Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 10)

Dan Hamilton as Robert Landers and Ellen Barber as Joanna Morrison.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 1 January 1979
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 9)

Joanna moved out of Belle's apartment and fell in love with Robert Landers, a carefree mechanic and race care driver, with whom she began a cozy living arrangement in the back of his garage. Belle and Robert's brief mutual antagonism soon turned to a hot and heavy affair behind Joanna's back. Robert charmed Belle into giving him money for his many racing stints. Robert had a secret of his own: unbeknownst to all others, he was Dan Kincaid's estranged son and was romping with Belle only to even the score with Dan for walking out on Robert's mother, Naomi Russell Landers!

Dan was released from prison and returned to Belle, but the marriage wasn't the same. Robert planned marriage to Joanna after he made her pregnant and realized that he was very much in love with her, but Brian suspected Joanna of having cancer and recommended a biopsy. Kevin went to London to have a delicate operation which enabled him to walk again, and it was there that Robert (who was in London for a race) admitted to Kevin that he was Dan's son.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 8)

Lori March as Valerie Ames, Eleanor Phelps as Grace Tyrell, Judy Lewis
as Susan Ames Carver and Lynne Adams as Amy Ames.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 1 January 1979
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 7)

Amy had an intriguing new set of activities into which she invested her energies following her cure. She found a Christmas card from a Canadian family and questioned Grace about them. It was then that Grace told her family the story of Sean Childers Jr., a son Ellen Ames conceived through a ne'er-do-well named Sean Childers Sr. Grace had bribed Childers out of Woodbridge and arranged for the boy to be adopted by this aging Canadian couple. Amy decided to look up her half-brother and finally learned he was in an Army hospital. What Amy and her family didn't know was that Sean took his best buddy, Cory Boucher, into his confidence and died. Thus, the young man who joined the Ames family and moved into the apartment over their garage was not Sean Childers--it was Cory Boucher!

Cory's original intent was to cash in on Grace's riches and skip town along with his pal and partner in crime, Mickey Potter, but Cory began to feel new loyalties after assuming the identity of Sean Childers Jr. He began to genuinely love the Ames family, thinking of Grace as he really would a grandmother. But his love for Amy was nothing brotherly. Grace's illness subsided and she gave Sean/Cory a considerable sum of money, bolstering the suspicions Susan already had about this new arrival. Then Cory's father, criminal Harold McGonigle, arrived in Woodbridge with added schemes--including getting in on the Clayborn riches by starting out as Didi's gardener! By this time, Ken and Laurie knew that Clay was Ken's son and were fighting spiteful Didi for his custody. Aggie was still living with Paul and Belle, who had moved to publisher Collins' old house (which Belle detested), but Aggie was helping Didi run the house alone and sensed something slippery about McGonigle.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 7)

Lori March as Valerie Ames with Jada Rowland as Amy Ames.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 1 January 1979
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 6)

Casting replacements abounded during this period. Susan and Pauline reappeared from story limbo; storylines were abruptly wrapped up to give way to new ones; the budget was increased to allow for a rash of sumptuous new sets--Woodbridge was hopping, and the Ames family had a new lease on television life. But the glories were all too brief, as evidenced by the storyline digression over the last five years of The Secret Storm.

Grace Tyrell took ill but thankfully remained her lovable, feisty old self. Amy decided to turn the tables on Belle and realized that Paul still loved her, so the former Mr. and Mrs. Britton arranged to meet at a hotel. When Paul was picked up for speeding and could not arrive to meet her at the hotel, Amy considered it a rejection and began to lose her mind. She locked herself in her room and played with dolls. Valerie knew that her stepdaughter was not playing with a full deck and committed Amy to an institution run by the handsome Dr. Ian Northcote. Susan and Pauline didn't trust Ian's obvious "sexiness" at first, until they realized that Amy was making progress. Belle, Amy's victorious archrival, was left with the care of Paul's daughter, Lisa, but saddled her newly-arrived aunt, the sharp and down-to-earth Aggie Parsons, with babysitting chores. Paul took a job with an elderly publisher, Kingsley Collins, and halted Belle's jet-setting plans.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 6)

Marla Adams as Belle Clemens, Nicolas Coster as Paul Britton, and
Jada Rowland as Amy Ames Britton.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 13 December 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 5)

Charlie Clemens was becoming the Hitler of the journalistic world and came to resent the Ameses for their ownership of the Herald. He had a penchant for firing everyone who caught on to his power lust--people like Martha Novotny, Jerry's friend, who supported her brother, Ben Norris, and lost her husband Andy Warren in a fire. Another victim of the Clemens axe was a young competent reporter named Nick Kane.

Nick enjoyed his work at the paper, but his nagging wife, Joan, had bigger ideas for him. Joan was a money-hungry product of the struggling Borman family and tried to pressure Nick into joining the business owned by his wealthy father, Tom Kane. Tom knew better than to pressure his son and let well enough alone, but Joan grew blindly jealous over Nick's friendship with Valerie, who was fifteen years his senior! Once Joan struck up the alliance with fellow Ames-hater Belle, and Charlie sided with Belle against the Ameses, when they took over Jerry's advice and fired him, the battle lines were clearly drawn.

One night, Nick and Valerie were traveling when a storm developed, and they were given shelter by George and Cassie Peterson, an old farm couple. Joan's misfit brother, Archie, and his buddy, Stan Collins, were paid off by Charlie into bribing the Petersons to testify at the Kanes' divorce hearing that Nick and Valerie slept together. It was a dirty court battle which pitted Ames family lawyer Phineas Cook against Joan's smooth shyster, J. Laurence Fluellen. But Nick and Valerie were proven innocent of any indiscretion. Charlie Clemens, a ruined main, joined Arthur's not-so-beloved Clarion for a while, but fled to Arizona once all the evidence stacked up against his character. Nick obtained his divorce and fell for Amy, convincing her to divorce Paul who was enamored with Belle. Paul and Belle lived together before marrying in New York, while Karen Clemens, disgusted with Belle's antics, joined Charlie in Arizona. Jerry returned to Paris and made brother-in-law Frank publisher of the Herald.

Christina Crawford as Joan Borman Kane, Marla Adams
as Belle Clemens, Keith Charles as Nick Kane, Jada
Rowland as Amy Ames Britton, Nicolas Coster as Paul
Britton and Lori March as Valerie Ames.

The judge at the hearing was Sam Stevens, an old friend of Valerie's, whose strong-willed daughter-in-law, Jill, had known Amy for years and supported her decision to divorce Paul. Jill's husband, Ken Stevens, was down on his luck until country club president Alex Lockwood gave him a job tending bar at the club. Alex was in love with Nola Hollister, the alcoholic wife of club member Wilfred Hollister, and mother of a fragile teenaged girl named Laurie. Wilfred was a fearsome tyrant who wanted Laurie locked up for accidentally causing the death of her little brother many years earlier. Laurie, terrified of her father, struck up a friendship with Ken who understood her situation. When Ken and Laurie began writing songs together and performing them at the club, Nola was very pleased with her daughter's new happiness.

As expected, though, a jealous Jill and a disapproving Wilfred didn't share Nola's enthusiasm. Ken decided that he and Jill shouldn't live off his father any more and found an apartment on Cooley Street, which was not exactly Woodbridge's ultimate residence. A stubborn Jill refused to move to a slum and remained with her sympathetic but objective father-in-law, while Ken lived alone at the Cooley Street apartment--that is, until Laurie ran away, and Ken brought her back to live at his place. The living arrangement, however, was strictly above board and platonic. Even as Ken and Laurie grew closer and fell in love after Ken lost his job by beating up a drunk who heckled Laurie at the club, there was no physical relationship--yet!

As Nick Kane pursued Amy, Sam Stevens pursued Val--both in vain. Joan allied herself with Eleanor Gault, Sam's worshipful secretary, and tried to help plain-Jane Eleanor get her hooks into Sam and lure him away from Valerie. Eleanor backed down, but Sam accepted a Washington offer and was out of Valerie's life anyway. Joan then began to worm her way into the Hollister's lives, thinking good deeds would get her in on the Hollister family funds. Paul and Belle moved back to Woodbridge when Paul found he couldn't adjust as a jet-setter in New York.

***

It was now June of 1969. The show's ratings had continued to dip when Lou Scofield replaced John Hess as headwriter. But when Roy Winsor had replaced Scofield with Don Ettlinger, the audience began flocking back. Unfortunately, it wasn't good enough for CBS. The network leased both Love of Live and The Secret Storm outright from American Home Products and gained control of both shows, while the idealist genius of Roy Winsor was no longer called for. Roy Winsor was forced to close his office, and The Secret Storm was to endure countless different writing regimes before the real end came.

Or had it already come in June of 1969?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Check back on Saturday for Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 7), published in the January 1979 issue of The Soap Box.

RELATED:
- FLASHBACK: Joan Crawford Takes Daughter's Soap Opera Role 1968 (Updated With Audio!)

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 5)

Judy Lewis as Susan Ames and Laurence Luckinbill as Frank Carver.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 13 December 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 4)

1967-1969: The Late Winsor Years

With the Brittons in Wisconsin and the Porters newly settled in Woodbridge, the action once again shifted to Susan when another drastic change occurred in her life. Alan went into the Vietnam War and was declared Missing in Action. Susan took a long time to adjust to being a single mother for Petey, but two new admirers appeared in Alan's wake. One was Bob Hill, Val's attorney son, who had moved to town after divorcing his wife. The other was Frank Carver, an adventurous and good-natured Herald reporter. Frank's closest friend was Henry McGill, president of Woodbridge University, who was having a difficult time winning acceptance from his estranged son.

The Porter family structure fell apart at the seams when Kip Rysdale returned to Woodbridge and dated Wendy, arousing jealousy in Janet. The endless confrontations between Janet and Wendy led to a heart attack for Tony and a brief fling with Melissa Tyson, his English secretary. Wendy decided to ease the tension by moving into her own apartment, and it was there that she met and befriended a rather young neighbor. His name was Herbie Vail, and he displayed a violent temper, an unhealthy attachment to his late mother, and an obsessive hatred for his father, Henry McGill. Frank and Wendy reconciled father and son happily, Kip took a CIA job, and the Porters left Woodbridge.

Susan soon found herself unable to resist Frank Carver's winning personality and they fell in love. Once they became serious, however, Frank admitted he had an estranged southern-belle wife, Mary Lou, who was blackmailing him to remain her husband or otherwise let it be known that he killed a man in Mexico. Not long after his revelation, Mary Lou arrived to stir up unrest in Woodbridge. Following on her heels were her father, fat Texas millionaire Wes Glenway, and her menacing German paramour, Erik Fulda. Frank soon found himself accused of two more murders: that of his landlady, Mrs. Corinne Leland, and that of Mary Lou! Luckily, this mess was never brought to trial, for Frank's policeman buddy, Lt. Vince Firelli, was able to help him prove that it was Erik Fulda who was guilty on all three murder counts. Wes Glenway returned to his home deep in the heart of Texas, and Susan and Frank married. But an additional storm cloud had burst to rock Woodbridge: Peter Ames had died of a cerebral hemorrhage while on a Paris business trip!

Unbelievable but true: Peter Ames was suddenly a mere memory. Jerry returned for several months to ease matters at the Herald, leaving Hope in Paris. His neglect of Hope was understandable, for there was indeed a sorry and incredible state of affairs at the newspaper.

Peter had left his publishing position to his old friend, Charles ("Charlie") Clemens, who arrived in Woodbridge along with his young daughter Karen and his emotionally disturbed granddaughter Robin. Robin's mother was Charlie's elder daughter, Belle, an Acapulco jet-setter whom her upright father despised. Charlie, recognizing Karen's over-protectiveness of her niece, took Valerie up on her suggestion to place Robin at The Lenox Home, a home for such troubled children. Robin was placed in the care of Lenox employee Rose Latimer, an understanding spinster who also gave Robin piano lessons. Miss Latimer's neurotic sister, Lydia Reynolds, detested children and blamed Grace for the loss of her job at Tyrell's. Robin began to make real progress at the Lenox, despite Charlie's disapproval of the permissive methods employed by Miss Latimer, and a new development which Charlie feared would prove a setback for his granddaughter.

Returning in April 1968, Nicolas Coster as Paul Britton and
Jada Rowland as Amy Ames Britton.

In Acapulco, blonde bombshell Belle Clemens learned from her doctor that she didn't have long to live. Guilt-ridden over her neglect of her daughter, Belle dumped her boyfriend, Tony Coleman, and came to Woodbridge to make amends with the family. Befriended by Bob Hill and refused room and board by Charlie, Belle discovered she was not ill after all and planned marriage to Bob, but Bob left when it became evident that a marriage would never take place. Belle's real love was for her newfound friend, Paul Britton, who had returned to Woodbridge with Amy and Lisa. Belle certainly didn't appear the callous, selfish young woman her father had described. She became close to Robin and helped precipitate the child's recovery, and was adept at keeping her growing feelings for Paul under wraps. It wasn't until Amy took Robin out in a boat near the Ameses' summer home on Lake Morrison that Belle's devious true colors came through. Robin fell out of the boat and drowned, and Amy was unable to save her. A shattered Belle now set out to lure Paul away from Amy, and a menacing triumvirate formed against the Ames family.

EDITOR'S NOTE: The Secret Storm began broadcasting in color on Monday, September 11, 1967.

Continue reading Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 6)...

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 4)

Lawrence Weber was the final actor to play Peter Ames on The Secret Storm.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 13 December 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 3)

Amy was resuming her college studies, while also trying to be the ideal "faculty wife" for Paul. She received understanding from Paul's superior, Dr. Alex Gordon, and his equally sympathetic wife, Doris. She befriended Jimmy and eventually discovered that this troubled young man was becoming a junkie and falling in love with her! Casey and his singer gun moll, Rocket [played by Donna Mills], were taken hostage by the mob and Rocket was killed. Casey freed himself and confessed to the Ames family, but he was fatally shot by hit men. As for Jimmy, he worked out of his personal insecurities with this parents (who lived in Baltimore). The rest of the ring was apprehended, and Susan and Alan reconciled in a matter of months. Paul was unhappy that Amy had kept Jimmy's addiction a secret for so long, but nonetheless the Brittons returned to normalcy.

Running concurrently with the Casey chronicles was Jerry's newfound love for Hope Crandall, a delightful young artist he met in a Paris bistro. Jerry brought Hope to Woodbridge as his wife, and the family was deliriously happy over Jerry's wonderful choice of a wife. Hope discovered Woodbridge to be a fine home, but didn't know the risks involved when she sketched two hoodlums she saw in the rough "Old Mill" section of town. The hoods roughed her up, and their chief contact (Casey) "accidentally" ruined her sketches. Pauline took Hope on as a protege and persuaded Briggs, the proprietor of a local disco called Sam, to show some of Hope's works there. Oddly enough, Sam was a dope front!

Once the narcotics faction was vanquished, however, Jerry and Hope had to contend with Matthew Devereus, Arthur's old friend, a suave New York gallery owner who sponsored Hope's art show in Woodbridge and lusted after her. Matthew's wife, Carol, knew about his penchant for wooing his beautiful young charges. Hope's first student, Sally Marshall, was a schemer with her hooks out for Jerry, who by now was disguntled with his wife's concentation on a career and wanted her to chuck the art business. As if this weren't enough for poor Hope to bear, she came down with a hand pain which was diagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis and had its roots in Hope's dilemma of home vs. career. Jerry became more difficult to live with; Matthew became more forceful; Carol threatened to name Hope as co-respondent in a divorce action against Matthew--the tensions were mounting for Hope until it all came to a head when Jerry made a drunken, angry speech at her formal Woodbridge showing. Within weeks, Jerry and Hope reconciled their differences, Matthew and Carol effected a divorce in New York, Hope's condition was cured and the arthritis proved to be a misdiagnosis, and Jerry left his reporting job at the Herald to accept an offer from a Venezuela news syndicate. And thus, off went Jerry and Hope to Venezuela before returning to Paris.

Arlen Dean Snyder played Dr. Tony Porter.

While Kip remained in Vienna, Arthur returned to Woodbridge, as did Janet. Although Arthur was his old exasperating self, Janet was turning over a new leaf and was determined to become one of the "good people of Woodbridge" while holding on to her basic gutsy self. She had been living in New York and had become engaged to Dr. Tony Porter, a middle-aged widower with a sixteen-year-old daughter, Wendy, whose mother had died twelve years earlier. Janet's concerted efforts to win over Wendy were rather extravagant--she constantly bought clothes for the girl. Wendy rather liked Janet in the beginning of Tony's new marriage to her, and dated the rich, spoiled Eddie Grant until he made a drunken pass at her at a party. Paul Britton helped straighten Eddie out, since the boy was one of his students, and made Eddie's big-shot father, "E.C.," realize that Eddie must learn the virtues of hard work and perseverance.

At the same time Janet and the Porters made their mark, Peter Ames purchased the local TV station and was placed into contact with George Bennett, a TV talk show producer, and his female assistant, Brooke Lawrence. George was a dried-out alcoholic with a stable home life, but despite his love for his devoted wife Marion and small daughter, Peggy, he still had a great deal of affection for Brooke. Little did ol' George know that Brooke was a dauntless career woman whose respect for him didn't exceed the plan she so successfully carried out: to confuse him around the office to the point of his going back to the bottle and getting himself fired, only to allow for Brooke's taking over his job!

Marian Bennett became friendly with Susan and confided that she did not trust Brooke, certain that Brooke was the reason for George's return to alcoholism. But Peter and Valerie were initially convinced that Brooke was a fine woman. Just as Peter prepared to fire George, Brooke took the dejected producer to a bar and made sure he was half in the bag before leaving the premises. George took a fatal fall into a dam while walking home, and the distraught Marian was now totally convinced of Brooke's treachery. Then one night, in true-old-movie fashion, Brooke made an obvious pass at Peter in her apartment--which Peter immediately reported to Valerie. Val confronted Brooke and a struggle ensued in which Brooke was killed. Val stood trial for manslaughter, but the death was proven an accident. Other characters in the Brooke Lawrence scenario included Freddy Fay, a gigolo writer Brooke was supporting; Stella Novik, Brooke's maid, who stole from her employer on orders from her husband, petty thief Karl Novik; Olivia Prentiss, Brooke's neighbor; and Ellie Simmons, George's longtime secretary.

Paul Britton had caused quite a stir when he taught a racy novel, "Night of Apollo," in an English course. Conservative Woodbridge residents must have been delighted in late 1966 when the Brittons moved to Wisconsin where Paul had accepted a guest lectureship.

***

Backstage, the ratings had been slipping quite a bit over the past year. So Jane and Ira Avery were replaced by John Hess in early 1967. Although the stories continued strong for a while, the show's downward direction had already begun--and The Secret Storm was to continue on a slump for the next seven years.

Continue reading Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 5)...

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 3)

Ward Costello as Peter Ames and Lori March as Valerie Hill.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 13 December 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 2)

1963-1967: The Jane and Ira Avery Years

When former ad executive and television producer Ira Avery and his equally talented spouse Jane took the reins, sweeping alterations were made.

Myra and her father Ezra left for Egypt, never to be seen again, and Peter became publisher of The Herald. Julian Dark's mother, a pathetic hypochondriac came into the picture to provide the character of Julian with a heretofore unexplained motivation for wanting the Tyrell family funds: he wanted Grace's beautiful home for his mother. Susan became attracted to Julian. Amy and Kip "came of age." And in 1964, after the customary layover period which followed Myra's tearful departure, Peter found his greatest love interest.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm' (Part 2)

Jean Mowry was the original Susan Ames on The Secret Storm.

Remembering Woodbridge: A History of the Late, Great 'Secret Storm'

The Soap Box
Vol. III No. 13 December 1978
by John Genovese

(continued from Part 1)

The eldest child, Susan, showed signs of becoming another Pauline. She was bossy and dominating, forming an unhealthy attachment to her father. Young, impressionalbe Jerry Ames had it even worse, however. He fell in with a hoodlum, Spike Conklin, and together they tried to cause trouble for Ed Winslow, the man in the other car during the fatal accident. Jerry was sent to reform school, and Peter was brought up on charges of neglect. Jerry escaped from reform school and was in much emotional turmoil, but he soon returned to the fold.