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BLOG 4 PAINTED DREAMS & HAWKINS FALLS

THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO WORLDS WITHOUT END THE ART & HISTORY OF THE SOAP OPERA (1997) Harry N. Abrams, Inc. The Soap Opera on Television Despite the success of the serial in magazine publishing, at the movies, and on radio, there was still resistance by television execs to use the form. One of the visionaries of early television, NBC president Sylvester "Pat" Weaver, felt the radio technique woudn't work in a visual medium because there was higher absorption and greater tension demands on television. Although prime-time entertainment was successful in 1948 with Milton Berle vaudeville on television; it took three more years for the soap opera to make a successful jump.

The DuMont producer David P. Lewis, searched for daytime drama that would allow the housewife "to turn away and go on peeling potatoes or knitting." Even Irna Phillips failed in her initial attempt, a reworking of her first radio serial PAINTED DREAMS, because she made no concessions to the visual medium. One piece from Chicago, known for its realism, HAWKINS FALLS, ran three months in prime time and four years in the afternoon. Cocreator was Roy Winsor. Daytime Versus Early Prime Time Whatever the ultimate root of the critical prejudice against the television soap opera, it is interesting to note that it existed from the beginning, even when daytime and prime-time dramas were much closer in tone and style. During the fifties, daytime serial and live drama shared many of the same aesthetic values: both emphasized psychology of character and the power of the revelatory close-up; both employed actors who had training in the theater and writers working in the realistic tradition of the Broadway problem play; both were performed live

Awhile back someone brought up a popular US daytime soap opera DAYS OF OUR LIVES. Melissa was a soap opera fan. I became a super soap opera fan. I have hundreds of soap opera books. When we lived in Brooklyn, NY, Melissa was an Editor for GUIDING LIGHT at SOAP OPERA DIGEST. DAYS OF OUR LIVES began to be broadcast on NBC in November 1965 & it is still on the air today. Back when I was a super soap fan, there were 14 soaps on the air. Today there are 4.

Melissa & I both had a favorite soap opera ANOTHER WORLD which was owned by Procter & Gamble & broadcast on NBC beginning in May 1964. It was cancelled on June 25, 1999. We met online as fans who were working to try to save the show. At that time I lived in Dalton, GA & Melissa lived in Brooklyn, NY. We came to meet in person & pursue a relationship. I moved to Brooklyn.

I was asked recently among some ANOTHER WORLD fans that I spend time with what my next favorite soap was after ANOTHER WORLD. Let's see if I understand the question. After ANOTHER WORLD, what is my next favorite soap? Next after ANOTHER WORLD is GUIDING LIGHT. Then, next after GUIDING LIGHT is AS THE WORLD TURNS. But, I have watched a whole array of soaps after ANOTHER WORLD went off the air in June 1999, which is when Melissa & I got together. As a matter of fact, immediately after that grievable loss of ANOTHER WORLD, I watched 8 soaps to try to fill the gap in my heart. Eight! I never watched YOUNG & RESTLESS. I didn't watch BOLD & BEAUTIFUL until many years down the road. I was very fond of the little half hour soap PORT CHARLES. There were other soaps at other times. I just missed ANOTHER WORLD like crazy. Didn't you?

I forgot to list SANTA BARBARA owned by Dobson Productions, broadcast on NBC, July 1984. GUIDING LIGHT was owned by Procter & Gamble & broadcast on CBS June 1952. AS THE WORLD TURNS owned by Procter & Gamble broadcast on CBS May 1964. PORT CHARLES was a half hour spin-off of GENERAL HOSPITAL owned & broadcast on ABC June 1997.

Besides DAYS OF OUR LIVES which just won Best Show Daytime Emmy 2018 there are 3 other US daytime soap operas still on the air today. YOUNG & RESTLESS owned by Columbia Pictures Television & broadcast on CBS March 1973. BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL owned by Bell-Phillip Productions & broadcast on CBS March 1987. GENERAL HOSPITAL owned by ABC Entertainment & broadcast on ABC April 1963.

Jill Hurst Melissa Scardaville What, if any, show was on the air before GUIDING LIGHT? Carol Sumilas Boshears Search for Tomorrow? Saw it as a grade schooler at lunch time. 15 minute show. Jill Hurst I think it was the first to move to tv from radio. ...hmmm, I need to refresh my memory. To be continued.

Carol Sumilas Boshears, SEARCH FOR TOMORROW owned by Procter & Gamble & broadcast on CBS September 3 1951 - December 26 1986 (moved to NBC March 1982 - December 26 1986.) In Henderson. Created by Roy Winsor with Agnes Nixon. Could have been subtitled "The Joanne Gardner Barron Tate Vincente Tourneur Story" for that character and the actress playing her, Mary Stuart, set the tone for the show's 35-year run. The show was top-rated 1952-1955. But, CBS and P&G had a serious dispute in 1982, where it limped along on NBC until its cancellation. The show did its first live episode since 1968 in 1983, claiming that the day's tape was missing, but many suspected it was a publicity stunt designed to mimic a similar situation in the recent hit movie TOOTSIE. The most publicity the show got that year was when Mary Stuart donated her ruffled apron from the first shows to the Smithsonian Institute.

In 1986 the McCleary brothers took center stage as Patti helped Hogan solve Stephanie's murder. There was not to be a 36th anniversary show. Instead there was a grand send-off at the end of 1986. At the end of the event, Stu asked Jo, "What is it, Jo? What are you searching for?" and she said, "Tomorrow, and I can't wait!"

Then, in a separate taped piece Mary Stuart thanked the fans for their love and devotion before the screen went to black.

At age 63, she ventured on with the role of a judge on ONE LIFE TO LIVE (1968) in 1988 for a year,

and then a longer-running part on GUIDING LIGHT (1952) in 1996, as Meta. This role lasted until her death from cancer in 2002 at age 75.

Mary's autobiography entitled BOTH OF ME was written in 1980 and also serves as a comprehensive history of "SOT.";

Hogan McCleary, David Forsyth played Dr. John Hudson on ANOTHER WORLD; Cagney McCleary, Matthew Ashford on DAYS OF OUR LIVES, Rebecca "TR" Kendall, Jane Krakowski played on ALLY McBEAL, on 30 ROCK, and on UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT, Marcia McCabe was Bunny Eberhardt a hit person (1995) on ANOTHER WORLD.

Mimi Torchin I think there was a soap called Hawkins Falls that predated GL.

Mimi Torchin Looking in the Schemering book, HAWKINS FALLS June 17 1950 - August 19 1950 a primetime Saturday night series; then April 2 1951 - July 1 1955 daytime on NBC

Elana Levine Hi all - there were a number of short-lived soaps that debuted before GL. The longest lasting was Search for Tomorrow. Irna Phillips even wrote one, called These are My Children (a remake of her radio soap Today's Children) that lasted for about a month in 1949! The networks and the sponsors were all hesitant about moving soaps to TV because they were so lucrative in radio and they feared losing that money.

Hi, Elana, thanks for making these contributions to this fun thread.

From the Schemering THESE ARE MY CHILDREN January 31 1949 - February 25 1949 NBC Based on Irna Phillips earliest autobiographical radio soaps PAINTED DREAMS and TODAY'S CHILDREN. Broadcast live from Chicago.

Shawn Reeves Are we talking about on the air on tv or the beginnings on radio? GL started on the radio in 1948. Shawn Reeves Most of the discussion is on TV, but, yes, GL and others were on radio before. Either is good fodder for discussion. Shawn Reeves Donna L Bridges if I remember correctly, GL started airing on tv in 1948 as well as still producing the radio broadcast. I'm going back to the research we did for the anniversary show. GL would broadcast on radio first in the day and than the actors would go down the street to perform the same show for live tv.

Shawn, thanks for adding that. It sounds right. Melissa Scardaville Hey all. There were between 360 and 391 soaps on radio. It's a little hard to categorize them in the early years. The first one where we have extensive documentation is "Painted Dreams." It aired four times a week, starting in 1930. While there were a few other radio serials, the next would be "Girl Reporter" and "Keeping Up with Daughter," which debuted in 1931. Melissa Scardaville Guiding Light was about the 100th soap opera to debut on radio in 1937. It aired on radio and television (as Shawn said they would tape the radio in the morning and tv in the afternoon.) GL transitioned to television in 1952 and ceased radio broadcasts. Melissa Scardaville Oh I should add - Painted Dreams was created by Irna Phillips. It was a 10 minute show based in Chicago.

THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO WORLDS WITHOUT END THE ART & HISTORY OF THE SOAP OPERA (1997) Harry N. Abrams, Inc. The Serial Comes to Radio Nearly all of the earliest radio programming was scheduled in the evening, because executives were concerned that housewives would not be able to concentrate on a program while performing their chores. One scholar called radio, "an evening, family and father-controlled entertainment." That changed as the home products manufacturer General Mills looked for ways to bring information into the home for women. In 1926 they created "Betty Crocker" to help with shopping. NBC created "The Women's Magazine of the Air" for genuine information and help. Procter & Gamble became a main sponsor & advertised 3 times per week.

THE MUSEUM OF TELEVISION & RADIO WORLDS WITHOUT END THE ART & HISTORY OF THE SOAP OPERA (1997) Harry N. Abrams, Inc. The Hummerts & the Serial Factory Frank and Anne Hummert provide a fascinating contrast to Irna Phillips. Frank Hummert had been working in copywriting and advertising when he noticed "the success of serial fiction in newspapers and magazines." In the early thirties, he decided to translate that serial narrative to the infant medium of radio. He wanted his radio dramas to accommodate the daily pattern of the homemaker, but at the same time to offer a release into the world of romance and fantasy - very different from the "real" world of Irna Phillips. He worked with his Assistant Anne Ashenhurst (whom he married in 1935) and writer Charles Robert Douglas Hardy Andrews to devise fantasies to help alleviate the boredom and repetition of housework. By the midforties the Hummerts were producing twelve serials a day and were operating what was considered a soap opera mill. They said "they were painting against the canvas of everyday life." "The Daytime Controversy " During the early forties there were more than seventy daytime serials on the air. The press mocked the tales and the cleaning products that were sold. The suffering on the airwaves was thought to be corrupting the human nervous system. Columbia University found two contradictory gratifications: first, pure escapism; and second, moral guidance. There seemed to be little difference between listeners and in non-listeners.

Agnes Nixon Tribute (Extended Version) The iconic creator of All My Children and One Life to Live, Agnes Nixon, is honored in this tribute to her career, her legacy, and the soap operas she made...

Genre Medical drama, Serial, ST ELSEWHERE Created by Joshua Brand & John Falsey Developed by Mark Tinker & John Masius Starring

Ed Flanders David Birney G.W. Bailey Ed Begley Jr. Terence Knox Howie Mandel David Morse Christina Pickles Kavi Raz William Daniels

Norman Lloyd Cynthia Sikes

Ellen Bry Denzel Washington

Mark Harmon Eric Laneuville Kim Miyori Nancy Stafford Stephen Furst Bonnie Bartlett Bruce Greenwood Cindy Pickett Ronny Cox Sagan Lewis France Nuyen Jennifer Savidge Byron Stewart

Theme music composer Dave Grusin Composer(s) Dave Grusin J. A. C. Redford Country of origin United States Original language(s) English No. of seasons 6 No. of episodes 137 (list of episodes) Production Production location(s) CBS Studio Center Studio City, Los Angeles, California Running time 45-48 minutes Production company(s) MTM Enterprises Distributor MTM Television Distribution Group (1988-1989) 20th Television Release Original network NBC Audio format Monaural (seasons 1-5) Stereo (season 6) Original release October 26, 1982 - May 25, 1988

St. Elsewhere is an American medical drama television series that originally ran on NBC from October 26, 1982 to May 25, 1988. The series starred Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels as teaching doctors at an aging, underrated Boston hospital who give interns a promising future in making critical medical and life decisions. The series was produced by MTM Enterprises, which had success with a similar NBC series, the police drama Hill Street Blues, during that same time; both series were often compared to each other for their use of ensemble casts and overlapping serialized storylines (an original ad for St. Elsewhere quoted a critic that called the series "'Hill Street Blues' in a hospital"). St. Elsewhere was filmed at CBS/MTM Studios, which was known as CBS/Fox Studios when the show began; coincidentally, 20th Century Fox owns the rights to the series when it bought MTM Enterprises in the 1990s.

Recognized for its gritty, realistic drama, St. Elsewhere gained a small yet loyal following (the series did not rank higher than 49th place in the yearly Nielsen ratings) over its six-season, 137-episode run; however, the series also found a strong audience in Nielsen's 18-49 age demographic, a young demo later known for a young, affluent audience that TV advertisers were eager to reach. The series also earned critical acclaim during its run, earning 13 Emmy Awards for its writing, acting, and directing. St. Elsewhere was ranked No. 20 on TV Guide's 2002 list of "The 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time", with the magazine also selecting it as the best drama series of the 1980s in a 1993 issue. In 2013, TV Guide ranked the series No. 51 on its list of the 60 Best Series of All Time. Contents

1 Overview 2 Main cast 3 Episodes 3.1 "Newheart" 3.2 "Cheers" 3.3 "Time Heals" 3.4 "After Life" 3.5 "Last Dance at the Wrecker's Ball" 3.6 "A Moon For the Misbegotten" 3.7 "Their Town" 3.8 "The Last One" 4 Allusions, crossovers, and homages 5 Awards and nominations 6 Film adaptation 7 Syndication 8 Home media 9 References 10 Further reading 11 External links

Overview

St. Elsewhere was set at the fictional St. Eligius Hospital, a decaying urban teaching hospital in Boston's South End neighborhood. (The South End's Franklin Square House Apartments, formerly known as the St. James Hotel and located next to Franklin and Blackstone Squares, stood in for the hospital in establishing shots, including the series' opening sequence.) The hospital's nickname, "St. Elsewhere", is a slang term used in the medical field to refer to lesser-equipped hospitals that serve patients turned away by more prestigious institutions; it is also used in medical academia to refer to teaching hospitals in general. In the pilot episode, surgeon Dr. Mark Craig (William Daniels) informs his colleagues that the local Boston media had bestowed the derogatory nickname upon St. Eligius since they perceived the hospital as "a dumping ground, a place you wouldn't want to send your mother-in-law." In fact, the hospital was so poorly regarded that its shrine to Saint Eligius was commonly defiled by the hospital's visitors and staff, and is passingly referred to by Dr. Wayne Fiscus as "the patron saint of longshoremen and bowlers." (Eligius is neither; he is patron saint of numismatists, metalworkers, and horses.)

Just as in Hill Street Blues, St. Elsewhere employed a large ensemble cast; a gritty, "realistic" visual style; and a profusion of interlocking serialized stories, many of which continued over the course of multiple episodes or seasons. In the same way Hill Street was regarded as a groundbreaking police drama, St. Elsewhere also broke new ground in medical dramas, creating a template that influenced ER, Chicago Hope, and other later shows in the genre. St. Elsewhere portrayed the medical profession as an admirable but less-than-perfect endeavor; the St. Eligius staff, while mostly having good intentions in serving their patients, all had their own personal and professional problems, with the two often intertwining. The staff's problems, and those of their patients (some of whom didn't survive), were often contemporary in nature, with storylines involving breast cancer, AIDS, and addiction. Though the series dealt with serious issues of life, death, the medical profession, and the human effects of all three, a substantial number of comedic moments, inside jokes, and references to TV history were included, as well as tender moments of humanity.

The producers for the series were Bruce Paltrow, Mark Tinker, John Masius, Tom Fontana, John Falsey and Abby Singer. Tinker, Masius, Fontana, and Paltrow wrote a number of episodes as well; other writers included John Tinker, John Ford Noonan, Charles H. Eglee, Eric Overmyer, Channing Gibson, and Aram Saroyan. The cast of St. Elsewhere (season one)

The show's main and end title theme was composed by famed jazz musician and composer Dave Grusin. Noted film and TV composer J.A.C. Redford wrote the music for the series (except for the pilot, which was scored by Grusin). No soundtrack was ever released, but the theme was released in two different versions: the original TV mix and edit appeared on TVT Records' compilation Television's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3: 70s & 80s, and Grusin recorded a full-length version for inclusion on his Night Lines album, released in 1983.

Main cast Main article: List of St. Elsewhere characters

Along with established actors Ed Flanders, Norman Lloyd and William Daniels, St. Elsewhere's ensemble cast includes David Morse, Alfre Woodard, Bruce Greenwood, Christina Pickles, Kyle Secor, Ed Begley Jr., Stephen Furst, Howie Mandel, Mark Harmon, Denzel Washington and Helen Hunt. Notable guest stars include Tim Robbins, whose first major role was in the series' first three episodes (as domestic terrorist Andrew Reinhardt), and Doris Roberts and James Coco, who both earned Emmy Awards for their season-one appearance as, respectively, a bag lady and her mentally challenged husband.

Ed Flanders as Dr. Donald Westphall David Birney as Dr. Ben Samuels (1982-1983) G.W. Bailey as Dr. Hugh Beale (1982-1983) Ed Begley Jr. as Dr. Victor Ehrlich Terence Knox as Dr. Peter White (1982-1985) Howie Mandel as Dr. Wayne Fiscus David Morse as Dr. Jack Morrison Christina Pickles as Nurse Helen Rosenthal Kavi Raz as Dr. Vijay Kochar (1982-1984) Cynthia Sikes as Dr. Annie Cavanero (1982-1985) Denzel Washington as Dr. Phillip Chandler William Daniels as Dr. Mark Craig Barbara Whinnery as Dr. Cathy Martin (1982-1986) Norman Lloyd as Dr. Daniel Auschlander Ellen Bry as Nurse Shirley Daniels (1984-1985, recurring: 1982-1983, 1987) Mark Harmon as Dr. Robert Caldwell (1983-1986) Eric Laneuville as Luther Hawkins Kim Miyori as Dr. Wendy Armstrong (1982-1984) Nancy Stafford as Joan Halloran (1983-1985, 1986) Stephen Furst as Dr. Elliot Axelrod (1983-1988) Bonnie Bartlett as Ellen Craig (1986-1988, recurring: 1982-1985) Bruce Greenwood as Dr. Seth Griffin (1986-1988) Cindy Pickett as Dr. Carol Novino (1986-1988) Ronny Cox as Dr. John Gideon (1987-1988) Sagan Lewis as Dr. Jacqueline Wade France Nuyen as Dr. Paulette Kiem Jennifer Savidge as Nurse Lucy Papandreo Byron Stewart as Warren Coolidge

Episodes Main article: List of St. Elsewhere episodes Season Episodes Originally aired First aired Last aired

1 22 October 26, 1982 May 3, 1983

2 22 October 26, 1983 May 16, 1984

3 24 September 19, 1984 March 27, 1985

4 24 September 18, 1985 May 7, 1986

5 23 September 24, 1986 May 27, 1987

6 22 September 16, 1987 May 25, 1988

St. Elsewhere ran for six seasons and 137 episodes; the first season (1982-83) aired Tuesdays at 10 p.m. (ET), with remaining seasons airing Wednesdays at 10 p.m.

St. Elsewhere was noteworthy for featuring episodes with unusual aspects or significant changes to the series' status quo. Some of those episodes included:

"Newheart" Original air date: November 9, 1983 - Dr. Morrison learns of the death of his wife, Nina (with whom he had an argument in an early scene of this episode), after slipping and hitting her head. Nina's heart is donated to a heart transplant patient - a patient of Dr. Craig. The poignant final scene of the episode finds Morrison entering the patient's room and, with a stethoscope, hearing the patient's new heart - Nina's heart - steadily beating.

"Cheers" Original air date: March 27, 1985 - St. Elsewhere ended its 3rd season with this TV crossover that found Drs. Westphall, Auschlander, and Craig getting together at that other Boston TV institution, the namesake setting of the comedy series Cheers. The scene, which was filmed on the main Cheers soundstage (Stage 25 at