More gossip from our Marvelous Midwestern towns

Old thread

Also, a short thread about Nancy Frangione

A trademark on the eavesdropping porch! What a clever idea. I should have thought of that.

Wonder what Emma will have to say? Or did you cut her in on a portion of the profits?

It's 60 for me and 40 for Emma, Liz.

And you'll always have a place of honor on the porch...although we know you can eavesdrop just about anywhere!

Are we going to do a promotional campaign to spread the use of eavesdropping porches across the country?

Who was the biggest gay male slut behind the scenes-Dennis Parker?

I heard that!

Yes, we should promote them. And charge money. I'll sell tickets!

Welcome back, Little Miss Seattle.

Pussycat!

Really, Holden was bad enough, but what's this business with international spy rings and a crooked cop? Lily, darling. *sigh*

Jennifer Ashe (Meg on ATWT) was fun last week on Alan’s show but she insisted that she was the last Snyder to be introduced which was not the case. She spoke a little about Michael David Morrison so that was poignant. He certainly couldn’t get that monkey off his back. So sad. I think she also described Liz Hubbard as being “a law unto herself” which was a diplomatic way of saying she just did whatever the fuck she wanted in all her scenes.

Even as a kid I felt bad for glamorous Pat being saddled with stodgy John.

Meg may have been the youngest but both Caleb and Ellie came on after Meg.

I hated when they paired Meg with Josh and tried to reform him. He was a fucking rapist.

I was torn about that. Bill Fichtner was hot but they overlooked what Josh/Rod did, whether he was a teenager or not.

Jennifer Ashe spoke to that, she said that could never happen on a soap today.

Iva’s sisters all treated her like shit. Ellie stole Kirk from her and Meg married her rapist. Then her brothers started fucking her daughter. It is all very Tobacco Road.

Holden Snyder's sizemeat could not be denied.

I watched an old Route 66 episode that had lots of Beverlee McKinsey connections even though she wasn't a guest star.

It was a 1963 episode (season 3, episode 23) titled "Fifty Miles from Home." It featured Berkeley Harris as a young athlete who gets into a fight and is so badly injured that it ruins his chances of getting an athletic scholarship to college. It also featured Robert Emhardt was the young athlete's father angry about his son's future being ruined.

The Beverlee McKinsey connection comes in that La Bev married Berkeley Harris in real life in 1971. Meanwhile, Robert Emhardt was the first actor to play Mac Cory. Emhardt played Mac for about a year in 1973-74 before they recast the role with Douglass Watson.

I think Emhardt only made a small number of recurring appearances over a year's time. He looked like Fred Mertz....I can see why Douglass Watson would have made the role his own.

Robert Emhardt was a character actor. He looked like a support character, not a leading man.

Douglass Watson was a lead actor. He looked like he could carry the show.

Clearly when Harding Lemay wanted to transform Mac into a main character, he recast the role with Douglass Watson.

Even when Berkeley Harris died in 1984, Beverlee only missed a few days of work. Lydia Bruce subbed for her (doing a very good job), but then La Bev was back at work.

I guess throwing herself into work was her way of grieving his death.

R22 I think she only took the job as Alexandra because Harris was ill and then dying.

She was very done with daytime when she left in 1981.

Supposedly, she was making a $1 million a year to star in Texas.

She must really have been "done with daytime" to walk away from Texas when she was making that kind of money and getting star billing.

She was.

There was an interview on YouTube where she was talking to some famous Dick Cavett type journalist from Canada (unable to locate it now), and they discussed her career. She said she was out of daytime and ready for more film work.

She accepted the role of Alex in late 1983, probably about 18 months to 2 years after said interview.

My understanding is La Bev didn't want to come back to Another World after breaking her collar bone in late 1979. Carole Shelley subbed as Iris for about three months in early 1980 while Beverlee was out.

Supposedly Beverlee wasn't going to come back after she recovered. Was tired of playing Iris after eight years. Was tired of the drive out to Brooklyn each day. Was done with daytime.

But then Paul Rauch lured her back with a $1 million salary and star billing on Texas.

[quote]There was an interview on YouTube where she was talking to some famous Dick Cavett type journalist from Canada (unable to locate it now), and they discussed her career. She said she was out of daytime and ready for more film work.

Scott McKinsey posted that video on his Facebook page about 2-3 years ago.

R27 Yes. Unfortunately I think it has since been removed.

Is this it r28?

R29 Yes!!!!! Thank you. Looks like someone just reposted it a matter of days ago. Thank you for doing the Lord's work, R29.

Rewatching that interview and it almost makes me want to cry because it's just so damn smart. Two intelligent people with their own ideas about art and performance having a conversation.

*sob*

MARY!

Wow. La Bev dated Burt Reynolds in 1966-67. Who knew!?

There is a writer and professor (Patrick Dilley) who is supposedly working on a documentary of La Bev. This has been in the works for some time now....

Apparently not Burt.

Not one mention of her in his autobiography.

James Earl Jones had a type, I guess….petite blonde actresses. First it was Bev and then it was his current wife Cecilia Hart.

Another Bev clip I’ve never seen…I love it that the interviewer politely but firmly tells Jerry Lanning to stop draping his arm around Bev because it’ll mess things up in post.

I want to see this Tom Snyder clip Bev mentions in the clip at r29. It was Bev, Charita Bauer, Ruth Warrick and Macdonald Carey. Apparently she hated Ruth Warrick!

R17, you are so right about Iva! What a 180 Lisa Brown did going from Nola to Iva.

Two other things about the r29 interview (and I did post it and should have posted it all in one post)—

I never heard Beverlee or Victoria Wyndham talk about each other but it sounds like they did like each other personally and professionally. Also-I now understand why she left Texas (and daytime)-:she really took offense at the lack of respect for daytime, in spite of the huge amounts of money they made for the networks.

I remember years ago hearing rumors of McKinsey and Wyndham feuding but it doesn't sound like they did. Whether they were besties or not, I dunno but it sounds like they were coworkers that respected each other.

I think some of those rumors came up just because Iris and Rachel feuded, and also the fact that once the 90 minute shows started, they could almost never be on screen in the same episode due to logistics.

Beverlee, the interviewer.....Burt Reynolds, Sandra Locke, Clint Eastwood......Ruth Warrick, Charita Bauer, MacDonald Carey, Victoria Wyndham.....

Only Lady Eyes A Buggin and Clint are still with us.......

I seem to recall that during the period when Lemay was HW at AW that Rachel was on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays while Iris was on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

So, only on Fridays could Iris and Rachel interact and have a blowup. But Lemay was smart enough not to make it a weekly blowup. Some Fridays, the two never interacted at all, but the audience was on the edge of their seats waiting to see if they did interact. Other Fridays, the buildup in the previous weeks was so great, you knew the two were going to have at it.

[quote]So, only on Fridays could Iris and Rachel interact and have a blowup.

They are still my favorite soap rivalry of all time.

Lemay said it right in the AW memoir - Beverlee was best as a somewhat unsympathetic character.

The conflict between Rachel and Iris (and Mac) was as good as theater.

She was gangbusters in early years of GL - delicious Gothic conflict with Alan, fighting off India and the push/pull between Lujack and Alex until he accepted her. Her character languished for a while until she fought Roger, but the Mindy/Alex rivalry was great too (well, with Simms and La Bev).

I never understood why Pam let Alexandra be a supporting player in the Sonni-Solita story.

Yes, I know that Beverlee and Michelle Forbes hit it off in real life and enjoyed working together. But for a year and a half,, Alexandra tagged along with Sonni as she tried to figure out her past.

Why turn this legendary actress into Sonni's talk-to for so long? Why not give Alex a storyline of her own? Why not have men chasing after Alex, even if they would eventually turn out to be con men?

This is one of the many reasons that 87-89 period of GL was so lackluster.

After the proposed Mike/Alex pairing collapsed, Bev didn’t really have a strong leading man to work with on GL, until Roger entered the picture.

It’s interesting that both AW and GL plummeted in the ratings once Bev left, and neither recovered.

Obviously she wasn’t the only reason for that happening to either show, but her departure left huge voids.

r46 Reportedly Texas lost a million viewers once Bev left in late 1981.

Alex was not served well once Pam Long left the first time. There were a few terrible years in there - those awful 1985-86 years. I remember reading that she was to have played a bigger role in the leadup to Phillip taking over Spaulding, but they rewrote some of that when Bernau became sick, and then the strike hit.

Although they loathed each other, Zaslow was a boon to the character of Alex.

I'm not sure she was really chasing big story, though. She was older, a widow, and wanted to keep working long enough to support herself. It was when her story actually got increased (and her character became more evil) and she started to have long days again, that she decided to quit.

I think Beverlee and Victoria Wyndham were similar in that they both viewed daytime as a job. Daytime allowed Wyndham to raise her kids, buy some properties, and explore her real passions. I think it was the same for Beverlee, the difference being that when Beverlee got bored or felt that she had done all she could do with a role and her bank account was set, she just moved on. If Another World were still on the air, I bet VW would still be there. I think she cared about what she was playing, but she enjoyed the freedom and lifestyle that it gave her, more. I also think at some she just gave up fighting for better material.

There is a petition for Beverlee to receive a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Daytime Emmy.

I agree she should have one, though there's a class of at least 15-20 that should receive one, as well (Lisa Brown among them).

Stephen Schnetzer remembers Nancy Frangione

I had seen the episode when Phillip calls out Alan and Justin about not telling him about being adopted a few times but not the episode before. HB’s first episode evidently.

Eli Simms storyline. The Bauers, The Lewis’ , The Reardon’s, The Chamberlin’s. What a time to be alive.

Isn't that the storyline that didn't make any sense with the timeline?

HB's first episode was actually on Aug. 24, 1983.

Mindy showed up at Lewis Oil wearing a new mink coat. Josh and Billy asked her where she got it. Mindy said "From Granddaddy" and HB came to door saying, "Howdy Boys."

Wish I could find the video on YouTube, but can't. Sorry.

That episode also marked the introduction of one of the new, slower openings, replacing the Disco opening of the Marland era.

R54 there was a little bit of it that didn't make sense, I think.

But the copy of it that they did circa 2002-2003 with Maryanne Carruthers was terrible and really fucked with the timelines.

I just cannot wrap my brain around the idea that 1983 is 40 years ago.

Lies!

Wow. First I've seen of this.

Love her or hate her, she kinda had that character fully formed in that audition! (With the help of Pam's writing, too.)

Here’s this playlist that I got it from.

I also can’t find Beverlee McKinsey’s last day and scenes with VI. I loved those scenes and they seemed to have been removed. What a pity.

I’m so glad they dumped that southern/country accent almost immediately. That would be the only note. Other than that Robert Newman is just sexy as fuck. And they had chemistry right from the start. She really was amazing and deserved all the accolades. The only problem and it wasn’t her fault was Reva dominating the show.

I just loved GL 80-84. Nothing like it.

The Southern accents were a bit much. Overdone and didn't seem authentic.

They toned them down significantly after the initial emphasis.

Which I assume was influenced by "Dallas" - daytime seemed to want to copy that vibe, thus the Lewises of GL and the Buchanans of OLTL.

I would expect no less.

I'll bet India and Xavier went clubhopping every weekend in Andorra.

Miss Eileen Fulton is NINETY years old today.

(Don Hastings will be 90 next April....Liz Hubbard would have been 90 in December *sobs*)

Just read on the Locher Room FB page that Caelie Haines died last weekend. I think she worked at all the soap magazines at one point, but she was with WEEKLY for most of its heyday and was the editor that covered GL (and was a big GL fan herself).

Apparently she died suddenly - she was close to my age (!)

Very sad to hear. We complain about Mimi and a few others here but I remember her work being very good, well researched stuff. RIP.

Aww, sorry to hear about Caelie. I worked very briefly at Soap Opera Weekly and she was a very nice person.

How was Mimi, r67?

I don’t think I dealt with her at all. I was just a temp, there for a week or so. I remember Caelie and Roberta Caploe. And the editor whatshername, she was OK,I remember transcribing a tape of a Kim Zimmer interview and she was bitching about newcomer Beth Ehlers. She said “That girl really meeds to calm down.” That stuck out at me.

R69 LOL!

That tracks with Kim blindly mentioning her in her book. I don't think Kim ever cared for her.

Yes, Zimmer had a blind criticism of Beth Ehler in her book. Only cast member she really criticized in that book.

Other than Billy HB and Wanda, one else had southern accents or even attempted them. Well wait I guess the Shayne’s all did. But Josh and Trish didn’t which was weird. I really liked the Trish Lewis character. I wish they would have done more with her.

R72, I totally agree about the character of Trish.

Trish was a great character. She definitely should have been on more. Trish should have been Alan or Ross's wife, sort of the Laura Bush unhappily married to the senator vibe, and acting out.

For whatever reason, they never seemed to know what to do with her.

Was Trish married to Holly’s brother Andy off camera, or was that Vanessa?

Not a P&G show but sadly it's being reported that Billy Miller (who was on AMC, Y&R and GH) has died. Alan Locher had it on his page and Michael Fairman did too, though it was taken down.

r76

whoa what?

The TVLine article doesn't confirm a cause of death (or didn't when I first saw it), but some posts on social media are suggesting it was suicide.

There's a discussion at this thread

He had a hot ass but he couldn’tblive forever.

I always got him confused with Brian Gaskill who was on AMC, Port Charles, ATWT and GL. He’s ten years older, though.

I’d take a Brian Gaskill comeback.

R76 - You got it. Trish and Andy had divorced by the time she arrived in Springfield. Trish and Vanessa were best friends from boarding school.

Andy romanced (and abused) Katie Parker — he dated her to gain access to her keys. He was breaking into Sara MacIntyre’s office and reading her files. He was using that information to blackmail many denizens of Springfield. I thought that was a great story, and the best one that I associate with Katie Parker/Denise Pence. I really liked Katie/Denise.

[quote] I’d take a Brian Gaskill comeback.

I'd take Brian Gaskill quite deeply.

14 years ago today.....

OMG! 14 years ago!!

The date slipped up on me. Thanks for the sad reminder.

A memorial of various soap journalists who have died in the last year (including Caelie Haines, mentioned upthread).

Michael Park will be on The Locher Room.

And Michael Park knows a thing or two about Locker Rooms

And adult video arcades, and the sauna rooms at gyms, and.....

I just got Melanie Smith's self help book from the library. Am about to read through it but snuck a look at acknowledgements. She mentions one person and one person only from ATWT and to my surprise it wasn't anyone she really worked with a lot in scenes, it was, of all people.....Mary Ellen Stuart.

R89, they’re very close friends to this day. They were together on one of the Locher Rooms.

Pussycat!

Isn’t Michael Park on The Locher Room live and direct from the Westside Sauna?

John Wesley Shipp apparently had surgery recently - type not disclosed but he's recovering.

And Joe Lando had knee replacement surgery. Hilarious that Mr. Stud Joe Lando now looks like someone's old Italian grandpa.

I did not know that Michael O' Leary became an alkie after GL was cancelled.

O'Leary talked about getting sober in a one of his more recent Locher Room appearances.

Good for O'Leary.

Michael Park gives a fun interview on The Locher Room. He has high praise for Maura and says he gets that she always wanted a big family and a long lasting career on soaps but she’s capable of so much more like Tennesse Williams roles. He very amusingly makes it clear he thinks Frank Grillo is a huge douchebag. Alan surprises Park with the actor who played his kid. Adorable guy (he’s 30 now) with gorgeous eyes.

Will have to check it out, R97. Thanks!

I still remember an episode where I think it was Kim Z and Robert Newman and then all the Marahs were on. Robert became very emotional seeing Ashley Peldon all grown up.

...

Just got through watching the Michael Park session. It was fun. Good to hear him and his stories.

The man loves Maura, no doubt about that.

Clearly is not a fan of Frank Grillo.

And seems genuinely hurt than Jon Hennessy isn't responding to his, or anybody's, calls or texts.

Jon Hensley?

Kurt McKinney will be next in the Locher Room

[quote] And seems genuinely hurt than Jon Hennessy isn't responding to his, or anybody's, calls or texts.

If the rumors are to be believed, Jon and Kelley broke up because Jon gambled away all their money.

Perhaps Jon is just ashamed and isn't talking to old friends. Or maybe he's on booze/dope/became a deplorable. All depressing to consider.

Jon is still active on Twitter and he still looks good.

r100

what's his beef with Frank Grillo? How are they connected?

They probably attended the same soap fan events. And Grillo is a notorious asshole. I’m sure the ATWT cast heard all the stories of him slamming his salami into Wendy in his dressing room at GL.

Poor Hunt Block had to hear them fucking all the time at the GL studio.

Not that I would have turned down an opportunity to have 1997 Frankie Grillo slam his salami in me, in any dressing room of his choice....