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Behind The Scenes OLTL

vacante

By vacante
in One Life To Live

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TeeVee329
TeeVee329

No argument that the focus and favoritism Frank showed handicapped the show, but at the end of the day, I think the network wanted it dead no matter what the creative choices and decisions were.  GH w

dubbel zout
dubbel zout

Ironically, I think OLTL went out so strongly because of the end date. Even with PP taking over, Ron still had to tie things up enough so that fans got some satisfaction. He wrote some really good epi

jsbt
jsbt

Pretty irrelevant trivia, but why not: Robin Strasser indicated on Twitter recently that she was outright let go and not invited back in the final months of OLTL on ABC in 2011. She's talked about it

dwmckim

dwmckim

The reason it hasn't happened by now was because nothing COULD happen while the show's rights were tied up in the PP/ABC lawsuit.  The very moment it ended earlier this year, ABC execs have been scrambling to look into ways to revive it in a way that would make sense across the board (fan pressure has been unrelenting).  Hillary B Smith was called about reprising Nora on GH three days after the lawsuit was over.

Right now, bringing it back online is what ABC feels is the most practical solution - this could change later on, especially if something like View or Chew gets cancelled.  They're actively looking for partners in such a venture.

There was a very very slight chance it could have been brought back on the ABC channel proper (though online was the option most realistically being explored) but the fact that there were no spike in GH's ratings during Nora's guest stint effectively killed that remote possibility.

TeeVee329

TeeVee329

3 hours ago, dwmckim said:

The reason it hasn't happened by now was because nothing COULD happen while the show's rights were tied up in the PP/ABC lawsuit.  The very moment it ended earlier this year, ABC execs have been scrambling to look into ways to revive it in a way that would make sense across the board (fan pressure has been unrelenting).  Hillary B Smith was called about reprising Nora on GH three days after the lawsuit was over.

Right now, bringing it back online is what ABC feels is the most practical solution - this could change later on, especially if something like View or Chew gets cancelled.  They're actively looking for partners in such a venture.

Eh, I dunno.  Wanting to add AMC and OLTL characters to GH, yeah, I could buy Frank et. al were interested in that.  But actively looking to revive the shows?  I'm more skeptical on that score.

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tessaray

tessaray

I always thought a half hour daily format that was on at a time like Wheel of Fortune is (between the news and prime time in my area) would have been a perfect evolution for soaps.  People are off work, in the mood for a little tv and you'd get a wide range of viewers, including some young ones. 

I don't see a current online spot for OLTL or AMC.  Disney doesn't have that great of a digital presence, like CBS does. And the PP venture showed a lot of people won't pay directly.  But otoh, people are a lot more familiar with accessing digital shows now, so who knows?  

I would pay for access to a vintage soap service, where they had all 3 (AMC, OLTL, GH - maybe Loving too?)  starting from some point in the 90s. :-)  Like Youtube, only better quality. 

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tessaray

tessaray

(edited)
1 hour ago, dwmckim said:

At this point, it looks like they would be partnering with either Hulu, Amazon, or Netflix.

They seem to be very close to striking a deal with one of them.  ABC's starting having casting discussions and reaching out to some of the actors.

Really?  I would love to see this actually happen but there have been so many disappointments over the years, it's hard to get your hopes up.  And I suppose ABC partnering with Hulu would make sense, though Amazon and Netflix could be great if they got seasons to binge on.

It occurs to me that I will hate to see Todd and Blair's happy ending messed up. (I rarely watch GH, so I'm ignoring most of that stuff.)  PP told a lot of story in those 40 or so episodes.     

Edited by tessaray
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jsbt

jsbt

(edited)
1 hour ago, dwmckim said:

They seem to be very close to striking a deal with one of them.  ABC's starting having casting discussions and reaching out to some of the actors.

I feel like this is just Nathan Varni bullshit, to be honest. I don't believe ABC's doing that at all. And I frankly don't trust them with reviving the property at this point. There is no commitment to new quality. Say what you will about PP's management but they had new talent, new ideas and a real commitment to production value and changing the soap landscape. Why should I want the show back if it's gonna be like GH 2017?

Edited by jsbt
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dwmckim

dwmckim

Inside intel from those of us actively involved in the Save OLTL movement.

It should also be noted that a partnership with an online streaming service wouldn't just be net only.  Getting the shows back in production is phase one; getting them on tv screens/venues where most people can see them/won't be left out is phase two.

After the string of failures ABC tried to replace OLTL with, they ended up giving that hour over to the affiliates so as far as ABC Daytime goes, they just have The View, The Chew, and GH - and there are no plans to axe any of them at this time.  But many affiliates would be happy to use that hour for a reboot of AMC/OLTL.  Don't get too hung up on the words "online reboot" - one way or another these would see television airings as well.

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jsbt

jsbt

(edited)

An interesting tidbit from a generally well-informed user on SON: Eileen Davidson (Y&R, DAYS) was approached in 1991 just before Gottlieb and Malone first took over - to play a recast Gabrielle. This was just after Fiona had gone to CBS/GL but before Nicholas Walker was dismissed as Max #2. Wild world.

Edited by jsbt
dubbel zout

dubbel zout

On 6/24/2019 at 10:25 PM, UYI said:

Even if I/we may not agree with all of her assessments, as always it's great to hear what she thought of each of them.

She's too polite to say which EPs were terrible. I think only Linda Gottlieb got a negative review, but that's because she was supposed to "revolutionize the show" and didn't do it in the two years she was there. It sounds more like the network was hyping her.

jsbt

jsbt

2 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

She's too polite to say which EPs were terrible. I think only Linda Gottlieb got a negative review, but that's because she was supposed to "revolutionize the show" and didn't do it in the two years she was there. It sounds more like the network was hyping her.

Erika said flat-out that she didn't like Linda professionally or personally, which is super rare for her. She's entitled to her opinion, though I disagree. Gottlieb rubbed a lot of folks at OLTL the wrong way though, including some she hired (HBS).

UYI

UYI

(edited)
3 hours ago, jsbt said:

An interesting tidbit from a generally well-informed user on SON: Eileen Davidson (Y&R, DAYS) was approached in 1991 just before Gottlieb and Malone first took over - to play a recast Gabrielle. This was just after Fiona had gone to CBS/GL but before Nicholas Walker was dismissed as Max #2. Wild world.

I feel like I've heard that before, and just...no. 

I remember someone saying once that LG actually did want to bring Fiona back as Gabrielle in late 1991 when JDP returned, but the shit that went down with the contract/salary dispute when she left earlier that year (when Rauch was still there) was still so fresh that the ABC Daytime execs wouldn't even consider the idea. She was on GL a few months later, in early/mid 1992.

Edited by UYI
UYI

UYI

One thing I forgot to mention last night, something confirmed by Fiona herself:

Every single EP of OLTL since her departure in 1991, from Linda Gottlieb on down, attempted to bring her back, or reached out to bring her back. Gary Tomlin was the only one who actually succeeded in doing so, and according to her in a few interviews she did when she returned in 2001, there were two big reasons for this:

1. He was the only one who had a solid story mapped out and approved by the network when he approached her about returning, whereas the others did not. One past EP (who she didn't name) even went so far as to ask HER how she thought Gabrielle should be brought back. SMH.

2. Every other EP had her meet them for lunch. Gary Tomlin took her to breakfast. LMAO. 😄 

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jsbt

jsbt

(edited)

I know Gottlieb's regime was interested in bringing Fiona back, but I think by the time they approached she was already at GL. Or, CBS just made a better deal or ABC's execs were still being punitive.

As it is, Jenna had a great run on GL but I'll always wonder what it'd have been like to have had Gabrielle on OLTL in the '90s.

As for Fiona's story in '01, it was a great idea very poorly executed by Tomlin, who loved camp above all. I personally loved her OTT performance in the Asa/Max story - it was a breath of fresh air on what had been such a drab show for so long - but many did not, and it's in part because of that story and that performance that the story and the pairing with Max was quickly ended. I know that for a fact, though I wish they'd reunited them when they both were let go.

Edited by jsbt
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TeeVee329

TeeVee329

1 hour ago, peachmangosteen said:

Do OLTL next, you cowards!

I think we'd need an alum with the kind of industry juice that Kelly Ripa has.  I dunno who we'd say that was.  Nathan Fillion maybe? 

And hey, we know AMC and OLTL are in continuity with each other thanks to Paul Cramer's baby stealing helicopter so it's not impossible that someone from Llanview might pop over to Pine Valley.

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Melgaypet

Melgaypet

I was going to say that Marco Dane was the first crossover character, but that was from OLTL to GH. I don't think he ever appeared on AMC.

Per Wikipedia, the three shows have always been in continuity, though:

Quote

Throughout the show's history, the plot lines of One Life to Live have been established as existing in the same fictional universe as other ABC-owned daytime series, in particular Agnes Nixon's All My Children, which premiered in 1970. As noted from time to time in both series, fictional Pine Valley—the setting of All My Children—is located in Pennsylvania near One Life to Live's Llanview. Over the years, many characters have crossover from one series to another in both short appearances and extended runs.[87] As early as 1968, General Hospital's Dr. Steve Hardy appeared in Llanview to consult on Meredith Lord's blood disease as a means to lead General Hospital viewers to the new series; similarly, One Life to Live's Dr. Larry Wolek visited All My Children shortly after its premiere in 1970.[87]

In 1979, when Viki Riley was on trial for the murder of Marco Dane, she was defended by Pine Valley attorney Paul Martin. Two characters that also appeared on All My Children are Sadie Gray (Lillian Hayman), when she sang for the wedding of Dr. Frank and Caroline Grant, and Delilah Ralston (Shelly Burch), when she designed a special dress to be worn by Erica Kane (Susan Lucci).

 

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jsbt

jsbt

Pretty irrelevant trivia, but why not: Robin Strasser indicated on Twitter recently that she was outright let go and not invited back in the final months of OLTL on ABC in 2011. She's talked about it before and I knew a bit about it, but here's the latest iteration.

According to her version of the story, part of which we already knew: She left to have back surgery and was concerned about pain management and becoming dependent on medication (as she had from a prior procedure) in order to cope should she go back to work too soon. She claims she wanted to return in October of '11, but OLTL informed her they wouldn't be needing her back before the end of taping. She put on a happy face about it for PR, but was crushed.

With Robin's POV you need a bit of a grain of salt at times, but I absolutely believe her on this one. I think Frank Valentini was looking to cut costs and drama by any means necessary in the final months and just didn't want to deal with her. I understand Robin could be high-maintenance, but it's a disgrace - especially re: Robin, who IMO never got over being fired by JFP.

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UYI

UYI

(edited)
On 9/19/2021 at 2:17 PM, jsbt said:

Pretty irrelevant trivia, but why not: Robin Strasser indicated on Twitter recently that she was outright let go and not invited back in the final months of OLTL on ABC in 2011. She's talked about it before and I knew a bit about it, but here's the latest iteration.

According to her version of the story, part of which we already knew: She left to have back surgery and was concerned about pain management and becoming dependent on medication (as she had from a prior procedure) in order to cope should she go back to work too soon. She claims she wanted to return in October of '11, but OLTL informed her they wouldn't be needing her back before the end of taping. She put on a happy face about it for PR, but was crushed.

With Robin's POV you need a bit of a grain of salt at times, but I absolutely believe her on this one. I think Frank Valentini was looking to cut costs and drama by any means necessary in the final months and just didn't want to deal with her. I understand Robin could be high-maintenance, but it's a disgrace - especially re: Robin, who IMO never got over being fired by JFP.

I thought Robin left the show in 2000 on her own accord?

(I know Paul Rauch fired her in 1987--and given their history going back to Another World, it most likely wasn't very pretty--OTOH, Rauch apparently tried to use the Salzburg, Austria location shoot for the Mendorra story in 1990 as a way to woo her back to the show, which didn't work and Elaine Princi was hired to play Dorian instead.) 

Although, given what I've read about how contentious her relationship with JFP was, I can certainly believe she was pushed out the door, and she absolutely made it clear that she was unhappy with he direction of the show at the time. 

(The story that galled me in particular was that, on Robin's last day, JFP apparently made sure that Robin's scenes were taped at the end of the day--making her late to her own goodbye party. THAT'S pretty shitty.)

I also heard that Robin wanted to return to the show so much that when she finally did in 2003, she actually took a sixty percent pay cut. No idea if that's true, though. 

 

Edited by UYI
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CanaryFan98

CanaryFan98

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/one-life-to-live/soap-alum-forbes-march-arrested

Quote

 

Soap Alum Forbes March Arrested

Former soap star Forbes March was arrested in Hudson County, New York, on March 2 after he and another man were caught stealing used cooking oil at a restaurant. According to the Ulster Police Department, March and his accomplice, Oscar Guardado, were charged with grand larceny.

The incident occurred at Michael’s Diner, where March and Guardado siphoned used cooking oil from a storage container at the rear of the restaurant. According to the police, the storage container is owned by Buffalo Biodiesel and had an estimated value of over $1,000.


The theft of cooking oil has risen in recent years because it can be converted to biodiesel, an alternative to petroleum diesel. While renewable biodiesel can be used for transportation fuel and heating fuel, the grease can also be used in soaps, shampoos, detergents, and more.


March is best known to daytime audiences for his run as ONE LIFE TO LIVE’s Nash Brennan, the role he played from 2005 to 2008. The actor’s pairing with Bree Williamson’s Jessica was a hit with viewers, and their characters were one of soapdom’s popular supercouples at the time. Before his time in Llanview, the actor played ALL MY CHILDREN’s Scott Chandler from 1998-2000, and following his OLTL run, he briefly moved over to AS THE WORLD TURNS as Mason Jarvis in 2009. March’s character, the professor who was Noah’s advisor at the Oakdale University film program, was intended to spice up the soap’s gay storyline, but the Noah/Luke/Mason triangle was dropped before it ever got off the ground.

March went on to appear in a handful of DEGRASSI: THE NEXT GENERATION episodes in 2010 before retiring from show business and forming New York Firewood Company, a wood supplier for restaurants and private residences, based out of his small farm in the Catskill Mountains.


Both March and Guardado were charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree and are scheduled to appear in Ulster Town Court at a later date, said the Ulster PD’s Facebook post.

 

 

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CanaryFan98

CanaryFan98

https://deadline.com/2023/03/forbes-march-oil-theft-charge-response-frivolous-charges-1235300209/#comments

Quote

 

Forbes March Responds To Oil Theft Allegation: Ex-Soap Star Says “Poorly Marked” Container Led To Misunderstanding And “Frivolous Charges”


EXCLUSIVE: An attorney for Forbes March, the former star of such soaps as One Life to Live and All My Children who was arrested earlier this month in New York State for the alleged theft of used cooking oil, has responded to the charge in an exclusive statement to Deadline saying that March operates a legitimate oil collection service and that a “poorly marked and seemingly abandoned” container was mistaken for one of the containers legally serviced by March’s company.

“While not readily apparent to Forbes that day due to the poor markings,” reads the statement released by attorney Jared K. Hart, “one of the containers in fact allegedly belonged to Buffalo Biodiesel. Approximately 90 gallons of oil, only a portion of the oil collected that evening, allegedly came from the Biodiesel container that appeared abandoned and contained mostly dirty rainwater that would later have to be separated out.

“There was never an intent to steal nor permanently deprive another company of their alleged cooking oil,” the statement continues.

March is expected to appear in an Ulster court to formally answer the charge on March 28.

March and another man were arrested in Hudson County, New York, earlier this month and charged with grand larceny in the fourth degree for the alleged theft of used cooking oil from an Ulster, New York, restaurant called Michael’s Diner. (Used cooking oil can be used to manufacture biofuels, and oil theft has been on the rise in recent years.)

According to an Ulster Police Department report, the value of the oil exceeded $1,000, hence the larceny charge.

But March’s lawyer says that the relatively small amount of oil taken from the Buffalo Biodiesel container is worth at most $300, and that March immediately offered to pump the oil back into the container but that the oil was taken into custody by the police.

According to the statement, March, who owns and operates a firewood delivery company based out of his farm in the Catskill Mountains that provides services to restaurants, purchased an existing used oil collection route in early February as a supplement to his existing business.

“Forbes’ existing business had the infrastructure in place to segue into the biodiesel collection market,” the statement reads. “Michaels Diner was on that purchased route.”


“Unbeknownst to Forbes, another company called Buffalo Biodiesel also had a container at Michaels Diner and apparently had not serviced this restaurant in over six (6) months; yet this restaurant had been regularly serviced by the company Forbes bought the route from. At Forbes’ first visit to the location, several containers were present in which Forbes was led to believe were all his containers. The containers were poorly marked and seemingly abandoned but oil had been stored in them. The owner confirmed with Forbes that day that the oil was there for him to collect. All of the containers present, except for one, were properly stored for Forbes to collect.”

March’s attorney writes that the legal case against his client “is nothing more than a civil matter trumped up to be made to look criminal because a competitor in the biodiesel market failed in their obligations to service their customer.”

Deadline has reached out to Buffalo Biodiesel and will update this post with a response. The company routinely tweets near-daily reports of thefts from its oil containers; a retweet of Deadline’s previous article about March is pinned atop the company’s Twitter page.

In the attorney statement, Hart describes March as “a contributing member to society his entire life and has never had any issues with law enforcement. His goal in running this newly formed business was to contribute to the alternate energy resources available and he was in a unique position to be able to do so. We are disappointed that Forbes’ efforts as a volunteer with children, refugees, the arts, as a first responder and more will forever be overshadowed by these frivolous charges.”

The statement concludes with, “We appreciate the privacy the press has extended to Forbes’ family and look forward to putting this matter behind Forbes as he continues with his legitimate business activities and public service.”

As an actor, March had roles on various daytime serials beginning with All My Children in 1999, then One Life to Live from 2005-08 and on As the World Turns in 2009. Other TV credits include the Canadian sci-fi series Mutant X, Degrassi: The Next Generation and the 2010 TV movie Degrassi Takes Manhattan. He retired from acting before starting his restaurant service company in New York’s Catskill Mountain region.

The attorney statement in its entirety is as follows:

In early February, Forbes purchased an existing used oil collection route through a known business listing service to supplement another of Forbes’ existing businesses which also provides goods and services to
restaurants. Forbes’ existing business had the infrastructure in place to segway into the biodiesel collection market. Michaels Diner was on that purchased route.

Part of the collection process involves placing specific containers at restaurants for the oil to be stored and then picked up. Containers had been present at Michaels Diner for months preceding the purchase of the route by Forbes. The manager of Michaels Diner has confirmed that his diner was in fact a customer of the business. Unbeknownst to Forbes, another company called Buffalo Biodiesel also had a container at Michaels Diner and apparently had not serviced this restaurant in over six (6) months; yet this restaurant had been regularly serviced by the company Forbes bought the route from. At Forbes’ first visit to the location, several containers were present in which Forbes was led to believe were all his containers. The containers were poorly marked and seemingly abandoned but oil had been stored in them. The owner confirmed with Forbes that day that the oil was there for him to collect. All of the containers present, except for one, were properly stored for Forbes to collect.

While not readily apparent to Forbes that day due to the poor markings, one of the containers in fact allegedly belonged to Buffalo Biodiesel. Approximately 90 gallons of oil, only a portion of the oil collected that evening, allegedly came from the Biodiesel container that appeared abandoned and contained mostly dirty rainwater that would later have to be separated out.

There was never an intent to steal nor permanently deprive another company of their alleged cooking oil. The oil was offered to be pumped back in immediately and is in fact currently being held by law enforcement. The market value of the alleged oil removed from the Buffalo Biodiesel container is at most $300.00. The facts and circumstances are extremely overblown, and this is nothing more than a civil matter trumped up to be made to look criminal because a competitor in the biodiesel market failed in their obligations to service their customer.

Forbes has been a contributing member to society his entire life and has never had any issues with law enforcement. His goal in running this newly formed business was to contribute to the alternate energy resources available and he was in a unique position to be able to do so. We are disappointed that Forbes’ efforts as a volunteer with children, refugees, the arts, as a first responder and more will forever be overshadowed by these frivolous charges.


We appreciate the privacy the press has extended to Forbes’ family and look forward to putting this matter behind Forbes as he continues with his legitimate business activities and public service.

 

 

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TeeVee329

TeeVee329

It's interesting how those (tough) stories speak to each other, with Melissa Archer speaking about being worried about her future as an actress as she got older/if she became too ingrained as a soap actress and Kim Zimmer feeling like she had to take a gig that was steps down because she was an actress of a certain age who was known only from soaps.

jsbt

jsbt

Erika Slezak does Linda Dano's podcast, including talking Prospect Park and OLTL 2.0. Erika is as candid and critical about it as she always has been and says the 3-4 HW teams the show went through in 3 months 'couldn't handle it' - I don't know if it was the demand for more explicit content or the general micromanagement from above. (I don't think Melissa Archer's lingerie scene in the pilot she mentions was that scandalous, but what do I know.) I had no idea she swapped a dressing room with Debbi Morgan at PP. She said she had to stand over PP's accountant to get paid for her last day after waiting hours, and says the company still owes her, Tuc Watkins and others a lot of money. Agrees it was a huge missed opportunity.

There's other great stories in here, though I haven't listened to all of it yet: She talks about Phil Carey's first day and how he was stunned to realize he had to do 30-40 pages at once. Discusses Bob Woods' endless attempts to prank him. Linda Dano talks candidly about knowing Clint Ritchie when they were both on contract at 20th Century Fox in their Hollywood days and they discuss his issues, but Erika also shares a great anecdote about Clint's friendship with Rudolf Nureyev. And more, I'm sure. I didn't know Clint and Phil died the same week.

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jsbt

jsbt

(edited)

So this is the first I'm hearing of something. Over on another forum we were discussing Gerald Anthony's stints as Marco Dane on GH, and a poster mentioned that the soap press in '91/'92 indicated that he would return to OLTL (along with Joe Lando as Jake) to visit Megan before her death. This obviously did not occur. Does anyone remember any mention of this? I always thought it was a shame Marco never appeared on OLTL again.

Edited by jsbt
jsbt

jsbt

(edited)
10 hours ago, Grinaldi said:

I dont remember seeing anything. Was that during his GH stint? I would have loved more Marco in Llanview 

I've seen the news clipping, so it's real; it's dated January '92 but could have had the reporting done earlier. It simply mentions in passing that both Jake and Marco will reappear as Megan is on death's door (but seems to think her death hinges on if Jessica Tuck re-signs with the show, which I believe was moot by then; it's probable the paper's local TV journalist just didn't know).

I believe GA was not yet recurring on GH at the time but nothing could've precluded him from popping back in. It's a shame it didn't happen.

Edited by jsbt
jsbt

jsbt

Such a hard few years for soaps.

What to say? Thom is another one of the greats. I was just watching him again as I finally got to explore the fall creative transition at OLTL in 1991. He could do just about anything with verve, style, menace or yes, comedy and ham.

He's also immortalized not just in soaps but in his several appearances in classic MST3K episodes over the course of 30+ years. I was pleased when he turned up there again for the first time since the '90s in a favored episode of the new Netflix seasons.

I always wanted one more good Carlo Hesser story on OLTL to finish him off, something with Fiona Hutchison that was more distinguished than the silly caper they left him with. But Carlo never really dies.

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