Sam Hall (writer)
Encyclopedia
Gordon Russell
(August 15, 1929–January 19, 1981) and Sam Hall (born March 11, 1921) were a pair of writers known for their work in daytime soap opera
s.
and One Life to Live
. A trademark of theirs was introducing characters who would, under normal circumstances, be considered villains but tell the storyline in their point of view to gain more sympathy from the viewers. They wrote on Dark Shadows from the time Barnabas Collins
(played by Jonathan Frid
) was introduced as a blood sucking vampire
, transforming him over the years to be more of anti-hero
capable of displaying many shades of gray. The same goes for the character's cousin, the ghostly werewolf
Quentin Collins
(played by David Selby
).
for Agnes Nixon
who began to focus more on her other soap All My Children
. During its first few years, One Life to Live was a groundbreaking soap which addressed racial, ethnic, and class issue. But under Russell and Hall's watch, the show took on more haunting character studies tied in with the exit of previous established characters.
With the onscreen death of Nixon's original character Dave Siegel came the arrival of Dr.Dorian Cramer, her sister Melinda [Pat Pearcy] and their housekepper Hattie. Dorian prescribed Dave's widow Eileen pills for depression which lead to an out of control addiction, and stole their daughter Julie's husband Dr. Mark Toland (a then unknown Tommy Lee Jones
). Melinda befriends Meredith Lord-Wolek before her death. She had a short crush on widower Dr. Larry Wolek. A nun named Jenny Wolek fell in love with Tim Siegel, Julie Siegel's twin brother
(a then unknown Tom Berenger
), and then married him on his deathbed after fall from a flight of stairs where he had an argument with her cousin Vinnie Wolek over causing her to stray from her religious beliefs
. Russell and Hall would later write out the remaining Siegels along with early characters Dr. Mark Toland and Cathy Craig later on in addition to creating the dysfunctional Vernon family which would be a feature of the show for over a decade.
Rachel Wilson a dosage of treatment going unmarked on her medical chart
prompted her lover Mark Toland to give her a second more lethal dosage and Dr. Larry Wolek get framed for her mercy killing
(ironically Rachel Wilson wanted him to end her life in the first place). When the truth was revealed, the board of directors
at Llanview Hospital took a vote to decide whether or not to suspend her medical license
with Victoria Lord
casting the lone vote in Dorian's favor. Dorian believed Viki is responsible for her losing her medical license. To get even, Dorian became her ailing father Victor Lord's private physician, and withheld his medication during a heart attack
and walking away, allegedly causing his death and starting the Viki/Dorian feud which has lasted almost 35 years.
Russell and Hall also wrote the infamous Karen Wolek storyline. Dr. Larry Wolek's wife and cousin Karen turned to prostitution after boredom with being a simple housewife because of her need to be wanted, and in light of her pimp Marco Dane's alleged murder had to reveal she was a prostitute on the stand in tears to clear Viki's name at the murder trial. They also created the Buchanan family, introduced when Clint Buchanan came to town to take over The Banner for Viki's dying husband, Joe Riley. Clint brought to town his father, Asa Buchanan
, and brother, Bo Buchanan
, the genesis of a family which has become one of the most prominent on the show.
Gordon Russell
Gordon Russell and Sam Hall were a pair of writers well known for their work in daytime soap operas.-Dark Shadows:They are best known for their works on Dark Shadows and One Life to Live...
(August 15, 1929–January 19, 1981) and Sam Hall (born March 11, 1921) were a pair of writers known for their work in daytime soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
s.
Dark Shadows
They are best known for their works on Dark ShadowsDark Shadows
Dark Shadows is a gothic soap opera that originally aired weekdays on the ABC television network, from June 27, 1966 to April 2, 1971. The show was created by Dan Curtis. The story bible, which was written by Art Wallace, does not mention any supernatural elements...
and One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
. A trademark of theirs was introducing characters who would, under normal circumstances, be considered villains but tell the storyline in their point of view to gain more sympathy from the viewers. They wrote on Dark Shadows from the time Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins
Barnabas Collins is a fictional character, one of the feature characters in the ABC daytime serial Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971. Originally played by Canadian actor Jonathan Frid, Barnabas Collins is a 200-year-old vampire who is in search of fresh blood and his lost love, Josette...
(played by Jonathan Frid
Jonathan Frid
John Herbert Frid is a theater, television, and film actor, best known for playing the role of vampire Barnabas Collins on the gothic television soap opera Dark Shadows.-Early Life:...
) was introduced as a blood sucking vampire
Vampire
Vampires are mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person...
, transforming him over the years to be more of anti-hero
Anti-hero
In fiction, an antihero is generally considered to be a protagonist whose character is at least in some regards conspicuously contrary to that of the archetypal hero, and is in some instances its antithesis in which the character is generally useless at being a hero or heroine when they're...
capable of displaying many shades of gray. The same goes for the character's cousin, the ghostly werewolf
Werewolf
A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope , is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely or after being placed under a curse...
Quentin Collins
Quentin Collins
Quentin Collins is the name of several characters featured in the 1966-1971 ABC cult TV Gothic horror-soap opera Dark Shadows. All variations of the character have been played by actor David Selby.-Quentin I:...
(played by David Selby
David Selby
David Lynn Selby is an American character and stage actor. He has worked in movies, soap operas and television. The naturally black-headed Selby is best known for playing the roles of Quentin Collins on the ABC-TV serial, Dark Shadows , and as the evil and compassionate...
).
One Life to Live
After Dark Shadows wrapped, the two then took over One Life to LiveOne Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
for Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon
Agnes Nixon is an American writer and producer. She attended Northwestern University where she was a member of Alpha Chi Omega sorority, and is best known as the creator of soap operas such as One Life to Live and All My Children...
who began to focus more on her other soap All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
. During its first few years, One Life to Live was a groundbreaking soap which addressed racial, ethnic, and class issue. But under Russell and Hall's watch, the show took on more haunting character studies tied in with the exit of previous established characters.
With the onscreen death of Nixon's original character Dave Siegel came the arrival of Dr.Dorian Cramer, her sister Melinda [Pat Pearcy] and their housekepper Hattie. Dorian prescribed Dave's widow Eileen pills for depression which lead to an out of control addiction, and stole their daughter Julie's husband Dr. Mark Toland (a then unknown Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones
Tommy Lee Jones is an American actor and film director. He has received three Academy Award nominations, winning one as Best Supporting Actor for the 1993 thriller film The Fugitive....
). Melinda befriends Meredith Lord-Wolek before her death. She had a short crush on widower Dr. Larry Wolek. A nun named Jenny Wolek fell in love with Tim Siegel, Julie Siegel's twin brother
Twin
A twin is one of two offspring produced in the same pregnancy. Twins can either be monozygotic , meaning that they develop from one zygote that splits and forms two embryos, or dizygotic because they develop from two separate eggs that are fertilized by two separate sperm.In contrast, a fetus...
(a then unknown Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger
Tom Berenger is an American actor known mainly for his roles in action films.-Early life:Berenger was born as Thomas Michael Moore in Chicago to an Irish Catholic family. Berenger's father was a printer for the Chicago Sun-Times. Berenger has a sister, Susan...
), and then married him on his deathbed after fall from a flight of stairs where he had an argument with her cousin Vinnie Wolek over causing her to stray from her religious beliefs
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
. Russell and Hall would later write out the remaining Siegels along with early characters Dr. Mark Toland and Cathy Craig later on in addition to creating the dysfunctional Vernon family which would be a feature of the show for over a decade.
Legacy
In addition to their long-lasting work on Dark Shadows, their work on One Life to Live led to very memorable storylines with elements and characters which last on the latter show to this day. A storyline which involved Dorian giving terminal patientTerminal illness
Terminal illness is a medical term popularized in the 20th century to describe a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and that is reasonably expected to result in the death of the patient within a short period of time. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as...
Rachel Wilson a dosage of treatment going unmarked on her medical chart
Medical record
The terms medical record, health record, and medical chart are used somewhat interchangeably to describe the systematic documentation of a single patient's medical history and care across time within one particular health care provider's jurisdiction....
prompted her lover Mark Toland to give her a second more lethal dosage and Dr. Larry Wolek get framed for her mercy killing
Coup de grâce
The expression coup de grâce means a death blow intended to end the suffering of a wounded creature. The phrase can refer to the killing of civilians or soldiers, friends or enemies, with or without the consent of the sufferer...
(ironically Rachel Wilson wanted him to end her life in the first place). When the truth was revealed, the board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
at Llanview Hospital took a vote to decide whether or not to suspend her medical license
Medical license
In most countries, only persons with a medical license bestowed either by a specified government-approved professional association or a government agency are authorized to practice medicine. Licenses are not granted automatically to all people with medical degrees...
with Victoria Lord
Victoria Lord
Victoria "Viki" Lord is the principal fictional character and matriarch of the Lord family on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live...
casting the lone vote in Dorian's favor. Dorian believed Viki is responsible for her losing her medical license. To get even, Dorian became her ailing father Victor Lord's private physician, and withheld his medication during a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
and walking away, allegedly causing his death and starting the Viki/Dorian feud which has lasted almost 35 years.
Russell and Hall also wrote the infamous Karen Wolek storyline. Dr. Larry Wolek's wife and cousin Karen turned to prostitution after boredom with being a simple housewife because of her need to be wanted, and in light of her pimp Marco Dane's alleged murder had to reveal she was a prostitute on the stand in tears to clear Viki's name at the murder trial. They also created the Buchanan family, introduced when Clint Buchanan came to town to take over The Banner for Viki's dying husband, Joe Riley. Clint brought to town his father, Asa Buchanan
Asa Buchanan
Asa Buchanan is a fictional character and patriarch of the Buchanan family on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live. The Texan industrialist father of newly-arrived characters Clint and Bo Buchanan, Asa was originated in 1980 by Philip Carey. Carey portrays the nearly continuously for nearly three...
, and brother, Bo Buchanan
Bo Buchanan
Beaufort Oglethorpe "Bo" Buchanan is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live.-Casting and awards:The role was originated in 1979 by Robert S. Woods, who briefly left the series in 1986 but returned in 1988, and currently portrays the role...
, the genesis of a family which has become one of the most prominent on the show.