What a fantastic bit of trivia!  And now I like him even more too.  I've often suspected that many of his marvelous lines were improvised as well.

I confess that I've been tempted to correct the grammar on the assignments my kids have brought home.  I'm not talking about theirs; I mean the teachers' grammar.  Maybe I'm just too picky, but I think a teacher should be able to put a sentence together.  But I haven't done it, though I draw the line at spelling words-- If kids are given a list of words to memorize then I think care should be taken to make sure they're spelled correctly, and I've sent notes to a few teachers asking, "Is this how you want the word spelled?"

Anyway, this morning I'm lifting my cup of coffee in a toast to Thayer David.

The scenes you mention are ample reason to be grateful for the fast-forward and mute buttons on one's remote!

It's fun to play Angelique and smirk, "You are MUTE!  you cannot speak" as Peter opens his mouth and no sound comes out.

Steve

Julia99 took the words right off my keyboard (You don't have to luv it to do it, do ya???).  After reading B the B's post my guess was that the guy hasn't got the first clue what love is let alone love making.  His vile attitude would no doubt permeate every aspect of his so-called life - the words husbandly duties come to mind.  So, therefore I would say he deserves someone just as nasty as himself in a wife.  

After watching some nice exchanges between David Henesey and the adult actors, I began to think of the times when the children on DS stole the scenes. Do you remember any of those times?

I just have to comment on how very good both of todays episodes were.  David H.  back again and in great form.  I truly enjoyed his scenes with Abigail, Ben, Noami, and Trask.  Very natural.  The dialogue was very well written.  I loved the way he decribes Abigail to Trask " She seems to be always unhappy".  Only a child could pick up on some of the underlying truths of the older charactors.
Also loved the confortation bettween Abigail and Barnabas.  I roared when Baranabas said "Why do the think the devil always wants to touch you?"  I almost expected him to add or anyone else.  

Great episodes.
Birdie

Great idea for a topic, and fascinating to read various fans' perspectives on Grayson's multi-faceted, many-layered appeal.  It is always a pleasant surprise to me to see the kind of passion Grayson arouses in her fans.  For a long time, Grayson fans were a kind of "underground" in fandom--for some reason or other, the status quo in fandom tended to laugh at Grayson and her characters rather than adulate or honor her.  It is always remarkable, though, whenever there is an honoring of DS actors who have passed on at a Festival, the kind of ovation Grayson receives whenever a clip of her is shown.  Her fans have a truly passionate loyalty to her memory.

I think of Grayson as bringing another level of "the diva factor" to DS.  There was already a kind of Old Hollywood diva energy on the show with Joan Bennett's presence (just look at the impossibly glamorous costume Liz was given to wear on that first episode).  I wrote somewhere that Grayson may well have been the first Oscar (tm) nominated thespian to perform a regular role on a soap. Even though I think those statuettes are a dubious barometer (at best) for an actor's prowess, there's no denying the kind of prestige placement in the contest commands.  

Some commentators have tried to explain gay men's love of Grayson, and especially Julia, with the rather simplistic explanation that Dr. Julia Hoffman dressed, moved, and wore makeup like a drag queen.  I don't agree, though sometimes the wardrobe and makeup they gave her went way beyond over the top (we need a special topic for "the scary awfulness of Dr. Julia Hoffman's wardrobe").  I think the reasons why gay male viewers relate to Julia is because first of all, nearly ALL of us have been in the position of having to be regarded as a "friend" by a man we'd rather relate to as a lover.  The cluelessness of Barnabas as to Julia's feelings (although he DOES occasionally acknowledge her feels and even more rarely hint that he does reciprocate them deep down) mirrors the cluelessness many of us knew from our str8 best friend that we had some crazy crush on in high school.  I agree too with Brian that sometimes real life is campy.  Hysterically so.  

A friend recently told me a story that illustrates just how Grayson can hold an entire room captivated with her performance, even on "the night of nights."  I had lent a copy of the "Grayson solo" MPI tape to a friend, who then lent it to another friend, who watched it with his housemate, who fell in love with Grayson at first sight.  This was a guy who was posted in Germany during the Sixties and never got to see DS as a result.  Well, T. insisted upon playing this video at the house's Oscar party to all their friends.  This entire roomful of largely gay men were completely absorbed by Grayson's performance.  They did watch the Oscars, but spent a large  part of the evening taking turns doing impressions of Grayson's acting and discussing their favorite moments in her scenes!

All the best, Steve

We know that there existed certain businesses, a place of worship, jail house, court house, Inn, ship yard etc.  in 1795 Collinsport If we were a plan developer for the town, what buildings would exists? Be creative knowing the background of DS!