Gordon Russell - One Life To Live

After Dark Shadows wrapped, Russell and Hall took over at One Life to Live 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 Dorian Cramer, who prescribed Dave’s widow, Eileen, pills for depression, which lead to an out-of-control addiction. Dorian then stole their daughter Julie’s husband, Dr. Mark Toland (a then unknown Tommy Lee Jones), and Dorian’s sister Melinda befriended Meredith Lord Wolek before her death. Her cousin by marriage, 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 her cousin Vinny 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.