Thank you for Love of Life from June, 1953, on CBS Television. Once again, the young Peggy McCay is front and center as the lead character, Vanessa Dale. This is quite a revelation, isn't it? Love kinescope TV shows that were live with their original commercials. It's like being there.
In those young married days 1970s when I had time on my hands, I loved watching Love of Life cos it was SO bad! (Christopher Reeve, pre-Superman, was "the bad boy, Ben" but he rarely mentioned it in interviews) "Meg" always had "evil" eye makeup and dark hair. Van was blonde always sweet. Tess was a dreadful actress with two facial expressions, the character alternated between marriage to The Rich Older Man in town, and Tony, a young hippie type much more her style. It was a great laugh. I'd watch it again.
The name of Tess’s young husband wasn’t Tony. Toni was the real name of the actress who played Tess. The young husband’s name was Bill Prentiss. And yes, she did alternate being married to him and the older man, John Randolph. (There was also a John Randolph on “Another World.” Completely unrelated.) Toni Bull, who played Tess, married Gene Bua, who played Bill, in real life.
Thank you so much for sharing this with us. Some episodes from this period have been on RU-vid for years but I don't think I've ever seen this one. I'm always fascinated by the good sister/bad sister dynamic, as well as how much Peggy McCay did with what was on paper a very toothless role.
That's the problem with Soap Operas... they're designed to have an infinite middle part of the story with no ending in sight or any resolutions to cliffhangers.
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