified air that just set her apart from everyone else. She just moved about with such grace and elegance. Susan Sullivan, lovely though she was, just did not have that demeanor but neither did anyone else. Judy was exquisite."
September 2017 "Not like a move when everything is encapsulated into about 2 hours. Soap opera happens in "real time" and you experience these characters travails with them over a period of years as they come into your living room 5 days a week. They are or were unique in the world of entertainment."
"I seem to recall Lenore saying that, referring to Walter's dishonest behavior being motivated by his mistaken belief that Lenore wanted all these material things when she was not like that at all. Right after, she went wild and starting smashing everything."
"Well I am not sure what Liz's last scene was with Audra in the role. The scene you describe here is probably the last or one of them. The scene where she flew into that rage and threw Fred out, flinging a bottle at the door was earlier in June when she returned from Venezuela and saw them thru the window on the couch kissing. They all had a big fight, Fred took Susan to Bill & Missy's and then returned to talk to Liz but there was no reasoning with her and she flung that bottle at him as he was leaving. The last scene I recall with Audra was her telling Bill & Missy she would fly out to Calif. in advance to find them housing and help them get settled. Yes, when she returned late that summer, Nancy was in the role. I have no memory whatsoever of this scene you just described. Odd that I did not tape it since I have the other two on my CD's. I assume you must have all of them?"
October 2017 "Well as far as the Emily [Mason] character goes, it’s not a question of remembering but rather more that I never knew in the first place. If I had to guess, I would say her character just did not work so she just sent off into oblivion never to be heard of again. It seemed to me at the time that her character was just a feeble attempt to replace Lee, who had just been killed off and then the producers or head writer thought better of it. I always felt [Robert] Cenedella was out of his element as a head writer though a brilliant writer of dialogue. I think his Liz-Fred-Susan triangle (I think it was his) was pathetic & really cheesy, not to mention totally unoriginal. Hope that helps."
"Yes that scene with Jim telling Mary about the baby's parentage was brilliantly crafted and I refer to it as Virginia' Dwyer's "finest Hour". Funny how Jim was absolutely sure the baby was Russ's while Mary firmly believed in her heart that the child was not. The scene was so well written and Jim broke it to Mary in stages, showing amazing sensitivity. That scene & Rachael telling Alice at the party are the two very best things I taped. I feel privileged (in a foolish sort of way I suppose) that I was chosen to be the one to have preserved these (at least in audio format) since the episodes came to be destroyed. This episode was broadcast somewhere around Oct 24th though I don't recall the exact date. Thank God I had received a tape recorder in June of 1968 for my 15th birthday!"
January 2018 "I don't seem to recall as much about the [Missy's] trial as I or you would think. Plus, unfortunately, I left for Washington DC on Monday, May 30th until Saturday June 4th on my 8th grade graduation trip. It KILLED me to have to miss AW but seeing DC, the White House etc., was a long time dream of mine so I had to make the sacrifice. I missed the entire week except one day when we got back to our hotel rooms early one afternoon, about 3:10 and I caught part of that day's episode amidst peculiar looks from the maid making up our room. I think Dru was questioning Ann Fuller, Missy's social worker about Missy's life in 1953 or 1954. As an interesting sideline, that trip cost 55.00 inc. 5 nights in a hotel, lunch & dinner and a stopover in NYC to see a taping of the game show Password! All I had to buy was breakfast."
"I do not recall Lenore testifying at all, but remember Pat bursting into tears when she had to reveal that yes Missy was pregnant, and Madge on the stand stating that Danny was a louse and a dirty old bum. I also can recall Walter's nasty cross examination of Missy and her crying almost all thru it."
"I don't recall reading in Lemay's book about an actor who Wyndham wouldn't work with. If he mentioned that, it was very much in passing. But as you're asking, what's popping to mind is an older actor who was on the show for a few weeks. Seems like he was an artist, maybe he was helping Rachel renovate her studio on the mansion's ground. This was during one of the many separations from Mac that occurred in the 70s. Either they hinted at, or I assumed given that Mac and Rachel were separated, that this artist was headed to a romance with Rachel. But then he was gone shortly after. That's the only thing I can think of. And no I don't recall the character's name, but he had no connection to Iris (one of the few times Iris wasn't somehow involved with one of Mac and Rachel's breakups)."
"As for Janice, the first one, Victoria Thompson was OK in the part, but nothing terribly memorable. The character didn't really do much during her two years in town. I remember wondering as a kid why a character as dynamic and exciting as Steve Frame had such a dull sister."
"Janice was the first of Steve's family to come to town on a long term basis and I wondered if the rest of the family was equally dull. As I found out, Willis (John Fitzpatrick) was as exciting as Steve, but then he was given a makeover to become ultra-boring when Leon Russom took the part. Sharlene was somewhat interesting, but then Vince was another dull as dishwater character. I often wondered why they brought Vince to town since he served no purpose other than to steal screen time from characters I liked."
"By the time Vince got there, I thought we were treading water with the Frame family, that all the exciting genes had been used up with Steve and original Willis. Then Christine Jones arrived as Janice. This felt like a completely new character, not a recast of a previous character. Christine's Janice was mesmerizing. Added so many layers to the character. It was clear she was scheming and had ulterior motives. If the audience wrote in saying they hated her, it was deserved. She played a mean bitch. However, even I was surprised when they took Janice to the extreme and had her poisoning Mac to inherit his money. But of course, that was Tom King, not Lemay. And that was also following the P&G mandate to add such plot elements to the show to better compete with ABC which surging at the time."
"The ABC soaps seemed to move at a quicker pace since they tended to have 3 scenes to an act, whereas AW generally only had one scene per act. Watch the debut episodes of Texas on YouTube and you'll get strong sense for how slow the P&G shows were moving at that point. Texas was one of my all time favorite soaps, at least the final 18 months of it, after Gail Kobe became the E.P. But the first year of Texas had severe problems. It started off promisingly during the month that AW was spinning it off. But once it became its own show, they really dropped the ball. Very slow scenes. Not enough character development. You've got a nice review of the first year of Texas on your site. I think it was John Kelly Genovese who wrote it and he was dead on target. Excellent analysis of the show's first year and its many problems."
"AW struggled to find its identity for a long time after Lemay was fired. Each new set of writers tended to make it worse and worse. I kept getting my hopes up they'd get back to the show I loved. 1982 under Corine Jacker was especially disappointing. 1985-86 with Carl Hutchins and all teens going to Egypt or whatever that nonsense was was also really bad. But the Sin Stalker era was the absolute worst."
"Suddenly in 1988, during the writers strike of all times, things started improving drastically. Felt like the show I'd loved in the 70s. Then Harding Lemay was back as HW. Even though he left abruptly, he righted the show and his Bible kept it on track for the next three years."
James
"I worked on an soap opera called ANOTHER WORLD. It had the best black storyline for soaps at that time. I had a few scenes with him. We would travel by limo and sometime by subway to the set.We got to know each other a little. As you know, he went on to become a major star. His first big screen role was called STREET SMART with CHRISTOPHER REEVE. Morgan played a pimp. I have all my scenes with him recorded. They will be part of my reel when I return to HOLLYWOOD. Have a great day..."
"I distinctly recall Bill's car accident was broadcast on Oct 1. Perhaps the reason for the discrepancy on the dates is that the scene you describe with Pat, Missy & Ricky leaving for the zoo as Mary or someone is calling with the news of Bill's accident may have been intended for Oct 02 but I vividly recall being livid with rage the 2nd & 3rd because AW was preempted by the World Series and I had to wait for two days worried sick about Bill. I don't know about you but I LOATHE baseball and sports of any kind, quite rare for a New Englander, so that scene would therefore have been broadcast on the 4th, a Thurs."
"Hi Mike:
Email Excerpts, Another World fan James Mills
Mark Frazer (Prince, 1983), 2019