Thirty years ago this month, "The Edge of Night" prepared to wrap up its 28 year run on daytime T.V. Countless murders and political scandals had dominated the screen on two different networks, featuring hundreds of actors from the stage as well as some very popular soap actors who had brief roles on this show before moving elsewhere. Unlike other soaps, "Edge" only had a handful of "core" characters at one time, focusing on a rotating cast of gangsters, gun molls, political big-wigs and daddy's girls who all ended up at some point either committing a murder, being on trial for one, or becoming a victim themselves. I only watched the last two years of the network run and caught up on some previous episodes later when it was re-run on the U.S.A. cable network. Old episodes dating back to the first episode have popped up, so the chance to see the early days of attorney Mike Karr (daytime's answer to Perry Mason) are now available as are sporadic episodes of the 1960's and 70's. One early episode available for viewing features Don Hastings who played Bob Hughes on "As the World Turns" for 50 years.
Former stage star/dancer James Mitchell is just one of many well known actors to have had a role on the show, episodes available to view him playing a crooked cop. Split personality Serena/Josie was played by the Emmy Winning Louise Shaffer, giving an intense performance that was equally as deserving. The D.A. in her trial was played by none other than that feisty "Designing Woman", Dixie Carter, equally as terminating here as she was as Julia Sugarbaker. Her boss was none other than "Ryan's Hope's" Johnny Ryan, Bernard Barrow. Another future T.V. star, Holland Taylor, gave a scary performance as the evil Denise Cavanaugh, the bitchy wife of the show's final romantic hero, Dr. Miles Cavanaugh (Joel Crothers).
Of the thousands of stories I would have loved to have seen unfold, the most interesting appears to be the early 70's saga of the Whitney family, especially as seen through the eyes of its sardonic matriarch, Geraldine. The wonderful Lois Kibbee would definitely have won an Emmy for her performance for this storyline where she reveals the secrets of her psychotic son who committed murder while disguised as a drugged out hippie and fell to his death while trying to kill Mike Karr's daughter, Laurie. This storyline was obviously based on scandals of the Kennedy family, with Geraldine definitely a fictional version of matriarch Rose who may not have been in public power but certainly ruled the roost behind the scenes. Geraldine mellowed thanks to the humanity of Kibbee, and her character became beloved, not only by the Monticello townspeople but by even the youngest of fans who felt a kindred spirit with her. Somebody in Hollywood must have liked the comic undertones of her character, casting her in an important role in the comedy classic "Caddyshack" as Ted Knight's uppity wife.
Of course, the show's longest running heroine was the gorgeous redhead Ann Flood, playing Mike Karr's second wife, Nancy, a hard-working reporter. A second major heroine, Nicole Travis (the equally beautiful Maeve McGuire), was also very prominent, and at times, Nancy and Nicole seemed like sisters, even though Nicole was originally brought in as a vixen. Recasts of Nicole after McGuire left the show seemed to youthen the character and made her seem like somebody different altogether. But when McGuire was there, cast opposite the handsome Donald May (Adam Drake), the show had two major couples for the audience to root for as they all went after the various criminals. The mid 1970's saw a major mob story, and this attracted a male audience who enjoyed the murder and mayhem of the daily drama which replaced the organ music and sappy romance on the other soaps.
Those "Another World" pals Constance Ford and Irene Dailey had separate stints as knife wielding murderesses, and Nancy Pinkerton, the original Dorian on "OLTL", had a rather lengthy stint as well. Major soap names as Gillian Spencer, Elizabeth Hubbard, Barbara Berjer, Conrad Fowkes, Millette Alexander, Nat Polen, Dorothy Lyman and Richard Schoberg were on for stints lasting usually six months to a year. Lyman's stint was a pre-cursor to her Emmy Winning role as Opal on "AMC", playing a hillbilly character with murder on her mind who got tossed out of a moving vehicle (with a stunt man wearing a wig), while Schoberg (also of "AMC") played her more worldly brother.
By the time I started watching, Mike and Nancy were still prominent, but the focus was on Sky Whitney and Raven Alexander. Larkin Malloy and Sharon Gabet became soap superstars as the dynamic couple. Malloy's Schuyler was revealed to be an impostor, but he was so popular that they brought him back as the real deal. While Malloy went on to popular hero roles on "Guiding Light" and "All My Children", Gabet wasn't so lucky, her characters on "Another World" and "One Life to Live" below expectations when compared to the memory of the much married vixen Raven. Veteran soap viewers name Gabet as one of the most missed actresses on daytime, but roles like Raven come along usually only once in a lifetime.
During its later years, "Edge" suffered in low ratings yet tried very hard to maintain its dignity even though the story lines often resembled the science fiction nonsense of "General Hospital". Even so, a long spy storyline and the mass hypnosis of Monticello through cable T.V. were entertainingly presented, the later storyline almost eerily representative of what is happening today through the obsession with social media and hand held devices. "Edge" is a show that certainly has not been forgotten, and its legacy is one of timeless entertainment, especially those episodes written with great care by the great Henry Slesar who obviously was influenced by the classic film noirs of the 1940's and 50's.
Former stage star/dancer James Mitchell is just one of many well known actors to have had a role on the show, episodes available to view him playing a crooked cop. Split personality Serena/Josie was played by the Emmy Winning Louise Shaffer, giving an intense performance that was equally as deserving. The D.A. in her trial was played by none other than that feisty "Designing Woman", Dixie Carter, equally as terminating here as she was as Julia Sugarbaker. Her boss was none other than "Ryan's Hope's" Johnny Ryan, Bernard Barrow. Another future T.V. star, Holland Taylor, gave a scary performance as the evil Denise Cavanaugh, the bitchy wife of the show's final romantic hero, Dr. Miles Cavanaugh (Joel Crothers).
Of the thousands of stories I would have loved to have seen unfold, the most interesting appears to be the early 70's saga of the Whitney family, especially as seen through the eyes of its sardonic matriarch, Geraldine. The wonderful Lois Kibbee would definitely have won an Emmy for her performance for this storyline where she reveals the secrets of her psychotic son who committed murder while disguised as a drugged out hippie and fell to his death while trying to kill Mike Karr's daughter, Laurie. This storyline was obviously based on scandals of the Kennedy family, with Geraldine definitely a fictional version of matriarch Rose who may not have been in public power but certainly ruled the roost behind the scenes. Geraldine mellowed thanks to the humanity of Kibbee, and her character became beloved, not only by the Monticello townspeople but by even the youngest of fans who felt a kindred spirit with her. Somebody in Hollywood must have liked the comic undertones of her character, casting her in an important role in the comedy classic "Caddyshack" as Ted Knight's uppity wife.
Of course, the show's longest running heroine was the gorgeous redhead Ann Flood, playing Mike Karr's second wife, Nancy, a hard-working reporter. A second major heroine, Nicole Travis (the equally beautiful Maeve McGuire), was also very prominent, and at times, Nancy and Nicole seemed like sisters, even though Nicole was originally brought in as a vixen. Recasts of Nicole after McGuire left the show seemed to youthen the character and made her seem like somebody different altogether. But when McGuire was there, cast opposite the handsome Donald May (Adam Drake), the show had two major couples for the audience to root for as they all went after the various criminals. The mid 1970's saw a major mob story, and this attracted a male audience who enjoyed the murder and mayhem of the daily drama which replaced the organ music and sappy romance on the other soaps.
Those "Another World" pals Constance Ford and Irene Dailey had separate stints as knife wielding murderesses, and Nancy Pinkerton, the original Dorian on "OLTL", had a rather lengthy stint as well. Major soap names as Gillian Spencer, Elizabeth Hubbard, Barbara Berjer, Conrad Fowkes, Millette Alexander, Nat Polen, Dorothy Lyman and Richard Schoberg were on for stints lasting usually six months to a year. Lyman's stint was a pre-cursor to her Emmy Winning role as Opal on "AMC", playing a hillbilly character with murder on her mind who got tossed out of a moving vehicle (with a stunt man wearing a wig), while Schoberg (also of "AMC") played her more worldly brother.
By the time I started watching, Mike and Nancy were still prominent, but the focus was on Sky Whitney and Raven Alexander. Larkin Malloy and Sharon Gabet became soap superstars as the dynamic couple. Malloy's Schuyler was revealed to be an impostor, but he was so popular that they brought him back as the real deal. While Malloy went on to popular hero roles on "Guiding Light" and "All My Children", Gabet wasn't so lucky, her characters on "Another World" and "One Life to Live" below expectations when compared to the memory of the much married vixen Raven. Veteran soap viewers name Gabet as one of the most missed actresses on daytime, but roles like Raven come along usually only once in a lifetime.
During its later years, "Edge" suffered in low ratings yet tried very hard to maintain its dignity even though the story lines often resembled the science fiction nonsense of "General Hospital". Even so, a long spy storyline and the mass hypnosis of Monticello through cable T.V. were entertainingly presented, the later storyline almost eerily representative of what is happening today through the obsession with social media and hand held devices. "Edge" is a show that certainly has not been forgotten, and its legacy is one of timeless entertainment, especially those episodes written with great care by the great Henry Slesar who obviously was influenced by the classic film noirs of the 1940's and 50's.