VAM dear,

Thanks for sharing this wonderful little story.  If I ever finish my book on Grayson, I'd love to produce a little memoir on Thayer.  Not surprised to learn that he corrected his scripts.  I've always thought he probably more or less rewrote large chunks of his own dialogue, especially when he was playing Count Petofi.  It just sounded way too literate compared the rest of the scripts.

Steve

Beth and the cash for Mrs. Fillmore in 1897 that Quentin cast greedy eyes and hands upon.

Julia writing an absurdly large check for a Charles Delaware Tate daub in 1969.

1970PT Angelique Collins had to pay salon victim Bruno cold cash to get hold of the Cyrus Longworth diary with the info about her "sister's" death.

Barnabas in 1967 making indigent drunkard Sam Evans an offer he couldn't refuse for the privilege of having his portrait painted.

More examples would doubtless come to mind, if I thought about it longer.

Steve

YAYYYY Istvan!

Thanks Vlad!  I was trying to remember his name but kept blocking on it!

He was such a doll--nearly 7 foot tall, but still, a doll!

Thanks again,

Gothick

Bob, your posts to this topic and the "chick" one are a scream!  Honestly, you crack me up!  Thanks for bringing a smile to my well-worn features.  You have a wry sense of humor that reminds me of another online buddy of mine.

Incidentally, you named several of my favorite actresses on the show in your chick post.

And now to you, Ladies ... sorry to keep you waiting.  I'll have to check my tapes (and oh, the things I do for you fans!) but I'm pretty sure the episode where Julia rips Joe's shirt right off his hairy, sweat-streaked chest, his nipples ripe with exertion (oops I may be calling down the wrath of the mods now) ... to dress an unfortunate wound, is in MPI volume 77.  If it isn't that one, it must be 78, but I'm pretty sure it's 77 (unless it's somehow or other on 76 ...).

Lots of great scenes involving both Julia and Angelique in these tapes, too. Don't you both think you need to RUN, not walk, to the viddy rental emporium NOW?

Your most obedient factotum,

Gothick

Hey John,

great to see you again!  I think you had mentioned on the old board that you were moving out West, but it had completely slipped my mind.  Hope you're all settled now and enjoying sun & fun in glamorous SoCal!

Don't miss the latest post in honor of our beloved Grayson.  I think it's called Gay Men and Grayson Hall (aka The Big Wingding) and there are some fun and interesting observations in it.

Best,

Steve

Some hunks I have cherished on DS:

Don Briscoe.  Those eyes, that voice.  And then there's that chest.  Pardon me while I go fetch the drool towel.  I have read a magazine interview dated 1969 where he mentioned skateboarding by moonlight in Central Park as one of the things he liked to do for fun, and that is how I prefer to remember him--at ease, carefree, the wind ruffling his beautiful hair.

David Selby.  He just oozed sex--that wide, generous smile, those smoky blue eyes, the long long legs that seemed to go on forever (and then something else that, in certain scenes in 1897, seemed to go on forever, too).  It was a tribute to his prowess as an actor that he could turn all that charisma off and become a ghost, a zombie, or a possessed sorceror, frigid with evil.

Michael Hadge.  Obviously Buzz Hackett is hardly most folks' idea of a dream date, and he SERIOUSLY needed to do something with that hair (I still think it eventually wound up reincarnated as one of Cassandra's wigs.)  But underneath the ratty persona I found Hadge charming and a bit bohemian.  I bet he knew all the best Indian restaurants in the Village before they became a fad and enjoyed watching the comic-book plays at Caffe Cino.

Brian Sturdivant.  He deserved a lot better than what he got on DS.  I wonder whether he read for the role of Gerard?  Although I really enjoyed James Storm's performance in that role, it would have been interesting to see what Sturdivant would have made of it.  Watch for his cameo role in Diary of a Mad Housewife.

John Karlen.  Another master of chameleon-like transformation, he gave an air of the well-heeled lounge lizard to the role of William H. Loomis, alcoholic litterateur, and a surprisingly muscular sexuality to Desmond Collins.

Joel Crothers.  Clothes really made the man here since I found Joe mostly a well-meaning bore, but Nathan really rings my chimes.  Extra points for when Julia cut open Joe's shirt in that scene in the Old House, finally revealing his manly physique to camera view.

Chris Pennock.  At the time I thought it was funny that an evil hippie had come to terrorize Collinsport.  As an adult, I find a new appreciation for Jeb's leather trousers and the mystic Naga that accompanied him everywhere.  Extra points for a yummy shirtless scene during the Leviathans.  Sebastian's groovy threads win this talented young thesp bonus points in the stud sweepstakes.

Honorable mention for the unnamed actor who played the hapless chap from whom John Yeagar rented a basement apartment in PT 1970.  He was CUTE.

Steve

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

My favorite is Cassandra Collins. She always seemed to be on the verge of complete hysteria, which of course gave her spells extra zip.

Angelique always throws in those great one liners while she's revving up for the spell:  "Oh, you'll have him my dear--but not as you had intended!" She had the most complicated spells of any of them.  That card spell for the eye of ice and fire was a doozy.  Someone should do a compilation tape of all of Angelique's spells.  Of course there were several that backfired in a really nasty way ...

Nicholas was so deliciously DEBONAIR.  He brought a delightful charm and elegance to his spellcraft.  One of my favorite scenes was when he first went to the Old House and put Willie Loomis in his power.  They both played that so brilliantly.  Nicholas got so upset when Willie described Cassandra as a witch.

Magda is really in her own category, isn't she?  Her spells had a potency reminiscent of the pungent fumes of freshly ground pepper.  Both Magda and Angelique learned the real-life Craft fact:  A SPELL CAN NOT BE REVERSED.  Its effects can be nullified through the manifestation of new energy, but you can't simply reel it back in.  Just as you can never gather back water into a cup once it's spilled on the floor.  

Love Count Petofi.  His humor was so offbeat.  Even though he liked to paint himself as all-powerful, he never fully controlled his own powers, which made for some interesting twists in his storyline.

Then there's Evan Handley, possibly the show's most incompetent practitioner of the Black Arts.  You have to admit, though, that he did a great job with a spell I'll simply call "The Trask Commission" (for the benefit of those who haven't yet seen the show).

I found Gerard/Judah rather humdrum because his spells became so rote.  I think that was the fault of the writers, though, rather than James Storm's acting.

Natter, natter, natter ...

Steve