USA
/ CBS / x15m-e then x30m-e /
September 24, 1951-February 1, 1980
Love of Life changed several principal characters and actors,
time slots, locales, you name it, in its run of over 28 years,
yet remained fairly consistent in its resolve to be an "old-
fashioned soap," where good was good and bad was bad, and
characters were delineated more in black and white than in
shades of gray. Overseeing this throughout the transitions
was director Larry Auerbach, who was with the show from
its first to its last day. In the show's early days, it was Auerbach
who insisted that all the commercials be put at the beginning
and end of the program, leaving the middle pan for the
drama. And there was plenty of that.
Will and Sarah Dale of fictional
Barrowsville, New York,
had two grown daughters living in New York City, virtuous
Van and amoral Meg. Meg was married to rich Charlie
Harper, and they had a son, Beanie. Meg's
disinterest in
doing things positively meant that she was the black sheep
of an otherwise decent family, but she cared little, as she
was involved in a passionate fling with flashy mobster Miles
Pardee. When Meg was unjustly convicted of murdering
Miles Pardee, she had lawyer Evans Baker clear her along
with the help of her sister Van and Van's boyfriend, FBI
agent Paul Raven. During this period Charlie, fed up with
Meg's antics, divorced her and aptly quipped, "Meg is the
greatest actress in the world, on or offstage."
As for Van, she continued to see Paul Raven in 1953,
while working at a travel agency in New York, where the
evil Warren Nash tried to steal $15,000 from
under her and
Marty the bookkeeper s nose, with the help of Meg, also
working at the agency. After this incident, Van left New
York and her supportive roommate Ellie Crown to pursue
her romance with Paul, who went into law practice with
Collie Jordan in Barrowsville. They ended up marrying in
1954 with the approval of his mother Althea and adopting
the somewhat irascible 6-year-old Carol. Then, to her
shock. Van learned that Paul had been married before, to
newcomer in town Judith Lodge, and that Carol was their
child, a fact that Paul claimed not to have known. The
insane Judith fought Van and Paul for Carol's custody, but
Judith was subsequently found dead when Sarah's house
burned down. Van was tried for the murder, but it turned
out that Paul's brother Ben Raven had done the deed.
Also during 1955—56, fugitive gangster Hal Craig
threatened Carol when she saw him kill his twin brother,
causing her to become mute. Carol did not speak again
until Craig was caught and confessed to the crime. She
and her grandmother Althea left town and disappeared
from the show forever, while Van and Paul relocated from
Barrowsville back to New York City.
Meanwhile, Meg had been dating Matt Slocum, another
sleazeball, and then Hal Craig, who ran a halfway house
and let Meg operate a nightclub. Van suspected Hal of shady
dealings, but Hal told her to butt out of his affairs. After
Hal was convicted, Meg went to New York City and wed
con man Jack Andrews. A suspicious Paul went to Mexico,
to check out Jack's claims of real estate investments there,
but his plane crashed and Paul was presumed dead. While
Van grieved, Meg also found herself without a husband too
because Jack left town with her money.
Much of this activity happened in 1958, a busy year
as the show went to 30 minutes daily. After Meg divorced
Jack, she wed Tom Craythorne with the knowledge that
she was carrying Jack's baby. Jack returned to blackmail Tom
for $25,000, but fellow gang members later killed Jack for
money. When it was proved that Tom was not the baby's
father, Meg left town with Beanie. At the same time, Van
learned that TV producer Noel Penn wanted to use her
rather than alcoholic Tammy Forrest as star of his new show.
Needless to say, Tammy was not thrilled, but grew to like
Van when the latter helped her kick the drinking habit.
The appeal of New York City finally ended for Van when
she met Bruce Sterling, a teacher at Winfleld prep school
in Rosehill, New York. She wed him in 1959 and moved to
Rosehill to be with his grown family, daughter Barbara and
son Alan, who were treated by Bruces in-laws Henry and
Vivian Carlson almost as if they were the Carlson s own.
(Interestingly, when actress Bonnie Bardett left her role as
Van due to a salary dispute, Audrey Peters assumed it and
made her debut going down the aisle to marry Bruce!) These
characters dominated the show during the 1960s.
Vivian was resentful of Van joining the family, as was
Barbara, since Van blabbed to Bruce about Barbara planning to
elope with Dr. Tony Vento. While Bruce was recuperating from
injuries he had sustained trying to stop rapist Glenn Hamilton
from attacking Sandy Porter, Barbara insinuated to him that
Van was being unfaithful, which nearly caused a divorce.
However, some real infidelity occurred when Bruce was seduced
by his secretary, Ginny Crandall. She used Bruce to obtain
a patented formula Henry Carlson had which the latter's
unscrupulous rival Guy Latimer wanted to force Henry to sell
to him.
Bruce managed to expose Latimers plot, but Van found
out about his affair too, and left to live with his son Alan.
Meanwhile, Sandy Porters parents Maggie and Link
came to town and became friends with the
Sterlings. The
terminally ill Maggie hoped that the then-separated Van
would marry Link after her death, but in 1962, when Maggie
Porter died, her twin sister Kay (played by the same actress)
tried to seduce Link instead. However, Link decided to
marry Vans old actress pal Tammy Forrest and stayed with
her until he died of cancer in 1966.
Van and Bruce eventually reunited, but they were aghast as
Barbara decided to wed Rick Latimer, son of convicted felon
Guy Latimer.
The new duo ended up separated even before
Barbara gave birth to their son Hank, and Rick successfully
sued Barbara for custody of the child.
Others popping up in the 1960s were the philandering
Jason Ferris, his disturbed wife Sharon, and their daughter
Hester; pharmacist Alex Caldwell, who married Van's
mother Sarah (Will Dale died in 1953); Rita and Joe Bond,
the token black couple; and Charles and Diana Lamont,
the Sterlings' next-door
neighbors. Charles's son Bill Prentiss
wed Tess Krakauer, who found themselves enmeshed in
many of the plots of the late 1960s. Sally
Bridgeman, a
fellow college student of Bill's, fell in love with him and then
took drugs when he rejected her. Another drug addict, Jamie
Rollins, fell in love with Sally, but they sobered up when
they learned of the damage they were doing to other people
because of their habit. But Sally was confused in her feelings
when she learned that her mother Clair was in love with
Jamie's married dad Richard. Sally and Jamie did marry, but
she ended up running away from him, and by the mid-1970s Jamie had embarked on an adulterous affair with the
older Diana Lament. Charles then divorced Diana and wed
Felicia Flemming.
Also in the late 1960s, Tess and Bill had domestic problems
due to her immaturity, which led to a divorce from Bill and
a marriage to rich John Randolph. Tess then dropped John
and remarried Bill, but unfortunately, John was found dead
shortly thereafter, and so both of them were under a cloud
of suspicion until Jamie s father Richard, of all people, was
found to be the murderer.
What was most intriguing about Tess and Bills trial was
their defending lawyer Matt Corby, who turned out to be
none other than Van's presumed dead husband Paul Raven
suffering from amnesia. Paul slowly regained his memory,
and Van was tempted to marry him again thanks to yet
another dalliance by Bruce with Dr. Jennifer Stark. Sadly,
she discovered that Paul had been married previously. His
daughter by the earlier marriage, Stacy Corby, showed up, but
his wife was found murdered, and in 1972 Matt/Paul was
found guilty of the crime, eventually dying in a prison riot.
Stacy became Vans ward, and Van eventually remarried Bruce.
While Bruce and Van's children had left the story at
this point, their ex-son-in-law Rick Latimer remained a key
figure. He had a love triangle with singer Kate Swanson and
Dr. Dan Phillips, with the latter two marrying and having a
child despite the machinations of Dan's jealous nurse Candy
Lowe. Then Dr. Phillips and his daughter died in a car
accident, and Kate wed Dr. Ted Chandler, who was treating
Charles Lamont for his impotency with wife Diana. They
left town in 1974, by which time Bill Prentiss had died of
the fictional leukocytemia, Dr. Joe Corelli had become
infatuated with Bill's widow
Tess, and Tess had gone away
after being exonerated for the murder of a criminal.
Also in 1974, with the show's popularity having dropped
drastically since the 1950s and 1960s, when it was one of
the top 10 daytime series, Love of Life made a return to its
plot line roots by reintroducing Meg into the drama under
the pretext of Meg's mom Sarah being near death and wanting
to see Meg one last time. Meg, conniving as ever, brought
her son Beanie, now called Ben, with her, and their arrival
was preceded by the appearance of her daughter Cal. Cals
father and Megs ex-husband, Eddie
Aleata, arrived a few
months later, making moves first on Van and then Felicia
Lamont. Eddie's adulterous affair with the latter ended
with Felicia's death following the birth of their child. Sarah
recovered, and the new family members became focal points
in the drama. Meg wed Rosehill Mayor Jeff Hart, another
amoral person, while Jeff's son David fell in love with Cal
until Jeff attempted to rape her, causing David to kill his
father, after which he was committed to a mental hospital.
And as for Ben, he proved to be just as venal as his mother
in adulthood. He made doctored photos of Bruce which
helped Jeff defeat Bruce in his run for mayor of Rosehill,
then inherited a fortune from his mother for marrying Betsy
Crawford. Unbeknownst to them, Ben already was wed to
Arlene Lovett. Arlene, who played piano at a club owned by
Meg and Rick Latimer, was willing to pretend not to be
Ben's wife if it meant she could pocket the money his mom
promised him if he married Betsy Crawford. The only other
person who knew about the situation, Arlene's mom Carrie,
was too timid to tell Betsy because she was afraid of what it
might do to her friend.
Entanglements between all these characters continued to
grow in complexity. Meg tried to prevent a romance between
her amour Rick and Cal by telling David Hart to leave his
sanitarium and return to her. When David saw Rick and Cal
together, he assumed incorrectly that an affair was underway
and set fire to the club where Arlene played. David saved
Arlene from the fire, and fell in love with her, but he had to
acknowledge during a subsequent trial that he and not Rick
had burned the club. David went back to the mental home,
and Cal, who learned of her mother's plot, did manage to
marry Rick despite her mother's continual efforts to thwart
the union. Cal and Rick then left town with Rick's son Hank.
David s attorney during the trial, Jamie Rollins, discovered
Ben and Arlene's secret marriage, and in an effort to stop
Jamie's work Ben took compromising photos making it
look
like Jamie and Arlene were having an affair. Ben sent the
photos to Jamie's live-in lover Diana Lamont, who eventually
left him and became a nun. But Ben could no longer hide
the truth; he confessed his bigamy and went to jail, leaving
Betsy to give birth without him and leave town. Arlene was
not charged for her part in the bigamous marriage, but had to
endure her mom Carrie falling in love with her boyfriend—
Betsy's brother Dr. Tom Crawford. Complicating matters for
Arlene was that she had to work for pimp Ray Slater to pay
for her mom's medical bills, which led to her being followed
by rich client lan Russell. Arlene was incorrectly suspected of
Russell's murder, and Tom Crawford, discovering that Arlene
had borne a child by Russell, refused to marry her. Arlene
wed instead the reformed Ray Slater.
Arlene's ex-hubby Ben, released from prison, became the
surrogate son of Dr. Andrew Marriott and his wife Mia after
fearing that he had accidentally killed their child.
Naturally, Ben began having an affair with Mia. Andrew later separated
from Mia, and Bruce, worried he might die of aplastic
anemia, tried to fix him up with his wife Van. When the
disease went into remission, Bruce and Van bought a house
owned by Professor Timothy McCauley, who married
Van's mother Sarah. But Ben and Mia were not to have the
smooth sailing enjoyed by a couple like Bruce and Van, as
Ben found himself attracted again to the returning Betsy
despite the fact she was wed to Elliott Lang.
Others popping up in the late 1970s were Bambi
Brewster, the nutso abused girl who became a ward under
Arlene and Ray; Lynn Henderson, a teen alcoholic who
became a ward of Van and Bruce; Dr. Joe
Cusack, who
treated Lynn before dying in a car accident; Andy Marriott,
Andrew's son who romanced therapist Mary Jane Owens;
Dory Patten, a lawyer who married Eddie Aleata and left
town with him; Wes Osborne, another young newcomer;
and Amy Russell, a student who surprised Bruce by
informing him she was his illegitimate daughter.
None of these new characters really perked up the show,
which had been unsteady in the ratings ever since it moved
into its late morning slot. Then in 1979, when CBS moved
it to 4 p.m. daily, some affiliates dropped the show and
ratings drooped, causing the network to shelve it in favor of
reruns of One Day at a Time. The producers, claiming they
did not have enough time to do the necessary rewrites and
holding out hope that another network or syndicator would
take the series, left some story lines unresolved.
On the show's final week, Van battled allegations that
she and Steve were having an affair, and Mia testified in
court on Megs attempt to bribe her to testify in Ben's favor
during the latter s trial for battery on Betsy. Bruce, now an
attorney, defended Ben from the false accusation. Then
Betsy fainted at the trial, and during the last scene, observers
said that Betsy's physical condition was so poor that she
would probably die. For longtime viewers who had invested
nearly 30 years in the show, the disappearance of Van, Meg,
Bruce, and the rest without explanation must have felt like a
betrayal. It was certainly a sad coda to one of TV's longest-running series.
cast
Robert Aberdeen.... Greg Keyes (1978-1980)
Robert Alda.... Jason Ferris (1966-1967)
Jed Allan.... Ace Hubbard (1964)
Joe Allen Jr..... Miles Pardee (1951)
Michael Allinson.... Ian Russell (1976-1977)
John Aniston.... Eddie Aleata (1975-1978)
Leah Ayres.... Christy Bringham (1979)
Catherine Bacon.... Sally Bridgeman Rollins (1969-1973)
Barbara Barrie.... Ginny Crandall (1960)
Bonnie Bartlett.... Ellie Crown (1951)/Vanessa 'Van' Dale
Raven Sterling (1955-1959)
Jennifer Bassey.... Dr. Jennifer Stark (1969-1971)
Lloyd Battista.... Ray Slater (1974-1980)
Charles Baxter .... Jeff Hart (1974)
Jim Bayer.... Alan Sterling (1959-1964)
Bonnie Bedelia.... Sandy Porter (1961-1967)
Zina Bethune.... Barbara Sterling (1965-1970; 1971)
Carl Betz.... Collie Jordan (1954-1955)
Jocelyn Brando.... Anna Krakauer (1966-1967)
Geraldine Brooks.... Arden Dellacorte (1971)
Peter Brouwer.... Dr. Joe Cusak (1976-1978)
Sharon Brown .... Daisy Allen (1971)
Woody Brown.... Wesley Osborne III (1979-1980)
Gene Bua.... Bill Prentiss (1967-1972)
Toni Bull Bua.... Tess Krakauer Prentiss Randolph (1966-1973)
Robert Burr .... Paul Raven (aka Matt Corby; 1970-1972)
Irene Cara.... Daisy Allen (1970-1971)
Keith Charles.... Dr. Ted Chandler (1974-75)
Jordan Charney.... Dr. Tony Vento #2 (1965)
Phillip Clark.... Bill Prentiss #2 (1970)
Bert Convy.... Glenn Hamilton (1963)
Richard Coogan.... Paul Raven (1951-1958)
Dennis Cooney.... Alan Sterling (1965-1967)
Joan Copeland.... Maggie Porter (1960-1962)/Kay Logan
(1962-1963)
Valerie Cossart.... Sarah Dale (1979-1980)
Darlene Cotton.... Rita Bond (1968-1970)
Richard Council.... Michael Blake (1976-78)
Deborah Courtney.... Caroline Aleata (1974-1976)
Paul Craggs.... Steve Harbach (1979-1980)
Dana Delany.... Amy Russell (1979-1980)
Ja'net DuBois.... Loretta Allen (1970-1972)
Helen Dumas.... Vivian Carlson (1959-1971)
Michael Ebert.... Rick Latimer (1966-1970)
Brian Farrell.... David Hart (1974-1975)
Melinda O. Fee.... Victoria Randolph (late 1960s)
Alan Feinstein.... Mickey Krakauer (1965-1968)
Dan Ferrone.... Alan Sterling (1964-1965)
John Fink.... Alan Sterling (1969-1970)
Hugh Franklin.... Ed Bridgeman (1969)
Maureen Frawley.... Young Bambi Brewster
Burt French.... Matt Slocum (1953-1954)
John Gabriel .... Link Morrison (1970-1972)
Steve Gethers .... Hal Craig (1953-1957)
Rod Gibbons.... Todd Andrews
Lauren Gilbert.... Tom Craythorne (1958)
Paul Michael Glaser.... Dr. Joe Corelli (1971)
John Graham .... Charlie Harper (1953)
Veleka Gray.... Mia Marriott (1977-1980)
Roxanne Gregory.... Caroline Aleata (1976-1978)
Elaine C. Grove.... Wendy Hayes (1977-1978)
Cindy Grover.... Stacy Corby (1971-1972)
Chandler Hill Harbin.... Ben Harper (1976-1980)
Ron Harper .... Dr. Andrew Marriott (1977-1980)
Richard Higgs .... Dr. Andrew Marriott (1977)
Jane Hoffman .... Beatrice Swan (1968-1975)
Season Hubley.... Candy Love, R. N. (1973-1974)
Ron Jackson .... Dr. Tony Vento #1 (1959-1965)
Edwin Jerome.... Will Dale (1951-1953)
Mary Ann Johnson.... Dr. Leann Wilson (1979-1980)
George Kane .... Link Morrison (1969-1970)
Irene Kane.... Connie Loomis (1962-1965)
Elizabeth Kemp.... Betsy Crawford (1973-1977)
Marie Kenney.... Mrs. Rivers, the housekeeper (1951)
Lincoln Kirkpatrick.... Joe Bond (1968-1970)
Lee Kurty.... Evelyn Corby
Jerry Lacy.... Rick Latimer (1972-1978)
Louise Larabee.... Toni Prentiss Davis (1969)
Kimetha Laurie.... Cindy Craythorne (1959)
Lee Lawson .... Barbara Sterling (1961-1965; 1970)
Ted Le Plat.... Elliott Lang (1978-1980)
Bethel Leslie.... Ellie Crown (1956)
Eileen Letchworth.... Sharon Ferris (1966-1967)
Pamela Lincoln.... Felicia Fleming Lamont (1974-1977)
Tony Lo Bianco.... Dr. Joe Corelli (1971-1973)
Ronald Long.... Evans Baker (1951-1957)
Ann Loring.... Tammy Forrest (1956-1970)
Scottie MacGregor.... Tammy Forrest (1956)
Nancy MacKay.... Nurse Candy Lowe (1972-1973)
Jane Manning.... Julie Murano (1965)
Nancy Marchand.... Vinnie Phillips (1970-1974)
Chris Marlowe.... Andy Marriott (1977-1978)
Marsha Mason.... Judith Cole (1971-1972)
Marie Masters.... Hester Ferris (1966-1967)
Jean McBride.... Meg Dale (1951-1958)
Ann McCarthy .... Bambi Brewster (1977-1980)
Peggy McCay.... Vanessa 'Van' Dale Raven Sterling #1
(1951-1955)(original cast)
Margo McKenna.... Betsy Crawford (1978-1980)
Earl Montgomery .... Marty (1952-1953)
Ed Moore .... Rick Latimer (1970-1972)
Jonathan Moore .... Charles Lamont (1966-1978)
Jay Morran.... David McKay (1968-1969)
Peg Murray.... Carrie Johnson (1974-1980)
Leonie Norton.... Kate Swanson (1967-1969)
Hildy Parks.... Ellie Crown (1951-1955)(original cast)
Dennis Parnell.... Ben 'Beanie' Harper #1 (1951-1957)(original
cast)
Gene Pellegrini.... Link Porter (1960-1966)
Audrey Peters.... Vanessa 'Van' Dale Raven Sterling #3
(1959-1980)
Gene Peterson.... Noel Penn (1958)
Ben Piazza.... Jonas Falk (1965)
Mark Pinter.... Dr. Tom Crawford (1979-1980)
Paul Potter .... Charlie Harper (1951-1953)
Trip Randall.... Johnny Prentiss (1972-1978)
Nina Reader.... Barbara Sterling (1959-1961)
Christopher Reeve.... Ben Harper (1974-1976)
Grant Richards.... Warren Nash (1952-1953)
Ken Roberts .... Announcer (1951-1980)
Virginia Robinson.... Judith Lodge Raven (1954-1957)
Sherry Rooney.... Dory Patton (1977-1978)
Joanna Roos.... Althea Raven (1954-1957)/Sarah Dale
(1968-1978)
Jane Rose .... Sarah Dale (1951-1960)
David Rounds.... Philip Holden (1963-1965)
Diane Rousseau.... Diana Lamont (1966-1976)
Rene Roy.... Clair Bridgeman (1969)
Byron Sanders.... John Randolph (1967-1970)
Paul Savior .... Rick Latimer (1960-1966)
Roy Scheider.... Jonas Falk (1965-1966)
Tom Shirley .... Henry Carlson (1959-1961)
Drew Snyder.... Dr. Dan Phillips (1970-1974)
David Stambaugh.... Hank Latimer (1970-1978)
Jack Stamberger.... Henry Carlson (1961-1971)
Sally Stark.... Kate Swanson (1969-1975)
Justin Sterling .... Hank Latimer (1965)
Frances Sternhagen.... Toni Prentiss Davis (1967-1968)
Fred Stewart.... Alex Caldwell (1966-1971)
Barton Stone.... John Randolph (1967)
Beatrice Straight.... Vinnie Phillips (1970)
John Straub.... Guy Latimer (1962-1963)
Shepperd Strudwick.... Professor Timothy McCauley (1979-1980)
Donald Symington.... Jack Andrews (1958)
Beverly Todd.... Monica Nelson (1968-1970)
Birgitta Tolksdorf.... Arlene Lovett (1974-1980)
Ron Tomme.... Bruce Sterling (1959-1980)
Jessica Walter.... Julie Murano (1962-1965)
Donald Warfield.... Jamie Rollins (1969-1970)
Douglass Watson.... Dr. Lloyd Phillips (1972-1973)
Stan Watt.... Charles Lamont (1966)
Larry Weber.... Richard Rollins (1969-1971)
Richard K. Weber.... Dr. Tom Crawford (1976-1979)
Mary K. Wells.... Ellie Crown (1955-1956)
Charles White .... Alex Caldwell (1971-1980)
Tommy White .... Ben 'Beanie' Harper #2 (1957-1958)
Tudi Wiggins.... Meg Dale (1974-1980)
Eleanor Wilson.... Vivian Carlson (1959)
Ray Wise.... Jamie Rawlins(1970-1976)
