This man was such a good actor. He came on here and stayed for years and when he began gettting symptoms of ALS, the powers that be on Guiding Light Fired him! They told him they didn't "Want an old man" Then after the poor man died, then they "honored him'" Hows that for a kick in the face?
@Sheri451 thats not a fair statement to make, they told him that they couldnt write in the ALS because the roger thorpe character could not be weak and incapacitated or he wouldnt be Roger thorpe. Michael zaslow got on another soap where they did write in the ALS and he spent his last years working which is what he wanted.
@madonnaman9 Yes I remember him being on One Life To Live, he played his character with ALS. He had theis computer that spoke for him. I just thought it was sad and cruel to get rid of him on Guiding Light. I still have a VHS of him and the Roger Thorpe character on my book shelf.
I was a really little kid, but I vaguely remember when Ed and Holly were married, and Roger and Peggy were married, and the two couples were friends--went out to dinner together and so forth. I also remember a dramatic moment vividly--Peggy was babysitting for Holly and Ed one evening, and she walked out into the dark kitchen and tripped over a mop bucket that Holly had left out that afternoon! How's that for riveting drama? Funny considering how terrifying the Roger/Holly/Ed/Rita plot became
Peggy was such an important character for so many years. I'd never seen her until this clip. Fran Meyers is now a soap writer, has been for some time.
Peggy was such a nice character, a sweet, decent girl driven out of town by dastardly Roger. This clip reminds you of the days when GL was written around complex characters, not silly far-fetched plots. (OK, there were some, but not as many as today.)
Oh yes! Which is why I gave up watching "GL" and all other soaps--my last was "All My Children" in 1995, after 15 years.
But "GL" was really still quite good (compared with soaps of today) when I stopped watching it around 1976. I was just upset because the characters to which I had grown accustomed--the "Fletchers," "Leslie" and "Meta" and "Bruce" had all departed.
I did have one last fling watching a soap. Out of respect for Mary Stuart, after her passing I began watching the NBC years I missed of my all-time fave, "Search For Tomorrow." But AOL discontinued before the end of the run.
Even those eps., bad as they were compared with the 1965-75 CBS years of "SFT," seemed positively Shakespearean by comparison with today's soaps.
I would not be surprised if soaps are no longer aired on broadcast TV before the end of the next decade.
Although, if the producers and writers were smart, they'd return to form and create some more of the better, more complex characters you mentioned, maybe even revive some older, fondly-remembered ones.
Because, as Baby Boomers retire (and stay at home more0, that will be the last generation that really has any recollection of the best years of daytime drama. And with those larger numbers of old Boomers as potential viewers, soaps could enjoy a semi-renaissance.
But you're correct--"Peggy" was such a nice girl. And I still remember my Mom & I always rooting for her and "Leslie" to find happiness, and those great, warm talks the girls would have with "Bert" and "Papa Bauer."
You know, my friend (and we've commented on each others TV memories before), if you compare this clip with some of the more abundant ones (kinescopes) of "GL" from 1966, "Peggy"'Fran Myers has matured so much by this clip it's amazing!
I only wish there were some clips of the intervening years (1967-75). What the TV networks did by destroying/wiping their videos of daytime programming of the 1960s & '70s borders on cultural homicide!
Yes, it's hard to believe, but Peggy had been appearing on GL for about 10 years by the time she did this scene. She started out as a troubled teen in the 60s, dealing with her parents' rocky marriage.
It's really unbelievable that most of those older episodes were not preserved in some manner. All of the soaps had such high quality in those years (1960s-70s) that they were later expanded to an hour.
@OceanKingNY I also loved the romance of "Peggy" and "Johnny Fletcher," but when "Johnny " was played by Erik Howell, who was the youngest-looking to have played the character. I think Howell also played the role longest, about five years. Sadly, as you note, there seem to be no episodes surviving of that era.
"Peggy's " son, "Billy," was adopted by "Johnny," but I seem to recall the father as being another guy, perhaps "Marty Dillman?"
Thanks for the clip! I was always curious to see what happened before I started watching, and this reveals some of RogerDodger's history! Nice clear picture too! :)
Was Maureen Garrett already playing Holly at this time? I know she took over the role in '76.
anabanana0714 2 months ago
This man was such a good actor. He came on here and stayed for years and when he began gettting symptoms of ALS, the powers that be on Guiding Light Fired him! They told him they didn't "Want an old man" Then after the poor man died, then they "honored him'" Hows that for a kick in the face?
Sheri451 1 year ago
@Sheri451 thats not a fair statement to make, they told him that they couldnt write in the ALS because the roger thorpe character could not be weak and incapacitated or he wouldnt be Roger thorpe. Michael zaslow got on another soap where they did write in the ALS and he spent his last years working which is what he wanted.
madonnaman9 1 year ago
@madonnaman9 Yes I remember him being on One Life To Live, he played his character with ALS. He had theis computer that spoke for him. I just thought it was sad and cruel to get rid of him on Guiding Light. I still have a VHS of him and the Roger Thorpe character on my book shelf.
Sheri451 1 year ago
Peggy bears a striking resemblance to Scarlett Johansen
firmingitup 1 year ago
@firmingitup I said it 1 year ago and still feel that way. Peggy could be Scarlet Johansen's mother. The resemblance is uncanny.
firmingitup 3 months ago
I was a really little kid, but I vaguely remember when Ed and Holly were married, and Roger and Peggy were married, and the two couples were friends--went out to dinner together and so forth. I also remember a dramatic moment vividly--Peggy was babysitting for Holly and Ed one evening, and she walked out into the dark kitchen and tripped over a mop bucket that Holly had left out that afternoon! How's that for riveting drama? Funny considering how terrifying the Roger/Holly/Ed/Rita plot became
stanbrown32 2 years ago
@stanbrown32 the Roger/Holly/Ed/Rita stuff was what hooked me on GL, and what propelled GL for the better part of the late '70s.
mthivier 1 year ago 2
Peggy was such an important character for so many years. I'd never seen her until this clip. Fran Meyers is now a soap writer, has been for some time.
CarlD2 3 years ago
MORE PLEASE!!!
yvesbeneche3493 3 years ago
Classic 70s soaps!
Is there any more to this clip? I'd love to see more of the fallout from this storyline involving Christina's (Blake) paternity reveal.
ChrissyTNG 4 years ago
More More!!!
Guiding Light looked so Good from back then I wish I had more episodes from the 70's.
That was only 47 seconds and it was Well written out.
coolwafferman 4 years ago
My Goodness! This must go back to about 1976.
JrsyBarry 5 years ago
I think it was better then too, now its all about the teens or Reva & Josh. Occasional 30something.
parisscott 5 years ago
Peggy was such a nice character, a sweet, decent girl driven out of town by dastardly Roger. This clip reminds you of the days when GL was written around complex characters, not silly far-fetched plots. (OK, there were some, but not as many as today.)
OceanKingNY 5 years ago
Oh yes! Which is why I gave up watching "GL" and all other soaps--my last was "All My Children" in 1995, after 15 years.
But "GL" was really still quite good (compared with soaps of today) when I stopped watching it around 1976. I was just upset because the characters to which I had grown accustomed--the "Fletchers," "Leslie" and "Meta" and "Bruce" had all departed.
gymnastix 2 years ago
I did have one last fling watching a soap. Out of respect for Mary Stuart, after her passing I began watching the NBC years I missed of my all-time fave, "Search For Tomorrow." But AOL discontinued before the end of the run.
Even those eps., bad as they were compared with the 1965-75 CBS years of "SFT," seemed positively Shakespearean by comparison with today's soaps.
gymnastix 2 years ago
I would not be surprised if soaps are no longer aired on broadcast TV before the end of the next decade.
Although, if the producers and writers were smart, they'd return to form and create some more of the better, more complex characters you mentioned, maybe even revive some older, fondly-remembered ones.
gymnastix 2 years ago
Because, as Baby Boomers retire (and stay at home more0, that will be the last generation that really has any recollection of the best years of daytime drama. And with those larger numbers of old Boomers as potential viewers, soaps could enjoy a semi-renaissance.
But you're correct--"Peggy" was such a nice girl. And I still remember my Mom & I always rooting for her and "Leslie" to find happiness, and those great, warm talks the girls would have with "Bert" and "Papa Bauer."
gymnastix 2 years ago
You know, my friend (and we've commented on each others TV memories before), if you compare this clip with some of the more abundant ones (kinescopes) of "GL" from 1966, "Peggy"'Fran Myers has matured so much by this clip it's amazing!
I only wish there were some clips of the intervening years (1967-75). What the TV networks did by destroying/wiping their videos of daytime programming of the 1960s & '70s borders on cultural homicide!
gymnastix 2 years ago 5
Yes, it's hard to believe, but Peggy had been appearing on GL for about 10 years by the time she did this scene. She started out as a troubled teen in the 60s, dealing with her parents' rocky marriage.
It's really unbelievable that most of those older episodes were not preserved in some manner. All of the soaps had such high quality in those years (1960s-70s) that they were later expanded to an hour.
OceanKingNY 2 years ago
@OceanKingNY I also loved the romance of "Peggy" and "Johnny Fletcher," but when "Johnny " was played by Erik Howell, who was the youngest-looking to have played the character. I think Howell also played the role longest, about five years. Sadly, as you note, there seem to be no episodes surviving of that era.
"Peggy's " son, "Billy," was adopted by "Johnny," but I seem to recall the father as being another guy, perhaps "Marty Dillman?"
gymnastix 3 months ago
@gymnastix Oh you are so right. What I would pay to see my soaps when they started. Could you imagine a box DVD set?
zamusicza 9 months ago
Thanks for the clip! I was always curious to see what happened before I started watching, and this reveals some of RogerDodger's history! Nice clear picture too! :)
phillipfan 5 years ago
Love going back. Thank you
kidrockkrazy 5 years ago