GL: Soap Opera Encyclopedia question
- From: "CarolQ" <CarolQFan@xxxxxxx>
- Date: 30 Jan 2006 13:47:31 -0800
On the AWHP, Eddie Drueding mentions this e-mail he got from former AW
and GL headwriter L. Virginia Browne. I'll just include one part.
--
http://www.igs.net/~awhp/index.html
"L. Virginia Browne was headwriter from 11/80 to 11/82. [With a
period where Corrine Jacker filled in as temporary writer during the
writer's strike, using Browne's bible] I was replaced by Bob
Soderberg in 11/82. Even though I had already left to do Guiding Light
with Doug Marland in late 81 or early 82 (can't recall) AW continued to
use my story lines & bible and so continued my headwriting credit until
11/82.
"Christopher Schemering wrote a book called the "Soap Opera
Encyclopedia" and, in it, he says that I took over Guiding Light and it
then went into a "slump." I was pretty darned surprised as, within four
months of becoming head writer, I had raised the ratings by two full
points and our position from 8th to 3rd. In fact, the folks at P&G
filled my office with flowers to congratulate me. Ken Fitts (a P&G
exec) said he hoped we'd be working together for years. The VERY NEXT
DAY, Allen Potter, the executive producer, announced he was leaving to
be replaced by Gail Kobe and she fired me -- the very next day after
receiving all those flowers and wishes for years and years of working
together. And then they continued to use my bible for 9 more months and
kept my name on the credits as headwriter for that long.
"That story, i.e. the flowers and the firing the next day, has become
part of soap folklore. I've even had individuals tell it to me but
ascribe it to various different writers. I sent Chris a note (along
with copies of the network ratings sheets) and he wrote back and
apologized, saying he would update and correct the info in his revised
edition. Sadly, Chris then suddenly passed away and never did make the
revision, so that mis-information stands in what is considered by many
to be a very reliable book.
--
I have the 1987 edition of this book and I swear that Schmering DOES
say the GL ratings went up 2 points when Browne arrived. Am I wrong in
this? So maybe Schmering did update the book and she doesn't realize?
.
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