Loving
was the albatross of ABC's
daytime schedule of the 1980s
and 1990s, being the
lowest-rated network soap
throughout most of its run. Why
it survived more than a decade
with little audience or critical
support was probably due to the
faith the network had in its
creator, Agnes Nixon. Nixon said
she did the series for several
reasons: She wondered if she
could create another success
almost a decade and a half after
fashioning All My Children; she
wanted to do a half-hour series;
and she wanted to do a show with
a college as its focal point. To
assist her, ABC gave the show
a nighttime debut as a $3
million filmed TV movie the day
before its daytime run
commenced.
As befitted its title, Loving
initially emphasized romance of
a rather generic sort. It had
the cliched contrast between the
rich but troubled Aldens
(long-wed Cabot and Isabelle,
their daughter Ann, and grandson
Curds) and Forbeses (Roger and
his children Jack and Lorna),
and the poor but noble Donovans
(Rose and Patrick and their
children Mike, Douglas, and
Stacey). All were connected in
some way to Alden University in
Corinth on the upper East Coast.
Cabot was chairman of the board
and grandson of the university's
founder, Roger was its new
president, Patrick the head of
campus security, Douglas a
professor, and Jack, Lorna, and
Stacey were students. Other
university-connected characters
included Dean Garth Slater,
married to June and father of
Lily, and athletic department
chair Billy Bristow, wed to Rita
Mae. Ann Alden's marriage to
Roger Forbes was troubled,
thanks to his interest in WCN
news anchor Merrill Vochek.
Meanwhile MerrilFs sister
Noreen, a nurse, and her
brother, Father Jim Vochek, had
their own challenges. Noreen's
husband Mike Donovan attempted
to come to terms with his status
as a bitter veteran of the
Vietnam War, while the priest
struggled with his romantic
impulses. Amid these and other
stories, Loving attracted the
most attention in its first year
for a bit of guest casting. In
December 1983 Englebert
Humperdinck played himself as an
old pal of Douglas Donovans
giving a benefit for the Alden
University theater. Rogers
reported death in a plane crash
was followed by a reduction in
the Donovan and Forbes families'
involvement on the show in favor
of the Aldens. Ann wed Dane
Hammond, the natural father of
Jack Forbes. Jack, who had been
fond of Lily Slater, an incest
victim, then dated Stacey
Donovan, only to find himself in
a failed marriage with Ava
Rescott when she became pregnant
by him. (Actually, Ava faked her
pregnancy with a pillow while
convincing her expecting sister
Kate to pretend that her baby
was Ava's.) Stacey also canceled
her later engagement to Tony
Perelli when it was revealed
that he had impregnated Lorna.
(To complicate
things even further for ardent
fans, actress Susan Walters,
Trying to woo a young crowd.
Loving debated in 1983 with this
youthful cast. Clockwise from
top are Lauren-Marie Taylor (as
Stacey Donovan), Susan Walters
(Lorna Forbes), Chris Marcantel
(Curtis Alden), Jennifer Ashe
(Lily Slater), and Perry
Stephens (Jack Forbes) who
played Lorna, later in real life
wed actor Linden Ashley,
who played Lornas cousin
Curtis.)
In 1986, Zack Conway was the
defense lawyer for Lorna Forbes,
who was charged with murdering
Zona Beecham. That same year
Steve and Trisha eloped and went
on the lam from Spider. And
Trisha Alden, upset by Steve s
marriage to ex-punk Cecilia
Thompson, changed her debutante
looks and fell under the spell
of Nick Dinatos, a slick casino
manager. Also, ex-prisoner Lotty
Bates worked with fellow former
con Eban Japes. Hunter Beldon
was a creepy drug dealer. The
year ended with Father Jim
marrying Shana Sloane while the
latter was under amnesia.
In 1987 Trisha romanced and wed
the poor Steve Sowolsky. Also,
the always unpredictable Ava,
divorced from Curtis Alden, went
after tycoon Clay Alden, newly
divorced from resident bitch
Gwyneth. Gwyneth, in turn,
reached out for the son she had
given up at birth while being an
executive head of a division in
Alden Enterprises. Diane Winston
was a classy madam.
As Loving trudged along in the
late 1980s and early 1990s, no
story line really stirred a
chord in viewers—not Gwyneth
Alden competing with her
daughter Trisha Sowolsky for the
affections of new TV producer
Jeff Hartman in 1988, or the
love ofTodd Jones for courageous
coed Rocky in 1989, or the
oddball romance of trash
collector Louie Slavinski with
cancer patient Kate Rescott in
1990. (Kate, a grandmother, ran
for public office in 1992 while
Louie
retired and dealt with impotency
after prostate surgery.)
There was some tension caused by
the ups and downs with Trucker
and Trisha, who divorced in
1992, plus the "killing
off" of patriarch Cabot
along with Alex and Egypt in
1991.
But none of this did much to
reinvigorate Loving, which was
so desperate by the summer of
1992 that it wrote in a ghost
story that summer. It even,
unbelievably, fired veteran
actress Celeste Holm, who played
matriarch Isabelle.
Characters from other ABC soaps
started popping into Corinth. In
1993 Genie Francis visited as
her All My Children character
Ceara, joining fellow refugee
Jeremy Hunter. He gained the
attention of Ava Rescott, and a
former General Hospital
psychopath named Faison
terrorized the duo. In 1994
Jeremy was imprisoned by his
evil twin brother Gilbert, who
fell in love with Ava. Then
Jeremy got freed, and fell in
love with Ava until he ended up
dying. That same year, Ally
Rescott planned to wed while her
fiancee Cooper Alden made love
to Tess Wilder. Also, Shana and
Leo planned to wed, and teen
model Steffi Brewster fell in
love with Cooper. Another
exiled All My Children
character, Dr. Angle Hubbard,
arrived
in town and developed an
attraction to Jacob Johnson, who
resembled her old husband Jessie
(actor Darnell Williams
played both parts).
In July 1995, Loving, still a
cellar dweller, resorted to
having a serial killer murder
much of the cast, including
virtually the whole Alden clan
of Cabot, Isabelle, Curris,
Clay, Gwyneth, and Isabelle. Ava,
understandably worried, left
town, and Jeremy also perished.
About 12 cast members survived
as the show revamped itself into
The City on November 13, 1995.
The action was relocated to New
York's SoHo neighborhood, and
characters included Buck the
bartender, who simply changed
taverns, and his ex-love Tess.
The refurbished show included a
"name" star (Morgan
Fairchild, playing her umpteenth
bitch as vicious communications
mogul Sydney Chase), flashy
camera work, and taping (it was
transferred from videotape to
film and edited quickly) and
much location shooting. In 1996,
they ran a shocker story line,
when model Azure C. was revealed
to be a transsexual, to the
dismay of her boyfriend Bernardo
Castro.
Cast
Celeste Holm....
Isabella Alden #3 (1991-1992)
Nancy Addison.... Deborah
Brewster Alden (1993-1995)
Wesley Addy.... Cabot Alden
(1983-1991, 1994-1995)
Stan Albers.... Curtis Alden #4
(1989)
Linden Ashby.... Curtis Alden #4
(1989)
Jennifer Ashe.... Lily Slater #1
(1983-1985)
Larry Atlas.... Jules (1986)
Eden Atwood.... Staige Prince
(1992)
Alimi Ballard.... Frank
'Frankie' Hubbard (1993-1995)
Bernard Barrow.... Louie
Slavinski (1990-1993)
Patricia Barry (I).... Isabella
Alden #4 (1992-1993)
Noelle Beck.... Patricia
'Trisha' Alden Sowolsky Hartman
McKenzie #1 (1984-1993, 1995)
Victor Bevine.... Douglas 'Doug'
Donovan #2 (1985-1986)
Pamela Blair.... Rita Mae
Bristow (1983-1985)
