As soaps grew in universal popularity, so went their budgets. Actors with large, vocal fan bases commanded salaries that no one could have imagined back in the ’50s and ’60s. Sets grew opulent…costumes rivaled those in prime time…location shoots across the globe became commonplace for a while.
At the same time a less flashy area seemingly ceased to be a budgetary priority… the minor characters. Whether ever-present or recurring, these stalwart figures made shows more human, identifiable and representative of community than what is passing for drama today. Need an OB-GYN? We could always count on Mel Bailey on “Days of Our Lives” or Stan Clader on “All My Children.” How about a Roman Catholic priest? Father Tierney was a reliable sounding board for “All My Children”’s former cleric Tom Cudahy while Father Campion offered comforting counsel to ex-nun Jenny Wolek on “One Life to Live.” Yet more integral was “Ryan’s Hope”’s Father Bill McShane whom Maeve Ryan often consulted to keep her family in line.
“Ryan’s Hope” was indeed a rich source of supporting characters. Kevin McGuinness represented the bartenders who poured us the perfect pints of — well, Guinness. At the Gennaro Social Club, Jumbo Marino was the father confessor who could cut right to the soul of hard-bitten loner Jack Fenelli. Jack also had a mother confessor in Sister Mary Joel, who was ultimately revealed to be the biological mother who surrendered him.
Hospitals have long been important settings on soaps. In addition to the OB-GYNs mentioned, several characters rounded out hospitals either for plot needs or simply to add to the overall atmosphere. “The Doctors” had a crew of “under-five” actresses who played nurses, while “General Hospital” had perennial student nurse Judy Clampett. For years she withstood gruff micromanagement from student nurse supervisor Lucille March Weeks (“Clampett, straighten that cap!”). I swear Port Charles could benefit from a Judith Clampett School of Nursing to take the emphasis off of crime. “One Life to Live” had recurring doctors such as psychiatrist Marcus Polk (who also straddled “All My Children”), associate chief of staff Dick Thornley, and heart surgeon David Cardwell. (We see what you did there, Agnes Nixon.) The same show also had at least one attorney who was never seen in a courtroom — Hank Calvert, the Lord family lawyer. And on “The Young and the Restless,” Katherine Chancellor had a gem of a legal counsel in Mitchell Sherman.
While many soaps gravitated toward the hospital milieu, creator-producer Roy Winsor generally avoided it on “Love of Life” and “The Secret Storm.” He favored the family doctors who showed up with their medical bags, most notably Spence Hadley on “Secret Storm.” “Love of Life’s” Herb Saltzman also fit that mold, although he had storylines whereas Hadley was strictly a supporting figure.
Many of us remember “Somerset,” a spin-off of “Another World” that was set in a small town with an outsized crime rate. Throughout its craziness it was comforting to have two steady characters who provided stability and continuity — Bill Greeley, the jovial owner of The Hayloft restaurant, and Will Price, the straight-arrow police lieutenant who got the goods on the criminal outsiders who tried to corrupt the town.
Crime. That was the stock-in-trade for “Edge of Night” throughout its run. Whenever a figure named Doug Hastings came to Monticello, Nancy Karr’s heart would sink to the floor. She knew Hastings had come to compel her husband Mike to once again serve on the state’s Crime Commission hours away in Capitol City. Here was a classic example of someone with no storyline to be considered his own, yet who played a crucial role in the lives of major characters.
Criminal activities notwithstanding, “Edge” also gave us an impressive showing in another classification — household staff. Maynard Stephenson was one of the few soap opera butlers given a first and last name, as he was called upon as a witness in two murder trials that affected his loyal employer, Orin Hillyer. Later Orin was served by a sympathetic married couple, John and Trudy, who went on to keep the Whitney mansion operating. The domestic figures on other shows are too numerous to mention here, yet it must be said that they added immeasurably to the characters they supported. One can say the same for every other category mentioned here.
That was a great overview of minor characters who enhanced the scenes they were in. Excellent article John.
On ATWT, for many years Lucinda’s butler Matthew had a special treatment, Lucinda’s portrayer, the fabulously talented Liz Hubbard would engage Matthew in more dialog that was written in the script, adlibbing & doing it in a way that he would have to reply. What was she up to? Yep, you guessed it, she was pushing him past 5 lines of dialog so he wasn’t an “Under 5” that day meaning he got paid more. She had to give it up later when $$ became tighter. Fun column, John!