"Love of Life" (1951) TV series 1951-1980

Creator:

Roy Winsor

Seasons:

unknown

Release Date:

24 September 1951 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Initially set in fictional Barrowsville, New York, this serial tells the story of extremely disparate...

Plot Keywords:

New York | Sisters | Soap | Partially Lost TV Series

Awards:

1 win & 4 nominations

Cast

Peggy McCay	...	Vanessa Dale (1 episode, 1953)
Jean McBride	...	Meg Harper (1 episode, 1951-1958)
Ken Roberts	...	Announcer (1 episode, 1951-1980)
Dennis Parnell	...	Beanie Harper (1 episode, 1953)

Runtime:

USA:15 min (1951-1958) | USA:25 min (1958-1980)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White (1951-1967) | Color (1967-1980)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

CBS Broadcast Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS)

Trivia:

In the mid 1970's, the story lines became much darker then in previous years, including a storyline in which it was strongly implied that Ben Harper was sodomized while in prison. Such story lines were not received well by longtime viewers, which resulted in declining ratings that led to the series eventual cancellation.

Quotes:

[title sequence]
Announcer: "Love of Life": the exciting story of Vanessa Dale and her courageous struggle for human dignity.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Maude: Walter's Secret (#1.19)" (1973)

One of the Great TV Daytime Serials

Love of Life back in the early '50's aired at 12:15 EST Monday through Friday on CBS. Roy Windsor, who also produced Secret Storm (4:15 p.m. Monday - Friday) knew how to create interesting character-driven stories. Bad sister Meg and good sister Van with their various conflicts and romantic interests were welcome daily visitors into the homes that had television sets. In 1958 Love of Life expanded to a half-hour show, now starting at noon for a weekday half hour, transplanting Vanessa to New York City and introducing many new characters, particularly actress Tammy and the widowed Bruce Sterling along with his meddlesome in-laws the Carlsons, who owned a paper mill in Rosehill, a suburb of New York. Stories and melodramatic conflicts continued to enthrall the daily audience. Since I was unable to watch the serial after the mid-60's, I can't vouch for what it became, but it left a positive image on daytime drama for those of us who followed the show on a regular basis. Both Love of Life and Secret Storm were giants of daytime when TV was in its infancy.