CBS TV Stars in 1978

That was cool. Thanks for sharing.

Only a handful are still alive.

Andy Griffin had a trump comb over

Childhood.

Buddy Ebsen looked like he had a stick up his ass.

NSFW. or Network TV.

Fun.

Whenever I see Steve Allen and Jayne Meadows, I am reminded of my mother's near hysterical hatred of them while I was growing up. She seriously detested them, and that was passed on to me. Audrey Meadows was likeable, but Jayne and Steve Allen were held in the lowest regard. I'm not sure why, really. I vaguely remember her feeling they always thought they were the smartest, wittiest and most urbane people on any talk or game show when they were really pretty low-brow.

And to this day, don't get her started on that show they had on PBS for a while where they played historical figures on a talk show. She will go on for hours about how stupid it was (She was a history teacher.)

R5 I understand Ebsen was a big drinker.

Jack Lord looked like a corpse.

Lucy Ball not being the spotlight star must’ve frosted her ass. Way to go MTM!

At 1:32 into the video, I honestly can't tell if David Groh is standing next to Valerie Harper, or if it's a cardboard cutout. I replayed it and stared for several minutes.

Of course Bob Barker is standing next to Adrienne Barbeau. He made sure he was with the biggest pair of tits in the room. Old ho bag.

I liked that they made them all stand in alphabetical order and no one deviated.

[quote]CBS Movies for Television February 1978 promo

Well, "Big Mo" didn't deliver on the promise of the title.

We've done this before, OP.

and I'm so happy we get to do it again, aren't you, r14?

And I....shall wear a TURBAN!

[quote]Buddy Ebsen looked like he had a stick up his ass.

Well, he was a big ol' Republican, after all.

Where were Max Baer. Jr. and Donna Douglas in that line up??

Danny Kaye is NOT feeling it.

R8 = Nancy Kulp

I noticed DL Legends Bonnie Franklin and Linda Lavin.

John Amos looked smoking hot.

Marry me, R7

Who is the woman at 1:19 shaking her tits?

That’s Julie Kavner, R23

Vivian Vance at the beginning! She’d be dead within a year.

So who is living in that group? Linda Carter, Julie Kavner, Sally Struthers, Rob Reiner,

Val looks so uncomfortable. Of course Bonnie is running her mouth.

R26 Loretta Swit is with us. Although she has a pillow top face now.

I used to watch Steve Allen's syndicated show in the morning in the summer and laugh my ass off. I thought he was hilarious. My mom didn't care for Jayne ("a phony") or her laugh. I kind of like Jayne.

I recognized most of those people, including the news people. But Desi Arnaz should have been there.

Valerie and the one eyed cunt who killed her and stole her family!

Shouldn't Dale Evans ahve been with the E's?

(have been)

They couldn’t scatter those Walton siblings evenly?

And yeah - what the fuck is going on there, Julie Kavner?

[quote] I used to watch Steve Allen's syndicated show in the morning in the summer and laugh my ass off.

Me too! I’d come home for lunch to watch it. Allen still had it through the 70s, but then somehow lost it. Too much Jayne?

A great memory:

“Do they get your show in Cleveland?”

“Well… they see it but they don’t get it.”

R34 I just laughed out loud reading that joke!

The alphabetical order helped me recognize certain people - Garry Moore, Douglas Edwards (news anchor), Ken Murray - he didn't look very good - but he lived another ten years! And of course the one and only Vivian Vance.

Buddy Ebsen is me in a group setting where I don’t know anyone.

[quote]Shouldn't Dale Evans ahve been with the E's?

Apparently it was decided it was more important for her to be with Roy Rogers.

[quote] I liked that they made them all stand in alphabetical order and no one deviated.

R12 Then why are Mary Tyler Moore and Walter Cronkite between Charles Kuralt and Don Knotts?

[quote] Only a handful are still alive.

Are you surprised? it was 45 years ago--almost half a century.

Except for the Walton kids and Julie Kavner there are few young actors there. People today tend to forget that most entertainment back then was by adults, for adults. (Yes some of the people there were retired, but it applied in their era, as well.) There were kid shows, but there wasn't anything like today where you have Outer Banks or 13 Reasons Why. The teen films (and stars) of the 80s hadn't happened yet. As a teenager in high school I used to watch Barnaby Jones and Cannon - shows starring old guys. Very different time.

[quote]Bonnie Franklin wore the same dress as Linda Lavin.

Some CBS executive said, "Give the spaghetti strap dress to the ugly, annoying loud-mouth broad who thinks she's SO talented."

Saint Vivian von Vance had to stand next to Cicely Tyson, a well-known cunt...

Luckily Saint Vivian had sufficient experience with cunts...

Mary Tyler Moore is wearing a wig.

She had cut her hair short for her new variety show, of which I, mercifully, have forgotten the name.

Gleason isn't here, neither is Richard Thomas, and as I already mentioned DESI (TV pioneer)...I hope he was invited. Raymond Burr (Perry Mason). Bob Newhart and Suzanne Pleshette, Robert Young, Don Adams and Barabara Felden, The Leave It To Beaver cast, Alan Alda, Alan Young (Mr. Ed), Fred Gwynne and Yvonne DeCarlo (Munsters).

Is there not a single Asian in the lineup?

Also, I thought Ellen Corby looked glamorous and happy. Good for her.

Good for Ellen, sometimes old lesbians don't get enough love...

Eva Gabor is also wearing a wig, but it is an Eva Gabor Wig!

[quote] Is there not a single Asian in the lineup?

Oh America from forty-five years ago: be more progressive!

It’s CBS aren’t these people all still on with the same viewers? They tend to age in place.

R46 Bonanza was on NBC so Hop Sing (Victor Sen Yung) couldn't be there.

Ditto McHale's Navy (ABC) which had an Asian character, "Fuji" (Yoshio Yoda). Bachelor Father, starring John Forsythe (which ran on all three networks at different times) , had an Asian character played by Samee Tong, and of course The Courtship Of Eddie's Father had Mrs. Livingston (Miyoshi Umeki). There was Keye Luke on Kung Fu, and Pat Morita on Happy Days. Who am I forgetting?

No Peter Graves, Greg Morris, Lynda Day George, Robert Conrad, Ross Martin??? And worse- NO soap stars!! Mary Stuart should have been there, with Charita Bauer, Audrey Peters, Eileen Fulton and Helen Wagner!! Young and Restless was taped at Television City, so Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jeanne Cooper and Brenda Dickson should have all been there, too!!!

I agree that Valerie looked pissed off, almost like she was about to burst into tears.

I'm sure Jackie Gleason was invited, but he definitely should have been there.

I wouldn't be surprised if Linda Lavin demanded that she'd only appear if she were the only one there from Alice. Vic and Polly were already huge breakout stars by that time.

Madame Esther will be giving psychic readings in her dressing room after the filming.

[quote] Vic and Polly were already huge breakout stars by that time.

You'll have to explain that statement.

^ Linda Lavin was a cunt.

Does anyone know how this line order filming or stars by last name was accomplished? Were they standing on an endless turntable? How was it staged? Many (mostly females) seemed to know to smile and preen when they were squarely centered in the camera. Not complaining. Just observing.

Vivian Vance was a cunt.

It looks as if they lined them all up on a catwalk and used a camera on a crane to film them.

R56 - “Everyone please stand in alpha order by your last name from left to right. Except you Cronkite and the Walton spawn.”

R56 Did you watch it until the end? They were on a balcony on the CBS Television City building in LA.

Probably shot by a camera on a crane.

David Groh was dropped as a regular on "Rhoda" during Season 3 (1976 - 1977) and given recurring status.

Valerie was generous to let CBS invite him, but it looks as if he may have said something to upset her.

Valerie Harper got a psychic reading from Esther Rolle earlier that evening. Esther told her that one of the actresses standing somewhere to the right of her would replace her in a television series in about ten years and that a nasty lawsuit would ensue. Except Esther wasn’t that good and couldn’t name the actual actress (“I see…a white lady!”). You can see Valerie trying to work it all out in that clip.

Some of them I do remember from my childhood but many of them are complete strangers.

^^^ "Oh boy, Bruce Jenner! Where is he?" So laf.

So some of the people who were on the show were not on the balcony at the end.

Who is that hideous ginger at 4:39 R) 63?

Gale Storm!

R 65, the. the balcony would have collapsed and ABC had life insurance policies on many of them.

R66 Anne Meara?

[quote] Except Esther wasn’t that good and couldn’t name the actual actress (“I see…a white lady!”).

That made me laugh out loud!

The entire cast of Welcome Back Kotter was there except Horshack.

The ABC 25th anniversary for ABC that year was more fun. they brought out to one round table tons of the famous old actors who had played Batman villains (e.g. Cesar Romero, Art Carney, Burgess Meredith, Van Johnson, etc.) while they played clips of their appearances in the silly costumes, and they just laughed their asses off.

[quote] Who is that hideous ginger

TV icon, Lucille Ball!

Tony Randall wasn't gay, was he?

^ apparently not...although he was so effeminate, he was missing a wonderful opportunity

"Tony Randall wasn't gay, was he?"

Tony had the nerve to assume I was straight! I was terribly insulted!

Anyone know who was to the left of Jean Stapleton?

I thought I'd recognize more stars than I did. I suspect some were old even then (and that was 45 years ago).

LOL at Archie Bunker (Carroll) wedged between Jim Nabors and Tony Randall.

there's more

I never knew Julie Kavner was old enough to have been a star in 1978. I always assumed it was “The Simpsons” premiering a decade later that made her famous.

Many more of the ABC stars are still alive (and of those that are dead, quite a few died “before their time”). And they’re from the same year. The CBS stars were old even then. But Dan Rather is still alive and tweeting!

Which show got higher ratings? The ABC one certainly looked more fun.

Thanks, OP. That was cool and cute. A nice trip down memory lane. Mary Tyler Moore looked so pretty. It was nice seeing Sherman Hemsley smiling. David Groh (Rhoda's husband) looked good and tasty. John Amos looked like he was taking it quite seriously.

Which one of you bitches will identify everyone from beginning to end?

[quote]I never knew Julie Kavner was old enough to have been a star in 1978. I always assumed it was “The Simpsons” premiering a decade later that made her famous.

Seriously? Famous for voice work?

I’m a 53 year old elder gay who watched A LOT of tv — I don’t recognize some of the people in the clip.

Julie Kavner looks great there.

Julie Kavner is now the Stevie Nicks of TV - a person paid millions upon millions for a ruined voice that sounds like a frog addicted to shots of grain alcohol.

[quote]The entire cast of Welcome Back Kotter was there except Horshack.

Foreshadowing?

Florida Evans and Meathead

[quote] Seriously? Famous for voice work?-Brenda Morgenstern

R84 Julie Kavner got a lot of laughs delivering what seemed to be intended as straight lines on “Rhoda” because her vocal delivery was funny. It was a testament to Valerie Harper’s humanity that she let that go on for the entire series.

I think it didn’t escape Tracey Ullman and her producers’ notice that Kavner could get laughs verbally as a second banana when they started “The Simpsons” short sequences in “The Tracey Ullman Show” in 1987. Granted, Kavner had an indirect connection because she was partnered with David Davis, who worked with executive producer James L. Brooks on other shows. Nevertheless, I think Kavner became so well associated with the voice of Marge Simpson during the run of the Ullman show that she deservedly remained in the cast when “The Simpsons” became its own show.

There’s a string of 3 or 4 old men between Danny Kaye and Sherman Helmsley that I don’t recognize. And poor Arlene had to stand next to Bonnie, but Francis and Franklin are alphabetical, and rules is rules.

OK, so now I’ve watched the ABC one and you can really see why CBS was called the Tiffany Network. So many legends. Toni Tennille, Charo and Lola Falana kick the whole ABC thing off and it doesn’t get much better from there. Terrible cringe-inducing singalong and chaotic presentation as Toni summons the talent to come up to the stage from out of the crowd. It’s a mess.

[quote]So who is living in that group? Linda Carter, Julie Kavner, Sally Struthers, Rob Reiner...

I'm still here! Look who's here!

R44 - MTM's short-lived variety show was called "Mary."

[quote]that show they had on PBS for a while where they played historical figures on a talk show

That was called "Meeting of Minds."

[quote]I never knew Julie Kavner was old enough to have been a star in 1978. I always assumed it was “The Simpsons” premiering a decade later that made her famous.

"Rhoda" starts airing tomorrow on the new "Catchy Comedy" network (FKA DECADES.)

[quote] And poor Arlene had to stand next to Bonnie, but Francis and Franklin are alphabetical, and rules is rules.

Well, at least Bonnie HAD been in the legitimate theatre.

Julie Kavner really slimmed down by this point and looked great during those last seasons of Rhoda. I loved her character, Brenda, and how she blossomed over the course of the series along with the actress playing her (similar to Valerie Harper on MTM).

Julie Kavner was at her sexual peak that very evening, and was not going to go home without scoring some CBS dick. Rumor has it that it was one or maybe two of the 60 Minutes guys.

"With Morley and Mike it was more like 6 minutes."

What did the old white guy whisper to Isabel Sanford?

[quote] Who am I forgetting?

The glory days of Chao-Li Chi were just around the corner!

Is it ironic that the building this was filmed at is no longer owned by CBS?

@r26 John Amos and Demond Wilson, along with Sally, Rob, Linda, Julie and Dick are still alive.

Also Dan Rather, Lesley Stahl, Bob Schieffer.

Adrienne Barbeau and Sandy Duncan are still with us too.

"What did the old white guy whisper to Isabel Sanford?"

I like my women like I like my coffee.

R11- Bob Barker was not heterosexual

R99- Your gaydar SUCKS or I should say your lesbidar sucks

Julie Kavner is a LESBIAN

How many of the gowns did Bob Mackie design?

Never considered how hot Adrienne Barbeau once was ...

Why is Jimmy Walker not in this? After the first season, he *was* Good Times.

^ I think I saw Jimmy in the pre-balcony lineup.

R109 - my gaydar is just fine. I didn’t exclude the possibility of Lesley Stahl with a strap-on!

It must be great to have a job voicing for “The Simpsons.” You get paid millions for just a few hours of work each week, and unlike other Hollywood celebrities who worry about getting old or fat, you never have to worry about your appearance.

[quote] There’s a string of 3 or 4 old men between Danny Kaye and Sherman Helmsley that I don’t recognize.

R 91 Bernard Kalb (reporter for CBS news), Arthur Murray (I think. Dance instructor, host of Arthur Murray's Dance Party), Dwayne Hickman (star of Dobie Gillis).

Meanwhile, Arnold the Pig had been butchered and served at the post-ceremony luncheon.

[quote]There’s a string of 3 or 4 old men between Danny Kaye and Sherman Helmsley that I don’t recognize.

These are just randos that Danny Kaye was giving blowjobs to behind the dumpster...

[quote]Meanwhile, Arnold the Pig had been butchered and served at the post-ceremony luncheon.

Great, first I have to work with that cunt Lucy O'Balls...and now this.

Backstage was a nightmare...

Linda Lavin kept breaking into her tired old song and dance every time the camera was pointed at her...

and a jealous, but less-talented (if you can even imagine) Bonnie Franklin kept trying to upstage Lavin with her fire batons

Bonnie Franklin had so much trapped gas in her impermeable control-top panty hose, that gas along with her aerodynamic Dorothy Hammill wedge haircut, caused her to be lifted in a themal gust of wind and her cowl-necked visage briefly floated on the assembled stars...

Later when CBS security had restrained Linda Lavin from striking Bonnie's floating body with a broom handle, Lavin claimed she thought Franklin was a pinata and was just trying to join in the fun.

Fucking Roy Rogers and Dale Evans. Wtf were they doing there?

Grandma Walton was little and ugly as always

Judy Norton Taylor and Lynda Carter were current gorgeous stars.

Isabelle Sanford is my fave.

[quote]I had never realized that CBS had the top three queens of comedy: Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett and Mary Tyler Moore.

Bullshit, I was on NBC

[quote]What did the old white guy whisper to Isabel Sanford?

"Be a good girl and fetch me a drink, would you, Beulah?"

[quote] Judy Norton Taylor and Lynda Carter were current gorgeous stars.

Judy Norton Taylor was never gorgeous.

Demond Wilson, (?), Betty White, Dennis Weaver, Ray Walston, Mike Wallace, Nancy Walker, Ralph Waite, Dick Van Dyke, Vivian Vance, Cicily Tyson, Danny Thomas, Loretta Swit, Sally Struthers, Milburn Stone (Gunsmoke), Jean Stapleton, Leslie Stahl (?), Ann Sohern, Dick Smothers, Red Skelton, Eric Sevareid, Bob Shieffer, Telly Savalas, Isabel Sanford, (?), Dale Evans, Roy Rogers, Esther Rolle, Rob Reiner, Tony Randall, Carroll O'Connor, Jim Nabors, Ken Murray (Hollywood Home Movies), Garry Moore, Lee Meriwether, Jack Lord, June Lockhart, Art Linkletter, Walton kids, Michael Learned, Vicki Lawrence, Linda Lavin, Martin Landau, Charles Kuralt, Walter Cronkite, Mary Tyler Moore, Don Knotts...

...Ted Knight, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo), Julie Kavner, Danny Kaye, Bernard Kalb, (?), Dwayne Hickman, Sherman Helmsley, Joan Hackett, Valerie Harper, David Groh, Andy Griffith, Arthur Godfrey, Will Geer, Eva Gabor, Alan Funt, Bonnie Franklin, Arlene Francis, John Forsythe, Jamie Farr, Georgia Engel, Douglas Edwards, Buddy Ebsen, Sandy Duncan, Bob Denver, Richard Crenna, Ellen Corby, Jackie Cooper, Tim Conway, Bert Convy...

...William Conrad, Mike Connors, (?), Lynda Carter, Art Carney, George Burns, Carol Burnett, (?), Ken Berry, Ned Beatty, Bob Barker, Adrienne Barbeau, Lucille Ball, Barbara Bain, Ed Asner, Beatrice Arthur, James Arness, John Amos, Steve Allen.

Mary and Walter just got finished fucking in the stall of the ladies room and quickly ran out to the center of the lineup, thus upsetting the otherwise perfect alpha order.

The Walton kids were tagged as Michael Learned’s special guests and placed accordingly. Unfortunately their inclusion meant other CBS stars such as Jimmy Walker could not participate.

Fuck you regarding your Waltons insult. Judy Norton Taylor was a star. She was much more to me than merely Mary Ellen. And what about old Grandpa and Grandpa Walton. They were in the lineup too. As ugly and bitchy as they were.

^^Grandpa and Grandma Walton

^ Outraged $cientologly clam defending high priestest Judy "Jugs" Norton Taylor.

Judy Norton Taylor was my choice on Battle of the Network Stars.

^ Tammy Cruise shilling for $cientology until the end...

^^^Old dirty asshole

^ I know, why doesn't Tammy force one of those Sea Org slaves to scrub it clean?

Wow, that's Lesley Stahl! Indeed it is.

Hadn't realized most folks were in alphabetical order.....

R129 Jimmy Walker participated. Just wasn't in the lineup at the end.

There wasn’t room for even Jimmy Walker’s skinny ass in that lineup because of all those fucking Waltons, r138!

Was ABC thought of as hip in comparison to CBS?

Leslie Stahl looked gorgeous! She’s always had a nice smile and now she has crooked wigs.

R140 yep, Toni Tennille was always the epitome of cool.

And 45 years later, I'm STILL the epitome of cool!

Judy Norton Taylor broke free of Walton's Mountain when she appeared in Playboy decades ago. Yuk

[quote]And what about old Grandpa and Grandpa Walton

Well, Will Geer was gay, after all.

It's LESLEY you fat whores!

R140 None of the networks were thought of as hip.

MTM looks gorgeous, of course. I’ve been watching her show again and it’s a discover of sorts. I remember reading that the supporting cast outshone but it’s not true at all. She was a very skillful comic actress and the humor is still fresh.

R140 they had the better coke.

No Harvey Korman or Lyle Waggoner? Where was Joyce Randolph?

Joyce Randolph is still around. She's 98.

June Lockhart at almost 98 is still working and has been in the business since 1938's A Christmas Carol. Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction, and many years hosting the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants plus the Thanksgiving Day and Tournament of Roses parades, all on CBS.

[quote] No Harvey Korman or Lyle Waggoner? Where was Joyce Randolph?

Having a threesome with Harvey Korman and Lyle Waggoner.

I think Harvey was at ABC in 1978. He was not part of the last year of Carol's show. (I believe he was on the final episode but that's it).

Tim Conway and Dick Van Dyke were on Carol's show in the Korman-less season. Of course Dick also previously had his own show on CBS.

No Gavin or Cloris. Maybe ABC wouldn't let Gavin do it, since Love Boat had become such a big hit for CBS? Was Cloris still bitter that "Phyllis" flopped? Sad that so many are long gone. The MTM actors seem to fall one right after another in such a short time frame.

MARY!

[quote]I wouldn't be surprised if Linda Lavin demanded that she'd only appear if she were the only one there from Alice. Vic and Polly were already huge breakout stars by that time.

Maybe Vic and Polly were invited but they just didn't want to spend any more time with Linda and all of her bullshit than was absolutely necessary.

[quote]It must be great to have a job voicing for “The Simpsons.” You get paid millions for just a few hours of work each week, and unlike other Hollywood celebrities who worry about getting old or fat, you never have to worry about your appearance.

Julie Kavner lives somewhere in Bumfucke Long Island and is a semi-recluse. She records all of her lines at home over the phone and makes $300k per episode. She has the best job in the world.

Awwww, weird I got misty-eyed and had to stop watching--I knew the name of EVERY single person I saw.

Makes me so sad we will never have a gathering of such talent in one space/event again in my lifetime. Nor will anyone from Gen Z, Millennials and younger.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, MARY!

So happy Dan Rather is still with us. CBS News was a motherfucking BEAST back in the day.

This would make a great CBS TV movie of the week...

Lavin and Franklin's animosity and competitiveness come to a head as they bet one another who can suck/fuck the most talent at the 1978 celebration line-up!!!

CBS presents... LITTLE CUNTLINGS

You don't want to know what Danny Thomas was doing in his dressing room.

[quote]June Lockhart at almost 98 is still working and has been in the business since 1938's A Christmas Carol. Lassie, Lost in Space, Petticoat Junction, and many years hosting the Miss Universe and Miss USA pageants plus the Thanksgiving Day and Tournament of Roses parades, all on CBS.

She was also Lucille Ballard in "Meet Me in St. Louis." She and Margaret O'Brien are the last two survivors of that movie. June also starred in a memorable episode of "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour."

These are the people still alive in reverse alphabetical order:

Demond Wilson, Dick Van Dyke, Loretta Swit, Sally Struthers, Lesley Stahl, Dick Smothers, Bob Schieffer, Rob Reiner, Dan Rather, Lee Meriwether, June Lockhart, Michael Learned, the Walton kids (Kami Cotler, Jon Walmsley, Judy Norton Taylor, Mary Beth McDonough, Eric Scott, David Harper), Vicki Lawrence, Linda Lavin, Julie Kavner, Jamie Farr, Sandy Duncan, Lynda Carter, Carol Burnett, Bob Barker, Adrienne Barbeau, Barbara Bain, and John Amos

MARY!

I mean

PHYLLIS!

Where were the soap actors? Beloved icons who put their shows on the map like Mary Stuart, Larry Haines Charita Bauer, Eileen Fulton, Rosemary Prinz, and Don Hastings all should've been there.

R165 I never miss a chance to link the opening sequence of "Phyllis." I think it's one of the best openings to a situation comedy in the history of TV. It's a wonderful homage to Jerry Herman's title songs in "Hello, Dolly" and "Mame," but with that stinger for Phyllis at the end.

[quote] I never miss a chance to link the opening sequence of "Phyllis."

We know.

R63 I've watched Eve Arden's entrance @ 11:47 20 times already.

Most people wouldn’t know who the soap actors are. Maybe it’s not fair but they’d just be in the way. As it is there are few “who the hell is that?” people there.I was 12 years old in 78 and theses are all familiar faces with just a few exceptions.

[quote]It's a wonderful homage to Jerry Herman's title songs in "Hello, Dolly" and "Mame," but with that stinger for Phyllis at the end.

It's also an homage to (or theft from) the opening credits of "The Wild, Wild West."

I haven't watched a soap since the 1980s. I think it was Days of Our Lives, and even then there were actors from the 1960s still performing.

R144 she wasn’t ugly like fucking Elizabeth Walton! Judy is still gorgeous. I think.

Others have watched soaps since the 1980s.

^ are the same actors still performing but now with bad toupees and Botox?

General Hospital was probably going to be cancelled in 1979 when Gloria Monty came up with the Luke-Laura storyline, then their marriage in 1980 put soaps on the map. Before that, they were "just the soaps." Second-class TV watched by middle-aged housewives, compared to the prime-time shows. No, the soap stars wouldn't have been represented in 1978.

Partly true, r176. Bill and Susan Hayes has already appeared on the cover of Time magazine in 1976, so soaps had become part of the zietgeist by that point. Not to mention, AMC and Y&R were HUGE on college campuses by 1978, and I think a lot of non-soap viewers knew who Erica Kane and Phoebe Tyler were. Whatever the case, I think that at the very least, Mary Stuart and/or Eileen Fulton should've appeared, as they were truly iconic. Hell, Eileen was so wildly popular, they centered a prime time spinoff around her character.

Was Doris Belchak’s character based on her r176?

R178 I don't know who that is.

R178 I was in college in 1978 and I don't remember that. But then not a lot of people on campus had TVs. We watched in the dorm lounge. Maybe people were watching those soaps, but I don't remember a lot of TV watching during the day. I do remember some girls I knew watching GH around 1980.

No Polly Holliday? She was one of the network's biggest stars at the time. Really, really glaring omission.

CBS--Kiss my grits!

Yes Doris's Tootsie character was based on Monty.

Wasn't Belinda Rosenberg, Christina's producer on The Secret Storm in Mommie Dearest, supposed to have been Monty?

r183 yes. Gloria was EP of SS in 1970 when Joan 'stepped in' - God if video existed! I've heard the audio.

Polly Holliday very rarely made public appearances - don't remember any talk show appearances, etc. She certainly preferred it that way - despite her massive popularity, without the Flo wig, she could still go out with barely any recognition.

Plus the Alice cast learned early on that the more they let Linda have the spotlight, the better things on set would be for them

R179 is one of those stupid fuckers who assume if he/she/they didn’t personally experience something it didn’t happen.

Soaps were huge on college campuses in the 70s and 80s, even pre-Luke and Laura. AMC in particular was a major, major campus attraction (students AND faculty) even in the mid/late 70s.

[quote] Lavin and Franklin's animosity and competitiveness come to a head as they bet one another who can suck/fuck the most talent at the 1978 celebration line-up!!!

I don’t know her.

I’m watching Password Plus episode from 1979 or 1980 on Buzzr. A contestant was trying to solve a puzzle with the clue “cute”. He responded “Kristy McNichol”. The host said “he is cute”. Hmmmmm.

Buzzr seems to keep showing the same dozen or so "Password Plus" episodes, all from around 1979-1980. It was during the time that host Allen Ludden started missing occasional episodes because of the stomach cancer that would eventually kill him in 1981.

Ester Rolle was a big fat black woman.

R187 And you can prove that how?

How did kids watch soaps all day in the 70s in college, when they had classes all day, no VCRs, and very few of them had a TV set in their room? And TV reception used to be terrible in dorms.

ABC chose to do some Rocky parody takeoff for theirs with about five hundred people on stage. Donna Reed and John Wayne being also rans while some group of women called the King Family gets an inordinate amount of airtime. And who chose Toni Tenille?

But man, Marlo, Kate and Cheryl looked FIERCE.

R192 did you know that Miley Cyrus was huge in 1978?

Where the fuck were Eve Arden and Gale Storm? Two of CBS's biggest female stars, as big as Lucy in their day??? At least Ann Sothern bothered to show up.

If they had done this five years later, can you imagine all their huge stars that would've displaced some of those dinosaurs? For starters, Larry Hagman, Linda Gray, Patrick Duffy, Barbara Bel Geddes, Charlene Tilton, Michele Lee, Donna Mills, Joan Van Ark, Jane Wyman, Lorenzo Lamas, Robert Foxworth, Susan Sullivan, John Schneider, Tom Wopat, Catherine Bach, and Tom Selleck, etc. Oh and Constance McCashin, of course.

Eileen Fulton from ATWT was supposed to be there, but she plugged up the toilet and they dismissed her.

196 If you watch the other clip, of the stars being announced on stage, Eve Arden and Gale Storm were BOTH THERE. Not everyone was on that balcony for the last shot.

R196^^^