Marland Monday: Going to Have To Face It: The 1986 Emmys Screwed Up
You think the Oscars were screwy? They took lessons from 1986's Daytime Emmys
This is a classic MM from last year, where I discuss the 1986 Daytime Emmys. Enjoy!
Oh, it’s Monday again, meaning it’s…
Marland Monday!
Yes, Mondays are when I write about Douglas Marland, one of my favorite writers in the soap opera genre. Let’s get to it, shall we?
The Daytime Emmy nominations were announced last week. I felt a little sad; I hardly knew anyone that was nominated. That’s how it is these days; I only watch Young and Restless occasionally (side note: Give Beth Maitland a good storyline, Young and Restless! She deserves it!) Marland won several Emmys, an honorary one after he died in 1993. However, in the ceremony, I will concentrate on today he lost. But to whom? Let us explore.
Let’s go back to the summer of 1986. Fergie just married Prince Andrew (now I want to tell her to run, Fergie, run!) Howard the Duck was going to come out in two weeks, and it surely would be a hit. Robert Palmer had a hit with “Addicted to Love,” with models with bright red lipstick pretending to play guitar surrounding him. The eighties, I tell you.
On July 17, 1986, Jenifer Lewis sang “Addicted to Love” while steamy love scenes played behind her on the 13th annual Daytime Emmys. I was definitely rooting for Marland. As the World Turns was up for eleven Emmys. The year before, they only were nominated for two Emmys (Brian Bloom won for Best Younger Actor) Then Marland came on board. That year he introduced the Snyder family, Barbara became a bad girl, one of the best mysteries I’ve seen (I’ll have to devote months to this storyline when I write about it), and the 30th-anniversary show. It was all so good.
Guiding Light, my other soap, was also nominated for Best Writing. By then, I had taken a break from the show that would last until 1989. I had loved the show always, loved it, especially from 1980-Spring 1985. That spring was when Lisa Brown and Michael Tylo left. Charita Bauer had died, but the show didn’t have Bert die (when they did, it was so badly done)
The show was off. It was trying to be like Dynasty and Dallas, they were trying to make my favorite couple, Beth and Lujack, like General Hospital’s Luke and Laura by having B&L chase down an evil guy named Largo (I’m not making this up), who headed an organization called Infinity. Please don’t expect it to make sense, it doesn’t. The Powers That Be killed off Lujack (Vincent Irizarry, and yes, I’m still bitter about this!) and had Beth return to Phillip too soon. It didn’t make sense. There were many backstage scenes of drama; in one year, the head writer was replaced three or four times. I knew my beloved Beth (Judi Evans) would leave soon. But Pam Long had been nominated for her writing stint before she left in January. Honestly, I was Team Marland all the way.
ATWT’s big win happened with Best Supporting Actor when Brian Bloom and Martha Byrne happily announced John Wesley Shipp received the Best Supporting Actor award for his portrayal of Douglas Cummings. I was thrilled; he deserved it. He thanked Marland, executive producer Robert Calhoun, then the three actresses he worked with the most: Giulia Pagano (who played DC’s assistant Marcia Talbot), Julianne Moore (Frannie, love interest), and Kathryn Hays (Kim) The latter now makes me tear up.
My beloved Vincent Irizarry (Lujack on GL), Jon Hemsley (Holden, ATWT), and Brian Bloom lost Best Younger Actor to Michael E Knight (Tad, All My Children) Knight was super popular, so I understood why he won. Kathleen Widdoes (Emma, ATWT) lost to Days of our Lives’ Leann Hurley for Best Supporting Actress. For Best Younger Actress Ellen Wheeler on Another World won, but that was a given; she was playing twins. You were a shoo-in to win if you played twins on a soap. David Canary played twins on All my Children, and he won. Julianne Moore won her Emmy when she played Frannie and Sabrina in 1988.
But let’s get to the nitty gritty: the Best writing Emmy!
The nominees were…
General Hospital
As the World Turns
Guiding Light
The Young and the Restless
Clips were shown in all four shows. Come on, ATWT! You’ve got this!
And the winner is…
Young and Restless?
Wait a minute! No! Did they watch the murder storyline? Did they see all the twists and turns it took? Bill Bell gave a gracious speech, but I was miffed. Y&R also won Best Director and Best Show. When I do see clips back then, it was well done. I was just mad that Marland lost.
But wait! We have a twist!
Marland did lose but to Pamela K. Long. Huh?
The Emmys blamed a clerical mixup, saying that Pamela K. Long’s team won the Emmy, not Bill Bell’s. They wanted the Emmys back. Bill Bell told the Los Angeles Times telling his team they had to give back their trophies was “the most unpleasant job of my life.” Writing about it thirty-six years later, I’m angry on Bell’s behalf. How could something like this happen? They later said there were “so many names it was confusing” That doesn’t make sense. Have two winners that year. Let the Young and Restless people keep their Emmies. But no, they were given back.
It was so screwy; Pam Long and her team accepted their Emmys without TV cameras. It was unfair. I don’t remember being angry about it; I thought that’s how people are. I had survived two years of middle school and been bullied all that time. I had experienced what I now realize was a sexual assault. I knew life was unfair; this whole screwup confirmed that. It also helped me realize other things:
Even if you do your best work, sometimes you won’t be acknowledged. Keep doing it, though. You’re not writing for the awards; you’re writing for yourself first and foremost.
If you win an award, you might win it a year late and not for your best work. Smile, thank everyone, then take the award and run.
People screw up. Sometimes life doesn’t make sense but keep going.
Marland knew that. He kept going, knowing he would be nominated again. In 1987, ATWT showed up again in the nominations. And Emmy voters found themselves addicted to their show.
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I just found your account and you must be a soul sister! I’m a huge Doug Marland fan. I’m 58 and grew up loving his GL work. Jane Elliot was phenomenal and was stunned when she was fired. I wanted to see how it started for Carrie. I wrote my own version of it where her uncle had raped her and that’s what began her journey into madness