January 1980

Please review Dec 1979:

http://daytime70s.blogspot.com/2017/12/december-1979.html




All My Children, January 1980

The prosecution dredged up Kelly’s sordid past with Eddie, but she can’t remember a thing about his murder. Myra brought Janice to tell Nina the truth about Cliff after Palmer almost had Nina transferred to another college. Nancy wants no part of Frank, even though his divorce from Caroline was finalized. Phoebe spilled the beans to Ruth about Phil being reported missing. Donna promised Chuck she’d try to mend fences with Tara and wouldn’t think those naughty thoughts. Staying with Mark following the abortion of Eddie’s child, Brooke felt happy about their friendship. Langley suggested Phoebe take a smaller divorce settlement from Charles. Joe was fearful Myrtle’s heart may give out if Kelly is convicted of Eddie’s murder.  Palmer had a fit when Myra arranged for Janice to tell Nina the truth, which reunited Nina and Cliff. While Cliff wanted to marry, Nina was cautious since she realized he wanted children and she was fearful of dying in childbirth as her mother supposedly died as a result of Nina’s birth. Myrtle went into a tailspin at Kelly's jury as Kelly's jury deliberated. Wally and Devon split up. Mark told Ellen she'll never be happy with Paul because of Anne. After Palmer slashed Daisy's portrait, Myra called someone and advised, "Don’t do what you're planning." Russ and Nancy discussed Carl's improvement, while Frank and Betsy took the child for a stroll in a wheelchair. Phoebe wanted her investment money back from Erica, who was crushed when the booming Steam Pit opened. Donna was heartbroken when Phoebe refused to continue her how-to-be-a-lady lessons. Tom's brother Sean arrived. Kelly was found guilty. Wally came back to Pine Valley and begged Devon to take him back for Bonnie's sake. Brooke is bummed out because Mark asked her to find her own place. Cliff doubted the story Palmer has told Nina about her mother's "death." When Nina questioned her mother’s death, Palmer collapsed in pain with Charles diagnosing it as a gastric condition. Erica's disco went down the tubes when the area was rezoned for residential purposes. Ann wrote Paul a psychotic sounding letter that made him feel guilty. Ellen questioned whether Paul has really fallen out of love with Ann. Donna asked Chuck to move out of town since she can never live down her past reputation. Ruth told Tara it was wrong for Chuck and Charlie to see so much of one another because when Phil returned it would be hard for Phil to reestablish his position as the boy’s father. Russ asked Nancy to marry him. Benny felt the old sparks when Estelle visited Donna. Sean took a shine to Brooke or, at least, to her money. Paul planned his divorce after Dr. Harper reported Anne is mentally incompetent. But Ann resolved to get well quick. Devon admitted sexual problems with Wally. Tom couldn't help Erica financially and she planned to strike it rich in Hollywood to fight off depression. Nina told Palmer she wants to marry Cliff. Phoebe and Charles came to terms in their divorce settlement. Phoebe made wedding plans with Langley, who was frustrated because he can't grab the money and run. Joe interceded when Chuck and Tara argued. Kelly was sentenced to die in the electric chair in 60 days. Brooke accused Claudette of murdering Eddie. Devon auditioned for a play instead of seeking sex therapy with Wally. Myrtle was frantic that Kelly will get the death penalty within 60 days for Eddie’s murder and Kelly was transferred to prison. Linc, preparing for the appeal, scrutinized the list of the Chateau’s patrons the night of the murder. Claudette hired Donna to take over Kelly’s songbird duties. Nina and Myra planned a seance to get in touch with Nina’s mother Daisy. Mark arranged a date for Sean and Betsy. Edna lit into Benny for meeting Estelle. Carl and Frank weren’t pleased that Nancy agreed to marry Russ. Palmer told Cliff to get off his back and stop checking into Daisy’s death. Erica split for Sunset Boulevard. Tara pleaded with Chuck to have a talk with Charlie when he was sent home from school: Charlie was very inspired by the talk.










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One Life To Live:

Pat tried to escape and accidentally shot Maggie during a struggle for a gun. Ed and Karen spotted Jack with cutie Lorie Mitchell. Jack later assured Carla it was innocent and there’s no reason for jealousy. Herb and Gretel make love. Herb advised Peter that he can divorce Melinda if she’s mentally incompetent, which drove Dorian wild with rage. Karen was jealous of Larry and Faith working together. Becky and Johnny grew chummier. Learning Maggie had not been seen in London, Clint figured out Maggie’s scheme, ran to Pat’s house, heard a gunshot and when he rushed in, found one of the sisters dead. Larry tried to reassure Mick that his impotence is only temporary. Viki gave birth to Joe's child. Richard returned, just as Becky signed a contract with Johnny. Katrina babysat with Mary and noticed her birthmark. Brad was moved to a state prison where inmates heckled him as a "pretty boy”.   Bo realized Brad's the type "the guys like."   Pat was catatonic after Maggie's death. Edwina refused to listen to Dorian's gossip that Mario may really be Marco. Then, Mario had a slip of the tongue in front of Edwina. Samantha fretted about Mick's impotency. Bo asked Viki to join the board of directors of the Buchanan Empire. Babysitting with Mary, Katrina noticed she and her infant shared the same type of birthmark. Jack insisted that Carla quit her job after she fell asleep instead of attending a dinner party where he was waiting for her. Mario and Dorian raced to be the first to get Marco's autopsy report which would prove that Mario and not Marco was shot to death by Talbot Huddleston. Mario hated himself for deceiving Edwina while she was beginning to suspect something was wrong. Bo dated Dorian in order to get her to sell property to Asa. Dorian didn't bite, although she was thrilled by Bo's attentions. Will helped Pat get over Maggie's death. Bo hired Richard to write about Becky and Johnny's musical tour. Jamie was jealous of any guy Tina looked at. Suffering from post partum depression, Viki went to the Bahamas with her children ans asked Richard and Becky to keep an eye on Tina. Edwina got wise to what's bugging Mario. Bo is interested in Dorian but intrigued when she turned down a cash offer for Llanfair. Richard enlisted Karen in his investigation of the Buchanans secretly buying Llanview property: he learned the Buchanans were buying land in other people’s names as a means to start contraction of 70-acre shopping mall and high-rise apartments. He felt it would destroy Llanview’s environment and displace too many people. Bo felt guilty that he nearly succumbed to Mimi's sexual teasings. Dorian ordered an investigation of Marco's missing autopsy report. Fran encouraged Mick to drop Samantha. An agent offered Mick big bucks for property he owns. Dorian is on Clint's back again since Pat won't have anything to do with him as she is haunted by Maggie’s death. Dorian filled in as host of Pat's show and irked Gretel by acting the big star. Richard asked Becky to get out of her sinister contract with the Buchanans. Ed thought Carla made a mistake quitting her job to please Jack. Brad went bananas in the clink when he was physically abused by inmates. Larry offered to buy Mick's land so he wouldn't sell out to agent Gilda Sullivan, who's secretly dealing for Bo. Richard was beat up while snooping into Buchanan shenanigans. Karen worried Larry would be the next victim. Mimi lured Bo to her bed, then spilled the beans to Karen that she signs deals for the Buchanans without knowing what's involved. Dorian told Karen that they both know Mario is actually Marco. Bo insisted he wouldn't let Becky out of her singing contract. Clint approved of Richard's investigation of the Buchanan Empire.

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January 1981

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GENERAL HOSPITAL

January 1981

One Life To Live: Behind the Scenes Gossip

Steve Fletcher (Brad Vernon): " I had a hard time figuring Brad out. I'd played plenty of dark characters before, but you know, in soaps, they're episodic; you don't have that one arc with a character. [...] [i asked Peter Miner,] "Why does this guy keep repeating the same bad behavior?" He said, "Think of him as an addict." I said, "Okay, I understand that." He said, "And with addiction, there's a cyclical process. Behavior causes guilt, you escape from guilt, you repeat the behavior." All of a sudden I realized why Brad was who he was. Peter did that for me.

[...] Brad raping Karen was lifted, in part, from Streetcar Named Desire. In portraying something that awful, they also did justice to the story. My character paid a price for his actions - they didn't glamorize it. Brad and Karen didn't develop any kind of romantic connection; Brad went to jail. And he was raped in jail. It was poetic justice.

When Brad was sent away, we actually filmed in the Bergen County jail. They told me, "We're going to deal with prison rape." They didn't really dwell on it much, I must say. I appeared in a hospital scene after being beaten in the shower, and my onscreen father, Tony George, asked me, "What happened?" I replied, "They tried to make me less of a man. And they did." That was it."

Susan Bedsow Horgan: "Joe [Stuart] was a network guy, and boy, was he not liked. He did something very unethical to my husband *, preventing him from taking another job and then firing him right after so he was completely out of work. I had the feeling that he was very tyrannical."

*Patrick Horgan aka Dr. John Morrison (The Doctors)

Robin Strasser (Dorian Lord): "I loved working for Joe. He was an equal opportunity misanthrope - "I don't like actors, I don't trust actors, nobody gets any favors." It applied to everybody, and to me, whether perversely or not, that was reassuring. The playing field was level. Joe Stuart strode the Earth as our executive producer, and you could bet that when he walked on the set, everybody trembled just a bit. He wasn't afraid to fire you, he wasn't afraid to call you on stuff he didn't like, he wanted it good, and he wanted it fast. When he directed, we got out an hour early."

Erika Slezak (Vicki Riley): Joe Stuart was very fond of Jacqueline Courtney, and he made sure to put her front and center. At that point, I was fine with it, because I didn't have a need to be on every day. Jackie and George had been the big stars on Another World, and I was happy to have a little time off every now and then.

Joe Stuart: There was one fan luncheon where George pissed off the entire cast - first, he announced he refused to attend such a thing, and then in the middle of it, when Lee Patterson (Joe Riley) was making his speech, George walked in. The only thing he didn't have on was a cape. I mean, it was so deliberate - you know he had someone on the inside telling him when to make his big entrance. Lee was furious.

Arthur Burghardt (Dr. Jack Scott): I admit I didn't want to do it - I didn't like the acting. And I created a large backstory for the character, including the fact that he was a womanizer who didn't want people to know about it; problem was, the story was so scaled down that we had to focus on just this one aspect of who he was.

I thought it would be interesting if Jack had opened up a new heart wing at the hospital - a place that cared for the wealthy as well as the poor. Folks from all walks of life. But [Ellen Holly's] machinations, and her need to continually make Carla the victim in all situations - it made it impossible to have a good time. The show offered me a three-year deal, but suddenly I realized that the story wasn't about him and her, it was only about her. There was nothing more for me to do.

Day in and day out, I searched for ways of personalizing and loving this rich, world-famous, selfish oaf of a doctor who fell for this frail and unhappy housewife who could never get over her ethnic in between-ness and be happy. Interestingly, neither Jack nor Carla could be happy, and I wanted a storyline that would illuminate the selfishness and self-centeredness of both their existences - which I thought was a modern tragedy.

Robert S. Woods: I used to just stare at Ellen when I started on the show. I couldn't take my eyes off her - she was so beautiful. And so good. They were having her work with this guy who was a maniac. When I first started, she wasn't working with Al Junior. [Al] was great.

Erika Slezak: Ellen was miserable with Arthur, because he was awful. He was obnoxious and irritating, and he thought he was this really big, hot [!@#$%^&*] guy. Anybody would have hated working with him, but Ellen was particularly angry because it was her story - she had outlined and written it herself, and she had begged Joe not to hire him.

Ellen Holly (Carla): In my wedding, they made Erika Slezak my matron of honor. She was very unhappy about that, because she thought she was being dragooned into my storyline to give it luster. What she didn't realize was that they were trying to bond her to the black audience. I was being used to promote her best interests.

Erika Slezak: I loved Ellen - I thought she was a wonderful actress. She's a very strong-willed, intelligent woman.

Ellen Holly: I didn't get a single close-up at my own wedding. They all went to Erika. There I was - it was my storyline, I was the bride, there was a national cover on newsstands across America asking them to tune in, and I didn't get any close-up shots.

I waited for three years, hoping Al would speak up and say something to Joe Stuart. He could have, because Joe was deferential to black males. He could have said, "Listen, man, lay off her." [...] Al watched as I was driven off that show and didn't speak a word. [...] The first two years of One Life were thrilling. After that, it's just a question of being a fireplug that keeps getting pissed on by junkyard dogs.

Julia Montgomery (Samantha Vernon): There was no working with Phil [Carey] (Asa). He was at the end of his career, and I think he was just walking through it. He'd read the teleprompter incessantly. He was from Hollywood - he was used to one or two pages a day.

Peter Miner (Director): Phil really impressed me over the years. He had a film background, so he had never done more than seven minutes in his life when he came on the show. I went to the writers and said, "This guy has real pride. Don't do this to him. You've got to give him a chance to let him get into the rhythm - don't give him 25, 30 pages a day." Nobody got it. He was never comfortable with much over 20, but he eventually got up to where he could handle 20, 25.

Phil used to lecture people about being grateful for the show - he'd tell them about how he'd had a career in Hollywood, which had its good years and bad years, but that he was constantly broke. He said, "I came in here, and it was the first time in my life that I ever made a living that I could count on."

More to come