Love of Life (1951–1980)

Initially set in fictional Barrowsville, New York, this serial tells the story of extremely disparate siblings: long-suffering Vanessa Dale and her bitchy sister Meg. After Meg was written ... See full summary »

Creator:

Roy Winsor

Stars:

Peggy McCay, Jean McBride, Tirrell Barbery

1 win & 4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Peggy McCay	...	Vanessa Dale (1 episode, 1953)
Jean McBride	...	Meg Harper (1 episode, 1953)
Tirrell Barbery	...	Carol Raven (1 episode, 1956)

Storyline

Initially set in fictional Barrowsville, New York, this serial tells the story of extremely disparate siblings: long-suffering Vanessa Dale and her bitchy sister Meg. After Meg was written out of the series in the late 50's, the serial's setting moved to Rosehill, New York, where Van settled down with college professor Bruce Sterling and endured the usual soap opera maladies (murder, amnesia, incurable illness). In 1974, writers resurrected the character of Meg, as the serial once again focused on the internecine struggles between two sisters.

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Plot Keywords:

new york | soap | partially lost tv series | 1970s | 1950s | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 September 1951 (USA)

Also Known As:

L'amore della vita

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), The Biow Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 15 min (1951-1958) 25 min (1958-1980)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was produced by Roy Windsor and American Home Products until 1969, when CBS took over.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Referenced in Maude: Walter's Secret (1973)

User Reviews

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.