The Young and the Restless Does Not Include The Innocent Years

June 26, 2023November 18, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

Today we are winding up our soap opera blog series titled “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” We are ending with a soap that I knew a bit about before researching this series. When I was twelve, getting ready to enter the junior high years of my life, my best friend Bonnie and I heard about a new soap opera beginning that summer. We checked it out and were fans for the first couple of years. I quit watching when I was busy with high school activities, but I would tune in on and off just to see if I knew anyone anymore. I’m not sure how long Bonnie watched it or maybe still does. This soap seemed much more realistic to me than the crazy antics on Days of Our Lives, although I admit some of the plot twists are a stretch.

First Cast: Fosters, Brooks, Chancellors Photo: dailysoapdish.com

The Young and The Restless was set in Genoa City, Wisconsin; little did I know when I watched that first episode in Clearfield, Pennsylvania, that I would be living in Wisconsin by September. Genoa City really does exist, and the creators of the show drove through the town when they traveled from Chicago to their lake home in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

This soap features the wealthy Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper); her companion is Jill Foster (Brenda Dickson/Jess Walton) who then becomes involved with her husband; we also meet Jill’s brothers David (David Hasselhoff) and Greg (Wings Hauser). The Brook four girls (Leslie-Janice Lynde; Lorie-Jamie Lyn Bauer; Chris-Trish Stewart; Peggy-Pamela Peters Solow) intertwine with all the other families in one way or another. Later two wealthy families who both happen to be in the cosmetic business were added to the cast: the Newmans and the Abbots. Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) is a billionaire and heads Newman Enterprises and has been married to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) most of the history; Jack (Peter Bergman) and Ashley Abbot (Eileen Davidson) oversee Jabot Cosmetics with advice from their father John (Jerry Douglas).

Nikki and Victor Photo: celebsdirtylaundry.com

CBS created this soap opera to appeal to younger viewers. The network hired married couple William J. and Lee Phillip Bell to create the show in 1972 titled “The Innocent Years.” Most soap operas of the sixties and seventies focused on dialogue and story. The Young and The Restless used unique lighting techniques and camera angles; they filmed in more of a Hollywood movie style than current television shows. The lighting effects could create dark, shadowy, moody sets or brightly lit close-ups. This soap was also the first one to be broadcast in high definition.

Bell and executive producer John Conboy auditioned 540 actors for the 13 major characters in the first season. The cast was the youngest ever assembled. They looked for glamorous model types instead of known actors. Up until this point, love stories were part of the plots but not sexuality. Some of the plots dealt with premarital intercourse, incest, rape, and impotence. Social issues also were featured including alcoholism, bulimia, and controversial cancer treatments.

Two decades into the show, the first major black characters were introduced in the Winters and Barber families; Neil was a CEO for Jabot. Neil was played by Kristoff St. John. St. John died from hypertrophic heart disease last February at age 52. The cast was devastated. The crew has been together a long time and considers themselves a family.

The theme song originally was titled “Cotton’s Dream” from the film Bless the Beasts & Children, but became “Nadia’s Theme” after Nadia Comaneci’s gymnastic routines from the 1976 Olympics were set to the song by the Wide World of Sports. Perry Botkin Jr. who had composed the piece for the theatrical film arranged a version specifically for the show. A few years a jazzier remix of the song was used, but the original theme has never changed much.

The show has won an amazing eleven Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series. Directors picked up 15 wins and writers garnered 18. Another 42 awards were given out to actors and actresses with 3 Lifetime Achievements delivered.

At the end of 2019, The Young and The Restless had held the number one rating for 32 years; however, as of March 2020, The Bold and the Beautiful has taken over the number one spot. The Young and The Restless has been renewed through 2024.

Like many of the shows on television, Covid took a toll on the show. By April 23, 2020, the show was out of new episodes. Production shut down in March of 2020 and resumed in July of that year, with new episodes airing in August.

Fun Facts: (1) Eric Braeden who plays Victor Newman was in The Rat Patrol. (2) When Jeanne Cooper decided to get a facelift, instead of taking a leave of absence from the show, her procedure was written into the plot in 1984. (3) One of the show’s biggest fans is Cal Ripken Jr. (4) Jeanne Cooper as Katherine Chancellor was on the show from the beginning in 1973. When she passed away in 2013, her real son, Corbin Bernson, was brought in to play the priest who officiated at her funeral.

It’s funny how you remember certain things. When I think back to the debut of The Young and the Restless, I remember the Brooks sisters and how beautiful I thought Lorie Brooks was, played by Jamie Lyn Bauer. I remember romantic and colorful episodes. However, recently I watched that first episode. Two of the Brooks sisters were on the show, Leslie and Chris. It was very dark and had more of the atmosphere of Dark Shadows; there was very little for any of the characters to be happy about. I guess it appealed to us enough that we kept watching that summer. And almost fifty years later, people are still watching.

Regardless of what I think about the average soap opera, you have to give the cast and crew a lot of credit. I cannot imagine how much hard work they have accomplished. To be in a show twenty to fifty years is incredible on its own; then to realize that this is a show that is on every weekday and requires a huge amount of dialogue that must be memorized very quickly with long hours of filming. It truly is amazing that so many of these series retain their favorite characters for decades. Many of these actors have to spend more time with their television family than their actual family. It’s not an easy way to make a living but it must be very fulfilling since so many actors and actresses continue to develop these careers. I hope you enjoyed getting to know a bit more about some of these shows. Please feel free to share your favorites and what made them your favorites.

As The World Turns: 54 Years of Drama

June 12, 2023November 14, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

As I mentioned last week, this month our blog series is about soap operas, and I titled it “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” After looking at Peyton Place which seemed to set the standard for television soap operas, I had three more weeks to fill. I had quite a few options to write about. I decided to choose the two that my mother watched the most and the one that I got to start watching from the first episode: As the World Turns, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless.

However, I did want to mention The Guiding Light. This soap started on the radio in 1937. It continued on the radio until 1956 but also aired on television from 1952-2009. With its 57-year-long-run, it is currently the longest-running soap opera.

Now, back to our topic today which is As the World Turns. This soap came close to taking the record for the longest-running soap, it began in 1956; it was canceled in 2010, giving it 54 years on television. If you were going to binge watch this one, it might take a bit. You would have to sit through 13,763 hours.

The show was set in Oakdale, Illinois. Before this soap opera aired, “serials” were always fifteen minutes long. However, this show, along with The Edge of Night, both began the same day as thirty-minute-long episodes. The first decade or so was filmed in black and white before switching to color in 1967. In 1975, the show switched to an hour-long format.

Believe it or not, from 1958-1978, the show had ten million viewers checking in daily. In 1995, the series celebrated its 10,000^th episode.

The show was created by Irna Phillips, one of the first soap opera writers on the radio. She preferred realistic plots and interesting characters more than the unbelievable drama that was at the center of many serials. Irna was a pioneer in the field of soap operas. She passed away in 1973, so she never realized the longevity of the show.

Before she married on Sleepless in Seattle
Photo: imdb.com

She often featured professionals, and the legal and medical fields were represented on this show as we learned about their private lives and careers. We slowly get to know the family members and their inner thoughts. In this series, we are introduced to the upper-class Hughes and Stewart families. Eventually, the rural Snyder family and wealthy Lucinda Walsh become entwined in the weekly plots. In 1960 Lisa Miller came to Oakdale played by Eileen Fulton. She was a southern “vixen” and was the person I remember best from the show when my mom watched.

Three of the characters to be on a soap opera the longest were part of the crew: Helen Wagner as Nancy was on 54 years, Don Hastings as Bob Hughes was on 50 years and Fulton, the vixen, appeared on the show for 47 years. A couple of characters on Days of Our Lives come close to this record; Susan Seaforth Hayes has actually tied Wagner; she began on Days in 1965 and was still seen in 2022.

Plots developed gradually over time with conversations and character reflections. You could miss a day or two during the week and still know what was happening on the show.

In 1958 it became the number-one drama show in the US. The soap would win the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series in 1987, 1991, 2001, and 2003. The writers won in 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005. Directors picked up the award in 1993 and 2007. There were many other Emmys awarded to the show including for Supporting Actor and Actress, Lead Actor and Actress, Outstanding Ingenue, and Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nancy over the years Photo: innertoobs.com

The show was remembered for the character of Hank Elliot who was the first gay male character out of the closet on daytime television in 1988 and the first kiss between two men, Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer.

The first words spoken on the show were by Nancy Hughes (Helen Wagner) when she said “Good morning, dear.” Nancy would appear on the show for almost the entire run. She was dropped from the series during the first season after developing a conflict with Phillips. She returned after six months and stayed until 1981 when she left because she did not think that the writers were including the veteran cast members enough, but she returned in 1985 and stayed until August of 2010 when she passed away. The writers had been hoping Wagner would have the last word in the show with the final lines, but she died two weeks before.

In December of 2009, CBS announced it would not be renewing the soap opera and the last episode was taped June 23, 2010, airing in September of that year. The final words were spoken by Bob Hughes, Nancy’s son, when he said “Good night.”

I think because of the title, this show was used as a parody often. For example, on the cartoon Tom & Jerry, Tom is watching “Nine Lives to Live” when Jerry changes the channel to “As the Cheese Turns”; Carol Burnett had a recurring sketch where she played one of the matriarchs on “As the Stomach Turns”; and on Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, a soap opera is written starring Lady Elaine Fairchild in the “As the Museum Turns.” Being a museum curator by profession, I admit I am a bit intrigued by the last one. Maybe I should start taking more notes at work.

I’m guessing for stay-at-home moms, watching a soap like As the World Turns, was a bit of a respite from the constant cleaning and caring for younger children. They could get involved in other peoples’ lives that seemed more complex and romantic. Fifty-four years is a long time; many of these characters must have seemed like part of the family after that many days spent together. Today reality is so depressing, I guess I prefer to watch sitcoms.

Peyton Place: Where Television Soap Opera Began

June 5, 2023June 5, 2023 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

I admit that this month I may be a bit out of my element. We are going to learn about the soap opera genre in a series called “I Met My Twin When I Married My Mother’s Neighbor’s Uncle’s Grocer’s Best Friend’s Attorney Who is Also My Fourth Cousin Once Removed.” While my best friend Bonnie and I eagerly tuned in to The Young and the Restless when it began in seventh grade, and I popped in and out for a decade or so afterward, most of my soap opera memories involve my mother. I remember her ironing in the living room while watching As the World Turns. She also kept up with the events on Days of Our Lives and may have watched a few others off and on.

First in our series is one of the earliest television operas: we are traveling to Peyton Place.

This soap began on ABC in September of 1964 and was on the air for five years.

It was based on the novel Peyton Place by Grace Metalious. The first couple of years were in black and white and the second half of the shows were in full color.

A lot of the cast went on to be very active in television: Mia Farrow, Ryan O’Neal, Barbara Parkins, Christopher Connelly, David Canary, Mariette Hartley, and Lana Wood.

The show had a rocky beginning. Producer Paul Monash wanted to bring the show to prime time based on the success that the show Coronation Street had in England. He refused to call it a soap opera, preferring the term “high-class anthology drama.” A pilot was shot in 1962; after several changes, the pilot finally aired in 1964. The early episodes were taken from the novel and the 1957 film that was also based on the book. However, eventually, new stories had to be created. The setting was changed from an unknown location in the 1940s to present-day Massachusetts.

Peyton Place Archives, Camden ME Photo: camdenpubliclibrary.com

The opening credit included a photo of a church steeple and the words “Peyton Place” on screen while the bells rang. Announcer Dick Tufeld said, “This is the continuing story of Peyton Place.” Suddenly we see the town square, a rolling stream, and cast members while a summary of the previous episode is related.

Peyton Place was an immediate hit. It began life airing twice a week but then increased to three episodes in June of 1965. Dorothy Malone, one of the stars, had emergency surgery, so she was replaced with Lola Albright until she fully recovered.

In the first season, Dr. Michael Rossi (Ed Nelson) arrives in town from New York City to open his medical practice. Newspaper editor Matthew Swain (Warner Anderson) is a new friend. Matthew’s cousin Allison MacKenzie (Mia Farrow) is in love with his older brother Rodney (Ryan O’Neal). We understand that her mother Constance (Dorothy Malone) highly disapproves of the relationship. The town was named for Martin Peyton, the Peyton Mill owner, who was Rodney’s grandfather.

Rodney disapproves of his father Leslie’s (Paul Langton) relationship when he catches him with his secretary Julie (Kasey Rogers). Rodney has been dating her daughter Betty (Barbara Parkins). He breaks up with Betty and begins seeing Allison. Betty discovers that she is pregnant and then miscarries. Rodney marries her not knowing about the miscarriage. We also learn that Elizabeth Carson was murdered in a beachfront home.

The movie version 1957 Photo: dailymotion.com

Dr. Rossi becomes closer to Constance although he butts heads with Dr. Morton (Kent Smith). Dr. Morton threatens to destroy Rossi’s career when Catherine, Rodney’s mother, dies; then he learns that the pathologist made a huge error which actually caused the death. Betty decides to become a nurse and is hired as an aide at the hospital. Her father George (Henry Beckman) has a nervous breakdown and is admitted to a local sanitarium. Barbara Parkins told a reporter that when she met Bette Davis, the famous actress asked her, “When are you going to let go of Rodney Harrington?”

Elliot Carson (Tim O’Connor), Alison’s birth father who had been in prison for 18 years, returns to Peyton Place. He had been accused of murdering his wife Elizabeth, but we know that Catherine had been responsible. Once Elliott’s name is cleared he marries Constance and they explain to Allison that he is her father. Norman falls in love with a local girl Rita (Patricia Morrow) whose mother owns a local tavern.

Steven Cord (James Douglas) is an attorney who moves to town. Dr. Morton’s daughter Claire (Mariette Hartley) gets divorced and returns to Peyton Place to practice medicine. She becomes interested in Dr. Rossi. When Matt decides to retire, he sells the local paper to Elliot.

If you are confused after reading these plots, don’t despair. I read through numerous times and still feel like I’m reading War and Peace. There are other subplots as well; these were just the major ones. Whew! I guess we know when someone says their life is like a soap opera, we know now what that means.

I won’t get into all the plot twists that happen during the rest of the series, but rest assured that there are murders, accidents, affairs, betrayals, addictions, and financial shenanigans.

When Mia Farrow became more popular, Dorothy Malone was written off the show after complaining about Farrow getting a bigger role, She sued 20^th Century Fox for breach of contract; the case was settled out of court.

They didn’t have the only feud however. Ruth Warwick did not care for working with Ryan O’Neal. She said he was someone “who was so in love with himself it was pitiable.”

Mia Farrow left in 1966 and ratings began to decrease. In her memoir, Farrow said that she never expected this show to succeed. Once it became popular, she tried to get out of her contract. Her husband, Frank Sinatra, used his clout to get her out of it two years later, so she could travel with him.

The writers’ script had Allison run away from the town; two years later a new character showed up with a baby she claimed was Allison’s.

The show went back to two episodes a week. By 1968 most of the original characters had left the show. Today it is not unusual for soap opera characters to come and go, but that was not the original plan.

In the same year, the show developed several non-white characters played by Ruby Dee, Percy Rodriguez, and Glynn Turman. The series brought several black writers aboard as well as Ruby’s husband Ossie Davis as a consultant.

In an effort to increase ratings, new characters were brought on board and new subjects were added to scripts like the war, the draft, riots, music, and belief in God. The ratings never recovered, and the show was canceled in June of 1969.

The series was revived as a daytime serial in 1972 but after less than a year, Return to Peyton Place was also canceled.

In 1977 NBC aired Murder in Peyton Place. It was advertised as a reunion movie and it focused on the deaths of Rodney and Allison. In 1985, Peyton Place: The Next Generation was produced to stir up interest for a new series, but that never happened.

Author Grace Metalious Photo:providencejournal.com

I’m not sure why people were so enthralled with Peyton Place. I guess it’s the same reasons we have Fifty Shades of Gray decades later. Metalious, the author of the original novel, explained the genesis of her book: “To a tourist, these towns look as peaceful as a postcard picture. But if you go beneath that picture, it’s like turning over a rock with your foot-all kinds of strange things crawl out.”

During the five years it was on the air, Peyton Place had more than 100 actors on the show and 20 writers. The set expanded from a few homes around a town square to a more vibrant town with shops, a factory, a hospital, a fire station, and a wharf. Plots got more complex.

The show was eventually sold to fifty different countries with eight million viewers in Great Britain. Apparently, many Europeans based their idea of what an American town was like on this show.

Soap operas certainly had a spot in America’s hearts for decades. Just this past year, the last daytime soap opera moved to a streaming service and people were up in arms. I don’t know about you, but when I want to walk in nature it is to see the trees, listen to the birds, and smell the flowers. I tend to leave rocks alone. Maybe I am focusing on a fake façade, but I’m content not to see what is crawling around beneath the surface.

Morgan Fairchild: Queen of the Soap Operas

April 17, 2023November 11, 2022 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

This week we are finishing up our “Supportive Women” blog series. If you watched a lot of television in the sixties and seventies, you will remember today’s blog star very well: Morgan Fairchild.

Morgan Fairchild was born Patsy Ann McClenny in 1950 in Dallas, Texas. In grade school, she was too shy to read her book report in class, so her mother, an English teacher, signed her up for drama lessons. At age ten, she began performing in dinner theater and stock productions in Dallas which led to several local commercials.

In 1967 she married Jack Calmes; they would divorce in 1973.

In 1967, a young Morgan was hired as a double for Faye Dunaway in Bonnie and Clyde. At age 20 she was cast in her first movie where we could see her face, A Bullet for a Pretty Boy. She would receive roles for another 35 big-screen features during her career.

However, most of her work was on the small screen. Her first role was Jennifer Pace on Search for Tomorrow. She stayed with that show for four years but she would come back to soap operas on and off throughout her acting time and could be seen on The Bold and The Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and most recently as Sydney Chase in The City in 1996. Most of her roles were the stereotype of an elegant and wealthy woman who will do whatever it takes to get what she wants.

In between work on soap operas, Morgan showed up on many of the most popular shows as a guest star or regular cast member. In 1976 she was on Kojak. After her time on Search for Tomorrow, during the 1970s she appeared on other dramas including Police Woman, Barnaby Jones, and Dallas and on sitcoms like The Bob Newhart Show, Happy Days, and Mork and Mindy.

During the 1980s she did make a few guest appearances on The Love Boat, Simon and Simon, Magnum PI, and Hotel. Morgan received an Emmy nomination for her appearance on Murphy Brown in 1989. However, it was during this decade that Fairchild was a regular cast member on three different shows: Flamingo Road, Paper Dolls, and Falcon Crest (attorney Jordan Roberts), all night-time soap operas.

Flamingo Road was based on a novel written in 1949. It features the small town of Truro, Florida. The wealthy citizens live on Flamingo Road in their mansions, while the lower classes do what they have to do to make that street their address. Morgan played a woman with one of the longest names on television: Constance Weldon Semple Carlyle. After two years, the show was done.

Paper Dolls was about the modeling world. Fairchild played Racine, an agent, and the show is about the jobs that her models take on including a perfume company that uses her models exclusively. The series only lasted for thirteen episodes.

Morgan played Jordan Roberts, an attorney, on Falcon Crest. This long-running drama from 1981-90 featured the Gioberti family who operates the Falcon Crest Winery in California.

In the nineties, she appeared on a variety of shows including Roseanne, Empty Nest, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, Cybill, and Home Improvement.

Her career continued during the 2000s where you could see her on Dharma and Greg and Hot in Cleveland, as well as five appearances on Friends as Chandler Bing’s mother Nora. She also had another series, Fashion House, in 2006 as Sophia Blakely. The concept of the show was another fashion-themed one where a ruthless executive played by Bo Derek defends her company against a hostile takeover.

With so many movie channels, we forget today that for a few decades we could not watch movies on television. The networks came up with a solution: made-for-tv movies, and Morgan was a queen of the genre with thirty movies and six miniseries.

Morgan has continued to stay busy. She has two finished productions listed on imdb that have not been released yet.

Fairchild has used her platform as a celebrity to advocate for AIDS research, the pro-choice movement, and many environmental issues. She collects movie memorabilia, especially Marilyn Monroe items, and antique clothing. She seems to have had a long-lasting career. It would have been fun to see her star in a sitcom instead of just playing ruthless women who just care about fame and money.

Our House: Learning the Art of Compromising

August 19, 2019 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

As continue our Rewind 1980s month, today we take a look at Our House, another family dramedy. Our House debuted in 1986 on NBC and ran for two seasons, producing 46 episodes.

James Lee Barrett created the series. He would receive credit for writing all 46 episodes. He passed away a year after it was cancelled. He also developed and wrote the scripts for In the Heat of the Night.

The premise of the show is that three generations of family members live together and cope with the ups and downs of daily life. When John Witherspoon (Patrick Duffy) passes away, his widow Jessie (Deidre Hall) moves her three children from Fort Wayne, Indiana to California to live with her father-in-law, Gus (Wilford Brimley), a widower.

Gus thinks his grandkids should be raised the same way his kids were, but Jessie doesn’t always agree with his rules and methods. Gus’s neighbor and best friend Joe is a bit easier to get along with. When Gus invites the family to move in with him, Joe (Gerald O’Laughlin) says, “You’re set in your ways. It could be fatal.” The kids had to learn that beneath Gus’s gruff exterior, he was a gentle and loving man, and he had to learn how to impart life lessons to them without sounding like an old grouch. During the run of the show, Gus learns he must change his view on some things, and his grandkids realize he has a lot of wisdom to share. The show manages to uphold traditional values while exploring contemporary social issues and being open minded about them.

Gus likes living alone, being retired, and enjoying quiet time, but he knows Jessie needs help to and does the right thing. One of the things viewers remember most about this show was the beautiful old Victorian house they lived in.

Deidre Hall plays the part of Jessie. She is best known for her role of Marlena on Days of Our Lives, and it’s interesting to note that she continued playing the role of Marlena while she starred in this show. Dee Wallace Stone, the mom on ET, was originally offered the part, but she declined. When Jessie gets to California, one of her priorities is to become financially stable. She gets a job as an administrative assistant. Eventually Jessie begins dating again which is hard for both her and Gus.

Kris, 15 and the oldest, is played by Shannen Doherty. She wants to get into the Air Force like her father. Doherty would go on to find fame as Brenda on Beverly Hills 90210.

David (Chad Allen), 12, is the middle child and only son. Allen would later appear on Doctor Quinn, Medicine Woman for five years.

The youngest is Molly, 8, played by Keri Houlihan. She is a sweet and mild-tempered girl who wants to make everyone happy and for everyone to get along. Molly also brought her dog, Arthur, a basset hound.

Joe Kaplan is the same age as Gus. While they don’t always agree, Joe is sometimes the voice of reason for Gus. Gus always listens to him and respects his viewpoint even if he thinks it’s the wrong perspective.

Michael Baum of the Los Angeles Times wrote of this show: “Our house is such a nice, sweet, good-natured show, and Wilford Brimley is so wonderfully endearing in the lead role . . . Please, NBC, preserve this warm and entertaining show for all us softies at heart.”

Unfortunately, the show was up against Sixty Minutes, and the ratings never achieved anything significant. If Sixty Minutes wasn’t bad enough, in season two it also had to face The Disney Sunday Movie. It ranked 59^th in season one and 71^st in season two.

I’m not sure why the network was not willing to move the show in season two and see if more viewers turned in without the pressure of Sixty Minutes.

I understand this show was not of Shakespearian quality, but it was a wholesome show and never really got a chance to get off the ground. Having a diverse group of people and different ages learn to live together peacefully under the same roof was interesting to watch. Everyone learned about compromise and family values. The cast was made up of good actors and the plot was different from most other family shows at the time. Brimley had just the right amount of crotchetiness. His character sets the tone for the entire show. He could have been too grouchy, turning off viewers but he made the show charming instead.

Elinor Donahue Through the Decades

August 7, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 6 Comments

Elinor Donahue always displays a warmth and comes across as a genuinely nice person. Her first sitcom became her most famous role. She played Betty in the iconic Father Knows Best. Although none of her later sitcoms reached the same popularity, she has had a long and full career.

She was born in April of 1937 in Tacoma, Washington. She began tap dancing at 16 months old. As a toddler, she did some acting and received a contract with Universal at the ripe old age of 5. From 1955-1961 she was married to Robert Smith. She was married her second husband, Harry Ackerman, from 1962-1991. Ackerman was a producer for shows including Leave It to Beaver, Gidget, and Bewitched. She married her third husband Louis Genevrino in 1992.

Donahue appeared in 18 movies between 1942 and 1952 including Tea for Two with Doris Day and My Blue Heaven. She made the transition to television in 1952 appearing in 8 shows in the 1950s. One of the shows I remember her in although I only saw it in reruns was one of my favorite shows, The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show. She was typically cast as the girl-next-door type. Her most famous role came in 1954 when she was cast in a new sitcom, Father Knows Best.

Father Knows Best – 1954-1960

This was one of the typical family shows of the 1950s. The Andersons lived in Springfield with three children: Betty, called Princess (Elinor Donahue), James Jr., or Bud (Billy Gray) and Kathy, usually called Kitten (Lauren Chapin). The show debuted in the fall of 1954 on CBS. The show was cancelled in 1955 and the public was furious. Letters came pouring in, so it was reinstated. NBC took over the next year until 1958 when it went back to CBS. In 1960, Robert Young decided he was done. These were warm and inviting parents, providing guidance and object lessons galore. Critics panned it later because it was not reality. We have reality shows today, and please, give me fiction. We did learn life lessons on the show – following through on promises, working for what you want, being yourself, and taking responsibility for your mistakes.

Shortly after Father Knows Best left the airwaves, Donahue accepted the role of Elly Walker in The Andy Griffith Show.

The Andy Griffith Show: Elinor Donahue http://www.andygriffithshow.net/gallery/displayimage.php?album=5&pos=3

The Andy Griffith Show – 1960-1961

Most of us are very familiar with The Andy Griffith Show and many of the characters who inhabit Mayberry: Widower Andy Taylor (Andy Griffith) and his son Opie (Ron Howard) live with Andy’s Aunt Bee (Frances Bavier) who takes care of them; Barney (Don Knotts) is the inept deputy but also Andy’s best friend; Helen Crump (Anita Corsaut), the school teacher and Andy’s girlfriend later in the series; Thelma Lou (Betty Lynn), Barney’s girl; Otis Campbell (Hal Smith), town drunk but nice guy; Gomer Pyle (Jim Nabors), who runs the gas station; and his cousin Goober Pyle (George Lindsey). Andy had several romances early in the show. He dated the county nurse Mary Simpson (played by several actresses), spent a limited amount of time with Daphne (Jean Carson) who had a crush on him; and in the first two seasons, he was sweet on Ellie Walker (Donahue), who ran the local drug store. Ellie cared about Andy, but she always stood up for herself and women’s rights. Andy and Ellie never had the chemistry they were hoping for but they respected each other and like each other. Elinor raved about the cast and her opportunity to be on the show. She said Andy was in charge and expected quality but was fair and a nice man. She described Ron Howard as the best child actor she ever worked with. She liked Frances Bavier and got along well with her. She had a huge respect for Don Knott’s comedic ability. She is still friends with Betty Lynn.

She appeared on a variety of shows in the mid-1960s including 77 Sunset Strip, Dr. Kildare, The Virginian, Dennis the Menace, Star Trek, and The Flying Nun. She tried her luck with one other sitcom in the 1960s.

Many Happy Returns – 1964-1965

This sitcom was also about a widower. Walter Burnley (John McGiver) ran the Complaint Department at a LA department store. The show also featured his daughter (Donahue) and a coworker Lynn Hall (Elena Verdugo). His boss (Jerome Cowan) did not want him to take in any returns, so he had to resolve complaints without making his boss mad. Apparently Burnley couldn’t solve the complaints that came in from viewers because the show was cancelled after 24 episodes.

Father Knows Best came out with two television movies in 1977: The Father Knows Best Reunion and Father Knows Best – Home for Christmas, and Elinor was in both. While still showing up in random shows during the 1970s such as The Rookies, Police Woman, and Diff’rent Strokes, Donahue found time to appear in two 70s shows on a regular basis.

The Odd Couple – 1972-1975

Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple came to Friday nights in 1970. Felix Unger (Tony Randall) and Oscar Madison (Jack Klugman), two divorced men who are complete opposites but best friends, try to live together without killing each other. The show had a great supporting cast including Donohue as Miriam Welby from 1972-1974, Felix’s girlfriend.

Mulligan’s Stew – 1977

This show from 1977 starred Elinor Donahue as Jane Mulligan. She and her husband Michael (Lawrence Pressman) are trying to raise three kids on his teacher’s salary when they suddenly add four orphaned nieces and nephews to their family. One of the kids was played by Suzanne Crough, Tracy from The Partridge Family, one of the few shows she was in. The series only lasted for seven episodes.

The 1980s found Donahue still working regularly. She was in Barnaby Jones, Mork & Mindy, One Day at a Time, Fantasy Island, The Love Boat, Newhart, and Golden Girls. One sitcom in the 1980s captured her attention about Beans Baxter.

The New Adventures of Beans Baxter – 1987

Here is the plot for this one: Beans Baxter’s (Jonathan Ward) father who he thought was a mailman disappears one day. Teenage Bean discovers that his dad worked for a secret government agency. He is then drawn into becoming a spy for the government. The show features his adventures as he tries to find the enemy agents who are holding his father hostage while his mother played by Donahue is completely oblivious that anything strange is happening. Viewers also didn’t realize anything was happening because the show was cancelled after 17 episodes.

Entering her 60s, Elinor joined the cast of three sitcoms in the 1990s. She also made several movies including Pretty Woman in 1990 and The Princess Diaries 2 in 2004.

Get a Life – 1990-1992

Shows don’t get much weirder than this one. Comedian Chris Elliot plays a 30-year-old paperboy Chris Peterson who lives with wacky parents (Donahue and Bob Elliott, Chris’s real father). Some of the strange things that happen during the 36 episodes include eating a space alien, beheadings, and a robot paperboy. In this bizarre series, Chris actually dies in a third of the episodes. During the run of the show, he died from old age, tonsillitis, a stab wound, a gunshot wound, was strangled, got run over by a car, choked on his cereal, was crushed by a giant boulder, and actually exploded.

Eek!stravaganza – 1992-1993

Donahue plays “The Mom” in this animated show about Eek, a purple cat who always finds himself in dangerous situations. The series was on the air for five seasons.

Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman – 1993-1997

During the six years the show was on the air, Donahue reprised her role as Rebecca Quinn ten times. The show followed the ups and downs experienced by a female doctor practicing in a wild western town.

Interestingly, Donahue appeared in three different soap operas toward the end of her career: Santa Barbara, Days of Our Lives, and The Young and the Restless. Elinor also appeared on a variety of documentaries and award shows. She was in the Match Game/Hollywood Squares Hour. In 1998, she wrote her memoirs titled, In the Kitchen with Elinor Donahue. The book included about 150 of her favorite recipes. Elinor’s career has been long and she appeared in many shows and movies over the years. She hasn’t appeared in a movie or television show since 2010, although she did do some theater. In September of 2015, she appeared in one of my favorite plays, “Harvey” in North Carolina.

Donahue’s career reminds me of many of the actors we have gotten to know in this blog including William Christopher, Betty White, Ken Berry, and Shelly Fabares. These actors and actresses all appear to be very nice, talented people who have careers they should be proud of. In a day when bad decisions and selfish actions are splattered across our television screens and newspapers, perhaps one of the best compliments we can give someone is that they had a long and fulfilling career and didn’t step all over other people to achieve it.

When a rainy day shows up this summer, take a moment to watch some of Elinor’s sitcom episodes. Thank you Elinor Donahue for the entertainment and memories you gave us.

Remembering William Christopher

January 16, 2017January 17, 2017 / thewritelife61 / 2 Comments

I wanted to pay a tribute to William Christopher, who passed away December 31, 2016, exactly one year after Wayne Rogers, one of his co-workers on the show M*A*S*H.

Christopher was born in Evanston, Illinois October 20, 1932. Growing up in that area, he attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, the same high school as Rock Hudson. His family’s genealogy apparently included Paul Revere. Ironically, his grandmother hoped he would go into the ministry like his grandfather who was the founder of the First Methodist Church in Chicago, and in some ways, he did. Christopher went to college at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, graduating with a BA in Drama, focusing on Greek Literature. (In the last episode of M*A*S*H, Father Mulcahy wears a Wesleyan sweatshirt.) He participated in fencing, soccer, and the glee club in college. Connecticut was also where he met his wife Barbara on a blind date. They married in 1957 and later adopted twin boys, John and Ned.

Building on his theater experience which began with him playing a groundhog in the third grade, he moved to New York. Eventually he made his Broadway debut in Beyond the Fringe where he worked with Peter Cook and Dudley Moore. Not long after, he moved to California to continue acting.

He began his work in television in 1965 appearing in 12 O’Clock High. For the next seven years, he worked regularly appearing in Hank in 1965, The Patty Duke Show in 1966, 2 appearances in The Andy Griffith Show in 1965 and 1966, Death Valley Days in 1966, four separate episodes of Hogan’s Heroes from 1965-68, Gomer Pyle where he was in 16 episodes from 1965-8, That Girl in two episodes as Chippy Dolan, The Virginian in 1971, Alias Smith and Jones in 1971, Insight in 1972, and 4 shows of Nichols from 1971-2.

Along with his television roles, he appeared on the big screen during this period. His first movie was Fortune Cookie in 1966 where he played an intern, The Perils of Pauline in 1967 as a doctor, The Private Navy of Sargent O’ Farrell in 1968 as Private Jake Schultz, The Shakiest Gun in the West in 1968 as a hotel manager, and With Six You Get Egg Roll in 1968. With Six You Get Egg Roll was Doris Day’s last movie before she moved into television and then retired. After playing so many military and religious roles, this one was out of character as he played a hippie Zip Cloud along with future M*A*S*H member Jamie Farr.

In 1972 he got his big break, being cast as Father Mulcahy in the television version of M*A*S*H. George Morgan, who was cast in the pilot, was replaced and Christopher received the role. Morgan appeared in four series and three movies before the pilot, but only two other series after. M*A*S*H was on the air from 1972-1983, and Christopher was in 213 of the 251 episodes. Fans loved the goodness Father Mulcahy displayed, along with his humanness when the inhumanity of war tried his patience and frustrated him. Some of his best lines from the show included:

“This isn’t one of my sermons; I expect you to listen.”

“Klinger, how’d you like the last rites…and a few lefts!”

“I think the world of Colonel Potter. He’s a good Christian – yet hardly dull at all.”

“Remember what the good book says: Love thy neighbor, or I’ll punch your lights out!”

While he was part of the M*A*S*H cast, he appeared on other series including Columbo and Movin’ On in 1974, Lucas Tanner, Karen, and Good Times in 1975. Like so many of the stars we meet in this blog, he was on The Love Boat in four episodes from 1981-4. He appeared again on the big screen in the movie Hearts of the West in 1975 as a bank teller. He also made a TV movie, For the Love of It in 1980.

In 1983, the series After MASH debuted, and Christopher reprised his role of Father Mulcahy along with Harry Morgan as Dr. Sherman Potter, Jamie Farr as Klinger and Gary Burghoff as Radar. The show was not a great success and ended after 30 episodes.

Christopher never had another recurring role in a television show, but he continued to work in the business appearing in Murder She Wrote in 1985, CBS Summer Playhouse in 1987, The Smurfs 6 times from 1984-88, The New WKRP in Cincinnati in 1993, Lois and Clark: Adventures of Superman in 1997, Diagnosis Murder, Team Knight Rider, and Mad About You in 1998. His last television role was in 11 episodes of Days of Our Lives where he played a priest. In 1987 he made his second TV movie, The Little Troll Prince.

During the years of 1975-2011 he also appeared on several game shows, talk shows, and M*A*S*H-related specials and reunions. In 1994 he made his last movie, Heaven Sent.

He continued his love of theater touring the country with Jamie Farr in The Odd Couple in the mid-1990s. He also toured with the Church Basement Ladies in 2008-9.

Christopher was generous with his time, helping to raise money for the National Autistic Society (NAS). The organization was near and dear to his heart because his son Ned suffers from autism. He and his wife wrote a book in 1985, Mixed Blessings, about their experience with their son.

William Christopher is revealed to be a very nice man liked by everyone who worked with him. He was married to Barbara for the rest of his life, was a good family man, generous in working with the NAS, and had a full career.

After Christopher died, Alan Alda tweeted “His pals from #MASH miss Bill powerfully. His kind strength, his grace and gentle humor weren’t acted. They were Bill.”

Jamie Farr summed it up best in his tribute to his friend and co-worker:

We are all devastated by our beloved Bill’s passing. I have known him for over 50 years. During the 1960s we lived in the same neighborhood in Studio City. My Joy and I would see him and his wife Barbara going for walks as we were going for walks. Bill and I did the very last Doris Day movie together, “With Six You Get Egg Roll.” We were both cast in the tv series “M*A*SH” at almost the same time. He was a gentle soul and in my opinion probably the most underrated actor of all of us on the show. He was wonderful. During between set ups for camera angles Bill would read his Homeric book in Homeric Greek. He was a real egg head. He and his Barbara traveled the world and he would try to learn the language of the countries they were going to visit. He went to Egypt one year and tried his Arabic on me. He was better than I was. We used to imitate Bill on the set using his high pitched voice. One time he came down with hepatitis and when he returned to the series we had his actor’s chair painted yellow. Bill and I did a National Tour of the play “The Odd Couple” with Bill portraying Felix and me doing Oscar, Bill was at one time on the Board of the Devereaux Foundation for Autistic Children. It was a real honor to have had him and Barbara as friends and a great honor to have shared the tv screen with this gracious, talented and charming soul. May his memory be eternal. Rest in Peace Father Mulcahy.