JACKIE

In May 1972, Jackie and Ari Onassis visited Tehran on a business vacation. Ari was there seeking special oil concessions and Jackie joined him hoping to explore Iran. Jackie surprised the press when she granted a rare interview to Maryam Kharazmi of Kaylan International. 

Jackie told Maryam, "Every moment one lives is different from the other, the good, the bad, the hardship, the joy, the tragedy, love and happiness are all interwoven into one single indescribable whole that is called life. You cannot separate the good from the bad. Perhaps there is no need to. I have been through a lot, and I have suffered a great deal, as you know. But I have had lots of happy moments as well. I have come to the conclusion that we must not expect too much from life. We must give to life at least as much as we receive from it. I am today what I was yesterday and, with luck, what I will be tomorrow. I am a woman above everything else." 

Jackie made the comment, "Why do people always try to see me through the different names I have had at different times? People often forget that I was Jacqueline Bouvier before being Mrs Kennedy or Mrs Onassis. Throughout my life I have always tried to remain true to myself. This I will continue to do as long as I live." In death as in life, Jackie Onassis continued to fascinate the civilized world.

Back in 1968, Janet Lee Auchincloss told the press, "When Jackie was a little girl, she dreamed of become a circus queen who marries the man on the flying trapeze." Flora Rheta Schreiber of World News Service pointed out to readers, "The dream is not without meaning, psychologically speaking." Psychiatrist Alfred Adler maintained every child was constantly "training" herself or himself for the adult role she or he expected to assume. For the "unbridled spirit" Jackie, politics was said "not at the end of the road. 

"Politics requires conformity, a submerging of self to the group even if in the end the group serves the self. Politics requires a rough-and-tumble common touch. But Jacqueline was interested in the so-called 'higher' things – the arts and languages. It was an ivory tower, far from the maddening crowd." Jackie conceded, "I get afraid of reporters when they come to me in a crowd. I don't like crowds because I don't like impersonal masses. They remind me of swarms of locusts. The truth of the matter is that I am a very shy person. People take my diffidence for arrogance and my withdrawal from publicity as a sign supposedly, that I am looking down on the rest of mankind." 

Jack Kennedy told Bob Driscoll of the Evening Independent in 1960, "She (Jackie) breathes all of the political gases that flow around us but never seems to inhale them." Friends of Jack and Jackie told Jack Anderson of Parade Washington in 1962, "Their marriage started off a little rocky...His world of politics, hers of poetry sometimes collided. Kennedy would bring home cigar-smoking politicans who left Jackie disenchanted. He was likewise bored by some of her friends; more than once, he simply walked out on them. He liked big crowds; she prefers intimate groups. He liked steak and potatoes ("red meat, a salad, and ice cream - Jack likes it"); she enjoyed French cuisine." Hence "long before the White House, they talked out their differences and arrived at those small compromises so necessary to every successful marriage." 

On reflection, Jackie acknowledged, "I've learned that we can't have any prearranged schedule in politics. Ever since Jack forgot to tell me that he had invited 40 guests to lunch soon after we were married, I've been prepared for any emergency. I can usually count on at least 6 persons for breakfast, any number for lunch, and who-knows-what for dinner. It's my greatest wish – and I flatter myself that I do it well – to run a house around such a busy man." 

"The White House is seen as living history," it was explained. Jack Anderson remarked, "With her art and redecoration projects she (Jackie) has initiated more innovations and set more styles than any other First Lady in her first year since Abigail Adams (in 1797, the first First Lady)." Glen Elsasser of Chicago Tribune observed in 1994, "In her thousand days at the White House, Jacqueline Kennedy imparted an unmatched aura. The presidential campaign of 1960 gave birth to a political era and a White House lifestyle celebrated as Camelot, the mythical seat of King Arthur's court." Back in 1962, Barbara Chandley of Kansas City Star made the point, "Life in the White House, past and present, has become a focal point of national interest in recent months, largely through the efforts of Jacqueline Kennedy. Both in the television tour which she conducted in February (1962) and in a newly published guidebook, Mrs Kennedy has sought to awaken the American public to the heritage the mansion holds for them."

SIXTEEN JACKIES

Oleg Cassini admitted in 1972, "My best creative period was from the beginning of the '50s, to the end of the Jack Kennedy years in the White House (in 1963). I was stimulated by constant success...Jacqueline Kennedy will go down in history like Cleopatra, Catherine the Great, Queen Victoria – a symbol of her time." Fashion historian Gene London added in 1988, "Jackie was the perfect symbol of fashion for that era. For one thing, she was tall and well-proportioned. It was always the coat and dress and gloves and hat. Usually in a comparable color. And for evening it was the metallic lame suit." 

In November 2006, the Andy Warhol's 1964 'Sixteen Jackies' (synthetic polymer and silkscreen inks on canvas) was sold for $15,696,000 at Christie’s New York. Andy Warhol said in 1975, "The more you look at the same exact thing, the more the meaning goes away and the better and emptier you feel." In May 2011 at Sotheby's, 'Sixteen Jackies' (acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas) was sold for $18 million. Andy Warhol paid homage to the importance of "The Week That Was" using Jackie as "the vehicle to convey the message within a classic 4 x 4 grid rectangle format."

Andy Warhol made known, "I heard the news over the radio when I was alone painting in my studio. I don't think I missed a stroke. I wanted to know what was going on out there, but that was the extent of my reaction...Henry Geldzahler wanted to know why I wasn't more upset, so I told him about the time I was walking in India and saw a bunch of people in a clearing having a ball because somebody they really liked had just died and how I realized then that everything was just how you decided to think about it. I'd been thrilled having Kennedy as President; he was handsome, young, smart...What bothered me was the way the television and radio were programming everybody to feel so sad. It seemed like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get away from the thing." 

F. Kenneds told the Washington Star in 1980, "Not since the New Deal (the First Hundred Days of Roosevelt) had so many young people felt such an attraction to Washington (during the Thousand Days of Kennedy). You could feel the change. It wasn't just something people talk about. It was in the air. Jack brought a sense of pride to town, and everybody seemed to work harder. People who came from out of town would remark on it. He and the city of Washington were a marriage."

Liz Carpenter explained, "Washington always mirrors the style and the pace of a President. We were moving from age to youth, from the Republicans to the Democrats. Eisenhower was elected in a time when people were tired of government. Everybody wanted to be on the golf course, and he wanted to leave them there. There was no sense of urgency here. Suddenly it was hyperthyroid and upbeat and fast and there were lots of ideas. Socially under Eisenhower they were still serving finger sandwiches. Under Jackie there were tables for 8, not the straight tables of the past."

Paul Mathias made the point in 1983, "She, by surviving and being with him when he died so dramatically, became a legend in her own lifetime. And she cannot live up to it because no human being could." Mollie Parnis had declared in 1962, "I think Mrs Kennedy is a really great First Lady, the greatest influence on fashion we have ever had. She is the epitome of perfection without even trying, and that's hard. She is natural and right whether she is wearing a sleeveless dress on a boat, or has a scarf tied around it. The secret to Mrs Kennedy's talent with fashion is that there is nothing contrived or planned."

Fred Sparks told The Los Angeles Times in 1970, "There is a famous story about Jackie and ecology. When she heard of the impending dangers of the environment, Jackie was supposed to have told President Kennedy, 'Why don't they just hire planes and spray Chanel No. 5 over the country?' She doesn't think politically. She thinks jet set. And she is doing her thing."

Kenneth Jay Lane told United Feature Service in 1973, "The shirt makes a strong statement for Mrs Onassis. She has bypassed all the fashion fads to enter into a period of pronounced classicism. Whether or not designers admit it, they have followed her lead. It's all part of the new-found fashion freedom women want. It's far easier to overdress than underdress...The '20s have become nostalgic because people think of it in terms of a happy time. It was before the Depression after women became flappers." At the time, KJL stated, "Shirts haven't begun to reach their peak of popularity yet. I hope Jackie goes on wearing shirts forever. You know what she did for the pillbox hat."

Fred Sparks acknowledged in 1970, "She has made fashion designers, Seventh Avenue and hairdressers social figures and that has never happened before in real society. The fashion industry owes its new-found social position to Jackie Onassis. Jackie Onassis doesn't have to worry about what is in. She is in."

THE MONA LISA

Andre Malraux had been described as a 20th-century cultural legend. He had once said, "Life is like a marketplace where one buys values, not with money but with acts…" In December 1962, in what had been hailed as "an historic loan", the Leonardo da Vinci's 1506 painting of the Mona Lisa, left the Louvre Museum in Paris for 3 months for showing in the United States at the West Statuary Hall at the National Gallery of Art in Washington and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. 

Mona Lisa was an unknown Italian woman who married into money. Her husband was the Florentine well-to-do Francesco Del Giocondo. Mona Lisa was 25 when Leonardo da Vinci painted the famous portrait. It was noted the Mona Lisa was the second lady the people of France had sent to the United States. The first being the Statue of Liberty. 

Jack Kennedy told the press, "This incomparable masterpiece, the work of one of the greatest figures of the western age of creativity, will come to this country as a reminder of the friendship that exists between France and the United States." Andre Malraux wanted to pay "tribute to the American soliders who saved the Mona Lisa (for civilized man) – and all of France, as well – in two (world) wars." 

Back in May 1962, Jack and Jackie hosted a state dinner at the White House in honor of Andre Malraux. The dinner featured a "French-accented menu". Jackie told Andre Malraux that she would love to see the Mona Lisa in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. Andre Malraux promised Jackie he would see that the Mona Lisa be displayed in the United States. 

Jack told Andre Malraux, "We in the United States are grateful for this loan from the leading artistic power in the world, France. In view of the recent meeting at Nassau (in the Bahamas), I must note further that this painting has been kept under careful French control, and that France has even sent along its own commander-in-chief – M. Malraux." At the time Charles de Gaulle insisted on building his own independent force including nuclear armaments. Andre Malraux said that through Jack Kennedy, "the world's most powerful nation pays today (in January 1963) the most brilliant homage a work of art has ever received."

In May 1962, some 165 "creative thinkers" attended the state dinner at the White House, the place at the time "is becoming a sort of eating place for artists." Jack paid tribute, "One of the great myths of American life is that nothing is pleasanter or easier than lying around all day and painting a picture or writing a book. In my opinion, the ultimate in self-discipline is a creative work. Those of us who work in an office every day are actually the real gentle livers of American society." 

The guests attended the dinner included Julie Harris, Arthur Miller, Paddy Chayefsky, Tennessee Williams, Agnes De Millee, George Balanchine, Geraldine Page, Lee Strasberg, Elia Kazan, John Hersey, Robert Penn Warren, Irwin Shaw and Thomas Lowell Jr. "They really know what's going on," Manning Gurian remarked.

The Mona Lisa painting was insured for $100,000,000. One observer made a wisecrack at the time (in 1963), "A hundred million dollars could bankrupt Lloyds of London. And with the British economy on the precarious state that it's in, that could bring England to the abyss. (Harold) Macmillan would have no bargaining power left. He'd have to bring England into the Common Market, at any cost – no matter what price de Gaulle asks."

SPIN-OFF

In 1965, Jeane Dixon told the world there was a special 3 years old child from the Middle East who would revolutionize Mother Earth in 1980 by introducing "an all-embracing faith to mankind". Jeane beamed in 1980, "He's in Egypt now (in 1980). We're going to see him by the mid-1980s. We're really going to be seeing him." In October 1981, Anwar Sadat - the first Arab leader ever to visit the Jewish state - died. Ronald Reagan lamented, "America has lost a great friend, the world has lost a great statesman, and mankind has lost a champion of peace." In March 1981, Ronald Reagan broke the "Fatal 20" curse when he survived shots fired in an assassination attempt outside the Washington Hilton Hotel. 

In December 1998, the 4-year production of the DreamWorks movie, 'The Prince of Egypt' could be seen on the big screen. The Dallas Morning News reported, "If DreamWorks has a hit, hundreds of millions of people will 'know' that Moses was once the fun-loving little brother of Rameses, future ruler of Egypt. That image will be reinforced by 26 spin-off books and 3 CDs of music." Consultant Rabbi Burton Visotzky told Jeffrey Weiss, "Jewish tradition says that in each and every generation, each person should see him or herself as though they personally came out of Egypt. That act of imagination means you try to jump into the story." The Dallas Morning News continued, "Moses is the man chosen by God to lead the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land. He is an important figure for Christians and Moslems, but he is the marquee name for Judaism's most sacred texts. The movie is part of a grand, 3000-year multifaith tradition of filling in the gaps of the spare biblical narrative." 

Back in 1974, Lawrence Laurent of the Washington Post told readers: "A 'spin-off' is the term in the television business to perpetuate a successful production company. The character, usually a supporting actor or 'second banana' who has been around for several years, emerges with his or her own television series. Where the production company has only one show, it now has 2. After that, if the ratings continue to be high, the successful program can once again split itself like an amoeba, and there's no end to the whole process." An example at the time was 'All In The Family' which gave rise to 'The Jeffersons', 'Gloria', 'Maude' and 'Good Times'. 

In 1985, Charlton Heston turned down the opportunity to make a run for Alan Cranston's senate seat so he could appear on 'The Colbys', a spin-off of 'Dynasty'. Chuck told the Associated Press, "The part was very attractive. I'd at least have an opportunity to play in what you'd call a domestic context. I've played a lot of great, extraordinary men. Men like Marc Antony, Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Cardinal Richelieu. 

"I suppose 25% of my roles have been historical characters. Another 25 to 30% have been set in centuries other than our own. I've played prophets, kings, cardinals, astronauts and geniuses. It's interesting to be in a place where you wear a tie and pour coffee and not have to lie there and paint the Sistine Chapel. Half of the films I’ve been in I never wore pants, and when I did wear pants they were often of mail (made of metal). My wife is a modern 20th-century woman, not Cleopatra. I wanted to do something contemporary for a change. Once you've played a 16th-century cardinal you're asked to play an 11th-century Spanish knight, then a 14th century genius. Even when I was in a comedy, 'The Three Musketeers', the director told me to play it absolutely straight." 

Chuck described the part of Jason Colby: "Jason Colby is a man who's strong and powerful and goes aggressively after what he wants. He's also a family man and sensitive, but you know he's strong. When I wrote his biographic profile, which I do for every character I play, unless they're extremely well known, I said when it came to paintings his tastes ran to Remington, Russell, George Catlin and Andrew Wyeth. My own tastes are for Wyeth, my favorite living American painter, and early American painters. I wouldn't say Remington and Russell are my favorite painters, but they're appropriate for Jason Colby. Jason Colby, like his grandfather, is a man who likes to go through his own front door every night feeling justified." 

In 1979, 'Knots Landing', a spin-off of 'Dallas' went on air. Although 'Knots Landing' was David Jacobs' original idea, the network demanded 'Dallas'. When 'Dallas' became successful, it gave birth to 'Knots Landing'. Don Murray elaborated, "At first we were compared with 'Dallas' because, after all, that's where we got our start. Two of our principal characters (Gary and Valene) were brought over from 'Dallas' at the beginning. 'Dallas' is escapism and fun. It attempts to get people to forget their own problems. But we try to keep 'Knots Landing' as realistic as we can. I believe our show is adultly done. We provide realistic interrelationships among 4 middle class families, millions of whom tune in. That alone is a significant departure from 'Dynasty' and 'Dallas' which deal with enormous wealth and spoiled, selfish people." 

In 1980, Donna Mills joined the cast of 'Knots Landing'. "Abby was introduced to stir up trouble. To make things sort of cook and bubble. It's important that the writers keep coming up with interesting and nasty things for Abby to do," Donna made the comment. "The thing that women seem to like about her is her strength. The way she goes after what she wants. She doesn't let anybody get in her way or tell her what to do. Women seem to admire that. She wants to be in the Ewing family. That's where the money and power are. Also, she’s fallen for Gary so she's vulnerable in that area." 

In the 1982-83 season, "She's going to have some money...Gary and I will move in together and he inherits $1 million from Jock Ewing. What it does is gives us a little more glamor. 'Dallas' has it and I think it helps. Larry (Hagman) and I have had a few laughs whenever J.R. makes a guest appearance on 'Knots Landing.'"  

By the 1984-85 season, "She likes power more than money. She's got enough money. It's power and achieving that she most wants. Abby likes to be in control of things. In her own way, she loves Gary, and it's not just because he's got the money. She doesn't want to lose him, and she'd also never do anything to hurt him. She would never want him to know about her affair with (Senator) Greg Sumner." 

Of the criticisms about soap operas in general, "It's so ridiculous. I used to think it was funny, but it's not funny any more. These kinds of shows are really morality lessons because the bad people never win. People can see that they never get their way or triumph." 

Scott Valentine starred in 'Family Ties'. He told Vernon Scott of United Press International in 1986, "NBC has asked me to play Nick in another spin-off ('the art of being nick') next spring (in 1987). The sets are already being built on the Paramount lot. The premise of the show has Nick working as a counsellor, a big brother figure, at a recreational center for young kids. They're even talking about having some of the characters from 'Family Ties' appear in some of the segments...If this new spin-off becomes a series I won't be returning to 'Family Ties' next season (1987-88). But sometimes I wonder if Nick is a strong enough character to carry a series of his own. Nick is a lovable, nice guy but with his limited vocabulary and monochromatic demeanor I'm not sure he carries enough weight. There is always an element of luck about a TV series."

By 1999, one media buyer made known, "I think in an environment that has 120 shows, networks are trying to extend brand names. For example, by having a 'time of your life' spin-off of 'Party of Five', 'Party of Five' viewers will go and sample the show." The series starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and Jennifer Garner. Another media buyer added, "People who are watching 'Law & Order', are probably going to check out 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'. If they had called it something else without that 'Law & Order' brand, it would be much harder to get it sampled."

JACK

"Within 10 years," Jeane Dixon made the forecast in 1968, "the 2-party system will vanish." Jeane reiterated in 1980, "I didn't mean to set a firm deadline. But what I predicted about the 2-party system is under way now (in 1980)." 

According to the 1965 book, 'A Gift Of Prophecy', Jeane had a vision of "a blue-eyed Democratic President elected in 1960". However "dark cloud spread" suggesting he would die in office. Jeane said she saw the White House and the numerals "1960" in her vision. In December 1960, Jack Kennedy was elected President of the United States. 303 of 537 state electors of the Electoral College voted for Jack. He only needed 269 electoral votes to win office. In the November 9, 1960 election results, over 68 million Americans voted, with Jack winning 34,120,496 popular votes. But it was the electoral votes that mattered most under the Constitution. 

Jack began his 4-year term on January 20, 1961. As early as January 1963, Jack already started devising re-election strategy for his 1964 presidential campaign. It was explained, "He needs an additional 4 years to achieve a more firmly rooted peace (nuclear war/Soviet expansion) and a more rapidly developing economy – to translate the gains of his first term into the achievement of 'our national purpose.'" Anticipating he would have to fight for a second term, Jack knew he would need the support of "affluent Democrats toward acquiring a huge election-year war chest".

Jack Kennedy was the 7th and last U.S. President to experience the "Fatal 20" curse - a curse which saw all presidents elected in a year ending with the number "0" (also known as the Zero Factor) and elected in a year evenly divisible by 20 died while serving in office. 

1. 1840 William Henry Harrison

2. 1860 Abraham Lincoln

  

3. 1880 James Garfield

4. 1900 William McKinley

5. 1920 Warren Harding

6. 1940 Franklin D Roosevelt

7. 1960 Jack Kennedy 

Speaking to Don Boxmeyer of Knight News Service in 1980, Jeane Dixon told the world, "I actually knew it as early as 1952. I even knew part of the killer's name – what was his name? Yes, Oswald – because I could see several letters of his last name. I knew the importance of that prophecy and I tried very hard to get the President to not go to Dallas." 

Don wondered if Jeane could have changed history? Jeane was matter-of-fact, "You bet your life I could have! If my warnings would be heeded, of course I could have changed the course of history." However a prophecy "is the word of God. What will happen will happen; the will of humanity cannot change that. Predictions, or forecasts, are merely peeks into the plans of man, like Watergate." 

It was not made clear whether it was God's intention for Jack to become the most popular President ever. The Gallup public opinion polls consistently showed Jack's massive popularity rating, peaking at 79% which at one time forcing Jack to concede, "If I were still 79% after a very intense congressional session, I would feel that I had not met my responsibilities." 

In his first 20 days in office, Jack showed "a middle-of-the-road administration, more liberal than conservative" but opposing extremes. Before taking office, observers suspected "the Kennedy administration will, through sheer political necessity and force of circumstances, be required to follow a middle-of-the-road policy, toward which the voters of the country seem to have been (leaning toward) for several years now." It was understood "middle-of-the-road" voters were the "independent" voters. 

In November 1962, the entire House of Representatives and 39 senators (5 occupying unexpired terms) stood for re-election (also known as mid-term elections). When Jack took office, there were 263 Democrats and 174 Republicans in the House of Representatives and 64 Democrats and 36 Republicans in the Senate. On paper, it would appear there was "a working majority for the President." (263 plus 174 and 64 plus 36 equaled the 537 state electors)  

However because of the "divisions within the parties" as well as the "built-in delays and obstructions (also referred to as "road-blocking") of a system of divided powers within the government written into the Constitution", Jack found his key bills being blocked instead of the Senate voting on them and the House passing those legislations. Some bills saw conservative Democrats joining with the Republicans to block. Those key bills included health assistance for the aged, the farm bill, the proposal for a Department of Urban Affairs, the general education bill and the Trade Expansion Act. The Trade Expansion Act allowed "the President with authority to negotiate reciprocal reductions of tariffs on a broad range of products. It would affect the future relations between the American producer and the European Common Market."

In his first year, a recession ended. In the first 2 years of his presidency, Jack faced Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev "across the abyss of nuclear war 3 times – over Laos, Berlin and Cuba (*). Each time war was averted by a display of U.S. strength and Russia's refusal to challenge it."

(*) Jeane believed "Fidel Castro's days were numbered" and in 1968, said  he would soon "pass from the scene." However Jeane clarified in 1980, "The time is not yet ripe. But it will happen. What is hanging over him is hanging over him, hanging right over him." 

In the 3rd year of Jack's first term, one of the most objective and knowledgeable of political commentators on Capitol Hill made the comment, "He has used the techniques of leadership available to him as well as they could be used; what we are seeing is the senescence (Latin word meaning 'to grow old') of representative government here (in the U.S.) and in almost every democracy." 1960 marked the birth of the New Frontier.

Marquis Childs pointed out, "He is cool, cautious, inclined to play the game of politics by maneuver and bargain. His intellect is a reflection of his temperament. He has accompanied proposals sent to Congress with eloquent messages on the need for change."

Jack Kennedy was the first U.S. President born in the 20th century. It was noted during his 1000 days in office, Jack only gave 64 press conferences compared with Dwight D Eisenhower (1953-1961) who gave 192 press conferences; Harry S Truman (1945-1953) gave 324 press conferences; and Franklin D Roosevelt (1933-1945) gave 990 press conferences.

Jeane told Don, "I tried to get him (Edward Kennedy) not to run in 1980. It is not his year. He should wait until 1984. I picked up the vibrations before Chappaquiddick and I told Joan Kennedy not to let him go on any boating trips, that it was dangerous water and that there were vibrations that could change the course of his life – a tragedy that would change his life.

"If Ted Kennedy is not careful, he could go the same way his brothers did. I don't know how to say it, but his life is in danger even at this very moment (April 1980). The Lord is not going to put him in the White House. I am not ruling out 1984, but then he would not be President for very long. Someway, somehow, it is just not to be…" Jack Kennedy was the first Roman Catholic to be elected to the United States' highest office.

PRIME TIME SOAPS

Old Hollywood stars could be seen on network television prime time soap operas in the 1980s in new twists to keep the audiences guessing like a TV crossword puzzle. One TV programmer told 'Modern Maturity' magazine in 1987, "Older people are watching an incredible amount of television; they watch more hours of television than any other age groups. So we are not dummies; we know we have to go where the audience is." On television the advertising favorite audience were women 18 to 49 years old. Paul Harvey of the Los Angeles Times reported, "Suddenly, TV producers were reminded that this year (in 1987), for the first year ever, there are more Americans over 65 than under 25...As TV programmers have begun to recognize the appeal of older performers, so have TV advertisers."

John Forsythe had said, "It's so much different than writing individual sustained episodes. You have to weave together the strings of all the continuing characters...Sometimes characters grow, sometimes certain situations interest the audience more than others. I think some characters disappeared because the oil rig situation interested the audience less than what was going on in the Carrington house." Esther Shapiro expressed, "Older actors have back stories. They're older, they've lived, so they can have an exciting past that we can explore. What back story can you have with an 18-year-old wearing blue jeans?" David Jacobs made known, "I approach my shows like novels. I start with the characters. I want to know their history and see why they are like they are."

Listening to Frankie played the piano on 'The Colbys', Jason remarked, "'Schubert. Fantasie en femme II.' I remember this house used to be full of music when you were here." Sable added, "From wallpaper to show pan. It took me right back."

On 'Falcon Crest', Angela told Jacqueline, "Falcon Crest belongs to those who can control it and makes it live. It belongs to me because I'm strong enough to make it produces. The future here belongs to anyone who has the skill and the raw guts to take it away from me."

On 'Dynasty', Alexis told Krystle, "I never ask questions when I already know the answers...Look for the person behind the camera. One click of the shutter and the course of history could often be changed."

Soap operas attracted both the older generation as well as the younger generation. Arts commentator George Hatza noted in 1983, "The region – its climate and inherent culture – plays as important a role as the human characters. The land, the corporation, the family estate – these are powers to be reckoned with. They become personifications with which the characters relate on a human level, entities to be either embraced or manipulated." One TV programmer stressed, "Television is not a one for one for real life. It's not intended to be. TV is entertainment. Many people watch it as an escape and diversion from their problems."

Prime time TV series had been described as "an inexact and error-prone science." Mike Boone told readers in 1985, "In the course of a typical year, a major American television network will receive 700 ideas for series. The network will commission 150 scripts, from which 20 program pilots will be filmed. Of 20 pilots, the network might add 6 shows to its schedule. If 3 of these become hits, business is (booming)."

Alexis Smith remembered, "There's a lot of mystery working on 'Dallas'. They don't tell you in advance what your character is up to or what plans they have for her. Sometimes they take a page or two out of the script so you won't give away any secrets." It was explained, "How would you like it if you'd prepared some brilliant, dramatic twist in the story, only to see it appear in the newspapers before it happened on screen?"

Dack Rambo revealed, "The producers are so nervous about anyone finding out what's going to happen that they often film 2 or 3 endings. So not even the actors know what's going to happen." Bob Crutchfield of Lorimar Productions insisted, "We’ve filmed various ways so that the editor can put the solution together at the direction of the producers." Ali MacGraw recounted, "It's quite amazing. You never knew what was going to happen. I kept meeting handsome young guys on the set and asking: 'Hi, are you my Mr Right?' But they didn't know any more than I did." Leigh McCloskey observed, "You get one script at a time simply because they feel the characters are constantly changing. If you were playing, in a sense, the result – where you were going – it would not be as convincing. It's nice because you really don't know where you're heading, and you work on what's going to happen in the future. It's like life. You don't know what's going to happen, you don't know what you're going to say next, and you just continue on."

Early on in television, Diahann Carroll disclosed, "There was no middle ground before. You were either a hooker or you were the most wonderful black citizen, the best mother the world has ever been. It became nauseating. We were never made villains. Producers were afraid they'd be accused of racism. But now, the Black Minnie Mouse can be the biggest bitch on the block, demanding, powerful and pivotal to the plot."

It was understood the cost of each episode of the average prime time soap opera was around $1 million to film. The network normally ordered 22 episodes but in the 1980s, it was not unusual to see a network ordered as many as 30 episodes a season.  Steve Kanaly pointed out, "With few exceptions, all actors are expendable." John Forsythe concurred, "I don't think anyone is totally indispensable, but in our show, the 3 principal actors – Linda (Evans), Joan (Collins) and myself – would obviously be very hard to replace...I was taught a long time ago that a deal is not a good deal unless it is good for both sides, and no one is forced to sign a contract if they don't like it."

PRIME TIME SOAPS

"Remember people enjoy living through writers so give them a life they can relate to and yet fantasize about," Harold Robbins said. In the 1980s, 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' were 2 of commercial television most popular American cultural exports, "watched and analyzed around the world." 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' attracted the mass audience because "their fictions are grounded in fact." 

In an interview in 1986, Harold Robbins told readers, "Power gets everybody turned on. There was a great sexual attraction to Franklin Delano Roosevelt that projected from his voice and emitted from his stature as a world leader. Sexual drive has often (been transformed) into other kinds of power because the sex act is too brief and too quickly forgotten." 

Esther Shapiro expressed, "I'm not sure money brings happiness but it does bring control." Phil Capice voiced, "I've always said, there is a vicarious pleasure in participating in these rich peoples' lives and finding out their wealth is not intimidating, seeing that despite their wealth and power, these people are never happy." Harold maintained, "You must remember that there are no rich and famous people in the world. There are only poor people who found some money. 

"I think shows like 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' are successful because they portray middle-class families put into wealthy environments. If they portrayed real rich people as they are, nobody would tune in because these people are basically very boring and insecure. How many times can you talk about money to someone who wishes they had more?" 

It was noted 'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' performed poorly in summer reruns. One analyst believed, "That's primarily because people who watch these shows have made their emotional commitment during the year. They prefer not to re-live participation in the summer months. They know what's going to happen." David Jacobs recognized, "You are there not only to watch this week but next week and the week after that." In short, soaps depended on returning audiences and word of mouth. 

"It 's the story that counts," David insisted. Harold added, "I basically find a story that will interest me and then I try to tell it in a way that will interest the reader...Most of the things I write are out of my own life and observations." However "every television show reaches a point where it experiences audience decline, usually after 5 or 7 years…You sort of run into dry spells as far as storytelling avenues are concerned. There are only so many stories about the oil or wine industries." 

David recounted in 1985, "When I did 'Dallas', there were 7 characters and a couple of little stories and we were able to watch them and develop what worked as we went along...'Knots Landing' was done the same way 6 years ago (in 1979)...What I like best about 'Knots' is the reality of its characters, even though the plots are unrealistic...I like to start things in the middle so you can ask yourself, 'How did this happen? Where did these people come from? How did they get here?' Then we answer those questions as we go along." 

Kathleen Beller won the part of Kirby Colby on 'Dynasty' after she read a scene with John James. She recalled, "The producers didn't really know who Kirby would be. I knew her to be a fairly classy girl…It was a strange experience being on the No. 1 show in the world and going to South America 2 years later (in 1986), and I'm like a star! Just mob scenes. The heights of teen idoldom! At the time I found it very scary." 

Harold argued, "The only real stars are television stars. They are the only people the public recognizes. Harrison Ford could walk into a restaurant outside of Hollywood and nobody would recognize him. Joan Collins would have the busboy recognize her in the same situation. Hollywood is actually a very small town. It's not an immoral place. If Joan Collins or any other star who plays a rich bitch on television were to act that way socializing in Hollywood, nobody would like or accept her. The problem with today's (in 1986) Hollywood is by the time you discover who has the real power – be they a film star or a studio head – they've already lost it."

In 1988, Larry Riley and Lynne Moody joined the cast of 'Knots Landing' as Frank and Patricia. David disclosed, "We decided to write it colorblind. It's just a new couple coming to Knots Landing, and here are their problems, We're not doing it this way because it's safe – we're doing it because it's good."

Lynne stressed, "She's a bright lady, but she has a lot of problems. She has problems with her family, with her career and with her neighbors. But she has no problems because she's black. They're all human problems." Confessing "I like the soap opera formula," Lynne observed, "When they first talked about bringing in a new family, I don't know if they were to be white or black. I don't know what the talk was before they decided on us. I know they were losing some important characters and there was a house available in the cul-de-sac."

Kathleen mentioned in 1985, "The idea of making Diahann Carroll my mother was the original plan and when Diahann joined the show, she was told she'd be playing my mom. They usually keep these things very secret, and the only way I even found out about it was when I had lunch with Diahann and she told me she was going to be revealed as my mom. We spoke about it at some length and both agreed that it was the sort of storyline that would probably get some people upset. Right about that time the writers who had been on our show for a number of years left, and the new writers came in with a different set of ideas."

PABLO CASALS

At the time of his death in 1973, Pablo Casals was hailed "the foremost cellist of the 20th century." Born in 1876, Pablo Casals made his public debut in 1899. He had said, "All the music is a rainbow. Music is a divine thing. Music is an inspiration...A state of the soul and a creation of God, like all nature. What gives me more joy is to try to give to the others what I have received from God. If God has given me music, what a joy to give it to the young musicians." 

As part of Jackie Kennedy's campaign for culture, Pablo Casals was invited to perform at the White House in November 1961. Jack and Jackie were hosting a state dinner in honor of the visiting Puerto Rican Governor and Mrs Luis Muñoz Marín. Pablo Casals told Jack and Jackie, "May the music that I will play for you and for your friends symbolize my deep feelings for the American people and the faith and confidence we all have in you as leader of the free world." 

Pablo Casals last performed in the White House in 1904 during Theodore Roosevelt's administration. Arguing "the first thing a man has to have is liberty," Pablo Casals reportedly stopped playing in Russia after 1917, in Germany or Italy from 1936 and in Spain after the civil war in 1939 because of "the injustices of the (Generalissimo Francisco) Franco regime." 

His last public concert in the United States was in 1928. Pablo Casals expressed, "I have great affection for the United States, but I cannot condone its support of a dictator who sided with America's enemies, (Adolf) Hitler and (Benito) Mussolini. Franco's power would surely collapse without American aid." Since 1956, Pablo Casals had lived in exile in Puerto Rico. He regarded Luis Muñoz Marín as "one of the great citizens of the world because of his art (poetry) and because of his love of liberty." 

In 1958, Pablo Casals performed at the annual United Nations Day concert "because I thought it was the best place to manifest my desire for peace." Pablo Casals explained his reason for stopped playing, "My cello is my only weapon. I do not play any more. I am a musician. A musician is a human being, with all the attributes and obligations, from and to, mankind. A musician, as every man, has the right of action in following his conscience. We are one of the leaves of a tree, and the tree is all humanity. We cannot live without the others, without the tree. We need liberty. The first thing a man has to have is liberty. This is why I can't conceive of a country with a dictator." 

The concert at the White House east ballroom followed a fillet of beef dinner in the state dining and oval blue rooms. Jack Kennedy told the 153 guests, "You (Pablo Casals) have demonstrated in your own life that an artist must be a free man. Music has made as great a contribution to this nation as other efforts which may be more publicized." 

Tim Creery of Southam News Services reported in April 1962: "The President's overwhelming personal popularity must be accounted the most important political fact of life in the United States today (in 1962). There are several measures of the phenomenon. Television, magazines, newspapers and all the other media of communication in the U.S. show the extent to which Kennedy – and the people, events and policies related to him – dominate the public consciousness. 

"The Gallup poll finds him enjoying huge popular support month after month. The desperation of the Republicans, who can hardly make themselves seen or heard, bears further witness to the effectiveness of the Kennedy exposure. The White House is at any time a powerful agency for the favorable projection of a personality. Witness Ike (Dwight D. Eisenhower), and others before him. But the variety and intensity of interest which the Kennedy White House appears to afford the public has probably never been matched, even by FDR (Franklin D. Roosevelt).

"(Jack and Jackie) offer a combination of glamor and achievement that leaves the traditional idols, the stars of the theatrical arts, far behind. And what is the Royal family, for which Americans often have seemed to yearn, beside this combination? It is mere splendor robbed of power. (Jack and Jackie) brought glamor to the White House, and built glamor in the White House."

The 153 guests attending the Pablo Casals concert at the White House included leaders of the music world such as Gian Carlo Menotti, Rafael Hernandez, Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, Leopold Stokowski, Aaron Copland, Virgil Roy Harris, Alan Hovhaness, Dr. Douglas Moore, Norman Dello Thomson, Howard Hansen, Dr. Jolo, Walter Piston, Roger Sessions and Samuel Barber. Pablo Casals performed "Mendelsshon's Trio No 1 in D Minor, added Schumann's Adagio and Allegro in A-Flat Major and ended with 5 cello and piano pieces by Couperin and Mendelssohn’s trio in D minor." Pablo Casals was accompanied by violinist Alexander Schneider and pianist Mieczyslaw Horszowski.

Gian Carlo Menotti described the concert "one of the most exciting evenings I have spent in my 30 years in America. It is the first time Americans really have shown they are above Europe" in the cultural field.

The new Constitution of Spain in 1978 was the 12th Constitution since 1812. The Constitution replaced the laws under which Generalissimo Francisco Franco ruled from the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939 until his death in 1975. The Constitution "ushering in Western-style democracy" as Spain made "relatively peaceful transition to democracy." Back in November 1966, Generalissimo Francisco Franco asked for the Cortes (parliament) of Spain to approve "a new Constitution (at the time Spain's 8th since 1812) be submitted to referendum." In October 1966, Spain held its first Cortes (parliament) election since 1936. In an interview in 1966, Pablo Casals stated he would only return back to Spain "if democracy is restored...Spain is changing but we have to wait to see if there is going to be a real change or another cataclysm." The 1966 Constitution argued for "certain easings of restrictions. Franco retains control of executive and legislative powers." Pablo Casals made the point at the time, "It is change a la Franco. Everything is the same."

DYNASTY

"Every recession needs an escape," Aaron Spelling pointed out in 1984. "Look how well Charlie Chaplin did during the Depression? People who can't pay the rent want to look back and laugh at the problems of the rich and famous...People are starving for glamor. There's a recession going on and they need to escape."

John James believed, "A series like 'Dynasty' produces 25 shows a year. (Daytime) soaps do more than 300 episodes in one year. It's obvious the storylines in prime time have much more impact. The episodes move ahead much faster...In a continuing TV drama we do 45 minutes of dialog involving human relationships and emotions every week." 'Dynasty' had been described as "a continuing, larger-than-life story about wealth and power and the quest for power." 

"TV is the medium of today (in 1985) and the future," John James made the comment at the time. "Feature films are becoming like Broadway with only 7 to 10 quality pictures being made a year. TV is constantly improving, especially 2-hour movies which deal with important issues and significant stories. Their impact is 10 times greater on the public." John also made the point, "'Dynasty' has changed actors' attitudes about working in television. Now (in the 1980s) it's okay for all actors to work in prime time series. Look at the big stars in 'The Colbys', and more major stars may be added in the future." 

In 1985, Charlton Heston turned down the opportunity to make a run for Alan Cranston's senate seat so he could appear on 'The Colbys'. He reasoned, "Truly, I would rather play a senator than be one." On 'The Colbys', "the idea is to undertake a long term exploration of a character. The problem of most series is that for the most part they duplicate the same episode over and over. It is possible to do a series in another way, as the English have shown us." 

Alan Cranston had served in the Senate for 4 terms from 1968 to 1993. Larry Eichel made the observation in 1986, "Over the years, Alan Cranston has been a lucky man. Whenever the Democratic Senator from California would go before the voters, the Republican Party would help him out by giving him a dogmatic, conservative opponent - an ideologue with little appeal to moderate Democrats, independents or even moderate Republicans." It was understood Alan Cranston had previously worked as a journalist for the International News Service covering Benito Mussolini, Adolf Hitler and Ethiopia. He had told the press, "I became very concerned about American isolationism, the fact that there were many Americans wanting to have nothing to do with what was happening in the rest of the world. I didn't want to spend my life writing about such evil people and their terrible deeds; I'd rather be involved in the action." 

"'The Colbys' is an actor's show," John James observed. "Charlton Heston, Barbara Stanwyck and Ricardo Montalbán have all been major movie stars. We look more like a weekly movie than a TV show. In one scene I watched the 3 of them doing the special things film actors were trained to do and it was like going back to the 1960s watching them do their work...Both Spelling and Doug Cramer, his partner, assured me they would not spare any expense. And knowing how they changed 'Dynasty' over the years to keep it fresh and interesting, I believed them...They convinced me it would be great to recreate a show like 'Dynasty' and do it even better. We're not going to be the flip side of a hit record." 

Charlton Heston remarked, "They ('Dynasty') both have a preoccupation with love and power and sex. We want to make ours ('The Colbys') different. That's an obvious prerequisite. Not to say what Johnny's (Forsythe) doing is wrong." John Forsythe remembered, "I directed Chuck on Broadway in a 1956 revival of 'Mr. Roberts'. We've been friends and tennis-playing buddies over the years." John James described Jason Colby and Blake Carrington, "They don't trust each other. They're antagonistic enough for good drama." 

Charlton Heston insisted, "I had certain control over the kind of man he's (Jason) going to be. There are very few permissible villains in prime time TV, but bankers, businessmen and military men over the rank of major are popular categories. One of the things I want to do with this series ('The Colbys') is demonstrate that a rich businessman can be a good man." 

Back in 1983, John Forsythe told Kay Gardella of New York Daily News, "Before I took the role I prepared several pages of history on him – his background, what drives him, what school he went to, what his parents were like, his home life, the clothes he likes to wear, and so forth. While I don't reveal these facts, they help me create the role. I've always thought of him as the quintessential American tycoon. I've known a lot of businessmen like him. They're like the Mafia. In the marketplace they can be ruthless, domineering, tough and hard, But at home, like the Mafia, they're devoted to their wives, children and friends. There's a totally different morality involved." 

Ricardo Montalbán had entertained audiences for 7 seasons (from 1977 to 1984)  on 'Fantasy Island'. On 'The Colbys', "Usually you get a script with a beginning, middle and end but in this case every night is opening night because you never know what's coming up. You open your script and say: 'I do what?' But it's very exciting. I'm never had this experience as an actor before and I'm having a wonderful time." 

Aaron Spelling told The Guardian in 1992, "I've been chastised for entertaining the audience. I'd rather be accused of pleasing them than the critics. I'm proud of what I've done. People need to have a valve release. I really do think so. And as times get tougher – and obviously we are not out of this recession, we maybe are entering a bigger one – I think it's needed even more than ever."

LINDA EVANS

"The first wave of 'baby boomers' – a generation born in the aftermath of World War II (after 1945) – is turning 40 this year (in 1986), embracing a mixture of idealistic attitudes and materialistic lifestyles," John Leighty of United Press International reported in March 1986. Linda Evans played a part in "our national awakening to the beauty and sexiness of women over 40." Back in 1981, Jay Bernstein announced, "I went to Linda a number of years ago and told her she could be the woman of the '70s. She was my first choice. She said, 'Thanks, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but I just want to go home to John (Derek)'. Farrah (Fawcett) was the woman of the '70s. She made being 30 seemed the perfect age. The perfect age for a woman in this decade (the 1980s) will be about 40, and Linda will be the perfect 40." 

John Leighty continued, "With more disposable income than others who have turned 40 in the past, the baby boomers consist of hippies turned yuppies, campus protesters turned politicians, and anti-establishment types turned entrepreneurs...The generation that listened to Bob Dylan (now 44), the Rolling Stones (Mick Jagger is 42) and Joan Baez (43), has also carried with it an idealism that has hatched alternative ways of looking at families, home and work." 

Linda admitted in 1981, "For a long time I wasn't sure about acting. I was confused. I never really sought a career; I thought of it as something transitional in my life. I was into being anonymous. I gave very few interviews and did hardly any personal appearances. I wasn't interested in being anybody – known or otherwise." Linda also mentioned, "John (Derek) didn't want me to work. He wanted me to quit 'Big Valley'. I went to the producer and asked to quit, but they wouldn't let me out. John kept hoping they'd cancel the show. I think John would rather all of us (including Bo Derek) had stayed home." 

In April 1980, Richard Kenyon of the Milwaukee Journal reported, "Today (in 1980), the nation is divided – by age, experience and philosophy. There is no consensus on values, and no fluid flow of values from one generation to the next. Divided by experience, too, many of those born before 1945, referred to as the 'Depression Kids', knew poverty, unemployment and the struggle to 'make it'. Many of those born after 1945 grew up having it; they are affluent and well-educated. 

"In terms of philosophy, most of those born before 1945 followed certain societal rules – you obeyed your elders, your bosses, your priests, ministers and teachers. In short, you recognized and respected all the fine distinctions of the established hierarchies and levels of authority. Many of those born after 1945 do not. For many of those born before 1945, God was in Heaven, Satan was in Hell, father was at work and mother was at home. Those roles are uncertain today (in 1980). The idea of who and what is God is undergoing major revision. Satan, for many people, is being discarded, ignored and forgotten. 

"The roles of men and women are being revolutionized. This breakdown in traditional values has come as the Industrial Age seems to be coming to an end. In this time of turning, of the transition to a new kind of civilization, values seem confused. But they seem to be taking identifiable shape. A consensus is growing as a new way of life dawns. People are asking similar questions. Movements of all kinds are coalescing, although not easily. 

"Those who hold to the old values don't understand the affection others have for the new. Those who want to bring about change and usher in a new culture are opposed by the generation that controls the systems and has most of the power. That clearly was the case in the 1960s, when the rift between the generations was most severe as it blasted into history unannounced. The mid-'60s were the time when the first wave of Baby Boomers separated from their Depression Kid parents and their values. The new generation has the future ahead of them – one threatened by a growing world population, deteriorating environment and nuclear holocaust. But most of the power is held by the previous generation. And all the rules are those of the previous generation." 

Speaking from the Bonaventure Hotel in 1983 where she attended the Linda Evans Celebrity Tennis Tournament, Linda recalled, "A few years ago I was walking through the kitchen toward the back door. My maid was ironing and watching TV in her room, and I heard this familiar voice. I stopped and looked at the screen and couldn't believe my eyes. It was me – in 'Big Valley'. I think I had a lot of baby fat then (1965-69), even though I've always been thin. But I was sort of rounder and very shy and I think that came across, too. A lot of me has changed. It's funny to have so much film on yourself. I suppose it would be strange to all of us to go back 22 years and look at ourselves for a minute at a place in time and see how we were." 

On 'Dynasty', Linda played Krystle. Creator Esther Shapiro elaborated, "Krystle comes from a middle-class background. She marries a rich, older man. She has to run a mansion, deal with servants. There are stepchildren almost her age who resent her. She has to decide whether to have a child while there's still time. One day Linda came to me and said, 'This is out of my own life.'" Linda added, "It's a little scary sometimes. A script will come in and I'll see something in it and I'll say, 'My God, that happened to me.' There are so many instances where the script has paralleled my life." 

Tony Shepherd observed, "Esther Shapiro, who created the show, feels the audience wants to see strong men and strong women who respect men. All the characters have a flaw, including Alexis." Linda remarked, "There are many things that Krystle should change about Blake. But she loves him so she sticks it out, hoping for a change." Linda also conceded, "I think as an actress we always take parts of ourselves and sometimes if there's something we can identify in ourselves or our friends we put it into the part."

As Krystle, "it was the process of becoming stronger as a woman in her 30s and sharing that with people through television that appealed to me about the character. To say it's never too late to grow up and to learn and change and get wiser. When you become conscious of what's happening to you, what your life is all about – well, then you can begin to change it…For years I didn't recognize my own potential. Whether it was choosing my acting roles or making a dinner reservation at a restaurant, I always relied on other people's opinions. Now (in 1986), I handle my own decisions, and if I fall, well, that's the breaks." 

By 1984, 'Dynasty' "has become a phenomenon. It's not anything you even know how to experience until it happens to you. What's happened more recently (back in 1984), though, is something I really wasn't prepared for – how successful the show has become all over the world. There's no privacy in terms of traveling. Paparazzi follow you everywhere." 

'Dynasty', Linda believed, "It is entertainment but I think it is informative in that it reflects families and internal situations within families. I know most people don't live like the Carringtons, but the main dramas in 'Dynasty' are all about relationships: fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, husbands and wives, people who divorced and their relationship with each other. And we have situations on the show that I think reflect society today (in 1984) – homosexuality, mental illness, divorce. In order to entertain, you can't have it everyday life. You get everyday life at home."

At the start of 1981, Linda confessed, "I just hoped to take care of myself for a while with the money, however long it lasted. When we finished that first season, I went off to shoot a 'Love Boat' in Australia...We filmed in Australia and the Fijis. It was wonderful. They were paying us to take a cruise...I got a telegram that we'd been picked up and I started to cry. I really thought they wouldn't want us back...The first year, we were opposite 'M*A*S*H' for 13 weeks and we practically went off the air. It wasn't until the 3rd year (1983) that we really began building a strong audience." At one time, "I don't know if I'll have to go back to being a secretary. They don't tell us. We get the scripts in the morning and it's always a surprise at the things we have to do. It's probably just as well that they don’t tell us." 

Linda acknowledged, "I really was not prepared for the amount of success all over the world that it has become. It has been amazing to experience it. To think it could be successful and to experience it is a totally different thing. How can I describe something that changed my life? My car is paid for. My house is paid for. I travel. I have the freedom to do what I want to do whenever I want to do it. What would I possibly complain about?" 

In 1986, Linda spent 6½ weeks in Alice Springs, Australia to film the TV mini-series, 'The Last Frontier'. She recounted, "It was hard to come back and do 'Dynasty' again. Especially getting dressed up and into makeup. I thought it was Halloween, but they said that wasn't even as much makeup as I had before I left. It's (Alice Springs) a small town and coming off 9 months of 'Dynasty' I'd forgotten what it was like to be in a small town. I hadn't thought of going that far or working that hard, but I wanted to do it. I'd spent the last 2 vacations from 'Dynasty' just relaxing and traveling. They (McElroy & McElroy) outlined all the problems, the heat, the dust, the flies, the isolation. I said, 'Are you trying to talk me out of it?'" 'The Last Frontier' was written by Michael Laurence and John Misto and directed by Simon Wincer.  

AUTOCRACY

The 1905 Russian Revolution marked the turning point in Tsar Nicholas II's reign. He was eventually overthrown in 1917, bringing the 304-year-old Romanov dynasty to an end. In October 1905, the 'October Manifesto' was released promising the creation of a parliament ("Duma") and the abolition of autocracy rule with move towards the establishment of a constitutional monarchy and democracy. 

Believing "parliamentary rule would result in disintegration of the Russian Empire", Vladimir Gringmuth, who was the editor and publisher of the conservative Viedomosti in Moscow wrote: "A full and accurate answer to the question why autocracy is indispensable to Russia would fill a volume, so many are the reasons which could be given to prove that Russia cannot exist without the autocratic power of its Emperor. Among these are forces of historical, geographical, ethnological, religious, ethical and psychological nature, the latter of which could hardly be presented in a clear and convincing fashion to those who have not studied Russia closely at first hand and familiarized themselves with the spiritual and intellectual qualities of the Russian people. 

"First of all, to simplify the reasoning, let me restate the question and ask: Why would a parliamentary system cause the downfall of Russia? This involves no change in the substance of the problem, for, as a parliamentary system must be the cornerstone of any constitutional regime, to prove that parliamentarism would wreck the Russian state will involve the corollary that autocracy is indispensable to this country. 

"My readers probably know that every civilized state must, in its evolution, pass through the following stages: autocracy, constitution, republic. This proposition may be considered axiomatic by all who have in mind the history of the last 2 centuries (the 18th and the 19th centuries) in western Europe and America. But one circumstance which always accompanies such an evolution may have been overlooked, a circumstance which with 2 exceptions, of which I shall speak later, has helped the progress of all countries and saved them from dissolution. 

"I refer to the existing centrifugal force of a nation. The more typical examples of this are Germany and Italy, where the evolution from absolutism to constitutionalism went hand in hand with the powerful national tendency to unite in one strong whole. 

"But now for the other side of the picture. In Great Britain we already see signs of an insufficient centripetal force, due to an insufficient feeling of national unity. In the 18th century it lost its American colonies, and the present relation of the mother country to its foreign possessions is weakening to such an extent that the very name of 'British Empire' is becoming questionable. But the most striking example of centrifugal, anti-government force is offered by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. During the unlimited autocracy of the Hapsburgs (since 1689) it presented one political whole, firmly united under that system; but when, in the year 1848, the era of democratic constitutionalism began, the monarchy was shaken to its very foundations. 

"As with Austria-Hungary on a comparatively small scale, so with Russia on a colossal one, and the peril with which parliamentarism menaces Russia is therefore infinitely greater than that which the Hapsburgian state faces. The Russian Empire is vast, but its vastness is still of very recent origin. Its western and eastern frontier possessions – Finland, the Baltic provinces, Poland, the Caucasus and the Central Asian regions – have not only not yet assimilated themselves with Russia proper, but they do not even desire to do so; they entertain hopes of an independent national and even political existence. 

"In view of this their centrifugal force is much more powerful and intense than that of the smaller nationalities of Austria, which can not even think of complete political independence outside of the Hapsburg sway. Let us now suppose that the autocracy, which has created and preserved in its entirety the great united Russian Empire, be swept away and in its place be substituted constitutional parliamentarianism. What takes place in this Parliament? A process of disintegration as in its Austrian prototype, the fragments arraying themselves not into political, but into national parties, which enter into an implacable conflict among themselves. This confict will put a stop to the whole march of political life and will end only when all Russia has been reduced to shattered fragments: in other words, when Russia has ceased to exist. 

"Such a prospect is, of course, a consummation devoutly to be wished by all the enemies of Russia, but we Russian conservatives look with horror upon the prospect of such a fate and are endeavouring with all our strength to avert it. But the present enemies of Russia in western Europe would do well to consider that they would also soon begin to feel the consequences of the disappearance of great, powerful Russia, then no longer able to resist the menacing yellow invasion, which would sweep over its remnants to fall upon Europe with all its destructive force. This in a few words is one of the chief reasons why Russia needs autocracy, under which, as has been shown by the history of ages, Russia has been able to fulfil with such success her great task. 

"Parliamentarianism, on the other hand, would destroy Russia's integrity, and with it Russia herself."

TELEVISION

It was said, "No other voice reaches into so many homes as television." In the 1980s on television, David Jacobs observed, "'Dallas' and 'Dynasty' deal with the very rich. 'Knots Landing' was more middle class." In business news, Consuelo Mack, the presenter of 'Today's Business' pointed out, "The days of the old, conservative, impenetrable Wall Street brokerage houses are long gone. It's a wide-open environment now (in 1986) with tremendous opportunity. If you're good, you'll succeed – man or woman. One of the things I enjoyed most at Merrill Lynch was the meetings we'd have every morning to discuss the state of the world – political events, social trends, the climate; the big picture." She stressed, "Almost half the people getting MBAs today (in 1986) are women. Believe me, they're interested in business news." 

Robert Ginty told television producers in 1983, "The population is growing, but audiences are getting smaller all the time, and that should tell us something. What's happened to the Frank Capras of the film industry? Capra told American stories." Making the point, "If all the music you ever heard was the Musak in an elevator, you'd have a very limited idea of what music is." Hence "you don't need studios to make movies and you don't need $40 million to make one." Robert believed, "Kids shouldn't go to the University of Southern California and the University of California at Los Angeles to learn the business. They should stay in their home towns and make films about what they know best. Our greatest playwrights wrote about themselves and the regions they came from. But people tend to believe that a person from Minneapolis or St. Louis can only succeed in the picture business if he goes to Hollywood and makes a film about New York." 

"Film editing is, to a large degree, a cumbersome trial-and-error process," Sherry Sontag of The New York Times told readers in 1986. "Movies are not shot from beginning to end, but location by location, camera angle by camera angle, producing hours of short clips that average only 90 seconds. A working film print, made up of the combined clips, is then repeatedly cut and spliced until an editor and director are satisfied. Making a splice takes about a minute. Finding the right footage can, and often does, take a half-hour, if the material is part of the tangle of film on the editing floor." 

In 1986, there was another technological revolution in the art of movie-making with the development of new electronic editing systems. Since 1924, the industry standard films editing system was Moviola which at the time sold for about $11,000 or rented for approximately $65 a week. On the market in 1986, there were George Lucas' EditDroid and Ediflex and Montage. They were reportedly sold for roughly $150,000 or rented for about $2,500 a week. 

In the 1986-87 season, electronic editors made the most impact in the television industry because television programs wound up on videotapes affecting the post-production budgets. Lorimar-Telepictures used the Ediflex on 15% of its shows including 'Dallas' because most of which were shot on film for better resolution which would then get transferred onto tape. The electronic editing systems could save production companies as much as $15,000 per hour-long episode with the putting in of dissolves and opening titles. However some producers, relied on distribution profits such as Aaron Spelling Productions, were avoiding the new editing systems because they finished their work on film, not tape to satisfy the European buyers who requested film copies. 

Experts told the press in 1983 "videotape has a shelf life of 5 to 20 years" so "tape must be transferred periodically to new tape to insure longevity, but each transfer lessens quality." In 1951, acetate film replaced nitrate film. Color was an issue. Until 1951, many movies on the big screen were produced with the 3-strip Technicolor process but then the studios converted to the inexpensive one-strip Eastman film which faded in time. It was understood half of the 21,000 motion pictures made before 1951 had become extinct and at the time over one-third of all motion pictures and television programs made since 1951 had become endangered species. Alarmed, the American Film Institute held a banquet at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in 1983 to kick off their campaign which called "The Decade of Preservation." 

"Motion pictures are the most fascinating of all the arts," Bette Davis declared. "They can be educational as well as entertaining; even the most frivolous may have a little bit to say. I have a slight hunch that I won't be around here 10 years from now (say in 1993). I'll probably be glad I'm not around here 10 years from now (say in 1993). But I hope my films will be." Bette Davis died in 1989 at the age of 81 years old at the American Hospital in Paris. At the time she was attending the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain.

In March 1987, the final "make-or-break" episode of 'The Colbys', described as "the most bizarre cliffhanger ever seen on television", cost Aaron Spelling Productions close to $500,000 for special effects from John Dykstra for a scene (after editing) lasted about 4 minutes. Normally the network paid the production companies a licensing fee per episode but the production companies paid for the costs of producing the program. At the time, the production companies could recoup the costs on the syndication market. The scene, the last scene of the final episode, featured the character of Fallon Colby on board a spaceship along with a human-shaped alien from outer space. 

Maxwell Caulfield described 'The Colbys' as an "American superfamily. The adults are the power brokers and the kids ape the parents. We're all smitten with the same goal, the acquiring of wealth and the destruction of the family members within our immediate vicinity. My character is always creating crises for himself between the sheets. I think that's going to reach a head. In fact I know it is, since we already taped it. I had one sentence at the beginning of last week's show (episode 47, 'Betrayals') and I got a full paycheck for it." 

Believing "we are not alone", Fallon's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was said "has really piqued viewers' curiosity. The mail has doubled since Fallon left in the UFO." 'The Colbys' finished the 1986-87 season ranked the 64th most popular prime time program on television. There were 83 programs on the A.C. Nielsen Company list. 'The Colbys' attracted 10.4 million households out of the 87.4 million American homes with TV sets at the time. 'The Cosby Show' was the No. 1 program attracting 30.5 million households. 

In an interview in 2008, Richard Shapiro recounted, "That (the cliffhanger) was my own bit of lunacy but we were - and there's been stories about alien abduction at the time. I don't remember the couple that reported that they have been taken away in a spaceship and examined and probed and then brought back down and so I just knew, 'That's it! They take Fallon up.' I think, in fact, it could of work…Well, it would of! What really would of been there was an examination of psychology because it might not have been real and that's the way I would have gone with it but it got out of hand." 

Gordon Thomson remembered in 2009, "At the time a man called Bill Ball was one of the producers of the show...Producers answer to head writers and we were at a dinner party at Bill's house. He told us that one morning - 1 o'clock in the morning - the phone rang. It was Esther. 'Get a pencil! Get a piece of paper! Richard has an idea! Aliens!'…That's a true story. 'Fallon is going to be abducted by aliens!'" 

In 1997, 'Sunset Beach' marked Aaron Spelling's foray into daytime television. He said at the time, "I wanted this to have a great, really different look, so we thought, 'Oh, wow, let's shoot on tape and transfer it to film! Very expensive, and it didn't work. I have to take the blame for that. It was so bright and over lit."

ACTING

The band Will To Power (the name was inspired by Frederick Nietzsche) successfully turned Peter Frampton's 1975 song, 'Baby, I Love Your Way' (peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 at the time) into a No. 1 song in 1988. 

In the song, after singer Elin Michaels sung "I love your way", Bob Rosenberg then sung, "If I leave here tomorrow, will you still remember me? For I must be traveling on now, there's so many places I gotta see. But if I stayed here with you girl, things just wouldn't be the same, 'cause I'm as free as a bird now. And this bird will never change." 

"Old movies never die, they just get re-shot," it was explained. Henry Sheehan made the observation in 1983, "Some pleasures are denied us as we get older. It's a sad day when we've finally grown up too much to be plopped on a parent's knee and told a story. Some of us revive the experience with children of our own, but that's a different pleasure, sweet though it may be. For most, the storytelling experience is re-created through the movies." 

Back in 1976, "grown ups" were told, "Plan your movies before you begin shooting, and be logical in filming the action. It should have an opening which sets the scene, a middle that develops the story, and an ending. The beauty of movies is you do not have to shoot in sequence – you can bring order out of chaos in your editing. Make most shots at least 10 seconds long, and even longer if the shot is interesting. Train yourself to count seconds without having to look at a watch, and count to yourself as the film is running through. A movie camera is designed to record movement, not create it. A series of unrelated shots will not interest any viewer for more than a few moments. Avoid bewildering your audience with jumps in sequence." 

Michael Nader had been acting since 1963 when he was "under contract with American International Pictures." It was reported, "He was discovered by the husband of model agency-owner Wilhelmina while he was buying shoes in New York." Micheal remembered 20 years later, "It was bizarre. I'd be shooting these beach movies during the day, then devouring (Ingmar) Bergman and (Federico) Fellini at night at a local art theater." In 1983, Michael Nader played Alexi Theodopolous on the TV series 'Bare Essence'. From 1984 to 1989, he played a mining engineer, Dex Dexter on 'Dynasty'. Michael said he got the part because "the energy that Joan (Collins) and I had was what became the final statement. Joan and I had real charisma...I did my screen test with Joan. She's the main actress on the show I work with. There is more to her than just an act. She can give you 8 different looks. One minute she can be quite childlike, the next she can be demanding. Yet there's a lot of fun on the set...Something just clicked with us. I know Joan read that scene in the same way with the other guys, but it worked for us. It seemed as if we had an understanding, as actor and actress." 

"What's down on tape or film is where I was at, at that time," Michael Nader made known in 1984. Karrie Emerson remarked, "'Dynasty' and 'Dallas' are both done on film, so you've got to re-shoot the same scenes many different times. 'Edge (of Night)' is done on tape and shot quickly in sequence, just like a play." Stephanie Beacham believed, "Film looks so much better. The most important thing is that with film, the director stays on the floor. In tape, the director is off somewhere in a control booth." Gordon Thomson added, "I think of it ('Dynasty') as a gothic serial." He had played the Egyptologist Aristotle Benedict White on a daytime soap opera. "On 'Ryan's Hope', we shot 15 pages a day. On 'Dynasty', we shoot only 7…'Dynasty' has a lot more scope, because it has the freedom film gives you as opposed to the restriction of tape." 

Donna Mills reminded, "Daytime shows come into your home every single day. Also, the daytime soaps are on tape; it's a different medium from the night time series which are on film. Tape is a more immediate medium. It's like it's really happening as you're watching – like the news – so people feel much closer to it. Film, on the other hand, sets up a barrier, almost like a 4th wall, so that the audience feels they're watching a story in which the actors are accepted as playing roles, unlike a daytime soap where the actors seem to become the characters they play." 

In 1984 on 'Dynasty', "there will be multiple cliffhangers and each one, if you look closely at the plot structure, will be right on target." Michael stated, "I’m certainly not ashamed of the show: it seems to me that when you can consistently entertain tens of millions of people every week, you don't have to make excuses. Everyone's ideal is to be in a show which is both critical and a popular success." 

It was pointed out, appearing on 'Dynasty' had been "good for both my career and my financial condition...(The Broadway play) didn't pay too well so I supported myself as a model (for Zoli). I was one of the top ones, but I hated every minute of it. I was also was a waiter for a time, starting off by peeling onions in the basement of Maxwell’s Plum. I was also on 'As The World Turns', for more than 3 years (1975-78). I didn't like it that much, either." It was reasoned as Kevin Thompson, Michael was merely a "hunk-in-training." 

Michael Nader attended Santa Monica City College and the Actors Studio in New York. After returning from Hawaii in 1981 he worked for a year in a pizza restaurant but "I did not find it shaming in any way. Money has not been that important to me. I have always been my own worst enemy in that way, because with a different attitude I could have done well much earlier." Gordon confessed, "I have a respect bordering on fear for certain authority figures like bank managers and loan officers." Of acting, Gordon insisted, "Good acting is good acting wherever you find it: in prime time, in daytime or in politics...My accountant said to stop spending money on the house and get some go-to-hell money...It sounds wonderful to read about all the money we are supposed to make but you kiss goodby to two-thirds of the gross in commissions and taxes."