Casting and Popularity
The role was originated in 1978 by actress Andrea Evans, whose first stint lasted until 1981. The character was recast with Kelli Maroney in 1984 and then with Marsha Clark in 1985. Evans returned in 1985, in a storyline credited with putting the series "back on course" and ultimately bringing Tina to her height of popularity. Evans appeared on the cover of Soap Opera Digest five times — once every year from 1986 to 1990 — and People magazine called her "Daytime's Diva of Dirt" in 1985. The series itself rose from #5 in the Nielsen ratings in the 1984 to 1985 season to #4 in the following season, soon going to #3 the next year, where it remained until the 1989 to 1990 season. In 1985, then-Executive Producer Paul Rauch noted of Evans, "She makes a tremendous difference to our show ... Her ability makes her go beyond the ordinary viper. In large part, she's responsible for the show's recent success." In 1988 Evans was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Ingenue for the role; she left the series in January 1990.
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Famous quotes containing the words casting and/or popularity:
“All we know
Is that we are a little early, that
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