Set in San Francisco, this CBS daytime drama series – created and written by Irma Phillips who had created As The World Turns and The Guiding Light – was originally intended as a sequel/spinoff to the 1955 film and was unusual for its time by having a central character who was Asian-American.
Mia Elliott (Nancy Hsueh) was supposed to have been the illegitimate daughter of the leads from the film, who had been played by Jennifer Jones and William Holden. Moving from Hong Kong to San Francisco to study medicine, Mia lived with her newspaperman uncle Phillip (Len Wayland), his wife Helen (Grace Albertson) and their young architect son, Mark (Sam Wade initially).
Mia became involved with two men – pilot Paul Bradley (Nicholas Pryor) and, later, Dr Jim Abbott (Robert Mill) but storylines involving interracial romance were too uncomfortable for the network, and in 1968 Mia’s character was written out of the show. Creator/head writer Irma Phillips walked out in a fiery parting of the ways.
At that point, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing was retooled by new husband-and-wife writing team Jane and Ira Avery as a standard soap opera with storylines revolving around three families: The Chernaks, the Donnellys, and the Garrisons.
The lead characters were recast multiple times throughout the seven-year run and the series suffered from a lack of continuity once Irma Phillips had left.
Many critics felt that the actual downfall came when CBS moved the show from its highly-rated 2.00 pm slot into direct competition at 3.00 pm with NBC’s Another Worldand ABC’s General Hospital. It was a daring idea in counter-programming that didn’t work. The final episode aired on 23 March 1973.
The closing episodes focused on Iris Garrison (Bibi Besch) and her terrible secret that threatened to end her marriage and ruin her husband’s budding political career. It seemed that one night while husband Spence (Edward Power) had been off campaigning for the state senate, Iris was raped by her brother-in-law, Mark Elliott.
When Iris discovered she was pregnant, silence regarding the baby’s paternity seemed the best course of action.
Nevertheless, a trap was set for Iris when she secretly confided the truth to her stepsister, Betsy Chernak (Andrea Marcovicci). Betsy’s boyfriend Joe Taylor (Leon Russom) tape-recorded their clandestine conversation and turned the tape over to Spence’s political enemies.
But Joe was being forced to work for the bad guys against his will (they held information about him that could send him to prison) and the remainder of the show dealt with the perilous attempts by Joe, Betsy and Iris to wrest the fatal tape back from evil hands.
In the process, Besty wound up falsely accused of murder.
By the final episode, however, the tape was destroyed, Iris’ marriage was saved, Spence believed he was the father of beautiful little Maggie, and Joe and Betsy were married in a warm and touching ceremony that marked the show’s signing off the air.
Most videotapes of the series were erased for re-use and only a few episodes remain.
Dr Betsy Chernak Taylor
Andrea Marcovicci Mia Elliot
Nancy Hsueh Mark Elliott
Sam Wade (1)
David Birney (2)
Michael Hawkins (3)
Vincent Cannon (4)
Tom Fuccello (5) Laura Donnelly Elliott
Donna Mills (1)
Veleka Gray (2)
Barbara Stanger (3) Iris Garrison/Donnelly
Leslie Charleson (1)
Bibi Besch (2) Sarah Hanley
Sasha Van Scherler (1)
Martha Greenhouse (2) Dr Peter Chernak
Paul Michael Glaser (1)
Vincent Baggaetta (2) Ricky Donnelly
Shawn Campbell Lily Chernak
Diana Douglas Senator Al Preston
Don Gantry Helen Donnelly
Gloria Hoye Celia Winter
Abigail Kellogg Dr Will Donnelly
Judson Laire Dr Doug Preston
Gene Lindsey Spence Garrison
Michael Hanrahan (1)
Edward Power (2) Joe Taylor
Leon Russom Angel Allison Chernak
Suzie Kaye Tom Donnelly
Robert Burr Marian Hiller
Constance Towers Mrs Taylor
Betty Miller Nicole Chernak
Andrea Grossman Dr Sanford Hiller
Stephen Joyce (1)
Peter White (2) Andy Hurley
Don Scardino (1)
Russ Thacker (2) Judd Washington
Thurman Scott Rocco Fiore
Carmine Stippo Jean Garrison
Jane Manning Audrey Hurley
Salome Jens Dr Ellis
Robert Drew Roger
David Jay Amos Crump
Jack Somack Phillip ‘Phil’ Elliott
Len Wayland Helen Elliott
Grace Albertson Paul Bradley
Nicholas Pryor
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At that point, Love Is A Many Splendored Thing was retooled by new husband-and-wife writing team Jane and Ira Avery as a standard soap opera with storylines revolving around three families: The Chernaks, the Donnellys, and the Garrisons.
