FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 10)

The cast of Another World.  From left, front row: Ann Wedgeworth,
Charles Baxter, Lisa Cameron, Nancy Wickwire, Judith Barcroft, Jacquie
Courtney, Robin Strasser, Sam Groom. Standing: Jordan Charney, Harry
Bellaver, George Reinholt, Beverly Penberthy, Val Dufour, Micki Grant,
Hugh Marlowe, Virginia Dwyer, Geoffrey Lumb, Michael M. Ryan
and Constance Ford.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 9)

Now the big battle was coming up. Russ had agreed to pay for a divorce and, for appearance's sake, to let Rachel file on grounds of desertion. But that was all--no alimony, no child support. Rachel, of course, wasn't going to let him get off that easily. After all, hadn't she slaved and sacrificed while he was an intern and then a resident? She had been a dutiful wife and she was going to get everything she was entitled to.

Shortly before the hearing Jame became seriously ill and it was entirely due to Russ's skill as a doctor that he survived without serious aftereffects. Brian, ever aware of the points one needs to score in court to win alimony settlements, now advised her to return the trust fund money to the Matthews as a gesture of good will for Russ's efforts. But Rachel adamantly refused. It was her baby's money and she was going to keep it.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 9)

George Reinholt played Steven Frame on Another World.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 8)

It was Russ himself who inadvertently told Alice Jamie was Steven's son after all! One evening, after a hard day at the clinic, Russ found himself unwilling to go home and face Rachel's sarcastic resentment of his work. Since her hopes for great wealth were dashed, Rachel hadn't even made an effort to pretend any love for Russ. The only reason he even bothered to go home at all was Jamie. He visited Alice and confided all this to her. He reminisced that he and Rachel had only one brief period of real happiness, the time she came back to him and they conceived Jamie. When Russ mentioned that until the reconciliation he and Rachel hadn't lived as husband and wife for weeks, Alice realized that for once in her life Rachel had told the truth. Jamie was Steven's son.

With incredible effort Alice managed to keep her shock from Russ. The following day she reported the conversation to Steven who was as shaken as Alice had been. Alice quickly reassured him she knew he had no idea the child was really his or he wouldn't have tried to avoid responsibility for him.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 8)

Walter Mathews played Rachel's father, Gerald Davis,
on Another World.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 7)

Rachel departed for Somerset immediately, ignoring the official opening of Dan Shearer and Russ's new clinic the following day. After all, why should she wait for Russ's sake? He had gone ahead with the clinic, a labor of love in a low-income area, over Rachel's bitter objections. She had been horrified to learn the fees would be based on ability to pay and that Dan and Russ would never earn large incomes as long as they ran it. She felt cheated and didn't care who knew it.

In Somerset, Rachel's lifelong fantasy about a loving reconciliation with her father was cruelly shattered when she discovered he not only couldn't care less about seeing her again, he had another daughter; a petulant and spoiled teenager named Pammy, upon whom he poured all his love and indulgences. Rachel bitterly returned to Bay City with a handful of Riverboat advertising gimmicks he'd pressed upon her as he hustled her out of his office.

Alice, meanwhile, had been dating a fine young man, but just as the relationship turned serious on his part, something happened which made Alice realize she was in no way free of Steven or her love for him.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 7)

Another World starred Jacqueline Courtney as
Alice Matthews.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 6)

The next day Alice went to Steven's office and in those impersonal surroundings told him of Rachel's accusations. Steven told her it was impossible but when Alice pushed, he admitted he'd succumbed to Rachel's seduction that one night only, explaining he and Alice had apparently broken off permanently and Rachel had separated from Russ. He begged Alice to let it go, to accept the chances were overwhelming that the baby was Russ's and to go on loving him.

But Alice coldly replied that Steven had betrayed her and that while the chances were indeed slim, it was possible this baby was his. She then slid his lovely engagement ring from her finger and walked quietly out of his life.

If Steven thought she might reconsider, he soon found he was wrong. Alice continued to work at the hospital and went about her life as usual. The only difference in her life was that she tried to pretend that Steven Frame didn't exist and never had.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 6)

Steven (George Reinholt), Rachel (Robin Strasser), Russ (Sam Groom)
and Alice (Jacqueline Courtney).

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 5)

In the morning Rachel expected a continuation of the night before, the most exciting and passionate night of her life. She was confused when Steven matter-of-factly sent her on her way with no plans for a later meeting. When she then found he was constantly unavailable to her frequent calls she began to worry, but then he set a lunch date with her.

To her dismay his reason for the lunch, he explained, was to apologize for what had happened between them and to tell her it wouldn't happen again as it had no future. Rachel, unable to believe that night hadn't meant as much to him as it did to her, tried to convince him there was more to their relationship than he was ready to admit. But she knew better than to push him.

What Rachel didn't know was that Alice had realized her accusations were groundless and had called Steven to apologize. They were seeing each other again and Steven was taking no chances on losing Alice this time.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 5)

Jacqueline Courtney as Alice Matthews and George Reinholt as
Steven Frame.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 4)

Rachel's campaign began with visits to Steven's office, ostensibly to enlist his help in soliciting donations for the Hospital Charity Drive. Understanding her need to show Liz Matthews and the other Bay City society matrons she could compete on their ground, Steven provided leads to his business associates who gave Rachel hefty contributions as soon as she mentioned his name. And realizing Rachel was intentionally timing her visits at noon, Steven indulgently took the hint and occasionally invited her to lunch, aware that these few glimpses into his high-powered world meant so much to her.

But Steven didn't realize that every time Rachel saw him, it added fuel to the fires that were raging in Russ's ego. Finally Russ put his foot down. She was through playing social climber, he announced. He was renting a small, easy-to-care-for apartment and she was going to be a housewife. Rachel cried and cajoled but Russ was adamant. So she tearfully appealed to Steven for advice, explaining she didn't want to move until they could afford a place equal to their social position.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 4)

Steven Frame (George Reinholt) and Alice Matthews (Jacqueline Courtney)
began seeing each other frequently but Rachel Davis Matthews (Robin
Strasser) interfered, inadvertently at first.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 3)

Steven and Alice were now seeing each other often. To Steven, Alice represented the culmination of everything he had worked for, the very reason he had fought his way off that dirt farm in Oklahoma and up the ladder to overwhelming success. Alice was a real lady, the very symbol of respectability and quality.

Steven didn't talk much about his childhood. He told Alice about his many brothers and sisters, explaining he helped them financially now but had otherwise lost contact with them. She realized without his putting it into words that even thinking about his past opened a raw wound.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 3)

It didn't take long for Alice (Jacqueline Courtney) and her mother (Viginia
Dwyer) to see through Rachel for the scheming, manipulating woman she was.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 2)

Rachel tried desperately to fit in with Russ's family but Mary and Alice sensed the artificiality in Rachel's attempts. Jim Matthews, Russ's father, however, was enchanted with Rachel. Out of a need to gain the approval of every man she met to replace the love and approval of her father, Rachel seemed to sense what a man wanted her to be and that's what she became for him. Mary called it twisting Jim around her little finger.

Rachel's delight at living in the Matthews' home was soon tempered by her disappointment at Russ's prolonged absences. She had pictured a marriage as a never-ending whirl of parties and restaurants and dancing and she decided Russ was just being difficult by spending all his time at the hospital. And when he did have a few hours off, she resented the way he came home and collapse on the bed when he should have been taking her out for some fun.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 2)

Dr. Russ Matthews (Sam Groom) couldn't resist his former patient, Rachel
Davis (Robin Strasser), and the two of them secretly married.

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 6 June 1979
by Bryna Laub

(continued from Part 1)

Rachel tried valiantly to make a good impression on Russ's mother but in her eagerness, her distorted picture of the Matthews' social and financial position was more than evident. Mary Matthews tried to set the record straight but Rachel was convinced Mary's simplicity was by choice, that somewhere the coffers were overflowing. Mary and her daughters tried to tell themselves that once Rachel was well Russ would turn his attention to another insecure patient. But deep down they feared that Rachel might have already snared him.

And so she had. During the last days of her hospital stay Rachel had taken advantage of her orders to get out of bed by jumping into Russ's arms. She skillfully combined helplessness with passion and, by the time she was released, Russ was drowning in her. He was a constant visitor to the shabby two room apartment she shared with her mother. Ada was very concerned about Rachel's involvement with Russ and tried to warn her that a man like Russ wanted only one thing from a girl like Rachel and it wasn't marriage.

FLASHBACK: 'Another World' The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice (Part 1)

Another World's Alice Matthews (Jacqueline Courtney) had a long and
complicated relationship with Rachel Davis (Robin Strasser), which started
with Rachel's interest in Alice's brother, Dr. Russ Matthews (Sam Groom).

ANOTHER WORLD: The Story of Steven, Rachel & Alice

The Soap Box
Vol. IV No. 7 July 1979
by Bryna Laub

When Rachel Davis regained consciousness in the Emergency Room at Bay City Hospital she couldn't help noticing, despite her total confusion over what had happened to her, that the young doctor bending over her was very handsome. Flashing a reassuring smile he explained that she had fainted while modeling at Bryant's Department Store. Then he introduced himself as Dr. Russell Matthews and indicated the lovely blonde nurse assisting him was his sister, Alice.

Bells rang in Rachel's head as she excitedly breathed, "You mean you're BAY CITY MATTHEWSES?"

"Well, we live in Bay City, if that's what you mean," Alice replied somewhat uncomfortably.

That wasn't quite what Rachel meant. One of the ways Rachel escaped from reality was to avidly devour the society pages of the local paper and then daydream herself into the parties and charity balls that filled the columns. The Matthews name was constantly mentioned although almost all of those references were to Mrs. Liz Matthews, Russ and Alice's widowed aunt. But Rachel knew all the Matthews in Bay City were related so, as far as she was concerned, they were all rich, important and to be envied.

CLASSIC CLIP: Rachel, Alice, Russ, Mary on ANOTHER WORLD 1968

Alice Matthews (Jacqueline Courtney) and Rachel Davis (Robin Strasser) would form one of the greatest rivalries in soap opera history. But in the summer of 1968, Rachel was happily married to Alice's brother, Russ (Sam Groom), and things were relatively friendly between them. Watch a clip below from July 1, 1968, which also includes the late Virginia Dwyer as Mary Matthews.

Watch a clip below of their very first meeting. The clip also includes their first encounter with Alice's sister-in-law, Rachel Davis Matthews (Robin Strasser).